THE GRAVE 3

shur rode north toward the rincon mountains. when he came to the san pedro river he rode to a well used crossing. the water was only inches deep but the sand underneath was quick and if you crossed in the wrong place you would bog. even the good crossings were quick if you stopped for more than a second. on the west side of the ruiver he turned up a long steep ridge. the short horse put his head down and started climbing it was a long ridge and went up into the rincons.twice shug would stop and let the horse blow and catch his breath. after a solid hour of climbing the trail eased and wasnt near as steep. a half hour later shug rode up to his cabin and camp. he had walled in and roofed over a jumble of large boulders a pole corral stood to one side .there was a smell of death about. it was faint but definatly there. in a lean to was a stack of pelts. shug was a trapper and hunter of prediters. coyotes, mexican wolves and mountain lions with a occasional bear thrown in for good measure. behind the cabin a small spring chuckled through a gravel bed. as he pulled the saddle from the horse a mule brayed from up on the slope to the west. a brown molly mule came down to greet her master. shug took the horse to the spring and watered him, then he tied a clog to one front foot and turned him loose to graze. shug was home. shug started a fire in the rock fire place in his cabin and put a pot of coffee on to boil. back outside he went to the lean to and started counting his pelts. it was pitifly few. he had about cleanned out the preditors in this area. maybe it was time to move on. he looked to the north east and east. the graham nountains and the chirichua mountains were promiseing. to the south and west the dragoons stood . he didnt like the thought of the dragoons. they were to close to people. shug was a true loner and felt oppressed when around population. he had a string of traps laid out a little higher up the mountain and they lined to the west. tomorrow he would check that line and if it delivered sparse results he would sell out and move to another mountain range and set up again.. he liked it here, he could see anyone comming his way, he could see all the movement along the valley floor and along the san pedro. he wasnt comfortable with people being to close. back in his cabin he poured a cup of hot coffee and took the envelope from his shirt front. with out opening it he laid it on a smooth rock next to his bed. while he sat there sipping the hot brew he stared at the envelope.he put different ideas of what to do with it through his mind. but didnt settle on any one thing. shug picked up the envelope and put it under the edge of his blanket. after running the trap line he would decide what to do.