Imagine a puncher descending to examine politely the ear-tags of wild cattle on the open range or in a round-up.
Naturally he went after the man who had done it; but every puncher swore up and down, and back and across, that he'd branded every calf he'd had a rope on that spring.
But if the calf gave much trouble, then all work ceased while the unfortunate puncher wrestled it down.
The man on night duty at the second sign camp was a cow-puncher named Follansbee, a short, reckless, yet amiable fellow, whom Carl knew well.
It would do no harm to have another puncher in the outfit, and would relieve the night guard, which at times was a little overworked.
The ungainly cow-puncher slid out of his saddle like an eel, and slipped the saddle and bridle off his pony, and, giving it a slap on the haunch, sent it out to eat.
He saw the cow-puncher lift the flap of the tent and look within, still listening carefully for anything that would tell him that Singing Bird was awake.
He lay facing the place where Woofer was circled up in his blankets, when he saw the cow-puncher raise his head cautiously, not more than an inch or two, and look around.
It was evident that the cow-puncher and desperado had hamstrung the cattle out of revenge for having been discovered and driven out of the broncho boys' camp.
Bill Simms, der cow-puncher vot we picked up on der drive, informationed me about it.
Bully for you, Stella; you're a better cow-puncher than any of us.
Ain't much yet with the riata, But you give her a few years And no puncher with the outfit Will beat her a-ropin' steers.
The ladies said 'twas seldom that they had had the chance To see an old-time puncher at a high-toned dance.
The puncher hesitated, a grin flickering about his thin lips and a calm joy warming him comfortably.
The sight sent the puncher running toward the pass, for the herd had begun to move toward that outlet, urged by the Weasel and his nervous companions.
Ned and the new puncher lost no time but headed east at once with a packhorse carrying a week's provisions for one man.
The puncher moved a little nearer and watched the frantic gulps with critical attention.
He blinked anxiously as the puncher stopped at the wagon and smiled a heavy-eyed salutation.
The puncher was dealing and as he picked up the deck after the cut he grinned and winked.
Also, Johnny had been seen washing Ginger, and when a puncher washes a cayuse it's a sign of insanity.
The puncher nodded: "I 'll take yore word for that.
The puncher increased the ante on the fourth deal and looked up inquiringly, a grin on his face.
The deals went around rapidly, each one calling for a ten-dollar sweetener and when the seventh hand was dealt the puncher picked his cards and laughed.
It was only too true--Skinny had become absolutely lost, and the angry Bar-20 puncher crawled furiously this way and that without success, until Skinny gave him a hot clew that stung his face with grit and pebbles.
The proprietor stared at the angry puncher as he gathered up his saddle and rifle and started for the door.
The Puncher seized a skipping-rope and did marvellous things with it.
You journalist chaps just spoil us," said Puncher Pete, when I called upon him yesterday at his training camp.
The cow-puncher knelt beside the dying outlaw and put an arm under his head.
He's only a wild cow-puncher gone wrong, and now he's haided right he'll pull up and walk the narrow trail.
The curly-headed young punchertook Leroy's hand in his, gulping down a boyish sob.
Down at the bunk houses the dogs began to yap and some full-throated cow-puncher sent forth a "Yee!
One puncher was sent to the ranch house to report and ask for a beef wagon to come up.
And the cow-puncher looked at De Launay in a manner which the soldier readily interpreted.
Battered and bruised, with an arm almost helpless and a leg as bad, the cow-puncher was dragging himself indomitably along while his failing strength held out.
De Launay came out of his trance with a start to find a hundred and seventy pounds of cow-puncher sprawling in his lap and clinging about his neck.
More by luck than any knowledge of the way, they managed to strike the game trail, and wound through the impeding snags, the cow-puncher taking the lead and the girl following listlessly in his wake.
The cow-puncher was almost as drunk as De Launay and showed it much more.
The cow-puncher raised himself with rapidly returning strength, noting the serious expression on De Launay's face.
When the cow-puncher came in he held the note in his hand and held it out to Solange.
De Launay helped the cow-puncher up in front of him and turned back to the crater.
The groups that kept to themselves cast appraising eyes on the cow-puncher and then turned them away.
He come ridin' out to our place all dressed up like a movie cow-puncher and you'd never have dreamed there was a mob about three jumps behind him.
Frank went into the saddle before the puncher was aware that he contemplated such a thing.
The puncherreturned in a short time, leading a little, wiry, evil-eyed broncho.
The cow-puncher went down on his knees and put his arms about the neck of his pet.
She knew how to take her ease in the saddle as well as any cow-puncher on the range.
There were other customers at Hugous’ that morning besides the spurred and booted cow-puncher and his despised compeer, the sheep-herder.
A cow-puncher with a squint addressed the table in general.
There had been a deal of letter-writing between her and the young cow-puncher of late, of which perforce, by a singular irony of fate, the postmistress had been the involuntary instrument.
