BUTTONS FOR MARIA

BUTTONS FOR MARIA

JAMES H. THOMPSON

Three young cowboys rob a bank and are chased into Mexico by a sheriff=s posse. Texas Ranger Moses Bluestone is sent to track them down and bring them back to Texas. After capturing the bandits, the Ranger and his prisoners are attacked by renegade Indians. The reader is taken on a western adventure starting in Texas and terminating in California. This is an imaginative story well crafted to hold your attention.

About The Author

James H. Thompson is a proven writer of powerful novels. This is his third e-book this year. His extraordinary writing skill is demonstrated in his ability to capture and hold the reader from beginning to end. While on a family vacation trip to the American Southwest, the author=s daughter Maria, suggested the outline for this novel. Imagination must be hereditary.

e-BOOK

Maverick Publishing

HOUSTON, TEXAS

BUTTONS

FOR

MARIA

JAMES H. THOMPSON

Western Fiction

e-Book 2002

www.mittymax.com

BUTTONS FOR MARIA

JAMES H. THOMPSON

e-Book

Maverick Publishing

HOUSTON, TEXAS

BUTTONS FOR MARIA

JAMES H. THOMPSON

FICTION

Any resemblance of the characters in this novel to persons living or dead is coincidental.

e-Book

CHAPTER ONE

Bobby Gale=s face was one big smile and his spirits were very high. He thought that he might be allowed to go on the cattle drive from his hometown of Gaylord, Texas, to the cattle rendezvous point near San Juan. There the cattle buyers would be waiting for the cattle to arrive and start the long drive north to the railhead at Fort Dodge, Kansas. Earlier this spring, several cattle buyers had visited this part of Texas buying all the cattle the local ranchers would sell them. They bought themCon one conditionCthat the cattle would be delivered to the assembly point near San Juan by the ranchers.

Now, Bobby was listening to his father talk with another rancher about the cattle drive and how the ranchers were going to move the herd of cattle to San Juan. The local ranchers had decided to drive their cattle to San Juan using their own wranglers. Each ranch was to provide their own ranch hands, if possible, or they had to pay a fee from the sale of their cattle to the other ranchers who provided the extra hands.

At this moment, Bobby was hoping to be accepted by the rancher, Clyde Perkins, who had been chosen to ramrod the cattle herd to San Juan. He had taken the place of Bobby=s father, who was ill and not able to make the trip to San Juan.

AHe looks strong enough,@ Clyde Perkins said, as he looked at the young cowboy and spit a mouthful of tobacco juice in the dusty street. Bobby tried to look confident as he sat on the back of his brown filly and tried his best to keep the nervous filly from dancing all over the street. This was the first time that she had been off the ranch and near strangers and their noises. Clyde saw that Bobby was doing his best to control the filly and noticed that he was riding bareback with a hackamore halter on the filly. He doubted that he could control the filly any better himself.

AHas he had any experience trailing cattle?@ Clyde asked, as again, he spit another wad of tobacco juice in the street.

ANo, not really, He=s helped out around the ranch and he=s willing and able to learn,@ Bobby=s father replied. ABesides, I need every penny from the sale of those cows and can=t afford to pay for an extra hand when my son is available to go on the cattle drive. Sure, he=s green. I have to admit that, but weren=t we all at one time?@

AThat=s for sure. We all have to start sometime, and I guess, now is as good a time as any for him to learn about life. He can ride with us,@ Clyde agreed. ABut, he=s going to have to carry his own weight on the trail and that=s for sure.@

Clyde and Bobby=s father looked at Bobby, who was still trying to control the skittish filly and not doing too good a job at it. Both of them frowned at him, even though he was doing his best to control the filly in the noise of the small town. For all of his confidence, Bobby couldn=t fool the trail boss or his father.

AHow soon can you have your herd ready to move?@ Clyde asked.

AI=ve got twenty-eight steers ready and raring to go anytime you=re ready for them,@ Bobby=s father answered. AAnd all of them are branded.@

AAll right, let=s see,@ the trail boss paused a moment, then continued, AWe plan to meet west of town near the river crossing. Do you think you can be there with your cattle, say in . . . two days from now?@

AI think so. Bobby and I can drive them there in less than a day. Sure, we can make it easy in that time,@ Bobby=s father replied. Then he began to cough, finally spitting a darkish sputum in the dusty street.

