3- Andi Lassos Trouble

What could be more fun than a rodeo? Andi sets about practicing her lassoing skills to convince big brother Chad that she should compete in the upcoming Circle C rodeo. Things go from bad to worse when unexpected guests throw the rodeo into an uproar.

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Chapter 1

In a Pickle

Late Summer 1877

“Hey, Sadie, can you do this?”

Andi Carter hung upside down from the lowest branch of an oak tree. Her arms and two dark braids dangled above her best fishing spot.

Well, Andi corrected herself. It was my best fishing spot four months ago.

Now the pool held less than two feet of greenish water. The arm-length trout were gone. A few yards away, the creek gurgled slowly downstream.

California summers were not kind to creeks and fishing spots.

Andi spread her arms wide. “I’m hanging here just like the trapeze artists did under the big top.”

The excitement of seeing the circus had not faded from Andi’s memory even after two weeks. It was too bad Sadie lived up in the hills so far away from town. She had not learned about the circus until after it had come and gone.

Sadie glanced up. “I reckon I could do that if I wanted to.” She wrinkled her nose. “But I don’t want to.” She went back to poking a turtle that lay half buried in the mud. “One slip and you’ll end up in that disgusting water.”

Andi twisted her neck for a better view of the pool. Just below the surface, tiny minnows darted back and forth. Water bugs skated across the green scum.

The last time Andi pretended to be a trapeze artist, she’d landed flat on her back and got the wind knocked out of her. This time she might end up in a muddy fishing hole.

Sadie’s right. This is not one of my best ideas.

Andi reached up and grasped the thick limb with one hand. It was easy to bring her other hand up. However, it was not easy to scoot along the branch while hanging upside down. It was harder still to hike herself up so she could sit back up in the tree.

More like impossible, Andi thought, grunting at the effort.

Sadie stood up. “What are you doing?”

“Trying to get out of this tree.” Andi scooted a few inches.

“I told you to get that ol’ circus out of your head,” Sadie said. “But no. It’s all you want to play.” She shook her head. “You’re gonna have to slip your legs off the branch and drop.”

“Drop? Are you crazy?” Andi’s voice rose in horror. “I’ll land in that stinky water.”

“Better to land in it with your feet than with your head.” Sadie came close to the pool’s edge. She stuck out her free hand and wiggled her fingers. “I can’t reach you. Sorry.”

Sadie didn’t sound sorry. She sounded glad that Andi was out of reach and couldn’t be helped. Glad that her own feet were safe on dry land and not dangling over a mucky water hole.

Andi dragged herself another inch along the branch. Her hands felt sweaty. Her head pounded in time with her heartbeat. Thump-thump. Thump-thump.

How had a champion tree climber gotten herself into such a pickle?

You were showing off, a little voice whispered inside Andi’s head. And look where it got you. Stuck upside down in a tree.

Andi cringed. The words were exactly what her big brother Chad would say if he saw her like this. He would push back his wide-brimmed hat and laugh and laugh.

At least Chad would help me out of the tree after he was done laughing, Andi thought.

Her fingers slipped. She gasped and scrambled to keep hold of the branch.

“You can’t hang there forever,” Sadie said. “Better drop before you fall.”

Sadie was right . . . again.

Andi wrinkled her nose. “Oh, all right.”

She held on tight and slipped one leg from around the limb. Then she unwrapped her other leg. Hanging on with both hands, she carefully lowered her feet. Water shimmered just below her bare toes. She could almost touch it.

Yuck.

Andi glanced at the creek bank a few feet away. Hmm . . .

She kicked out her legs. “Maybe I can swing back and forth, let go, and jump to the ground.”

Sadie looked from Andi to the edge of the pool. “Don’t hurt to try, I reckon.”

“One . . .” Andi huffed. “Two . . .” Her legs flew toward dry land. I can do this!

Her sweaty fingers slipped.

Splat!

Andi landed on her bottom just inches from the pool’s edge. Scummy water splashed her face and rose up past her belly. Mud squished between her fingers. “Help!” she shrieked.

Sadie was too busy laughing to help Andi. “Oh, oh, oh!” She doubled over and howled. “You should see yourself.”

Andi stood up. Dripping wet, she climbed out of the fishing hole. Green scum stuck to her overalls, to her braids, and to her bare arms. “It’s not funny!”

“You’re right, it’s not,” Sadie said. “It’s hilarious!” She clapped a hand over her mouth to quiet her giggles, but her blue eyes sparkled.

Hot anger boiled up inside Andi. She jammed her muddy fists on her hips and glared at Sadie. Her thoughts spun. Maybe I don’t want to be friends with her anymore.

Maybe Chad was right. He didn’t like Andi going around with a sheepherder girl from the no-account Hollister clan. No, sirree! Just the word “sheep” upset Chad and every other cattle rancher in the valley.

