could see a long ride ahead of us; but we had
occasion as we rode away to go through their _remuda_ to cut out a few
of our horses which had mixed, and I found I knew over a dozen of
their horses by the ranch brands, while Honeyman also recognized quite
a few. Though we felt a pride in our mounts, we had to admit that
theirs were better; for the effect of climate had transformed horses
that we had once ridden on ranches in southern Texas. It does seem
incredible, but it is a fact nevertheless, that a horse, having
reached the years of maturity in a southern climate, will grow half a
hand taller and carry two hundred pounds more flesh, when he has
undergone the rigors of several northern winters.

We halted at our night camp to change horses and to unearth our cached
tomatoes, and again set out. By then it was so late in the day that
the sun had lost its force, and on this last leg in overtaking the
herd we increased our gait steadily until the sun was scarcely an hour
high, and yet we never sighted a dust-cloud in our front. About
sundown we called a few minutes' halt, and after eating our tomatoes
and drinking the last of our water, again pushed on. Twilight had
faded into dusk before we reached a divide which we had had in sight
for several hours, and which we had hoped to gain in time to sight the
timber on Powder River before dark. But as we put mile after mile
behind us, that divide seemed to move away like a mirage, and the
evening star had been shining for an hour before we finally reached
it, and sighted, instead of Powder's timber, the campfire of our
outfit about five miles ahead. We fired several shots on seeing the
light, in the hope that they might hear us in camp and wait; otherwise
we knew they would start the herd with the rising of the moon.

When we finally reached camp, about nine o'clock at night, everything
was in readiness to start, the moon having risen sufficiently. Our
shooting, however, had been heard, and horses for a change were tied
to the wagon wheels, while the remainder of the _remuda_ was under
herd in charge of Rod Wheat. The runaways were thrown into the horse
herd while we bolted our suppers. Meantime McCann informed us that
Flood had ridden that afternoon to the Powder River, in order to get
the lay of the land. He had found it to be ten or twelve miles distant
from the present camp, and the water in the river barely knee deep to
a saddle horse. Beyond it was a fine valley. Before