"Time to get up, Steve!" Dick hollered from the door of the bunkhouse. Him and Chavez were wide awake, waiting.

"Grrmmmphh…" Steve rolled over. "What time is it!"

"Time to start working the cattle." Chavez offered. "Get up, Dick and I will show you the ropes."

"Jesus…" Steve sat up. He rubbed his eyes and looked out the window. "It's still dark out!"

"Yes. We've got to get to the beef before they start headin' for the shade in the east. They've already chewed those fields to a pulp." Dick explained.

Steve flopped back down in bed. "Sounds like a Mexican job to me…" He muttered.

"Alright. Come on, pendejo." Chavez pulled the blankets, along with Steve, off of the bed. He landed with a thump on the wooden floor.

"Christ!" Steve made a swing for Chavez's legs. Chavez swiftly jumped out of the way and laughed.

"Mexican sunuvabitch!" Steve jumped up and threw a pillow forcefully at Chavez.

"Mexican-Indian!" Chavez corrected and threw the pillow back.

"Hey!" Dick intercepted the pillow.

"What!" Steve and Chavez said in unison.

"Cut it out! Now come on!" Dick yelled at them. "We've got to get to work!"

"Navajo…" Steve grumbled as he brushed past Chavez out the door.

Chavez proceeded to chase him but was stopped by Dick's firm grip on his shirt.

"Let it go." Dick said.

Chavez shook his head and walked with Dick to the stable, where Steve was already waiting.

"How did you know to come here?" Dick asked, surprised.

"Uh, you said we were workin' the cattle." Steve replied with sarcasm.

Chavez was quick to reply. "Listen, pendejo, watch your mouth when you talk to him."

Steve gave a doubtful look to Chavez and then turned to Dick. "Well then, Dick. Where's my horse?"

"Your horse?" Dick chuckled. "You can borrow one of John's, but you don't get your own."

Steve growled. "Well, which one do I get ter ride?"

"Marnie." Chavez pointed to a large brown mare.

"Marnie?" Steve repeated in disgust.

"She's a good horse." Dick assured him.

Steve rolled his eyes. "Yeah, sounds like one too."

"I'm getting really tired of your mouth Steve." Chavez stated strongly.

"I'm gettin' real tired of your Mexican ass tellin' me what to do, Cha-vez." Steve spat.

Chavez's hand flew to his waist. He whipped out a curved knife and pointed it at Steve. "Want to say that again?"

"I'm gettin' real tired o-" Steve began.

"That is enough!" Dick cut him off. "Jesus Chavez! Put that knife away! Steve you watch it! One day you're gonna get hurt boy, and nobody's gonna stop it!"

Steve looked down.

"Now say sorry. Both of you!" Dick ordered.

"Sorry, Chavez." Steve said.

"Me too Steve." Chavez said, and lifted a saddle onto his horse.

Steve entered Marnie's stall, and placed the bridle in her mouth and around her head carefully. He then lifted a saddle off of a table and positioned it on her. Dick did the same with his horse, and they all got their horses ready in silence.

Dick mounted his. "Ready?" He asked.

Chavez and Steve said nothing.

"Let's ride!" Dick dug his heels into the sides of his horse and went galloping out of the stable. Chavez and Steve followed, each one trying to outrun the other.

"Woo! Com'n, greaser!" Steve cheered as his horse bypassed Chavez's.

"Hya!" Chavez slapped the hindquarters of his horse with the slack of the reins. The horse picked up speed, and kept pace with Steve.

They laughed as they raced through the morning breeze, and after a while stopped to let Dick catch up. Realizing they were having fun together, Steve stopped laughing and returned the scowl to his face. He picked a long strand of grass and stuck one end in his mouth. After a while, Dick appeared. They rode together at a steady pace for a good half hour, until Dick stopped them on top of a hill.

"There's the herd there." He pointed to a group of black and brown dots grazing in a valley.

The sun was beginning to rise above the horizon.

"Come on boys! Let's drive 'em north!" Dick shouted and steered his horse down the slope. Chavez and Steve were close behind.

"Pendejo, have you ever worked cattle?" Chavez yelled across to Steve.

"Nope, have you greaser?" Steve hollered back and laughed.

"You had better not jump into this too quickly then, Steve!" Chavez warned. "You'll spook the cattle the wrong way!"

Steve ignored this comment and followed Dick around to the left of the herd. Yelling and screaming, he tried his best to get the cows to move north. "Com'n you bunch of ugly-ass beef! Get movin' or I'll sick this Navajo on y'all!"

"Yes, and following that I will throw this repulsive boy into the middle of you for you all to rip up!" Chavez told the herd in response.

They rode along flawlessly, herding the cattle north for a few hours. They came to a muddy downhill slope, and the cattle slid down, fortunately without toppling over. Dick's horse took the hill sideways, and made it down safely. Steve's horse slipped in a patch of mud. Once she maintained her footing, unaware of where she was headed, Marnie galloped into the center of the herd.

"Woah! Woah! Woah!" Steve pulled back hard on the reins but it was too late.

The cows were spooked, and ran in every direction, but luckily, the muddy slope stopped them from running south.

"Shit, Steve!" Dick cursed. "Chavez! Go get that there part of the herd!" He bellowed out orders.

Chavez nodded and raced against the half of the heard running west.
"Sorry, Dick!" Steve said bashfully.

"Steve!" Dick shouted and pointed. "Ride east and drive 'em back north west!"

"Alright, you bastards! Back in line!" Steve chased after the cattle.

Dick followed the part running north and ran circles around them, calming them down and keeping them in the same spot. Fifteen minutes later, Chavez came around the bend pushing about twenty cows in front of him. The two herds joined together, and Chavez rode up to Dick.

"I told him…" Chavez was referring to Steve.

"It's his first time." Dick reasoned. "Did you lose any beef?"

"No, they didn't give me any trouble. What about you?" Chavez was out of breath.

"All 'ere." Dick said. "Steve may be havin' some trouble, though. Maybe you should go look for 'im and help 'im out. He's gone west."

"Alright, but you can handle the herd yourself?" Chavez asked.

"Yeah." Dick said.

Chavez took off to the west and Dick continued trotting in circles around the herd, keeping the cattle in formation. Not long after, Chavez and Steve came back, on either side of a group of cattle, and the herd was reunited.

"They're all here." Chavez called out to Dick.

"North!" Dick commanded. "Steve, be careful! Don't go gettin' too close to the herd this time!"

At noon, they reached a small cove of trees and a little spring.

"This is good for today." Chavez announced.

They dismounted their horses as the cattle made their way toward the shade of the trees.

"Let 'er have a drink." Dick told Steve as him and Chavez led their horses to the spring. "Hurry, before it's crowded with beef."

Steve did as he was told and the three boys also drank their fill.

"Back to the house?" Chavez asked Dick after they rested for a while.

"Yeah, come on." Dick replied.

They got on their horses and travelled north east for a couple of hours. When they reached the stables the sun was still shining brightly.