Priest was rather slow in making his appearance, riding leisurely, but on coming up innocently inquired of his employer, "Did you want to see me?""Yes.Paul, I've just lost one of my foremen.I need a good reliable man to take a herd to Fort Washakie.It's an Indian agency on the head waters of the North Platte in Wyoming.Will you tackle the job?""A good soldier is always subject to orders," replied The Rebel with a military salute."If you have a herd for delivery in Wyoming, give me the men and horses, and I'll put the cattle there if possible.You are the commandant in the field, and I am subject to instructions.""There's your remuda and outfit, then," said Lovell, pointing to the one intended for Tolleston, "and you'll get a commissary at the ranch and go into camp this evening.You'll get your herd in Nueces County, and Jim will assist in the receiving.Any other little details will all be arranged before you get away."Calling for all the men in Tolleston's outfit, the two rode away for that remuda.Shortly before the trouble arose, our employer instructed those with the Buford cattle to take ten extra horses for each herd.There were now over a hundred and forty head to be culled back, and Sponsilier was entitled to ten of them.In order to be sure of our numbers, we counted the remaining band, and Forrest and I trimmed them down to two hundred and fifty-four head.As this number was too small to be handled easily in the open, we decided to take them into the corrals for the final division.After the culling back was over, and everything had started for the ranch, to oblige Sponsilier, I remained behind and helped him to retrim his remuda.Unless one knew the horses personally, it was embarrassing even to try and pick ten of the best ones from the overplus.But I knew many of them at first hand, and at Dave's request, after picking out the extra ones, continued selecting others in exchange for horses in his old band.We spent nearly an hour cutting back and forth, or until we were both satisfied that his saddle stock could not be improved from the material at hand.
The ranch headquarters were fully six miles from the round-up.
Leaving Sponsilier delighted with the change in his remuda, Irode to overtake the undivided band which were heading for the ranch corrals.On coming up with them, Forrest proposed that we divide the horses by a running cut in squads of ten, and toss for choice.Once they were in the corrals, this could have been easily done by simply opening a gate and allowing blocks of ten to pass alternately from the main into smaller inclosures.But Iwas expecting something like this from Quince, and had entirely different plans of my own.Forrest and I were good friends, but he was a foxy rascal, and I had never wavered in my determination to get the pick of that horse herd.Had I accepted his proposal, the chance of a spinning coin might have given him a decided advantage, and I declined his proposition.I had a remuda in sight that my very being had hungered for, and now I would take no chance of losing it.But on the other hand, I proposed to Forrest that he might have the assistance of two men in Flood's outfit who had accompanied the horse herd home from Dodge.In the selecting of Jim's extra twentyfive, the opinion of these two lads, as the chosen horses proved, was a decided help to their foreman.But Quince stood firm, and arguing the matter, we reached the corrals and penned the band.
The two top bunches were held separate and were left a mile back on the prairie, under herd.The other remudas were all in sight of the ranch, while a majority of the men were eating a late dinner.Still contending for his point, Forrest sent a lad to the house to ask our employer to come over to the corrals.On his appearance, accompanied by Flood, each of us stated our proposition.
"Well, the way I size this up," said old man Don, "one of you wants to rely on his own judgment and the other don't.It looks to me, Quince, you want a gambler's chance where you can't lose.
