that there was a lot of work for
any
one person to do. And the final thought that came to her was that she and her friends were at High Meadow to be as helpful as possible. Eli, Stevie, and Kate were more than capable of looking after a herd of cattle and twelve campers, especially when the campers would be too busy riding the herd to get into trouble. Carole wasn’t needed on the roundup. She was needed at the ranch.
“I’ll stay here,” she said. Stevie and Kate looked at her in surprise. Stevie’s look was almost one of alarm.
“Jeannie needs me,” she said simply.
“I’ll stay, too,” Stevie said.
“No way,” said Carole. “Eli needs you.”
It was true, and Carole knew that that was the right way to do it. If it meant that she wouldn’t get to do anywhere near as much riding as she wanted for acouple of days, what difference would it make? She was doing what was right, and that felt good.
“Fine,” Eli said, confirming who was leaving and who was staying. “I want you all to go pack your bedrolls, a change of clothes, and your most necessary personal items. We will leave right after morning chores.”
“Can’t we skip the morning chores?” Lois asked.
Eli gave her a withering look. Stevie found herself a little relieved to know that Eli found at least this one of the L-ions as unpleasant to deal with as she did.
Carole finished her last pancake and began gathering the plates to start work in the kitchen. There were a lot of sandwiches to make for the first meal the cowpokes would eat on the trail. After that the rancher would supply meals from a chuck wagon. In the olden days, a chuck wagon was a horse-drawn covered wagon that rode with the herd. In more modern times, it was a pickup truck complete with a stove and a refrigerator. The chuck wagon would meet them at the first night’s campsite.
Carole and Jeannie worked together in the kitchen, quickly and efficiently. First, they cleaned up after breakfast. Carole had the job of seeing to it that the campers cleaned up the dining room well. She found that when she told them they couldn’t go on the cattle drive until after the job was done, well, they worked twice as hard!
Once the campers got busy packing their bedrolls, Carole and Jeannie began making lunch: sandwiches, fruit, dessert, and drinks. They set up an assembly line and got the job done very quickly.
As they worked, Carole was too busy to think about the trip her friends would be taking, but when they passed out the lunch bags and looked at the gear all packed and rolled and tied to the back of each saddle, it occurred to Carole that the trip Kate and Stevie were going on was a very far cry from the two-day cattle drive they’d done on the Bar None. They’d hardly left the Devines’ property for that one. Now a group of kids, two young counselors, and one real cowboy were taking a very large herd a long distance. They’d be gone for the better part of a week.
As she thought about this, Carole was surprised that she wasn’t more envious. But Kate and Stevie were doing something they needed to do, helping Eli, being counselors. And she was being helpful in another way, staying with Jeannie, looking after the three campers who’d be there, too. She was being responsible. That, alone, was enough to make her feel happy about her decision.
“Okay, what’s my first job?” Carole asked, turning to Jeannie.
Jeannie scrunched her eyebrows in thought, and then she spoke. “Well, since you’re giving up a horseback trip, I think you have the right to have your firstjob be a horse job. Saddle up a pony for yourself and round up all the horses, except Arthur of course, and put them in the field on the far side of the barn. Get the campers to help you with that. They should be on ponies, too. Then you can set your own ponies out in the field as well.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Carole said, saluting sharply just the way her father had taught her. Rounding up horses wasn’t exactly
any
one person to do. And the final thought that came to her was that she and her friends were at High Meadow to be as helpful as possible. Eli, Stevie, and Kate were more than capable of looking after a herd of cattle and twelve campers, especially when the campers would be too busy riding the herd to get into trouble. Carole wasn’t needed on the roundup. She was needed at the ranch.
“I’ll stay here,” she said. Stevie and Kate looked at her in surprise. Stevie’s look was almost one of alarm.
“Jeannie needs me,” she said simply.
“I’ll stay, too,” Stevie said.
“No way,” said Carole. “Eli needs you.”
It was true, and Carole knew that that was the right way to do it. If it meant that she wouldn’t get to do anywhere near as much riding as she wanted for acouple of days, what difference would it make? She was doing what was right, and that felt good.
“Fine,” Eli said, confirming who was leaving and who was staying. “I want you all to go pack your bedrolls, a change of clothes, and your most necessary personal items. We will leave right after morning chores.”
“Can’t we skip the morning chores?” Lois asked.
Eli gave her a withering look. Stevie found herself a little relieved to know that Eli found at least this one of the L-ions as unpleasant to deal with as she did.
Carole finished her last pancake and began gathering the plates to start work in the kitchen. There were a lot of sandwiches to make for the first meal the cowpokes would eat on the trail. After that the rancher would supply meals from a chuck wagon. In the olden days, a chuck wagon was a horse-drawn covered wagon that rode with the herd. In more modern times, it was a pickup truck complete with a stove and a refrigerator. The chuck wagon would meet them at the first night’s campsite.
Carole and Jeannie worked together in the kitchen, quickly and efficiently. First, they cleaned up after breakfast. Carole had the job of seeing to it that the campers cleaned up the dining room well. She found that when she told them they couldn’t go on the cattle drive until after the job was done, well, they worked twice as hard!
Once the campers got busy packing their bedrolls, Carole and Jeannie began making lunch: sandwiches, fruit, dessert, and drinks. They set up an assembly line and got the job done very quickly.
As they worked, Carole was too busy to think about the trip her friends would be taking, but when they passed out the lunch bags and looked at the gear all packed and rolled and tied to the back of each saddle, it occurred to Carole that the trip Kate and Stevie were going on was a very far cry from the two-day cattle drive they’d done on the Bar None. They’d hardly left the Devines’ property for that one. Now a group of kids, two young counselors, and one real cowboy were taking a very large herd a long distance. They’d be gone for the better part of a week.
As she thought about this, Carole was surprised that she wasn’t more envious. But Kate and Stevie were doing something they needed to do, helping Eli, being counselors. And she was being helpful in another way, staying with Jeannie, looking after the three campers who’d be there, too. She was being responsible. That, alone, was enough to make her feel happy about her decision.
“Okay, what’s my first job?” Carole asked, turning to Jeannie.
Jeannie scrunched her eyebrows in thought, and then she spoke. “Well, since you’re giving up a horseback trip, I think you have the right to have your firstjob be a horse job. Saddle up a pony for yourself and round up all the horses, except Arthur of course, and put them in the field on the far side of the barn. Get the campers to help you with that. They should be on ponies, too. Then you can set your own ponies out in the field as well.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Carole said, saluting sharply just the way her father had taught her. Rounding up horses wasn’t exactly
Similar Books
