"Two"s quite a good allowance for that small bunch, but if you keep north among the scrub poplar, you won"t be bothered by many fences.
It"s pretty dry in summer, but you"ll get good water in Baxter"s well, if you head for the big bluff you"ll see tomorrow afternoon. We"ll let them out when you"re ready."
As soon as the rails were flung down, the cattle rushed out tumultuously, as if rejoicing in their restored freedom. Then, while George and his companion mounted, they started off across the prairie at a steady trot.
"A mettlesome lot; seem to be in good training," Edgar commented.
"Have you any idea where they"re going?"
"Guess they"re heading for a creek two miles back; water"s scarce,"
explained the rancher. "As it"s near the trail, you had better let them go. You"ll round them up quite easy when they"ve had a drink."
George and Edgar rode after the cattle. The sun was getting low, but the temperature showed no signs of falling, and the men were soon soaked in perspiration. The herd went on at a good pace, making for a wavy line of timber, and on reaching it, plunged down the side of a declivity among little scattered trees. A stream trickled through willow bushes and tall gra.s.s in the bottom of the hollow, and the men.
had trouble in forcing the cattle to leave the water. Before they accomplished it, Edgar had got very wet and had scratched himself badly in scrambling through the brush.
"Driving stock is by no means so easy as it looks," he grumbled, when they had climbed the opposite ascent, leading their horses. "The way these beasts jump about among the bushes confuses you; I"d have sworn there were forty of them in the ravine."
"I see only nine now," George said pointedly.
Edgar looked back into the hollow.
"There are three of the brutes slipping away upstream as fast as they can go! You"re smarter at the thing than I am--hadn"t you better go after them?"
"I expect I"ll be needed to keep this bunch together," George rejoined.
Edgar strode away, but it was half an hour later when he came back, hot and angry, with the cattle crashing through the brush in front of him.
Then the reunited herd set off at a smart pace across the plain.
"They seem fond of an evening gallop," Edgar remarked. "Anyhow, they"re going the right way, which strikes me as something to be thankful for."
They rode on, and it was getting dark when they checked the herd near a straggling poplar bluff. The gra.s.s was good, the beasts began to feed quietly, and after picketing their horses the men lay down on their blankets. It was growing cooler, a vivid band of green still flickered along the prairie"s rim, and the deep silence was intensified by the soft sound the cattle made cropping the dew-damped herbage.
"I wonder if they go to sleep," mused Edgar. "I"m beginning to think this kind of thing must be rather fine when one gets used to it. It"s a glorious night."
By and by he drew his blanket round him and sank into slumber; but for a while George, who had paid a high price for a Hereford bull, lay awake, thinking and calculating. It would cost a good deal more than he had antic.i.p.ated to work the farm; Sylvia had no funds that could be drawn upon, and his means were not large. Economy and good management would be needed, but he was determined to make a success of his undertaking. At last, seeing that the herd showed no signs of moving, he went to sleep.
Awakening at sunrise George found that, except for the horses, there was not a beast in sight. For an hour he and West hunted them through the bluff; and then, after making a hurried breakfast, they went on their way again. It rapidly got hotter, the stock traveled quietly, and, with a halt or two where a clump of poplars offered a little shade, they rode, scorched by dazzling sunshine, across the limitless plain. In the afternoon George began to look eagerly for the bluff that the rancher mentioned. They had found no water, and the cattle seemed distressed. The glare and heat were getting intolerable, but the vast, gradual rise in front of them ran on, unbroken, to the skyline. Its crest, however, must be crossed before evening; and they toiled on.
At last, the long ascent was made, and George felt relieved when he saw a dark line of trees in the wide basin below him.
"That must be the big bluff where the well is; though I don"t see a house," he said.
They had some trouble in urging the herd down the slope, but after a while they reached the welcome shadow of the trees, and Edgar broke into a shout when he saw a rude wooden platform with a windla.s.s upon it and a trough near by.
"Ride ahead with the horses and water them," said George, dismounting.
