THE OLD COWBOY Part Forty
(continued)

"Little calf went headin' into a thicket and up the ridge. He managed to lasso a bush, and a couple of rocks on the way to the edge of the ridge. He had that calf so wound up it wasn't goin' to stop. The poor little thing did just what most scared calves do. He was headin' for that cliff off to the left.

Good thing I was on my toes that time. Ol' Jim had him goin' in a bee-line when I lassoed 'em, and brought 'em to a halt 'bout thirty feet from the edge.

Ol' 'Tanner' knew exactly what was goin' on. He planted himself hard into the ground just after that lariat fell around little calf's neck. The calf turned 'round like a spring recoiled. 'Tanner' started pullin' backwards and all little calf could do was kick up dust."

"Grandpa that little calf sure was misbehavin'!"

"Not really, Grandboy. He just lost track of where he was, and some fool was chasin' him so he kept on runnin' 'til I stopped him. Well anyway, 'Tanner' turned to lead 'em back to the herd when he felt the rope slack off a bit. Yeap we took 'em back to his kin, and I think he learned something about stickin' with his own."

"You mean the whole herd?"

"Yeap, they was all from the same kind of breed, like longhorns, you know. He liked tht newer breed, 'Whiteface', or some call 'em 'Herefords'."

"Grandpa, what's the difference?"

"One's long and lean and has long horns out to the side. The other's shorter and squattier and the horns turn toward the front and down, and they are shorter too.

Ya know Grandboy, we was headin' towards the stockyards there at Amarillo. Drivin' them ol' cows right down beside the railroad track and along..."

To Be Continued. . .