Chapter 1
Ka-wop-wop-wop. The car whipped to the left and began to fishtail, startling its occupants. Although more than a mile away, Fleytius reached the vehicle in an instant, placing a steadying hand on its side.
The acrid smell of burnt rubber filled the air as everyone piled out of the car. Moondog yawned and walked over to Fleytius. The angel responded by gently scratching the big dog’s ears, tiny blue sparks crackling from his fingertips. Moon quivered at the tingle, then watched as Joseph and his father dug around in the back of the vehicle. He ambled over to Joseph’s mother as she stretched her legs near a cornfield.
Fleytius turned away from Joseph and his father as they jacked up the car, standing with arms folded as he faced the approaching pickup truck. He glared at the two dark figures riding on top of the cab, the golden handle of his sword shining above its sheath. His sensitive hearing picked up the conversation in the truck.
“Whoa, what have we here?” said Kyle. He grinned as he braked and looked over the steering wheel. “Looks like some folks who could use our help. Maybe they need to lighten their load a little.”
“Yeah,” said Merrill. “Maybe they’ve got some money they’d like to give us, seein’ as they’re out here all alone.”
“Oh no, not one of them,” hissed the vile creature sitting on Kyle’s back.
“I see him,” scowled the one with its talons wrapped deep in Merrill’s head. “I see him. But I bet you could take him,” chided the angel of darkness.
“He’s stronger than a cursed giant,” gurgled the first. “He’d cut us to pieces before we could move. Look at him standing there. He doesn’t even have his hand on his sword. He’s just waiting for us to make a move.”
As Moon searched the tall grass for a treasure to bring Joseph, he heard the approaching truck. The silhouettes of the dark angels appeared massive against the evening sky. He fearlessly raced over and placed himself between the creatures and Joseph. Moon stood next to Fleytius with his hackles up and a low growl rumbling from within. Joseph and his father turned around at the sound.
“I don’t like the looks of this,” said Kyle. “Something don’t feel right.”
“What do you mean?” snapped Merrill. “That dog ain’t nothin’ this tire-iron can’t take care of. We get their money and go. There ain’t no one else on this road for miles.”
“You’re nothing but a coward,” scowled the creature clinging to Merrill. “We could take him if you went around one way and got his attention while I…”
“You’re a fool!” screamed the other creature. “I’m gone!”
“I don’t like it one bit,” came Kyle’s terse response. He hit the gas, squealing the tires and swerving around Joseph and his father. “Something ain’t right and I’m outta here.”
“What’s the matter with you?” Merrill boomed. “We could have taken them all and that stupid dog too. Easy money, man. Easy money, and you just take off around ‘em.”
“If you don’t like the way I drive, you can get out right here, dude,” Kyle shot back.
~
Joseph’s mother caught up with her family as the truck sped past. “What do you think that was all about?” They looked at Moon, who followed the truck with his gaze, hackles up the entire length of his back.
“I have no idea, but let’s get this tire fixed and be on our way,” replied Joseph’s father.
“I couldn’t see inside because of the reflection, but I got the license number,” stated Joseph. “Doubt we’ll ever need it, but I’ll remember.”
Chapter 2
On the fourth day of their journey, Joseph and family neared his uncle’s ranch. At last they saw the soft orange glow of lights from the house at the end of the dirt road. Joseph grinned as his uncle Gary emerged, the porch light casting a long shadow in front of him. Joseph’s mother had called him a string-bean of a man, with a keen sense of the wilderness and untiring work ethic.
Everyone exchanged greetings as Moon lifted his snoot and took in great quantities of the chilly air. Meanwhile Joseph stole a glance at the silhouette of the mountains against the star-filled sky.
After they unloaded the car and recapped the uneventful trip, Gary’s wife Becky ladled up some hot stew for her tired guests. “This is the third year of low snowpack,” Gary explained. “Last year we got about sixty percent, this winter was less. If we get a dry summer, we’re gonna be in real trouble.”
“Are you running out of water?” asked Joseph’s father.
“We’re getting low, that’s for sure. I’ve been running the tanker out to some of the back pastures. Never had to do that this early. Our creek’s running strong, but it’s still as low as I can remember for this time of year. We typically get some rain this month, then the next couple are dry. A lot will depend on what happens the next few weeks.”
Joseph looked at Moon lying at his feet. The golden dog studied his surroundings and scented the air. Although early summer, the chilly night warranted a small fire in the fireplace. Moon watched the flicker of yellow flames dance on the ceiling and walls, his eyelids growing heavy. He rested his head on Joseph’s feet and began to doze off.
“We think we’ve got enough water for a while, anyway,” continued Becky. “Water may not be the biggest problem right now, at least not for us. But even if we don’t get some rain this month, we’ll probably still get the storms next month anyway.”
“I don’t understand,” Joseph’s mother looked at Becky. “What’s wrong if you get storms, won’t they bring the rain you need?”
“They can, and if we’re lucky, they do,” stated Gary. “But more times than not, they just bring lots of dry lightning. Last year there weren’t enough fire crews to go around. We almost…” Gary paused and looked into the dark night. “We almost lost this place last year. It was spooky, and I’m not ashamed to say we were both scared. But the wind changed, and the thing pretty much blew itself out. A couple of ridges over got cooked, but it never made it this far. By the looks of things, this year is shaping up to be even worse.”
Gary looked at his guests. “But that shouldn’t be a problem while you’re here. We’ve had enough snow to keep things green, at least around here. Tomorrow we’ll show you some fine country.”
