Chapter 9

Betty made sandwiches and Sonny came in to eat. Etta, our all round chore girl, did everything we asked of her. She came in after Sonny and grabbed a sandwich. She didn’t talk much, and left with her sandwich after we introduced her to Henny May. She would return in the middle of the afternoon to get things ready for supper. We still fed the crew in the house. We thought of them as family.

“Henny May and Carl, Betty and I are going to talk to the Judge about what Sonny owns. Your cousin Erik, wrote about the Heifer ranch, and what I am doing to increase the weight of our cattle. It is an experiment in a way and I’ll know much more about it when the first calf crop comes in the spring. I could hire you both on at wages, but I’ll try to make it more than that for you. The ranch has a ready sale for these calves and the best will end up here on this ranch and the two neighbor’s ranches.

“I have one man and his wife on the heifer ranch and two old pensioners.They have worked hard to get the work done. Erik was there for awhile, but found interests in town and I’m going to offer Jack something better than just wages. So when we get back tomorrow evening or maybe the next day, I hope to have something for you two.”

Henny may spoke, “I hope it is more for me than cooking and keeping house. I’m man size and working cattle is all I want to do.”

“That is what I will be hiring you for.”

“Thanks, Uncle Buck.”

Carl spoke, “Buck, where I grew up, there was a ranch nearby that was doing that same thing you are, using Texas Longhorns and their size to do the same with some Mexican bulls. I understand what you are trying. I’ve always thought I should go back and see what their herd looks like now fifteen years later.”

“Carl, I’d like to see them too. Maybe we can travel there someday. It’s something to think about, anyway. So Carl, you are from Texas?”

“Yeah, early on I was, and then Pa took a trail herd to Kansas, he couldn’t sell so we moved on to Nebraska. The whole family moved there the next year. Henny May and I just came from there. With the trains all over now, we took our mounts with us. It’s a bit costly, but we knew we were heading for here eventually hoping, we’d find you and you’d find us a ranch to work on if you couldn’t hire us.”

“There is a good chance I will have somewhere you can land permanently when Betty and I get back from Mountain Gap.”

“Buck, are you taking the gig with me and Lorena in it? A better plan would be to take the trail through the woods and cut off the eight miles of distance. Take Carl with you and then it will be all settled and maybe get back during the late afternoon and not stay over.”

“I thought you would want to go with me.”

“Buck, we have company and we just can’t leave then here alone.”

“Betty okay, if you are happy doing it that way.”

“I am.”

“Carl, how does that sound to you? You can see my experiment, and how it is working.

“Whatever is best for you is okay with me.”

“Good enough.”

I was getting breakfast. It wasn’t light yet when Carl came down. “Henny May is going with us if it is okay.”

“Sure, we’ll be coming back tonight I hope. She can spend time with Betty tomorrow. It will be quite a ride and we won’t be stopping much except to breathe the horses.”

“That won’t bother Henny May; she is a strong woman.”

“I see that she is. I’ve seen her work on roundups and know she is amazing.”

Henny May came in from where she had been speaking to Betty. I went in now and told Betty what my plans were. I kissed her and Lorena. By that time Henny May had done up the dishes and Carl had our horses saddled. We set out across the range and hit the trail heading for Mountain Gap. This was the trail we used when we moved cattle from our place to the heifer ranch and vice versa. It was barely light and we could see to ride at a high lope.

When we were opposite the place where we usually stopped to rest and have coffee on the main road, we cut over there before the last hour heading into town.

“Okay Henny May, Erik’s butcher shop is at the end of that street. If he isn’t there he will be at the slaughterhouse a mile further up the road in the woods. I hope to find the Judge at the courthouse and be able to see him. I’ll meet you at noon at the diner for dinner and we’ll go out to the heifer ranch after that.”

“It sounds like a plan, Buck.”

I knocked on the door to the Judges entrance and he came and opened it. “Buck come in, I have an hour this morning before anything in the courtroom. Troubles?”

“No, not really. I just wanted to talk over Sonny’s situation with Betty and me being his guardian.”

“Pour yourself a coffee and tell me about it.”

“First off Sir, the two properties that came from the Tommy Johns estate haven’t sold. Betty and I have invested some money in buying better bulls for the ranch that Sonny owns. I’ve made other arrangements as to the future arrangement with my ranch and my two neighbors as to where the calves from these bulls are going to end up, mostly using a barter system.

“Understand, I’m not trying to cheat Sonny out of his inheritance, but it is getting damned complicated keeping everything straight. Sonny is actually making more money on his own than he needs and his bank account is growing all the time with his egg production. We used his money to build a hen house and Betty and I are well off from what her husband’s estate left her. I haven’t spent but little of what I came here with that was from my mother’s estate.”

