“He was two days late bringing in supplies, and when he came he told me about her. I told him he was a fool to even think of a girl. It was a bad country to bring a girl into. The Cheyennes were unfriendly then, and there were a lot of them in the valley. They stole cattle and horses. It kept us busy protectin’ our herds. “But Buck went back to the post, over thirty miles from our ranch, and was gone five days. He was going to bring in more ammunition, but when he came back he was drunk and had no ammunition, so I left him there and went after it. “And I met this girl. Her name was Janice Gray. Pretty name, eh? And she was pretty. I found that Buck had proposed to her and she had turned him down. Two days later we were married and went back to the ranch.” Park Reber smiled bitterly and looked at the ceiling. “I don’t know why she married me, June. I can see the look on Buck’s face yet when we rode in and told him. And I had forgotten the ammunition. He didn’t say much. Didn’t wish us happiness--just sat there and looked at the ground. Finally he said-- “‘Park, I’ll pay you for this some day.’” “I didn’t know what he meant at the time. He saddled his horse and rode away. Later on he built a cabin at the forks of the river and sent two men for half of the stock. I helped them round up all the cattle and horses, and we divided them equally. “But he never came near me. I heard that he said he would pay me back for what I had done, but I did not pay any attention to what I heard. We were happy, Janice and I. The spring came and turned into summer. There were few settlers. The Cheyennes were gettin’ worse, but every one said that when the winter came they’d be driven out by the deep snows and lack of game. The deer all move over to Clear Valley in the winter, because of the laurel, which does not grow here. “The winter came early that season. I had cut a lot of wild hay on the bottoms, but not enough to feed stock all winter. In October there was three feet of snow, and it did not go off. By Christmas my hay was all gone, and I was in a desperate condition. “I knew that the north end of the valley was open, and there was only one thing to try and do--to take my herd out of my range. I had one man working for me. He was a young man by the name of Sneed--John Sneed--a good boy. I couldn’t leave Janice alone, yuh see. There would be a baby along soon, and some one had to stay with her. There was a doctor at the trading post. I tell yuh, I was desperate, so I broke trail with horses and led my cattle to the upper end of the valley. It was a tough pull. I took them past Buck’s place, but didn’t see him. He had moved his cattle out a few days before, and the trail was open from there.