AStill got the bug, haven=t you?@ Clyde asked. He couldn=t help but notice the sickness still lingering in his old friend.

AYes, I still got it. But it comes and goes.@

AWell then, I=ll see you sometime tomorrow at the river crossing. Be sure that Bobby brings along all the gear he needs on the cattle drive.@

AHe will. I=ll make sure of that and thanks for taking him on the drive,@ Bobby=s father said. AWe really appreciate it.@

AThanks for taking me on the drive, you won=t regret it,@ Bobby said, but the trail boss didn=t hear him. He had already turned and was walking away from them down the dusty street.

Riding toward their ranch in the afternoon sun, the rancher and his son talked about what they were going to do the next morning. The morning when Bobby Gales would leave the sanctuary of his home and maybe forever!

ABe sure to listen to Clyde, I mean Mr. Perkins, and do as he says. He won=t steer you wrong,@ Bobby=s father said, as he looked at the horizon and remembered days long past. AAnd always do your best every day and help out whenever you can . . . @

Bobby partially listened to his father as he talked, but he was remembering what his father had said years before when he had left with the First Texas Cavalry to fight for the Confederate cause against the Northern Army. It sounded like and was probably the same speech that Captain Gales had given to the Texas volunteers on the steps of the church in Gaylord, Texas, before they rode off to do battle with the Union troops.

Bobby=s mental wanderings were interrupted by the sudden coughing of his father. However, this time, his father broke into sharp, coughing spasms that racked his whole body and he began to spit a black, almost tarry, substance from his mouth. His father stopped and slowly dismounted from his horse.

ALet=s rest a spell,@ he said. ADon=t tell your mother about this. I don=t want her to worry about me.@

Bobby dismounted from the filly and ground-tied her. Sitting next to his father on the grassy knoll, he picked a piece of grass and began to chew on it. AI won=t,@ he said to his father. He really didn=t have to say anything to her. His mother already knew how sick her husband was from the dreaded disease.

The Texas First Cavalry had been assigned to the Mississippi River region and for several months enjoyed harassing the Union troops behind their lines by attacking troop concentrations and burning their supply depots. But with time, the Union Army changed their tactics, and before long, the Southern troopers were surrounded near the Mississippi River city of Vicksburg by General Grant and his blue-coated soldiers and their dreaded artillery. After a long siege, the Southern forces were forced to surrender to the Union forces, not by losing in battle, but by lack of supplies and reinforcements.

General Grant granted Aparole@ to the Texans, but only if they returned to Texas and took an oath not to fight against the Union forces again. While most of the Texans jumped at the chance to return home, Cavalry Captain Gales refused the amnesty offer. For that reason, he spent the remainder of the war in a Union Army prison. The living conditions in the Federal prison were generally poor, especially any medical attention. When Captain Gales contacted the dreaded disease called consumption, known to others as tuberculosis, he wasn=t treated properly as he was considered one of those Ahard head@ Texans that refused General Grant=s amnesty. If he had been given proper treatment by the Northern Army doctors when he first contacted the Awhite plague,@ he might have had a better chance of being cured of the disease. But proper medical attention wasn=t given to Captain Gales because of his refusal to accept the parole offer. For this reason, the disease slowly, but efficiently, invaded his body. Now, several years later, the ex-Texas cavalryman was suffering from the disease and probably wouldn=t have much more time to live. He was trying to keep the fact that his days were numbered from his family, but it was obvious to them that his days were numbered.

Early the next morning, an eager Bobby Gales and his father were attempting to herd their cattle together for the short journey to the river crossing west of the town of Gaylord. Bobby=s father had been sick most of the night and was now barely able to ride between coughing spells and the spitting of the black sputum from his lungs. It was all that Bobby=s father could do to sit in his saddle and yell at the milling and disoriented cattle. The cattle had no desire to leave their home for anywhere, and at times, they would get the notion in their head to return to the pasture where they had been raised. Bobby was helpful, but he too, was having a difficult time getting the stubborn steers to move together in the right direction, besides trying to keep any steers from straying away from the main herd.

