by Gary Paulsen
The old truck stopped in front of the house. Bobbie pulled her hat down low and moved away from the corrals. She walked to the bed of the pickup and lifted out her cousin’s expensive leather suitcase.
The passenger door opened. A tall, slender girl with long brown hair, the same color as Bobbie’s, stepped out. Her hair was parted on the side and she moved it off her face with her hand.
Bobbie looked her up and down. She wasn’t impressed and it showed. The girl was wearing tight black shorts and a black T-shirt that said PRODUCT OF THE CITY. Bobbie winced when she noticed her cousin’s feet.
Sandals.
One side of Bobbie’s mouth went up. It always twitched like that when she didn’t like something. She barely nodded at the girl and started for the house.
“Bobbie.”
It was Grandpa. His voice held a note of displeasure. “Yes, sir?”
The tips of his thumb and forefinger smoothed down his gray handlebar mustache. “I want you to say hello to your cousin Alex.”
Bobbie turned. Alex gave her a bored look under nearly closed eyelids. Bobbie shifted the suitcase and halfheartedly stuck out her hand.
Alex folded her arms in front of her. “I wouldn’t want you to strain yourself.”
Bobbie put her hand down.
“Gramps tells me there’s a lot to do out here in the sticks.” Alex cocked her head. “What do you do for fun, cousin, wait till Saturday night and count the flies on manure piles?”
“I’m sure Grandpa will find plenty to keep you busy.”
“He told me you were going to show me around.”
Bobbie pushed her hat back. “I really hate to disappoint you, Al, but I’m leaving tomorrow. I’ll be gone for more than a week chasing stray cattle in the brush country.”
“The name is Alex.”
“Like I said, Alex, every year, after we gather in the flats, we go up in the hills to look for wild cows.”
“Oh gee,” Alex mocked, “and I was really looking forward to getting to know you better —cousin.”
Bobbie held the suitcase out in front of her and let it drop at Alex’s feet. “Yeah, it’s too bad there’s not going to be time for that.”
CHAPTER 2
The next morning Bobbie was up early. Grandpa was already downstairs making breakfast. She took the stairs two at a time and burst into the kitchen.
“It won’t work, Grandpa. She’s so green … you know how it is up there. She won’t last a day.”
“I told her she could go.”
Bobbie could hear the final edge in her grandpa’s voice. But she couldn’t help trying one more time. “What if she can’t ride?”
“She rides. She’s been to one of those equestrian schools.”
Bobbie knew it was useless. She sighed and headed for the barn. When her grandpa made a decision, that was it. She would just have to get used to the idea of baby-sitting her cousin for the next week. She threw a feed can across the barn and it crashed into the wall above the door.
Alex stepped inside the barn. This morning she was wearing a denim Western shirt over a red T-shirt, a pair of stiff new jeans, and new boots. “Watch your temper there, pard, you nearly hit me.” She moved forward and half turned. “Gramps bought them for me,” she said, gesturing at her clothes. “How do I look?”
The side of Bobbie’s mouth went up but she didn’t say anything.
“Gramps said I should come out and see if you need any help.”
Bobbie chewed the inside of her lip. “If you’re coming with me, you better get ready. I’m leaving in a half hour. I already fed your horse. He’s the strawberry roan in the pen. Saddles are in the tack shed.”
Bobbie moved past her cousin and grabbed a tarp off a peg on the wall. She took it outside and wrapped it in her bedroll.
In a few minutes Alex returned, leading the roan. Bobbie frowned. The horse’s back was still bare. “I told you the saddles are in the tack shed—over there.”
“All I could find were Western saddles. I’m used to riding English.”
“You mean those itty-bitty things with hardly any leather on ‘em and no saddle horn?”
Alex nodded.
“Look, Al, we’re not going on an Easter egg hunt. We’re looking for stray cattle. Some of them are mean and all of them are wild. You’ll be spending whole days in the saddle. Maybe you should tell Grandpa you want to stay here until I get back. It’ll only be a week.”
