II.
THE CATTLE HERDER.
For three days Ammon rode among the cattle. A born horseman he sat well the king's mount that had been sent him. During that time he had seen no more of Princess Alla though his ears had been filled with a multitude of servant's tales about her that were both weird and startling.
It so chanced that early in the morning as the herders drove the cattle to the waters of Sebus to drink, that the robbers from the mountains had congregated there to scatter the herds. This was not an unusual thing for the vast wealth of Lamoni in live stock was known and coveted. A rather peculiar criminal code existed, by which any servants who allowed the king's cattle to be stolen, were put to death, while the robbers retreated to their mountain fastnesses unmolested. This prevented collusion but encouraged the thieves.
As the cattle neared the river the robbers, with wild whoops, plunged in among them, scattering them in all directions. This was what they wanted so they could drive them off in bunches to their rendezvous. Ammon, who was not familiar with the conditions, viewed the scene with astonishment; but his surprise knew no bounds when he beheld the king's servants throw themselves violently to the ground and begin to weep in a paroxysm of grief.
"Look here, you will be run over," he cried heading off a frightened heifer. The chief danger was over, as the stampede was swallowed up in a cloud of dust across the plains.
"We are all dead men," wailed an old man to whom life was still sweet.
"I leave a young wife," added a youth in a lifeless monotone.
"What do you mean?" Ammon impatiently exclaimed.
"Simply this," explained a man of middle age, "when the king's cattle are stolen, the herders are put to death."
"Then they must be brought back," said Ammon with finality. "Instead of driveling here, spread out to the sides and help drive them in when I turn them this way."
The others eyed him as if paralyzed as he dug his heels into his horse and sped off across the plains like the whirlwind. As his flying figure wa? swallowed up by a cloud of dust, they arose and mechanically began to spread out on the prairie.
Ammon was handicapped as the cattle had the start of him. He leaned forward and swirled his lariat in the air although his poor beast was already panting with distended nostrils. Slowly he gained on the herd which was impeded by its own numbers. His horse was frothing with foam as he reached the front. He dared not plunge in to destruction but he edged along the outskirts, curving the herd to one side. His alert eyes had espied the leader, a young bull, and he made for him. Without putting himself directly in its infuriated way, he uttered a wild whoop and almost imperceptibly turned him in another direction. The cattle followed suit and traveled in a circle and by the time that the cowboys hedged them in they were able to drive them back to the waters of Sebus.
The robbers, unprepared for such tactics, had after their first unsuccessful attempt massed themselves together at the watering place to again scatter the herds as they came up.
Ammon called cheerily to the herders to encircle the cattle and guard the outskirts in case they again turned that way. Then he rode straight at the robbers. They were amused at this onslaught of a lone rider and thought that they could kill him at will, but when he hurtled among them and began to hew right and left with his polished blade, they took notice and heaved stones at him. He emerged from the shower unscathed and retaliated by striking down man after man. When he reached the leader, whom he distinguished by his white crest, he stopped long enough to kill him. For the rest he was content to disarm them, for they were panic stricken. Ammon understood a trick probably learned in his fencing at court, which stood him in good stead. His opponents fought him with clubs. By a dexterous stroke he disabled their arms so that they fell limp by their side. The robbers, completely routed, fled, and Lamoni's awestruck servants crowded up and gathered together the arms of the cattle thieves. Bearing these trophies of the encounter, they hurried to tell the wonderful tale to the king.
Ammon leisurely betook himself to the courtyard where he got out the horses and began to harness them to the king's chariot, as Lamoni had given instructions that it was to be prepared. He purposed to attend a feast given by his father, a neighboring but greater king. As he led the spirited animals out, one of them reared but Ammon yanked the bridle down and forced the brute into place. A flower fell at his feet and he looked up to see Alla watching him from one of the windows.
She leaned out and called, "My father wants you to come so he can thank you for saving his cattle today."
Ammon finished fastening the straps to the gilded chariot, picked up the blossom, and went in.