flock, what with bears, and bob-cats, and
cougars, and coyotes--I dinna see how it would ever be dull."

"That is because you love your work, Sandy," said Mr. Clark.

"I do. Take me from the ranch, sir, and blindfold me even, and I verily
believe I'd find my way back again. Now a bit more about the coyotes. If
you are to be of help you must hear all I can tell you so that you will
know the better how to fight 'em. Sometimes they'll yelp like a dog and
trick you into thinking your own collies are in trouble; but do not
trust them. 'Twill be no collies but themselves that are barking. Again
they will cheat you into believing that they are far away, so gentle
will be their cry; that is to throw you off the track. Or they will bark
in two keys as if there were twice as many of them as there really are.
They are the canny ones! Then when you pick up your gun and go where you
think they are, they will no be there; 'twill be at a different spot
they are at work."

"Well, Don," said Mr. Clark, "I do not see but you and I have something
ahead of us. I am afraid we shall be of very little help, Sandy. Why,
one ought to be an expert to catch such a gamester as a coyote!"

"Then you're no grudging us the loss of six lambs, Mr. Clark."

"I do not see how you did so well--to lose only six in a great flock
like this!"

"But even so, sir, I was that wrathful when I found I had been outwitted
I could have cried. You see six or seven coyotes put their heads
together, as they have a way of doing, and cut a group of lambs off from
the herd--got between them and the flock. It took the dogs to drive 'em
away. Robin and the Prince are great fighters, and Colin is not far
behind. Before we got rid of them, though, we had lost three lambs. The
next time they tried a different trick: part of them barked and drew the
dogs to a corner of the pasture, and then the rest came down on the
unprotected end of the fold and carried away three more lambs."

"Is there nothing that will stop them?" asked Donald.

"We have tried many things. Some herders put strychnine in the carcasses
of dead lambs and poison a few of the coyotes; most of them are too
clever to be caught that way, though. The government has also killed
many. Perhaps to-night, Don, you may have a share in the good work. But
I warn you do not send a bullet through one of my dogs, thinking his
barking is the yelp of one of these range thieves."

"Indeed I'll be careful," Donald promis