Sagebrush

by William Wayne Dicksion

  * * *

  When they arrived, Señora Cordova was expecting them. She had lunch ready and served them on the patio overlooking the river. A gentle breeze rippled the new leaves on the poplar trees, making the sound of tiny hands clapping. The señora took them for a tour of the hacienda. The house was large and made of thick adobe walls; the roof was held in place by huge timbers. It was built to accommodate a large number of guests, but its size didn’t diminish the feeling of warmth.

  “Joe,” Bonnie exclaimed, “I don’t need to see more; I love it. This will be a wonderful place to raise our family.”

  “I felt the same way,” Señora Cordova said, “when I came here as a bride thirty-five years ago. But after many wonderful years, my husband died. Our children live in Mexico City, and I want to be with them.”

  “Señora,” Sage asked, “do you have charts showing the boundaries?”

  “I sure do, and I have them ready to show you.”

  Joe and Sage went over the charts, while the women talked about the wedding. Upon examining the charts, Joe estimated the land area to be just over ten thousand acres.

  “Let’s buy it,” Sage said.

  Joe nodded. “You’re the boss.”

  “No, Joe,” Sage corrected. “This is a partnership. I buy it, you run it, and we share in the profits.” Sage extended his hand and said, “Let’s seal the agreement.”

  Joe warmly grasped his hand and a lasting partnership was formed.

  Sage said, “Okay, we have our ranch!”

  They walked into the drawing room. The señora was showing Juanita and Bonnie the intimate details of the house.

  Sage counted out enough gold coins to equal the amount the señora was asking for the ranch and placed them on a large wooden table. The señora brought out the papers of ownership. She then called her foreman, Manuel, into the room.

  “Juanita and Manuel, would you witness the signing?” the señora asked. With tears running down her face, she hugged everyone in the room, and said, “Now, I can go to see my children and grandchildren in Mexico City.”

  She turned to Manuel. “Manuel, start rounding up the cattle. Leave some good milk cows for Señor Martin and his bride. They will need enough milk and butter to feed the caballeros. Round up only the beef cattle. All the rest will remain the property of the ranch.”

  “Will you need help to drive the herd?” Sage asked.

  “I’ll use some of the vaqueros for the drive. When they return, they’ll be driving a herd of twenty purebred Arabian horses for you. I’ll buy the horses to repay you for the use of your vaqueros.”

  “Thank you,” Sage replied.

  “It’s a pleasure doing business with good people.” She extended her hand to Sage and said, “You now own the ranch.”

  “Tomorrow,” Sage said, “I will take these signed papers to the government offices and register the property in my name.” He then turned to Joe and said, “We should get the girls home before dark. Bonnie’s parents will be worried.”

  “Señora, may I bring my mother and father to see the ranch tomorrow?” Bonnie asked.

  “You are now the mistress of the Casa Grande,” the señora laughed. “Do as you wish. I hope you will be as happy here as I have been. Vaya con dios.

  * * *

  While riding to her ranch, Juanita lingered back with Bonnie and asked, “What do you know about Señor McBain?”

  Bonnie thought for a moment and replied, “All I know is that he and his two friends rode in to help our people fight off a band of Kiowa Indians. Their skills as fighters were remarkable. When we first saw Sage, he looked like a wild animal. He didn’t look like the handsome young man you now see. He saved the life of one of the girls. Two Indians were attacking her, and she would have been killed if Sage hadn’t stepped in. In a display of furiousness like no one had ever seen in a man, he killed the Indians with his ax and his knife. The girl he saved cut his hair for the first time in six years. They became friends. She wanted the relationship to develop into something more, but he held back. The other girls wanted him, too, but he didn’t respond to their advances, either. He is a mystery. Perhaps there’s something in his past, I don’t know. The men say he’s a wonderful friend, or a terrible enemy.”

  “Thank you, that’s much like the story he told me. Let’s go join our men.”

  Bonnie nodded and with a smile said, “Yes, let’s join our men. I know you and I are going to be wonderful friends.”

  When they got to the Diego Ranch, the uncle was nowhere to be seen.