Cattlemen did not like sheep. Or sheepherders.

I’m probably better off without a mean, laughing—

“I didn’t mean to make you mad.” Sadie’s apology cut into Andi’s thoughts. “It just burst  out when I saw you in that stinky water. Let me help you wash it off.”

Andi’s anger cooled. She peeked down at her overalls. They were a muddy, scummy mess. Sadie had good reason to laugh. I guess it serves me right for showing off.

She bit her lip. Andi didn’t really want to lose Sadie’s friendship.

Sadie was lots of fun. She was also the only girl Andi’s age within ten miles of the ranch. “All right. I know a spot upstream where the creek is a little deeper. And cleaner.”

Sadie grabbed Andi’s hand and gave it a tug. “Come on then.”

“Wait a minute.” Andi glanced over her shoulder. “We better check our horses first. It’s a long way home if Taffy wanders off.”

“Don’t worry.” Sadie swung around and pointed. “They’re right where we left ’em.”

Andi relaxed. Sadie’s horse, Jep, and Taffy stood side by side on the other side of the oak tree. The palomino’s cream-colored tail swished flies from Jep’s face. Jep’s dark-brown tail returned the favor to Taffy.

Satisfied that her horse was staying put, Andi waded into the creek and started upstream.

It didn’t take long to find the deeper part of the creek. It ran swift and clean. Andi sat down and let the water ripple over her muddy arms and legs. Then she ducked her head and rinsed her hair.

Drops sputtered from Andi’s mouth when she came up for air. She shook the water from her braids and scrubbed her arms clean.

Sadie washed the mud and scum from Andi’s backside. Then she cupped her hands and threw water in Andi’s face.

“Hey!” Laughing, Andi splashed her back.

Ten minutes later, a low, distant rumble paused the water fight .

“Is that thunder?” Sadie asked.

Andi looked up. Not one cloud dotted the sapphire-blue sky. “I don’t know.” The rumbling grew louder. She wrinkled her forehead. What was that noise?

“It’s coming from over there.” Sadie pointed toward the distant mountains.

Andi stood stock-still in the middle of the creek. Water dripped down her face. She swiped the drops away and turned to see where Sadie was pointing.

Just then a dark, rolling mass appeared between two hills. The ground trembled.

Andi shaded her eyes. The mass had spread out into heads and horns and legs.

She gasped. “It’s cattle, Sadie. And they’re coming this way!”

Chapter 2

Cattle, Cattle Everywhere

Sadie squealed in terror. “What’ll we do?”

Andi couldn’t talk. A big lump was stuck in her throat. She stared at the fast-approaching cattle. Then she glanced back down the creek.

Her heart skipped a beat. The horses!

Taffy and Jep stood with their heads up and their ears pricked forward. Jep shook his mane and moved off. Taffy’s head bobbed up and down. She looked ready to gallop away.

No! Andi swallowed the lump and yelled, “Run, Sadie!”

Andi sprang from the creek with Sadie at her heels. Small rocks cut into Andi’s bare feet. She cried out but didn’t stop. Sadie tripped and fell. Andi pulled her up and they kept running.

The thundering hooves drew closer.

Andi ran faster.

For the first time since she and Taffy had become horse and rider, Andi wished she had tied up her filly. If she could only mount her in time, Taffy would easily outrun the stampeding cattle.

The palomino pranced to and fro. She pawed the ground and whinnied. Hurry, hurry! she seemed to be saying.

Sadie scrambled up the oak tree, but Andi headed straight for Taffy. “Don’t run away!” she shouted.

Just then, Jep kicked out his hind legs and galloped off.

Andi caught Taffy’s reins. “Easy, girl. Hold still.” She reached for a stirrup.

Taffy didn’t obey. She snorted and sidestepped. Then she jerked the reins from Andi’s hand and took off after Jep.

“Up here!” Sadie shouted. “Hurry!”

The fear in Sadie’s voice sent Andi up the tree without looking back. She passed the branch Sadie sat on and climbed higher. Her breath came in short gasps. She scurried up two more limbs then leaned back against the thick trunk and tried to catch her breath.

“You climb like a monkey,” Sadie called from where she sat straddling a branch. “You didn’t have to go so high.”

“I couldn’t stop.” Andi glanced down.

All sizes of cattle stomped the ground under the oak tree. They stood exactly where Andi had been one minute before.

Thank you, God, for trees, she silently prayed.

The cattle snorted and prodded each other for a place at the water. A tan mama cow with a half-grown calf shoved her way between two steers. Another steer stepped in Andi’s fishing hole and plunged his nose into the stale water.

Andi pushed the leaves aside and looked out over the rangeland. Where had Taffy gone?