“You wish.” Alex turned and led the roan toward the tack shed again. “Don’t worry about me, hotshot. If you can handle it, so can I.”
Bobbie tightened the cinch on Sonny, the big sorrel gelding that was her favorite roping horse. “Looks like we’re in for it, old boy.” She fastened the saddlebags and headed for the house.
In the yard, she stopped to give Wolf a pat.
He really was part wolf. Bobbie had raised him from a pup and he adored her.
She walked into the house. The screen door slammed behind her. “That you, Bobbie?” Her grandpa came in from the kitchen. “You kids about ready?”
“She’s a flake, Grandpa. And besides, she rides English.”
“Give her a chance, Bobbie. Look, if they took you to Los Angeles and turned you loose, you wouldn’t have a clue. How smart you are depends on what part of the world you happen to be standing on at the time.”
The screen door opened. Alex poked her head in. “I’m ready, Wyatt.”
“Wyatt?”
“You know. As in—you make me urpp.” Alex winked at their grandfather.
Bobbie’s face turned red. She thought about dragging Alex outside and settling their feud right then. But one look at Grandpa told her it wouldn’t be a wise move. Instead she said, “I guess we’re ready, then.”
Grandpa followed them out to the horses. Bobbie whistled for Wolf, checked her cinch, and swung into the saddle. “See you in a week, Grandpa …”
She looked over at Alex, who was riding the roan in circles, bobbing up and down in the saddle, English style.
Bobbie sighed. “… if not before.”
CHAPTER 3
The girls rode in silence up a sandy canyon bed for a couple of miles; then Bobbie turned onto a narrow trail to the right. Cattle had climbed the embankment for years and hollowed out a path up the steep canyon wall.
Wolf stayed close. Sometimes they couldn’t see him, but he was always within easy calling range.
The path soon became more rugged. Bobbie ducked under a piñon limb that had grown over the trail. It hit Alex full in the face and dragged her off the back of the horse. She landed in the only mud puddle in the whole trail.
The frightened old roan jumped forward a few steps and then stopped, waiting patiently for Alex to get up.
Bobbie turned in the saddle. “Are you okay?”
Alex had a red welt across her cheek. She glared at her cousin. “You did that on purpose.” Shaking, she slung some of the mud off her hands, wiped the rest on her pants, and grabbed the reins.
A cow was bawling somewhere down the canyon. Without a word Bobbie sank her spurs into Sonny and loped toward the cliff. The horse lunged off the ledge and landed back in the bottom of a sandy gully with Wolf right on his heels.
Bobbie quickly spotted the cow behind a salt cedar. She was a big cow with a two-month-old heifer calf. Bobbie shook out her rope into a good-sized loop, gave it a couple of twirls, aimed, and let go. The rope landed easily around the calf’s neck. Bobbie dallied around the saddlehorn and backed Sonny up a few steps. Then she turned and started up the trail, leading the calf, with the cow following close behind. “Bring ’em up, Wolf.”
Alex was back on the roan, waiting in the middle of the trail. When she saw the cow she smirked and said, “Find one of your long-lost relatives?”
“The only relative I have up here is a mud hen, and she’s fixing to get run over if she’s stupid enough to stay in the middle of the trail.”
Bobbie didn’t wait for Alex to get out of the way. She
pushed past, dragging the calf. The roan pinned Alex’s leg against the side of the embankment. The excited cow ran past and kicked backward. She nailed Alex square on the kneecap.
“It’s not too late for you to turn back, Al.” Bobbie smiled sweetly over her shoulder. “Just follow the canyon down and you’ll be fine.”
Alex gritted her teeth and tried not to show how much her knee hurt. “Listen, Bobbie, I’m in. Get it through your thick head, there’s nothing you can do to get rid of me.”
“Why is it so important for you to be up here? You obviously like me about as well as I like you, so what’s the big attraction?”
“Maybe it’s because I know how much it bothers you that I’m here.”
Bobbie shrugged. “It’s your funeral.” She trotted ahead. The cow and calf had to run to keep up, which meant that Alex had to ride in a cloud of choking dust.
