It was not hard for the foreman to see the trend of events. Something
had roused an ugly mood in Perris. It might be, as he surmised, the
girl. No matter what, he was obviously not in a mood to bear tampering
with. Hervey determined to force the issue at once, knowing that his
other men would be a solid unit behind him.
"Hey there, Red!" he called, cheerily enough, but brusquely, and then,
bending over to fuss at a spur, he winked broadly at the other men.
They were instantly keen for the baiting of Perris, whatever form it
might take.
"Well?" said Red Perris.
"Trot over to the corral and rope that Roman-nosed buckskin with the
white stockings on her forelegs, will you? I got a few things to tend
to in here."
Now there was nothing entirely unheard of in a foreman ordering one of
his men to catch a saddle horse for him. But usually such things were
done by request rather than demand, and moreover, there was something
so breezy in the manner of Hervey, taking the compliance of Red so
for granted, that the latter raised his head slowly and turned to the
foreman with a gloomy eye. He had come to the ranch to hunt a wild
horse, not to play valet to a foreman.
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