. That was fair, wasn't it?"

"Perfectly!" nodded Donald.

"Alack! It is a sad thing that there are people in the world who do not
love their country well enough to obey her laws. If they are too stupid
to see the laws are for their good why can't they trust the government?
Here the government was going to give the herders better pastures and
keep their flocks from being molested in them. Wouldn't you think a man
with a grain of sense would see the wisdom of the plan!" Sandy's temper
began to rise once more. "But no! The herders just felt the rangers who
had been stationed to carry out the laws were enemies who had taken away
their freedom. So when the rangers did not see them they tried every way
to steal into the reserves without permits. Two men would start with
their flocks; one would take the attention of the ranger by showing his
permit and while the ranger was busy with him the other man would slide
into the reserve far down the line where he was not noticed."

"What a mean trick!" cried Donald. "And what if the ranger happened to
see him?"

"Oh, he would gallop after him and ride into his flock, scattering it
every which way as he tried to drive the sheep out of the reserve. Often
the herder would lose hundreds of them."

"Served him right!"

"That's what I think, too," grinned Sandy. "The like are not all dead
yet either--worse luck! And this brings me back to the matter of my
permit, Mr. Clark. We are two permits short, sir. The new herds that
came from Kansas City are not counted into our old rating. Did you think
of that? Having more sheep this year we must pay in more money. You
didn't happen to remember, did you, to get permits for those extra
flocks?"

"No, Sandy, I didn't; but of course Thornton has attended to it. See,
here he comes. We will ask him. Thornton," he called, as the big fellow
passed the door, "what are we going to do about permits for the new
herds? They are not included in the tax we now pay."

"Don't you worry about more permits, Mr. Clark. I can save you a penny
on that," declared Thornton with a knowing wink. "You pay the government
enough as it is. Leave it to me, sir. I'll see that the herds get into
the range all right, and that it costs you no more. When Sandy goes in
he can talk with the ranger. All the rangers know him and they never
will suspect him. In the meantime Owen can take the Kansas City herd and
slip in further down the line. There is no danger of our being cau