ad, which Ted, although his back was toward
Barrows, saw reflected in the window.

What could the matter be? Were they so short of beef at the post and a
beef issue coming off, and then attempt to bluff him with their army
rulings? He saw through it all, and now he would stand pat, and take
nobody's bluff.

The officer walked away at a signal from the colonel, who turned to Ted.

"I want you to go back to your herd and drive it into the government
pasture at once, do you hear, at once?" he said in a tone of great
severity.

"I think not," said Ted. "The herd stays where it is until morning, or
if it must be driven at all it will be over the way it came."

"What do you mean, sir?"

"I mean that I forfeit the contract. The cattle are mine to do with as I
please. I shall immediately proceed to drive them off the reservation."

"But that will ruin you."

"That's my business. Good evening, sir."

"Wait a moment. Don't you know that we must have the beef; that there is
an Indian beef issue to-morrow?"

"I didn't know it until a moment ago. Now I know a lot more than I did
when I came here."

"Confound it, boy, there'll be an Indian uprising if we don't give them
their beef to-morrow."

"That's for you to take care of. Good evening. The contract is declared
off."

CHAPTER XXVI.

A COMPROMISE.

Ted hurried back to the cow camp.

"Stuff's off," he shouted, when he came within shouting distance. The
boys, who were lounging around the fire, resting from their arduous
drive, sprang to their feet.

"What's the row?" asked big Ben Tremont.

"They insist upon our driving the herd about five miles farther into the
reservation to-night, so that that lazy lieutenant who is to do the
inspecting in the morning will have as little trouble as possible. I
refused to do it, and they tried to run a sandy on me, but I wouldn't
stand for it. If they'd been white to me I would have had the cattle in
there if it took me all night."

"That duck o' a lootenant wuz a trifle gay," said Bud. "He tried to run
a blazer on yer Uncle Dudley, but I told him to run along, an' I reckon
he'll have no Christmas present for me this year."

"Did you tell the boss there was nothing doing in the moving line?"
asked Ben.

"You bet I did," answered Ted. "That gay lieutenant who was here ran at
once to the boss with his tale of woe, and the boss threw his chest out
at me and tried the little-boy game on me. He thought he had me bluf