.

"That poling of the river was all a bluff," said Nort.

"Oh, not exactly," declared Billee. "They used the poles to try to
find a place free from quicksands. Not findin' it opposite our fort,
they decided to try farther down. Then some smart Aleck among 'em--an'
we got to give 'em credit for it--thought of makin' it look as though
they were givin' up--retreatin', so to speak.

"That's the way it looked to us, and we crowed too soon, jest as I said
a minute ago. They kept on goin', circled around an' now there they
are, ready to cross Spur Creek farther away."

"But we can stop 'em there, same as we could here," said Dick.

"Yes, but we got to move our base of supplies an' that takes time,"
said Billee. "An' while we're doin' that they may make a
crossin'--that is, if they can avoid the quicksands. They may even
find a ford down there, so the sheep can walk over without havin' to
swim." In his excitement Billee dropped most of his final g's, and
clipped his other words.

"There is a ford there," declared Lanky, the tall, thin cowboy.

"Any quicksands?" Nort wanted to know.

"That I can't say. The sands shift so you can't tell where they are."

"Well, there's only one thing to do," declared Bud. "Some of us have
got to go down there and stop 'em from crossing. This is the first
skirmish of the fight."

"We'll come with you," offered Nort and Dick.

"Hold on a minute--don't be rash," counseled Old Billee. "It'll take
more'n you three lads to stop them Greasers and the sheep."

"Well, we're under your orders," Bud admitted, saluting the veteran.

"Well then, you three go," advised Billee, "and Snake and Kid will go
with you. We'll bring some grub down to you."

For it might be too late to wait until after breakfast, simple as that
meal was, and as quickly served as it could be. There was no time to
be lost. Bud and his boy-rancher cousins realized this.

Soon they were in their saddles, riding down the creek toward where the
sheep had been herded together on the southern side of the stream.
There were the same bunch of Greasers--the boys easily picked out and
recognized certain characters, even across the creek, which was wider
here and more shallow.

If Bud and the others expected to engage in a sharp fight as soon as
they reached the scene, they were disappointed. True, the sheep
herders became aware of their arrival, and there was some talk, and not
a little excitement, among the Grea