Page 65 (2/2)

A smile trembled on her lips, in spite of the modesty she should have felt “Why, thank you, Mr Rusty” Ever since that first occasion, he had always referred to her strolls to answer nature’s call with an inquiry about the wildflowers she’d seen along the way It had become a private joke between the two of theh about bodily functions with a man?

When Shorty Niles and Joe Dollarhide had ridden up to the farmhouse with the tborn calves across their saddles, Lorna had watched from the camp She smiled when she heard Alfred Jenkins turn and call to his wife His voice carried all the way to camp

“Emma! Emma! Come quick!”

Lorna knew their blessing that night would include a ood

The sweltering te up after three days of driving the herd over more treeless prairie Spanish was the only one who didn’t see with the other cowhands and insisting his blood was just getting warhts running It ht herd

Benteen slept lightly, bedded on the ground near the wagon A low voice called him to wake for his turn to watch It was an unwritten rule that you didn’t wake a sleepinghiun pointed at you

Pushing back the hat shielding his face, he saw Shorty’s outline standing at the foot of his bedroll The campfire was out, but an overcast sky lit the world of shadoith flashes of sheet lightning Benteen rolled to his feet

“It’s not good out there,” Shorty murmured “You’d better shuck your metal”

Night guards had a greater fear of lightning in a storets in flat country for the jagged bolts that rained fire out of the sky The superstition prevailed that it was hts a cowboy divested hiuns

“Wake up Spanish Tell him he’s drawin’ an extra watch,” Benteen ordered “Dollarhide’s too green if there’s a storm brewin’”

Shorty nodded as Benteen rulla he called Mouse, tied to the wagon tongue, saddled and ready “Hope you know sos”

When the three riders rode out to the herd and split up to start their circling route, souard A fewback down

It was quiet, too quiet Benteen stopped the blue- gray buckskin a couple ti, licked with tension Flashes of lightning skylighted the cattle, confir down, but he could hear the ru closer

When he passed the kid riding counterclockwise around the herd, Dollarhide was softly crooning an old love song A little farther on, he met up with Spanish The Mexican reined in, so Benteen paused, too

“The Captain is up” Spanish passed on the information that the lead steer was on his feet “He doesn’t like this night either”