Leaving the reins dangling on Ticktock’s neck, Jim slid from the horse’s back. “Keep ’em herded, Ticktock,” he shouted, and started after the old cow in the vegetable garden.
Ticktock followed his instructions remarkably well. He seemed to sense what was wanted and faithfully kept the remaining eight cows tightly bunched. Shouting and waving his arms, Jim chased the old cow from the garden before any damage was done except a few deep hoof prints in the soft earth. As he herded the straying animal back across the sidewalk toward the main herd, he looked for the stray on the opposite side of the street. Dismayed he saw the steer was already across the well-kept lawn and almost to an orderly flower garden which nestled at the side of a little white bungalow.
Just as the frisky young bull was about to plow into the little flower bed, a liver and white shape came hurtling around the corner of the bungalow, barking furiously. Ferociously, the dog went after the steer, which turned tail and fled back toward the street. Nipping at the steer’s heels, the dog chased the animal across the sidewalk.
“Here, boy. Come here, old fellow,” shouted Jim as invitingly as he knew how. He was deeply grateful to the dog for helping save the day, but he didn’t want the barking warrior to get the whole herd excited. Then there would be serious trouble. Fortunately, the dog was well trained and stopped his barking, trotting obediently up to Jim. It was a springer spaniel with beautiful markings. Jim longed to reach down and pat his new friend’s head but the cattle seemed more important at the moment. By now the herd was altogether again and Ticktock was doing a magnificent job keeping the cattle tightly bunched. The little mustang was slowly circling the herd which was now at a standstill.
Since there was nothing available from which to climb up on the mustang’s back, Jim decided to walk the remaining short distance to the stockyards. Moreover, it would be easier to keep the cattle under control with himself on one side and Ticktock on the other. He started the cattle moving once more. As they proceeded down the street, the spaniel followed. At first, Jim tried to get the dog to return to his home, fearing that the animal would start barking and stampede the cattle. But the brown and white springer seemed determined to accompany him. He turned out to be a very competent helper, trotting along on one side of the herd very quietly until one of the cattle attempted to break from the knot. Then the little dog would bark furiously and chase the offender back into place.
With perfect teamwork such as this, the rest of the journey was uneventful. When they arrived at the stockyard Ticktock was on one side of the herd, the dog on the other, and Jim walked behind. Colonel Flesher came out of his office, watching the last stage with open-mouthed amazement.
“That certainly takes the prize,” he observed when the cattle were safely penned. “You, that horse and the dog all working together like clockwork. I hope you didn’t walk all the way to town.”
“No, just the last half-mile. It was simple out on the country road. Going through town, I figured out this was the easy way to handle ’em.”
“Well, I have to admit you did it beautifully,” said the stock buyer in admiration. “I forgot to tell you, but that little road over there west of the yards comes in parallel to the railroad tracks. There are no houses or yards along that. It might be a little longer in case you have to circle town to get to it, but it would probably be less trouble in the long run.”
“I’ll take that next time,” said Jim, who didn’t care to repeat his recent experience.