Their faces, as they prepared for the trip, revealed their joy and
pride over their selection, while the others, disappointment in their
eyes, plainly envied their fellow-companions.
But Sanderson lightened their disappointment by entrusting them with a
new responsibility.
"You fellows go back to the Double A an' hang around," he told them.
"I don't care whether you do a lick of work or not. Stick close to the
house an' keep an eye on Mary Bransford. If Dale, or any of his gang,
come nosin' around, bore them, plenty! If any harm comes to Mary
Bransford while I'm gone, I'll salivate you guys!"
Shortly after breakfast the herd was on the move. The cowboys started
them westward slowly, for trail cattle do not travel fast, urging them
on with voice and quirt until the line stretched out into a sinuously
weaving band a mile long.
They reached the edge of the big level after a time, and filed through
a narrow pass that led upward to a table-land. Again, after a time,
they took a descending trail, which brought them down upon a big plain
of grassland that extended many miles in all directions.
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