It was becoming almost impossible for them to herd the cattle in the right direction when three cowboys rode up to them. One of them yelled, AMr. Perkins, the trail boss, said to come over and lend you-all a hand if you needed one.@

One of the other cowboys remarked, AAnd it looks like you do!@

With the help of the wranglers, the small herd was soon headed in the general direction of the river crossing and the lead cow was trailing behind one of the cowboys. Bobby was helping to bring up the rear of the herd under the supervision of one of the experienced cowboys, who was hiding his face behind a red bandanna from the dust thrown up from the hooves of the cattle.

AYou better put your bandanna on or else you=ll be eating dust for the next couple of hours,@ he shouted to Bobby.

AThat=s a good idea,@ Bobby shouted back, as he groped for his bandanna in his saddle bag.

Bobby=s father rode off to one flank of the herd and tried to keep the steers from wandering away from the main body of the herd. Many times, Bobby watched as his father stopped to rest and spit something black from his mouth.

After a long morning, the cowboys and the herd of cattle were in sight of the river crossing and a few of the steers hurried ahead to get a drink of water. A rider rode up to where Bobby=s father was and said something to him, then together, they rode ahead of the herd toward the river where Bobby could see several mounted men waiting with another herd of milling cows.

Riding up to where the other cowboys were by the river, Clyde Perkins greeted his old friend, ex-Captain Gales.

AI see you finally made it.@ Turning to a cowboy nearby, he said, ATell them to keep the cattle on this side of the river for the time being.@

ARight, Mr. Perkins,@ the cowboy answered, as he rode off toward the incoming herd.

AWe plan to bed the herd down here for the night and leave at first light for San Juan,@ Perkins informed Bobby=s father. ASeveral of the other ranchers are slow in getting their cattle here, but they should all be here by late this afternoon.@

AWell, I got mine here with your help. Thanks a lot for everything. Those beeves didn=t want to leave the homestead without a lot of prodding,@ Bobby=s father said.

AThat=s understandable, I wouldn=t be either. How=s your son, Bobby, doing? I saw he was riding drag and eating a lot of dust,@ Perkins remarked. AHe better get used to it as he might have that job all the way to the rendevous point.@

Before he could answer, ex-Captain Gales had another coughing spell and he leaned over to one side of his horse and regurgitated another mouthful of a dark substance.

AGet off your horse and rest a spell in the shade,@ Perkins suggested. He had already dismounted and taken hold of the halter of his friend=s horse. Mr. Gales dismounted and slowly regained his composure in front of Perkins and the other cowboys who were looking on.

Turning to them, Perkins said, AWhy don=t you-all go to the chuck wagon and get something to eat? Then you can spell off the hands from the other herd that just arrived.@

The cowboys turned their horses in the direction of the river and rode off. It wasn=t much more than a stream, but there were places where the water deepened and a rider and his horse had to swim across.

Clyde Perkins looked on as his old friend walked over to a small tree and sat on the ground, once in a while spitting a dark substance from his mouth. The trail boss took a bottle from his saddle bag and walked over to where his friend was sitting in the shade.

AIt=s been a long day. Have a drink on me,@ Perkins said, as he handed the bottle of whiskey to Gales.

AThanks, I need something to clear my throat of the damn, black stuff.@

AWhat has the doctor said about your illness?@ Perkins asked, Aor are you even seeing a doctor?@

AYes, I see Doctor Williams about once a month. But the old fool says the same thing every time and gives me the same old prescription,@ Gales answered. AHell, I don=t even know why I see him. Really, it=s just a matter of time for me, and some days, I feel so bad that I don=t even want to get up to see the new day.@

AYou better do what he says and take care of that cough, and that=s for sure,@ Perkins argued, as he took a swallow from the bottle of whiskey and handed the bottle to Bobby=s father.

AI think several swallows of a good whiskey and conversation with good company is a lot better remedy than that old, smelly medicine the Doc gives me,@ Gales replied.

