"We'd better get out of here," advised Ned. "Come on, fellows."

"That's easier said than done," retorted Jerry.

"The cattle are all around us. I don't see how we're going to get
through them. If we go too close we may stampede 'em at once, whereas,
if we stay here, they may pass by us, or change their direction."

"What's the matter with the cowboys?" asked Rob. "Why don't they head
the animals the other way when they see we're right in the path?"

"Probably the cattlemen are on the outer edges of the herd," said
Jerry. "The cowboys can't see us, and they're simply driving the
steers on."

"But what makes them go in a circle?" asked Bob.

"Probably the men are driving them all in to a central point to take
account of stock, or something like that," was Jerry's answer. "But,
instead of standing here talking of it we'd better be doing something.
What do you advise, Professor?"

Uriah Snodgrass, who had discovered some queer kind of a jumping bug
in the grass, had lost all interest in the approaching steers, but, at
this question, he looked up.

"What did you ask?" he said, making a grab for the bug, and catching
it.