There was a silence between the three of us, as we sat there in the feed store parking lot.
"Let's get a chocolate shake," Evan said, putting the truck in gear, and pulling out onto the street.
"Strawberry," Guthrie said.
"Okay. Strawberry," Evan said. "What do you want, Har?"
I shook my head in refusal, but said nothing.
Once at the Dari Kurl, Evan parked, the lot nearly empty. It didn't take long for the car hop to come to take our
orders.
Evan told Bets to bring a strawberry, and two chocolate shakes, and when she'd gone, he said, quietly, "Myron's always
been a little trigger happy."
Trigger happy? The man had shot two burros, whose only crime had been hunger. I didn't think 'trigger happy' quite
described Mr. Stroup's sins.
"Har's worried that it's her burro that was shot," Guthrie spoke up quietly, leaning forward a bit.
I didn't even look towards Evan. "Here's where you tell me that he's not my burro. Right?" I said.
"He's not your burro," Evan said. "But, I wasn't gonna say that, no."
The shakes were being delivered. Evan handed one to Guthrie, and then one to me.
"You should have saved your money," I told him. "It doesn't even sound good."
"Drink a little of it," Evan said. And then, he said, "I'm pretty sure it wasn't your burro. The burro that's been
hanging around, I mean."
Instantly, he had my full attention. I twisted to look at him. "Why don't you think it is?" I asked hopefully.
"I asked Myron what the burros that he shot looked like," Evan said.
For a moment, I was struck by the pure kindness of Evan doing that. He'd asked, so as to see if it was the burro that had
been visiting our place, and ease my mind.
"You did? What did he say?"
"He said they were both real tall, and nearly all black," Evan said.
I felt relief wash over me. And hope. My burro wasn't very tall, and he was mostly a dark brown.
"Maybe it wasn't him, then," I said.
"He'll probably turn up in the next day or so," Evan said.
"Yeah." I took a couple of long drinks of my shake. "That doesn't mean that Myron Stroup isn't the lowest form
of human life. Shooting two innocent burros-"
"I'm not sayin' he's right, doing what he did," Evan said. "It's brutal. But, the ranchers feel justified in keeping
their winter supplies protected."
"Couldn't he have just scared them off?" I said. "He didn't have to shoot them."
7
Once at home, I dived into my chores, and then went to run my barrels again. Anything to stay busy, and try to quiet
my raging feelings.
Evan came walking up, and hopped up on one of the barrels, watching me. I ran a couple more rounds, having to steer way
around the barrel he was sitting on.
"Better," he told me, when I pulled Petra to a halt.
"How am I supposed to get a good time, when you're sitting on one of the barrels?" I pointed out.
I leaned forward to pat Petra's neck.
"You've been cryin'," Evan said. More in statement than in question.
"Yeah," I said, without an attempt to deny.
"Crying won't change anything. It won't bring the burros back," he pointed out.
"It's not like I have a lot of other choices," I said. "I'll cry today, and then I'll stop."
"What if you did have another choice?" Evan asked.
I flicked a glance over his face. "What do you mean?" I asked.
"You asked me about moving the burros, back up to where they'd be safe," he said.
I felt my hopes rise, and my eyes widen. I waited.
"I've thought about it. I think we can do it. We can try, anyway," he said.
I could hardly swallow. I felt tears spring to my eyes again.
"When?" I asked.
"Well, tomorrow's no good. Too much to do. And, we'd need to get some supplies together. All of that. So-" Evan paused,
looking thoughtful. "How about day after tomorrow? Early."
"Day after tomorrow would be great," I said, still feeling a lump of emotion in my throat.
"Okay. Start figuring out some food and stuff. We'll be out overnight."
"Okay."
We regarded each other for a long few moments, neither one of us saying anything.
I was full of words, but couldn't seem to find them just then.
"It may not work, for whatever reason," Evan cautioned. "They might not stay up there, or they might scatter and
run from us. Lots of things could happen. But, we can try."
"Yeah," I said, in agreement.
"Okay." He hopped down from the barrel. "I better get back to work."
"Ev-" I said, and he paused, looking up at me, from my spot on Petra's back.
