From Hide and Horn (A Floating Outfit Book Number 5) (8 page)

‘
It’ll not be easy doing, Uncle
Charlie,’ Dusty cautioned.

‘
Don’t I know it?’ demanded the rancher
grimly. ‘But, bad as it is, it’s our only chance of licking Chisum
to Fort Sumner.’

‘
Which we all want to do,
for more reasons than one. I tell you, Uncle Charlie, if we fail
there’ll be few who chance trying. And
Chisum’
ll cheat ’em blind on taking their stock to sell for
them.’

‘
There’s one thing in our favor,’
Goodnight said. ‘It’s good grazing and easy going from here to the
South Concho. So we’ll let the steers take on fat and tallow up to
there. After that, we’ll push them day and night without stopping
until we hit the Pecos. It’ll be all of three-four days to get
across.’

‘
By then the crew’ll’ve learned plenty
about their work,’ Dusty replied and remembered something. ‘Hell’s
fire. We’ve got Dawn along. Maybe we should send her
back.’

‘
Whee doggie!’ chuckled
the Kid. ‘
So that li’l gal made it, did she? Way she talked ’n’ acted
going home, I got to figuring she had it in mind to come along. And
I sure admire you, whichever of you’s the one who’s fixing to make
her go back. That’s no
Nemenuh naive
^xii
as’s been trained right ’n’ proper
from the cradle-board to do as the men-folks tells her
regardless.’

‘
What does delegation of authority
mean, Dustine?’ Goodnight inquired.

‘
You do it, I’m scared to,
I’ve always been told. Poor ole Mark, I hope she don’t chaw his
ears off when
he
passes the word.’

‘
Does she have to go back?’ asked the
Kid. ‘She’s got sand to burn and spunk enough to see it
through.’

‘
Having her along might even help,’
Dusty went on. ‘No matter how tough the going, the fellers won’t
quit while she’s sticking it out—and stick she will.’

‘
We’d best ask her how she feels about
it, anyways,’ Goodnight decided. ‘And do it tonight, so’s she’s
close enough to the Swinging G house to make it back without an
escort; happen she wants to go.’

‘
I’ll bet my next month’s pay that
she’s still with us at Fort Sumner,’ the Kid offered, looking at
Dusty. ‘Are you on?’

‘
No bet. And, anyways, you’ve already
drawn most of your next month’s pay to buy shells for that fool
rifle.’

‘
Injun-giver!’

‘
Are you figuring on telling the rest
of the hands, Uncle Charlie?’ Dusty asked, ignoring his friend’s
comment.

‘
What do you think?’ asked
Goodnight.

‘
I’d say no, was it me,’ Dusty decided.
‘At least until after they’ve been on the trail a mite
longer.’

Goodnight nodded soberly. Told of his
intention of taking the herd across the Staked Plains, while still
new to the notion of handling it, the Mineral Wells men might
figure that they faced an impossible task. After a few weeks on the
trail, they would have widened their experience and, more
important, gained at first hand complete confidence in the
abilities of their trail boss and his segundo. Knowing they were
led by competent, trail-wise bosses, the men would be more willing
to risk the dangerous crossing.

‘
I think you’re right,’ the rancher
said approvingly. It seemed that his nephew had learned the lessons
of leadership well; small wonder Dustine had done so well during
the War and since. ‘When Dawn comes from the night herd, I’ll tell
her what we’ve decided and ask what she wants to do. Then I’ll ask
her not to tell any of the others.’

‘
It’d be best,’ Dusty
agreed.

On her return from riding the night herd,
Dawn found herself taken to one side and told of Goodnight’s
intention to cross the Staked Plains. Without attempting to
influence her one way or the other, he warned of the difficulties
and dangers they would face. At the end, the girl stated her
determination to see the drive through. Then she promised not to
mention his plans, even to her brother. After a meal, she went to
where her blankets were spread in the bed-wagon. Allowing her to
sleep there was the only concession the men made to her sex, but
agreed it was less embarrassing for all if she did not sleep among
the male members of the crew.

