that they were the ones that took fright earlier in
the evening, and were on a dead run, when Ballyhoo shot down the
Comanche that was pursuing Avon Burnet. The cattle had drifted a
considerable way, but they were soon brought under control and headed in
the right direction.

All was going well, when off they went again at a more frantic rate than
before. The cowboys were at loss to understand what caused the new
outbreak, when, to their amazement, three Comanches appeared in their
front.

The dusky scamps did their best to run them off, but it was evident they
were afraid of the Texans, who made a dash for them, whereupon they
disappeared.

But they had turned the cattle in a new direction, and the Texans had
all their work to do over again. There was little prospect of success,
until Ballyhoo and Avon added their efforts, when matters assumed a
better shape.

But the trouble was by no means over. If these animals should plunge
into the main herd at the rate they were now going, they were sure to
spread the panic, with the probability that the whole two thousand would
soon be on the run, and the difficulty of the ranchmen intensified
ten-fold.

Accordingly, as the ground was approached, the four horsemen resorted to
the well-known practice of what may be called rounding-up. They galloped
back and forth, on the outer edge of the herd, and here and there,
circumnavigating them continually and as fast as the fleetness of their
mustangs would permit.

By this means they finally succeeded in turning the heads of the cattle
toward each other, and they were crowded into a compact mass, whose
members were obliged to stand still, since they were huddled in one
heap, with the yelling cowboys careering back and forth, around the
circumference.

This was not accomplished a moment too soon, for they were close upon
the main herd, which showed a restlessness that might have broken forth
into another stampede, but for the skill of the other cowboys who had
them in charge.

When the reunion of the Texans took place near the camp-fire, and there
was a general talk over the incidents of the evening, the arrangements
were made for the night. All had been so actively engaged that rest
would have been acceptable, but there was not one who would have
murmured, had he been ordered to take his position and hold it for
hours.

Indeed Avon Burnet volunteered to do his part in looking after the
cattle that it was necessary to keep