If you've hung in with the story until now, thank you. If you're just getting started; welcome.
I suggest you read Chapters 1-5. They will give you a better understanding of the characters and situations.
There are no graphic sex scenes in this story. As usual constructive comments and emails are welcome and appreciated.
Thank you for taking the time to read my tale and please enjoy.
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Josh and Red came to the base of a large gently sloping hill; they'd been following the tracks of ten cattle and three horses for most of the day. It had to be the rustlers trail. Now the two young men stopped to give their horses a breather.
"Red, how's Jasper holding up?" Josh asked about Red's horse.
"He's mad because I've kept him at walk for the last two hours. He'll do," Red answered.
"Diablo's in good shape too. I'm thinking if we cut over the top of the hill we can cut down the lead they have on us," Josh suggested. "What'da you think?"
"Sounds good, I'd like to get closer before it starts raining," Red replied pointing at the low lying dark clouds.
They were mounted on two of the finest horses in Colorado and knew they could run down just about anybody or anything. Josh led the way over the top of the hill and down the other side stopping to examine the tracks again.
"I'd say we picked up about a half hour on them Red. Wonder why they're not traveling faster," Josh remarked.
"Those cattle aren't Texas Longhorns; they're mostly Hereford cross breeds. They can't be driven as hard as Texas cattle," Red answered.
They are no sooner started on the trail again when it began to rain. It wasn't a gentle rain. It came down in sheets reducing visibility to just a few feet; the two riders couldn't see much beyond the head of their horses. And the rain washed out the trail. They continued riding in the general direction that the cattle had been going.
Josh was a good tracker having learned from Mali Reece, a Cheyenne woman, back home in Missouri and from hunting in the hills around his father's farm. As the rain stopped, Josh had to admit they had lost the trail. They followed what had been a small stream that turned into a raging torrent. Climbing out of the draw to high ground again, they were confronted by five men. Josh recognized one of them.
"Hello, Mr. Larson. Nice to see you again," Josh greeted the man.
"What are you doing on my spread?" Larson asked.
"We were following the trail of some stolen cattle but lost them in the rain. Didn't know we were on your land," Josh answered.
"Well now you know, so get off my ranch," Larson ordered. When he said this the four men with him got tense, waiting for something to happen.
Josh looked at Larson and the other men, his smile slipping from his face, then said, "We'll leave Mr. Larson but we'll be come back if necessary."
"What's that suppose to mean?"
'It means that the trail was leading to your spread before we lost it in the rain. If we find it again we'll follow it no matter whose land it crosses," Red told him. "If you're gonna stop us now's as good a time as any.
"There's five of us boy. You don't stand a chance," Larson bragged.
"We're not looking for trouble," Josh said. "But if shootin starts you'll be the first to go Mr. Larson. Won't much matter what happens after that, at least not to you."
Larson looked hard at Josh and Red. He didn't see any bluff in their faces. "Get off my land" he said and turned his horse around and rode off. His men waited a few seconds and then followed him.
Josh and Red turned back toward the Maggie M. They felt that Larson was involved in the rustling but couldn't prove it. They talked in low voices and had been riding for about 10 minutes when Josh stopped and motioned for quiet. Red listened for a moment and then heard it too. It was the sound of cattle that were upset.
They scouted around and found a trail that had been made after the rain stopped. Following the tracks for about a mile Josh signaled a halt. Using sign language he told Red to wait with the horses and he would scout ahead a ways. Red wasn't happy with that idea but Josh was a much better tracker so he agreed to wait.
Josh took off on foot keeping behind cover where ever he could. He had been gone for almost 20 minutes and Red was getting worried. Then he heard Josh calling him to bring up the horses. Red mounted and leading Diablo soon joined Josh. He found Josh, the cattle, and a stranger at the head of a small box canyon.
There was a man kneeling on the ground and Josh held him at gun point. "There's Daniel's cattle Red, all rounded up and waitin for us. This feller was just sitting under a cover tryin to keep dry."
"Who is he? He looks familiar, like I've seen him before."
"He won't tell me but maybe he'll tell the Sheriff," Josh answered. "We'll drive the cattle back to the Maggie M and take him to town tomorrow."
"Good. It'll give me a chance to see Sarah sooner than this weekend," Red responded with a big grin.
They tied the man's hands in front of him, got him on his horse, and then tied his hands to the saddle. Josh said, "Mister if you try to run, we'll catch you and tie you face down across your saddle. Either way, sitting up or face down, you're coming with us back to the ranch. It's your choice how you get there."
Josh and Red started the cattle back toward home and the man rode at the back of the small herd with Josh. Red rode point and helped keep the cattle headed in the right direction as Josh drove them from behind. It took the better part of the day to get the animals back near the ranch house.
Daniel and the whole family came out to greet the three men. Josh took their prisoner down to the barn and tied him in a stall. Red was telling the Maguires about Josh scouting ahead all alone.
"How'd you know there was only one man guarding the cattle?" Maggie asked.
"The tracks showed three horses going in but only two came out of the box canyon," Josh answered. "The one that stayed had a loose shoe on the left front. The horse would have gone lame in another few miles. My guess is that they left the man there to guard the cattle and went to get another horse somewhere."
That evening Josh and Daniel went to the barn. Josh brought the prisoner some supper while Daniel fixed the loose shoe on the man's horse. The rustler finally told them that his name was Carl but refused to answer any more questions.
