Cowpokes and Desperadoes

by Gary Paulsen

  “Boys, this is Suzy. I should have included her when I was naming our hands. She’s a good one. Say howdy, girl.”

  The dog sat back and lifted one paw up and down as if she were waving.

  The front door burst open, and a Mexican-American woman came bustling out of the house.

  “Señor Culpepper, I am so glad you are back. The calls—they started again, almost as soon as you left.”

  “Now, calm down, Maria. You’re going to excite the boys. I want you to meet my great-nephew Dunc Culpepper and his friend Amos Binder.”

  “Hola, boys. We are so glad you have come. Juan and I have been watching for you. Please come in the house. I have prepared refreshments.”

  Uncle Woody looked around. “Where’s Juan?”

  Maria pointed toward the barn. “Feeding the horses.”

  “That’s supposed to be Billy Ray’s job.”

  “Billy Ray left earlier. He didn’t say where he was going or when he’d be back.”

  “Maria, take the boys in and show them to their room. I’ll go find Juan and be right back.”

  Dunc and Amos followed Maria inside and up a carved wooden staircase. Their room had a set of bunk beds with a wagon wheel on the end, a double dresser, and a small leather couch. On the walls were pictures of horses.

  Amos threw his suitcase on the top bunk and plopped onto the couch. “Isn’t this ranch fantastic? It’s just like I had it pictured! Maybe even better.”

  Dunc closed the door. “Amos, something strange is going on here. Haven’t you been listening?”

  “Yeah. I heard your uncle tell us it wasn’t important and that we shouldn’t worry about it.”

  “What about the phone calls and the cattle rustling?”

  Amos shrugged. “This is New Mexico. Those things happen. The sheriff is working on it. Lighten up. Let’s go downstairs and find those refreshments.”

  Dunc took a small pad of paper out of his bag and started making notes.

  “Only you,” Amos said, “would bring a notebook on a trip like this.”

  “I don’t want to forget anything when we start to work on the case.”

  “Case? There is no case. Why do you have to play private eye everywhere we go?”

  “Two men talk about my uncle being history, and then they disappear. Add that to cattle rustling and strange phone calls. I’d call that a case.”

  Amos stood up. “I’d call it time to eat. Are you coming?”

  Dunc made a couple of quick notes and put his notebook away. “Right behind you.”

  In the kitchen, Maria was setting the table with all kinds of goodies. Amos had trouble figuring out where to start. He’d just stuffed a jelly doughnut into his mouth when Uncle Woody stepped in.

  “Boys, I’d like you to meet Juan, my top hand.”

  A girl about their age, with short black hair and mischievous black eyes, stepped out from behind him.

  “Hi.”

  Amos coughed. He nearly choked. Dunc pounded him on the back.

  Uncle Woody laughed. “I call her Juan for short. Her given name is Juanita Carmen Avila Gonzalez. Juan seems easier.” He turned to Juan. “Why don’t you take the boys out and show them around before it gets dark, Juan-ita?”

  “Sure. You guys come with me,” she said. “I’ll show you where we keep the horses.”

  She led them to the barn in back of the house. There were two horses in the corral. One was white with dark spots on his rump, and the other was reddish brown.

  “These are the horses we’ve picked out for you to ride while you’re here. The sorrel is called Pete and the Appaloosa is Gomer.”

  Amos moved to the fence. He reached out and touched the sorrel.

  Juan climbed up on the fence. “You can ride them if you want. Not very far, of course—it’s almost dark. The tack is in the barn.”

  Amos looked at Dunc. “Tack? Why tacks? I thought you had to have a saddle and reins and stuff. Won’t tacks hurt the horse?”

  Juan smiled. “Maybe we’d better put off the riding until we have a chance to go over a couple of things.”

  •5

  Amos thought he must be dreaming. No one in real life would be clanging on an iron bell at five o’clock in the morning. He rolled over and shut his eyes.

  “Are you awake?” Dunc shook him.

  Amos closed his eyes tighter.

  Dunc shook him again. “Amos, didn’t you hear the bell? I think it’s time for breakfast.”