Edgar did as he was bidden, but presently the herd, attracted by the sight of water, came surging round the trough, savagely jostling one another. The lad worked hard with the windla.s.s, but he could not keep them supplied, and they crowded on the low platform covering the well, with heads stretched out eagerly toward the dripping bucket. After being flung against the windla.s.s by a thirsty beast, Edgar called to his companion.
"They"ll break through if you"re not quick! It"s my opinion they"re bent on getting down the well!"
George came to his a.s.sistance with his riding quirt, but when they were supplying the last two or three unsatisfied animals, a man ran out of the bluff.
"What in thunder are you doing with our water?" he cried.
"He looks angry," Edgar commented. "When that rancher fellow told us about the well, he didn"t mention the necessity of asking Mr. Baxter"s permission." Then he waved his hand to the stranger.
"Come here and have a talk!"
The man came on at a quicker run. His face was hot with indignation, and on reaching them he broke into breathless and pointed expostulations.
"When you"re quite through, we"ll a.s.sess the damages," George quietly told him.
The farmer"s anger began to dissipate.
"No," he said; "that would be taking a pretty mean pull on you; but water"s scarce, and you can"t have any more."
"Well," requested George, "have you a paddock or corral you could let me put this bunch of cattle into until the morning? I"m willing to pay for the accommodation."
"I can"t do it," replied the other. "I want all the fenced gra.s.s I"ve got. Take them right along, and you"ll strike a creek about six miles ahead. Then you ought to make the river to-morrow night."
It was obvious that he desired to be rid of them; and as it was getting cooler George resumed his journey. He found the creek early the next morning, and as the day promised to be unusually hot he delayed only until he had watered the stock. In an hour or two the sun was hidden by banks of leaden cloud, but the temperature did not fall and there was an oppressive heaviness in the air. The prairie had faded to a sweep of lifeless gray, obscured above its verge. The men made progress, however; and late in the afternoon a winding line of timber that marked the river"s course appeared ahead. Shortly afterward, Edgar looked around.
"That"s a curious streak of haze in the distance," he remarked.
"It"s smoke," said George. "Gra.s.s fires are not uncommon in hot weather. It looks like a big one."
They urged the cattle on a little faster, but it was evening when they reached the first of the trees. George rode forward between them and pulled up his horse in some concern. The ford had been difficult when they crossed it on the outward journey, but now the s.p.a.ce between bank and bank was filled by an angry flood. It rolled by furiously, lapping in frothy ripples upon the steep slope that led down to it.
"Nearly an extra three feet of water; there"d be a risk in crossing,"
he said, when Edgar joined him.
"We couldn"t make the place where the trail runs in, and the landing down-stream from it looks bad."
"Then what ought we to do?" Edgar inquired.
"Wait until to-morrow. There"s no doubt been a heavy thunderstorm higher up, but the water should soon run down." George glanced back toward the prairie dubiously. "I"m a little anxious about the fire; but, after all, it may not come near us."
The cattle did not wander far after drinking, and the men ate their supper. It grew dark, but the heat did not lessen, and the oppressive air was filled with a smell of burning. Looking back between the trees, they could see a long streak of yellow radiance leaping up, and growing dim when the view was obstructed by clouds of smoke.
"It"s an awkward situation, and, as if it were not bad enough, there"s a big thunderstorm brewing," Edgar said at length. "I"ll go along and look at the mark you made upon the bank."
He strode away among the trees. It was very dark. The tethered horses were moving restlessly; but, so far as Edgar could make out, the cattle were bunched together. After lighting a match he came back.
"The water"s falling, but only slowly," he reported. "Should we try to drive the stock along the bank?"
"We couldn"t herd them in the dark. Besides, it"s an extensive fire, and I"m doubtful whether we could get down to the water farther along."
They waited for an hour, keeping the cattle together with some trouble, and watching the blaze, which grew brighter rapidly. At last, wisps of pungent smoke rolled into the bluff.
"The beasts are ready to stampede!" George suddenly called to Edgar.
"We"ll have to make a start! Get into the saddle and drive them toward the ford!"