Coulee City dispatch. [volume] (Coulee City, Wash.) 19??-19??, 1942-06-25
CHAPTER iii

Clay Morgan ate breakfast by
lamplight and was in the saddle be-
fore day crossed the eastern hills.
Harry Jump and Cap Vermilye were
at roundup in the Haycreek Hills,
leaving only Nose, too old for such
riding, and the Mexican cook, Pan.
cho, on the ranch. Morgan said tc
Nose: "I'n probably be back after
dark. Put some new crosspieces or
the front gate-it's coming apart,
and set forth southwark across his
range. At this elevation the night
air was sharp enough to bite through
his vest and cotton shirt. The big
bay horse shot away on run. Nor
gan let him have his run.
Mogul's rim lay two miles north,
behind him. The ranch house and
its corrals and barns sat at the foot
of the rising Mogul Hills, which
ran straight south; along the base Of
these hills, following the ruts Of a
casual road, Clay Morgan took his
way. To his left, half mile, an.
other string of hills lifted up, sc
creating the long and narrow valley
he followed. This was his range,
emerging slowly from the ink-gray
twilight. When first sunlight burst
across the eastern peaks Morgan
was six miles down the valley and
at the end of his own. range. A
small ridge lay in front of him; al
the summit he refined in to have his
look at the round bowl of Govern.
ment Valley.
Ducking in and out of the small
ravinesi of the land he came upon
cattle and young stuff occasionally
grazing, herding these before him
and throwing them back toward the
roundup crew. Three men were
working this section-Charley Hill.
house and two other Three Pines
hands. He drove his small collec.
ton of beef into the held bunch and
started on another circle, Hillhouse
accompanying him. Around ter
o'clock, having dragged the north
end of the range, all of them start.
ed the held bunch back for the main
roundup.
The sun was copper-red flare in
the middle sky and the dust began
to thicken behind the herd. Morgan
dropped back to the drag, throwing
his neckpiece over his nose. Charley
Hillhouse motioned one of the other
men to take his place and joined
Morgan and made his first speech in
two hours.
II been thinkin' over last night,
Clay. Hard to figure"
''Let it slide, Charley"
Charley Hillhouse retorted, 'I,
won't slide,' and stared before him.
He was compact, capable man,
not given to much talk; the type to
worry lot of things around in his
head, to reach his own answers and
hold his own conclusions.
Herendeen and hism cleared the
Haycreek Hills of the last straggling
stock; Gurd Grant cleaned up the
edge of the Potholes and came in.
Running w had secured Fanolango
Pass, and at twilight this day the
job was done, the brands segregat-
ed and held in separate herds. Aft
er supper Morgan started Harry
Jump back to the Mogul range with
the Long Seven beef, and the Crow
foot and Running w cuts went away,
numbering shadows in the moon
light, the scrape of feet and the
click of those long horns and the
plaintive "Baw" of the last calf rid
ing back through the night-still air.
Dust and heat were gone and the
campfire's fame, so still was this
air, tapered upward to blue-yellow,
almost stationary point. Charley
Hillhouse, who was wagon boss,
said: "We'll move over and work
the Antelope Plains tomorrow"
The cook swore around the shad-
ows, Harvesting his team. After
wards the mess wagon went bump
ing away on it's four hour ride, to
be ready on the Antelope Plains by
daybreak.. Lying on his blanket,
head athwart the seat of his saddle,
clay uHOl gan lStCIlSo W CIlG QTy
grooming of the wagon wheels fade
into this enormous night. He rolled
a cigarette and savored it's keen
smell. Stars crowded the sky; they
washed that limitless sweep of
black with a Granddaughter, all
down to the black horizons edge,
until they seemed to fall below the
rim of fiat world. Here and there
in the pine SUBMITS coyotes began
to bark up their mourning plant.
Hillhouse and Clay Morgan and Lige
White sat by the fire, their cheeks
sharply, taciturnly graved by light
and shadows; and men lay blan-
keted in the background, weary and
relaxed and Graded by their inward
thinking. Herendeen walked forward
from the shadows to stand high
above this sprawled group. He
tossed a sage stem into the fire and