AYou=re probably right. By the way, has Bobby got all his belongings that he needs on the trail? There=s not many mercantile stores to buy things between here and San Juan.@

AYes, I checked everything twice and he=s well supplied with clothes for the trip. His mother gave him a list of things to buy for her in San Juan before he heads back for home, would you see that he has bought everything on her list. You know how young cowboys are, forgetting things and all that.@

ASure, I=ll keep an eye on him for you. But you know how these young wranglers are. Once we get to San Juan and turn over the herd to the cattle buyers, they will have their minds set on other matters. Mainly trying to get hired by the cattle outfits that are trailing a herd north along the Great Western cattle trail to Dodge City, or even better, the Goodnight-Loving Trail to Colorado. Most of them won=t get hired, because now, as we know, there are too many older and experienced hands that are back from the war and have families to feed. But you can=t fault them for trying. Have you talked to your son about this?@

ANo, I haven=t. Bobby hasn=t said anything to me or to his mother as far as I know,@ Gales said. AI was hoping he would return home after the herd was delivered, but I have no idea what is going on in his mind.@

AWell, let=s hope he=s decided to return home. There are too many bad things that can happen to inexperienced cowboys out there,@ Perkins replied, as he took a deep swallow from the whiskey bottle and passed it to Bobby=s father.

Bobby Gales hated to leave home, but now was his chance to make some money for the family and to experience life away from home. He had talked about his leaving home with his mother, and although she hated to admit it, it was probably the best thing for Bobby and the family. Something had to be done. If he left the ranch for work elsewhere, there would be one less place at the dinner table and his two younger brothers were big enough now to help around the ranch and do the everyday chores. His mother sadly agreed. So tomorrow, Bobby was leaving home for the first time in the company of more experienced wranglers and was going to have to prove himself to the trail boss and the other wranglers that he was worth his pay. In the back of his mind, he was hoping to be hired and make the trip north with some bigger cattle outfit, as were most of the other wranglers herding the cattle to San Juan. They all knew their chances were small, but they were hoping and praying anyway.

Bobby and two other riders rode up to where Clyde Perkins and his father were sitting underneath a tree talking and drinking whiskey from a bottle. His huge, floppy leather sombrero was covering almost his whole face. AHowdy,@ a dust-covered Bobby said to them. AWe finally made it.@

AGood work. Go across the river and get something to eat,@ Perkins told them. AThis afternoon we draw straws for night duty, so get your rest while you can.@

AAll right, Mr. Perkins,@ Bobby replied, as he and two other wranglers rode their horses into the shallow water of the river.

AI think that Bobby will get along just fine,@ Clyde Perkins said.

AI hope so,@ Gales said, as he took another swig from the bottle.

In no time, Bobby was meeting the wranglers who would be on the cattle drive. He knew most of them, but there were several new cowboys in the group. Bobby was introduced to a slim, dark-haired cowboy from Illinois named Cliff Weller, who would be his counterpart bringing up the herd and eating dust all the way to San Juan. At first, Cliff was aloof to Bobby and explained, in no uncertain terms, that although he was from Illinois, he was an experienced cowboy. He said he had worked for several years on a ranch near Chicago, Illinois, and that he knew all about cattle. What he didn=t say was that he had worked on a dairy farm and he had been fired for arguing with the owner of the farm. He had headed west, and had taken on different jobs along the way, but because of his bad attitude and refusal to follow orders given to him, he had been discharged from them. This same pattern would continue, and in time, Cliff Weller and Clyde Perkins would have words for each other.

Later that afternoon, the trail boss explained and assigned the various duties to the wranglers. As usual, the more experienced cowboys were to ride point on the cattle drive and others were to ride along the flank of the herd to prevent the steers from straying off. While the less experienced hands were given the dusty task of riding Adrag@ at the rear of the herd of cattle. Clyde Perkins, the trail boss, explained that the cattle drive would begin the next morning at daybreak and assigned night watches. Bobby and Clyde were given the last two hours before dawn. The chuck wagon and remuda of horses were to leave at dawn, and the hands would eat breakfast after all the cattle were across the river and headed west for San Juan.

READ THE REST OF THIS EXCITING STORY

JUST CLICK BUY IT

USE YOUR CREDIT CARD

Only $4 US