"What?"
"I don't know what to say-" I said, in gratefulness.
"You don't have to say anything," he told me. "If it works, then you can make me oatmeal-raisin cookies
every other day for a month."
"Deal," I said.
7
As I prepared, and Evan rounded up help for our 'burro-rescue' trek, I kept my eye out for the Jack. But, no sign of him.
I still had the fear that he'd been one of those that had been shot, despite what Evan had reported.
Adam said he'd feel better, about us all going up there, once he got an all-clear from the sheriff's office. When he called,
and talked with Hal personally, he was told that they had made final arrests, and that the case was on its way to being settled. He
was interested, Adam said, in what we were doing. And wished us good luck.
Hannah entered into the spirit of our jaunt, making some homemade snacks that would be easier to carry. Cookies, and Rice Krispy
bars. Kristin was recruited to come along, and with Evan, Ford, Guthrie and I, that made five. There was the
thorny problem, at least to Hannah and Adam, of Kristin going along, with no older female chaperone. To all of us, she
was like one of the family. But, technically, as Hannah pointed out, her mother would surely prefer that she not accompany
us, without proper supervision, with all males, besides me.
Evan made it known that he would make sure that Guthrie and Kristin abided by the same rules as they did at our house, and
there would be little time or energy for 'fooling around'. That didn't satisfy Hannah. She still felt it wasn't right.
Guthrie tried, as did I, to tell Hannah that Kristin's mother wouldn't care. She didn't have much energy to expend on Kristin.
But, Hannah maintained her position, and at one point in the conversation, Adam intervened.
"We'll figure something out, or Kristin doesn't go," he told us.
"Okay," Guthrie said, hopping down from the kitchen counter. "But, like what?"
"Well, I don't think I can go," Hannah said, and Adam quickly agreed. "No."
"What about Clare?" I suggested. "I'll bet she would come."
I looked towards Brian, who was in the kitchen, as well. "Don't you think she would, Bri?"
"She might," Brian said, not sounding entirely convinced. "She's got a class early that morning, though."
"Nancy will do it," Evan said, pulling the jug of milk from the refrigerator.
And so, with that, the decision was made.
7
And so, it was six of us that set out the next morning. All of us armed with food, water, and a firm resolve. Nancy had the
first aid kit, and Ford, Evan and Guthrie all had a rifle, and plenty of ammunition. I chose Charley to ride, versus Petra. Petra is
great on things such as running barrels, but for something like this, I felt better having a horse that was steady, and dependable. Not
flighty.
We were all up and ready to leave before five that morning. Adam was up, as was Hannah, making sure we set off with
a full breakfast. Adam walked with us as we saddled our horses, and loaded all the supplies.
I kept an eye out for my burro, as we rode, but the further we went, the less likely I felt it was to see him. And then,
he was there. We'd been riding for nearly an hour or more, and Guthrie spotted him, giving a whistle to catch my attention,
and pointing him out.
I was so relieved to see him. I rode on, and pulled an apple from my bags, leaning down from Charley's back to feed it
to the burro. I still wondered where the Jenny had gotten to.
Evan galloped over, and pulled his horse to a halt. "So, he's alright," he said.
"Yeah," I said, my relief evident.
"That's good," he said, quietly. Then, "Come on. We don't have time for you to hand feed him apples all day."
7
The burro followed us for awhile, then seemed to disappear. Even Guthrie was puzzled. "Where'd he go?" he asked, looking
backward. "It's like he's some sort of Ninja burro, or somethin'."
"Maybe he is magic," I said, with a grin.
And still, later, the magic myth continued, as the burro reappeared. He followed us, until we came successfully up onto
the herd of wild burros. They were grazing, on much shortened grass, and we kept our distance, pulling to a stop to collaborate.
"It's nearly lunchtime," Evan said. "Let's eat, and then we'll start rounding them up. We'll eat cold now and then
tonight we'll have a fire and a hot meal."