Joseph drank in the words, but four days in the car began taking its toll. A few moments after he made it to his bed upstairs, he fell fast asleep. Moondog curled up on the floor nearby and followed suit.
Chapter 3
The three-quarter moon shone into the valley where Gary sat on his porch. He made sure his breath in the cold air was concealed by the shade of the roof. At 1:00 a.m. the cougar appeared. Silent like a shadow, the big cat crept up the path separating Gary’s home from an open barn which held a mare and colt.
Most ranchers around him would have shot the cat long ago. But Gary was not like most ranchers. Although he would not tolerate a big cat, bear, wolves, or anything preying on his livestock, Gary tried to live with them as best he could. He’d been called crazy, and a few other things, for not joining the local “predator roundups.” But what seemed to escape folks was that Gary suffered far less loss of livestock than they.
Gary put the cross-hairs of his night scope on the big male cougar as it slunk along the path. If the cat entered the barn, it could have the colt down in seconds. The last thing Gary wanted was the sound of a rifle shot scaring the wits out of his guests their very first night. It had taken Gary a lot of talking to get his brother to leave his farm for a visit. Plus he’d heard his remarkable stories of young Joseph’s tracking skills. He wanted to see firsthand how Joseph would do around the ranch. Gary was sure his brother had exaggerated the abilities of Joseph and his Moondog, but it would be amusing to test them.
The mare shifted in the shadows. The cougar crouched and froze, staring into the barn. Gary rested his finger on the trigger. If the cat broke for the barn, he could not hesitate. Gary gave a short whistle. The big cat whipped his head around and stared into the shadow of the porch. “I could have had you tonight,” Gary whispered, “but I’m letting you go. Don’t forget.”
The cougar curled his lips, but no sound came. In an instant he darted into the black timber.
Chapter 4
Joseph dressed as the last stars began to fade, the sky growing pale outside his window. Moondog rose and stretched, his head low over his front feet, the plume of his golden tail swirling as he looked up at Joseph.
Picking up his jacket, Joseph tiptoed down the stairs and onto the porch as Moon padded next to him. From there they watched their first sunrise over the Rocky Mountains. Frost sparkled on the hand railing, and clouds turned from crimson to pale yellow over the valley. As birdsong began to fill the air, Joseph couldn’t stand it anymore. He stuck his head inside and spotted his uncle getting coffee.
“Morning, Uncle Gary. Would it be alright if Moon and I walked around a bit? We’ll be back before everyone wakes up, and it looks like a perfect morning.”
Gary jumped at the sound of Joseph’s voice. “How long have you two been out there? I never heard you go out.”
“Came out here just before daylight. We had to see our first sunrise from outside. Moon’s already picked up a lot of scents, and I’m hoping we can do a little exploring before everyone gets up.”
“Ah, tell you what; just stick around where I can keep an eye on you, okay? Don’t go into the timber until I come out. You’ll have plenty of time to hike later on today.”
Joseph hid his disappointment. “Okay, Uncle Gary. We’ll stay close by.” Joseph spun out the door before his uncle could respond. They jumped off the porch as Moon picked up a scent and stuck his nose to the ground. He pulled in a big breath of air. Then he puffed out his yellow cheeks so that he could refill his lungs with more scent.
“Hafoof.”
“Jeepers, Moon. Not ten seconds out and you’ve already found something!” Joseph knelt and examined the ground. The soil under the grass was compacted, so it took a little time to figure things out. He glanced up and down the lane, determining the most likely place where the cougar might have first entered the valley. Then he and Moon walked next to the path so as not to disturb any other tracks.
Joseph found where the cougar’s right front paw turned as it changed direction on the path. They backtracked further and found where the cougar hesitated and kneaded the ground with its front paws. Studying the open area before stepping out of the timber, thought Joseph.
Moon scented the ground where the cat had turned up the soil. Then he looked up at Joseph.
“Good dog, Moon.” Joseph sang out. “This is great. You found us a big prize already, and we haven’t been out of the house five minutes!”
Moon beamed at the praise, reared up, and ran a circle around his master.
“Let’s see if we can find where the cat went out of the valley,” Joseph ruffled Moon’s mane. They strode back to where Moon first picked up the scent, Joseph grinning as Moon pranced next to him. Joseph knelt and studied the trail the cat had taken to this point, trying to determine where the cougar went from there.
Chapter 5
Gary watched through the kitchen window with growing curiosity. He didn’t want to cause undue alarm about the cougar last night. But by the way Joseph acted, he might already know about the big cat. Surely Joseph couldn’t be interpreting the cougar’s tracks that well–in the dim morning light, and on a grass covered path? Gary watched them follow the cougar’s trail. Where the cat stopped and crouched, Joseph and Moon stopped as well.
“What are you looking at?” asked Becky as she entered the kitchen. “The coffee smells good. Thanks for getting it started.”
“I don’t believe it. Come look at this.”
Becky joined her husband at the window. “What’s Joseph doing out there? Did he drop a contact lens or something?”
“I’m not sure, but… no, it couldn’t be. I don’t know. I’ll have to see what he says. Now when he comes in, don’t say anything about what I’ve just said, okay?”
Becky squinted as she studied her husband. Then she yawned and headed to the coffee pot. “Whatever you say, dear.”
Gary watched Joseph give a hand signal to Moon. The golden dog trotted to where the cougar ran out of the valley and back into the timber. Gary was intrigued that Joseph said nothing during breakfast about his walk. He didn’t want to put any suggestions in Joseph’s mind. Gary himself would have had trouble picking up the cougar’s tracks on that path. Even if they did see something of the cougar, they probably just got lucky and stumbled upon things the first time out. But still…
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