“Buck, what is it you want to do?”

“I think I’d like to buy the two properties from Sonny and eliminate a lot of the paperwork trying to keep everything between him as our guardian and Betty and I, separate. I have one Nephew running the butcher shop and I have a Niece and her husband Carl, with me today that want to look at the heifer ranch. By me owning the bulls, it is one more complication. Is there anyway I can pay Sonny a flat fee every year and take over both properties and the management on my own?”

“How would that work and why?”

“I would pay a flat fee maybe, or figure out some kind of lease agreement. I would own the properties, and lease, the business to my nephew. I could do the same with my niece with the ranch. The businesses are profitable, especially the ranch. I am looking far into the future. Betty and I can’t expand the Turner ranch because there isn’t any more land we can purchase. It is the same with the heifer ranch. The only improvements we can make, is in the quality of the cattle we raise for sale.

“The heifer ranch is ideal for this experiment. It is small and the profit there is in raising prime bulls for service. That too is for the future years.”

“You are planning ahead, aren’t you? Where do you want to be in ten years?”

“You do get the point, Sir. The idea is that the four ranches in my area will have the best cattle and bulls around. At five years, the bulls coming from the heifer ranch will be the best and every few years we can get new bulls that are even better than what we have because we are always on the lookout for them.

“Betty is pregnant again and we want at least three children. My Niece is just married and she will be starting a family. My Nephew will be marrying soon and he will do the same. We won’t have any land to give our children, but giving them a handful of cash to start someplace else in a business of their choice will have to be enough. It was for me.”

“Buck, you are in a unique position.”

“I know I am. Not many people have the chances of a good life that I have had so far. It would be wonderful if I had children that are the age of my Niece and Nephew. Betty and I just plan to build on what we have and know what the future will be, so any kids we have will have a chance to follow any path they choose. I think we are doing right by Sonny and we love him like he was one of our own. However, I’d like to use some of the assets he has which is more than he will ever need.”

“I agree. What do you want from me?”

“I want you to tell us how to satisfy what we should pay for Sonny’s assets.”

“How much does he spend?”

“Nothing really. He gets fed just the same as the other crew members. We don’t pay him wages, though we can. He bought the chickens with his own money and he paid for the new hen house out of his bank account. The money he receives for the eggs he sells are his to spend on candy etc. So in essence, he has a business of his own. On the home ranch, we figure it is a wash.”

“That’s good management on your part. You must have some idea how you want to work this out to be fair. What would you do if you owned the ranch and the butcher shop?”

“The butcher shop would be easy if I owned it. I could just lease it out to my nephew for a flat fee or he could buy half of it. I don’t think he can buy it outright at this time. The ranch is a lot different. The complication is that I want to do something for Jack and Mamie, the man and wife who run the heifer ranch for me. They have practically saved the place by coming in and taking over when I needed someone there while I was buying bulls to get this cattle improvement project started.

“But then I want to do a lot for Henny May and Carl who have just arrived here looking for work. Henny May is my just married niece. One of my brothers warned me they were on the way here and he didn’t have any work for Carl.

“Let’s talk about Sonny Saunders some more. You could invest a certain amount of his money in an annuity and use the rest as your own. Put it into an annuity, which is about the same way as having it in a bank. Say you set a level in the annuity of a certain amount of dollars that you wouldn’t or couldn’t use except for him or his estate, it being enough to take care of Sonny for the rest of his life.

“Buck, if you wanted to set up the heifer ranch with Jack and Mamie; that could work in the same way by using the remainder of his assets not in the annuity, leaving your own wealth unencumbered. Put $2,000 into annuity for Sonny’s care if anything happens to you and Betty. Annuities are sold through insurance companies where the money is pooled together, I can suggest one.”

“That sounds great, I’ll do that.”

“Buck, I know of a small ranch that the bank is ready to foreclose on that might be just what you need for your Niece and her husband, if you want to make a deal with Jack Bainbridge?. The bank here in Mountain Gap says it is a small ranch similar to your heifer ranch. It is owned by a young couple named Sinclair, who want to sell, because the bank is foreclosing for nonpayment of the mortgage.

“The wife doesn’t like it here and wants to move back east with her parents who own a store. The husband has agreed if they can sell it for enough to be able to move to their former home. The mortgage held by the bank here in town. Why don’t you contact the banker? Just ask about the Sinclair ranch now owned by Elsie and Obed Sinclair

“It’s okay to spend that much of Sonny’s estate?”

“Yes. Just keep a couple thousand in the annuity at all times. If anything happens to you, that amount in the estate would be enough to keep him for the rest of his life.

