neither had ever had children of his own, and their hearts went out in
manly fullness to these waifs of the plain. On the other hand, a day had
brought forth promise and fulfillment, from strangers, to the boys,
until the latter's confidence knew no bounds. At random, the men
virtually spoke of the cattle on a thousand hills, until the boys fully
believed that by merely waving a wand, the bells would tinkle and a cow
walk forth. Where two horses were promised, four had appeared. Where
their little store of provision was as good as exhausted, it had been
multiplied many fold. Where their living quarters were threatened with
intrusion, a tent, with fly, was added; all of which, as if by magic,
had risen out of a dip in the plain.

There was no danger, at the hands of the trail men, of any discourtesy
to Joel, but to relieve any timidity, the foreman saddled his horse and
accompanied the boy a mile or more, fully reviewing the details of his
errand. Left behind, and while rubbing the wounded limb, Dell regaled
his patient with a scrap of family history. "Pa never let us boys go
near the trail," said he. "It seemed like he was afraid of you Texas
men; afraid your cattle would trample down our fields and drink up all
our water. The herds were so big."

"Suppose the cattle would drink the water," replied Forrest, "the owner
would pay for it, which would be better than letting it go to waste. One
day's hot winds would absorb more water than the biggest herd of cattle
could drink. This ain't no farming country."

"That's so," admitted Dell; "we only had one mess of peas this season,
and our potatoes aren't bigger than marbles. Now, let me rub your knee,
there where the bullet skipped, between the bandages."