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“Yes, sir,” said Davy. “I’ll try.”

He followed Billy out; and they remounted their ponies.

“Good,” remarked Billy, as they rode away up the thronged street. “Mr. Majors is a queer sort, but he’s the right stuff. He’s a crank on swearing and drinking. We all have to sign that pledge, and if he hears a man swearing he goes straight to him and makes him quit. But everybody likes Mr. Majors, and they all try to keep the pledge. Mr. Russell isn’t so strict, though he backs up Mr. Majors. That’s a new wrinkle to the plains—that pledge business.”

Davy nodded.

“There’s no sense in swearing, anyhow,” mused Billy. “Jiminy, but my mother hated to have me start out bull whacking. It’s a tough life, and some of the teamsters, too, are about as tough as you make ’em. Ma saw Mr. Russell and Mr. Majors and they talked with her and said they’d look out for me: and she read the pledge, and so she let me go. Lew Simpson is a hard looker, you know. She didn’t like him until she found out from Mr. Russell that he wasn’t half as bad as he seemed. I’m mighty glad I’m here to post you on that herding business. It’s no easy job herding a thousand cattle. But you’ll make good. All you have to do is to tend to your job. Mother’ll fix you up with bedding, and if you need any clothes that we haven’t got, you can get them on the company account and they’ll take it out of your pay. See?”