It came to him that he was at the Long Tom, and he remembered having left the Circle S herd out in the blizzard.
This stirred him to action, and he went back to the kitchen with the intention of lighting the fire and getting breakfast.
He stopped in the doorway in astonishment. Stella, with her sleeves rolled to the elbows, was busily engaged at the stove, singing as she worked.
"Good morning," said Ted. "You beat me to it. Why didn't you wake me up and put me to work?"
"Hello!" said Stella cheerily. "You looked so tired sitting in that chair that I thought I'd let you sleep. At any rate, cooking breakfast is no work for a boy in a house. Get ready. Breakfast will be on the table in a minute. What do you think I found in the shed behind the house? A mountain sheep already dressed, and hung up for us. The fellow who left this house for us certainly was a good one. He knew we'd come in hungry, and left everything ready for us."
"That was just like Fred Sturgis. He's one of the best fellows in the world. He's the owner of the ranch. Young New York fellow. Wanted to spend the winter in the East. That's how I was able to get the ranch. But I'll bet he'll be back here before the snow melts. You couldn't keep him off the range for any length of time."
"He certainly has good taste. The house is almost as nice as the Moon Valley house, but nothing is quite as nice as that."
Mrs. Graham and Carl were roused, and they were soon sitting down to chops from a mountain sheep and corn bread which Stella had made; and they all voted that winter life in Montana promised to be a very jolly thing.
When Ted went outdoors the whole world was simply a glittering waste where the sun shone on, and was reflected back from the vast field of snow.
Sultan was in the sheltered corral, and as Ted threw the saddle on his back he reared and jumped about like a playful kitten.