  “It’s okay, Dunc. I’m dreaming, and you’re a part of my dream. Go back to sleep.”

  “It’s not a dream. Maria has breakfast ready. You have to get up.”

  Amos opened one eye. “Are you sure it’s not a dream?”

  Dunc nodded.

  Amos slowly crawled down from the top bunk. “Why would they want to eat breakfast in the middle of the night?”

  “It’s early morning. Time to ride the range and do all that cowboy stuff, remember?”

  “I remember. I just don’t see what’s wrong with doing it in the daylight.”

  Amos stumbled down the stairs behind Dunc. He followed him into the kitchen where Maria had stacks of pancakes waiting. Juan and Woody had already finished eating and were outside doing the chores.

  Amos ate with one eye closed and his head propped up on Dunc’s shoulder.

  When they finished, Maria told them Juan was waiting for them out by the barn. They found her feeding the chickens. She let them help find the eggs, then showed them how to feed the horses and the milk cow.

  When the chores were finished, Juan decided it was time for a riding lesson.

  Amos was excited. He stepped up to Gomer and lifted his foot to the stirrup. The old horse moved. Not far, just a few inches. Amos stepped closer and lifted his foot again. The horse moved again. Every time Amos lifted his foot, Gomer moved.

  Amos stepped around and looked the horse in the eye. “You don’t by any chance know a dog named Scruff, do you?”

  Gomer looked at him with big innocent brown eyes.

  “No, I guess that’s too long a shot.”

  Amos moved back to the stirrup and lifted his foot. Gomer craned his neck around and took a nibble out of Amos’s shoulder.

  “Aha!” Amos jumped back. “So you do know him.”

  Juan held Gomer’s reins. “Now try it, Amos.”

  “You wimps having a hard time getting on your horsey? Maybe I could get you a ladder.” An older boy had been watching them from the barn. He was laughing and pointing.

  Juan put her hands on her hips. “Nice of you to show up, Billy Ray, now that all the chores are finished.”

  “You’re not my boss, little girl. So quit acting like you are.” The boy spat a wad of tobacco onto the ground and swaggered toward the house.

  “Who was that?” Dunc asked.

  Juan made a face. “That was a slimeball. His name is Billy Ray. He works here. Actually, he loafs here. The best way to handle him is to ignore everything he says or does.”

  “Why does my uncle put up with him?”

  “He doesn’t know how awful Billy Ray is. I haven’t told him because I know how short-handed we are.” Juan picked up the reins of Amos’s horse. “Okay, let’s try it again.”

  Amos climbed up on Gomer, and after a few lessons both boys were able to stop, go, and turn.

  “You guys are doing great.” Juan reached down and opened the gate. “Give your horses some rein and let them follow Molly, my mare. You’ll be fine.”

  “Where are we going?” Amos asked.

  “We’re going to ride some of the ranch trails. Maria packed us a lunch so we can take our time. And while we’re riding, we’ll also be looking for El Diablo, your uncle’s prize bull.”

  Amos stopped his horse. “Bull? As in big, with horns?”

  Juan nodded.

  Amos gulped. “I think I have something important to do in the house.”

  Dunc rode up beside him. “Come on, Amos. You wanted to be a real cowboy
. Now’s your chance.”

  •6

  The path narrowed, and the horses had to walk in single file. They were following a cattle trail up a canyon toward the mountains. Suzy, the collie, stayed ahead of the horses. She ran back every now and then and sat in the trail to make sure they were still coming.

  “This would be a great place to shoot a western,” Amos said. “I can just see the Indians swooping down from the rim of the canyon.”

  Juan turned in her saddle. “Actually, you’re not too far off. This is Ghost Canyon. Legend has it that a battle did take place not too far from here.”

  She pointed up the canyon. “They say a troop of cavalry soldiers carrying a shipment of gold ran into the Apaches and never made it out of this canyon. Some people think the soldiers’ ghosts roam around up here protecting the gold.”

  “Maybe that’s what those two guys on the plane are after,” Dunc said.

  Juan frowned. “What guys on what plane?”

  Dunc told her the story, except for the part about Amos and the lady with the high heel.

