BIG HORN 10

back at the hospital con went in to check on roy. he was laid back asleep but makeing a wheezing sound. con stepped back into the hall way and stopped a doctor. "is he going to be alright? he sounds like wind broke horse!" " i want to keep him a few days but i think he is going to be ok. i want to make sure he has nothing going on internally. that was a bad beating he took" the doctor answered. con nodded. he s a good man keep him as long as you need to be sure. just dont let him near anything to drink that maybe alcahol."con was grinning. " oh, one of those kind of cowboys huh. no problem, we have had those kind in here before. come back in a couple of days"the doctor was snickering. back at the ranch the next morning con loaded the rest of the sale barn cattle and headed out to the auction barn he decided he needed a chore boy. some one to feed the livestock and be around the ranch. the houseing crew were busy with the house and didnt have time to keep a eye out. or do the feeding. he would ask around the sale barn. as he pulled acros the cattle guard up to the hiway a white suv turnned off and stopped next to him. it was george. he rolled his window down. "you off to town?" he asked with no preamble. con looked over at him" yep takeing these to the auction. the construction crew is hard at it on the bender house. the moralis family is camped at the holla tank fenceing it. ill be back in a couple hours." " i was just passing and thought i would check in. ime headed into gila bend to advise a client.maybe ill stop on the way back."george flipped a cigarette but to the ground next to his car. and backed out. when he turned his car con could see the out line of a woman in the back seat. he watched the suv roll back onto the hiway headed west. why he couldnt say but con looked at the cigarette butt. it was real short and it didnt remind him of much but something nagged at his mind. but he started out to casa grande and the sale barn. he wanteed these cows to sell this day. as wild as they were they would loose weight if held over until the following week.

BIG HORN 9

three hours later con rolled into the yard. the first thing he saw was the horse roy rode dragging his reins and wandering around the yard loose.con got out and caught the horse. the saddle still sat straight on the animals back. the rope was coiled and hung on the right side. there was no dirt splotches any where. con tied the horse and jumped back into his truck and headed to dead horse. as he neared the water lot at the tank he could see a lot of cattle inside. a stream of water was running out through the corral from the water trough running over. he was looking every where he could for roy. as he pulled up to the triggers he could see roy laying inside the chute where they loaded the trailer. he jumped out and ran to him. roy when he was rolled over was a mess. his face a mass of bruises and his shirt torn. he looked at con and mumbled" bout time you got here" " what the hell happened ?" con tried to sit roy up and support him. " when i got here there was a train of illegals getting water, they had pulled the ball off the float so they could get fresh water. i asked them to be sure and put it back on before they left. one of them called me a name and two of the others grabbed me. they turned the horse loose and hazed him toward home. then they used me for a punching bag. i went out almost at once. but when i woke up this is what i felt. i cant even stand." roy was fadeing. con shook him gently" not yet pard. lets get you in the truck." con stood back up and putting his hands under roys arms lifted him to a standing position. then slowley hobbled him to the truck and got him in the passenger side. he was closeing the door when roy pointed to the corral" go fix the float. you will loose all the water from the tank before you get back. fix it." con looked at him for a second then spun on his heel and went through the triggers to the water trough. the ball on the float had bee unscrewed. he rethreaded it and got the water stopped from running. the dirt tank still plenty but the storage tank held fresh water and it drew the cattle like flys. con looked around and made a mental note to bring more slat blocks. on the way out he tied the triggers open so the cattle would come and go unimpeded. he didnt know when he would get back. when he got in the truck roy had passed out and was leaning against the window in the door. co spun the truck and headed to the house. he would un hook the trailer and then head to gila bend, it had the closest hospital, plus a border patrol office. with roy checked into the hospital con called the border patrol office. in just a few minutees a suv with border patrol makeings pulled up in the parking lot. con explained what had happened and told the officer about where the trail should end at i 10. the officer wanted con to go with him to check it out. after seeing that roy was settled con got in with the officer and they headed out east on i 10. when they reached the spot con thought the trail came out they realized it was a gravel rest stop. they got out and walked around looking for tracks. soon con walked up on a pile of cigarett buts smoked down to a nub. he picked up a couple and looked at the brand. a brand only sold in mexico. after a bit more searching they determined that the mules had all got in vehickles and drove away. no tracks went back south. the officers made a radio call and put the word out to watch for them but stated he didnt have much hope in catching them.