fast the next morning,
when I asked him if he was in a position to recommend any special route,
he replied:

"No, Tom, that rests with you. One thing's certain; herds are going to
be dangerously close together on the regular trail which crosses Red
River at Doan's. The season is early yet, but over fifty herds have
already crossed the Texas Pacific Railway. Allowing one half the herds
to start north of that line, it gives you a fair idea what to expect.
When seven hundred thousand cattle left Texas two years ago, it was
considered the banner year, yet it won't be a marker to this one. The
way prices are tumbling shows that the Northwest was bluffing when they
offered to mature all the cattle that Texas could breed for the next
fifty years. That's the kind of talk that suits me, but last year there
were some forty herds unsold, which were compelled to winter in the
North. Not over half the saddle horses that came up the trail last
summer were absorbed by these Northern cowmen. Talk's cheap, but it
takes money to buy whiskey. Lots of these men are new ones at the
business and may lose fortunes. The banks are getting afraid of cattle
paper, and conditions are tightening. With the increased drive this
year, if the summer passes without a slaughter in prices, the Texas
drovers can thank their lucky stars. I'm not half as bright as I might
be, but this is one year that I'm smooth enough not to have unsold
cattle on the trail."

The herd had started an hour before, and when the wagon was ready to
move, I rode a short distance with my employer. It was possible that he
had something to say of a confidential nature, for it was seldom that
he acted so discouraged when his every interest seemed protected by
contracts. But at the final parting, when we both had dismounted and sat
on the ground for an hour, he had disclosed nothing. On the contrary,
he even admitted that possibly it was for the best that the other Buford
herds had held a westward course and thus avoided the crush on the main
routes. The only intimation which escaped him was when we had remounted
and each started our way, he called me back and said, "Tom, no doubt but
you've noticed that I'm worried. Well, I am. I'd tell you in a minute,
but I may be wrong in the matter. But I'll know before you reach Dodge,
and then, if it's necessary, you shall know all. It's nothing about
the handling of the herds, for my foremen have always considered my
interests first. Keep th