It came to him that he was at the Long Tom, and he remembered having
left the Circle S herd out in the blizzard.
This stirred him to action, and he went back to the kitchen with the
intention of lighting the fire and getting breakfast.
He stopped in the doorway in astonishment. Stella, with her sleeves
rolled to the elbows, was busily engaged at the stove, singing as she
worked.
"Good morning," said Ted. "You beat me to it. Why didn't you wake me up
and put me to work?"
"Hello!" said Stella cheerily. "You looked so tired sitting in that
chair that I thought I'd let you sleep. At any rate, cooking breakfast
is no work for a boy in a house. Get ready. Breakfast will be on the
table in a minute. What do you think I found in the shed behind the
house? A mountain sheep already dressed, and hung up for us. The fellow
who left this house for us certainly was a good one. He knew we'd come
in hungry, and left everything ready for us."
"That was just like Fred Sturgis. He's one of the best fellows in the
world. He's the owner of the ranch. Young New York fellow. Wanted to
spend the winter in the East. That's how I was able to get the ranch.
But I'll bet he'll be back here before the snow melts. You couldn't keep
him off the range for any length of time."
"He certainly has good taste.
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