noon
I 'll give you a duplicate list of the brands , so that neither inspector need see the herd , and if we do n't save your employer a hundred dollars , then we are amateurs . '' Everything was pointing to an auspicious start . The last cattle on the delivery were equal to the first , if not better . The sky clouded over , and before noon a light shower fell , settling the dust in the corrals . Help increased as the various bunches were accepted , and at the end of the day only a few over two hundred remained to complete our numbers . The last contingent were fully up to the standard ; and rather than disappoint the sellers , I accepted fifty head extra , making my herd at starting thirty-four hundred and fifty . When the last beef had passed the branding-chute , there was nothing remaining but to give a receipt to the seller for the number of head received , in behalf of my employer , pending a later settlement between them .