Taking his horse—the big paint
stallion which had crippled Ole Devil Hardin before Dusty tamed it
for use as his personal mount
^xiii
—from the picket line, the small
Texan rode out to the herd. He had waited to see the girl’s
response to Goodnight’s question, and left grinning a little at the
calm manner in which she heard the startling news then gave her
answer. As he drew near to the bed-ground, he could hear the
droning, near-tuneless singing which experience had taught cowboys
soothed the cattle and prevented them from becoming frightened by
the unheralded appearance of a rider from the darkness.

‘
Now say, you fool
critters,

Why don’t you lay
down?

And quit this forever moving
around,

My hoss is leg-weary,

My butt-end aches like
hell,

So I could feel the
bumps
,

If I sat on a smell,

Lay down,
you
_____bastards, lay down,

Lay down;
you
_____sons-of-bitches, lay down.’
^xiv

Looming from the blackness, riding at a
leisurely walking pace, Swede Ahlen brought his song to a stop and
grinned a greeting as he saw Dusty coming his way.

‘
That
sure was a beautiful tune, Swede,’ complimented Dusty. ‘And the
chorus would make a deacon proud.’

‘
You should’ve heard the
words Dawn was singing when we come out to relieve her,’
Ahl
en
answered, still grinning. ‘It like to start ole Billy Jack and me
to blushing.’

‘
I’ll have to come out and
listen next time she’s on,’ Dusty
decided. ‘Everything all
right?’

‘
We’ve been quiet enough
so far. Knowed we would be
. Billy Jack was saying how he figured
we’d have a stompede come half an hour.’

Turning in their saddles, the two men looked
across the night-darkened range. Before them, the cattle were
assembled in a loosely-formed square with a rider patrolling each
side. Experience and good luck had allowed the trail boss to pick a
nearly perfect location, clear of ravines or draws into which a
restless steer might blunder, or where wild animals could hide. Nor
was there any wooded land, always a source of trouble and danger,
close by. Some of the steers lay quietly chewing their cud, others
slept on their feet. Here and there, a restless animal stirred a
flurry of complaint as it moved from place to place in search of
choicer grass on which to chew. However, having been pushed hard
all day, allowed to feed on the way and carefully watered, the
majority of the herd showed no inclination to travel.

Yet Dusty and Ahlen were aware of how easily
the peaceful state could be changed. A sudden, loud, unexpected
noise, the wind-carried scent of a passing predatory animal—be it
cougar, wolf, black or grizzly bear—the appearance of a rattlesnake
from a hole down which it had slipped during the day, any of them
might send the cattle racing off in wild stampede. That was more
likely to happen, however, when the steers were hungry, thirsty,
riled up or disturbed for some reason; but the men knew better than
to take unnecessary risks.

‘
Let’s hope it stays that way,’ Dusty
said after a moment’s study of the herd. ‘Unless you feel like
taking a gallop after them, that is.’

‘
Happen I get to feel that
way, I’ll find me a tall tree and bang my head again’ it to knock
my brains back in,’
Ahlen grinned. Then he became sober and continued,
‘Say, Dusty. Burle Willock’s got a big mouth, but he’s a good
hand.’

‘
If he wasn’t, I don’t figure you’d’ve
brought him along,’ Dusty replied.

‘
Yeah. Waal, I had me a
li
’l
talk with him afore I come out here and I don’t reckon, what he
said back, he’ll give you any more lip or fuss.’

‘
That’s all I ask. I don’t
like billing in on things like that tonight, but it had to be
stopped. Young Vera Sutherland’s aiming to prove how he’s a
man-grown on the drive and I’d
hate like hell to see him get pushed so
that he acted
loco
trying to do it.’

‘
Burle was more’n a mite rough on him,
and hadn’t any call to talk about having to carry him. Vern did all
right today. Damn it though, I’ve just now remembered—’

‘
What’s up?’ Dusty asked.

‘
Burle figures to be a
real ladies’ man,’
Ahlen answered. ‘He got into some fuss with Darby
Sutherland over making up to Dawn the wrong way. Darby licked him
good and he’s a bad forgetter.’

