Snap 
II 
Though not a regular traveller, I was or- 
dered out on the road in the autumn, and then 
Snap and the landlady were left together, with 
unfortunate developments. Contempt on his 
part—fear on hers; and hate on both. 
I was placing a lot of barb-wire in the north- 
ern tier of States. My letters were forwarded 
once a week, and I got several complaints 
from the landlady about Snap. 
Arrived at Mendoza, in North Dakota, I 
found a fine market for wire. Of course my 
dealings were with the big storekeepers, but I 
went about among the ranchmen to get their 
practical views on the different styles, and thus 
I met the Penroof Brothers’ Cow-outfit. 
One cannot be long in Cow country now 
without hearing a great deal about the depre- 
dations of the ever wily and destructive Gray- 
wolf. The day has gone by when they can 
be poisoned wholesale, and they are a serious 
drain on the rancher’s profits. ‘The Penroof 
Brothers, like most live cattle-men, had given 
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