at you are, Uncle Dick," said John, leaving the fire
with a piece of bannock still in his hand.

"Well, what then?" smiled Uncle Dick.

"You're not an engineer--you're a contractor! That's what you are."

"It comes to the same thing. You'll have to learn how men work in the
open and get the big things done through doing little things well."

The boys now busied themselves about their first horse. After a while,
with considerable trouble and a little study, Rob turned to Uncle
Dick. "How's that for the cinch, sir?" he asked.

Uncle Dick tried to run his finger under the lash-hook and nodded
approvingly.

"Didn't it hurt him awfully?" asked Jesse. "He groaned as though it
did."

"Don't believe all the groans of a pack-horse in camp," said Uncle
Dick. "Try the girth a half-mile out on trail. But now hurry up with
the next ones. That's right, John, you're throwing the cross loop all
right. That's right--just remember to fix the hitch so it draws every
way--and don't forget to pull it tight."

The boys got on very well with their packing until they came to the
claybank horse which had given Moise so much trouble. This one proved
still rather wild, snorting and jumping about when they tried to put a
blanket and saddle on him.

"What are we going to do with him, Uncle Dick?" asked Rob. "The three
of us can hardly hold him."

"Oh, that's easy. Tie him to a tree and put this blinder over his
eyes." He kicked toward Rob a heavy piece of leather semicircular in
form and with a thong tied at the corners. Rob picked it up, and after
studying it for a moment dropped the blinder over the claybank's face.
To his surprise the horse now stood quite still.

"Well, what do you know about that? He thinks he's blind!" said Rob.

"Never mind what he thinks. Just go ahead and pack him."

Very much to their surprise, the boys found that as long as the
claybank had the blinder over his eyes he stood quite patient and
docile, not making any protest against the saddle or packs, although
when they removed the blinder he snorted and kicked about quite a bit,
testing thoroughly the hitch-rope by which he had been made fast. When
the time came to start, however, he had once more changed his mind,
and took his place meekly at the end of the train.

Meantime Moise had started up all the saddle-ponies, and the boys,
slinging their rifles and other gear to the saddles, all were soon
mounted and on the trail even before the sun was fifteen