et
control of him," ventured Donald, much interested.

"That is just it! He must come even if he knows he is to be shot the
next minute. There is no safety for the sheep unless it is so. My dogs
would come to me willy-nilly."

"Isn't it wonderful?"

"Yes, unless you have been months and months, as I was, getting them to
do it; and even then it is rather wonderful. But a thing quite as
wonderful as that is that they know every sheep in the flock. Let a ewe
from another fold come in and they will scent her quick as lightning.
And there is something else they will do: they understand well as
ourselves that sheep will walk right over ledges and into pits, one
after another; so the collies will stand guard at the edges of such
places and warn 'em off. What is that but human, I ask you?"

Donald nodded.

"The men down at Crescent say," went on Sandy smiling broadly, "that I
am daffy about dogs--my own dogs most of all. Well, haven't I cause?
There is not a shepherd in this part of the country but would swap his
collies for mine; or they'd buy them. I've been offered many a dollar
for the two. But I'm no swapping my dogs, nor selling them, either!
Sometimes, you know, we fat up sheep for the market and sell them as
muttons. We then have to get the sheep into cars to send them off and it
is no so easy if they haven't the mind to go. Well, you should see
Robin and the Prince at the job. They will run right along the backs of
the herd, biting the necks of the leaders until they get them aimed
where they want 'em to go; then they'll nip the heels of the others till
they march up the planks into the cars neat as a line of soldiers. Or
they will drive a flock onto a boat the same way. It is a great thing to
get dogs that can do that. It takes more wit than a man has. Once a
sheep-raiser from California saw Robin down at Glen City getting a lot
of sheep off to Chicago on the train and he was hot for having him. He
offered me into the hundreds if I would let him take the collie back
with him."

"And you wouldn't sell?"

"The money ain't coined would tempt me to part with either of my dogs!"
Sandy replied, with a contented shake of his head.

He did not speak again, but lapsed into a thoughtful silence.

There were many of these long silences during those days on the hills
and to his surprise Donald had come to enjoy them. At first he had
looked forward eagerly to the coming of the camp-tender, who made his
rounds three tim