Poverty Hill
Copyright© 2026 by Asa Strong
Chapter 4
The sun shining through the window woke me up this morning. Somehow, I managed to drag myself out of bed and made it to the shower. The hot water seemed to clear most of the fog out of my head. Now, if I could get rid of the ringing headache, I might be able to function as a human being. The six-pack of Coors I’d drug home with me from Lucy’s was workin’ overtime.
Eatin’ was out of the question, but I did manage to get two cups of coffee into my gullet. That seemed to help a bit.
Finally, I got myself dressed, and outside to start my day. I’d planned on fixin’ up the pasture fence. Course, I’d been plannin’ on doing that for the past three months. Seems like somethin’ always popped up to cause a change in plans though. Today was no different. I was diggin’ a posthole when I heard a motor coming down the dirt lane to my place. When I looked up, I could see Jim Breacher’s pickup pull into the yard.
He must a seen me standin’ in the pasture, as he drove over to where I was workin’.
“Howdy, Amos,” He said, after he’d rolled down the window.
“Morning Jim, what can I do fer ya?”
“Amos, I got me a big problem.” He said, opening the truck door.
When he had the door open, I could see he had a cast on his left leg.
“I can see that, what the hell happened?”
He swung his legs out the door, but kept his seat in the pickup. “Me and the boys was gettin’ ready to drive my herd down from the peak. Next thing I know, that damn horse run me upside of a fence post and busted my leg.”
Now I ain’t the brightest light on the Christmas tree, but I could see what was comin’.
“That don’t sound too good there Jim. So let’s get it out, what you need help with?”
Now, you need to know a bit about Jim Breacher. We went to school together and were friends, more or less. But Jim is one of those people that can find a passel of trouble without even tryin’.
“Amos, I gotta get them cattle down out of the high country. I pro’lly should have done it already, but had to fix my damn truck first. I’m in a real bind here. I’m hope’n that you can give me a hand.”
I nodded my head, “OK, how many head you got up there and how many riders?”
“I guess there’s about a hunnert and twenty head. My two boys can help wrangle for yah.”
“Jim, those kids ain’t but what, one thirteen and the other ‘bout fifteen?”
“Amos, those two kids been ridin’ horses since they could walk. Hell, they pro’lly got more time in the saddle than I do.”
He had a point, but I know them two kids, they can be real hellions when they want.
“Jim, they’re supposed to be in school, ain’t they?”
“Yea, I guess so, but if’n we lose them cows, they’ll be looking for a new school. Amos, I got about all I own ridin’ on that herd.”
“You gonna be able to pay me anything for this?”
With a sheepish grin he answered, “Not right away, but I promise, Amos, soon as I get ahead a few bucks I’ll pay ya.”
Now I know he meant every word, but I also knew that he’d pro’lly never have a few bucks extra either. But, he was a neighbor, and you don’t kick one when they’re down. It just ain’t the way things work. He knew that and so did I.
“Alright Jim, let me get my horses loaded and I’ll be over your place ‘bout noontime. Make sure them kids of yours are packed and ready to go. You make sure we got enough to eat too; it’s too close to hunting season. I don’t need some damn fool shootin’ at me cause I’m out huntin.”
He looked relieved, and said, “Amos, I owe you; I’ll make sure Dorothy has lots of grub ready.”
“OK, I answered, I’ll see you in a while.”
After Jim left, I started gatherin’ my possibles. Having worked with Jim before, I knew his idea of what was good grub and mine didn’t quite match up. I made sure I had plenty of dried beef, flour, and vegetables. I also doubted that he’d have any spices either, so loaded up on them as well.
I decided to take an ole cayuse roan mare I’d named Legs as a packhorse. She had the size to carry a lot of weight. I loaded her and Dumb Ass into the trailer and stowed all my gear and extra clothing. After a double check to make sure I hadn’t forgotten anything I headed out for Jim’s place.
When I got to Jim’s place, both kids had their horses saddled and their packhorse already loaded up. Evidently, Jim had been supervising from his seat on the front porch of the ramshackle ranch house.
“Well, we ready to get out of here?” I asked, steeping out of my pickup.
The older by was named John, and he answered, “Yea, we got everything ready.”
I walked over to where they were standing, by the horses. I walked around the packhorse and didn’t like what I saw.
“Yah know, I’ve been to six rodeos, three goat ropins, two dog fights and a cockroach race, but I ain’t never seen anythin’ as screwed up as this.” I said pointing to the packs on the horses.
The younger kid, Jamie, looked at me, “Why, what’s wrong? I packed ‘em just like pa tole me to.”
“What’s wrong is we won’t get two miles from here afore we’re picking this shit off the ground. Lookie here, you got more weight on one side than t’other. That horse will find the first tree or fencepost he can and work them off. These knots are gonna work themselves loose too. Now get this shit off and let’s do it the right way.”
We unloaded all the packs and then did it the right way. By one O’clock we were finally ready to ride.
We had about a five-hour ride ahead of us. Jim summered his herd in the high country, north of Hahn’s Peak. My big fear was that the weather wouldn’t hold. The snow the other day hadn’t left much on the ground here in the valley, but up in the high country it could be a whole different situation. The cattle should have been moved weeks ago. But then, knowing Jim, it didn’t surprise me I was now in this situation.
When we got to where we were gonna camp, I could tell we lucked out. There were only five or six inches of snow on the ground and looked like it had been hot enough in the daytime to melt some. If the weather held for a few more days we’d be OK.
To read the complete story you need to be logged in:
Log In or
Register for a Free account
(Why register?)
* Allows you 3 stories to read in 24 hours.