  “A lot of strange things have been happening around here,” Juan said. “Maria’s been getting these weird phone calls suggesting she should quit her job. Cattle are disappearing like flies. Banker Grimes has threatened to foreclose on the ranch. I’ve tried to talk to Woody about it, but he just tells me not to worry.”

  “That’s what he told us,” Amos said. “I think it’s probably good advice.”

  Dunc and Juan both looked back at Amos. He ducked his head. “Okay. I can tell when I’m outnumbered.”

  Juan pulled her mare off the trail. “This is a good spot for lunch. Tie your horses real tight, or they won’t be here when we get back.”

  Amos stepped off Gomer and, holding on to the reins, started for the nearest tree. But he couldn’t move his right foot. Gomer was standing on the toe of his boot. Amos pushed and threatened, but Gomer just stood there, flattening Amos’s toes and munching on grass without a care in the world.

  Juan and Dunc had already tied their horses, grabbed the lunch bag, and were on the way up the hill to examine a nearby cave.

  “Hey!” Amos yelled. “Somebody help me get this dumb animal off my foot! I’m starting to lose the feeling in my toes.”

  Juan turned around and cupped her hands. “He likes it if you talk nice to him.”

  “What?”

  “Talk nice to him, and he’ll move.”

  Amos glared at the horse. “You overweight mule, if my toes weren’t starting to separate from my foot, I’d—” He took a deep breath. “Okay … nice horse. Good horse. Now, move your big fat foot.”

  Gomer didn’t budge.

  “You have to talk really nice!” Juan yelled down.

  Amos turned red. He cleared his throat. “What a special, wonderful horse. I bet John Wayne’s horse wasn’t half as good-looking as you are. You could probably be on television, you’re such a good—”

  Gomer picked up his foot and went on munching.

  Amos limped over to a log and sat down. He pulled his boot off and massaged his aching toes. “Don’t try that again, marshmallow lips, or you and I are going to have serious trouble.”

  Gomer snorted and blew snot all over him.

  “Quit playing around down there, Amos!” Dunc yelled. “There’s a neat cave up here with camping stuff and a bunch of boxes stored in it.”

  Amos finally climbed the steep hill and rejoined them. He stepped inside the cave. “Thank you both so much for your deep concern. I could have lost my toes down there. And I had horse-snot blown all over me. And Melissa—what about her?”

  Dunc stared at him. “What does Melissa have to do with anything?”

  “If my toes had been permanently damaged, I wouldn’t be able to dance with her.”

  “Amos, you’ve never danced with Melissa. She won’t even talk to you. Or look at you. Or—”

  “I’m confused,” Juan interrupted. “Who’s Melissa?”

  “It’s a long story,” Dunc said. “I’ll tell you about it some other time. Let’s check out the crates under that tarp.”

  Amos lifted the corner of a dusty white tarp. “Look—there’s something written on the sides of these boxes. I can’t quite make it out.”

  Juan wiped the dust off. “It says ‘Cookson Mining Company.’ I’m going to open one. You guys help me find something I can use to pry the top off.”

  Amos stepped outside. He covered his eyes to protect them from the bright sunlight.

  Suzy started barking furiously. She raced down the hill to the spot where they had tied their horses.

  Amos focused. He looked down at the bottom of the canyon.

  The horses were gone.

  •7

  “It was the ghosts.” Amos followed Dunc and Juan to the bottom of the canyon. “They probably let our horses loose so we’d be stuck up here and have to help them watch their gold—forever.”

  Dunc picked up a red bandanna. “Ghosts don’t wear these.”

  “And they don’t leave boot tracks either.” Juan knelt down and traced a track in the dirt. “Somebody, a real person, deliberately let our horses go.”

  Dunc scratched his head. “Why would anybody want to do that to us?”

  Juan stood up. “I don’t know for sure. But I’d be willing to bet it has something to do with those boxes up there in the cave.”

  “Well, I’m definitely not spending the night in this canyon with a bunch of ghosts.” Amos started walking down the trail.

  Juan grabbed his arm. “Hold on. You don’t have to walk.”

