DELBERT BRIGGS 6

the more del thought on what jacobs had said the mader he got. and why now all of a sudden was he bringing all this up. delbert suspicioned that the bank had sold and regained the ranch a number of times useing this bunch of spoiled cattle as bait not realising they would increase in numbers over time. delbert was fuming as he brushed his mount for the day. he wanted to go back and punch jacobs but then all of a sudden it hit him, the bank hadnt cheated him, not yet but he was getting ready to cheat the bank!as he thought about it he broke down in gales of laughter. his horse looked back at him as he was doubled over trying to catch his breath from laughing so hard. half hour later he rode away from the barn still chuckling, for once in his life he had come out on the long end of things. now to gather these old nellies and throw it in jacobs face. a couple of hours later he rode up to the open gate where the tracks were going back into that pasture. he had been around that pasture fence but never rode the interior much. there was dirt damn with a good pond behind it but it was feenced and he had closed the gates. but the cattle here were comming back after watering in the main pasture. del reined his horse over onto the trail and started following the tracks up country. he rationalized the cattle must be watering at night then coming back here to graze and bed down. the farther he rode into the pasture the rougher it got. to his right he could see the pond of water down below. the trail he followed was climbing one of the high ridges the ranch had. when he topped out on the ridge he realized he had ridden into the bed ground of the cattle he was following. they were spread out along the top of the ridge for a hundred yards or more. growen cattle, cows and and a couple of bulls. calves and yearlingss. none were branded. delbert rode slowley counting as he rode along the beded cattle slowley stood up and stretched. a few of the yearlings trotted away and then stopped to watch him ride by. he lost count at thirty eight. and that was the growen animals. when he was on the outside of the bunch he stopped his horse and sat there in disbelief. had no one even tried to gather these cattle? they didnt act like it. from here back to the gate was all down hill. he was running his chances through his mind on driveing them down there.then it dawned on him, some one else knew of these cattle and told jacobs. he hadnt seen any other horse tracks while climbing the ridge. so he didnt think anyone was rideing here. delbert sat his horse and started whistling a tune and absently poping his chap leg. the cattle started slowly walking away toward the down hill trail. he rode up a few yards and kept whistling . the cattle seemed to pick up the pace and when they all tipped over the edge of the ridge and started down hill some actually started trotting. delbert just sat there watching not crowding the drags. they needed to believe it was their idea to go down to the gate. one of the younger orejana bulls was at the back of the drive. he kept stopping and looking back up at delbert. del got the feeling that bull was going to be a problem. as they got closer to the gate the bull was wringing his tail and trotting from side to side . del kept way back but had a loop in his rope in his hand. he really didnt want to rope the bull, the more he thought on it he put his rope down and just stopped his horse. the cattle were starting to stream through the gate and trott toward the windmill. the bull got to the gate and stalled, but the cattle were leaveing him behind. soon he wrung his tail and bawled and broke into a lope to catch up. delbert let out the breath he had been holding. when delbert got to the gate he dismounted and drug the wire gate accross rhe opening and put the wire loop over the top of the gate stick/ it was a snug fit the required delbert to put his shoulder into it to get it close enough to put the loop in place. as he remounted he chuckled to him self " one for me, none for you jacobs." he reined his horse toward home.