emselves."

"Do they know anything at all, Sandy?" queried Donald, laughing.

"They do so. In some ways they are canny enough. They will scent a
storm, and when one is coming never a peg will they stir to graze. They
give a queer cry, too, when they find water--a cry to tell the others in
the flock; and if the water is brackish or tainted they make a different
sound as if to warn the herd. Sheep are very fussy about what they
drink. It's a strange lot they are, sure enough!"

"I shouldn't think they would know enough to follow their leaders even
if they had any," remarked Donald.

"Well, you see there is a sort of instinct born in 'em to tag after each
other. Besides, they learn to follow by playing games. Yes, indeed,"
protested Sandy, as Donald seemed to doubt his words, "sheep are very
fond of games. There are a number of different ones that they play. The
one they seem to like best is 'Follow the Leader.' I don't know as you
ever played it, but when I was a lad I did."

"Of course I have played it. We used to do it at recess."

"Well, the sheep like it as well as you, and it is a lucky thing, for it
teaches them one of the very things we want them to learn. They will
often start out, one old sheep at the head, and all the others will fall
into line and do just what that sheep at the front does. So they learn
the trick of keeping their eyes on a few that are wiser than they, and
doing what the knowing ones do. They seem to have no minds of their
own--they just trail after their leaders. If we can get leaders that are
able to see what we want done it is a great help."

"I should think so!"

"When we have selected our leaders we then scatter markers through each
band of sheep."

"And what are markers, Sandy?"

"For a marker you must take a black-faced sheep--or, mayhap, one with a
crumpled horn; he must have something queer about him so you will know
him right off when he is mixed in with the flock. We put these markers
at the beginning of every hundred sheep. It makes it easier to keep
track of the herd."

"I'm sorry to be so stupid, Sandy," Donald said, "but I don't think I
just understand about the markers."

"We have two thousand sheep in a band," explained the herder kindly.
"Now if one of our markers is missing we reckon that a hundred sheep are
gone. No one sheep ever strays off by himself, you may be sure of that.
When sheep stray they stray in bunches. If a marker wanders off you can
safely figu