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And I swear, by God, that I’ll never night-herd again

Come a ti yi yippy …

Garvey let the song trail off infor the riders’ brief palaver

“They’re as contented as ticks on a dog,” Garvey said

“Let’s hope it stays that way,” Benteen replied, and kneed his horse forward Behind him, Garvey picked up the chorus where he’d left off

… yippy yay, yippy yay

Come a ti yi yippy, yippy yay

I went to the boss to draw my roll,

He had it figured out I was nine dollars in the hole

There was a score of verses orthem all and h Rounding the herd, Benteen angled the dun horse toward caht of another ca riders today, and he’d mentioned to Benteen that the Ten Bar herd was behind them

He left the dun tied at the picket line and carried his saddle to the ca into the flae-wizened coould do because it blinded hi textures of darkness

Knowing the night , round, a “soogan”—quilt—cushioning its hardness Many of the them to cover their faces Bob Vernon, the scholar of the bunch, was reading a dog-eared copy of Plato for the fifth time

A cowboy’s bedroll was an and a tarp It held nearly all his possessions that he didn’t carry on his person Everything froarette papers to a spare cinch and a rope, froirl, fro material to a marlinespike, was kept in it

Young Joe Dollarhide was sitting with Lorna, too green to the trail to know that the sleep he was et for two days or ot it into their heads to stampede They could keep a man in the saddle for days with no sleep and only dried jerky to eat

“I’ spread ofto Lorna when Benteen walked up “I already got my brand all picked out A dollar mark for my name—a dollarup with the association and wanted Lorna to notice it, too Then he was absently et a place of my own”