ed near by. "Where you will go
there will be the hard riding and the fighting, perhaps. It is not
good to kill a man. But it is not good to be killed. The hot
word--the quarrel--and some day a man will try to kill you. See! I
have left the holster open at the end. I have taught you that
trick--but do not tie the holster down if you would shoot that way.
There is no more to say."

Pete thought so, so far as he was concerned. He was angry with himself
for having felt emotion and yet happy in that his break with Montoya
had terminated so pleasantly withal. "I'm goin' to town," he said,
"and git a boy to come out here. If I can't git a boy, I'll come back
and stay till you git one."

Montoya nodded and strode out to where the sheep had drifted. The dogs
jumped up and welcomed him. It was not customary for their master to
leave them for so long alone with the flock. Their wagging tails and
general attitude expressed relief.

Pete, topping the rise that hides the town of Concho from the northern
vistas, turned and looked back. Far below, on a slightly rounded knoll
stood the old herder, a solitary figure in the wide expanse of mesa and
morning sunlight. Pete swung his hat. Montoya raised his arm in a
gesture of good-will and farewell. Pete might have to come back, but
Montoya doubted it. He knew Pete. If there was anything that looked
like a boy available in Concho, Pete would induce that boy to take his
place with Montoya, if he had to resort to force to do so.

Youth on the hilltop! Youth pausing to gaze back for a moment on a
pleasant vista of sunshine and long, lazy days--Pete brushed his arm
across his eyes. One of the dogs had left the sheep, and came frisking
toward the hill where Pete stood. Pete had never paid much attention
to the dogs, and was surprised that either of them should note his
going, at this time. "Mebby the doggone cuss knows that I'm quittin'
for good," he thought. The dog circled Pete and barked ingratiatingly.
Pete, touched by unexpected interest, squatted down and called the dog
to him. The sharp-muzzled, keen-eyed animal trotted up and nosed
Pete's hand. "You 're sure wise!" said Pete affectionately. Pete was
even more astonished to realize that it was the dog he had roped
recently. "Knowed I was only foolin'," said Pete, patting the dog's
head. The sheep-dog gazed up into Pete's face with bright, unblinking
eyes that questioned, "Why was Pete leaving camp early in