Chapter 24

Karen

The fencing began on time. A half a million Mexicans showed up and it was asses and elbows for seven days. There wasn’t a bit of standing and leaning on shovels. There was one white hat ... the surveyor. He had a crew that set stakes and flags and got out.

The fence? It was a beauty.

I was figuring on T-post and got six inch diameter arsenic pressure treated wood rails 3/4” galvanized bolted to creosoted railroad tie posts backed on Circle K with five strand galvanized barbed. 1o foot on center hand dug post holes set in hand mixed concrete. Double tie eight foot stretcher every seventy-five feet. Mr. K was fit to be tied. How El Patron made any money at that quality that fast I’ll never know.

“Is simple, Señorita. THIS fence is our reputation. The NEXT job will be our profit. We will be building fence in the surrounding counties for a hundred years. Long term thinking, Miss Post.”

“You know ... I bought a stripped house trailer to use as housing for a fencing crew. That was another two grand added cost and now I’ll never get to use it,” I said. “The damn thing isn’t even delivered yet.”

“Where were you thinking of setting it?”

“Over on the ancient creek bank just east of the trees.” I pointed in the general direction.

“May we go look?” he asked.

I hadn’t gotten around to cutting up the owl tree ... mostly because I couldn’t bring myself to do it. This winter had been mild for Wyoming and I just couldn’t. I didn’t need the wood.

After I got it together I ordered coal and had it delivered. The Jeep went to Martin’s and Davy installed a 302 and four speed from a wrecked 1966 Z-28 Camaro.

“But, Davy ... I don’t WANT a hotrod. It’s a JEEP! For god’s sake. What am I going to do with it?”

“I can get a standard 283 or 327 from a dealer for four times the price. But this was all Sonny had ... and you know Sonny ... three prices.”

We said it together.

“Five bucks, fifty bucks, five hundred bucks,” we said. We both laughed. Sonny was famous. A single bolt cost five bucks and so did a tri power manifold with carbs. A Pinto motor was fifty, the Camaro 302 with transmission was Five hundred ... or the engine was five hundred and the transmission was five hundred. It all depended on who took it apart. Get in and bust your balls and it might even be free. Sonny was a lazy bastard. If he pulled it ... he made sure that the trans didn’t go with the motor. After he finished using the tools ... he dropped them in the mud.

“When I need a wrench I look in the trunks of cars until I find what I need. Hell, there must be twenty complete sets of Snap On tools buried in the mud.”

Yup ... that was Sonny.

I was stuck with a four wheel drive Jeep that could squeal all four tires on loose gravel. The transfer case wasn’t a Jeep part. I don’t know what it was ... I just knew there was a stub drive shaft about 8 inches long between the four speed and the transfer case.

We looked at the site I had chosen for the house trailer. Somewhat down stream was the house dump. I had managed to accidentally set it on fire last spring.

Totally my fault. I hauled the slag from the Warm Morning down and dumped it. You know what they say about dead out? Wasn’t. It burned for six weeks.

Mr. K thought it was hilarious.

“I been hoping somebody would burn that out. I couldn’t. Game and Fish forbid it. I get to blame it on you.” He chuckled over that for months.

“So ... I was thinking here.” I said.

“When you get more horses...” he said.

“What?”

“You will end up with ten or fifteen horses...”

“What?”

“You are soft hearted, Señorita Post...”

“Who?”

“Miss Post...” he said.

I couldn’t deny it. He knew what he was talking about. I couldn’t drive past a sway-back without stopping.

“Since you will be hiring two hands,” He started.

“What ... who?”

“Since you will be needing two hands, I thought we might put a trailer over in the corner where the road turns ... next to the new fence. Consuelo is going to be married and her husband is a top hand. You will be fair ... and you need a younger neighbor. She will teach you Spanish and you will be ... how you say ... bosom buddies.”

And that’s how I ended up with a new neighbor.