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"Damn, Josh Cobb and all the men are on the south range on round up," Zach said, more to himself than to Paco. He put the wagon team in the corral and went into the barn to saddle Sir Gris. Guess I'll have to put a stop to this all by my lonesome, he thought.
Zach went into the big house, got his rifle and told Mrs. Kraft where he was heading. "If Josh and the men come in from the south range, send a few after me; I may need their help to get our cattle back."
He returned to the barn, finished saddling Gris, and put his Winchester into the saddle scabbard under his right leg. As he led his horse out of the barn Zach saw that Paco had turned his winded mount into the corral and switched his saddle to a sturdy buckskin mustang. He was waiting for Zach.
"Paco, it could be a mite hairy if I catch up to them," Zach said. "I can't ask you to go along."
"You and Senor Sir Gerald have given me and my family a home on the ranch and I will not allow anyone to steal from us." Paco gave Zach a grim smile as he made sure his own rifle was secure and loaded. "These men must atone for their sins Patron."
"Reckon so," Zach replied with his own grim smile. "It's 20 to 25 miles to Jerome and it'll take em two to three days to make the drive. If they bed the herd down tonight we can catch em by morning. Let's ride." Zach put Gris into a ground covering lope to the northeast.
Zach and Paco found the herd bedded down by first light. The grey of the morning showed the rustlers had bunched the cattle against a rock butte. One man was riding night herd to keep the cattle from straying. Zach pointed to a cut about a mile away through the hills where the herd would have to be driven. He and Paco circled the cattle and the camp and found cover in the cut.
"The cattle will be hard to push at first so we'll wait," Zach said. "Were I driving 50 head with four men, I'd use two riding between swing and flank and the other two at drag. When the two swing men pass us you cover them and I'll brace the other two. Agreed?"
"Si Patron."
"We'll give them a chance to drop their weapons and surrender. If they fight, we'll have to kill them. Are you ready for that Paco?"
"As I said Patron, these men must atone for their sins against my home. I will do what I must."
Zach nodded and pointed to a spot about half way up one of the hills above the cut. Paco quickly made his way to cover behind a big pine tree father east and about thirty yards up the hill. Zach settled in just off the trail behind some rocks. They heard the cattle before they saw them and waited.
Slowly the lead element of the herd made its way through the low divide between the hills. Zach had been right; there were two men alternating between swing and flank on each side of the cattle. The other two were pushing the cattle from behind in the drag position. Zach waited until the swing men passed and then stood from behind the rocks. He held Winchester across his chest at the ready and confronted the last two men.
To Be Continued
- COMMENTS
Anonymousalmost 11 years agoreally enjoy your writiings, my grandparents etc back to the civil war lived the kind of life you write about. example great grampa built the stone house in holly colo and gaandmother watched them build the austin capitol on the land that was part of a land grant to her grandfather. grew up reading zane gray all the time. good job on keeping facts right. thank you. JDC just 76.
tazz317almost 11 years agogreat authors make it interesting and true...TK U MLJ LV NV
