CHAPTER II
THE TAUNT
Pocus Pete shaded his eyes with his hand and gazed long and earnestly in the direction indicated by Dave Carson. The two cow-ponies, evidently glad of the little rest, nosed about the sun-baked earth for some choice morsel of grass.
"It might be either—or both," Pete finally said.
"Either or both?" repeated Dave. "How can that be?"
"Don't you see two specks there, Dave? Look ag'in."
Dave looked. His eyes were younger and perhaps, therefore, sharper than were those of the foreman of Bar U ranch, but Dave lacked the training that long years on the range had given the other.
"Yes, I do see two," the youth finally said, "But I can't tell which is which."
"I'm not altogether sure myself," Pete said, quietly and modestly. "We'll ride a little nearer," he suggested, "an' then we can tell for sure. I guess we're on th' track of some strays all right."
"Some strays, Pete? You mean our strays; don't you?" questioned Dave.