d at our insignificant crowd
with contempt; but the count which followed showed we had not lost a
hoof since we left the Nueces, although for the last ten nights the
stock had had the fullest freedom.

The receiving outfit looked the brands over carefully. The splendid
grass and water of the past two weeks had transformed the famishing herd
of a month before, and they were received without a question. Rounding
in our _remuda_ for fresh mounts before starting to town, the vaqueros
and I did some fancy roping in catching out the horses, partially from
sheer lightness of heart because we were at our journey's end, and
partially to show this north Texas outfit that we were like the
proverbial singed cat--better than we looked. Two of Turtle's men rode
into town with us that evening to lead back our mounts, the outfit
having come in purposely to receive the horse herd and drive it to their
ranch in Young County. While riding in, they thawed nicely towards us,
but kept me busy interpreting for them with our Mexicans. Tuttle and
Deweese rode together in the lead, and on nearing town one of the
strangers bantered Pasquale to sell him a nice maguey rope which the
vaquero carried. When I interpreted the other's wish to him, Pasquale
loosened the lasso and made a present of it to Tuttle's man. I had
almost as good a rope of the same material, which I presented to the
other lad with us, and the drinks we afterward consumed over this slight
testimony of the amicable relations existing between a northern and
southern Texas outfit over the delivery and receiving of a horse herd,
showed no evidence of a drouth. The following morning I made inquiry for
Frank Nancrede and the drovers who had driven a trail herd of cattle
from Las Palomas two seasons before. They were all well known about the
fort, but were absent at the time, having put up two trail herds that
spring in Uvalde County. Deweese did not waste an hour more than was
necessary in that town, and while waiting for the banks to open,
arranged for our transportation to San Antonio. We were all ready to
start back before noon. Fort Worth was a frontier town at the time,
bustling and alert with live-stock interests; but we were anxious to get
home, and promptly boarded a train for the south. After entering the
train, our _segundo_ gave each of the vaqueros and myself some spending
money, the greater portion of which went to the "butcher" for fruits. He
was an enterprising fellow and