  “Juanita,” Sage asked, “are you comfortable staying here?”

  “I’ll be all right,” Juanita answered. “I can trust my staff.”

  “Let me know if there’s ever a problem; I’ll come immediately.”

  Pat was waiting on the trail. Sage and Pat went to Maggie’s, while Joe and Bonnie went to the wagon camp to tell Bonnie’s parents that they had bought the ranch.

  Bonnie’s mother, Thelma, was excited; but Bonnie’s father, Frank, was not so sure; he had started for California and didn’t want to stop halfway. He had heard the California Trail was long and hard, that many people had died along the way, and he was reluctant to subject his wife to such hardships. What was waiting for them in California was left to be seen. He knew what they had here, and it looked good.

  Frank said, “I’ll delay my decision until we see the ranch tomorrow.”

  * * *

  Joe, Bonnie, Thelma, and Frank rode to their new ranch. They didn’t go via the Diego Ranch; instead, they followed a more direct route, on a well-traveled road, directly to their ranch.

  Again Señora Cordova was expecting them and had food and drinks ready. Joe and Frank told the ladies that they would be gone most of the day, riding over the land, taking a good look at what they would be managing. The women stayed at the hacienda to get acquainted with their new home. The hacienda was what they would be in charge of. Señora Cordova was pleased to show them the home she had been so proud of for so very long. She told them how pleased she was that the home would be in the hands of someone who would love it as she had.

  The señora had already packed some of her treasured things. She told Bonnie and her mother that there were many things too bulky to take with her on the long trip. Some of the things were pieces of priceless furniture that had been brought from Spain, some from Mexico City, and some were built right here on the ranch. She told them she would like to leave the furniture she couldn’t take with her, and she hoped they could use it. Bonnie and her mother were pleased to have so many beautiful things already in their new home, things that would have been difficult to replace.

  Bonnie expressed her gratitude and said she hoped the señora would return for a visit some day, so they might return her hospitality.

  The señora replied, “It would be wonderful, if it should be possible, but the distance is long.”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  The Stolen Cattle

  While Joe and Bonnie looked at the new ranch, Pat and Sage rode to the Diego ranch. They wanted Juanita to tell them the location of the canyon where she thought the stolen cattle might be held. They needed to know for sure what was happening to the cattle that were missing. If they could recover them, it would be easier to put the ranch back on a profitable basis. When they asked Juanita to tell them how to get to the large canyon, instead of telling them, she said she would show them. She had ridden there with her father when she was just a little girl.

  “Juanita,” Sage said, “perhaps you should not ride with us—the ride will be difficult and dangerous.”

  Juanita insisted. “It’s my cattle that is being stolen, and I want to see for myself if my uncle is betraying me. Don’t worry about me; I’m able to make difficult rides, and I have weapons that I’m very capable of using.”

  “Sage,” Pat chuckled, “since there’s no way I know of to stop her, I think we should let her show us the way.”

  “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Sage
smiled.

  “Good,” Juanita said. “I’ll tell my housekeepers that I’ll be gone overnight. We won’t be able to return in one day—the ride is too long. I’ll get extra blankets since we’ll be spending the nights on the trail, and it gets very cold in the mountains this time of year.”

  * * *

  They headed their horses in the direction indicated by Juanita. She was indeed a capable rider—the rough terrain presented no more difficulties for her than it did for either Pat or Sage. The area contained deep canyons, gullies, and arroyos. Steep clefts and butts towered hundreds of feet into the air.

  In the late afternoon, Juanita said, “We’re getting close.”

  “Perhaps we should hide the horses here,” Pat suggested, “and go the rest of the way on foot. We don’t want to take a chance of being seen.”

  “The rustlers have too much to lose,” Juanita replied, “so they’ll have guards posted with instructions to shoot on sight.”

  Continuing on foot for about half an hour, they heard cattle lowing.

  “That’s cattle, all right!” Sage exclaimed. “You two stay hidden, and I’ll take a look. I want to find out where their guards are posted. I’ll come back after I’ve located them.”

  He returned a little later. “They have posted four guards—two up on the ridge, one on each rim of the canyon, and two guarding the mouth of the canyon.”

