Every owner has a certain brand, as you know, and then he crops and slits the ears in a certain way, too.

In that manner he don't have to look at the brand, except to corroborate the ears; and, as the critter generally sticks his ears up inquirin'-like to anyone ridin' up, it's easy to know the brand without lookin' at it, merely from the ear-marks.

Once in a great while, when a man comes across an unbranded calf, and it ain't handy to build a fire, he just ear-marks it and let's the brandin' go till later.

But it isn't done often, and our outfit had strict orders never to make sleepers.
Well, one day in the spring, as I say, Larry and me was ridin', when we came across a Lazy Y cow and calf.

The little fellow was ear-marked all right, so we rode on, and never would have discovered nothin' if a bush rabbit hadn't jumped and scared the calf right across in front of our hosses.