The Raymer enterprise., 1923-06-07

OpuulSH mousse, ana tne more enc 6aW
of 1t the more she thought what q de-
lightful home 1t could be made. Al
the doors opened Into a courtyard, or
patio. as Florence called It. The
house was low, In the shape Of q rect.
angle. and so immense In size that
Madeline wondered II 1t had been q
Spanish barracks. Florence led the
way out on porch and waved hand
at vast, colored void. THAT'S what
Bill likes" she said.
At first Madeline col not tell what
was sky and what was land. The i'm
mensity Of the scene stunned her facul.
ties Of conception. She sat down In
one Of the old rocking chairs and
looked and looked, and knew that she
was not grasplng the reality Of what
stretched wondrously before her.
Were up at the edge Of the foot.
hills" Florence said. "It'll sure take
you little while to get used to being
up. high and seeing so much That's
the secret-we're up high, the air is
clear, and there's the whole bare
world beneath us. Hee-see that
cloud Of dust down In the valley7 It's
the roundup. The boys are there, and
the cattle. Walt, I'll get the glasses"
"The roundup! l want to know all
about ito see It," declared Madeline
"please tell me what 1t means, what
it's for. and then take me down therA"
"It'll sure open your eyes. Miss Ham.
mond. I'm glad you care to know.
Your brother would have made q big
success in this cattle business II It
hadn't been for crooked work by rival
ranchers He'll make It yet, In spite
Of Them"
"Indeed he SHALL" replied Madeline.
"But tell me, please, all about the
roundup"
swell, In the first place, every cat.
tleman has to have brand to Identify
his stock. Without 1t no cattleman,
nor half hundred cowboys, II he had
SO many, could ever recognize all the
cattle In big herd. There are no
fences on our ranges. They are all
open to everybody. Every year we
have two big round.ups. but the boys
do some branding all the year. A calf
should be branded as soon rs its
found. This Is safeguard against
cattle-thIeves. We don't have the
rustling Of herds and punches Of cat.
tie like we used to.
1--WE have our big roundup In the
fall. when there's plenty Of grass and
water. and all the riding-stock as well
as the cattle are In fine shape. The
cattlemen in the valley meet with their
cowboys and drive in all the cattle
they can find. Then they brand and
cut out each mans hetd and drive II
toward home. Then they so on up or
down the valley, make another camp,
and drive In more cattle. 1t takes
weeks" .
For Madeline the morning hours>hew
by. with goodly part Of the time
spent on the porch gazing out over that
ever-changing vista. At noon a team.
ster drove up with her trunks. Then
while Florence helped the Mexican
woman get lunch Madeline unpacked
part Of her effects and got out things
for which she would have immediate
need. After lunch she changed her
dress for ridlng-habit and. going out.
side. found Florence waiting with the
horses.
As Madeline rode along she made
good use Of her eyes. The soil was
sandy and porous, and she understood
why the rain and water from the few
springs disappeared SO quickly. What
surprised her was the fact that,
though she and Florence had seemed
to be riding quite awhile. they had
apparently not drawn any closer to
the roundup. The slope Of the valley
was noticeable after some miles had
been traversed.
Gradually black dots enlarged and
assumed shape Of cattle and horses
moving round great dusty patch In
another half-hour Madeline rode be-
hind Florence to the outskirts Of the