For some days they had made very short journeys, as one of the horses had rubbed a sore place on its shoulder, and consequently refused to pull at all. Lem at last had to tie it on at the back of the waggon, and arrange the other three animals in unicorn fashion--that is, one in front of two. This, of course, delayed their progress a good deal. Jack was delighted with the novelty of all he saw, and a band of antelopes bounding away in the distance nearly drove him wild with excitement. One evening they came upon some cowboys who had just bunched up a huge herd of cattle for the night. There were nearly three thousand beasts, and it was a wonderful sight to see how a few men managed to keep so many cattle in check. The cowboys were stationed on their horses at near distances all round the herd like so many sentinels. If an animal broke away, a horseman was after it at lightning speed. With a swift turn of his arm he would throw the lariat with a true aim over the horns of the runaway, and the sagacious horse, knowing what was expected from it, would twist round on his hind-legs, and the jerk on the rope would bring the fugitive down to the ground. Sometimes the cowboys galloped round the running beast, and headed it back to the herd without using the lariat or long leather rope. Jack and his companions camped for the night close to the cowboys, and Jack took a great interest in them for Steve's sake. They relieved each other like guards all through the night. The way they rode was wonderful in Jack's eyes, and their horses were so well trained, they turned to the right or left as their riders bent their bodies in the direction in which they wanted to go, and if the reins were thrown over an animal's head it would stand quite still. There was great work next morning, as the cowboys made an early start, and the bustle was most exciting to Jack as he watched them standing or sitting in groups round their grub-waggon eating their breakfast. Then, directly after, they tightened their saddles, and before long the gigantic herd of cattle moved slowly on. Such a bellowing they made, and the dust rose in a huge cloud behind them, in which they were soon lost to sight. Their grub-waggon followed them, and shortly after Lem got his horses harnessed, and he, Jeff, and Jack, taking their places in their prairie schooner, rolled on once more towards the mountains.