The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1918-02-19

Tended. On the contrary, he seemed
glad that she took so keen an interest
In his affairs. ut has been q week,
you know, since they few the coop. 1
did hunt every foot of that Cove twice
over. l drove every hoof of stock up
and corraled them and made sure these
four were not In the herd. Then L
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 l began riding out
side. There isn't a trace of them any
where. l had just bought them from
Seabeck, you know. l drove them
home, and because they were tired,
and so was l, / just left them in that
upper meadow as | came down the
gorge. l hadn't branded them yet. L
/ know I've made an awful botch of
the thing, Miss Louise" he confessed,
turning toward her with an honest dis
tress and a 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 l 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 a rabbit.
II hate to bother you with this, and
l don't want you to think | have come
whining for sympathy" he said after
a minute of moody silence. But, see
ing 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 a little to herself.
II he had not beer quite so green al
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 1t was mere
ly a twitch of the lips which might
anything.
"I-yes, / 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 1t? Seabeck puts his brand up
side DOWN
: II know Seabeck's vent" Billy Louise
cut in. There was no need of letting
such a fine fellow display more ig-
uorance on the subject. And / should
have noticed II IL 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.
II didn't have my branding iron with
me-" Charlie answered humbly. II
have done that before, when / 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
out losing them"
But you must understand I did. I
took them home and turned them into
the Cove. / know-Tm an awful cbump
at this"
AZ SaifCo Ahay hOt NC dbcVaotCAJ
lost, you know. Why, I lost a big
steer last spring and never found him
till / was going to sell a few head.
Then he turned up, the biggest and fat
test one In the bunch. You can't tell.
They get themselves in queer places
sometimes. I'll come over tomorrow
If / can and take a look at that pasture
and all around. And I'll keep a good
lookout for the calves"
Many men would have objected to
the unconscious patronage of her tone.
That Charlie Fox did not, but accept
ed the spirit of ~helpfulness in her
words, lifted him out of the small ma
tured class.
"It's awfully good of you," he said.
you know a lot more about the bovine
nature than l do, for all l put In every
spare minute studying the subject. I'm
taking four different stock journals
now, Miss Louise. I'll bet l know a lot
more about the different strains OF va
rious breeds than you do. Miss Cattle
Queen. But I'm beginning to see that
we only know what we learn by e.
perience. I've a new book on the SUD-
ject of heredity of the cattle. I'm go
ing home and see IL Seabeck hasn't
stumbled upon a strain that a be
traced back to your native mountain
sheep"
Billy Louise laughed and said good
by and stood leaning W. the gate
watching him as he zigzagged up the
hill. stopping his horse often to breathe.
She began TO wonder, then, about those
calves. Vented and not ~rebranded.
they would be easy game for any nan
who first got his W brand on them.
She meant to get a description Of them
when she saw Charlie again-it was
like his innocence to forget the most
essential details-and she meant to
keep her eyes open. If Charlie were
right about the calves not being any
where In the cove. then they had been
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