THE WILL 1

the corral was a fog of dust. the cattle were bunched at the far end two ropers were dragging the calves back to the other end where four men grabbed calves and held them down whil another man burned the ranch brand on the calves ribs. another man would use a knife and ear mark the calves and vaccinate them for black leg. no one noticed the man in the suit who walked up to the fence on the outside holding a clip board. the man stood quietly until noticed by one of the brandrs, who walked over to the man. " ime looking for tobias stevens" the man said. the brandr called" hey tobey this bird wants you" a stout man of maybe forty stood up from where he was holding a calf. he was covered in dust, blood and manure, his silver belly hat was pulled down to almost touching his ears over brown hair. a moustache covered his lip. " yeah? what can i do for you?" he asked the man. the man pushed the clip board through the fence" please sighn the bottom line by your name." tobey looked at the board a second then took it" what am i sighn ing for?' he asked. " the man held up a envelope." i just shows i delivered this." toby scribbled his name and handed the clip board back. the man took it and handed the envelope to tobey then turned and marched away. tobey turned the envelope over a time or two then laid it on top of the fence post. he put a rock on it to hold it down. then he went back to work. when the branding was done the crew went to a handy water hose and washed the dirt from their faces andhands. tobey, whenhe had drid his hands with his bandana picked up the official envelipe and opened it. unfolding the letter with in he read it slowley , then read it again. the foreman of the ranch stepped up" bad news tobey?" he asked. " well kinda, my mothers brother died, uncle blake. this attorney wants me to come claim my inheritance." " where?" the foreman asked. " willcox. ill be gone maybe a week. its two days down there ill stay for the services then come back." tobey ws folding the letter and putting it back in the envelope. the morning tobey drove into willcox, he was not in a good mood.. he was hungry and needed coffee. he pulled into the plaza and went in and ordered breakfast. a hour later he drove to the lawyers office. when he was ushered in by the receptionist the attorney stood and stuck out his hand.tobey shook as the attorrney said" my name is david tyler. ime to handle the disbursment of your uncles property. you are the only liveing heir. he specificly stated everything went to you." the attorney pushed a official document to tobey. tobey read it slowley then handed it back. "ok. what is the property he was talking about?" tobe asked. " thirty acres at the edge of town, it has barn corrals and the residence. there is a bank account with two thousand dollers and saveings account of 50 thousand. oh theres a state grazeing lease that carrys three hundred head." tobey sat back in shock. thirty minutes ago he was a 400 a month cow puncher. now he was a bona fide rancher. he looked the attorney in the eye and stammered" how did my uncle die? this is sudden and he wasnt that old." "he was found drapped over his steering wheel with a gun shot wound behind the left ear. its supposed it was a illegal immegrant who did it passing through. he hated them. made a lot of trouble for the authorities concerning the illegals."the attorney pushed another form across the table. " you need to sign this.: tobey went through the motions.when he was done the lawyer made a copy and put it in a folder and handed it to tobey along with a ball of keys. " your uncle had a new truck, its parked at the house." tpbey sat there a minute trying to absorb all that had just transpired the attorney sat there looking at him. " do you want me to go to your uncles place and show you around?"the attorney asked. " no, just tell me how to get there.ill go check it out."tobey stood up and extended his hand. "