scal, and I had never wavered in my determination to get
the pick of that horse herd. Had I accepted his proposal, the chance of
a spinning coin might have given him a decided advantage, and I declined
his proposition. I had a remuda in sight that my very being had hungered
for, and now I would take no chance of losing it. But on the other hand,
I proposed to Forrest that he might have the assistance of two men in
Flood's outfit who had accompanied the horse herd home from Dodge. In
the selecting of Jim's extra twenty-five, the opinion of these two lads,
as the chosen horses proved, was a decided help to their foreman. But
Quince stood firm, and arguing the matter, we reached the corrals and
penned the band.

The two top bunches were held separate and were left a mile back on the
prairie, under herd. The other remudas were all in sight of the ranch,
while a majority of the men were eating a late dinner. Still contending
for his point, Forrest sent a lad to the house to ask our employer to
come over to the corrals. On his appearance, accompanied by Flood, each
of us stated our proposition.

"Well, the way I size this up," said old man Don, "one of you wants to
rely on his own judgment and the other don't. It looks to me, Quince,
you want a gambler's chance where you can't lose. Tom's willing to bank
on his own judgment, but you ain't. Now, I like a man who does his own
thinking, and to give you a good lesson in that line, why, divide them,
horse and horse, turn about. Now, I'll spin this coin for first pick,
and while it's in the air, Jim will call the turn.... Tom wins first
choice."

"That's all right, Mr. Lovell," said Quince, smilingly. "I just got
the idea that you wanted the remudas for the Buford herds to be equally
good. How can you expect it when Tom knows every horse and I never
saddled one of them. Give me the same chance, and I might know them as
well as the little boy knew his pap."

"You had the same chance," I put in, "but didn't want it. You were
offered the Pine Ridge horses last year to take back to Dodge, and you
kicked like a bay steer. But I swallowed their dust to the Arkansaw, and
from there home we lived in clouds of alkali. You went home drunk and
dressed up, with a cigar in your mouth and your feet through the car
window, claiming you was a brother-in-law to Jay Gould, and simply out
on a tour of inspection. Now you expect me to give you the benefit of my
experience and rob myself. Not this