of ground, had
appeared the silent figure of a horse and man, one of the Bar T range
riders.

Six distant, warning pistol shots had rung out, and then the horse and
rider had disappeared across the plain at a headlong gallop.

CHAPTER V

STRATEGY AND A SURPRISE

"Gub pi-i-i-le!" yelled the cook at the top of his voice.

The weary herders with Sims and Larkin answered the cry as one man, for
they were spent with the exertions of the night, and heavy-eyed from want
of sleep. The meal of mutton, camp-bread, beans, and Spanish onions was
dispatched with the speed that usually accompanied such ceremonies, and
Sims told off the herders to watch the flock while the others slept.

A general commanding soldiers would have pressed forward, thus increasing
the advantage gained in the enemy's country, but when sheep compose the
marching column, human desires are the last thing consulted. After their
long thirst and forced drive it was necessary that the animals recover
their strength for a day amid abundant feed and water.

Immediately after breakfast Larkin called a small, close-knit herder to
him.

"Can you ride a horse?" he asked.

"_Si, senor_," replied the man, who came originally from the southern
range.

"Then saddle that piebald mare and take provisions for four days. Travel
day and night until you reach the Larkin ranch in Montana, and give this
letter to the man who is in charge there."

Bud drew a penciled note from the pocket of his shirt and handed it to the
other. Then he produced a rough map of the country he had drawn and added
it to the letter, explaining a number of times the distances from point to
point, and tracing the route with his pencil. At last the herder
understood.

"Tell them to hurry," was Larkin's parting injunction, as the other turned
away to saddle the mare.

"_Si, senor_. Hurry like blazes, eh?" said Miguel, comprehending, with a
flash of white teeth.

"Exactly."

Hardly had the man galloped away north, following the bank of the river
for the better concealment past the Bar T range, when Sims languidly
approached.

"I reckon we're in for trouble, boss," he remarked, yawning sleepily, "an'
I'm plumb dyin' for rest, but I s'pose I better look over the country
ahead if we're goin' to get these muttons out o' here."

"I was just going to suggest it," said Larkin. "I am going to stay by the
camp and meet some friends of mine that I expect very shortly. Come back
_pronto