Cow-punchers call the small Southwestern cattle “dogies.”

“What do you mean?” asked Ted.  “I was looking them over this morning.  Rode through the bunch.  They seemed to be all right then.”

“Oh, they’re eatin’ well, an’ aire as likely a lot o’ beef ez ever I see,” replied Bud.

“Well, what then?”

“Thar ain’t so many o’ them ez there wuz, er my eye hez gone back on me.”

“Any of them get away?”

“I figger it so.”

“What have you found out?”

“Some one is liftin’ our cattle.  That’s what I mean.”

“Great Scott!  What makes you think so?”

“Ted, ther herd has shrunk.”

“You judge by the eye, I suppose.”

“Yes.  That is the only way I have o’ judgin’.  We hev never had a count o’ them since we drove them onto this range.”

“How many do you think we are shy?”

“My eye tells me erbout five hundred.”

“Great guns!  How could five hundred head get away from us?  And right under our noses, too.”

“Easy enough.  You must remember that since Stella has been gone we’ve paid no more attention to the herd than if we didn’t own them.”

“That’s true.  As for myself, I confess that I’ve given them no attention.  And I’ve kept you fellows so busy that we’ve left the cattle to take care of themselves, almost.”

“Well, it’s time we woke up ter ther situation, er soon we won’t hev no more cattle than a rabbit.”

“That’s so.  We’ll run a count of them in the morning.”

“It’s shore got me puzzled.  I can’t think whar they could hev gone.”

“Strayed, possibly.”

“P’r’aps.  Ever hear o’ there bein’ any rustlers in this part o’ ther country?”

“No, I never have.  But there are some pretty bad citizens in this section, who, if they never have rustled cattle, certainly are capable of it.”

“Alludin’ to who?”

“Well, there’s Shan Rhue and his gang, for instance.”

“They’re pretty bad actors, fer shore.  But I ain’t positive thet they’re ther kind what would rustle.  They’re jest plain town thieves an’ gamblers.  They ain’t cow-punchers.  It gen’rally is fellers what has been in ther cow business at some time er another what rustles stock.”

“Oh, it doesn’t take much of a man to steal cattle.  A thieving gambler could do it as well as another.”

“But our brand and ear crop?  They shore couldn’t get away from them.”

“They’re not so hard, Bud.  A good man could run our stock out of this part of the country and alter the brand without any trouble.”

“Shore, ther brand is not so hard to alter.”

“Let’s ride back to camp and look at the brand book, and see if any one has a similar brand to ours, or one that they could alter without trouble.  But, remember, I’m not going to give myself any uneasiness in the matter, and I think we will find the herd all there.  I can’t see how so many cattle as you think could get away from us.”