“You couldn’t sell your cattle at a worse time,” he insisted. “And how do you aim to round up the herd without more riders? You’ve kept Alkali and Lefty pretty well tied up with the dudes.”
“We’ll let the guests help with the roundup,” Connie declared gaily. “It should prove an exciting experience for them.”
“A lot of help they’d be. Especially Cecil.”
“Anyway, it will be a means of keeping them entertained. As for riders, we might get a few from the Slocer Ranch. Some of their cows will be mixed with ours and they’ll probably want to do their own cutting-out.”
“A roundup would take a couple of days,” the foreman frowned. “Some of the cows have strayed into the canyons. It will be a hard job to round them all up. How will you feed the men?”
“We’ll get out Dad’s old chuck wagon,” Connie said, her eyes dancing. “It hasn’t been used in years, but it will be fun to see it roll once more!”
“And will you have Marie do the cooking?” the foreman inquired sarcastically.
Connie shook her head, refusing to take offense.
“We’ll borrow Cookie from the Bar R Ranch and run everything in the grand old style. It should be a real roundup.”
“That’s what I’d like to see,” boomed a hearty voice behind them. “A roundup!”