So, we got off, with everybody stretching their legs, and walking a bit. We ate cold fried chicken, that Nancy had carried, kept
from spoiling with an ice pack. We finished it up with fruit, and I gave my Jack another apple. He was midway between where we
sat to eat, and the grazing herd of burros. Not quite of us, and not quite of them, either.
"Is he going to follow us all the way?" Kristin asked, and as the boys were answering her, I realized that if he did that,
that he might stay up there, and not come around the ranch any longer. The thought made me pause, and feel sad. But, the most important
thing, I told myself, was that he be safe.
7
Once we began, trying to herd the burros, it turned out to be a different experience. Even for me, and I'm used to herding
cattle. I couldn't imagine how Kristin felt. She'd never done anything like this before. But, the burros weren't like cattle. They
skittered and ran, and when retrieved, would bide their time and make another break for it. At one point, Kristin was near tears,
because she felt as though she wasn't doing her share in keeping them from getting past her.
I gave her a pep talk, and so did Guthrie, but I noticed when Nancy talked to her, she seemed to brace up, and was ready
to continue.
It was a long afternoon, made tougher by the incline as we started herding them up.
It got rougher, both to ride, and to herd. My burro, as I thought of him, joined the herd, and went along with us.
I'd tried to figure out which, if any, of the females, was the Jenny that had given birth. But, it was just too hard to identify,
with all those furry brown and black bodies milling all together.
We stopped at one point, letting them bunch together, while Evan told us to take a chance to stretch again. Kristin looked
grateful, and slipped off our mare, Peg.
"Wow," she said, and I knew exactly what she meant.
"I've got some salve with me," I said, in a low tone.
"I don't want to be a wimp," Kristin said.
"You're doing fantastic," I encouraged.
"You are, Kristin," Evan chimed in, walking near us. "You're doing great."
Kristin looked a little embarrassed, but I could tell she was pleased. "Thanks, Evan," she said.
Evan smiled at her, then said, brusquely, "Break's over. Mount up, group."
"The power has gone to his head," Ford said to us, sotto voice, and we laughed.
7
After that, Ford took to calling Evan 'Trail Boss', in a teasing sort of way. Instead of getting irritated, Evan
said, "It's about time I got some respect around here."
When we reached the interior of the canyon, it was late in the afternoon, and I was hoping that we would see
some remaining Mustangs, but we didn't. I wondered where those that were left had gone.
Once there, we gave a few 'yee-haws' and some hat waving, and the burros scattered into the hugeness of the canyon.
"Now what?" Nancy asked, as we all dismounted, trying to work out the stiffness.
"Now, we build a fire, and fix some food," Evan said.
"So cave-man like, and handsome, too," Nancy said, squeezing Evan's arm, and they began kissing. Not like, all involved or anything,
but Guthrie still protested, "Hey! Knock that stuff off. Besides, I thought you two were supposed to be chaperones and the
good influences on this little trip." He reached over and took Kristin's hand, and she giggled, looking embarrassed.
We gathered firewood, small sticks and branches, really, and the boys built a fire. After that, Nancy took charge of
heating up some beans and added some brown sugar into it. While that was bubbling and getting hot, we pulled out the
rest of the food. Some chips, and fruit, including canned peaches. We sat on the ground around the fire to eat, leaning on our
saddles, and after we were done, Nancy gathered up all our plates and forks, washing them with water from the canteen.
She bustled around, humming, shaking out blankets and bedrolls, and in general 'tidying up' our little camp.
I found it sort of amusing. It was like she was tending to all of us, and making our camp 'homey'.
After we'd eaten, Guthrie and Kristin and I walked out amongst the burros from the herd that were still nearby. Some had
found spots to graze further out, but still within sight.
My Jack was with the nearby burros, and I brought out the apple I'd carried, and gave it to him. He consented to having
all three of us rub his forehead, before joining the other burros.
"He sure has gotten tame," Guthrie said.
"This is amazing," Kristin said, looking around the canyon and at the burros.
Once we'd settled down for the night, Kristin admitted to being saddle sore.
"It gets better," Nancy told her.
As we sat around the fire, we brought out Hannah's Rice Krispy treats, and munched away, telling stories. I fell asleep looking
up at the stars. A California sky at night.
7