Chapter 2

"Two roads diverged in a wood, and I -- I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference."R. Frost

For the next week, we fucked like bunnies. When little Junior was too tired to stand, Virginia and Suzie would play together. Of course I'd be there to supervise and in the process Junior would have a miraculous recovery. And so it continued. All too quickly the time allotted for their visit came to an end. Reluctantly, I put my two beauties on the plane in Midland as it was closer and they had already toured El Paso. I waited as their plane took off. I waved, knowing that they couldn't see me. With sadness and a loss in my heart I drove back to the ranch. I was already lonely without them. I had grown accustomed to the female presence in the house that had been filled with sadness for 4 years.

I decided to take a little trip on the ranch. So I called Billy to have him get things ready. I could trust Billy to see to details. You see, Billy Mitchell and I go way back. In Jr. High I was a shrimpy, pimply nerd of a kid. I was always being picked on. I didn't reach my growth until High School. So I was easy pickings, as they say. Well, anyway, there I was getting the holy crap beat out of me by a couple of 8^th grade jocks. I'd learned to tuck and roll a long time ago and they weren't doing too much damage. But they were getting close. I guess it was when they picked up the waste basket that Billy had had enough. You see, in Texas, a 55 gallon used oil barrel serves as a waste basket. Anyway, Billy had gotten his growth early and already stood 6'3" and weighed in at 225. Coaches knew what they had and "red shirted" him during the next to the last week of football season in 7^th grade. Billy was smart and knew because of the red shirt rule; he'd get to play another season. It was like that 7^th grade season never happened. That is how he ended up in the same classes as me. I helped him with class work, especially math, and we were sorta friends. He sauntered over to the two boys, yanked the barrel out of their hands and threw it. Better than any shot putter, the barrel sailed 15 yards before striking the ground. He then picked up the surprised teens, one in each hand and hauled them off me. He looked them both in the eyes and explained to them I was off limits. He told them to spread the word. After that, I was safe at school (and everywhere else for that matter). I did finish out near the top of our class (Monahans, TX class of 1967. Class song "We Gotta Get Out of This Place"). Billy graduated, thanks to me. When I won the ranch, I was pleasantly surprised that Billy worked as foreman, cowhand, and general handyman all rolled in to one on the ranch. I begged him to stay. It didn't take much. He was happy for the change and for me being the boss, again.

I told Billy I wanted to go out on the ranch to commune. Yeah, right. I wanted to get away so I wouldn't be reminded of Suzie or Virginia. So it was up to Billy to get Jake ready. Jake is my mule. He was tied to the hitching rail by the barn. Billy had outfitted him with everything I might need to spend 2 weeks on the trail. I had Big Red saddled and ready to go. He was 17 ½ hands tall and could run for miles. Since some of the ranch hands had reported coyotes in the northwest section, I made sure to go in armed. I had a pair of 7 ½ inch Blackhawks chambered for 45 Long Colt with a nice leather rig and a custom made Henry rifle in the same caliber. I put that in the saddle scabbard on the right side of Red and just for fun I had an 1874 model Sharps in 45/70 on the other side of the saddle. I'd seen the movie "Quigley Down Under" and just had to get one. I contacted the Shiloh Sharps company and express wired them the 3 grand and change for an exact replica of the rifle. I was glad to know they were going into production of the 1874 model named the Quigley so I wouldn't have to wait three years like the movie people did for delivery. I even had a Creedmore sight installed. After burning through several thousand rounds, I became as good as the character in the movie. (I could pick off a bucket in the road at 900 yards too.). I knew that there would be plenty of ammo packed on Jake and maybe even my field reloading equipment. There would also be plenty of trail food which I could supplement with what I could shoot. I told Billy I'd be back when I got back, but to start looking if I was gone more than a month.