“If yuh could only make every man love his job by contrast with somethin’ else a lot worse, what a peaceful world this would be,” thought Sims. “Now, sheep-herdin’ ain’t so plumb gentle yuh could call it a vacation, but when I think of cows an’ a round-up I shore do bless them old blackfaces for bein’ alive.”
Finally the long-drawn yell of the cook gave 154 notice that the meal was ready and all hands fell to with a will. They had hardly got started, however, when there came a sound of galloping feet from the north that brought them all upstanding and reaching for their weapons.
Over a near-by hill swept a body of perhaps fifty horsemen, each with a rifle across his saddle and a revolver at hip. They were typical plainsmen, and as the last radiance of the sun lighted them up, Sims could see that they wore the regular broad-brimmed white Stetsons of the cattle men.
“Put down yore guns, boys,” said Sims after a moment’s thought. “Let’s get out o’ this peaceable if we can.”
The men put away their weapons and waited in silence. The horsemen swept up at the tireless trot of the plains until they recognized the tall, gaunt figure of the chief herdsman. Then, with a yell, they galloped into camp, drew rein abruptly, and dismounted.
Sims recognized the leader as Jimmie Welsh, the foreman of Larkin’s Montana sheep ranch, and a happy, contented grin spread over his face.
“Glory be, boys!” he yelled, going forward to meet the horsemen. “Rustle around there, cookee,” he called back over his shoulder, “yuh got company fer supper!” 155
The riders after their long journey were only too glad to see a permanent camp, and dismounted with grunts of pleasure and relief. They had come a distance of nearly two hundred and fifty miles in four days, and their horses were no longer disposed to pitch when their riders got upon them in the morning. The party was composed of all the available men from Larkin’s ranch and others from the neighboring places.
In these men the hatred of cowmen and their ways was even more intense than vice versa, this being a result, no doubt, of the manifold insults they had suffered, and the fact that, as a rule, cowboys far outnumber sheep-herders and run them off the country at will. The call to arms taken north by Miguel had met with instant and enthusiastic response, and these men had come south to wipe out in one grand mêlée their past disgraces.
During supper Sims told of Larkin’s offer of five dollars a day, and the riders nodded approvingly; it was the customary hire of fighting men in the range wars.