Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1929-04-04

cows, the aCr10 smoke OF the sage ur0
and the faint Of scorched hair and
flesh.
In q short space Of time the herd
had been worked. the last calf brand
ed, and Harris led the men up the
bottoms. Five miles up the valley,
at the spot where he had crossed It a
few hours before, they found the
wagon waiting at the new stand. the
corral refashioned and the remuda In
side It. It was but ten o'clock but
the first circle had commenced at
-FOUR. The noon meal on the roundup
was served whenever the first circle
was completed The men fell raven
ously on the hot meal, changed to
fresh circle horses and started again.
1t was falling dusk when the herd
gathered in the third circle had been
worked and the last calf branded for
the day.
At the end of the first week out
from the ranch Harris pulled up his
horse beside the girls and showed her
his tally book.
"We've run Shades mark on more
calves than we have our own" he
said. "That's one way he works.
But that's not his fault and 1t
doesn't mean anything" she said.
"His cows are sure to drift This
first strip we've worked Is the south
ernmost edge Of our range and his
north wagon works the strip right
south Of us. We're sure to find
number of his cows. As we double
back on our next lap we'll not find
the same proportion"
"Not quite-but plenty" he pre-
dicted. "We've marked more calves
three wagon crews will mark for the
Three Bar in a year. The first three
weeks of each season your men do a
little more work for Slade than they
do for you. It's safe bet that the
Halfmoon D does the same, and so on
through every brand that joins his
range That puts him way off ahead"
But that Is pure accident" she
said.
''It's pure design" he stated. His
boys are busy showing his cows from
the middle all ways so that when fall
: comes he has a good inside block
that's only been lightly fed over. They
fall back on that for winter feed.
Last winter, when cows were dying
like rats, his men were out drifting
SHADES stuff back toward his middle
range"
That's true enough" she admitted.
"But-"
"But you thought he was doing it
as favor to yOu-getting his sur
plus off your territory so your own
cows would have a better chance.
That's the same kind of talk he float
ed all round the line; playing the
benevolent neighbor when in reality
the old pirate had deliberately
planned, year after year, to overcrowd
your range and feed you out"
"But his men would know" she OBJ
jected
"Not many of them would grasp the
whole scheme of it," he said. "You
hadn't thought of it yourself, and
what If few of them did surmise
They're riding for his brand"
The girl nodded. That unalterable
code again-the religion of being loyal
to ones brand. Not one of SHADES
men would balk at doing 1t knowing
ly; each would do anything to ad-
vance his interests as long as he drew
his pay from Slade.
AS they talked Harris detailed men
for each draw but when they reached
the point where they were due to drop
down and cross the valley he pulled
up his horse.
You take the rest Of the circle,
Carp" he instructed Carpenter. I'm
going to ride off up the rise piece"
The girl regarded him curiously. No
less than three times In the last week
he had stopped midway Of the circle
and asked her to complete 1t. Now
he had turned it over to Carp and he
signaled her to remain with him.
"Where are we going?" she asked
as she watched the men ride down
toward the bottoms. "And why?"
Back the way we came" he said
"And maybe I can show you why"
He headed back the divide they
had just followed until he came to
the saddle at the head of draw that
led down to the valley. Far below
them they could see rider hazing q
bunch Of cows out into the bottoms.
High on the right-hand slope of the
gulch lay a notch, a little blind basin
watered by the seepage from a side
hill spring, and there on the green
bed of it q dozen cows with their
calves grazed undisturbed. For per-
haps five minutes Harris lolled side
wise in the saddle and watched them.
Then a rider appeared on the ridge
that divided that draw from the next,
dropped in below the cows and head
ed them back over the ridge into the
draw from which he had appeared.
Even at that distance she recognized
this last man as Lanky Evans. Har-
ris resumed his way down the divide