al moss ones, and I have a lurking suspicion
that there are a few genuine goose-hair pillows in the outfit, and you
may pick and choose. They are all yours for the asking."

The men parleyed around some little time, offering pretexts for entering
the shack, the interior of which bespoke its own poverty. When all
agreements had been reviewed, the men mounted their horses, promising to
fulfill their part of the covenant that afternoon or evening.

Once out of hearing, the stranger remarked: "That oldest boy is all
right; it was their poverty that caused him to hesitate; he tried to
shield their want. We men don't always understand boys. Hereafter, in
dealing with Joel, you must use some diplomacy. The death of his parents
has developed a responsibility in the older boy which the younger one
doesn't feel. That's about all the difference in the two lads. You must
deal gently with Joel, and never offend him or expose his needs."

"Trust me," replied the foreman, "and I'll coach Quince--that's the name
of the wounded man. Within an hour, he'll be right at home with those
boys. If nothing serious happens to his wound, within a week he'll have
those youngsters walking on clouds."

The two men rode out of the valley, when they caught sight of a dust
cloud, indicating the locality of the trailing herd, then hidden behind
the last divide before reaching Beaver Creek. On every hand the
undulating plain rolled away to low horizons, and the men rode forward
at a leisurely pace.

"I've been thinking of those boys," suddenly said the trail foreman,
arousing himself from a reverie. "They're to be pitied. This government
ought to be indicted for running a gambling game, robbing children,
orphan children of a soldier, at that. There's a fair sample of the skin
game the government's running--bets you one hundred and sixty acres
against fourteen dollars you can't hold down a homestead for five years.
And big as the odds look, in nine cases out of ten, in this country, the
government wins. It ought to be convicted on general principles. Men are
not to be pitied, but it's a crime against women and children."

"Oh, you cowmen always rail at the settler," retorted the stranger; "you
would kick if you were being hung. There's good in everything. A few
years of youthful poverty, once they reach manhood, isn't going to hurt
those boys. The school of experience has its advantages."

"If it's convenient, let's keep an eye on those boys the nex