A mile and a half later, they topped out in a meadow completely surrounded by a thick wall of trees. Ancient run-down wooden corrals stood in the middle of the grassy pasture.
Bobbie rode her horse into one of the pens, closed the gate, and let the calf go. She stepped off and led Sonny to the water tank. It was bone-dry. She reached down and turned a valve. Clear spring water gushed into the tank.
“If I were you, Al, I’d water my horse. He’s had a long trip.” Bobbie let Sonny have a long cool drink.
Alex slid out of the saddle. She walked a bit stiffly and bowlegged as she led the roan to water. Bobbie couldn’t help smiling.
“What are you laughing at?” Alex snapped.
“How long have you had it?”
“What?”
Bobbie pointed at her and laughed harder. “Arthritis of the rump.”
“I’ve had enough.” Alex let go of her horse and hit Bobbie like a tigress, driving her back and knocking her on her rear. “Now we’ll see if you have problems with your rump.”
Bobbie leapt to her feet. Her lips were tight. She stalked past Alex and as she did reached out and shoved her backward.
Into the water tank.
Alex stood up. Her clothes were sopping wet. She shook the water off, pushed her hair out of her eyes, and climbed out. Bobbie was doubled over, laughing.
Alex was steaming. She swung at Bobbie, clipping her on the jaw. Bobbie tried to grab her arm but missed. Alex punched her again, this time in the face. Blood spurted from Bobbie’s nose.
The fight was on. Wolf ran back and forth barking furiously as the girls rolled on the ground, each one trying to get a better grip on the other, until they wound up underneath the roan. The horse snorted and danced nervously, trying to avoid them. Suddenly he jumped sideways and came down hard with his front hooves.
Right on Bobbie’s ankle.
CHAPTER 4
The orange flame of the fire flickered against the dark night. Bobbie dug her spoon into a can of cold pork and beans. She put some on the grass for Wolf.
Alex studied Bobbie’s wrapped ankle in silence. Then she lay back on her bedroll and closed her eyes. “My dad didn’t tell me being a cowboy was so much fun.”
“Your dad?” Bobbie put down the spoon. “I thought he was some kind of bank executive,”
“He is, but he used to work this ranch when he was a kid—along with your dad. That’s the real reason I’m here. He’s always had this big guilt thing about not being around for Gramps when your dad died and he has this stupid idea that somehow I’ll suddenly turn into Annie Oakley and make up for it.”
“He doesn’t need to worry. You’re no Annie Oakley, and me and Grandpa do just fine without anybody’s help.”
“I said it was stupid. Besides, my dad looked into the ranch records. He thinks the Rocking W is about to go under.”
Bobbie stared at the fire in silence, then sighed. “Sometimes it gets awful close. That’s why I come up and get these strays every year. The money they bring always seems to keep us out of hot water. This year, though, I have to admit, things are a little closer than usual.”
“What are you going to do now?”
“What I came up here for.”
“How? That ankle is bruised so bad you can’t even walk. You’re lucky it’s not broken. You wouldn’t even be over here if I hadn’t dragged you.”
Bobbie’s jaw thrust out. She sat up. “You didn’t drag me, you only helped me. I could outwalk you any day of the week.” She stopped, then smiled sheepishly, looking at her ankle. “Although you did a good job wrapping up my foot.”
Alex shrugged. “You’re welcome.”
Bobbie used her pocket knife to open a can of peaches. “So, what’s it like in Los Angeles?”
“It’s great. There’s always something going on.” “Like what?”
“Stuff. You know, hanging out.”
“Hanging out? Of what, a window?”
Alex frowned. “Are you serious?”
Bobbie stuffed peaches in her mouth. “If you don’t want to tell me, just forget it.”
“Hanging out is … being with your friends. Sometimes we go to down to the mall and just sort of stand around.”
Bobbie rubbed Wolf behind the ears. “And you think that’s fun?”
“We do other stuff. Sometimes we get into a good game of asphalt football, no rules.”
Bobbie stared at her.
