Page 41 of Follow the Lonesome Trail
“A few mix in every time—”
Johnny’s hand stilled on his horse’s bridle. He turned to face him.
“I don’t know how many times a body has to say that before I get a stomach full. None of those cows were ours. We had no business with them.” He pulled the bridle off and dismissed the horse with a gentle push.
“Did they have our brand?” The foreman’s voice was cold.
So that’s how it was. They were going to play that game with him, have the audacity to change the brand in front of his eyes and then point to it self-righteously.
He met the man’s eyes. “I ain’t rustlin’. We all know who’s doing that.”
Something snapped in the foreman’s face. “Get your things and get out, before I shoot your ungrateful hide.”
Johnny shouldered his saddle and swung the gate open. “I was getting out anyway.”
“You better get far from here, because the boys, they’ll shoot you on sight.”
He ignored the threat. Cowards. The louder these boys shouted, the less it meant.
His own horse was in one of the rear paddocks, lean and a little out of shape, but not bad. He caught him and threw his tack on. Normally he’d demand his week’s pay, but he figured he wouldn’t push his luck. Depending on the man, they would shoot you in the back riding out if they thought you had any pull with the local authorities.
Good riddance. He’d find another outfit before winter came, get nice and settled. His mind went back to the Lucky Dollar, the pale woman alone—but he’d already done her a good turn. To come back might seem like he was forcing himself on her when she had little choice.
A voice broke into his thoughts. One of the windows in the bunkhouse was open. He paused, listening.
“But if she stays alive, she’s got legal claim.”
“Not if she is scared off. Many a man’s caved. She’s not going to be any stronger.”
“I don’t know, this woman—she ain’t the type to scare easy.”
“If you don’t have the guts to put a bullet in her—”
“What about her kids? There’s more to it than just her.”
“We can make it look like the Apache or some sort done it.”
“Or that half-Comanche,” added a new voice. “We just sacked him. I think he’s what happened to that forty head we branded.”
“Yeah, she didn’t say nothing about him, but I think he went to the ranch. She gave us the boot the minute we rode in.”
There was a mean kind of chuckle.
“That’d be a twist of fate.”
“Figure he’ll go to her?”
“Naw, he’s going to light out in the other direction. Not the sentimental type—they rarely are.”
“Well, we’d better do something about her before the weather actually turns. The other night was just a taste.”
“I can do it, if you boys don’t have the stomach. Go get the hands. I’ll lead the way and do it, and then we’ll bust the cattle out.”
“Is it worth it for a hundred head?”
“Nobody’s going to know. She’s alone out there. Her loss if she’s too stubborn to get out. This land’s unforgiving….”
Not if he reached the pass first.
