He slung a red kerchief around his neck, and bought a pair of "chaps," a sort of fringed leather leggings.

He had been wearing his pistol at his side, he now slewed it around to his hip.

He purchased also a pair of high-heeled boots and a "rope" (no one called it a "lariat"), and began to acquire the technicalities of the range.

A horse that reared and leaped to fling its rider was said to "pitch." Any firearm was a "gun," and any bull, steer, or heifer, a "cow." In a few days all these distinctions had been mastered, and only the closest observer was able to "cut out" Mose as a "tenderfoot." Pratt was bound for his brother's ranch on the Big Sandy River, and so pushed on steadily, although it was evident that he was not looked upon with favor.

He had reached a section of country where the cattlemen eyed his small outfit with contempt and suspicion.