  “Show me,” Juanita said. “I want to see for myself.”

  Sage led, and Juanita followed. Pat held back, wanting to be sure their backs were covered in case there were men that Sage hadn’t seen, although he doubted that there would be. Sage was so attuned to his environment that he didn’t miss much.

  Sage led Juanita to a spot hidden by boulders and brush, where they could look into the canyon.

  After a quick look, Juanita said, “Those are my cattle all right. What are we going to do?”

  “Nothing for now,” Sage said. “The cows have grass and water, and they’re being looked after. We know where they are, and we can get them anytime. Let’s find out where your uncle and Vacca are hiding the gold. When we know that, we’ll be ready to take whatever action is needed. They’re not going to give up without a fight. You’re in danger until you get your property back. You’ve got to get men you can trust looking after your interests. I believe Carlos is such a man. We’re going to get your gold back, then you’ll have all the money you need, and you can run the ranch however you want. You don’t need your uncle to run it for you. You have Carlos to manage the cattle, and you can choose someone to run the mining operation. You’ll need someone to run the hacienda and manage the crops. When you get that, you’ll have a successful ranch again. Your people will be happy, and you’ll be happy.”

  Juanita nodded. “This is a terrible thing my uncle is doing, but I still don’t want him killed. I want him forced off the land. He may be past the point of reason, but I hope he won’t go any further. I wish he’d go back to either Mexico or Spain, but probably that will not happen.”

  “Juanita, if that is what you want, then that is what you’ll get. But if what we are being told about Pedro Vacca is true, he is a dangerous man, and we should take precautions.”

  “Yes, I think you’re right. He is cruel and ambitious.”

  Sage knew that Pat would be waiting nearby, where he could see in all directions. They found him and walked back to where they had left their horses.

  “Let’s find a good campsite,” Pat said. “Juanita is right. It’s going to get cold tonight.”

  They rode away from the canyon, in the direction of the ranch, for about an hour. Then, just before dark, Pat said, “This is a good spot. We’ll build a fire against the cliff where the rocks will reflect the heat out to us, and hang blankets at our back to keep out the wind. We’ll make our beds between the cliff and the blankets and that should keep us warm.”

  Sage concurred. “You build a fire, and I’ll get something to eat.” He walked into the brush and disappeared almost immediately.

  “How will he get us something to eat?” Juanita asked as she watched him disappear.

  “I don’t know how he does it, but he’ll return with some kind of meat, and it will be cleaned and dressed, ready to be cooked when he gets back. His skills as a hunter are astonishing.”

  In just a few minutes, Sage returned with two rabbits, cleaned and dressed.

  Pat said to Juanita, “Ye see what I mean?” Then he turned to Sage, “While you and Juanita cook this, I’ll make the beds.”

  “Okay, this will be ready in about half an hour,” Sage said.

  “The beds will be ready in about half an hour,” Pat smiled.

  “There’s a big advantage in camping with mountain men,” Juanita said.

  “Oh, I’m not a mountain man,” corrected Sage. “I’m learning to be a mountain man from Pat, and he’s one of the best. He’s training me right now by showing me how to get the reflected heat from the cliff while containing it with blankets. He doesn’t say he’s training me, but he knows I’m watching. Pat’s a good friend.”

  “You’re both good friends to me,” Juanita agreed. “I’ve been really blessed that you came to help me, and I’m grateful to Joe Martin, also.”

  The roasted rabbit was delicious.

  “Sage,” Juanita asked, “would you tell us how you get food from the wild so easily?”

  Sage looked down at his feet while remembering. “I was alone with no one to teach me. My only teachers were the animals, and they couldn’t talk. I had lots of time, so I spent hours watching them, to learn how they got their food. There are many kinds of animals, but there are only two basic types: predators and prey. There are exceptions, but mostly predators eat meat, and preys eat plants. People are both predator and prey—we eat meat and we eat plants.

