Chapter 12

They spent all morning and the first part of the afternoon rousting little bunches of cattle out of pockets of brush, arroyos, and somewhat sheltered spots. The bovines were not eager to leave the meager protection and head out, even away from the wind. Two of the ranch dogs were with them and did a lot to keep the growing herd collected and moving in the right direction. Around mid-afternoon, Sombra gave up the search and concentrated on driving in the group they had gathered.

Then a strange sound, borne on the wind, attracted his attention. He halted, Chaz beside him. “That was a scared or hurt cow, sounded like down in Cougar Canyon. Reckon I’ll ride over that way and see what’s wrong. Too early to be calving, but maybe a dumb cow fell into a gap in the rocks or something. Some bad malapaiover there.”