BACK TO THE BUFFALO RANGE 



taking them away, as soon as Wild Bill came 

 around to confirm the sale. 



"Now, men," said the veteran, when we reached 

 our boarding-house, "we're beginnin' to see our 

 way toward gettin' out of this town, an* the 

 sooner the better, I say; but we've got to do some 

 more plannin'. I'll give you my plans, an* if you 

 can suggest better ways, all right. To-morrow 

 mornin' we'll pay our bills, an' then we'll hitch 

 up an' pull out onto that open ground out t'other 

 side of Broadway and camp there an' go to 

 work gettin' ready to leave here. In camp we 

 can overhaul the outfit an' see just exactly what 

 more we need." 



"Nothing could be better," chipped in Jack. 



"Same here," I added. "Now tell us what to 

 do to get ready for travelling?" 



"Hold on," said Tom, "I've got another sug- 

 gestion to offer. We're going to have a heap 

 heavier load than them hunters had, an' I'm in 

 favor of gettin' a pair of lead harness an' spread- 

 ers an' putting them broncos on for leaders an' 

 work four going out. We'll want to take about 

 five months' supplies for ourselves an' what grain 

 we can haul to help our animals through the win- 

 ter, an' all that will make too much of a load for 

 the mules alone. We can't afford to feed our 

 stock full rations of grain, but they ought to have 

 some to help 'em through the worst weather an' 

 keep 'em from gettin' too poor." 



25 



