he knew the veteran had been in many more
engagements like this than had Bud himself. Also Bud was too good a
soldier to object to taking orders.

"All right," he finally said. "Suits me, Billee. How about you
fellows?" he asked Nort and Dick.

With short nods they agreed to Billee's plan, and a few minutes later
it was put into execution. The outfit from Diamond X separated, and
while Bud and his party spurred ahead to cut out the cattle, the others
circled around to make a "flank" attack, as it might be called.

"Here we go!" cried Bud who, naturally, was the leader of the "cutting
out" sally.

On rushed the horses, the boys clapping heels to them and "fanning"
them with their hats to urge them to greater speed. They were quite
close, now, to the band of cattle being hazed away, and on some of the
lagging steers could be made out the branding marks of the Diamond X
ranch.

"Those are ours all right!" cried Bud to his cousins.

"And we'll have 'em back soon," added Dick.

"We'd better begin shooting," called out Hank, one of the two cowboys
who had been assigned to duty with Bud.

This was not as serious as it sounds, for the shots were not to be
directed at the rustlers but fired in the air to startle the cattle.
In cutting out, or, rather, in separating from those who had stolen
them the steers from Diamond X, it was necessary to get the animals on
the run. They could then more easily be driven where they were wanted.

By this time, of course, the rustlers knew they were in danger not only
of losing their ill-gotten cattle, but of losing their own freedom and
perhaps their lives. They could be arrested and sent to jail for theft
if they were caught.

For a few minutes after the pursuit became close, the rustlers made an
attempt to get the cattle into one of the many small valleys with which
the country around there abounded. But they soon saw that it was a
losing fight. The animals were too wearied to be driven at much speed.

Then some order seemed to have been given by the leader of the
rustlers, for the nondescript bunch of cattle thieves swung off, and
practically abandoned their four-footed charges.

This made it easier for the boy ranchers, though the task of urging the
cattle away from the line they were traveling was hard enough at best.

"Come on!" yelled Bud, when he saw what was happening. "We've got 'em
going!"

This was true, as regarded the rustlers. They were about to save