Chapter 8

It was now time for me to head to Dallas for the Rodeo Championships. I hitched most of the way there. I had finally learned to stick my thumb out near restaurants where long distant trucks were stopped.

There were even some places out West that had combination restaurants and gas pumps. They called these Truck Stops. I could get longer rides much quicker.

I had got into the middle of nowhere Texas and my ride luck had worn out. I was on a deserted road with nothing in sight and it was getting dark. Rather than fight it, I walked over a small rise beside the road and unrolled my sleeping bag. I dropped right off but was awakened about three in the morning by the sound of cattle.

I peeked over the hill and saw two cattle trucks and a pickup towing a horse trailer. One of the trucks had already been loaded. I crept close enough to hear them talking about this was the easiest heist and most profitable job yet. These were cattle rustlers! There were five of them.

Three of them were riding out and collecting the cattle and two were staying with the trucks. I checked the loads on the two Colt forty-fives Mr. Wayne had given me for target practice.

On the movie set, we used special pistols that would only fire blanks. Apparently, people had been killed on sets where they used live weapons.

When the three galoots left to rustle some more cattle, I snuck up on the two stay behinds. They were just talking and didn’t have any weapons in sight so I just stepped out with weapons cocked and told them to reach for the sky.

I knew the lingo; I had been watching westerns for years. They were very surprised and did put their hands up.

Now I was like the dog that chased the car and caught it, now what was I going to do with them. I had them drop their jeans down to their ankles. They both wore boots and were now effectively hobbled like a horse.

I then checked around the truck and trailers and found a rope. I had them lay on their stomachs near where I had been sleeping and tied their hands behind their backs. They looked like they were related and were different ages so I asked the younger one if that was his Dad. He said, “Yes”.

I let that go for then. I checked the cabs of the three trucks out and did find several empty lunch sacks from the Fort Worth Cattle Auction House. I wandered back over to the kid (early twenties) who I had kept apart from his Dad. I asked the kid his name.

“Eric,”

“What’s your Dad’s name?”

“John, John Bear.”

“After you drop off the cattle at the Fort Worth Auction House where were you heading?”

“Home I guess, Mom doesn’t like us to be gone too long.”

“Okay, just be quiet and this will be over soon.”

Over soon I thought, and your Mom is going to be really mad when you and Dad don’t get home for another five to ten years.

I waited patiently for the other three to come back and start loading the next truck. They yelled for the other two and when they didn’t appear went over to the smaller truck with the horse trailer.

They dismounted to talk and I braced them in the same manner. Jeans to ankles, down on their stomachs and hands tied behind their backs. I also ran a rope between their legs and up and over their jeans. This really locked them together.

I had found a full five-gallon gas can and several bales of hay in the trucks. I had a nice fire going in the center of the road and in about fifteen minutes two Texas Ranger pulled up.