[Illustration: “We’ll pay you two dollars a day—and furnish you with supplies,” she assured him soberly.—FRONTISPIECE. _See page 122._] SHEPHERDS OF THE WILD BY EDISON MARSHALL AUTHOR OF “_The Snowshoe Trail_,” “_The Voice of the Pack_,” “_The Strength of the Pines_,” _etc._ [Illustration] A. L. BURT COMPANY Publishers New York Published by arrangement with Little, Brown and Company Printed in U. S. A. _Copyright, 1922_, BY LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY. —— Published February, 1922 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA Shepherds of the Wild CHAPTER I The mouth of the canyon was darkened with shadows when the bull elk came stealing down the brown trail through the dusky thicket. In all this mountain realm, a land where the wild things of the forest still held sway, there was no creature of more majestic bearing or noble beauty. He was full-grown; his great antlers swept back over his powerful shoulders; and it was evident from his carriage that he had no fear of such enemies as might be lurking in the gloomy canyon. For it was known far through the forest that even the great puma or the terrible grizzly, unless they had the advantage of ambush, treated Spread Horn with considerable respect. Signs of July were everywhere: signs that were large print and clear to the eyes of the wild creatures, but which would have been mostly unintelligible to men. The huckleberries were just beginning to ripen in the thickets as always, in the seventh month. The fledglings, the little weasel noticed as he climbed here and there through the branches, were just the July size,—still soft with the fat of squabhood but yet big enough to make a pleasing lump in the stomach. The pines are a wonderful calendar in themselves; and only to the eyes of human beings, badly in need of spectacles, do they seem never to change. They go from a deep, rich green to a strange dusky blue, and now they were just about halfway between. This fact, as well as the size and developments of their cones, indicated as clearly as a printed calendar that the month was July. Besides, old Spread Horn had a sure index to the month in his own antlers.