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safety.

Stella's good common sense had saved the herd.

CHAPTER III.

THE SIGN-CAMP GHOST.

As the last of the herd came out of the coulee to the open ground, a
cheer went up for Stella, who blushed rosy-red, and told the boys to
hush.

Then the drive to the big pasture began, word having been sent to McCall
to follow with the chuck wagon.

The big pasture ran north from the home pasture, which was near the
ranch house.

It comprised thousands of acres, and was so high that nearly always it
was free of snow, which the strong winds coming down from the mountains
swept as clear as if a gigantic broom had been used.

Back of the pasture lay a range of low mountains, the Sweet Grass they
were called, in which several high buttes towered like sentinels.

The Sweet Grass Mountains had the reputation of harboring a great many
"bad men," both whites and Indians, who had forsaken the Blackfeet
Indian reservation to the west.

The mountain valleys afforded a splendid protection for the cattle, as
did the numerous coulees with which the country was seamed.

The big pasture of the Long Tom was reputed to be the best winter
feeding ground in Montana. The grass was high and nutritious, and there
were plenty of water holes.

Once on the pasture the cattle scattered into smaller herds, each under
the leadership of a bull, while the steers drifted off by themselves.

All that was necessary to care for the herd was to ride the lines of the
pasture, and keep the cattle on their own feeding grounds, prevent them
from straying, and hunt down the packs of wolves which preyed upon the
weak cows and young cattle.

At stated intervals along the lines of the pasture were cabins, known as
"sign camps," in which the line riders lived.

The first sign camp out of the home pasture was eight miles distant, and
the next was under the lee of the mountains, on the west line.

As Ted directed the drive of the herd to the big pasture, on the south
and west line of which the first sign camp was situated, he cut out part
of the herd and held it back, while the remainder of the cattle went
forward.

At the first sign camp Bud and Carl were dropped, for they were to ride
the line to the north and east from that point.

Bud was glad to get some rest, and with a wave of the hand went on his
way to the camp to await the arrival of Carl, who had ridden back to the
ranch house for his blankets and other supplies.

During the da