The rushing cattle looked mean enough to scare anybody. They had scared Andi and Sadie up a tree. Maybe they had scared Taffy all the way back to the barn.

Andi scowled. They better not have!

Cattle stood drinking along both sides of the creek for as far as Andi could see. Their heavy hooves sank into the streambed. They churned the slow-moving water into a muddy mess.

But at least they had settled down.

Whatever had made the cattle stampede was over. They drank the dirty water then started grazing on the summer-dry grass. Except for a few calves calling for their mamas, and one or two cowboys shouting in the distance, it was quiet.

“Those big, fat, dirty ol’ cattle,” Sadie burst out. “They’re trampling your special spot.”

Andi clenched her fists and nodded. She was too upset to answer. Chad had given Andi this place for her very own special spot. He said nobody ever came up here.

Not cattle. Not horses. Not ranch hands.

Until today.

Sadie waved Andi down beside her. “Look at ’em,” she said when Andi had settled herself on the lowest limb. “Filthy beasts. Whose are they?”

“Ours,” Andi said right away. “Whose else would they be?”

“I don’t think so.” Sadie pointed to the tan cow grazing a few yards away. “That don’t look like your brand.”

Every cow and bull and steer and horse on the Circle C ranch wore a special mark burned into their rumps. It was a circle with the letter C inside. It made it easy to tell which livestock belonged to the Carter family.

The mark on the tan cow showed LLL.

“That’s a Triple L brand,” Andi said. She peered closer. “Look, Sadie. Her calf’s wearing a different brand—the Bent Pine mark.” She wrinkled her forehead. “That doesn’t make any sense. They should both have the same brand.”

“Nothin’ ’bout us being stuck up in a tree right now makes sense.” Sadie shook her head. “Worse, our horses took off. How are you and me gonna get home?”

Good question. Andi had no answer.

Just then a cowhand rode up next to the tan-colored cow. He pointed to the calf. “How did that brand get there?”

His angry shout made Andi jump. She didn’t recognize him, and she knew every cowhand on the Circle C ranch.

Four other men galloped up. The cattle scattered. Andi scrunched closer to the tree trunk to keep out of sight.

Sadie scooted next to Andi. “Are they cattle rustlers?” Her eyes were wide and scared.

A hard lump dropped into Andi’s belly. Cattle rustlers. What a terrible thought! She didn’t want to be anywhere near outlaws who stole other people’s livestock.

Please, God, she prayed, don’t let them be cattle rustlers.

“I said how did that brand get there?” the furious cowhand shouted again.

“How do you think a brand got on a calf, Mack?” A scruffy-looking cowboy riding a spotted horse laughed. “Rope ’em, brand ’em, and they’re yours.”

Mack shook his head. “Mr. Flanders ain’t gonna like seeing a Bent Pine brand on one of his calves, Tate. Not if its mama’s wearing a Triple L mark.”

“Too bad,” Tate shot back. “Mr. Jenkins is paying a bonus for every unbranded calf we bring back to the ranch with a fresh Bent Pine brand.” He laughed louder. “I’m just better at steer roping than you’ll ever be.”

“That’ll be the day!” Mack yelled.

Andi let out a breath. God had sure answered her prayer fast. “They aren’t cattle rustlers,” she told Sadie. “They work for the two ranches near the Circle C.”

Sadie huffed. “Then what are they doin’ on your ranch? They’re makin’ a mess of your special spot. And their cattle spooked our horses.”

Andi didn’t know the answer to Sadie’s question. The Triple L and Bent Pine cowhands were a long way from their two ranches. And why were their cattle all mixed up together?

Cowboy Tate on his spotted horse looped his rope. Then he swung it over his head. “Now I’ll thank you to let me and this-here calf be on our way.” With a quick toss, he lassoed the calf.

“That’s a Triple L calf and you know it,” Mack said.

Tate tightened the loop around the animal’s neck. “Don’t know nothin’ about it. This ain’t no day-old nursing calf. It’s nearly grown, so it’s fair game. I’m gonna—”

Mack flew out of his saddle and tackled the Bent Pine cowboy. Both men crashed to the ground. They rolled over and over. Their hats came off. Fists flew.

Six other cowhands dismounted and formed a ring around the two men. They yee-hawed and laughed. Money exchanged hands.

“They’re betting on who’ll beat up who,” Sadie whispered.

Andi watched with wide eyes. Grown men acting like little boys in the schoolyard! Then her mouth dropped open. Two Circle C hands stood with the others, watching the fight.

If big brother Chad saw his men wasting time like this, he’d blow his top.

“That’s enough!”

Chad’s sudden roar cut through the cowboys’ laughter and shouting. He and Sid, the Circle C foreman, pushed through the human ring.

“What in blue blazes is going on here?” Chad hollered.

Up in the tree, Andi bit her lip.

Yep, Chad just blew his top.

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