midday
We were averaging a hundred an hour , but the smoke from the burning hair was offensive to the lungs . During the forenoon Burl Van Vedder and Vick Wolf `` spelled '' Flood and myself for half an hour at a time , or until we could recover from the nauseous fumes . When the cook called us to dinner , we had turned out nearly five hundred branded cattle . No sooner was the midday meal bolted than the cook was ordered back to camp with his wagon , the branded contingent of cattle following in charge of the first guard . Less than half an hour was lost in refreshing the inner man , and ordering `` G -- G '' Cederdall , Tim Stanley , and Jack Splann of the second guard into their saddles to take the place of the relieved men , we resumed our task . The dust of the corrals settled on us unheeded , the smoke of the fire mingled with that of the singeing hair and its offensive odors , bringing tears to our eyes , but the work never abated until the last steer had passed the chute and bore the `` Open A. '' The work over , a pretense was made at washing the dust and grime from our faces . It was still early in the day , and starting the cattle for camp , I instructed the boys to water and graze them as long as they would stand up .