The waters of a run is important; for they take the part of
fences, keeping the cattle in certain localities; and as cattle must stay
within a day's journey or so of water, an unknown water is apt to upset a
man's calculations.
As the honour of finding the hole was all Dan's, it was named DS. in his
honour, and we had waited beside it while he cut his initials deep into
the trunk of a tree, deploring the rustiness of his education as he
carved. The upright stroke of the D was simplicity itself, but after
that complications arose.
"It's always got me dodged which way to turn the darned thing," Dan said,
scratching faint lines both ways, and standing off to decide the
question. We advised turning to the right, and the D was satisfactorily
completed, but S proved the "dead finish," and had to be wrestled with
separately.
"Can't see why they don't name a chap with something that's easily
wrote," Dan said, as we rode forward, with our united team of horses and
boys swinging along behind us, and M and T and O were quoted as examples.
"Reading's always had me dodged," he explained. "Left school before I
had time to get it down and wrestle with it."
"There's nothing like reading and writing," the Quiet Stockman broke in,
with an earnestness that was almost startling; and as he sat that evening
in the firelight poring over the "Cardinal's Snuff-box," I watched him
with a new interest.
