andling them are two different
things," remarked Pan thoughtfully. "Reckon I'll have to pass the buck
to you."

"Wal, pard, I'm shore there. We'll chase all the hosses into the big
corral. Then we'll pick out one at a time, an' if we cain't rope him
without scarin' the bunch too bad we'll chase him into the small
corral."

"Ah-uh! All right. But I'll miss my guess if we don't have a hot
dusty old time," replied Pan.

"Fellars," called Blinky, "come ararin' now, an' don't any of you
fergit your guns."

"How about hobbles?" inquired Pan.

"I've got a lot of soft rope, an' some burlap strips."

Gus and Brown brought in the saddle horses, and soon the men were
riding down to the corrals. This was a most satisfactory incident for
all concerned, and there were none not keen and excited to see the wild
horses, to pick and choose, and begin the day's work.

Upon their entrance to the first and smaller corral a string of lean,
ragged, wild-eyed mustangs trooped with a clattering roar back into the
larger corral.

"Wal, boys, the show begins," drawled Blinky. "Mr. Smith, you an'
Charley take your stands by the gate, to open it when you see us comin'
with a broomie we want to rope. An' Pan, you an' me an' Gus will ride
around easy like, not pushin' the herd at all. They'll scatter an'
mill around till they're tired. Then they'll bunch. When we see one
we want we'll cut him out, an' shore rope him if we get close enough.
But I reckon it'd be better to drive the one we want into the small
corral, rope an' hobble him, an' turn him out into the pasture."

The larger corral was not by any means round or level, and it was so
big that the mass of horses in a far corner did not appear to cover a
hundredth part of the whole space. There were horses all over the
corral, along the fences especially, but the main bunch were as far
away as they could get from their captors, and all faced forward, wild
and expectant.

It was a magnificent sight. Whether or not there was much fine stock
among them or even any, the fact remained that hundreds of wild horses
together in one drove, captive and knowing it, were collected in this
great trap. The intense vitality of them, the vivid coloring, the
beautiful action of many and the statuesque immobility of the majority,
were thrilling and all satisfying to the hearts of the captors.

Pan and Blinky and Gus spread out to trot their mounts across the
intervening space. The wild