s upon the prairie country. Under the
eternal law of necessity,--the necessity of sunburnt, stunted
grass,--the boundaries of the range extended far in every direction. The
herds bearing the Box R brand no longer fed in one body, but scattered
far and wide. Often for a week at a time the men did not sleep under
cover. Morning and night, when a semblance of dew was upon the blighted
grass, the cattle grazed. The life was primitive and natural almost
beyond belief in a world of artificial civilization; but it was
independent, care-free, and healthy.

The land surrounding the ranch-house was now almost as bare as the palm
of a hand. Only one object relieved the impression of desolation, and
that was a tree. It stood carefully fenced about in the drain from the
big artesian well,--a vivid blot of green against the dun background.
The first year after he came, Rankin had imported it,--a goodly sized
soft maple; and in the pathway of constantly trickling water, it had
grown and prospered. It was the only tree for miles and miles about,
except the scrawny scrub-oaks, cotton-woods, and wild plums that flanked
the infrequent creeks,--creeks which in Summer, save in deepest holes,
reverted to mere dry runs. Beneath its shade Rankin had constructed a
rough bench, and therein Ma Graham, day after day when her housework was
finished, dozed and sewed and dozed again, apparently as forgetful as
the cowboys upon the prairies that beyond her vision were great cities
where countless thousands of human beings sweltered and struggled in
desperate competition for daily bread.

So much for the day. With the coming of dusk, a coolness like a
benediction took the place of heat. The south wind gradually died down
with the descending sun, until immediately following the setting it was
absolutely still; now it sprang up anew, and wandered on until the break
of day.

Such an evening in late July found Rankin and Baker stretched out like
boys upon a pile of hay in the latter's yard. The big man had just
arrived; the old buckboard, with its mouse-colored mustangs, stood just
as he had driven it up. Scotty knew him well enough to know that he had
come for a purpose, and he awaited its revelation. Rankin slowly filled
and lit his pipe, drew thereon until the glow from the bowl was
reflected upon his face, and blew a great cloud of smoke out into the
gathering dusk.

"Baker," he asked at last, "what are we going to do for the education of
these yo