Yuh notice how the river's coming up?
A day later and we'd have had to hold the herd on the other side, no telling how long." "It is higher than usual; I noticed that," Thurston agreed absently.

He was thinking more of Mona just then than of the river.

He wondered if she would be at home.

He could easily ride down there and find out.
It wasn't far; not a quarter of a mile, but he assured himself that he wasn't going, and that he was not quite a fool, he hoped Even if she were at home, what good could that possibly do him?
Just give him several bad nights, when he would lie in his corner of the tent and listen to the boys snoring with a different key for every man.

Such nights were not pleasant, nor were the thoughts that caused them.
From where they were camped upon a ridge which bounded a broad coulee on the east, he could look down upon the Stevens ranch nestling in the bottomland, the house half hidden among the cottonwoods.