Chapter 48 Hurt and Stranded
The filly he'd been riding was nowhere in sight. That was a good sign that she was probably okay, but it wasn’t such good luck for him. He could use a ride home, or at the very least, his ropes and some of the other items in his saddle bags would be pretty helpful for making his splint more secure. He removed his shirt and used it as a sling for his arm.
The pounding in his head was the result of a rather substantial lump on the back of his head. He would fight his way to the grove of aspen off to his left, about 50 yards away. He could get some medicine from one of the small saplings to help with his pain. He was able to reach a thick branch about the size of his arm with his left hand. It was a little bit short for a crutch, but it would at least help him to get off the ground, and he could use it for support until he could find one that was better. He took it in his left hand, crossed his right leg underneath himself, and pulled himself up off the ground slowly. He teetered a moment, trying to maintain his balance with the cane and his right foot, which was on the downhill side of the slope. The pain nearly overtook him as he attempted the first hopping step forward. This wasn’t going to be easy, but his will to survive was strong, and he was not the type to go down without one hell of a fight.
“It ain’t like Evan to be late,” Bob Fraser told the riding crew. “Some of us had better go see if he’s alright. You boys go ahead and start scattering out and gathering cattle. I’ll take Casey and head over to his homestead. Try not to get them too bunched up, ‘cause that trail gets pretty narrow where it starts up over the ridge. About three of you need to follow us over into Beaver Creek and ride it, though Evan has most of it cleaned out. There may be a few scattered in the brush up in the head. Kick what you find over the hill into Brush Creek and then trail them on down. One of you will need to head all the way down Beaver. He’ll probably be along in a minute, but we should go take a look.”
The cowboys split up as they were directed, and Bob started off with four riders following along behind him. The others started up Brush Creek to begin gathering the cattle that were scattered on the slopes and in the numerous coulees that emptied the contents of their springs into Brush Creek. It was early morning, and the sun had only recently broken the Eastern horizon. In many places, the long shadows of the tall ridges were still present.
The group of cowboys that rode out with Bob split up when they reached the ford in Beaver Creek. Bob did not need to give them further instructions, and he and Casey continued on the road that led to Evan’s homestead. When they were within a couple of miles of the homestead, they saw the tracks of Evan’s horse. “Well, he came along here last night,” Casey commented when he saw the tracks.
“Probably came off the ridge trail on his way back from Elk Creek,” Bob added. “He said that he was going to try to get some of the stuff that was close to the trail kicked over the hill. I’m pretty damned worried that he didn’t make it this morning. A guy up here alone wouldn’t do well if he happened to have to fight a horse in the morning and ended up breaking his back.”
“He would be riding something young this morning, too,” Casey put it. He knew that Evan would choose to ride one of his young horses since he had plenty of other riders to help with the work. He could give a young horse a lot of experience trailing behind a herd of cattle without putting too much pressure on it.
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Bob declared.
“He probably just got a late start, is all,” Casey replied. He refused to believe that something bad had happened to Evan.
Bob didn’t want to believe that anything bad had happened to Evan either, but all of the signs were there, and he had an uncomfortable stirring in his gut. He had known Evan since Evan was a baby. He knew Evan’s skill and knew that he wasn’t the reckless type, but he also knew that strange things can happen when a person is working with horses, especially young horses that were being trained.
They rode up the lane into the ranch yard and discovered Evan’s saddled horse standing in the ranch yard. The filly was trailing broken reins and had some pretty bad cuts and scrapes on her chest and legs. “That ain't a promising sign,” Bob suggested. “You look that filly over and I’ll see if Evan is around here somewhere.” He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. He hoped Evan was around the ranch, but he was afraid that he was probably somewhere back in the hills afoot or worse yet... He dismissed the worst thoughts from his mind. “Evan?” he called out.
He rode to the house, dismounted, and went up to the door. He hoped that he’d find Evan in the house. If he were injured and made it home to the house, it would certainly be better than having him lying out there in the hills somewhere. He turned the knob tentatively and pushed the door open. “Evan?” he called again. The house was deadly still and quiet.
He realized that he was overlooking a sign that would have told him immediately of Evan’s whereabouts. Sam and Lucy weren’t there to rush out and greet him. They were with him wherever he was. He was certain of that. They would never leave his side. He went through the house, though he already knew that he would find it empty. When he was satisfied that Evan was not there, he went back out, closing the door softly behind him. He looked toward the tall ridge to the south as he considered where Evan had probably been. He took the reins of his horse and started back to the barn.
Casey was tending to the filly. He had unsaddled her and was in the process of doctoring her wounds. “She’s taken one hell of a spill, Bob,” he said. “I’m ain’t feeling very good about this. If he took a spill on the Ridge Trail...” His words trailed off. He didn’t have to tell Bob what he was thinking. He worked on the filly’s wounds and then turned her loose in one of the empty runs at the end of the barn. She was going to need some attention over the next several days, and Evan would want her close.