he got his calf!" "Good!" exclaimed the brother. "I guess we're
learning the business!"

"Surest thing you know!" asserted the son of the owner of Diamond
X. "I told you it wasn't so hard, and you've done the same thing
before."

"But not at such a big round-up," remarked Nort, as he prepared
to ride in again and cut out another calf.

"Yes, it is big," admitted Bud, as he made ready for his share in
the affair--his task being the same as that of his cousins--to
cut out the calves for branding purposes. "It sure is a big
round-up."

It had been in progress for days. Twice a year on the big,
western ranches, the cattle are driven in from the outlying
ranges, to be tallied, inspected, marked and shipped away. The
spring and fall round-ups are always busy seasons at any ranch.

During the times between round-ups the new calves attained their
growth, but they needed to have branded into their hides the
marks of their owners. Then, too, some yearlings escaped branding
at times, either by remaining out of sight at the round-up, or in
the attending confusion.

Unbranded calves who had partly attained their growth, were
termed "mavericks," and when the herds of different owners
mingled, there was, usually, a division of the mavericks, since
it could not be accurately told who owned them.