"Well, young man, what have you to say for yourself?" asked the foreman.
"I was going to ask you, sir, where we are going to get our breakfast?"
Stallings glanced at Tad and Big-foot, with a hopeless expression in his eyes.
"Go ask the Chinaman," he answered rather brusquely.
"I can"t. He isn"t here."
"Well, that"s the answer," laughed the foreman, riding to the river bank and surveying the stream critically.
Tad and Big-foot Sanders joined him almost immediately.
"Think we can make it, chief?"
"I think so, Sanders. One of us had better ride over and back to test the current."
"I"ll try it for you," said Tad.
"Go ahead. Sanders, you ride back and tell Lumpy to return to camp and bring on the outfit. They can"t reach us until late in the afternoon, as it is. I presume that slant-eyed cook is sitting in his wagon waiting for us to come back. Hurry them along, for we shall be hungry by the time we have finished this job."
Tad promptly spurred his pony into the stream. After wading out a little way he slipped off into the water, hanging by the pommel, swimming with one hand to relieve the pony as much as possible.
The boy made the crossing without mishap, Stallings observing the performance to note how far down the stream the pony would drift. Tad landed some five rods lower down. On the return, the drift was not quite so noticeable.
"We"ll make it," announced the foreman. "If you want to dry out, ride back and tell the bunch to crowd the cattle in as rapidly as possible.
The faster we can force them in the less they will drift down stream."
"Very well, sir," replied the boy, galloping off to deliver his message.
With a great shouting and much yelling the cowboys began their task of urging the cattle into the river. Not being over-thirsty, it was no easy task to induce the animals to enter the water, but when the leaders finally plunged in the rest followed, fairly piling on top of one another in their efforts to follow the pilots of the herd. Above and below, the cowboys who were not otherwise engaged were swimming the river endeavoring to keep the animals from straying one way or another.
Tad Butler and his companions were aiding in this work, shouting from the pure joy of their experience, and, in an hour"s time, the last steer had swum the stream and clambered up the sloping bank on the other side.
"There!" announced the foreman. "That"s a bad job well done. I wish the trail wagon were here. A cup of hot coffee wouldn"t go bad after an hour in the water."
"After several of them, you mean," added Tad. "You know we have been out in the rain all night."
"Yes, and you did a bang-up piece of work, you and Big-foot. How did you happen to lead the cattle straight ahead, instead of turning the leaders?"
"It was the kid"s suggestion," answered Big-foot Sanders. "He"s got a man"s head on his shoulders that more"n makes up for what the gopher hasn"t got."
"It does, indeed," agreed Stallings.
"How are we going to get that trail wagon over when it comes up!" asked one of the men.
"That"s what"s bothering me," answered the foreman. "Perhaps our young friend here can give us a suggestion. His head is pretty full of ideas,"
added the foreman, more with an intent to compliment Tad than in the expectation of getting valuable suggestions from him.
"What is your usual method?" asked the boy.
"Well, to tell the truth, I"ve never had quite such a proposition as this on my hands."
"I guess you will have to float it over."
"It won"t float. It"ll sink."
"You can protect it from that."
"How?" asked the foreman, now keenly interested.
"First take all the stuff out of it. That will save your equipment if anything happens to the wagon. Ferry the equipment over on the backs of the ponies. If it"s too heavy, take over what you can."
"Well, what next?" asked Stallings.
"Get some timbers and construct a float under the wagon."
"Where you going to get timber around these parts?" demanded Big-foot.
"I see plenty of trees near the river. Cut down a few and make a raft of them."
"By George, the kid"s. .h.i.t it!" exclaimed Stallings, clapping his thigh vigorously. "That"s exactly what we"ll do. But we"ll have to wait till the wagon gets here. The axes are all in the wagon."
"Mebby I"m particularly thick to-day, but I"d like to inquire how you expect to get the outfit over, after you have the raft under it?"
demanded Shorty Savage. "Answer that, if you can?"
"I think that is up to the foreman," smiled Tad. "Were I doing it I think I should hitch ropes to the tongue and have the ponies on the other side draw the wagon across. Of course, you are liable to have an accident. The ropes may break or the current may tip your wagon over.
That"s your lookout."
"Now will you be good?" grinned the foreman. "You know all about it, and it would be a good idea to let the thought simmer in your thick head for a while. It may come in handy, some day, when you want to get across a river."
Shorty walked away, none too well pleased.
About three o"clock in the afternoon the wagon hove in sight, and the boys rode out to meet it.
It was decided to camp on the river bank until after they had eaten their evening meal, after which there would still be time to ferry over.
While the meal was being cooked Stallings sent some of the men out to cut down four small trees and haul them in.
They grumbled considerably at this, but obeyed orders. Tad went along, at the suggestion of the foreman, to pick out such trees as he thought would best serve their purpose.
The trail wagon"s teams were used to haul the logs in and by the time the work was finished a steaming hot supper had been spread by the smiling Chinaman.
Professor Zepplin had come along with the wagon. He said he was a little stiff from the wetting he had received, but otherwise was all right.
"Now, young man, I"ll let you boss the job," announced Stallings as Tad rose from the table. "I give you a free hand."
With a pleased smile, Tad set about constructing his raft. Ned Rector swam the river with the ropes, and fastened them to trees so they would not be carried away by the current. The wagon was then run down into the water by hand, the ropes made fast, and all was ready for the start.