The Celina Democrat. (Celina, O. [Ohio]) 1895-1921, 1917-12-14

Cove, among all those willows? It's a
perfect jungle away down. Are you
sure they aren't with the rest of the
cattle? / don't see how they could
leave the Cove unless they were driv-
en- out"
"Yes, thought of that-strange as it
may SEEM" Charles voice was unof-
Tended. On the contrary, he seemed
glad that she took so keen an interest
in his affairs. ut has been week,
you know, since they flew the coop.
did hunt every foot of that Cove twice
over drove every hoof of stock up
and c0rraled them and made sure these
four were not in the herd. Then
hunted through every inch of that will
low jungle and all along the bluff and
the river Miss Louise, | put in three
days at 1t, from sunrise till 1t was too
dark to see. Then | began riding out
side. There isn't trace of them any
where. | had just bought them from
Seabeck, you know. | drove them
home, and because they were tired
and so was /, just left them in that
upper meadow as | came down the
gorge. l hadn't branded them yet /
| know I've made an awful bOtch of
the thing, Miss Louise" he confessed,
turning toward her with an honest dis
tress and self-flaying humility in his
eyes that wiped from Billy Louise's
mind any incipient tendency toward
contempt But you see I'm green at
this ranch game. And never dreamed
those calves weren't perfectly safe in
there. The fence was new and strong,
and the bars are absolutely bars to any
stock larger than rabbit
81 hate to bother you with this, and
| don't want you to think | have come
whining for sympathy" he said after
a minute of moody silence. But, see
ins they were not branded yet-with
our brandt thought perhaps you had
run across them and paid no attention,
thinking they belonged to Seabeck."
Billy Louise smiled little to herself.
If he had not been quite so green at
the ranch game" he would have men
toned brands at first as the most i'm
portant point instead of lacking on the
information casually after ten minutes
of other less vital details.
Were they vented?" she asked. sup
pressing the smile so that it was mere
ly twitch Of the lips which might
mean anything.
"I-yes, l think they were. That's
what you call it when the. former own
er puts his brand in a different place
to show that his ownership has ceased,
isn't it? Seabeck puts his brand up
side DOWN
Il know Seabeck's vent" Billy Louise
cut in. There was no need of letting
such a fine fellow display more ig-
norance on the subject And / should
have noticed it if l had seen four
calves vented fresh and not rebranded.
Why in the world didn't you stick your
brand on at the same timer" Billy
Louise was losing patience with his
greenness.
81 didn't have my branding iron with
me-" Charlie answered humbly. II
have done that before, when l bought
those other cows and calves. L"
You'd better pack your iron next
time" she retorted. "If you can't get
a little bunch of calves ten miles with |
lut losing them"
But you must understand l did. |
.oolI them home and turned them into
he Cove. l know-Im an awful chump
1t this"
THE calves may not be absolutely
Ost, you know. Why, | lost a big
steer last spring and never found him
i'll | was going to sell a few head.
Then he turned up, the biggest and fat
est one in the bunch. You can't tell
They get themselves in queer places
ometimeS. I'll come over tomorrow
f can and take look at that pasture
nd all around. And I'll keep a good
oOkOut for the calves"
Many men would have objected to
he unconscious patronage of her tone
That Charlie Fox did not, but accept
d the spirit of helpfulness in her
words, lifted him out of the small ma
ured class.
Its awfully good of you" he said.
You know lot more about the bovine
ature than | do for all put in every
pare minute studying the subject I'm
lking four different stock journals
ow, Miss Louise. I'll bet | know lot [
lore about the different strains of va
ious breeds than you do Miss Cattle
'ueen. But I'm beginning to see that I
'e only know what we learn by ex- S
erience. I've new book on the sub '
ect of heredity of the cattle. I'm GO {
lg home and see if Seabeck hasn't {
Jumbled upon strain that can be
'aced back to your native mountain
leep."
Billy Louise laughed and said good
Y and stood leaning over the gate >
atching him as he zigzagged up the
III, stopping his horse often to breathe
he began to wonder, then, about those a
lives. Vented and not rebranded, g
ley would be easy game for any man n
no first got his own brand on them g
le meant to get description of them Ii
hen she saw Charlie again-it was "
xe his innocence to forget the most tt
sential details-and she meant to tt
9ep her eyes open. If Charlie were Il
ght about the calves not being any 81
here in the cove, then they had been
iven out of it, stolen. Billy Louise 81
rned dejectedly away from the fence b
ID went down to shady nook by the a
eek, where she had always liked to 81
her worrying and hard thinking. al
The next day she rode early to the IL
we and learned some things from W