CHAPTER V
STRATEGY AND A SURPRISE
“Gub pi-i-i-le!” yelled the cook at the top of his voice.
The weary herders with Sims and Larkin answered the cry as one man, for they were spent with the exertions of the night, and heavy-eyed from want of sleep. The meal of mutton, camp-bread, beans, and Spanish onions was dispatched with the speed that usually accompanied such ceremonies, and Sims told off the herders to watch the flock while the others slept.
A general commanding soldiers would have pressed forward, thus increasing the advantage gained in the enemy’s country, but when sheep compose the marching column, human desires are the last thing consulted. After their long thirst and forced drive it was necessary that the animals recover their strength for a day amid abundant feed and water.
Immediately after breakfast Larkin called a small, close-knit herder to him.
“Can you ride a horse?” he asked. 51
“Si, señor,” replied the man, who came originally from the southern range.
“Then saddle that piebald mare and take provisions for four days. Travel day and night until you reach the Larkin ranch in Montana, and give this letter to the man who is in charge there.”