I saw Carl and Henny head into the diner and I was ready for coffee. I followed them in and sat at the counter with them. “How’s it going Uncle Buck?”

“Good, I have to see the Banker about some things the Judge said to me. Did you see your cousin, Erik?”

“Yeah, I did. He’s busy for the next half hour so he couldn’t talk. Erik had a couple of head of cattle he was slaughtering, but is almost finished with the slaughter. He’ll meet us here. We may go out and walk around the town if he doesn’t show up right away.”

“Good enough, I’ll check back with you soon.” The Banker was busy for a few minutes so I sat in the lobby and thought the situation over, Maybe I was getting greedy, but that ranch for sale intrigued me. I didn’t know how Betty would feel about it if I purchased it, rather than take Jack away from where he was on the heifer ranch. If I purchased that other smaller ranch and put Henny May and Carl there to run it under the same agreement as I had with Jack and Mamie, I would gain some.

This would put me where I wouldn’t have to come away from the home ranch as much and I could concentrate on Betty and Lorena. The banker came out and shook my hand. We were familiar because. I had the heifer ranch and the butcher shop account here.

“What can I do for you today, Buck?”

“Well Sir, I just came from the Judge. I’m getting some of my paperwork straightened out. I’ve made the decision not to sell any of the Tommy Johns property. I’m looking for advice mostly. I have a Nephew working the slaughterhouse and the butcher shop, but he is just starting out and doesn’t have any money to buy.”

“Yeah I know. He is squiring my daughter and I don’t know about lending him the money. They want to get married soon. There is the fact that you are only holding the guardianship for Sonny Johns and that bothers me a little. That’s not saying I don’t trust you and your wife but I do have the directors of the bank to pay attention to.”

“Would it be any different if Betty and I owned it in our name?”

“A lot different. Actually you could go ahead and lease it to them and the bank wouldn’t have to be involved. He is your nephew and that happens in family situations all the time. It is being well run now and I’ve checked Erik out thoroughly.”

“That’s good to hear. What about Tommy John’s heifer ranch. Jack and Mazie have been running it for me and Erik wasn’t interested in it.”

“Well that’s a little different. Jack isn’t family. He has done well for you though, hasn’t he?”

“He has, I’d kind of like to do something along the same lines with him. He is as good a cattleman as I am. He needs just one more good hand for help. Jack has to work his butt off. I’d like to keep Jack and Mamie on the heifer ranch because he knows what I’m trying to do by developing a heavier cattle breed. I thought I had the answer but that changed when I talked to the Judge an hour ago.

“The thing of it is, my niece showed up here looking for work and I’d like to make a place for her and her new husband. What is this Sinclair ranch like that the Judge mentioned that is for sale?”

“Yes, the Sinclairs, a young couple who tried ranching, but I think they are broke. I’m going to foreclose for nonpayment. There is a $7,000 mortgage on the property. Selling the cattle on it wouldn’t’ pay that off. It’s about the same size as your heifer ranch, maybe a little more land. The buildings are about the same. Deeded water, cows are older, and not as good as the stock you are running. Work should be done to open up more pasturage. To tell the truth, I was a fool to lend so much money on the place.”

“So what is the Bank asking for to get out from under?”

“I couldn’t go less than $6,000, but that’s for everything included. It is a poor outfit. Those kids are just out of their element.”

I sat there a minute thinking. “Tell you what. I’ll look at it tomorrow and if I like it I’ll take make you an offer, You give those young people $500 of that and send them on their way. I’ll chip in $300 on my own and I’ll end up Making a solid offer. I might even pay half in cash of what I offer. I have to see the ranch first, though.”

“Of course, tomorrow morning we will look at it ... I’ll consider you have made an offer as of now, subject to change after the viewing.”

“That’s correct; I’ll see you at what time?”

“7:00 a m here in front of the bank.”

I met Henny May and Carl as I came out where they had been leaning on the hitching rail in front of the bank. “What’s happening? Uncle Buck?”

“Quite a bit, actually. I have to stop into the telegrapher’s office and send a wire to Betty. We won’t be going back this evening. I’ve got onto another ranch to look at that I think you might be interested in. We’ll go look at it at seven tomorrow morning. You may have to hunt up some hands to help you. Think about where you might find at least two or three and maybe as many as four hands. I’ll be right with you.” I walked across the street and sent off a wire delivered to Betty.

Damn, I’ll bet Betty wouldn’t expect me tonight, anyway, which was a sore spot because I always got bogged down when here for business and had to stay over when I came. “We’ll head out to the heifer ranch and see the operation out there now. I have a man and his wife running the ranch. There are two old codgers who live there, too. They had to bust ass before I hired the couple.

