DENTON CROUCH 26

as denton rode away from the pond he pointed his horse back t0oward willcox.he was pleased with everything he saw. with the exception of the fact there wernt any yearling cattle to be found he was pleased. but he now knew he was going to have to sell some mother cows and calves to carry him through into fall. he rode on into the west as the sun was dropping below the mountains. on a ridge a half mile north of the dirt tank sat a man on a rangy gelding. he had watched denton catch and rebrand the big calf. he ws a big man, unshaven his hair hanging to his shirt collar. he was wearing chaps and had tapaderos on his stirrups. his shirt was dirty and stained his horse was a extension of the man, his tail and mane was long and tangled. he was a bit bigger than the average saddle horse of that day and time. in most places he would be hitched to a wagon . " well hoss" the man spoke to the horse" looks like we got a new meighbor and i dont think he likes us share croping with him." the big man leaned on his saddle horn and watched denton rideing away. in willcox alvy was struggling to stay alive. the doctor was constantly working on him. the bullet that denton had put into him passed to close to vital organs and they wernt healing or responding to treatment. the doctor stated he didnt know how the man lived as long as he had. pearl had showen no consern what so ever about his condition. her back was healing well where alvie had whipped her. she had fallen into a comfortable existence with jody at the boarding house she didnt think beyond the next day.she was gaining weight and starting to take on a healthy glow. one night she had set as jody untangled the knots in her hair. it now flowed in a wave down to her shoulders. she still didnt speak much, no more than needed. one day the sherrif came to the boarding house. he called pearl to the table and they sat down "does alvie have any family tht you know of?" the sherrif asked. pearl shook her head then looked up" he mentioned a brother some place around here but he never said any more." " do you know his last name? we dont think he is going to make it. we may need to contact some one. did he have any worldly goods or property you knew of?" the man asked. " out side of town towards cochise he had a camp a wagon full of stuff and two mules. the mules are loose out there. its all junk, just junk. i think his last name is kraft. he never told me much" pearl answered the sherrif wrote it all down" ill have to bring that out fit to town and impound it.you say he turned the mules loose?" "yes, he treated the mules better than me. they always stayed close to the wagon."pearl ducked her head a hour later the sherrif and a deputy rode out of town toward cochise. when they left alvie was a sleep. a half hour from town they found the wagon. a rickety affair loaded with junk. blankets and raw hides stacked over the top of everything imaginable. the smell was far from plesant. off in the distant they could see two mules grazeing along the edge of the playa. will sent the deputy to get them. will climbed up on the wagon he threw the hides and blankets back so he could see what was underneath. he found metal drums od flour and coffee. one with beans and one with rice. there was more but will decided it would wait until they reached town. as he was laying the rawhides and blankets over the load he noticed the brand on one of the hides was a f w . will didnt know why but that drew his intrest. he made a mental note look into it.