dsmen have done since time immemorial.

The cook, a sullen man at best, grumbled audibly at the increase of his
duties. Where before he had cooked for six men, now he must cook and clean
up for twelve. All things considered, it was a "helluva" note, he
declared, until Sims, overhearing his remarks, booted him a couple of
times around the cook wagon, so that he much preferred the arduous duties
of his calling.

"If yuh could only make every man love his job by contrast with somethin'
else a lot worse, what a peaceful world this would be," thought Sims.
"Now, sheep-herdin' ain't so plumb gentle yuh could call it a vacation,
but when I think of cows an' a round-up I shore do bless them old
blackfaces for bein' alive."

Finally the long-drawn yell of the cook gave notice that the meal was
ready and all hands fell to with a will. They had hardly got started,
however, when there came a sound of galloping feet from the north that
brought them all upstanding and reaching for their weapons.

Over a near-by hill swept a body of perhaps fifty horsemen, each with a
rifle across his saddle and a revolver at hip. They were typical
plainsmen, and as the last radiance of the sun lighted them up, Sims could
see that they wore the regular broad-brimmed white Stetsons of the cattle
men.

"Put down yore guns, boys," said Sims after a moment's thought. "Let's get
out o' this peaceable if we can."

The men put away their weapons and waited in silence. The horsemen swept
up at the tireless trot of the plains until they recognized the tall,
gaunt figure of the chief herdsman. Then, with a yell, they galloped into
camp, drew rein abruptly, and dismounted.

Sims recognized the leader as Jimmie Welsh, the foreman of Larkin's
Montana sheep ranch, and a happy, contented grin spread over his face.

"Glory be, boys!" he yelled, going forward to meet the horsemen. "Rustle
around there, cookee," he called back over his shoulder, "yuh got company
fer supper!"

The riders after their long journey were only too glad to see a permanent
camp, and dismounted with grunts of pleasure and relief. They had come a
distance of nearly two hundred and fifty miles in four days, and their
horses were no longer disposed to pitch when their riders got upon them in
the morning. The party was composed of all the available men from Larkin's
ranch and others from the neighboring places.

In these men the hatred of cowmen and their ways was even more intense
than