"I thought as much," said Mr. Claxton, "and for that reason I've had Bill pick out horses that were gentle and thoroughly broken. I feel that I'm responsible to your parents to see that you take no risks. You can practise on these, and after you've learned to ride well, I may let you have some that are younger and friskier."
In a few minutes Hank came up, leading four horses by ropes. They were good looking and strong limbed and they had been groomed until their coats shone like satin. They were not of the bucking-broncho type, but steady and reliable.
From the bunk-house Hank brought four saddles and the bridles and fitted them into place. Then he gave a lift to each of the boys and they settled on the horses' backs.
"Now, Hank," directed Mr. Claxton, "you've got nothing else to do this morning but teach these lads how to ride. Go slow at first and show them all there is to know about managing a horse. Nobody knows more about that than you do."
Hank grinned at the compliment.
"Jest leave it to me, boss," he said. "I'll make regular hoss wranglers outen these kids if they stay here long enough."
There was a perfectly level space of several hundred yards in front of the ranch buildings, and here Hank instructed his pupils for the next two hours. He taught them how to sway with the motion of their mounts, how to guide them by the pressure of their knees as well as with the bit, how to hold the reins loosely yet firmly, and how to pat and talk to the horses until they won their confidence and affection.
The boys were apt pupils and paid the closest attention to his teachings, so that when the dinner gong sounded Hank was able to report to his employer that they had made very satisfactory progress.
They practised a little that afternoon also, though Mr. Claxton would not let them keep at it too long on the first day. They were frightfully lame and sore that night from the saddle and found it difficult to sleep. But this wore away after the first day, and in two or three days more they were able to ride about at a good degree of speed and Hank announced that they would "do."
That first week at the ranch was one of unalloyed delight for the Fairview boys. They hobnobbed with the cowboys, who they found were a rough but friendly lot, accompanied them on their rounds, watched them as they roped and branded, gasped with delight as they saw the way they tamed and rode the bucking bronchos in the corral, and soon were familiar with all the mysteries of ranch life that up to now had been a sealed book to them.