know what did it."

"Yes?"

"It was that clumsy friend of yours."

"The gopher?" asked Big-foot.

"Allee same, as Pong would say. That boy is the limit. Is he always
falling into trouble that way?"

"Yes, or falling off a pony," laughed Tad.

"There he comes, now."

Stacy rode up to them, his face serious and thoughtful.

"Well, young man, what have you to say for yourself?" asked the foreman.

"I was going to ask you, sir, where we are going to get our breakfast?"

Stallings glanced at Tad and Big-foot, with a hopeless expression in his
eyes.

"Go ask the Chinaman," he answered rather brusquely.

"I can't. He isn't here."

"Well, that's the answer," laughed the foreman, riding to the river bank
and surveying the stream critically.

Tad and Big-foot Sanders joined him almost immediately.

"Think we can make it, chief?"

"I think so, Sanders. One of us had better ride over and back to test
the current."

"I'll try it for you," said Tad.

"Go ahead. Sanders, you ride back and tell Lumpy to return to camp and
bring on the outfit. They can't reach us until late in the afternoon, as
it is. I presume that slant-eyed cook is sitting in his wagon waiting
for us to come back. Hurry them along, for we shall be hungry by the
time we have finished this job."

Tad promptly spurred his pony into the stream. After wading out a little
way he slipped off into the water, hanging by the pommel, swimming with
one hand to relieve the pony as much as possible.

The boy made the crossing without mishap, Stallings observing the
performance to note how far down the stream the pony would drift. Tad
landed some five rods lower down. On the return, the drift was not quite
so noticeable.

"We'll make it," announced the foreman. "If you want to dry out, ride
back and tell the bunch to crowd the cattle in as rapidly as possible.
The faster we can force them in the less they will drift down stream."

"Very well, sir," replied the boy, galloping off to deliver his message.

With a great shouting and much yelling the cowboys began their task of
urging the cattle into the river. Not being over-thirsty, it was no easy
task to induce the animals to enter the water, but when the leaders
finally plunged in the rest followed, fairly piling on top of one
another in their efforts to follow the pilots of the herd. Above and
below, the cowboys who were not otherwise engaged were swimming the
river endeavoring to keep the animals fro