Chapter 24

After supper Bennet said his good nights as if everything were normal. He waited two hours, quietly saddling his horse and walking it slowly away from the house. The other horses, used to his now, didn't make any sounds. He walked it all the way out of the bowl before mounting. Then he headed west. He felt a twinge or two of conscience at leaving this strange little family in the lurch, but he had business to pursue.

He hoped they'd make it.

In the morning Becky went out to get Billy up again. She wondered why her mother kept sending her to wake him, instead of Frank Jr., and was afraid her mother was trying to match make. She'd been worried ever since the stranger arrived. Because of the stranger, she and her brother hadn't had a chance to talk over what had happened. They also hadn't had a chance to do anything else. Sleeping beside him for two nights like that had been unsettling. They could neither talk about nor do anything, because Julian and her mother also weren't doing anything other than a bunch of whispering on their side of the room. It had left her feeling nervous and anxious for some reason.

Now, as she saw the empty place where Billy was supposed to be, and the fact that his horse was missing, she whirled and ran back in.

"He's gone!" she shouted.

Everybody went outside quickly as she explained what she'd found. Frank did some looking around while Julian tried to look for sign. There were too many tracks around to make sense of any of them.

"Nothing's missing," said Frank.

"How strange," said Bella.

It was a mystery they'd contemplate for quite a while.

They waited for two days, thinking he'd ridden out for some reason that would become clear when he returned. Of course he didn't return, and Billy being gone changed everything. No longer was Abilene an option. Julian and Frank could probably handle a hundred head, but not for a long distance, not to mention that Julian might be recognized in Abilene.

For that reason they decided to split the herd, taking half and selling them for what they could get for them from Davidson, in Wichita. The rest would be fed over the winter, and sold in the spring, if that worked out. Julian decided to look up that sheriff too, and see what he thought about Billy's idea of double branding strays.

They left early the next morning. The hardest part was getting only half the herd out of the bowl. It required that the women help, by waving towels and yelling to split the herd and keep some of them in the dip, where all of them seemed to want to stay now.

Once they got them out and moving though, some dim memory in the brains of the steers told them what to do, and they moved steadily in the direction the men wanted them to go.

They had to spend two nights on the trail. They'd actually left with eighty-two head. They lost three the first night, and didn't take time to try to find them the next morning. It was Frank's opinion that they could probably find them on the way back, if they wanted to, and just take them back home. Luck led them to spot one of the missing longhorns as they moved on, and it was gathered back into the fold. An hour later they found a stray that was so wild that it almost wasn't worth trying to get into the herd. Once there, though, it seemed to remember it was a herd animal and settled down. The second night they took two hour watches, and simply rode around and around the herd the entire time. They didn't lose any that night.

Davidson recognized the cowboy who had come to see him earlier. He opened a pen and watched the two young men herd the bawling bunch into it, examining them as they went in. They were obviously strays, and not just because of the mixed brands. They had more weight on them, for the most part, than cows that had been driven all the way from Texas would if they had just arrived. These cows had been standing around for a while, just eating.

Next he turned his attention to Julian, who was waiting for him to do something. He didn't act like he'd done this before, and Davidson wondered if he knew the value of what he'd just delivered.

"Mighty late in the year," he drawled. "If I can't get enough to make it worth a drive north, I'm going to have to feed them all winter."

"What'll you give," Julian asked artlessly.

Davidson wanted to smile. The fool boy wasn't even going to dicker. If he could get him to take a low enough figure, it would be worth even a small drive to Abilene.

"All I can give you is fifteen a head," he said, sounding grave.

AJ blinked. "Fifteen dollars a head?" he asked, obviously distressed.

"I know you think they're worth more," said Davidson sadly, "but it is late in the season, and I got expenses in getting them to a rail head. If you'd have brought them next spring I might have been able to offer you double that. But it ain't next spring, now is it? So fifteen a head is all I can do. Take it or leave it."

What AJ had been thinking was that, even though math wasn't his strong suite, the way he was figuring things, just five of these cows were worth as much as his whole pay for the cattle drive he'd been on. It seemed like an incredible amount of money for this man to offer. At the same time, Davidson, through his own kind of artlessness, had informed Julian he was actually being offered the lowest price possible. It was astonishing. He would gladly take what was offered, but he instinctively knew that he needed to avoid this in the future. He took a chance.

"I'll remember that next spring, when I have more for you. If you can't offer me what they're really worth then, I'm going to have to take my business elsewhere," he warned. "I don't have time to drive these beeves to Abilene, now, but this is only half our herd, and next spring I'll have all the time in the world."

Davidson jumped at the chance. "Next spring is another matter," he said quickly. "Things will be different then. I'm doing you a favor here, sonny. Like you said, you ain't got time to deliver these here cows this year. I do, but I've got to be able to make a dollar on the deal."

"When do I get paid?" asked Julian, eager to get this done with.

Davidson, realizing that the boy really was completely inexperienced with in this business, led him to the shack that was his office. Instead of getting money, he scribbled on a piece of paper and handed that to Julian.

"Take this over to the bank," said Davidson. "They'll honor it there, and you'll get your money."

"And if they don't?" Julian was staring at the numbers "1215.00" right in front of the word "dollars." He couldn't believe it.

"Boy, you obviously ain't done this a lot," sighed Davidson. "That's how business is done, savvy?"

"Oh," said Julian. He had to take the man's word for it. And, if there was a problem, he could always come back.

The man in the teller window of the bank acted like transactions of more than a thousand dollars were the commonest things in the world.

"Do you want to put this on account with us?" he asked.

"Account?"

The man smiled patiently. "Yes, sir, do you want to open an account?"

"And if I do, you'll keep the money for me?" asked Julian.

"Yes, Sir."

"And how do I get it when I need it?" asked Julian.

"You come in and ask for it," said the man, still smiling.

"Can I take some of it with me now?" asked Julian, feeling like he was in a whole different world.

"Certainly. You can deposit it all now, and then withdraw whatever you need today."

"Can I get half of it in cash money?" asked Julian.

"Yes sir." The teller was losing his patience. Where did these rubes come from, who knew nothing of finances and accounting. "I must warn you, though, that's a lot of money. It will be perfectly safe in the bank, but if you have it on you it's possible to lose it, or have it stolen, or whatever. We'll be more than happy to keep all but what you really need safe and sound in our vault."

"If it's all the same to you, I'll just take half in cash money," said AJ. If he went back home with six hundred dollars in cash money, their problems were over, even if the bank refused to give them any more later.

The teller, being a man who counted dollars and cents carefully, interpreted Julian's request quite literally. What Julian left the bank with was exactly half of the draft Davidson had written out, and a little book that the teller had written in for him. It showed the initial balance of $1,215.00, and a withdrawal of $607,50, leaving a balance of $607.50. He felt much better with the little book, because now he had something from the bank to prove that there was that much more money there, waiting for them. Frank Jr. cared nothing for the book, but wanted to hold the cash. When Julian gave it to him he thought the boy might faint dead away.

"I ain't never even heard of this much money before," sighed Frank.

"I know," said Julian. "Kind of makes you think about wanting to find more strays, don't it?"

"You bet!" said Frank. "This is real money!"

"Speaking of which," said Julian. "Don't you think your mamma and Becky deserve another new dress apiece?"

"I sure do!" agreed the boy eagerly. Then, afraid he might have seemed too eager, he added. "And some candy too, right?"

To read this story you need a Registration + Premier Membership
If you have an account, then please Log In or Register (Why register?)

Support the author's future writing by purchasing this book from Bookapy

The Bad Bet

Lubrican

$5.50