just allowed the beeves to graze off on their course. When day
breaks, you'll see they ain't far away, and in the right
direction. Parent, if I didn't sabe cows better than you do, I'd
confine my attention to a cotton patch."

Seay had read the sign aright. When day dawned the cattle were in
plain view about a mile distant. On the return of the last guard
to camp, Vick Wolf explained the situation in a few words. During
their watch the herd had grown restless, many of the cattle
arising; and knowing that dawn was near at hand, the boys had
pushed the sleepy ones off their beds and started them feeding.
The incident had little effect on the irrepressible Parent, who
seemed born to blunder, yet gifted with a sunny disposition which
atoned for his numerous mistakes.

With the Blue Mountains as our guiding star, we kept to the
westward of that landmark, crossing the Llano River opposite some
Indian mounds. On reaching the divide between this and the next
water, we sighted two dust-clouds to the westward. They were ten
to fifteen miles distant, but I was anxious to hear any word of
Sponsilier or Forrest, and sent Jake Blair to make a social call.
He did not return until the next day, and reported the first herd
as from the mouth of the Pecos, and the more distant one as
belonging to Jesse Presnall. Blair had stayed all night with the
latter, and while its foreman was able to locate at least a dozen
trail herds in close proximity, our two from Uvalde had neither
been seen nor heard of. Baffled again, necessity compelled us to
turn within touch of some outfitting point. The staples of life
were running low in our commissary, no opportunity having
presented itself to obtain a new supply since we left the ranch