THE JACKASS ROPERS 22

except for the moon hanging high over headn it was pitch black dark. dan was pulling the cinchas snug on a good roan horse in preperation for makeing a circle on the ranch. his home sickness was only half way cured in seeing ellen and lizzy, he still needed to see the rock pile and some of his cows . the dogs lay about panting while he finished saddling. he was pulling his chaps on when he heard a quiet step. looking toward the sound ellen came out of the dark, the open door to the house was behind her high lighting her as she walked up. " come eat breakfast before you go, i wont have it wasted."she turned to go back in the house. dan stood there watching. he finished buckling the waist strap on the chaps and started to the house. on the table was a steaming plate of fried eggs and potatoes a cup of coffee sat beside the plate. dan pulled a chair out, hung his hat on the upright and sat down his spur ringing a quiet note. as he started to eat ellen brought a cup to the table and sat down opposite dan. her face fresh washed and flushed from the heat of the stove. dan looked up at her, he felt a tug at his emotions. . " she was the one fooling around with my ex husband. she convinced him that beating me up would make me set him free. she was right. that is one evil woman . she dont know i know all that. i found out later. she talked tommy into protesting some deal she was getting paid to protest. he set fire to a car, it exploded and killed him before he could get away. she gets paid by some left wing rich trouble maker." ellen was talking to her cup of coffee. dan had stoped eating and was listening to her. " you better eat that before it gets cold."ellen pointed to his plate. dan scooped a fork full of the fried potatoes" well she didnt look so damn tough running down the road with her ass bare and a old donkey holding her pants in his mouth." thirty minutes later dans horse was scratching the rocks on the signal pack trail with the dogs bounceing along. they had enough of laying around the house with the women. they wanted to work. after the sun came over the eastern horizon things around him starting takeing shape the boulders, the cactus and palo verde and mesquite trees. dan stoped and breathed in a big lung full of fresh clean air, his air, on his ranch with his cows horses and dogs. he didnt want to see another jackass ever again. but he knew to full fil his contract he needed to go back and make one or two more circles at lake pleasent. but til then he was going soak up his own life on his own rock pile. now he knew why lizzy and her husband never left and why this is where they were the happyest. as he sat tere takeing in the morning the dogs jumped to their feet and tip toed forward. across the canyon from them a string of cows and calves were climbing up a narrow rocky trail out of the canyon. dan looked about and found a way down. they would hold them up on the other side.the dogs led the way as his mount slide and skidded down the slope causeing a small rock slide. at the bottom they found the trail the cattle took and dan waved his arm in a arch and the dogs left there like they had been shot from guns. before he reached the crest of the trail he could hear the dogs baying and the cows bawling. dan thought no harmonic symphony would sound better. as he got to the cattle the dogs were circling them. the cows were in good flesh and all the calves branded. as he rode around the little bunch at first he seemed content but as he rode it came to him something in life was missing, some thing to make his life complete. he sat there a few minutes takeing it all in and thinking about the missing componet to perfection in his life.