Clearwater Republican. [volume] (Orofino, Idaho) 1912-1922, 1918-04-19

Sue. 1neEe 1871 trace VI them my
where. ! had just bought them from
Seabeck, you know. drove them
home, and because they were tired,
and so was I, 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 self-faying humility in his
eyes that w>ped 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 a rabbit
~ hate to bother you with this, and
l don't want you to think l have come
whining for sympathy" he said after
q 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 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
informant ton casually after ten minutes
Of other less vital details
Were they vented?" she asked, sup
pressing the smile SO that it was mere
~ a twitch of the lips which might
mean 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 it? seabeck puts his brand up
side DOWN
II know Seabeck's vent" Billy Louise
cut in. There was no need Of letting
such fine fellow display more ig-
norance on the subject And should
have noticed 1t If | had seen four
calves vented fresh and not rebranded.
Why In the world didn't you stick your
brand on at the same tlme?" Billy
Louise was losing patience with biz
greenness.
II didn't have my branding iron with
me-" Charlie answered humbly. Il
have done that before, when bought
those other cows and calves. l."
you'd better pack your iron next
time" she retorted. 1T you can't get
little bunch Of calves ten miles with
out losing them"
"But you must understand did. j
took them home and turned them into
the Cove. know-Im an awful chump
at this"
THE calves may not be absolutely
lost, you know. Why, l lost big
steer last spring and never found him
till l was going to sell 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 look ut 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.
Its awfully good of you" he said
"You know a lot more about the bovine
nature than do. for all put in every
spare minute studying the subject. I'm
taking four different stock journals
now. Miss Louise I'll bet know 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 ex
perience. I've new book on the sub
ject of heredity of the cattle I'm 60
ing home and see II Seabeck hasn't
stumbled upon a strain that can be
s.eep."
Billy Louise laughed and said good.
by and stood leaning over 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 man
who first got his own 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. II Charlie were
right about the calves not being any.
where in she cove, then they had been
driven out of it, stolen. Billy Louise
turned dejectedly away from the fence
and went down to shady nook by the
creek, where she had always liked to
do her worrying and hard thinking.
The next Gay she rode early to the
Cove and learned some things from
Marthy which she had not CLEANED
from Charlie. She learned that two of
the calves We're a deep red except for
wide. white strip on the nose of one
and white hind feet on the other: that
another was spotted on the hindquar-
tiers and that the fourth was white.
with large, red blotches. She had
known cattle all her life. She would
know these II she saw them anywhere
She also discovered for herself that
they could not have broken ont of that