  “The animals taught me that everything in nature has a special place to live and certain things they like to eat. By observing their life habits, I learned at what time, or under what conditions, the animals were vulnerable. Then I caught them at that time. I would never try to catch a prairie chicken in the daytime. It’s too fast and would fly away. So I wait until night when it’s asleep. Everything is like that. I learned how to catch animals by watching predators catch them. Many an evening I watched the animals in the meadows across the creek from my cave. I learned to hunt and to hide by watching the way the animals hid when they were being hunted.

  “Animals and men are not all that different. Some men are predators, and some are prey.” He continued, “We can learn much from animals if we take the time to watch them. Animals are not only more gifted with their senses than we are; they have learned to use them better than we have. Animals can sense the presence of danger and so can we, if we take the time to learn, and use our five our senses all at the same time. In nature, there are many things we can learn to recognize by using the senses of seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, and tasting. Men can develop these senses, the same as the animals can.”

  Juanita listened intently to this seemingly gentle young man. She was beginning to understand what a remarkable person he really was. She marveled at how he had learned to survive alone in the Indian Territory, and of how his being alone had tuned his senses to everything around him. Now, she understood why people who knew him said he was a wonderful friend or a terrible enemy. She watched his handsome face as he was telling his story. It was peaceful and calm, but there was a deep sorrow hidden behind those blue-green eyes. She wondered what it might be and understood why Bonnie said he was a mystery. She was thinking that perhaps someday she would be able to understand his pain and soothe the sorrow. She wanted to reach out to him, but she knew that now was not the time.

  Pat talked of his years as a mountain man, where he also had learned to live alone after his family was killed by the Blackfoot.

  Looking at Juanita, Sage said, “Now, let’s hear about you.”

  Juanita told them, “I was born at the hacienda. My father and my grandfather were also b
orn at the hacienda. My grandfather’s first wife was the daughter of one of the local ranchers. She died while trying to give birth, and the baby died also. After a time, Grandfather went to Mexico City, where he met Grandmother. She was Señora Alvarez, when he married her, the widowed wife of Don Alvarez from Spain. She and her first husband had lived in Spain where their son, Jose, my uncle, was born. They say Grandmother was very beautiful. Grandfather fell in love with her, and they were married in Mexico City. He brought her and her son to the hacienda where she gave birth to another boy. That boy was my father. They named him Francisco. Grandmother died in a riding accident while my father was still very young. Uncle Jose was a few years older, and there was always a conflict between my father and his half-brother. Grandfather tried to treat them both the same, but Jose secretly hated his stepfather, and he was difficult to deal with.”

  Juanita continued, “When Grandmother died in the riding accident, Grandfather left his two sons in the care of Carlos and returned to Spain. Grandfather’s family has large land holdings in Spain. Carlos raised my father and my uncle. Grandfather wanted grandchildren, but Uncle Jose never wanted Grandfather to arrange a marriage for him saying he would make his own arrangements, so Grandfather never tried.

  “But Grandfather wanted an heir, so he arranged a marriage between my father and my mother. My mother was Lolita Montoya, the daughter of a family who also had close ties to the king of Spain. Her father’s name was Don Hernando Montoya. Grandfather arranged this marriage while he was on another trip to Spain. Grandfather’s family had maintained close ties with the king, who granted this land to my great-great-grandfather. Mother was only sixteen when she came to Santa Fe to marry Father. She, too, was very beautiful, and Father fell in love with her right away. They were married in the chapel and lived in the hacienda where I was born, about one year later.

  “When I was six, my mother took me to Spain to visit her parents. When we returned, Father took me everywhere he went. He taught me to ride and use firearms. He was preparing me to take over the ranch because it would be mine one day.

  “Then, when I was ten, Mother and Father were killed by Apaches while they were on a trip to Mexico City. I had been left at the ranch in the care of Uncle Jose and Carlos. Jose wasn’t unkind to me, but he treated me with contempt. He restricted me to the courtyard and kept other young people away, especially young men. Carlos’s wife said it was because he didn’t want me to marry. Should I marry, the ranch would go to my husband, and Uncle Jose would lose control. Now, thanks to the help of three complete strangers, I’m beginning to understand that my uncle is trying to take the ranch.”