the cook, whose proximity and 

 authority keep her in the trail. 

 Like some humans she is happier 

 within sight of the cross, and she 

 has noticed that her companions 

 one and two ahead, get all the ad- 

 monishing pebbles. She likes to have 

 Baldy, a raw-boned bay, in front of 

 her in spite of his unpleasant posses- 

 sion of a free-flying pair of heels. 

 Resignation is her chief attribute. 

 Baldy, aside from, or because of, the 

 above-mentioned trait, is a pro- 

 fessional bucker. He always expects 

 to buck off his pack once or twice 

 the first morning, but after that pre- 

 liminary flourish he behaves like a 

 gentleman. Baldy 's dashing spirit 

 seems to captivate the ladies, for 

 Maybell always struggles for the place 

 in front of him to secure the bitter- 

 sweet of his friendly nips at tail and 

 flank. Maybell is a brown mare of 

 cow-like disposition and structure. 

 Upon her pot-bellied frame no sad- 

 dle will stick, and although the poor 

 thing was cinched within an inch 

 of her life, apparently, so copious 

 were the groans and wheezings, a 

 cunning device of blowing herself 



