'I shall be sorry to leave it all,' he said, 'but I must, Snap! You did not know that I had sold the ranche?'
'Sold the ranche! No, indeed! But do you mean it?' replied Snap.
'Yes. This will be my last round-up, and I suppose I ought not to grumble. I've got to go home and look after the brewery at home. My brother's health has broken down, and I am the only other man fit for the work in the family. You know I learnt the game before I took to ranching, and, as I've made ranching pay, and sold the place and part of the herd well, I, as I said before, ought not to grumble. But,' he added after a while, 'I do. I shall leave my heart at Rosebud.'
Then they touched their horses and rode on for a while.
'Do the boys know?' asked Snap.
'No. I've told old Dick. He has known all along. I shall tell the boys, all of them, before the round-up, and of course I've made arrangements for them to stay on with the new boss if they like,' replied Nares.
'What is Dick going to do?' was the next question.
'Dick!' replied the cattle-baron; 'oh, Dick's an old fool. He says he has had one boss, but he doesn't mean to have another. He goes when I do. I think if he had any capital he would set up in a small way for himself. You see, if he takes his pay in cows, as he very likely will do, he could start from here with a little band of nearly fifty. And you, Snap, will stop on, of course?'
'I don't know. I don't think so,' replied the boy. 'I wonder——'
'Wonder! What do you wonder? What is the conundrum?' asked Nares.