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I
guess
that
’
s
the
biggest
lot
of
sheep
YOU
ever
saw
.
You
might
write
a
poem
about
’
em
.
Lamb
—
ram
;
sheep
graze
—
sunny
days
.
Catch
on
?
”
Beyond
Broderson
Creek
,
as
Presley
advanced
,
tramping
along
on
foot
now
,
the
land
opened
out
again
into
the
same
vast
spaces
of
dull
brown
earth
,
sprinkled
with
stubble
,
such
as
had
been
characteristic
of
Derrick
’
s
ranch
.
To
the
east
the
reach
seemed
infinite
,
flat
,
cheerless
,
heat
-
ridden
,
unrolling
like
a
gigantic
scroll
toward
the
faint
shimmer
of
the
distant
horizons
,
with
here
and
there
an
isolated
live
-
oak
to
break
the
sombre
monotony
.
But
bordering
the
road
to
the
westward
,
the
surface
roughened
and
raised
,
clambering
up
to
the
higher
ground
,
on
the
crest
of
which
the
old
Mission
and
its
surrounding
pear
trees
were
now
plainly
visible
.
Just
beyond
the
Mission
,
the
road
bent
abruptly
eastward
,
striking
off
across
the
Seed
ranch
.
But
Presley
left
the
road
at
this
point
,
going
on
across
the
open
fields
.
There
was
no
longer
any
trail
.
It
was
toward
three
o
’
clock
.
The
sun
still
spun
,
a
silent
,
blazing
disc
,
high
in
the
heavens
,
and
tramping
through
the
clods
of
uneven
,
broken
plough
was
fatiguing
work
.
The
slope
of
the
lowest
foothills
begun
,
the
surface
of
the
country
became
rolling
,
and
,
suddenly
,
as
he
topped
a
higher
ridge
,
Presley
came
upon
the
sheep
.
Already
he
had
passed
the
larger
part
of
the
herd
—
an
intervening
rise
of
ground
having
hidden
it
from
sight
.
Now
,
as
he
turned
half
way
about
,
looking
down
into
the
shallow
hollow
between
him
and
the
curve
of
the
creek
,
he
saw
them
very
plainly
.
The
fringe
of
the
herd
was
some
two
hundred
yards
distant
,
but
its
farther
side
,
in
that
illusive
shimmer
of
hot
surface
air
,
seemed
miles
away
.
The
sheep
were
spread
out
roughly
in
the
shape
of
a
figure
eight
,
two
larger
herds
connected
by
a
smaller
,
and
were
headed
to
the
southward
,
moving
slowly
,
grazing
on
the
wheat
stubble
as
they
proceeded
.
But
the
number
seemed
incalculable
.
Hundreds
upon
hundreds
upon
hundreds
of
grey
,
rounded
backs
,
all
exactly
alike
,
huddled
,
close
-
packed
,
alive
,
hid
the
earth
from
sight
.
It
was
no
longer
an
aggregate
of
individuals
.
It
was
a
mass
—
a
compact
,
solid
,
slowly
moving
mass
,
huge
,
without
form
,
like
a
thick
-
pressed
growth
of
mushrooms
,
spreading
out
in
all
directions
over
the
earth
.
From
it
there
arose
a
vague
murmur
,
confused
,
inarticulate
,
like
the
sound
of
very
distant
surf
,
while
all
the
air
in
the
vicinity
was
heavy
with
the
warm
,
ammoniacal
odour
of
the
thousands
of
crowding
bodies
.
All
the
colours
of
the
scene
were
sombre
—
the
brown
of
the
earth
,
the
faded
yellow
of
the
dead
stubble
,
the
grey
of
the
myriad
of
undulating
backs
.
Only
on
the
far
side
of
the
herd
,
erect
,
motionless
—
a
single
note
of
black
,
a
speck
,
a
dot
—
the
shepherd
stood
,
leaning
upon
an
empty
water
-
trough
,
solitary
,
grave
,
impressive
.
For
a
few
moments
,
Presley
stood
,
watching
.
Then
,
as
he
started
to
move
on
,
a
curious
thing
occurred
.
At
first
,
he
thought
he
had
heard
some
one
call
his
name
.
He
paused
,
listening
;
there
was
no
sound
but
the
vague
noise
of
the
moving
sheep
.
Then
,
as
this
first
impression
passed
,
it
seemed
to
him
that
he
had
been
beckoned
to
.
Yet
nothing
stirred
;
except
for
the
lonely
figure
beyond
the
herd
there
was
no
one
in
sight
.
He
started
on
again
,
and
in
half
a
dozen
steps
found
himself
looking
over
his
shoulder
.
Without
knowing
why
,
he
looked
toward
the
shepherd
;
then
halted
and
looked
a
second
time
and
a
third
.
Had
the
shepherd
called
to
him
?
Presley
knew
that
he
had
heard
no
voice
.
Brusquely
,
all
his
attention
seemed
riveted
upon
this
distant
figure
.
He
put
one
forearm
over
his
eyes
,
to
keep
off
the
sun
,
gazing
across
the
intervening
herd
.
Surely
,
the
shepherd
had
called
him
.
But
at
the
next
instant
he
started
,
uttering
an
exclamation
under
his
breath
.
The
far
-
away
speck
of
black
became
animated
.
Presley
remarked
a
sweeping
gesture
.
Though
the
man
had
not
beckoned
to
him
before
,
there
was
no
doubt
that
he
was
beckoning
now
.
Without
any
hesitation
,
and
singularly
interested
in
the
incident
,
Presley
turned
sharply
aside
and
hurried
on
toward
the
shepherd
,
skirting
the
herd
,
wondering
all
the
time
that
he
should
answer
the
call
with
so
little
question
,
so
little
hesitation
.
But
the
shepherd
came
forward
to
meet
Presley
,
followed
by
one
of
his
dogs
.
As
the
two
men
approached
each
other
,
Presley
,
closely
studying
the
other
,
began
to
wonder
where
he
had
seen
him
before
.
It
must
have
been
a
very
long
time
ago
,
upon
one
of
his
previous
visits
to
the
ranch
.
Certainly
,
however
,
there
was
something
familiar
in
the
shepherd
’
s
face
and
figure
.
When
they
came
closer
to
each
other
,
and
Presley
could
see
him
more
distinctly
,
this
sense
of
a
previous
acquaintance
was
increased
and
sharpened
.
The
shepherd
was
a
man
of
about
thirty
-
five
.
He
was
very
lean
and
spare
.
