When, in some chagrin, I mentioned to the round-up captain the fact that I had skipped one animal, he merely laughed.
"Why, kid," said he, "you can't do nothin' with a cow that gets on the prod that away 'thout you ropes her; and what could you do with her out there if you DID rope her ?" So I learned one thing more about cows.
After the steer cut had been finished, the men representing the neighbouring ranges looked through the herd for strays of their brands.
These were thrown into the stray-herd, which had been brought up from the bottom lands to receive the new accessions.

Work was pushed rapidly, as the afternoon was nearly gone.
In fact, so absorbed were we that until it was almost upon us we did not notice a heavy thunder-shower that arose in the region of the Dragoon Mountains, and swept rapidly across the zenith.

Before we knew it the rain had begun.

In ten seconds it had increased to a deluge, and in twenty we were all to leeward of the herd striving desperately to stop the drift of the cattle down wind.
We did everything in our power to stop them, but in vain.

Slickers waved, quirts slapped against leather, six-shooters flashed, but still the cattle, heads lowered, advanced with slow and sullen persistence that would not be stemmed.