ht sight of her red flannel
petticoat, and, faint, half-awakened objections stirring beneath his
sprouting horns, came back to challenge the goading colour and butt her
crossly in the skirts.

Just before dinner-time, and half-way of the plowed strip, going east,
Dallas suddenly lifted her shoulders to tighten the slack of the reins,
let go the horns and brought the mules to a stand. And then, as they
halted with lowered heads, she caught sight of the distant figures
between her and the horizon, recognising them as men, mounted and on
foot, with wagons hanging at their rear.

She stepped to the head of the team and shaded her eyes for a moment. As
she did so, a part of the advancing body detached itself and approached
more swiftly, only to retreat again; and the sun, climbing toward the
centre of the sky, flashed back upon bright objects carried at the front
of the group.

"Soldiers for Brannon, I reckon," she said aloud to Simon, who had given
over his butting and was thoughtfully sniffing the air. "Still," she
added, "they're coming slow for soldiers."

Simon rubbed a red shoulder against her arm confidingly and gave a
defiant, sideways toss of the head.

"_You_ know, don't you?" Dallas said, scratching the star in his curly
forehead. "Well, I would, too, if I had your nose." She glanced at the
mules and noted their lack of fright. "They're not Indians anyhow," she
went on, "so I guess we'll do some more plowing."

When the sun was so high that Simon's shadow made but a small splotch
upon the ground under him, Dallas again stopped to look toward the east.
The men and horses had travelled only a short distance, and were halted
for their noon rest. Close to the wagons, the smoke of burning
grass-twists was curling up from under the midday meal.

"They ain't soldiers," she said decisively; "if they was, they'd go on
to the ferry. And what _can_ they be, headed this way?" She took off her
hat and swung it at her father to attract his attention, then pointed
toward the men and teams.

Lancaster was sitting before the shack, his crutches across his knees.
Seeing her signal, he got up and hobbled hastily around the corner, from
where he blinked into the gap. And, unable to make out anything but a
blurred collection of moving things, he called Marylyn from her
dinner-getting.

"Come an' see w'at y' c'n make out off thar on th' prairie, Mar'lyn," he
cried. "Ef it's antelope, bring out th' Sharps."

Marylyn hurried