" And
this open praise made the youth from Crumville blush.
"Just wait till Jessie hears how he won," said the shipowner's son.
"She'll weave a laurel crown for his brow and----"
"Don't you say a word about it!" cried Dave, and blushed more than ever.
"I didn't win by so very much, anyway."
Forward the party went, through the woods, and then in the direction of
the foothills beyond. The race had not hurt the horses in the least, for
all of them were tough and used to hard usage. They were following a
well-defined trail, but presently branched off to the southward and
commenced to climb the first of the hills.
"That hollow is about quarter of a mile from here," explained the
cowboy. "Be careful now, or your horse will get into a hole, an' maybe
break a leg." And then they went forward with added caution, into the
midst of a growth of low bushes, dotted here and there with sagebrush.
Presently the cowboy uttered a long, loud whistle and this was answered
by somebody near the edge of the ravine. Then another ranch hand named
Tom Yates showed himself. He was on foot, but his horse was tethered not
far away.
"Well, where are they?" asked Todd, of the other cowboy.
"Where are they?" growled Tom Yates. "Where they always are when they go
over, hang 'em! Say, we're going to have a fierce job this time," he
added.
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