uddle, Bud. If any of your other cattle happen to drink here
they'll get the disease, too, and bump off."

That was his way of saying that the steers would die.

"I'll do that!" declared Bud. "We can cut the water off from this part
of the range. But what causes the epidemic, Doc? Dad was careful not
to send me any of his infected cattle from Square M, and he said you'd
examined all that came, and they didn't have any of the trouble."

"They didn't," declared the veterinarian. "I examined them all, and
nothing was wrong with them. But this epidemic is a germ disease, Bud,
and we don't exactly know how the germs are carried. It may be
something the cattle eat; the bunch grass or other fodder, in the
water; or it may come out of the air. All we know is that certain
germs, in some, as yet unknown, way, enter into the system of the
steer. They get into the blood through the mouth or nostril, or
perhaps from a scratch or cut. And once the germs are there, so rapid
is the action that the animals die over night--as yours have done, and
as your father's did."

"Has dad lost any more?" asked Bud.

"Not that I've heard of. In fact I thought by his action, in sending
the healthy animals of his Square M herd here, and to his other
ranches, that he'd gotten the best of it. But now the epidemic breaks
out here. I can't understand it!"

The veterinarian stood looking down at the dead animal, while the
buzzards patiently waited nearby for the feast they knew belonged to
them. Evidently they were not fearful of germs.

"What's that funny smell?" suddenly asked Nort.

"That? Oh, it's the smell characteristic of the disease," replied Dr.
Tunison. "Not very pleasant. I got some of the pus on my
hands--that's why I washed and disinfected them. Well, Bud, I'm afraid
you're in for it!"

"You mean the epidemic may run through all my stock?" asked the boy
rancher, anxiously.

"It may, and that's the reason I'm putting you on your guard. But
let's hope for the best. We'll act promptly. Fence this place off, or
don't let any more water here, where other cattle can drink from the
pool, that must, of necessity, be contaminated, now that I washed my
hands in it, if for no other reason. Also separate the other cattle
into as many herds as you can handle. In this way, if the epidemic
gets among one bunch, you don't stand to lose so many. This is about
all you can do."

"No preventative measures?" asked Bud.

"No