and began to lead her to the edge of the mountain.

`Now, you rally the cattle well after me,' he said; `they'll follow
the old mare after a bit. I left a few cows among 'em on purpose,
and when they "draw" keep 'em going well up, but not too fast.'

He had lengthened the bridle of the mare, and tied the end
of a light tether rope that he had round her neck to it.
I saw her follow him slowly, and turn down a rocky track that seemed to lead
straight over a bluff of the precipice.

However, I gave the word to `head on'. The dog had started rounding 'em up
as soon as he saw the old mare walk towards the mountain side,
and the cattle were soon crushed up pretty close to the mare's heels.

Mind this, that they were so footsore and tender about the hoofs
that they could not have run away from us on foot if they had tried.

After `ringing' a bit, one of the quiet cows followed up the old mare
that was walking step by step forward, and all the rest followed her
like sheep. Cattle will do that. I've seen a stockrider,
when all the horses were dead beat, trying to get fat cattle
to take a river in flood, jump off and turn his horse loose into the stream.
If he went straight, and swam across, all the cattle would follow him
like sheep.

Well, when the old mare got to the bluff she turned short round to the right,
and then I saw that she had struck a narrow path down a gully
that got deeper and deeper every yard we went. There was just room
for a couple or three calves to go abreast, and by and by all of 'em