Dennison Grant

d under the shingles," shouted Transl

throat, and the horses pressed their shoulders into the collars. Linder glanced back to see each wagon or implement take up the slack with a jerk like the cars of a freight t

e season. Transley galloped all that night into the foothills; when he returned next evening he had a contract with the Y.D. to cut all the hay from the ranch buildings to The Forks. By some deft touch of tho

trail lay along a broad valley, warded on either side by ranges of foothills; hills which in any other country would have been dignified by the name of mountains. From their summits the grey-green up-tilted limestone pr

the mountains themselves, their giant crests pitched like mighty tents drowsing placidly between earth and heaven. Now their four o'clock veil of blue-purple mist lay filmed about their shoulders, but later they would stan

y grades of the plains below. Men and horses had fattened and grown content, and the foreman had reason to know that Transley's bank account had profited by the sudden shift in his operations. Linder felt in his pock

ed by the side of his wagon, and a rider, throwing himse

Pete-horse acts like he was goin' sore on th

nsley says, Geor

t at th

op

old

od on a cheque, and they say

had a feeling that he was approaching a delicate subject wit

s quite a girl

n of the soreness in that Pete-horse's

Linder continued. "Women i

he repeated, as his mind apparently ran back over some reminiscence that verified Linder's remark. It was evide

nd this time in a more confidential tone, "do

ust be worth a million or so, and the girl is all he's got to leave it to

rge replied, with great soberness.

evotions; that would have limited the play of his passion; to him all women were alike-or nearly so. And no number of rebuffs could convince George that he was unpopular with the objects of his democratic affections. Such

corner the silver ribbon of the Y.D. was unravelled before them, and half a dozen miles down its course the ranch buildings lay clustered in a grove of cottonwoods and evergreens. All the great valley lay warm and pulsating in a flood of yellow suns

nded by the wagon si

n it would take you to ride down to the Y.D. on

d at the subtle comp

f there's any jackrabbits in th

down and tell Y.D. we're coming in. She's going to be later than I

addle. "Just watch me lose myself in the dust." The

erglow, mauve and purple and copper, was playing far up the sky when Transley's out

d as Transley halted beside him. "The rest of us eat in the bunk

Linder managed to banter in a low v

reman don't get a look-in. Never even seen her.... Come, you Pet

ters quickly unhitched. Y.D. himself approached through the dusk; his large frame a

! You made a good job of it. Come up to the house-I reckon the Missus has supper wait

r along a path through a grove of cottonwoods, across a footbridge where from underneath came the babble of water, t

mediately admitted. The poplar floor had long since worn thin, save at the knots, and had been covered with edge-grained fir, but otherwise the cabin stood as it had for twenty years, the white-washed logs glowing in the light of two bracket lamps and the reflections from a wood fire which burne

each to a seat. "Mother," he said, directing his

e Y.D. known in every big cattle market of the country. As Linder's eye caught her and her husband in the same glance his mind involuntarily

rangely on his otherwise rough-and-ready speech. "I been tellin' her the fine job you

There was a touch of culture in her manner as she re

ely remarked to George Drazk, you never can tell what might happen. He shot a quick glance at Transley, but the contractor's face gave no sign. Even as he looked Linder thought what an able face it was. Transl

?" demanded

"We don't have Mr. Transley and Mr. Linder e

Linder. "Trust a woman

y and gracefully into their presence. She was dressed in black, in a costume which did not too much conceal the charm of her figure,

said Y.D. "Mr. Tra

n her manner was neither the shyness which sometimes marks the women of remote settlements, nor the boldness

s at the Y.D." she was saying. "

peg on which to hang their w

ssful, haven't you? You hav

manner of direct and forceful action. These were his first

is why Transley is boss, and I'm just foreman." The young woman's behavior seemed to support t

hungry," Y.D. was

in the open plays strange tricks with the appearance. Some men it ages before their time; others seem to tap a spring of perpetual youth. Save for the grey moustache and the puckerings about the eyes Y.D.'s was still a youn

erful deterrent of table small-talk. Then followed a huge joint of beef, from which Y.D. cut generous slices with swift and dexterous strokes o

at's right, pass up your plate. Powerful dry, though. That's only a small bit; here's a better slice here. Dry summers gen'rally mean open winters, but you can't never tell. Zen, how 'bout you

usand tons, good hay and goo

ryin' more steers than usual, and'll maybe run in a bunch

but his interruption was quite unnecessary. It was Y.D.'s practice to take assent for granted. Once or twice the women interjected a lead to a differe

udding of some sort, and p

cher, with a wink at his guests. "Zen, I think there

returning shortly with a jug and glas

rown liquor, despite Transley's deprecating hand. "Linder, how many fingers? Two?

s feet, and the compan

more hay," he

said L

ble at the girl. She met his eyes full; then, with a gleam of w

and re-seated themselves, bu

"You will wish to talk over business. Y.D. will show you up

sfied; it was as though a ravishing meal has been placed before a hungry man, and only its

id the same. There were business matters to discuss, and it was no fair contest

ncher was saying. "Can't take chances on any

ley, "if you'll show m

w the So

been

ike its godfather. At The Forks you'd nat'rally suppose is where two branches joined, an' jogged on henceforth in double harness. Well, that ain't it at all. This crick has modern ideas, an' at The Forks it divides itself into two, an' she hikes for the Gulf o' Mexico an' him for Hudson's Bay. As I

w on his pipe, and his eyes glowed

ream got the name proper, an' the other branch bein' smallest an' running kind o' south nat'rally got called the South Y.D. I run stock in both valleys when I was at The Forks, but not much since I came

we'll hit the trail at sun-up. There'll be n

tly. "Ain't I the father of the Y.D? Ain't the who

g. It's not like the old days, when a rancher would rather lose twenty-five per cent. of his stock over wint

h Y.D. that's been flirtin' with that hay meadow for years, but he ain't got no claim to it. I was first on the ground an' I cut it whenever I feel like it an' I'm goi

nsley. "That's wha