Two days after Hank told Lester he saw Tyler checking brands on the strays, he and Lester are in the barn saddling their horses to go out onto the range.
“I saw Senior and Johnny riding out about a half hour ago. Do you have any idea where they’re going?”
Lester replies, “No, one thing I know for sure though is when they ride out together, it’s because they don’t want their conversations overheard. I figure they’re planning something for us to do. We’ll know soon enough when Johnny tells us.”
John Sr. and his oldest son ride for over an hour, to a section of the ranch that has a stream running through it. The area is very flat and they can observe a full 360 degrees around them for a long distance. John Sr. dismounts along with Johnny. They bring their horses down to the stream and then picket them where there is some grazing. Afterwards they pick a shady spot under a rock formation.
“What do you have in mind, Dad? We only come out here when you want to make sure no one in the house can hear us.”
“It’s been three months since we hit the Martins, that leaves us nine more to file a claim for their land. About ten months to file on the Evans place. I don’t like McLane’s changing attitude lately. I think he is going to become a liability once he comes back from the fort.”
“If I hear you correctly, you don’t want him to get back from the fort.”
“That’s what I’m thinking. It needs to be on the fort’s record that he arrived. Suppose something happens to him on the return trip, it could take months to find out what did. They may never find out. We need some breathing room to wait this out.”
“That means someone or a couple of us have to ambush him on the return trip. I figure I know the trail he would take and if I remember right, I know just the place to do it. He would be around two days ride out of the fort and three days ride from Silver Lake. I doubt if there will be anyone searching for him very far from either direction.”
“I want you to do this alone, Johnny. I don’t want any of the boys involved any further than what we already did.”
Monday, January 31, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
Chapter Thirteen Moving Strays
After riding trail for S&R for four weeks Tyler is getting pretty familiar with the boundaries of the ranch and the workings of the cattle herd. This morning the temperature is cooler than it has been and those clouds overhead look like there might be some rain coming soon. As he nears the boundary on the western side of the ranch he spots a few cattle that might belong to the S&R or might have strayed over from neighboring property. He moves Tequila over in that direction to move them away in either case.
As he approaches the cattle he dismounts not wanting to spook them. There are six of them and he wants to be sure what their brands read before he moves them off. Looking for the brands on each one he sees something he hasn’t seen in a number of years. These brands have been altered. They appear to be Circle J brands but look like they were something else before. I need to discuss this with Scott and Joan tonight.
Mounting Tequila he moves the six cattle so they start heading for Circle J property and makes sure they are far enough inside of their property before he turns back.
Tyler is unaware that he is being observed by a Circle J hand who is watching from the top of bluff. Hank notices that Tyler took the time to look at each of the brands. If he has any experience at all, he must realize the brands have been altered. John Sr. had the Martin’s and Evan’s herds brands changed and then split them up into small groups so that they were spread out over all of the Circle J property. I need to discuss this with Lester, thinks Hank. Hank turns his mount and heads back to the bunkhouse.
As he approaches the cattle he dismounts not wanting to spook them. There are six of them and he wants to be sure what their brands read before he moves them off. Looking for the brands on each one he sees something he hasn’t seen in a number of years. These brands have been altered. They appear to be Circle J brands but look like they were something else before. I need to discuss this with Scott and Joan tonight.
Mounting Tequila he moves the six cattle so they start heading for Circle J property and makes sure they are far enough inside of their property before he turns back.
Tyler is unaware that he is being observed by a Circle J hand who is watching from the top of bluff. Hank notices that Tyler took the time to look at each of the brands. If he has any experience at all, he must realize the brands have been altered. John Sr. had the Martin’s and Evan’s herds brands changed and then split them up into small groups so that they were spread out over all of the Circle J property. I need to discuss this with Lester, thinks Hank. Hank turns his mount and heads back to the bunkhouse.
Monday, January 17, 2011
Chapter Twelve Maggie and Heather
After the dishes and the pots are put away, Maggie grabs two pieces of apple pie out of the cupboard and two cups for coffee. Smiling she says, “Follow me.” She and Heather turn into the dining area and Maggie places everything onto a table in the corner away from the window. Then Maggie walks over to the door and locks it. “We don’t need to be disturbed by anyone. This will be our time. I’m really glad you came back to see me. Do you feel any better than you did last time?”
“Well, probably a little better. I thought you might want to know that the council sent the sheriff over to the fort to find out if there are any other towns being raided.”
“Thank you for telling me, I do know because the sheriff came in here the morning he left and ate enough for two and a half breakfasts.”