I stopped into the butcher shop, but Erik wasn’t in. I left word with the clerk I would see him when I was back in town tomorrow or when I was in town again on Saturday.

On the way out to the heifer ranch I talked to Henny May, “I first thought I’d put you two with this couple, Jack and Mamie, but you might be better off with your own little outfit.”

“Uncle Buck, Carl and I were just expecting a riding job. We don’t have but a few hundred dollars.”

“I know, but Betty and I have had some luck getting settled here. Her husband left her a little and we are guardian to Sonny who you met yesterday, so our credit is good. The place we will be looking at tomorrow has some buildings, some cows, and more land than the heifer ranch. How much pasture, I don’t know. The water is deeded, so that would be one worry off anyone’s mind. It may be nothing you are interested in, but time will tell. We can work out some kind of deal if you like the place.

“If you like the looks of the place and want to go into hock for a few years and follow the way I’m upgrading the cattle on my place with what I’m doing with my neighbors, you should be able to pay off the debt in five years or so. I do have to clear this with Betty before the figures are finalized, though.

“By the time you have kids who need an education you should be all set or maybe give them money to find their own place. Talk it over with your parents if you want to.”

“How can you do this for us, Uncle Buck?”

“Henny May, I know how difficult for a woman to get ahead. Your father wrote he can’t do anything for you. He expected you to move to town, marry a man, and work in a dress shop or store. This will give you the freedom to do what you enjoy. If this ranch isn’t anything you want. You can go to work on the Heifer Ranch. That was my first thought for you. The Judge mentioned there was this other place for sale by the bank. I believe we should look into it.

“If I think there is money to be made and you aren’t interested in buying in, I can buy the mortgage and hire you to manage the property for me and Betty.

“We will have to thank Betty for being so kind to us, as well as you.”

“She’ll appreciate that. Betty’s husband was a terrible person and didn’t treat her good at all. I was in luck one cold day when I stopped by to give her a hand. Then Sonny, the boy, was left with us. The Judge wanted Betty and I married to care for him as a guardian. It has been great for us. We have also had the benefit of a great crew.”

“How’d you latch onto them?”

“There again it was luck. I was on my way here before I got to Betty’s ranch I saw these three men shoot a cow for food. I just went on by. I got to the ranch and found out Betty didn’t have a crew, so I chased them up and hired them before they left the area. By that time, I made a deal with Betty. I did have some money that Mother left me because there was no land for her to leave me. As I say, things came together for me, Betty and the men, who were hungry, and who were looking for a place for the winter.”

“Luck seems to ride with you, Uncle Buck.”

“It does, doesn’t it?”

We headed for the Heifer Ranch to stay the night. We did have an early supper before leaving town. It wouldn’t be right to drop in and expect to be fed. There was a small corral where the horses were held. We unsaddled and threw the saddles on the top rails. The three animals went to munching on hay in the feed manger.

Jack came out. “Have you eaten?”

“Yeah, we ate in town. Ask Mamie to come out and meet my niece and her husband. Are Chip and Dingle around?”

“Yeah, they’ll be out in a minute. Come in, Mamie has pie. Coffee?”

“Sure.” We trooped in. There was room to sit and there was coffee already made.

Jack said, “I didn’t expect to see you. What’s up?”

“I’m just showing off the outfit here to my niece. This is Henny May and Carl Brooks. They were married the day before yesterday. She is daughter to Richard, my middle brother. They came here looking for a riding job. I intended putting them here on the ranch. They are both good hands. Henny May is as good a hand as I am. She doesn’t take to inside work much.”

“I could use one or both at times. Don’t know as I need both full time, but another couple of hands at times would be handy especially when we move the bulls.”

“Well, something came up when I reached town earlier today, so my plans may have changed. I still am going to find you some help. That way Mamie won’t have to get on a horse. I see she has a garden fenced in, looks like that is a full time job.”

“She does like to grow things.”

Chip and Dingle sat there over their coffee. When we finished, I asked them if one or both would give Carl and Henny May a quick tour of the ranch. There was still enough daylight to see the cattle. They took time first to see the bulls that had their own pasture. The four of them saddled up and left.

“Jack, I wanted to talk to you. How would you like to buy or lease the ranch here?”

“God Buck, we’d like to. Why are you considering selling?”

“Nothing is final yet. I’m looking at another small ranch on the other side of town. I want to place my Niece somewhere. It doesn’t seem fair to sell this place to them after you have done such a good job here, Already you are ranching just the way I want it done. So, to be fair, I may sell you a portion and become a silent partner for the rest. That way all the responsibility is on you. This is just an option and depends on whether Carl and Henny May want to start ranching at the place I’m looking at tomorrow.”