El Paso – Going Home

The café down the street from the Emporium was named Julie's Home Cooking, and that's just what it tasted like. Dan Avery explained while they ate that the four men had been working at The Rosales Ranch for almost a year but Frank was cutting back, and it looked like they were out of jobs. Bart's offer had come along at just the right time.

Bart explained the set-up at the B Bar M and what he and his brother were trying to accomplish. Then Maudie took over and talked about the idea she'd had . . . the cross-breeding of the blue roan/ Arabian mare with the Criollo studs. If any of the cowhands had wondered why she was involved in this venture, her ideas convinced them this was no ordinary eleven-year-old girl.

"Miss Maudie, you might have hit on somethin' that could be worth a fortune," Slim Avery told her as they all ate dessert. "You got any more young'uns this bright at home, Mr. Maverick?"

"Slim, you gotta call me Bart. There's too many Mavericks at the ranch for me to be Mister. And yes, my wife and me have got four more, including Maudie's twin sister Belle. But none of them are as interested in the horses as Maudie. And they're all younger."

"How'd you get so involved with the horses, Miss Maudie?" Lucien Walters asked.

"Well, I wanted to spend more time with my father, time I didn't have to share with any of my brothers or sisters. So I started going with him when he tended the horses, and I got interested in what he was trying to do. Then I just began thinking of ways to improve the cross-breeds."

"Everybody finished?" Bart asked. "Then let's get back out to the ranch to get our stock."

Half an hour later they were at the Rosales Ranch. Their horses were corralled together and ready to go; Dan took over driving the wagon as Bart placed the other riders. He rode left point and Maudie rode right, Jimmy and Lucien rode somewhere between swing and flank, and Slim rode drag. The remuda ran with the rest of the herd, and they rotated positions every two days. The wagon followed when Maudie rode drag; it remained toward the front of the herd when she took any other position.

They took it slower than they would a cattle drive, especially the first two or three days. Bart didn't want to push the yearling fillies too hard, and they didn't have a deadline for getting back to the ranch. Maudie had no idea the drive would be as difficult as it was, and practically fell asleep as soon as she was done eating every night. On the fourth day, Bart took over driving the wagon and kept her on it with him. He figured they could ride a man short for a day or two while Maudie got some extra rest. None of the men objected; they were all impressed with how hard she'd been working to do her share.

She slept most of the morning and didn't join her father on the seat until early afternoon. Bart was happy to see she looked more rested than she had since they'd started the drive. "What's up, sweetheart?"

"I should go out and relieve one of the riders."

"You've done more than your fair share."

"I had no idea this would be so hard, Pa."

Bart grinned. "What happened to daddy?"

Maudie shrugged. "I outgrew it?"

"Already?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

Her father smiled at her. "You can always ask me a question, darlin'."

"Why did you let me come on this drive? Anybody else would have said no."

"There's a long story behind that, Maudie."

"I've got nowhere to go, daddy."

That reply elicited a chuckle. "Alright. You've been tellin' me for a long time that you wanted to be involved in runnin' the ranch. Your mother thought this job might be too much for you. This is the first real chance I've had to show you that it's not all play; that it involves a lot of hard work. I knew you could handle it, I just didn't know if you'd still want to once you found out just how hard."

Maudie was dismayed. "Did you think I'd be afraid of hard work?"

"No, not afraid of it. That you'd rather do somethin'. . . easier."

They rode in silence for a while before anything further was said. "And what do you think now?"

"I think you can do anything you set your mind to, no matter how difficult it turns out to be. And I think that you'll do fine . . . running the ranch. If you still want to when the time comes."

Maudie leaned over and kissed her father on the cheek. "Thank you, Daddy."

XXXXXXXX

Maudie got used to the pace of the drive as the days passed. Bart was proud of her; she worked her tail off and never complained. When it was her turn to drive the supply wagon, one or another of the men took her turn for her; that was the one thing she just wasn't strong enough to do yet.

She always found a way to make it up to whoever drove for her. She'd take their turn cooking, or do their laundry, or ride Nighthawk in their place. Bart always made sure that he rode Nighthawk with her, so she wouldn't be alone with the herd. Every one of the drovers had nothing but good things to say about her.

They fell into a rhythm, and actually made good time. Baron ran next to Maudie unless she was riding drag; he had no desire to have dirt and dust kicked in his face. Then he'd pick a spot out of the crowd and stay close to Bart.

By the end of the second week they'd gotten to Pine Springs. They planned on staying over in the little town two nights . . . one night Slim, Dan, and Lucien would stay at the hotel in town; indulging in baths, dinner in a restaurant, and sleeping in a real bed. Jimmy, Bart and Maudie would serve as Nighthawks. The second night it would be reversed, with Jimmy, Bart and Maudie staying in the hotel. That's the way it was supposed to work. The second night, when Slim, Dan and Lucien had Nighthawk duty, Dan fell asleep underneath the supply wagon, and the three one-year-old-fillies wandered off without being spotted.

Bart and Maudie found the fillies gone the next morning when they returned to camp. Maudie wanted to look for the fillies immediately, and she convinced her father to send Dan out to do just that.

Two hours later Dan still hadn't returned. Neither had the fillies, and Maudie was close to frantic. "I'm goin' out after them, Daddy," Maudie insisted.

"No, Maudie, I don't want you goin' out there."

"Somebody has to go. We need four men to make it back to Little Bend, and we need to find the lost fillies."

Bart mounted his horse and would stand for no more arguing. "You and Slim stay here; Jimmy, Lucien and me will look for'em."

Another hour passed; Maudie and Slim did their best to keep the herd quiet. Finally Slim started singing softly, and Maudie joined in, just as softly.

See them tumbling down
Pledging their love to the ground!
Lonely, but free, I'll be found
Drifting along with the tumbling tumbleweeds

Cares of the past are behind
Nowhere to go, but I'll find
Just where the trail will wind
Drifting along with the tumblin' tumbleweeds

I know when night has gone
That a new world's born at dawn!
I'll keep rolling along
Deep in my heart is a song
Here on the range I belong
Drifting along with the tumblin' tumbleweeds.

By the time they'd sung 'Tumbleweeds' twice, Bart and the boys were coming over the hill with the fillies. The fillies had found a creek and waded through it, coming out on the wrong side and getting themselves lost. Once Dan found them and got them headed in the right direction, they seemed to be in no hurry to rejoin the herd. Since there was only one of him they took their sweet time makin' their way back, and he really couldn't do much with them until Bart, Lucien and Jimmy came lookin' for them.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Maverick. I sure never expected to fall asleep down there. I know I cost you half a day's time. I'll make it up to you. Somehow."

"Just don't do it again, Dan, alright? Now that we know those little girls have got a wandering eye, let's make sure they don't go off somewhere without us. They could grow up to be an important part of our program."