I just sat there for awhile, hugging the pillow to my chest, and staring at nothing. I heard Clarence, making his

crying sound at the front door, asking to be let inside.

I got up and went to the door, opening it and then the screen, too, holding it open so he could waddle inside.

"You're hot, huh, boy?" I greeted him.

While I was there, still holding the door open, I heard the braying of the burro. It seemed as though it was a good ways off, and the sound was

only being carried by the wind, every few minutes. I stepped out onto the porch, turning my head so as to listen better.

I went back inside, and up to my room, pulling on my socks and boots, ready to head out to investigate. Then, thinking better of

just disappearing that way, I grabbed a ball cap, pulling my ponytail thru the back and went thru the kitchen and outside.

The three of them were still sitting on, or at the picnic table, and had now progressed to having a watermelon seed spitting contest.

I walked up casually, and stood there, waiting for a break in their laughter and horsing around.

"Hey, Har," Ford greeted me. "Decide to have some watermelon after all?"

"No," I said, and then added belatedly, "Thanks. I'm gonna go check on something. I'll be back."

"Check on what?" Ford asked.

"I hear the burro. I just want to make sure he's okay."

"Where's he at?" Evan asked.

"I can't tell for sure. It sounds as though he's near the south somewhere."

"Well, just wait. One of us will go with ya," he said.

I repressed the urge I had to roll my eyes. "You don't need to. I'll be right back."

"Just wait a minute," he said again, as he spit another seed.

They were laughing and shoving each other, and talking about whose had gone the farthest.

I heaved a deep sigh. They were really getting on my nerves! Again!

"Did you check your level again?" Evan asked me then.

I wasn't going to tell him I hadn't. Just to set him going about how I wasn't being responsible or something like that.

So I lied. Actually, fibbed is more accurate of a word. I had every intent to check my level.

"Yeah."

"What was it?" he asked, looking at me.

"It's fine," I said, feeling exasperated. "Within normal range again."

Then, it was all suddenly too much effort. I didn't feel like being pleasant, or biddable, or obedient. And they were

obviously too busy with their silly antics of seed spitting.

I turned around and started walking back towards the house.

"We'll go look for the burro in a couple of minutes," Evan called after me.

"Never mind," I said, and kept walking.

"So are you goin' or not?" Ford called out.

"No!"

I went in the back door, slamming the screen extra hard. If any of the older three McFaddens had been there at that moment, they

would have made me open it again, and reclose it properly. Ah, but they weren't.

I marched thru the kitchen, into the living room, and past the dozing Clarence, right out the front door again.

I tugged my hat down more firmly on my head, and started walking, jetting around the long way, so as to not pass

where the boys would see me. I was halfway across the south pasture, when I saw Nancy's little red car coming up the driveway.

Since she didn't honk the horn, or stop to call out to me, I figured she hadn't noticed me. There, I thought, in satisfaction. She would

keep Evan occupied, until I got back to the house.

I trekked along, walking as fast as I could, and I wasn't surprised when I heard a yip, and then Warrior bounded up behind me.

"Hey, fella," I said. "Thanks for tagging along."

We walked, and I stopped every little bit, cocking my head to listen. I could still hear the burro every once in a while. When he did bray, it

was continuous for a bit, then he would stop for a while, and then begin again.

I finally found him, or saw him, rather, just a little further ahead of me. His head was the only thing sticking up above the

tall grass.

I whistled, and he looked my way, and began braying again. I liked to think that he was answering me.

Warrior gave a low growl, and I hesitated before stepping into the taller grass. Maybe it was a warning. I thought he might

sense a snake nearby. I gave a shudder.

I stood there, debating. I called out to the burro, some sort of nonsense thing, about how was he doing and all that. Hoping that

he would weave his way towards me himself, so I could stay where I was.

But, he didn't. He stood just where he was, and moved, so that for a couple of moments I couldn't even see the top of his head.

