The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1941-02-26
memory OF THE moon
BY Jesnns Bowman -.

though the heat must be com
Ipressed into given hours.
With the absence of Pedro, tn
; ranch personnel grew restless
Petersen had no control over tn,
old hands. Peter Taylor confessed
} he'd relaxed the reins to Pedro si1
years before $3.50" because they't
work for him BETTER" and he coule
do little.
i The new men grew sullen under
| the open contempt of the old ones
| And 1rie night there was Draw
and Pedersen's best dairyman wa!
rushed to Beachport, stabbed ir
the back. The other men left ir
fear of their lives.
Itinerant help, called in came
warily, demanding top pay, for f.
Cabrillo Rancho was gathering ar
unsavory reputation.
| And as though the unrest were
a poison gas, the milk total dropped
gradually. Cows were isolated and
studied, because it seemed some
thing more than a change of GUS
todians was responsible for the de-
crease.
Mrs. Petersen met Constance
one day as she brought a fresh
crew from Beachport. "It's what
| tried to explain to you in San
Francisco" the sandy-haired wo-
man said. 'It sounds foolish, but
harmony. is contagious and SO is
lack of harmony, and even the
stupid bovine has that seventh
sense like an antenra that picks
things out of the air"
Constance spent more and more
time with Peter Taylor, trying to
make up in measure for the alb
sence OF his son.
Sometimes it seemed to her that
the only pleasant parts of the sum-
mer were the spasmodic absences
of the family and John. John was
joining them in their visits to
neighboring ranches; 20 the south.
and TO Lake Tahoe.
There's nothing | can do around
here, Chita," he explained the first
time, "and | can't just follow you
around. It isn't normal"
Constance couldn I suggest that
he return east.
Three years of shadowing
would be too much to expect Of
anyone" she conceded.
"If more than one is necessary"
John quickly countered.
Treachery
CHE knew what he meant. That
- summer had been costly. She
didn't see how she could pull
through another year like this. She
could only hope the family would
demand a change Oh scenery and
perhaps, If they left. some sort of
discipline could be enforced, and
next years crops might be saved:
Petersen was speaking of winter
crop ). if he could find the nee
essary man-power.
The family was home when the
final blow struck. They'd been
home week, restless, irritable.
even John was out of sorts.
81 have to get away from them"
Constance thought, but delayed
going until she had completed her
Office work.
When she went out to saddle
Pancho, the horse was gone, and
the stable boy, one of a few who
had remained loyal to Constance.
was near tears.
"Senor Don," ne explained, ''he
would take him. He saddled him.
I didn't, sehorita." And he crossed
himself to prove his honesty. 81
didn't"
Constance felt 100 tired to be
angry. She found a cool spot in
the willows, settled IN a crotch of
high branches and tried to reason.
Reason was difficult. It wouldn't
surmount the lonely ache in her
heart. Like Peter Taylor, she found
life without Pedro sequence of
days without motive.
She heard a car drive In and,
peering through the leaves, saw
the insignia on the door with only
a faint shock. The county health
officers inspected the ranch at
regular intervals.
Scarrying down she met them.
They were nice men, friendly, in
terested, and of late concerned
over her venture.
well start with the upper pas
ture and work down." suggested
Doctor Wing.
Constance sat on a fence rail as
they went through the procedure.
The sun was less warm today. this
first IF September. In another
month the leaves would be turning
on the mountain tops: then snow.
She looked down on the pas
lures, and suddenly she stiffened
and locked back at Doctor Wing
and his assistants. There was a
COW IN the herd below which
didn't belong there, didn't belong
on Ell Cabrillo. She knew. She
knew the markings of every single
one af them.
"All right, Miss Cahrillo. shall
we go on? Your Guernseys are
down little in weight, but they'll
probably pick up with the cool
weather.
Doctor Wing" Constance didn'i
know why she was troubled
there's a cow in this next pasture
which doesn't belong there. She
doesn't belong to me at all. Viii
you test her first"