hev been losin' a few cattle right along. Reminds me of old
times; an' pretty soon if it doesn't stop, I'll take the old-time
way to stop it."

"Yes, indeed, Majesty," put in Alfred, "you have hit upon an
interesting time to visit us."

"Wal, thet sure 'pears to be so," rejoined Stillwell. "Stewart
got in trouble down heah to-day, an' I'm more than sorry to hev
to tell you thet your name figgered in it. But I couldn't blame
him, fer I sure would hev done the same myself."

"That so?" queried Aifred, laughing. "Well, tell us about it."

Madeline simply gazed at her brother, and, though he seemed
amused at her consternation, there was mortification in his face.

It required no great perspicuity, Madeline thought, to see that
Stillwell loved to talk, and the way he squared himself and
spread his huge hands over his knees suggested that he meant to
do this opportunity justice.

"Miss Majesty, I reckon, bein' as you're in the West now, thet
you must take things as they come, an' mind each thing a little
less than the one before. If we old fellers hedn't been thet way
we'd never hev lasted.

"Last night wasn't particular bad, ratin' with some other nights
lately. There wasn't much doin'. But, I had a hard knock.
Yesterday when we started in with a bunch of cattle I sent one of