Alex stared back. “What? You thought all I did was sit around and paint my nails?” She threw a stick into the fire. “What do you do with your friends, besides all this cowpoke junk?”
“The only kids who live around here are from the Bledsoe place. You passed it coining in.”
“You mean that fancy ranch with the two-story house and the white pipe fences?”
“That’s the one. They have two boys close to my age but they’re both jerks. I keep to myself most of the time. In the summer, I usually break a colt or two, that keeps me busy. Sometimes on Saturday, Grandpa and I go see a movie.”
“Sounds kinda tame.”
Bobbie eased her ankle up on the swells of her saddle. “We’ll see how tame you think it is this time tomorrow.”
CHAPTER 5
“Are you sure you can do this?” Alex held Sonny’s reins.
“I’m sure.” Bobbie stepped into the stirrup on the wrong side of her horse to avoid using her swollen ankle. “Get on your horse. If we see any cattle, I’ll do the roping. You and Wolf get behind and push them.”
Bobbie led the way out of the meadow through a thick stand of trees. “When we see one she’ll probably run. We’ll have to move fast or we’ll lose her in the brush.” She looked back at Alex over her shoulder. “By the way, you’re gonna need to learn to duck.”
Alex grabbed a pine cone from a nearby tree and threw it at the center of Bobbie’s back.
Bobbie shook her rope out and held it close. A flash of black ran across the trail in front of them. “There goes one. Come on.”
Sonny bolted after the cow. Trees went by in a blur. The cow was wild and had no intention of letting them come anywhere near her.
They raced over one ridge and started up the next. Alex did her best to keep up. Most of the time she just held on and let the roan decide where to go. The cow made a quick left and the roan nearly lost Alex. Her feet were out of the stirrups and she barely hung on.
Bobbie waited for a clearing. She would only have one chance, and when they exploded out into a small opening she threw her loop. It caught the cow’s horns. Sonny stopped dead, and when the black cow hit the end of the rope, she flipped around facing them.
The cow was mad. She fought and pulled and tried to back up. Sonny held her fast. Then the cow made a wild dash around a tree. Bobbie let her fight with the tree until the animal was worn out. Then she calmly rode around the tree and led her captive back toward the meadow.
Wolf and Alex fell in behind. “Are we going to do this for every single one?” Alex asked, breathing heavily.
Bobbie nodded. “Unless you have a better idea.”
“At this rate, we’ll be up h
ere a month.” “Grandpa and I did it different when he used to come up with me.” “Was it faster?”
“Yeah, but I don’t think you’ll like it.”
“Anything would beat this.”
“Cows generally will stick together if you get a few rounded up. If you think you can handle it, I’ll go get them and bring them back here to you. Your job will be to keep them together until we have enough to move down to the corrals …” She trailed off, waiting for Alex’s answer.
“How hard can it be?”
Bobbie smiled mischievously. She pulled Sonny to a stop, giving some slack in the rope. “Take the loop off this one and I’ll go hunt you another one.”
Alex stepped down and cautiously approached the cow. Alex jerked the rope up and off the horns. The instant the cow was free she took off like a shot.
“Don’t just stand there.” Bobbie re-coiled her rope. “Go get her. I’ll be back with another one in a few minutes. Come with me, Wolf.” She smacked Sonny on the rump with the rope and the horse loped off.
Alex scrambled to the roan and climbed on. She could still hear the black cow ahead of her—somewhere—crashing through the brush.
CHAPTER 6
Bobbie was dragging an obstinate bull calf down the trail to the spot where she had left Alex. The calf still hadn’t learned that it was easier to follow than to dig in and make Sonny drag him. Wolf nipped the calf’s hind leg and then ran back to make sure the mama cow was still following.
Bobbie really didn’t know what she’d expected to see when she got back—but she knew this wasn’t it.
Alex’s red T-shirt was hanging in a tree. It had a big brown arrow on it drawn with mud, pointing west.
Bobbie pushed her hat up and scratched her forehead. “What?…”
She grabbed the T-shirt and headed in the direction the arrow indicated. The calf struggled but Sonny was so powerful it didn’t matter.
