"Your horse is down in the valley. I'll jump on mine and try to catch him
for you. If I can, we'll not have any trouble, and I'll soon have you at
our ranch."

"Thanks," murmured the representative of the water company. "His name is
Kurd," he added. "My horse's, I mean," he explained, with a smile. "He
generally comes when I call him, but here are some lumps of sugar I give
him. He'll be sure to come if you hold these out to him."

Dave took the sweets, which Mr. Bellmore extracted from his pocket, and
hurried back to where he had left Crow. A moment later Dave was moving off
down the trail toward the valley.

"Careful, old boy," he cautioned his steed, for the going was anything but
good. "It won't do for you to slip and stumble now."

But Crow had no intention of doing anything of the sort, and a little
later Dave was galloping rapidly--across the grassy plain toward the lone
horse.

"I hope he doesn't bolt and give me a chase," reflected the young cowboy.
"I haven't much time," and he looked at the declining sun, and thought of
Pocus Pete on guard at the corral, waiting for help to mend the broken
fence.

"It's all Len's fault, too--the mean skunk!" said Dave. "If it hadn't been
for him the cattle wouldn't have gotten loose. Though I suppose if they
hadn't I wouldn't have ridden home this way, and I wouldn't have
discovered that man. Maybe it'll be a good thing, in the end."