d, after she had finished, waited a long time before speaking. His
pale eyes looked thoughtfully at the ground, and the little girl, still
mounted on her pony, could not see whether or not they approved of the
scheme.

"Who gates th' mownay?" he asked at last. The little girl hesitated
before answering, struggling with greed.

"Bofe of us?" she faltered.

The Swede boy grunted.

"You catch 'em and kill 'em," said the little girl, "and I'll snip off
their tails. 'Cause my biggest brother says gray gophers don't worry no
more 'bout losin' their tails than tadpoles do."

He grunted again, and the little girl, eager and impatient, turned the
blind black pony about in circles.

"Ay catch 'em, ay kill 'em," the Swede boy said finally. There was a
significant tone in his voice, and a gleam in the pale eyes under the
tow hair. "An' yo' gate th' mownay," he added.

They were on the edge of the timothy meadow as soon as the pony, with
his double load, could cover the distance. And while the little girl
tied the horse to a big stone on the slope of the carnelian bluff, the
Swede boy hastened to a gopher-hole and fixed the noose about it. A
moment later, when she came stealthily running up behind him, he was
already flat upon the ground and waiting.

It was not long before the gopher poked his nose out to see if his
pursuer was near, and, catching sight of a ragged felt hat just above a
clump of pigweed, stood up to investigate. The next instant the Swede
boy had him and, springing to his feet, cast a triumphant look behind.
But what was his amazement to see the little girl, bareheaded, fast
disappearing through the corn!

When she came slowly back, the Swede boy was again stretched upon his
stomach, and watching a hole nearer the center of the meadow. The little
girl did not follow him, but stayed on the rim and pityingly viewed the
limp gopher that lay, with eyes half closed, breast still, and tail thin
and lifeless.

"Poor fing!" she said sympathetically, "it's 'cause you stealed the
corn."

Then she opened his mouth with the butt end of her willow riding-switch,
to find out what he had in his cheek-pouches. An onion and a few
marrowfat peas rolled out, and the little girl, kneeling beside him,
eyed him sternly.

"And so," she said, waving her hand toward the barren strip, "after
pickin' up all that corn, you gophers have to go a-snoopin' round the
veg'table patch!"

She left him and went on to the corn-marker,