Kelly and his foreman were placing salt lick blocks in several areas for the cattle. As they drove through his pastureland, looking for good places to put the blocks, Kelly shook his head and said, “You know what? The cattle love these blocks just as much as a kid with a lollipop.”
Tony laughed as he pointed to a grassy spot. “Let’s put a couple over here. It’s not too far from the pond so they can have a drink afterwards.”
Kelly nodded as he pulled the truck to a stop. They both slid out and walked to the back of the truck bed. Each took a block and placed it on the ground.
Kelly took a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped his brow as he looked at his beloved land. This pasture, his home, and his fruit orchard were part of his inheritance, given to him by his father. It had been in the family for generations. How he loved this precious land! It was part of his heritage.
Mesa was hot in the summer but perfect for the rest of the seasons. Before him was Superstition Mountain, standing at four thousand feet high. What a magnificent mountain, with legends that were unbelievable! The sacred gold, the Lost Dutchman Mine, and the great Thunder God! How about the mysterious deaths of those seeking for the gold on this treacherous mountain? Could they be true?
As he stared off in the distance, he creased his brow when he saw the pond and no cattle stirring around. Something didn’t feel right to him. He noticed a few cattle sleeping but it seemed much too quiet. A deep foreboding crept over him.
“Come on, Tony,” he said as he motioned to his foreman. “Let’s check the pond. Something isn’t quite right.”
They both strode down the slope following the small stream of water that emptied into the pond. As they approached, the cattle didn’t stir. That wasn’t normal. It worried him, so he took off at a dead run. When Kelly arrived at the pond, he knelt beside his cattle and inspected them. About a half dozen were dead. But from what? In fact, no other cattle were even milling around. He squinted his eyes against the morning sun but couldn’t see them.
“What’s wrong?” asked Tony as he jogged toward him.
Kelly turned and asked soberly, “Where’s the herd?”
“I put them in the other pasture.”
“When did you do it?”
“Last night. Why are you asking?”
“Well, these must have been left behind. They’re dead. And at the looks of it, it happened sometime last night or early this morning.”
“What?” exclaimed Tony with stunned surprise. “I don’t understand. I didn’t see any sick ones yesterday.”
“How about the rest of the herd? Did you check them this morning?”
“Of course! They’re just fine.”
Kelly frowned as he walked toward the pond and inspected it. When he saw a dead rat floating in the water, he shook his head. “I’m not sure but I think this water is bad.”
“But it can’t be. A fresh stream pours into it daily.”
“What else could it be?” asked Kelly as he pointed to the vermin.
Tony’s brow creased with concern as he knelt beside the pond, checking it thoroughly. When he saw a few granules around the edge of the pond, he picked them up. They hadn’t dissolved because they were too far from the pond. He sniffed them but couldn’t place where he had smelled it before.
“What did you find?” asked Kelly.
Tony handed the granules to his boss. Kelly inspected the particles and then his eyes widened in disbelief. “This water has been poisoned.”
“Poisoned?” said Tony with doubt. “Are you sure?”
Kelly nodded. “I just bought a bunch of rat poison a couple weeks ago. I remember sprinkling it around the house so the rats wouldn’t come inside. You know how I feel about vermin in the house.”
Tony was shocked at Kelly’s announcement. What on earth was going on? So many mysterious things were happening. Why?
“We’ve got to drain the pond and clean it thoroughly before we can let the cattle in again,” said Kelly as he rose to his feet. “We’ve got to bury the cattle, too. Designate some of the ranch hands to do it and we’ll work on the pond.”
“Okay,” said Tony as he kicked a stone out of the way. He was feeling frustrated by all the mysterious things that were happening. “Do you have any idea what’s going on here?”
Kelly shook his head. “I’m just as puzzled as you are. How about the fence surrounding the pasture? Who cut it down last week? And where are my wire cutters? Whoever did it knew exactly what they were doing because the gap was wide enough for the cattle to escape. It took us all day to round them up.”
“What does your family think about it?”
