Produced by Joshua Hutchinson, Tiffany Vergon, Charles
Aldarondo, Charles Franks and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team.
The Diamond X After Cattle Rustlers
By WILLARD F. BAKER
"Come on, Nort! It's your turn to cut out the next one!"
"S'pose I make a mux of it, Bud!"
"Shucks! You won't do that! You've roped a calf before!"
"Yes, but not at a big round-up like this. If I make a fizzle thefellows will give me the laugh!"
"What if they do? Everybody knows you haven't been at it long,and you've got to make a start. Besides, anybody's likely to makea mistake. That's why they put rubbers on the ends of pencils.Ride in now and snake out the next one, Nort!"
"All right, Bud! Here goes!"
Blaze, the pony Nort Shannon was riding toward the bunch ofcattle gathered at Diamond X ranch for the big, spring round-up,leaped forward at the sound of his master's voice, and inresponse to the little jerk of the reins and the clap of heelsagainst his sides. Into the herd of milling, turning and twistingcattle the intelligent animal made his way, needing hardly anyguidance from Nort. The lad, by a mere touch, corrected thecourse of Blaze slightly, and in a moment he was heading for acalf which bawled loudly.
"Get him, Nort!" cried a voice from among the cowboys looking on.
"Don't get me fussed, Dick!" Nort shouted back to his brother,who sat astride his pony near Bud Merkle. "It'll be your turnnext!"
Into the herd he wormed his way on Blaze, dodging here and there,but with his eyes ever on the calf he hoped to cut out so itcould be branded. Nort leaned forward in his saddle, and then hiscousin and brother, eagerly watching from outside the herd, sawthe boy rancher's hand shoot up.
Through the air the rope went, turning, twisting, writhing anduncoiling like a snake. In an instant it had flipped around thehind legs of a calf.
"Good!" yelled Dick.
"Even Babe couldn't 'a' done better!" complimented Bud,enthusiastically.
"'Tisn't over yet!" gasped Nort, for he ha