Sid went. One of the men held out a bottle to Dave. He took it, and drank.
"Give some to the youngster," said the man good-naturedly. "He's tired driving cattle, I reckon."
Dave looked at Sid, but Sid shook his head.
"Too fine to drink with us cowboys?" asked the man by the fire.
"Let him alone," said Dave. "He ain't going to drink if he don't want to."
Sid went back to his tree. He put an old gray quilt around him, and lay down. Then he remembered. He rose again, and knelt in the dark by the tree trunk. He asked God to keep the cattle from injuring anybody, and to keep the men and Dave from becoming very drunk. Sid was afraid.
He lay down again. Once in a while he looked over toward the fire. Dave came to it sometimes, and always one or the other of the men offered him a bottle. Sometimes Dave acted as though he were going to refuse; but the other men always joked, and then Dave drank.
"Why doesn't he stay away from the fire if he doesn't want to drink?" thought Sid. "Maybe he's cold. I wonder if mother—"
He went to sleep.
Next day they drove the cattle again a long, long way. At last they came to a town. There was the railroad, and there were the stock cars. When the cattle were on board, Dave and Sid jumped on their horses.