Page:Edison Marshall--Shepherds of the wild.djvu/115

Rh watching the sturdy sheep with a singular interest.

In the first place the animal lacked the uniform color of the other sheep. His basic color was neither white nor black, but a decided dark brown with white at the backs of the legs and the rump. This variation of color immediately won him his name. He was the only sheep in the flock with horns, and in some vague way the man realized that the outline of his figure was entirely different from that of the ewes.

Although he was massively and boldly built, there was an actual grace about his motions not to be seen in the ewes. His form looked lean and hard, for all its massive development, and he stood several good inches above the tallest ewe in the flock. Hugh found it hard to believe, however, that he was some imported, high-bred yearling ram that would later be used to help build up the standard of the flock. In spite of his exceptional height and strength, his trim body probably weighed less than some of the fat ewes, his wool was not unusual, and certainly one of his rugged, agile form would not yield tender mutton. The man found it increasingly difficult to explain his presence in the flock.

Hugh tried to head him off, only to find that he was surprisingly quick on his feet. Only because his flock were unable to follow him and the young ram whipped back to join them was Hugh able to round him up at all. And when