baby.
Then slowly the image faded, with its head of glossy
chestnut curls and instead of the stout familiar figure he was staring at this
thin, nervous woman with her wispy blonde hair, huge blue eyes, and timid
manner. God, you would think she was afraid he was going to beat her as tensely
as she sat and as high-pitched as her voice had been. Carefully he began his
questions.
“Fifty head of cattle is far fewer than your 400 acre spread
should carry.”
“We had nearly two hundred last year about this time, too
many, and then Dad got the tax bill. After spring calving, he and our two hands
branded and treated the cattle, then we separated about a hundred head and
drove them to Abilene to sale. He let the hands go and they stayed in Abilene
to find work. The night we made it home, that’s when the robbers came. They
knocked Dad out in the barn, then tied him up. Then….” her voice trailed off.
He stared at her, not commenting. Hattie swallowed, then
continued.
“When they left, the cattle money and our two saddle horses
were gone.”
“Why didn’t you report it to Sheriff Tate?”
“It was a week before I felt Dad would be all right alone. I
wore his six guns and a pair of pants to ride old Nugget to town. The sheriff
laughed at me. Told me he’d heard a different story, the men had been bragging
about how I’d invited one or the other out every night, how I would slip out to
the barn to be with them.”
“I told him they were liars, and if he didn’t do something,
I’d shoot them myself.”
He came out to the ranch, but when he asked Dad, Dad said
nothing. He just teared up and looked ashamed when he looked at me.
“Outside, the sheriff told me that even my Dad wouldn’t
defend me. To him that meant that what the men said was true and if he saw me
dressed like a man again in town, he would arrest me for indecency.”
Jackson swore. “What did he say about the money and horses?”
“He told me he knew nothing about missing money or horses,
he hadn’t heard of us being in town to sell our cows.”
“Of course, Dad hadn’t wanted to sell them there. Everyone
knows the only buyer is Charles Dawson, and he only pays a fraction of what
they are worth.”
Jackson stared at her. He knew his father-in-law ran things,
but he had always paid more than a fair price for the cattle from the Harper
spread. Apparently, he hadn’t realized a lot of things about Dawson’s dealings
with others.
“Then what did you do?”
“With no hands and Dad laid up, I had my hands full tending
the stock, moving them to new pasture. That fall, we were only able to get part
of the feed crop put up, Dad was able to help by then, but I had figured out I
was pregnant and wasn’t as much help as we needed. After what the sheriff said,
I avoided town, only going in early when I had to go for supplies.”
“You had over a hundred animals last winter, but this spring
you only located 50 or so.”
“The round-up wore Dad down. It was too much for him. When
he had his attack, I was able to get him home and inside, then I rode into town
for the doctor. I’ve already told you what happened after that, the baby and
all.”
Jackson nodded, unwilling to give her the pity she was
asking for. “Fifty is a big loss for a mild winter. Any idea what happened to
them?”
“No, we never saw any carcasses or bones left by predators. Dad
and I felt they were being rustled.”
“It’s a possibility. We have the herd penned. There are a
lot of calves that need branded and cut, plus I want to make sure the herd’s
healthy before I let them loose with the other animals.”
She nodded. “Did your men bring Dad’s branding iron?”
“Yes, that’s what I wanted to go over with you, the list of
what they brought, compare it to the list you sent them with.”
He handed her both pieces of paper. Hattie noticed they had
brought her plow, her seeds, passed down from gardens her grandmother had
grown, through her mother, carefully
Then slowly the image faded, with its head of glossy
chestnut curls and instead of the stout familiar figure he was staring at this
thin, nervous woman with her wispy blonde hair, huge blue eyes, and timid
manner. God, you would think she was afraid he was going to beat her as tensely
as she sat and as high-pitched as her voice had been. Carefully he began his
questions.
“Fifty head of cattle is far fewer than your 400 acre spread
should carry.”
“We had nearly two hundred last year about this time, too
many, and then Dad got the tax bill. After spring calving, he and our two hands
branded and treated the cattle, then we separated about a hundred head and
drove them to Abilene to sale. He let the hands go and they stayed in Abilene
to find work. The night we made it home, that’s when the robbers came. They
knocked Dad out in the barn, then tied him up. Then….” her voice trailed off.
He stared at her, not commenting. Hattie swallowed, then
continued.
“When they left, the cattle money and our two saddle horses
were gone.”
“Why didn’t you report it to Sheriff Tate?”
“It was a week before I felt Dad would be all right alone. I
wore his six guns and a pair of pants to ride old Nugget to town. The sheriff
laughed at me. Told me he’d heard a different story, the men had been bragging
about how I’d invited one or the other out every night, how I would slip out to
the barn to be with them.”
“I told him they were liars, and if he didn’t do something,
I’d shoot them myself.”
He came out to the ranch, but when he asked Dad, Dad said
nothing. He just teared up and looked ashamed when he looked at me.
“Outside, the sheriff told me that even my Dad wouldn’t
defend me. To him that meant that what the men said was true and if he saw me
dressed like a man again in town, he would arrest me for indecency.”
Jackson swore. “What did he say about the money and horses?”
“He told me he knew nothing about missing money or horses,
he hadn’t heard of us being in town to sell our cows.”
“Of course, Dad hadn’t wanted to sell them there. Everyone
knows the only buyer is Charles Dawson, and he only pays a fraction of what
they are worth.”
Jackson stared at her. He knew his father-in-law ran things,
but he had always paid more than a fair price for the cattle from the Harper
spread. Apparently, he hadn’t realized a lot of things about Dawson’s dealings
with others.
“Then what did you do?”
“With no hands and Dad laid up, I had my hands full tending
the stock, moving them to new pasture. That fall, we were only able to get part
of the feed crop put up, Dad was able to help by then, but I had figured out I
was pregnant and wasn’t as much help as we needed. After what the sheriff said,
I avoided town, only going in early when I had to go for supplies.”
“You had over a hundred animals last winter, but this spring
you only located 50 or so.”
“The round-up wore Dad down. It was too much for him. When
he had his attack, I was able to get him home and inside, then I rode into town
for the doctor. I’ve already told you what happened after that, the baby and
all.”
Jackson nodded, unwilling to give her the pity she was
asking for. “Fifty is a big loss for a mild winter. Any idea what happened to
them?”
“No, we never saw any carcasses or bones left by predators. Dad
and I felt they were being rustled.”
“It’s a possibility. We have the herd penned. There are a
lot of calves that need branded and cut, plus I want to make sure the herd’s
healthy before I let them loose with the other animals.”
She nodded. “Did your men bring Dad’s branding iron?”
“Yes, that’s what I wanted to go over with you, the list of
what they brought, compare it to the list you sent them with.”
He handed her both pieces of paper. Hattie noticed they had
brought her plow, her seeds, passed down from gardens her grandmother had
grown, through her mother, carefully
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