James chuckled. “More like fights are afraid of him.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a funny thing, I don’t know if I can explain it, but on the few times he’s come close to a fight, the other party has sort of backed away at the last minute. It’s like they sense something about him.”
“Oh, honey, you make him sound dangerous,” his mother said.
“I guess he is dangerous to anyone who is his enemy. But he’s proven to be just as loyal to those who call themselves his friends.”
“Tell me, James, do you think this Faglier could work with cattle?”
“To tell the truth, Dad, Duke strikes me as being someone who could pretty much do anything he set his mind to. Why do you ask?”
“I’ve had a thought,” Garrison said.
“You aren’t going to try and talk me out of going to Dakota, are you? Because I am going.”
“No, I’m not going to try and change your mind. On the contrary, I want you to go. But I have an idea that I believe would make the trip very profitable, even if you didn’t find gold. It would be hard work, and dangerous, even more dangerous than just going after gold.”
“Well, for heaven’s sake, Garrison, if it is more dangerous, why are you even suggesting it?” Alice asked.
“Because nothing worthwhile can be obtained without some risk,” Garrison replied.
“What is your idea?” James asked.
“I would like for you to drive some cattle up to Idaho,” Garrison said. “Even though you say this won’t be as big a gold rush as happened in California, there will be a lot of people there. A gold find has a tendency to draw them. And if there are a lot of people, there will be a demand for a lot of food. Those folks are going to have a real hunger for beef, and my bet is, they’ll be willing to pay top dollar for cattle.”
James smiled, and slapped his hand against the top of the table. “Dad, that is a great idea!” he said. “Yes, I’ll do it.”
“Of course, with Billy going, his Uncle Loomis will be wanting to send some of their cattle up as well. And Dusty Ferguson has been running his own cattle in with mine for many years now, so I reckon Bob will be taking some of the Ferguson cows up as well.”
“Garrison, you aren’t expecting four boys to take a herd all the way to Dakota by themselves, are you?” Alice asked.
“Well, to begin with, Alice, they aren’t boys, they are men. But no, I don’t expect them to do it by themselves. I’m sure if they look around, they’ll be able to find some more folks to go with them. Hell, I’m tempted to go with them myself.”
Alice shook her head vigorously. “Garrison Cason, don’t you even think such a thing,” she said.
Garrison laughed. “Well, I’m not going with them, Alice, but that doesn’t mean I’m not going to think about it. It’s going to be quite an adventure, and I like adventure as much as the next fella. I would not have come to Texas in the first place, if I didn’t have a taste for adventure.”
“Yes, and look where that taste for adventure almost got you. You were headed for the Alamo, intent on joining up with Travis and the others. If you had gotten there in time, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation now,” Alice said.
“That’s all ancient history,” Garrison said. “All I’m saying is, if I didn’t have a ranch to run, and you to look after, I’d be on this drive with them.”
“You’d be welcome to come along, Dad,” James said.
Garrison laughed. “I’m sure you young people wouldn’t want an old geezer like me. Don’t worry, I’ve no intention of coming.”
“Well, I would hope not,” Alice said, her voice reflecting her relief.
“You want to take a herd of cattle all the way to Dakota?” Duke Faglier asked when James told him what they had planned.
“I’m taking a thousand head,” James said. “Billy is taking a thousand head for his uncle. And Bob is taking five hundred head. What do you say?”
“Well, I don’t know,” Duke hesitated. “Driv ing a herd of cattle up to Dakota seems a mite more involved than just ridin’ up to look for gold.”
James smiled. “I can understand that—if you have no vested interest. But see if this won’t change your opinion of the operation. I’ve talked Pa into givin’ you a hundred head of your own. Mr. Swan said he’d throw in another hundred head, and Bob’s pa is willin’ to give you fifty. That way you’d have your own stake in this drive.”
Duke was surprised by the offer. “You folks would do that?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Well, I don’t know what to say. That’s awful generous of you fellas.”
“Trust me, Duke, you are going to earn it,” Bob replied. “I know you are from Missouri and haven’t really been around cows all that much, but there ain’t nothin’ harder’n makin’ those ornery bastards move when they don’t want to.”
The others laughed at Bob’s description.
“He said that right,” Billy said. “You find a place that’s hotter’n hell in the summer, colder’n the North Pole in the winter, drier than the desert sometimes, and wetter’n the ocean other times and, like as not, there will be some cows there.”
Duke laughed. “Now it sounds like you boys are trying to talk me out of it.”
“Not at all,” James said. “We just want you to know what you’re getting into, that’s all.”
Duke nodded. “Well, if you folks are serious about all this, count me in,” he said. “Well, 250 head, huh? What do you reckon they’ll bring up in Dakota?”
“I’d be willin’ to bet they’ll bring fifty dollars a head,” Billy said.
“Fifty dollars a head? Times two-hundred-fifty? Why, that’s”—he thought for a moment—“that’s twelve thousand, five-hundred dollars! That’s a fortune!”
“My, my, that Missouri boy can do his numbers,” Bob teased, and the others laughed.
“Imagine that,” Duke said, smiling broadly. “Who would’ve ever thought Duke Faglier would be a man of substance?”
“How soon do you reckon we can get started?” Billy asked.
“Well, since Bob’s pa is foreman at Long Shadow, his beeves are already there. And that means that a hundred fifty of Duke’s cows are there as well, so why don’t you bring your herd on over? We’ll get ’em all together before we start the drive.”
“We’ll help you bring ’em over,” Bob offered.
“Yeah, me, too,” Duke said. “I might as well get used to being around those creatures.”
“Ha, what you mean is, you want to make certain you get your one hundred head brought over,” Billy said.
Duke laughed with the others.
The sign outside Bowman’s Mercantile advertised DEALING IN QUALITY GOODS FOR ALL MANKIND, and Ira Bowman made an honest effort to live up to that claim. His sprawling store sold goods that spanned the spectrum from baby beds to caskets. In between were such things as harness and saddles, furniture, and ready-made clothing.
Revelation Scattergood, a young woman of twenty, was looking at a table that was piled high with men’s trousers. She took one of the smaller pairs of pants from the table, then held them against her lithe form to check the fit. Deciding it was a fit, she put the pants with two others she had already laid aside.
The little bell over the door tinkled as Meg Murback and her mother came in. Without so much as a glance toward Revelation, the two women went toward the “ready to wear” dress rack.
“Oh, Mama, look at this one,” Meg said, pulling out a pink dress to show. “Isn’t it pretty?”
“Good afternoon, Miss Murback, Mrs. Murback, I’ll be right with you,” Bowman said from the back of the store.
