after tomorrow, I’d like to gather all the cattle on the Murphy place and push um over to the roundup site. I expect the other ranches will do the same, right?”
“Yep, that’s the way it’s always been done in these parts.”
“I can’t provide a cavvy. All the Rocking M horses are gone or scattered. I saw where a couple of the Bar C Bar riders were on Rocking M horses.”
“Hmmm. Well, I’m not surprised. Coltrane helped himself to everything Murphy owned that wasn’t nailed down. We have horses enough for the first day or so. We’ll gather up the Murphy stock at the roundup.”
“How did he get away with taking Murphy’s property?”
“Coltrane claimed it was all abandoned. I heard he was taking over the whole ranch.”
“No, he isn’t, and it isn’t abandoned. I mean to put things right.”
“I’d sure like to see you do it.”
“What happened here? How did Coltrane get so powerful?”
Horace Johnson shook his head and kicked at a rock.
“He comes from money. He’s a man used to getting what he wants. When we stopped him from ruining the range, he decided to pay us back. He hired some bad men to do his dirty work. I can’t prove it, but I know his hired guns threatened Sean Murphy several times. They frightened his wife and kids, something terrible, and I guess you know what happened to Sean?”
“I do.”
“There were some riders for other outfits shot at, including two of my boys. One man working for the Barnett’s Circle B was shot, nearly killed him. All my cattle just disappeared in six months’ time. They burned out the Slater’s and ran them off. It’s been real bad. After they hung Sean, all the fight went out of most folks. We’ve all been trying to avoid trouble.”
“How many head did you lose?”
“At the fall roundup last year, with our new calves, we had one hundred and fifty-eight head. Over the winter, the boys would come in and tell me they were seeing less and less of our cattle on the range, but I figured my sons weren’t real eager to freeze or get shot, and they just weren’t scouting hard enough. We always lose a few to the weather, wolves and what not, but at the spring roundup we couldn’t find a single animal with our brand on it. No way to know if any of the orphan calves were ours. Sean offered to split his calf crop with us, to give us a fresh start, but I knew it was Coltrane took my herd, or killed um. I knew he wouldn’t let me start running cattle again. Sean had bought some haying equipment he was letting me use, including this dad-burn, broke-down baler. I’ve become a hay farmer. Sean and me planted all this alfalfa the year before the trouble started. Coltrane’s men kept pushing cattle in here, hoping to ruin me, but me and my kids would push um out, and we got our fences built. Here lately, the Bar C Bar riders have stopped trying to pull our fences down. I guess the boys and their rifles have discouraged some of that. My boys are itching for a fight. They’re mostly growed now. I guess it’s time to stand up to Coltrane.”
“What about calling in the law?”
“The nearest law is up at Bear Creek. We ain’t never had none around here…Wait a minute! Didn’t you say your name is Sage? Are you any relation to that Sheriff up there, John Sage?”
“You could say that. You can call me John. Can I call you Horace?”
“Hell no. My friends call me Ace. Put er there, John.”
We shook hands.
“One thing, Ace, will you keep it secret I’m the County Sheriff? I want everyone to think I’m just riding for the brand. Can you do that for me?”
Ace chuckled.
“Whoooee, John. I sure will. I can’t wait to see the look on Coltrane’s face when he finds out!”
17.
My next stop, the Box Cross ranch, was just south of the Rafter J. When I told Ace I was headed there, he cautioned me.
“That’s the Cross’ place. Them fellers are friendly enough once you get to know em. We’ve been amiable neighbors, I guess, though
“Yep, that’s the way it’s always been done in these parts.”
“I can’t provide a cavvy. All the Rocking M horses are gone or scattered. I saw where a couple of the Bar C Bar riders were on Rocking M horses.”
“Hmmm. Well, I’m not surprised. Coltrane helped himself to everything Murphy owned that wasn’t nailed down. We have horses enough for the first day or so. We’ll gather up the Murphy stock at the roundup.”
“How did he get away with taking Murphy’s property?”
“Coltrane claimed it was all abandoned. I heard he was taking over the whole ranch.”
“No, he isn’t, and it isn’t abandoned. I mean to put things right.”
“I’d sure like to see you do it.”
“What happened here? How did Coltrane get so powerful?”
Horace Johnson shook his head and kicked at a rock.
“He comes from money. He’s a man used to getting what he wants. When we stopped him from ruining the range, he decided to pay us back. He hired some bad men to do his dirty work. I can’t prove it, but I know his hired guns threatened Sean Murphy several times. They frightened his wife and kids, something terrible, and I guess you know what happened to Sean?”
“I do.”
“There were some riders for other outfits shot at, including two of my boys. One man working for the Barnett’s Circle B was shot, nearly killed him. All my cattle just disappeared in six months’ time. They burned out the Slater’s and ran them off. It’s been real bad. After they hung Sean, all the fight went out of most folks. We’ve all been trying to avoid trouble.”
“How many head did you lose?”
“At the fall roundup last year, with our new calves, we had one hundred and fifty-eight head. Over the winter, the boys would come in and tell me they were seeing less and less of our cattle on the range, but I figured my sons weren’t real eager to freeze or get shot, and they just weren’t scouting hard enough. We always lose a few to the weather, wolves and what not, but at the spring roundup we couldn’t find a single animal with our brand on it. No way to know if any of the orphan calves were ours. Sean offered to split his calf crop with us, to give us a fresh start, but I knew it was Coltrane took my herd, or killed um. I knew he wouldn’t let me start running cattle again. Sean had bought some haying equipment he was letting me use, including this dad-burn, broke-down baler. I’ve become a hay farmer. Sean and me planted all this alfalfa the year before the trouble started. Coltrane’s men kept pushing cattle in here, hoping to ruin me, but me and my kids would push um out, and we got our fences built. Here lately, the Bar C Bar riders have stopped trying to pull our fences down. I guess the boys and their rifles have discouraged some of that. My boys are itching for a fight. They’re mostly growed now. I guess it’s time to stand up to Coltrane.”
“What about calling in the law?”
“The nearest law is up at Bear Creek. We ain’t never had none around here…Wait a minute! Didn’t you say your name is Sage? Are you any relation to that Sheriff up there, John Sage?”
“You could say that. You can call me John. Can I call you Horace?”
“Hell no. My friends call me Ace. Put er there, John.”
We shook hands.
“One thing, Ace, will you keep it secret I’m the County Sheriff? I want everyone to think I’m just riding for the brand. Can you do that for me?”
Ace chuckled.
“Whoooee, John. I sure will. I can’t wait to see the look on Coltrane’s face when he finds out!”
17.
My next stop, the Box Cross ranch, was just south of the Rafter J. When I told Ace I was headed there, he cautioned me.
“That’s the Cross’ place. Them fellers are friendly enough once you get to know em. We’ve been amiable neighbors, I guess, though
Similar Books