Kelly pursed his lips in thought and then said, “I haven’t told them any specifics yet. I was so upset that I knew I couldn’t mention it in a proper frame of mind. Besides, Dad would be down here in no time. What could he do?”
Tony nodded. “I understand.”
Kelly had a look of gloom on his face as he said, “I think I’ll call Julia, though. I should let her know what’s happening.”
“Talking about your sister, when are your nieces arriving?”
“Today.” Kelly’s mood began to change at the mention of his nieces. “They’re such sweet girls.”
He smiled as he remembered their phone call, telling him that they were hopping on the bus and were coming to help out on the ranch. They must have sensed his need to have family around during this stressful time. He tried to tell them that he was okay but they were stubborn girls, insisting they wanted to help out. When he really thought about it, he was quite anxious to see them.
He turned to Tony and smiled. “You’ll like them. They’re real characters.”
“Characters?”
Kelly chuckled. “Yup! When they put their heads together, they can be quite mischievous.”
“What do you mean?”
Kelly laughed. “Well, this one time the three girls and I were traveling together, seeing the sights. We stopped for a break to get treats and gas. I was tired and wasn’t thinking clearly. So when I glanced up and saw the word ‘men’ above the restroom door, I just walked right in without any hesitation. The fact was…” He snickered. “This ornamental shrub was hiding the beginning of the word. I didn’t see the first two letters.”
Tony burst into laughter. “You mean to say you walked into the women’s room?”
Kelly nodded. “No one was there so I didn’t think anything of it, but I felt something wasn’t right when I couldn’t find the urinals. There were only stalls. When I turned around and saw a woman walking into the restroom, the first thing I thought was… ‘What the heck! I’ve gone into the wrong one.’ But before I could say anything, that poor woman turned several shades of red and gasped. She quickly turned around and headed out the door. I’ve never seen a person move that fast before.”
Tony chuckled, just imagining the whole situation.
“Well…” said Kelly. “I had really embarrassed that poor woman. So I quickly left before any more showed up. I strode out of there and turned into the men’s room. And low and behold, that same woman was standing there staring at the men at the urinals. She was as red as a beet. After getting over the initial shock, she quickly turned and ran from the room, almost ramming into me as she passed.”
Tony couldn’t stand it another minute. He burst into laughter as he slapped his thigh. Kelly chuckled. Between spurts of laughter, he finished his story.
“That poor woman thought she had gone into the wrong room the first time and quickly dodged into the men’s. The shocked look on her face was a thing to remember, I tell you. And when she saw me…man alive!”
After a few seconds of uncontrollable laughter, Tony finally settled down and asked, “So what has that got to do with the girls?”
“Okay! Imagine all the cars lined up at the gas pumps.”
Tony nodded. “Okay.”
“Well, I guess that bathroom experience really flustered me good. When I headed for the car, I didn’t notice it wasn’t ours. It was the same color and make so I didn’t think anything about it as I tried opening up the back door.”
“Back door?”
“Yeah. The girls were driving at the time. I couldn’t figure out why it was locked. When I looked inside, someone was sitting in the driver’s seat but it wasn’t one of my nieces. It was a stranger.” He grinned. “Well, not a complete stranger. I had seen her before.”
“Oh, no!” said Tony. “It wasn’t the same woman, was it?”
“How did you know?” asked Kelly with a chuckle.
Tony burst into laughter once again.
Kelly shook his head. “I bet I really spooked that poor woman good because she put her foot on the pedal and took off, making her tires squeal as she went. Well, the girls were standing by the car watching me with a puzzled look on their faces. When I told them what had happened, they never let me live it down. After that, each stop we made, they teased me mercilessly by pretending they were going to get into another person’s car. Then they’d turn and look at me with a mischievous look and say, ‘Oops, is this my car?’ It wasn’t just once, but they did it at every stop we made. They even tormented me about the women’s room, too, asking if I needed some help finding the men’s room.”
Tony smiled broadly. “I need to meet these young ladies. They’re my kind of people.”
Kelly grinned. “You’ll love ‘em. I sure do!”