TO FIND PEACE 27

when ty came in sight of the back fence he could see no cattle hanging along it. he rode on up to it and saw tho it was a old fence it still stood. the wire rusty the cedar posts weathered.and splintered. he saw katey comming along toward him. he sat still waitting for her. when she rode up she was beaming." i got 6 pairs over there. they didnt run or nuthin.i think could see a few more over to the north of me" "well what you going to do with them?" ty teased. " i was hopeing you would come help me since YOU didnt jump up anything." katey came down hard on the fact ty hadnt found any cattle. ty frowned and rode past katey going back the way she had come from" your a smart little peice of fluff." was all he mumbled. katey grinned as turned to follow. down the ridge the 6 pais were walking along toward the wind mill grazeing on twigsor what ever they cpould find as they went. ty noticed they werent as poor as the other cattle he had sold they were finding something to eat the others hadnt. as they rode aloong behind them katey pointed off to the north at where she thought some more might be. ty took his glass out and trained it on the area she pointed out. after a few moments he could make out a animal grazeing in the heavy brush. putting the binoculars away he told katey to follow the six head on down to the wind mill. he would go over and pick up the new animal. she nodded and rode on. ty turned the brown horse down the slope in the direction of the far away cow. at the bottom of the slope was manzanita thicket.. horse and rider had to fight to get through it. when getting out the other side he could see the cow he was after trotting off over the ridge he still had to climb. he stood there latting the brown hose get his breath before starting up the steep slope. when they finally got to the top of the ridge he saw where the cow tracks turned down country toward the wind mill. far below he could see the little white horse trottong and lopeing circles around the wind mill. the single cow hadnt stopped but blowen through the six cow hold up and katey as trying to hold them to gether. ty kicked the brown horse up into a lope headed for katey she was fighting a battle afgainst the odds. when ty reached the wind mill katey was sitting her horse down slope letting him catch his breath. the six pairs stood heaveing at the water trough. before he could ask katey pointed down country toward the head quarters corral. ty nodded but sat still.that old wild cow will have to be another day. when their horses were ready ty took the lead and told katey to put the cows behinf him. he rode right down the middle of the two trqack road at a slow leisurly pace the six cows lined out head and tail behind him, when they rode into the kj yard ty rode to one side and pointed the cows toward the corral. it had a open gate and there was a few wisps of hay scattered along the fence. as the cows started toward the corral ty could hear a cow lowing from the corral! when the cattle all were in the corral ty loped up and swung the rickety gate shut.there in the corral stood 7 cows. one a fat brindle that ty was pretty sure was the cow he went after. " you work my tail off and you just send your cow to the corral to wait for us!" katey teased. " lets go get the truck and trailer its clouding up again getting wet two days in a row isnt my idea of fun"ty turned to the gate. " oh hell, i was hopeing you would run out of clothes!" katey was giggling. " i just bet you were. " ty shook his head." what you gonna do if i cave in katey and break my promise to cleve.? bring flowers to my grave?" ty rode on toward home. by the time they reached the house the rain had started drizzling again. ty sent katey to the house while he unsaddled the horses.

TO FIND PEACE 26

ALL THE WAY HOME THAT NIGHT NEITHER KATEY OR TY SPOKE. TY LOOKED STRAIGHT AHEAD DON THE ROAD WHILE KATEY WATCHED OUT THE SIDE WINDOW. as they neared the ranch lightning flashed over head and a few drops of rain spattered on the windsheild. " a litttle rain wont hurt us. make tracking tomorrow a little easier." ty spoke. " uh huh" was all that katey said. as they drew nearer into the ranch yard the rain came down a little harder. it made the two run for the house. on the porch ty nodded and smiled " good night" as katey went in the front door. just a second later he heard the popping of the navaho rug. ty stood there watching the rain pour off the roof. the door opened " you cant sleep in the rain. bring your bedroll in here." katey ordered. when ty got his bedroll through the door he saw where katey had spread the navaho rug next to her cot. he hesitated just a second. " ill sleep in clieves bed so you can keep your promise." she turned back down the short hall and closed the door to clieves room behind her. ty stood there just a short minute listening to the rain patter on the tin roof. the next morning ty smelled bacon frying. he opened his eyes . a dim light showed over the kitchen stove. katey was standing there in a short night gowen cooking breakfast. her hair freshly brushed and laying on her shoulders. " you gonna get up and get ready or am i cooking this for nothing?" katey said without looking over at him. throwing his blankets back ty rose and hot footed it down the hall to the bathroom, but not without a slow down and quick look at katey as he went by. by the time he got into the bathroom his guilt had over come him. seated at the kitchen table katey put a cup of coffee and a plate of bacon and eggs with hash browns and a biscuit in front of him.ty looked up at her" you must have been up all night cooking this thank you." " well, you slept through it so eat up, enjoy it because i got a feeling you will earn it todaay." katey smiled at him." ime going to get dressed sun up soon are we going to the kj today?" ty took a bite of the hot biscuit and nodded" seems like the thing to do since we got orders." katey turned and started down the hall. ty watched her go the swing of her hips swishing the short night gowen. when she closed the door he realized he had stopped chewing. he gulped the biscuit and followed it with the coffee. a short hour later they had trotted out the front gate on the way to the kj. ty rode a stocky brown gelding he called chocolot. katey rode a little mexican cow pony that didnt weigh 800 pounds was knowen to be the toughest horse on the place. when they reached the locked gate at the kj they found the chair had been cut and tied back to gether with a peice of wire. rained on tire tracks went and came from the ranch " wanna bet who done this?"ty asked. katey shook her head. they rode up country to the wind mill . there they found some rained on cow tracks around the salt blocks and whisps of hay that had been left there. " they must be doing ok if they didnt eat that little bit of hay." katey noted. it was hard to tell the number of cattle by the rained on trackss. ty knew the back end fence was up hill from the windmill a good three miles. he pointed katey over to a long ridge theat ran up hill.he took A b trail opposing her a couple hundred yards away where he could keep a eye on her the little white mexican horse was easily seen from a long ways away. as they got farther along the tracks became thicker. but ty knew that 5 cows would leave enough tracks tomake you think there was 50 head. once or twice he stopped and let his catch its breath and he would glass the country with his binoculars that he carried in his chap pocket. the second time he stopped he couldnt see katey, and for a moment he paniced. but just before he started risde her way she came up from the back side of the ridge on which she rode. in front of her she had 6 pairs just pokeing along. ty noded to himself and picked up his bridle reins and continued toward the back fence.i felt a twinge of pride. in the pretty girl. if she wasnt cleves daughter she should have been