Then I heard a different sound. A moaning. And then he brayed again. Warrior yipped, and I shushed him. A grunting sound, then. The burro's

head came up above the grass line again.

I was hugely curious. But, I liked to think I wasn't stupid. Setting foot into that grass would be foolish. Snakes were a very real

likelihood. I bit my lip, considering my options. One was obviously to forego my little jaunt and head back to the house. The burro,

from what I could see anyway, appeared to be okay. The second option would be to go back to the house and get one of the guys to come and help me.

The third option, well, I remembered the old machete that hung up in the barn against the back wall. I could, I figured, hack away at the grass myself, with

the machete until I reached the burro.

So back to the house I trekked, after assuring the burro I would return soon.

When I got back near to the back side of the barn, I went around and slipped inside, finding the machete. I could hear voices and

laughing from around the back yard.

"I wonder who's the leader in the Great Watermelon Seed Spitting Contest of 1988," I muttered, and Warrior looked up at

me, as if in understanding.

I took the machete, and headed back out to the south again. The breeze that had earlier been carrying the sound of the

burro's braying, had now died down. It was just plain muggy. I wiped my arm over my forehead, feeling the sweat running

down the middle of my back. It seemed to take a lot longer to walk back this time than it had the first time. I felt the beginning

of the return of my headache. I regretted not slipping into the house to get a cold drink of water.

Finally, I was back over to where I'd stopped at before. The burro was still there, looking my way, but quiet.

I ordered Warrior to stay back, and I began swinging the machete back and forth, trying to chop at the grass. I'd only ever

fooled around with it in the past, mostly with Guthrie. Not seriously, and never with grass this height. Let me just say, it's not

as easy as it looks. My difficulty was compounded by Warrior, who refused to stay out of swinging range. I hollered at him, a couple

of times, and he cocked his head, looking at me in a puzzled way. I never yell at him, so I think he was surprised by the volume

of my voice.

I stopped to see my progress, and it wasn't much, I'll say that. My arms were already aching from swinging the machete around.

It felt overwhelming, seeing how little I'd accomplished. I felt suddenly like an idiot. Why hadn't I just ridden Charlie out here, or

even hopped on the four-wheeler and driven over?

There was more moaning from the direction of the burro. And the sounds of flopping in the grass.

What was that? And then, a pitiful sort of sound. An animal in pain. It wasn't the burro, because I could see his mouth, and he

wasn't making the sound. Warrior whined in distress.

I gathered my courage, and plunged into the thickness of the tall grass, praying that I wouldn't step on or around

a coiled snake. Just as I broke thru to where the burro stood, I saw what he was guarding. Watching.

The female burro, who had been with him the first time I'd seen him, that day with Ford, was prone on the ground, and

she was in the throes of labor.

7

For a few moments, I was caught up in the excitement. She was going to deliver a baby burro! I tried to shoo Warrior back, and

get closer, so that I could see better how she was progressing in her labor. The female burro gave me a sort of wide-eyed look, but

seemed to be in too much pain to care whether a human was standing there.

She moaned, and tried to get up, then went back down again.

I began to talk quietly, edging my way around to see what I could observe. I'd only been with Doc G on one call where a

horse was giving birth. And then, I saw our own horse, Polly give birth. But, I was in no way an expert, or even knowledgeable about

it. I couldn't tell if what was happening was normal, or if she was in some sort of trouble.

I sank down on my knees in the trampled grass, just watching for a while. I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it

seemed as though the female burro was growing more fatigued. She was so tired that she made no attempt to protest when I

reached my hand out to touch her side. I knew suddenly that I was going to have to get some help for her. Somebody who was way

more 'in the know' than I was.

I heard honking, and turned my head. Another round of honking, and it dawned on me that one of the guys was

likely using the horn as a way to locate me.

I got up swiftly, and both burros seemed startled by my movement.

