and the clamor of the stampede,
except the faint cracking of the guns of Tom and Buck. As Whitey held
the almost fear-maddened Monty in check, the wild-eyed steers, with
lowered heads and panting sides, sped by. At their head Whitey saw Tom
swing nearer toward the leaders, then he saw Tom no more. There were two
dangers to be feared in that mad race; if a steer fell, the others would
trip over it, and many of them would die; if a man were caught in the
rushing mass, it meant sure death.

Morning came, with the sun graying the low clouds, from which fell a
cold drizzle; a setting drear enough for the scene the boys were to
witness. A handful of gaunt men, sad but determined, their spent,
drooping horses near by, stood facing a shallow grave scooped out of the
prairie. Near it lay a blanket-covered figure that the dreaded stampede
had crushed into a shape of which Whitey feared to think.

As the cowboys lowered the shape into the grave, Buck Milton turned his
head away for a moment. Then he said simply, "Tom was my pardner for
nine years." And again, after a pause, "And who's goin' t' tell his gal
over on the Little Divide?"

There seemed no need for words just then, for after their grief for
their friend the men's faces showed the turn of thought to his
murderers, the sheepmen. Whitey never had seen the intent to kill come
into men's faces before. It was grim, but not repulsive, for in a way
there was justice in it. And poor Tom, who yesterday had been less than
a name to Whitey, had now become the central figure in a tragedy.

But no one could have told what Injun thought. He, who came of a race
that held vengeance above most things, looked on, seemingly unmoved.

Followed busy days on the Star Circle, during which Walt Lampson
probably forgot the existence of Whitey and Injun. It was doubtful to
the boys that he even noticed them when they rode back to the ranch
house, after the funeral of Buck's friend Tom. Whatever thoughts of
revenge were cherished by Walt and Buck had to be held in check while
the stampeded herds were rounded up from the many-mile radius of prairie
over which they had strayed.

To do this the entire force of the Star Circle was needed. Divided into
parties the men rode north, east, south, and west for a distance of
about twenty miles. Then they trailed round and round, in a great,
narrowing circle that took in that wide radius, and as the cattle were
met, in bunches or small herds, they were