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The women around him urged him also, saying few of his aunt's words fell to the ground; and as the Lowland farmers continued to look moodily on the scene, Robin Oig determined to close it at any sacrifice. "Well, then," said the young drover, giving the scabbard of the weapon to Hugh Morrison, "you Lowlanders care nothing for these freats. Keep my dirk for me.
"This is Vaughan," said Stobart, pointing to his friend. "My name's Stobart." "Stobart! Stobart!" said Peter in surprise. "Anything to do with Boss Stobart?" Sax had never heard his father's nickname, so he answered in a puzzled tone, "Boss Stobart?" "Yes, bless you. Boss Stobart. And a fine man too. The best drover that ever crossed a horse in this country. Don't I know it too?
Last year, during the vacation, I took a trip with Will Brinsmead, Mr Strelley's head drover, as far as Stourbridge, to the fair, and I never enjoyed any thing more in my life. I thought then, and I think now, that for a young man who likes being on horseback, and enjoys the free air of heaven, galloping across country, there is not a pleasanter sort of life.
Another half century saw the Gap the favorite haunt of the greatest of American bandits the noted John A. Murrell and his gang. They infested the country for years, now waylaying the trader or drover threading his toilsome way over the lone mountains, now descending upon some little town, to plunder its stores and houses.
The ladino was separated from the bunch of Circle Diamond cattle. Warren and his satellite drove the rest from the camp. "War, looks like," commented Dad Wrayburn. "Yes," agreed the drover. "I wish it didn't have to be. But Peg-Leg called for a showdown. He came here to force my hand. As regards the beef, he might have had it an' welcome. But that wouldn't have satisfied him.
Travelling on mule-back now as a Portuguese drover out of work, I dodged a couple of marauding parties below Penamacor, found Marmont in force in Sabugal at the bend of the Coa, on the 9th reached Guarda, a town on the top of a steep mountain, and there found General Trant in position with about 6,000 raw militiamen.
Perhaps, like Mark Tapley, he felt it a "credit being jolly" under such circumstances. By way of contrast, we found Dan and Jack optimistic and happy, with some good bullocks in hand, a record branding to report for the fortnight's work, and a drover in camp of such a delightful turn of mind that he was inclined to look upon every bullock mustered as "just the thing."
Well, if he don't return before I go, some of you tell him that he's wasting good time looking for a ford, for there ain't none." In the conversation which followed, we learned that Slaughter was driving for his brother Lum, a widely known cowman and drover, whom we had seen in Dodge.
"Naw," said the boss, "not the new horrse that bay horrse we bought frae the drover. The ane he said was white when he's wanted." And so, by degrees, the animal came to be referred to as the horse that's white when he's wanted, and at last settled down to the definite name of "White-when-he's-wanted". White-when-he's-wanted didn't seem much of an acquisition.
In a two days' run they would lay down the cattle farther on their way than we could possibly drive in six weeks, even if the country was open, not to say anything about the wear and tear of horseflesh. But Don Lovell had not been a trail drover for nearly fifteen years without understanding his business as well as the freight agents did theirs.
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