I murmured to them, and broke into a run. I ran until my breath gave out, and I felt sort of dizzy. I stopped, sinking to my knees.

Warrior sniffed at me, and then took off, yipping.

After a couple of minutes, I got up, and started walking as quick as I could, towards the house and barn.

Ford was the one who saw me first. He was on foot, and I heard him yell something out. It was obviously to

Evan, who appeared behind Ford, and Nancy, who appeared behind Evan.

The roaring of the four-wheeler broke thru and Guthrie rode toward me. I stopped walking, and he pulled up alongside of me,

letting the motor idle.

"What're you doin'?" he demanded of me.

"The burros are over there," I said, loudly, so as to be heard, and pointed. "She's having a baby!"

"For real?"

"Yeah!"

"Evan's pissed at you!" Guthrie informed me.

"Oh," I said, and then subsided, as the rest of the group was nearly upon us.

It was Ford, though, who started in on me first. "You said you weren't-" he began, and made a motion of a finger across

his throat to Guthrie, to tell him to turn off the motor.

Guthrie turned the key, going into silence, and Ford began up again.

"Where did you disappear to?" he demanded.

Before I could answer, he said, "You told me you weren't goin' looking for the burro."

Still no chance of me replying, because Evan was beside me, looking fit to be tied.

"What the hell, Harlie!" he said.

"Alright!" I said, deciding to just grab the bull by the horns, so to speak. "I came out here, after I said I wasn't going to! You

can yell at me later! I need you to come," I said, reaching out to pull Evan by the arm. "The burro's having a baby!"

Evan stood still, resisting my pull. "I don't think he is," he said, accentuating the word 'he', and sounding even madder.

"The female!" I told him, pulling again.

"I didn't know there was a female one," he said.

"Yes, there is," I said, finally stopping with my yanking. It wasn't budging him. I looked at him, pleadingly. "Please, Ev!"

I could see that his interest was piqued. He began walking, and as Guthrie would have started the motor on the four wheeler again,

I said, "No, Guth! She's really nervous. That noise will make it worse."

So our little group of five made our way thru the field, to the tall patch of grass. Evan surveyed the jagged grass where I'd

tried to swing the machete, and then reached down to pick it up from where I'd left it.

He gave me a look, and I knew there would be a reckoning later.

Ford took the machete, and began working his way thru the grass. Evan, meanwhile, headed on thru it, towards

the burros. Guthrie, too, was close behind.

"You girls wait till I get the grass down a bit," Ford ordered, to Nancy and I.

I thought about saying that I'd already walked thru it, and was none the worse for it, but as I opened my mouth to say so,

Ford gave me a glare that was very un Ford-like. So, I shut my mouth, and waited until he'd hacked a path thru.

Nancy took this opportunity to say, very low, to me, "You really believe in pushing the envelope, don't you, wild child?"

7

By the time Ford had leveled a path, and I was beside the burro again, Evan was crouched there, seeming to

be observing.

I went to his side, dropping to my knees. "What do you think?" I asked, sort of quietly. I didn't want to rile the

mama any more than she was already.

"She's been in labor for awhile, I think," Evan said, his voice quiet as well. "She's pretty worn out."

Nancy, still standing off to the side, said, "What can you do for her?"

"There's not much we can do," Evan said.

The burro groaned, and strained, raising her head a bit.

We were a silent group for awhile, and eventually Evan was able to run his hand down her side, and to her distorted belly.

He waited, gauging her reaction to the human touch. The female only looked at him out of wide eyes.

"I think she's scared," I whispered.

The sounds she made were pitiful. I looked at Evan in distress. "We have to help her," I said.

"She's not gonna let me do much," Evan said. "We just need to let nature take it's course."

It wasn't what I wanted to hear, but he knew what he was talking about. Evan did end up massaging the burro's belly,

and checking to make sure the baby was in the correct position to be born. The sun had begun to set when the

burro gave birth. It was a male. And it was dead.

7