corralled before sun-up. Bob's wrangler was also with us, and he and
Levering quarreled all the way in about the respective merits of each
one's remuda. A match was arranged between the two horses which they
were riding, and on reaching a straight piece of road, my man won it
and also considerable money. But no matter how much we differed among
ourselves, when the interests of our employer were at stake, we were a
unit. On reaching town, our numbers were augmented by fully twenty
more from the other Lovell outfits, including the three foremen. My old
bunkie, The Rebel, nearly dragged me from my horse, while Forrest and I
forgot past differences over a social glass. And then there was Flood,
my first foreman, under whom I served my apprenticeship on the trail,
the same quiet, languid old Jim. The various foremen and their outfits
were aware of the impending trouble over the Buford delivery, and
quietly expressed their contempt for such underhand dealings. Quince
Forrest had spent the evening before in town, and about midnight his
herd of "Drooping T's" were sold at about the same figures as mine,
except five thousand more earnest-money, and the privilege of the buyers
placing their own foreman in charge thereafter. Forrest further reported
that the fiscal agent and the strangers had started to meet Sponsilier
early that morning, and that the probability of all the herds moving out
in a few days was good.

Seay and his charge were still absent, and the programme, as outlined,
was working out nicely. With the exception of Forrest and myself, the
other foremen were busy looking after their outfits, while Bob Quirk had
his wagon to load and start on its return. Quince confided to me that
though he had stayed on Duck Creek the night before, his herd would noon
that day on Saw Log, and camp that evening on the next creek north. When
pressed for his reasons, he shrugged his shoulders, and with a quiet
wink, said: "If this new outfit put a man over me, just the minute we
get out of the jurisdiction of this county, off his horse he goes and
walks back. If it's Tolleston, the moment he sees me and recognizes my
outfit as belonging to Lovell, he'll raise the long yell and let the cat
out. When that happens, I want to be in an unorganized country where a
six-shooter is the highest authority." The idea was a new one to me,
and I saw the advantage of it, but could not move without Siringo's
permission, which Forrest had. Accordingly ab