tomorrow, I'd say.'
'Hope so. I fair hate hangin' about. Comin' with us, Jethro?' The gambler shook his head, and rose. 'Have to wait for my man,' he said. 'I'll be seeing you later. Good luck to ye, Sam.'
He was about to mount when he saw Carol talking to one of the outfit and walked towards them, leading his horse. The cowboy turned away when he saw the newcomer. The girl asked the inevitable question and got the same explanation her father had received.
'Of course, I had no notion of Sam being hurt,' Baudry said. 'He's not looking too bad.'
'His recovery is wonderful,' Carol agreed.
The man's eyes dwelt on her, absorbing the straight slimness of her figure and the healthy freshness of her young beauty. She stirred him, and there was warmth in his usually cold voice when he said :
'He's had a wonderful nurse.'
There was a mischievous gleam in Carol's eyes. 'He certainlyhas. If ever you fall sick, Mister Baudry, I can recommend Judy.'
The gambler's lips tightened. Was the girl playing with him? But a man who depends upon cards for a living must learn to mask his emotions and Jethro Baudry was no novice.
'you have some new faces,' the gambler remarked. 'I don't recollect the young fellow you were talking to.'
'Oh, you mean Sandy--the boys call him that,' she added rather hastily. 'He's a friend of Mister Green.'
Baudry had a black moment ; the use of the cowboy's nickname did not please him, the less so since he knew it had been involuntary.
'Looks a likely lad,' he said carelessly.
But the girl was on her guard. 'We've a good outfit,' was her reply.
'Well, the hardships of the trail seem to suit you. Never seen you look so bonny.' Again there was warmth in his tone and it made her flush a little.
'I love it,' she replied, and with a smile, 'Dad always says I ought to have been a boy.'
'I can't agree with Sam on that, and he won't find another man that will,' the gambler said gallantly. 'There's plenty boys but only one Carol Eden.'
With a wide sweep of his hat, he hoisted himself into the saddle and rode away, leaving her pondering. She did not like the man, though she could have given no reason. He was a friend of her father, who was under a considerable obligation to him, and to her he had always been courteous and respectful, and yet .. .
The river next morning showed an appreciable fall, but there still was a vast volume of reddish, sand-laden water sweeping swiftly between the bluff banks, and to the group of men studying the swirling currents it was clear that the crossing would be a difficult and perilous undertaking. Danger to themselves would not deter them ; they were thinking only of the herd.
'I guess we gotta take a chance, boys,' the foreman decided. 'What's yore opinion, Jim?'
'Me an' Sandy '1I try her out,' Sudden offered.
Stripped to the waist and riding bareback they entered the stream at a point where the bank shelved. In a few moments the horses were swimming, Nigger's black head in the lead. Progress was slow, for the current was strong and the crossing had to be made in a long slant. The soupy state of the water and floating driftwood which had to be avoided added to the task, but at length the riders emerged on the opposite bank and turned to wave to their watching comrades. A short rest and they again plunged in for the return journey.
'She's a gamble, with the odds against us,' was Sudden's verdict. 'But we've played in luck, so far.'
The foreman had already made up his mind and presently the leaders of the herd appeared, trotting briskly, for in view of the crossing they had been kept thirsty. At the sight of the turgid flood, however, they baulked and would have turned but for the riders on both flanks, who drove them into the water. There they stood, knee-deep, snorting and bawling with fright, the force of the stream almost sweeping them from their feet. Beyond this they would not budge until Sudden splashed in, roped the foremost steer round the horns, and slipping the other end of his lariat across the broad breast of Nigger, headed for the far bank.
Willy-nilly the captive was dragged headlong into the flood and struck out lustily, seeing which--after a brief hesitation --those behind followed. In a few moments, a steady string of horned heads was moving across the river. Sudden, having pulled his victim up the far shore, removed the loop, and grinned at the disgruntled-looking brute, which seemed disposed to go 'on the prod.'
'G'wan,' he said, and slapped it over the nose with the end of his wet rope. 'What yu gotta belly-ache about? yu had the easiest trip of any, an' yu'll be Big Chief Show-'em-how to them four-footed friends o' your'n from now on.'
For a while he sat watching the curving line of black blobs in the water, shepherded by horsemen on the downstream side.
After drying himself in the, warm sun, he recrossed the river. The foreman met him, his face beaming.
'Jim, that was a daddy of an idea,' he said. 'yu shore know cows.'
'Shucks,' Sudden smiled. 'The critters is like humans--give 'em a lead an' they'll go most anywheres. It warn't nothin'.'
'No?' Jeff said. 'Allasame, I'm damn glad we got yu in the outfit, son.'
Chapter XII
'SAY, Jim, do yu figure we've razzle-dazzled Rogue?' Sandy asked.
'Mebbe, but he's a foxy fella an' now he knows we ain't workin' for him he's probably trackin' us,' Sudden replied. 'But I expect we've put one over on other gents watchin' the trail.'
They were riding some five hundred yards ahead of the herd, for being in Indian territory, scouts were deemed necessary, and, since they were no longer following a used trail, the easiest route had to be selected. More than a week had passed since they left the Red River and during most of the time they had travelled westwards before turning north again. Not one of the outfit had more than a vague notion of their location, for save to the Indians and a few trappers and buffalo hunters, this was unknown country. Moreover, wide detours to avoid difficulties had been made, and they had only the sun and stars to guide them.
'Plenty lonesome in these parts,' Sandy remarked presently. 'We ain't seen a soul since the Red.'
'Suits me,' his friend replied. 'Anybody we met would likely be hostile. What yu think o' Lasker?'
'I don't,' Sandy grinned. 'Not never.'
'Huh! I'm forgettin' that yu got a single-track mind these days,' Sudden said gravely. 'Allatime it circles round a certain hatchet-faced'
'Shurrup, yu idjut ; here's Carol a-comin'.'
Sudden's eyebrows lifted at the familiarity, but before he could offer any comment, the girl reined in beside them.
'Jeff sent me for you, Sandy,' she said. 'I'm to take your place for a spell.'
The boy's face fell. 'Shore it wasn't Jim he wanted?' he asked.
Carol's eyes twinkled teasingly. 'Quite sure,' she told him, and when he had wheeled his mount and loped back towards the herd she murmured, 'He seemed to just hate leaving you.'
'yeah,' Sudden said. 'Wonder if Jeff wants him bad?'
She saw the little crinkles at the corners of his eyes and laughed herself. 'I'm afraid he doesn't,' she confessed. 'You I te. Jeff I'd like to ride ahead for a while and he said, Send Sandy back ; a fellow scouting needs his eyes in more than one place.' Now what did he mean by that?'
'I ain't a notion,' was the mendacious reply, and then, with a sly smile, 'Mebbe he figures Sandy ain't very dependable.' The girl bridled instantly. 'Then I think it's too mean,' she cried. 'Dad said something of the sort last night. Just oecause Sandy is gay and light-hearted' She stopped, and her cheeks went red beneath their tan as she saw the quirk of amusement on his lips. Then she smiled also. 'That was too bad of you,' she accused.
'I'm askin' yore pardon, ma'am,' Sudden said. 'yu see, Sandy is my friend ; he can have anythin' I got, an' there's no limit.'
'you have known him long?'
'That don't follow. Friendship is a funny thing ; it ain't a matter o' time. yu know one fella for years an' in the end he'll disappoint yu ; yu know another for hours an' yu can gamble on him.'
So he closed the subject. In those wild days a person's past was his or her concern and it was neither polite
