McLintock gave the orders…

Previously:

“What if there’s an odd number?”

“The we’ll settle that at ten paces, you and me…survivor’s ranch gets the horse,” Susie smiled.

“Coldwater gets the extra horse,” the Blue Dog Ranch foreman laughed.

And with that—the roundup began as they headed east on to the prairie.

Kidd received his morning packet from Murdo—included among the items was an interesting wanted poster.

“Well, isn’t THIS interesting…”

Season VI, Chapter 5 Coldwater Ranch, Episode 13:

Dreadwood Town Marshal Randolph Kidd looked at the poster, and smiling, he placed the poster with the rest, in his bottom desk drawer—he saved all posters and only posted those whose subject was someone who had crossed him.

In Dreadwood, no one much cared what someone may have done elsewhere—they had trouble enough drawing people to this Godforsaken part of the Dakota Territory as it was; no sense scaring those wishing to start a new life here.

“It would be—interesting should this Boomer Jack show up here…”

“It would be—interesting should this Boomer Jack show up here—with that poster I could purchase an ally cheaply,” he thought about the time back in Grand Marais when Boomer drew-down on him, and beat him, “Yes, I could make use of him.”

“Grubby” McGrubb had all he could do to catch up…

“Grubby” McGrubb had all he could do to catch up to the relatively slow-riding horse-wranglers moving east into the prairie in search of wild mustangs; he had his chuck wagon almost too-well stocked for his two-horse team to pull with any speed. Trail-boss Susie Blackmon had kept the pace slow to allow him to catch up—food being a high priority, ranking in the top two or three priorities to her way of thinking—I’ll just leave you to guess her number one priority, GENTLE READER.

Cooper met with Benjamin McLintock and played the role of the earnest, naive, idealistic young rancher…

Cooper met with Benjamin McLintock and played the role of the earnest, naive, idealistic young rancher—and McLintock bought it. He was very interested in the news that Coldwater Ranch would soon be driving wild mustangs back from the prairie—it meant that he wouldn’t have to; he wasn’t above a little horse-rustling to augment his herd.

McLintock gave the orders and more than a dozen men left the Triple Bar-X Ranch and headed east.

To be Continued…