Wells Brothers

h of the forthcoming siege. Great flights of song and game birds, in their migration southward, lent an accent as t

ilroad, the cattle were put under herd. The most liberal freedom must be allowed; with the numbers on hand, the term close herding would imply grazing the cattle on a section of land, while loose herding w

ne and a dry atmosphere, there was nothing to fear. A warm, fine day was usually the forerunner of a storm, the appr

laxing as occasion required. In handling, it was a decided advantage that the little nucleus had known herd restraint, in trailing overland from Texas, and were obedient, at a distance of fifty yards, to the slightest whistle or pressure of a herdsman. Under favorable conditions, the cattle could be depended on to g

" said Dell, as they rode homeward, at the end of the f

el. "The first of April will be soon enough to count our

hucked corn up

th me. We're herding cattle this w

of approach and departure, on the part of the boys, either by whistling or singing, was always given the cattle, and the customary grunting of the herd answered for its own contentment. A parting look was given the horses, their forage replenished, and every comfort looked after to the satisfacti

Dog-toe, a chestnut in color, whose best point was a perfect rein, and from experience in roping could halt from any gait on the space of a blanket. The relay horse was named Coyote, a cinnamon-colored mount, Spanish marked in a black stripe down his back, whose limbs were triple-ring

eded by an ideal day; like the promise of spring, a balmy south

the corral for a last look at the sleeping cattle. "There are three stars

may be all right to hatch chickens by, but not to hold cattle. All advice

ed the inclosure, the lads looked down on the contented herd, their possession and the

othing of the human race in an age so remote that it owned no cattle. He says that when the pyramids of Egy

a single voice, each apparently many miles distant. Animal instinct is usually unerring, and the boys readily

starting homeward. "We'll meet it. O

st, and the cattle turned as a single animal. The alert horsemen acted on the instant, and began throwing the cattle into a compact herd. At the time they were fully three miles from the corral, and when less than half

pped into the valley just above the corral, where the boys doubled on the outside point, and by the aid of a wing-gate turned the wanderin

storm must be acted upon. We corraled these cattle by a scratch. Now I know what a winter drift means.

d the snow against every obstacle, or filled the depressions, even sifting through every crack and crevice in the dug-out. The boys a

swept of snow, and which after an hour's sun afforded ample grazing for the day. The first storm of the winter had been met, and its one clear lesson lent a dread to any possible successors. The herd

evening. The plan was feasible, the cattle were herd-broke, knew their bed and water, and on the homeward circle all that was required was to direct and time the grazing herd. The occasion had been looked forward to, partly because it was their very own, their firs

t up, almost due west, heralding the quarter of the coming storm. The herd sensed the danger and responded to the efforts of the horsemen; but before a mile had been covered, it was enveloped in swirling snow and veering its march with the course of the storm. The eddying snow blinded the boys as to their direction; they supposed they were pointing the cattle into the valley, unaware that the herd had changed its cours

corral," shouted D

ing storm. "The creek's to our right. Loosen your

to the front, impelled onward by the fury of the storm. Again and again the boys plied the fear of ropes and the force of horses, but

country was of no avail, a rod or two was the limit of vision, and the brothers dared not trust each other out of sight. Time moved forward unmeasured, yet amid all Joel

of the Beaver valley! Overhead the storm howled mercilessly, but the shelter of the hillside admitted of veering the herd on its course, until the valley was reached. No knowledge of their locati

nd with slack rein, the two turned a few rods aside and halted at their stable door. Even then th

e's no halting these cattle short of the second cut-bank,

nt and front. Allowing the cattle to move, assured a compact herd, as on every attempt to halt or turn it, th

saw a possible haven, the sheltering cut-bank that he hoped to reach, where refuge might be secured against the raging elements. It lay several miles below the homestead, and if the drifting herd reached the bend before da

n a direct angle from the course of the wind. If the storm veers to the north, it will sweep us out of the valley, with nothing to

how those men, the day we branded, rus

that we wouldn't dare-

ll rush them. Remember that story Mr. Quince told about a Mexican boy throwing himself across a gateway, and le

easure the passing time, and the dread of nightfall was intensified. Under such stress, the human mind becomes intensely alert, and every word of warning, every line of advice, urged on the boys by their sponsors, came back in their hour of trial with an applied meaning. This

e tree grew near the right bank of the creek, the wagon trail passed under it, making it a favorite halting place when freighting in supplies. Dell remembered its shade, and taking the lead, groped forward

d radiated a heat of its own. The saddle horses, southern bred and unacclimated, humped their backs and curled their heads to the knee, indicati

where the fight is won or lost! Here's where

ocket. The critical moment had arrived. Dismounting, with a coiled rope in hand, Dell rushed on the volunteer leaders, batting them over the heads, until they whirled into the angling column, awakened from their stupor and panic-stricken from the assault of a boy, who attacked with the ferocity of a fiend, hissing like an adder or crying in the eerie shrill of a hyena i

truck. Turning to the support of Dell, the older boy lent his assistance, forcing the angle, until the drag end of the column had passed into the sheltering haven. The fight was won, and to Dell's courage, in the decisive moment, all credit was due. The human is so wondrously constructed and so infinite in variety, that where one of these brothers was timid the other laughed at

ket. The cattle were milling in an endless merry-go-round, contented under the sheltering

bed down for the night," remarked Joel, on surveying

k trail of the cattle. He returned with an armful of dry twigs, and a fire was soon crackling under the cliff. A lodgmen

s the main concern, and the possibility of reaching home before morning was freely discussed. The instinct of the horses could be relied on to find the way to their stable, but return would be impossible before daybreak. The brothers were so elated over holding the cattle that any pe

hen restraint became necessary to avoid galloping home. The snow crunched underfoot, the mounts snorted their protest at hindrance, vagrant breezes

star," observed Joe

cing at the star as he swung out of the saddle, "h