n of slab-sided cowmen; he's pony-built enough to suit you, and I kind
o' like the color of his hair myself. Did you notice his neck?--he'll
never tie it if it gets broken. I like a short man; if he stubs his toe
and falls down he doesn't reach halfway home. Now, if he has as good cow
sense in receiving the herd as he had on the _remuda_, I'd kind o' like
to have him for a brother-in-law. I'm getting a little too old for
active work and would like to retire, but June, the durn fool, won't get
married, and about the only show I've got is to get a husband for you.
I'd as lief live in Hades as on a ranch without a woman on it. What do
you think of him?"

"Why, I think he's an awful nice fellow, but he won't talk. And besides,
I'm not baiting my hook for small fish like trail foremen; I was aiming
to keep my smiles for the contractors. Aren't they coming down?"

"Well, they might come to look the herd over before it starts out. Now,
Dupree is a good cowman, but he's got a wife already. And Camp, the
financial man of the firm, made his money peddling Yankee clocks. Now,
you don't suppose for a moment I'd let you marry him and carry you away
from Las Palomas. Marry an old clock peddler?--not if he had a million!
The idea! If they come down here and I catch you smiling on old Camp,
I'll set the hounds on you. What you want to do is to set your cap for
Nancrede. Of course, you're ten years the elder, but that needn't cut
any figure. So just burn a few smiles on the red-headed trail foreman!
You know you can count on your loving brother to help all he can."

The conversation was interrupted by our _segundo_ and the trail foreman
riding up to the cow pen. The two had been up the river during the
afternoon, looking over the cattle on the range, for as yet we had
not commenced gathering. Nancrede was very reticent, discovering a
conspicuous lack of words to express his opinion of what cattle Deweese
had shown him.

The second day after the arrival of the trail foreman, we divided our
forces into two squads and started out to gather our three-year-olds. By
the ranch records, there were over two thousand steers of that age in
the Las Palomas brand. Deweese took ten men and half of the ranch saddle
horses and went up above the mouth of the Ganso to begin gathering.
Uncle Lance took the remainder of the men and horses and went down the
river nearly to Shepherd's, leaving Dan Happersett and three Mexicans to
hold and night-herd the t