But the rôle of lonely cow-puncher loyally wedded to the thought of his first love was not without charm to Peter.
There'd been a brush, and Shindle and a TU puncher had cashed.
Reckon you remember thet cow-puncher who came up with Roy an' Auchincloss after the girls--last fall?
Wal, he's got the wildest yell of any cow-puncher I ever beard.
The old puncher didn't know who these Indians were of whom Whitey was talking, but he listened politely at first and interestedly at last.
It had been a hard day, and one by one the men dropped off to sleep, until only Whitey and the old puncher were left, he rolling an occasional cigarette, and living in that past which the events of the night had brought back to him.
While Whitey sat in the doorway of the small shack, Little had a long talk with Chet, near the stable, and Chet seemed to be nodding his head in agreement to everything the puncher said.
Bill watched some of his efforts, and said that though he was a bad puncher he was a good liar for saying he'd ever seen a cow before.
For you must know that there are two things on which a puncher spends his money extravagantly--his boots and his saddle.
The old puncher leaned back, his hands behind his head, and puffed clouds of smoke into the air.
And he wondered if the old puncher would like to have another page in his book of life; a sort of explanatory page, like the key in an arithmetic.
But presently the old puncher awoke from his dream and looked at the surrounding faces, some coarse, some wicked, but all attentive, all plainly inviting him to talk.
This one was sixty, he wasn't a typical puncher at all.
There was a wild stallion in this story, which every puncher in seven states or so had tried to capture.
Soon another voice broke in, and Whitey knew it as that of "Whiff" Gates, a puncher who was a constant smoker.
Randerson also discovered that the girl had questioned a puncher who had ridden in--asking him about Chavis' shack and the basin.
The young puncher had been reluctant to come, and he was equally reluctant to go.
But the main fact, that Randerson had killed another man in his outfit, found its way to Ruth's ears through the medium of a roaming puncher who had stopped for an hour at the ranchhouse.
She had no intention of risking the descent; she merely wanted to view the place from afar, and she judged that from the edge of a plateau, which the puncher had described to her, she would be able to see very well.
A decision had resulted from those periods, for the day before, when a puncher had come in from the outfit, on an errand, she had told him to send Randerson in to the ranchhouse to her, on the following day.
But the young puncher sneered a malignant denial and rode away to his camp.
She got off the pony and walked to the edge of the plateau, discovering that the valley was much shallower than she thought it would be, and that at her side, to the left, was the declivity that the puncher had told her about.
It was half-past ten, and very late for cow-puncher land, when Greek strode away through the darkness to the bunk-house.
A forty-dollar cow-puncher can't expect any better for his own horse.
Wild with rage at this clinging cow-puncher whom he could not dislodge, who stung his sides and head like the hornets in the meadow, Whizzer gathered himself for a mighty leap as he reached the Hog's Back.
A cow-puncher togged up like he was going after the snakiest bronk in the country, when he was only going to drive to town in a buckboard!
They think all a cow-puncher has to do is eat and sleep and ride fat horses.
I don't know what I should have done without you--a cow-puncher seems born to meet emergencies in just the right way.
What he had started as a grim jest, he now continued in deadly earnest; what was this uncanny semblance of a cow-puncher which he could not unseat, yet which clung so precariously to the saddle?
Only for a swift fling of a rope on the part of a puncher I might have been badly hurt.
I suppose, then, the puncher went away after he told her about the messenger he'd sent to the Walker crowd?
If there is one thing that a cow-puncher dearly loves above all others it is an opportunity to pull the trigger of his gun in quick succession, while he is shooting up some unlucky town where they sell strong drink.
This same is Frank Bowker, Adrian, and about as decent a puncher as the ole man's got left on the place.
He made up his mind to have another puncher sent out to that post, preferring on his own account to be nearer the cattle, and consequently the point of most danger.
That's the idea I got from what that puncher said to us yesterday afternoon.
Where one puncher looks scowling and mad, there's another ready to throw his hat up, and yell with joy at seeing the long-horns coming back, when everybody counted them lost for keeps.
Remember what that punchertold us about these Walkers, and how they ran things about as they pleased up around here, getting bolder and bolder all the while.
He ran things with an iron hand, even that puncher admitted as much.
And what message did this punchersay he had sent out to our enemies?
The puncherstared across the table at the city man with a coldly speculative gaze.
The puncher was strumming soft melodies on a guitar.
Having a dude puncher on our range kind of stirred up my emulosity.
You said he could ride," the puncher defended himself.
The puncher mumbled, drew the blankets closer about him, and lay quiet.
The puncherinstantly covered him with his long-barreled revolver and snapped tersely: "Hands up!
Neither Isobel nor the puncher smiled at this ancient witticism.
To his surprise, the puncherproved to be quite at ease; his manners were correct and his conversation by no means provincial.
Through the smoke of the shot the puncher leveled his weapon.
