“Oh! that’s it; and the boys are in for a lesson, I can see. When they get a dose of the old style of slinging hash together they’ll never have another word to say about Charley. That’s the way things go, sometimes; you never miss the water until the well runs dry.”
“Looks like they might be going to start right away, Frank. Here come the boys on the jump, to say goodbye, and hope you’ll be feeling better soon.”
“I hope they won’t think I’m faking this headache, just to get out of riding on the round-up with them?” remarked Frank, uneasily.
“They know you better than that,” returned his cousin. “Any fellow who has got the nerve to ride in an aeroplane would be equal to anything, so Buckskin and every one else swears. Try as we can, you know there isn’t one of them dares go up. What Buckskin told them about his sensations has given the whole bunch cold feet so far as wanting to try a ride among the clouds. The earth, alkali dust and all, is good enough for them, they say. Hello! boys, hope you have a grand good time. And if Frank’s feeling O. K., look for us along some time tomorrow. I want to get some cracker-jack pictures of how you round up the cattle, and brand the same, those that need the Double X mark.”
Every puncher insisted on gripping the hand of each of the Bird boys, while his restless pony danced, and snorted, and acted as though just wild to start off like a comet.
Then came Uncle Jethro and the foreman, Waldo Kline, to also shake hands, and say how sorry they felt at not having the visitors at the ranch along; but the boys again repeated their intention of looking in on the workers later on.
With a tremendous racket and waving of hats, the string started off, and Andy could not resist aiming his kodak after them, for the scene was an inspiring one, which he and Frank would never forget.
Further and further away drew the caravan, the mules hitched to the chuck wagon being kept on the trot by old Shorty, who had once again come into his own as cook for the outfit; yet wore a troubled look on his face, as though he felt uneasy concerning the outcome. For cow punchers are no respecters of persons when they feel that they have good cause for complaint concerning the quality of the grub with which they are being served; and Shorty had before then known of cooks being actually tarred and feathered just because they failed to come up to the expectations of the clamorous bunch of reckless cow men. When they had vanished from sight far away over the plain, in a cloud of dust, Frank went in to lie down again; while Andy started to amuse himself developing some of the films he had just exposed.
And as the morning advanced it proved even a hotter day than the preceding one had been, so that Frank felt he had acted wisely in declining to take chances on so hard a gallop, with his head in such a whirl.
It was just before noon that Andy came into the room in somewhat of a state of excitement.