Today's #flashfiction #TheOldWestCowboyBeingACowboy

“It's not rocket science.”

Merlin* #quote

Today it's your turn to blog the blog! Imagine I said something witty here! You gotta come up with something good to make yourself laugh! I know you can do it. I believe in you. Anyway onto the flash fiction!

The Old West Cowboy Being A Cowboy

      All three thousand. The boys counted them over and over. Head by head. Eddie you idiot. You're just the cook for the crew and you say “I thought I saw some wander off!” and now we got a whole disaster on hand. If I wasn't so worried I'd be screaming your ears off for making me worry. We need sell as many of these cattle as possible or we'll be stuck in debt...again. And I'm not going to have a bullet between my eyes because some of them wandered off. I also don't want a bullet between my eyes because we wasted time looking for some that never wandered off in the first place.

     “Eddie, get over here!” I yelled. Our young cook ran over.

     “Yes Sir?”

     “Do you know why I wear my big ol' hat, ever during the night?”

      “Fashion Sir?”

      “Because everything we have could be taken from us at any moment! Do you know how much debt we're in? And how much more we'll be in if we don't take these cattle where they need to be to be in time. And you've been wasting time by daydreaming ghost cattle! We're behind schedule!”

      “Surely we can make up for it Sir?”

      “If we're lucky! You know I spent plenty of time negotiating with the Indians for quicker travel. I'm glad not all of them want to kill you. But remember that time one said hello to me with an arrow? I risk that because I'd rather not deal with the people we're indebted to!”

I heard one of my cowboys shout from the distance, “We found some cattle Sir!”

      “Some got away! But we counted!”

      “These are new ones Sir! Abandoned by someone! It's unbranded.”

I rode over in my horse. Who in their right mind abandons cattle? I saw a good hundred cattle when I got to my fellow cowboy. Also what appeared to simple open field. But with a good look I saw what I needed to see why they we're branded. I saw ashes. A burnt down home and barn must have been here.

     “Round these cattle into a herd. Then we leave immediately, tell Eddie to get rid of the fire and stop dinner. We go now.”

The cowboy looked at me. “Why so suddenly?”

      “The cattle are free and there's trouble around here.” I didn't know if it was bandits who didn't bother with the cattle, a feud between towns or what. I was taking me and boys out of there and maybe these additional cattle will help pull us out of debt completely. After we sell the cattle I'll try to put up a small tombstone for whoever lived there.