  She put two fingers in her mouth and blew. A shrill whistle filled the air. In a few seconds they heard a whinny, and Molly came trotting up with Gomer and Pete close behind.

  Juan rubbed Molly’s forehead. “Isn’t she special? I trained her from a foal. She knows to come if she hears me whistle, and usually the others follow.”

  “I’m glad,” Dunc said. “I wasn’t looking forward to walking back to the ranch. Before we start back, do you think we have enough time to check out those boxes?”

  Juan grinned. “I was about to suggest it.”

  Dunc picked up a rock. “Let’s open some boxes.”

  Amos looked around anxiously. “Did it ever occur to you two that whoever let our horses go could still be hiding around here somewhere?”

  He was talking to air. Juan and Dunc had already scrambled up the hill.

  Suzy stood by Amos and wagged her tail. He reached down and patted her head. “No one ever listens to me, Suzy. All I’m trying to say is—”

  Suzy barked at him, then turned and ran up to the cave.

  Amos held back a few minutes, shrugged, and followed her.

  Dunc already had the lid off one box. “Mining equipment. Somebody’s planning on doing some mining up here.”

  “Either that, or somebody thinks they know where some chests of gold are buried, and they’re planning to dig them up,” Juan said.

  Amos shivered. “The ghost gold.”

  “That’s my guess.” Juan sat down. She took some sandwiches out of the lunch bag. “We’d better eat some of this food my grandmother packed, or she’ll be upset.”

  Dunc took a sandwich. “We need to find out who this mining stuff belongs to. Whoever it is might be able to explain some of what’s been going on around here.”

  Suzy started barking again.

  A dark figure appeared in the mouth of the cave. The sunlight shone through his long hair and beard.

  Amos moved closer to Dunc. “Tell me it’s not a ghost. No—if it’s a ghost, don’t tell me until it’s all over.”

  “I know who these things belong to.” A bushy little man stepped forward out of the sun. “My name is Charlie Cookson. I work for the owner of these supplies—Woody Culpepper.”

  •8

  Charlie Cookson explained that he was a mining engineer. He showed them a letter signed by Woody Culpepper authorizing him to take ore samples from the ranch for testing
.

  “It looks promising,” Charlie said. “I’ve already sent off several samples. If they pan out, your uncle could be a very rich man.”

  Amos whistled. “Hey, that’d be great, Dunc! If my parents move away, maybe Uncle Woody will adopt me. Maybe buy me a new sports car so I could impress Melissa.”

  Dunc frowned. “Mr. Cookson, does anybody else know what you’re doing up here?”

  “My company, of course, and the young man that works for your uncle. I think his name is Billy Ray. Why do you ask?”

  “Some strange things have been happening around the ranch. If someone else was aware of what you were doing up here, it could answer a lot of questions.”

  “I hate to break this up,” Juan said, “but if we don’t start back now, well be riding in the dark.”

  Dunc stuck out his hand. “It’s been nice talking with you, Mr. Cookson. If I’m ever up this way again, maybe we can visit some more.”

  “Anytime, young man. Oh, and tell your uncle I’m looking forward to meeting him in person.”

  They quietly rode out of the canyon until they reached the ranch road.

  Amos broke the silence. “I don’t get it. Why would your uncle Woody have mining equipment hidden in a cave and not tell anyone about it? He sure is going to a lot of trouble to keep everybody from finding out what he’s doing.”

  Dunc frowned. “I don’t get it either. Nothing makes sense. Charlie Cookson seemed like a nice guy. I don’t think he was lying. But how does he tie in with everything else that’s been going on? Uncle Woody wouldn’t steal his own cows or make threatening calls to Maria.”

  “Woody obviously doesn’t want us to know what’s going on. Maybe he doesn’t think he can trust any of us,” Juan said.

  Dunc shook his head. “I think there’s more to all of this than we know.”

  It was almost dark when they rode up to the ranch house. They brushed and fed their horses and started for the house.

  Amos had a hard time making his feet move. The ground seemed to sway under him. His legs bowed out, and his rear end was sore. Dunc thought about teasing him until he noticed that his own steps weren’t very steady either.