Show the old settler my dear san Jua ners necessity had bad taught us to jump juill wit with t the e very f faist lr t crack of dawn dawn to get outside of a hastily con breakfast and hit the trail and we were not going to stop aop till we had made our days rids ride and brought our gather back to the box canyon above camp if the ride proved to be a long one which w aich was the rule and no the exception we would corns come dragging into camp as ravenous as so many she wolves we knew this ride on that last day of ma bla would be long so we cr amed some generoux generou 3 hunks cf jerky in our saddle pockets as we left camp our crew cf f four carried no ds d s pen sable paraphernalia ia that cay to hamper our speed or advertise our approach by flapping and rat as we rode thus we had no canteen nor water bag though I 1 did carry my leather cup always we had intended intend cd by a 1 1 I means to take a farewell drink at pole spring where we left the gul aguish ach but a big deep gashed trail of f fresh tracks lured us out 11 a little side canyon and the farther we followed it the more in tent we became the outfit making thase tracks had scented us and gone pell jnell as their a proved we rode faster and faster but the wild bunch was nowhere in sight no calf nor small was among them but all fifteen of the animals were of great size no doubt old steers over smooth rock among scattering cedars and through the soft sand they had plowed madly on scattering F twigs and stones to right and left lef t towards noon we decided to go easy let the steers run themselves down and wait for us to overtake them so we gnawed on our jerky while our lathering horses got their wind the steers headed for the most dry and faraway far away earner corner and we followed while that jerky bred a fever of thirst within us it was three in the afternoon when we found that foaming red eyed outfit panting with lolling tongues by some scrub cedars they came with fierce looks to continued on page ten fen the old settler continued from na nar nag r 1 meet us and we le only to follow t them hem again as the eliy y turn turned d for the tress Ws we chased clia sec them ari and they chased us and N we vc kept that game up till we felt like lika dropping U dead from flirt and exhaustion ha ustian and vahan we contemplated the long blistered miles beus and pole spring it all but bred bied 1 despair I 1 j but fourteen big steers more fit I 1 for sale than they aou would 1 ever be again even cven if we ever found found them again we just had to get them we knew if we had not been toe toc mad to admit it if we should shod g vs ve up right then and get to water the best and quickest wayt way we would be perilously near d dac 1 l before we got there and we knew I 1 if we waited and hazarded t he delay delav of f getting those steers wl would be but near mind what we acu scud 3 be our blood bloid was up and wa would have those etheri or huret burst a blood ve ves sal fourteen sl s and they stayed t together gether we dare to rope cope one for fearther fear the others would tear us to pieces at last they refused to move and hugged the slim shade fram the setting sun in the cool of the evening they moped tack back towards water and we moped after them establishing at last our right to drive them where we wanted i to go Every mans eyes had unk into i 1 his head like the eyes of a cada ver we loathed the thought f food especially of jerky 1 dat yater water water our souls cried for it we grew sick and tremulous I 1 dismounted hoping to revive a little kittle by resting on the cool sand it t lid did no good and when I 1 succeeded at last in getting back into the saddle and overtaking ove raking the outfit I 1 knew my only hope was tol to stay on my horse till we renche A I 1 pole spring if really j p we were r ever 1 going to reach rea ch it at all I 1 it was no leas than two in the morning when we dragged into pole spring and turned thit infernal outfit of steers into the walled cove above us it was morning before we soaked up enough so we dared to drink and I 1 let our horses drink and it was 1 noon when we got our gather gathel safely to camp I 1 ALBERT R j 1 |