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434 . THI
(Continued from Page 403.)
The morning broke bright and clear,
and the long trail glimmered out of the
ranches. Breakfasting, we mounted and
struck downward toward the lower valley.
Plentiful tracks in the soil ajid the
occasional sight of straggling longhorns
far off on our front told us that we were
at last entering "the cow country." After
two hours we lifted up our eyes and saw,
but still a distance before us, the shanties
of Sapio Ranch gleaming on the
landscape, like flecks of brown wheat
chaff on a barn floor. Again we lifted
up a shout and waved our hats about
our heads, knowing that the days of our
cowboy experience were now at hand.
"I say, Penn," exclaimed Mayfield,
"we've done ourselves proud this far!"
"We've no great occasion to complain
at ourselves," I said. "If we can bring
matters to pass as well in the future, I
shall be satisfied."
"We don't have to say anything about
being tenderfeet when we come to the ?
shanties, Penn," suggested Mayfield.
"You remember what old Benito said
about being mum?"
"I fancy we won't need to be saying
anything, Mayfield. That 'devil' Jim and
the rest will know us for 'greenies' on
sight."
"Well, I reckon that's so," admitted
Mayfield in a tone of evident disappointment.
"You've got the papers all right, have
you. Penn?"
"Yes; they are here in the envelope
in which old Simon handed them to me,"
and I fished into my inside pocket to
make sure that the duplicate indentures
were intact.
"We are ready, then, to meet the
boys."
"I think we are," I said; "that ?s, as
ready as we ever can be until we learn
more about them."
Now we were passing alongside the
corrals, some of which were filled with
cattle, others held small herd^ of shaggy-looking
ponies, while others were
quite empty. Across the pounds came
the calls of the Mexican herders, and
far away on the range could be seen the
streamings of the larger herd. The air
of romance about a great ranch was at
once apparent. We caught it with our
first vision, and gave thanks to destiny
for leading us so well.
"It's all right, Penn," said Mayfield, as
his mood blossomed into speech.
"It's immense," I responded. Now we
were approaching the shanties. Now
we were dismounting at the goal of our
long wanderings?Sapio Ranch!
"Hello, tinderfeet!" was the first
Round that greeted us as we swung ourselves
out of the saddles. It came from
a member of a group of men lounging
before the door ot a squatty-looking
jacal made of mesqulte stakes and
S PRESBYTERIAN OF THE SOI
zn otsatio:
Horace J*l. DuUose.
thatched with cactus leaves and hay. I
looked sharnlv toward the rhallpn^nr fnr
there was a familiar sound in the voice.
The owner of the voice then started toward
us. It was old Benito!
Tender-hearted, bibulous old sinner
that he was, he had left us on the crest,
had ridden southward to look after some
traps, and then made a night's journey
of it that he might reach the ranch in
advance to give us a becoming introduction
and to save us from the jokes that
every tenderfoot recruit on a ranch must
submit to.
"That old trapper knows everybody
I.1.U C.U.UUIII6 ui <i nuuureu nines 01
him," said Mayfield in an aside; "he's as
much at home here amongst the cow
punchers as he is with his traps on the
Hondo."
And it was so. The trapper was a man
of consequence at the shanties. He rollicked
and bandied jokes with the boys,
swore, drank and played poker like a
blackleg. He had entree to all the
ranches about Sapio. His range was
r.
'''''
jf I
h$, A' '
WES ' ? "
I have a recollection of looking t
poles The cross, thus v
[JTH April 6, 1910.
RANCH I;
wide and his circuit was regularly made.
We were not a little embarrassed at
being so completely overreached by our
Irish patron, but he soon made us feel
easy, even important, in the light of his
favor. As we presented to "Rio Grande"
Jim the duplicates of our contract made
with Simon, the agent at Gordo Station,
Benito felt that he was under obligation
to himself to do an extra stunt of presentation.
"These yoong gintlemen," he went on,
"are the proide av me oiyes; they are
yoong gintlemen av fortune and bluid,
an' they be coom out to get some expayriance
in cow-poonchin". Yez don't see
the loikes av thiin in these parts often.
Oi'll declare!"
After scanning our papers, Jim peeled
us from head to foot with a look of his
cold gray eyes, and then drawled out:
"I've seen jist dead loads uv them college
an' nobility kids in my time. They
all be greenies alike to me; I jist puts
'em all into one pile. You two ducks kir?
mal e ycrselves to hum."
I: "
\gp
>ack and seeing the line of telegraph
vinged with fire, belts the world.