"Well, this is a happy termination," said Mr. Lovell, as he alighted at
the tent. "Our water expense between Dodge and Ogalalla will not exceed
five thousand dollars. It cost me double that getting out of Texas."

Secure on the Beaver, the brothers were unaware of the outside drouth,
which explained the failure of the herds to appear on the trail as in
other years. It meant the delay of a fortnight, and the concentration of
a year's drive into a more limited space of time. Unconscious of its
value, the boys awoke to the fact that they controlled the only water
between the Prairie Dog and the Republican River--sixty miles of the
plain. Many of the herds were under contract and bond to cattle
companies, individuals, army posts, and Indian agencies, and no excuse
would be accepted for any failure to deliver. The drouth might prove an
ill-wind to some, but the Beaver valley was not only exempt but could
extend relief.

After supper, hosts and guests adjourned to the tent. Forrest had
unearthed the winter struggle of his proteges, and gloating over the
manner in which the boys had met and overcome the unforeseen, he assumed
an observant attitude in addressing his employer.

"You must be working a sorry outfit up on the Little Missouri," said he,
"to lose ten per cent of straight steer cattle. My boys, here on the
Beaver, report a measly loss of twelve head, out of over five hundred
cattle. And you must recollect that these were rag-tag and bob-tail, the
flotsam of a hundred herds, forty per cent cripples, walking on
crutches. Think of it! Two per cent loss, under herd, a sleet over the
range for six weeks, against your ten per cent kill on an open range.
You must have a slatterly, sore-thumbed lot of men on your beef ranch."

Mr. Lovell was discouraged over the outlook of his cattle interests.
"That was a first report that you are quoting from," said he to Forrest.
"It was more prophecy than statement. We must make allowances for young
men. There is quite a difference between getting scared and being hurt.
My beef outfit has orders to go three hundred miles south of our range
and cover all round-ups northward. It was a severe winter, and the drift
was heavy, but I'm not worrying any about that sore-fingered outfit.
Promptly meeting government contracts is our work to-day. My cattle are
two weeks behind time, and the beef herds must leave Dodge to-morrow.
Help me figure it out: Can you put me on the railroad by noon?" he
c