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20 The Untamed "'Which way shall we ride? they asked.

"I don't know why, but I thought of the wild geese that Dan had seemed to be followin'.

"'Ride north', I said.

"An' sure enough, they rode north an found him. After that I didn't have no trouble with him about runnin' away at least not durin' the summer. An' all those months I kept planin' how I would take care of this boy who had come wanderin' to me. It seemed like he was sort of a gift of God to make up for me havin' no son. And everything went well until the next all, when the geese began to fly south.

"Sure enough, that was when Dan ran away again, and when I sent my cowpunchers south after him, they found him and brought him back. It seemed as if they'd brought back half the world to me, when I seen him. But I saw that I'd have to put a stop to this runnin' away. I tried to talk to him, but all he'd say was that he'd better be movin' on. I took the law in my hands an told him he had to be disciplined. So I started thrashin' him with a quirt, very light. He took it as if he didn't feel the whip on his shoulders, an' he smiled. But there came up a yellow light in his eyes that made me feel as if a man was standin' right behind me with a bare