‘
He’d better forget until this drive’s
over,’ Dusty warned. ‘How d’you stand if I have to pick up his
toes, Swede?’

Ahlen knew what Dusty meant. Generally the
term was used to describe the punishment handed out to a remuda
horse which continually broke out of the wranglers’ rope corral, or
a fractious steer making trouble in a herd. Rather than have the
difficult one stir up its companions, or teach them its bad habits,
the boss would order one of his cowhands to pick up its toes. To do
this, the man roped the animal by its forefeet, bringing it
crashing down with sufficient force to knock some sense into it or
break its neck. In the latter case, the boss considered the loss of
the awkward one justified in that it preserved the majority’s good
behavior.

While Dusty’s intentions in Willock’s case
were somewhat less drastic, his words conveyed the desired meaning
to Ahlen. If Willock did not mend his ways, the small Texan
intended to teach him a sharp and painful lesson.

‘
Maybe we ride for the
same brand back to home, Dusty,’ Ahlen answered soberly. ‘But if
it’s to do with the working of the herd and just between
you
’n’ him, he’s on his own. I know you won’t play favorites
when it comes to picking up toes.’

‘
You can count on it,’ Dusty assured
him. ‘Well, I’ll be moving on to see if Billy Jack’s fell off his
hoss and broke both his legs yet.’

‘
Way he was talking coming
up here, he’s figuring on that, or worse, happening any ole time,’
Ah
len
replied. ‘Tell him to keep happy and cheerful.’

‘
What do you want me to do?’ Dusty
asked. ‘Spoil his night.’

For a moment Dusty wondered if
he should tell Ahlen about the decision to cross the Staked Plains.
Then he decided against doing so. Not that he distrusted the big
man. Dusty
knew Ahlen to be shrewd, capable, regarding him as one of
the best hands in the crew and well worthy of the post of ranch
foreman.

The latter was the deciding
factor in not speaking. First quality of a ranch’s foreman was the
ability to put his own spread’s interest foremost on all things.
Being aware of the risks involved in making the crossing, Ahlen
might feel it his duty to prevent his boss’
s stock being submitted to them. From
what Dusty had seen, the other Mineral Wells men, with the possible
exception of the D4S contingent, would follow Ahlen’s lead. The big
blond could either be a calming influence, or stir them
up.

In the final analysis, the decision on
whether to inform Ahlen or not lay with Goodnight. So Dusty
concluded it would be best for him to go along with his uncle’s
original plan. With that in mind, Dusty left Ahlen to continue
patrolling and drifted on in search of Billy Jack.

‘
Howdy, Cap’n Dusty,’ the lanky cowhand
greeted, halting his doleful and even more profane chorus of the
night herders’ chant as the small Texan came up. ‘Nice night, if it
don’t blow up a blue-norther or twister afore morning.’

‘
Sure,’ Dusty agreed. ‘Everything going
all right?’

‘
Up to now,’ Billy Jack answered, in a
tone which expressed amazement that such should be the case.
‘Likely they’ll all’ve died off by morning.’

‘
Happen they have, Uncle Charlie’ll
likely peel your hide.’

‘
Shucks! I knowed that I’d get blamed
regardless. Did the Kid learn anything wherever he’d
been?’

‘
A mite.’

‘
Is that Wednesbury’s partner still
around, you reckon?’

‘
Not that I know of,’ Dusty replied.
‘He wouldn’t get word about Wednesbury’s try failing until it was
too late to hit at us on the holding ground.’

‘
He’ll know by now,’ Billy
Jack announced in gloomy satisfaction. ‘Likely got him a whole mess
of
hardcases coming after us by now.’

‘
Could be,’ Dusty admitted. ‘Only Lon
didn’t see any of them on his way here and he watched real
good.’

Knowing Billy Jack, Dusty did not expect him
to be comforted by the news. Letting out a long, tormented sigh,
the lanky cowhand waved a languid hand at the resting cattle.