THE TRAIL TO TOMBSTONE 14

the next morning dale stepped out of the house to put the horses out to graze. just as he reached the corral he saw a man leading a pck horse comming toward him from gleesons direction. he stopped and waited for the rider to come into the yard. as he rode up dale could see a tripod of some sort lashed to the back of the pack horse. " is this the dale little outfit?" the rider asked in a friendly manner. " dale stepped up"ime dale little, what can i do for you? your out early can i offer you some breakfast or coffee?" " thank you , no, ime from the state land department, ime here to survey your home stead."the man laid it out on the line. " well thats great! what do i need to do?"dale was excited. " just look at these papers and tell me they are correct." the man held out a sheif of papers. after reading through them dale handed them back" yes sir they are correct.what now?" if you will allow me to tie horses here ill get started. ill stake the corners of your property and leave a flag at each corner so as you can see the property lines if you ever decide to fence your property."the man had dismounted and was tieing his horses.. he then unlashed the tripod from the pack horse and set out walking. dale stood there in shock. when billy walked up he had a question on his lips but dale explained before he could ask. dale asked as they caught their horses" where do you think we might find some saddle horses to buy? if the mexicans come back we will be left behind i fear.?" " ime not sure.. uncle billy four ranches north of here along the west slope of the dragoons. he might have a idea if not a horse or two for sell."billy answered. " maybe tomorrow you better go see what you can find out. i got a little cash left. and we will have to feed that bunch also. unless you want to cook for them maybe scout us up a camp cook too. we got some cattle to sell so we can pay some one."dale explained as they hobbled the horses out on on a fresh patch of grass. " if i dont find anyone ill cook . ill leave in the morning." billy slapped dale on the shoulder as they walked back to the corral. on the opposite ridge they could see the surveyer with his tri pod set up . " i wanna keep a eye on that bird.. make sure he knows what he is doing."dale stated.

THE TRAIL TO TOMBSTONE 13

as dale rode up to the two mexican vaqueros one stood up and waved. "hola senor, we have coffee come join us.dale saw no weapons in site and billy was sitting up on the opposite ridge keeping a eye on the proceedings. so he shoved his rifle back down in the scabbord and stepped down. the vaquero handed dale a tin cup with the hot brew" are you the owner of this rancho?" he asked. " i am now, we were going to start throwing these cattle together to get a count on whats here" dale explained. " bueno! we are employed by don frederico montoyas whose ranch is just below the border. there are no fences or boundrys between us so we have been sent to see if any of the dons cattle have come this far north.we would gladly join you in gathering these cattle if you would invite us."the tall mexican asked. " there is no doubt we could use the help" dale waved at billy to come on down the slope." it appears there are more cattle here than i aquired in the transaction when i took the ranch.maybe your boss has cattle here. i need to cull some of the cattle with my brand and take them to market. your help would be greatly appreciated." the mexican stuck out his hand " i am antonio, my friend here is francisco." the four men sat down and talked over the coffee and made a plan for the day. " we were told the owner here was a loud profane man but you dont seem to be that way?"antonio said. " he is the one i got the rancho from. we are just barely getting things pulled together and can start working the cattle."dale explained. while they were talking francisco had caught their horses and ws saddling them.when through he came back to the group and picked up the plan for working the day. when they rode out the mexicans went south while dale and billy went north. there was a flat peice of ground about a mile to the south of the water. they planned on holding their gather there to see what they had. the cattle wernt wild, and the cattle belonging to don frederico were gentle and they helped hold the gather together. in a couple of hours the round up ground was covered in cattle.the four men sat their horses and let the cattle settle down. in a hour antonio rode thrrough the round up looking at brands aand getting a count on the cattle carrying don fredericos brand. when he was through he rode to his place and sat while dale rode through the herd. he had a big calf crop of unbranded calves, there were a hand full of two year old steers. and a few older cows and barren heifers. he figgured he had 50 head to take to market. he rode over to antonio." do you wish to cut your employers cattle and take them home?" antonio shook his head"there are more than two men can handle you have much work here as well and need more men. we will return to the rancho and bring more vaqueros. i know we missed cattle in this gather. with more help we can make a better gather. we need to report to don frederico. "- dale agreed.they shook hands annd antonio waved to francisco and they turned and rode south. billy rode around the herd slowly to dale and watched the two vaqueros ride away." we might have stumbled onto a good deal with those guys" " yes sir. good neighbors for sure. lets go home, my belly is rubbing a blister against my back bone." dale grinned they turned toward home. some of the cattle were already starting to trail to the water hole. it had been a long good day.