Heather starts to giggle. “That sounds funny; I can just picture him walking out of here with a round belly and two stuffed cheeks.”
“Now that you say it Heather, I think that is just how he walked out of here.”
“Well, probably a little better. I thought you might want to know that the council sent the sheriff over to the fort to find out if there are any other towns being raided.”
“Thank you for telling me, I do know because the sheriff came in here the morning he left and ate enough for two and a half breakfasts.”
Heather starts to giggle. “That sounds funny; I can just picture him walking out of here with a round belly and two stuffed cheeks.”
“Now that you say it Heather, I think that is just how he walked out of here.”
Monday, January 10, 2011
Chapter Eleven Heading for the Fort
“Jim, the council met last night and we have decided to take up a recommendation from John Peters.”
Very quickly “Oh! What might that recommendation be?”
“John thinks we should send someone over to Fort Jackson to see if any other community in the territory is having difficulty with Indian raiding parties.”
“And,” long pause.
“And the Council has decided that you are the best man for the job.”
“Well who will act as sheriff while I’m gone? After all, that will be at least a two to three week trip.”
“The Council decided that based on our crime rate we could afford to send you to the fort for that amount of time.”
Jim is wondering if Peters set him up for this or this is strictly the vote of the Council. He knows that in order to keep his job he will have to go. But before he heads to the fort he wants to talk with Peters. This is not going well with him. Peters was probably just bluffing to clear some air around town.
“When am I expected to leave?”
Very quickly “Oh! What might that recommendation be?”
“John thinks we should send someone over to Fort Jackson to see if any other community in the territory is having difficulty with Indian raiding parties.”
“And,” long pause.
“And the Council has decided that you are the best man for the job.”
“Well who will act as sheriff while I’m gone? After all, that will be at least a two to three week trip.”
“The Council decided that based on our crime rate we could afford to send you to the fort for that amount of time.”
Jim is wondering if Peters set him up for this or this is strictly the vote of the Council. He knows that in order to keep his job he will have to go. But before he heads to the fort he wants to talk with Peters. This is not going well with him. Peters was probably just bluffing to clear some air around town.
“When am I expected to leave?”
Monday, January 3, 2011
Chapter Ten Two Weeks Later
The fourth Monday of every month the same room serves as the meeting place for the town’s council.
Tonight all seven of the members are present. Randy Beecham, the owner of the general Store, Jake Stark, the saloon owner, Henry Duncan, the stage station manager, Peter Simms, the hotel owner, Jeff Proctor, the town’s blacksmith, Doctor William Keller, the physician and dentist, and Joshua Rodgers, the barber and funeral director.
Peter gets the conversations rolling, “In the past two months we’ve had two local families murdered and burned out. Not even mentioning their herds being run off. The sheriff has posted both of those properties with no trespassing signs trying to keep off nosey folks. He is riding out to each of the sites twice a week to keep an eye on things.”
Henry says “Has the sheriff found any sign at the Evan’s place? We couldn’t figure out any at the Martin’s but I think that’s because we found them long after it happened.”
Jeff replies, “He told me that he couldn’t make out any sign of who did it when he went out there. It was two weeks after the incident happened, so that’s possibly why he couldn’t read any signs. He was fortunate the rider buried the bodies.”
Doctor Keller states, “Why didn’t he go out there as soon as that cowhand reported it to him, is what I want to know?”
Tonight all seven of the members are present. Randy Beecham, the owner of the general Store, Jake Stark, the saloon owner, Henry Duncan, the stage station manager, Peter Simms, the hotel owner, Jeff Proctor, the town’s blacksmith, Doctor William Keller, the physician and dentist, and Joshua Rodgers, the barber and funeral director.
Peter gets the conversations rolling, “In the past two months we’ve had two local families murdered and burned out. Not even mentioning their herds being run off. The sheriff has posted both of those properties with no trespassing signs trying to keep off nosey folks. He is riding out to each of the sites twice a week to keep an eye on things.”
Henry says “Has the sheriff found any sign at the Evan’s place? We couldn’t figure out any at the Martin’s but I think that’s because we found them long after it happened.”
Jeff replies, “He told me that he couldn’t make out any sign of who did it when he went out there. It was two weeks after the incident happened, so that’s possibly why he couldn’t read any signs. He was fortunate the rider buried the bodies.”
Doctor Keller states, “Why didn’t he go out there as soon as that cowhand reported it to him, is what I want to know?”
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