"Or why she consents to traipse all over the country with you," laughed Ted.
"Ted, she absolutely cannot refuse me a thing."
"So I see. You've got her hypnotized—as, indeed, you have all the rest of us. But ride back and cheer her up all you can. I told McCall, the cook, to make some good, strong coffee and to serve it to any of the boys who wanted it, as it will be some time before we can have supper. Have Mac take her a cup of good, strong coffee and something to eat. That may make her a little more cheerful."
"I'll do it. But don't you want some coffee, too?"
"Not for me. I've got something else to do right here. This is going to be a race between the herd and the snow clouds, and it means a whole lot to us."
"Afraid of being snowed in?"
"You bet. If this bunch of cattle gets snowed in I see our finish. We'll lose half of them before we get to the grass."
"I don't know a thing about the Northern range, and I can't see how you're going to bring that herd through to spring. It would take thousands of tons of hay, and I don't know how much corn to feed them."
Ted laughed.
"I see you don't know much about the North," he said. "But what should a girl brought up in Texas know of wintering cattle in the snow? You see, it's this way: Montana is the best winter cattle range in the United States.