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18 - Ranch Girls at Rainbow Lodge by Margaret Vandercook · Ranch Girls at Rainbow Lodge

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  Speaker 1: Brivox Dot Org. The Ranch Girls at Rainbow Lodge by
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  Speaker 1: Margaret Vandercook, Chapter eighteen, A Race for Life, Jack, don't
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  Speaker 1: you think we are going to near the corrals, Olive
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  Speaker 1: inquired timidly. It was high noon. The cattle had been
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  Speaker 1: brought by the cowboys into the open field, and each
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  Speaker 1: ranchman had divided his own stock from the herds. The
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  Speaker 1: animals had been driven into the corrals, separate enclosures made
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  Speaker 1: of fence rails, one belonging to each of the neighboring ranches.
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  Speaker 1: In the afternoon, the branding of the cattle took place,
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  Speaker 1: but most of the cowboys had now gone off to
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  Speaker 1: get something to eat. Before the real business of the
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  Speaker 1: day began. Only a dozen men guarded the entire stockade.
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  Speaker 1: Oh no, Olive, Jack answered lightly. I believe if we
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  Speaker 1: ride a little closer we may get some news of Jim.
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  Speaker 1: I would like to see him to ask him some
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  Speaker 1: questions before we start back home. Jack rode gaily ahead
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  Speaker 1: forgetting her disagreeable scene with Dan Norton. The swarming hundreds
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  Speaker 1: of cows and calves, the bright sunshine, the brilliantly blue
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  Speaker 1: sky overhead, the noise and splendid action of the scene
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  Speaker 1: interested her tremendously. I think Miss Olive is right, Miss Ralston,
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  Speaker 1: Frank insisted gravely, we must not ride too nearer the stock,
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  Speaker 1: for fear of a stampede. Just a few feet more,
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  Speaker 1: Jack begged, turning half way round in her settle to
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  Speaker 1: glance back at Olive and Frank. At this moment, an
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  Speaker 1: immense bull burst out of one of the corrals and
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  Speaker 1: made a wild dash across an open field. He was
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  Speaker 1: not headed toward Jack or Olive or Frank, and there
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  Speaker 1: did not appear to be the least danger. Two of
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  Speaker 1: the cowboys made a rush to cut off the bull's charge,
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  Speaker 1: but turned back a moment later to their companions. It
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  Speaker 1: was more important for the men to keep the other
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  Speaker 1: animals from following their leader than to recapture the one
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  Speaker 1: infuriated beast. Jim Calder had worn Jacqueline when he first
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  Speaker 1: gave her the new pony that Trix was well named.
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  Speaker 1: He had told her that she would have to watch
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  Speaker 1: the little animal pretty closely. But Jack was a trained rider,
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  Speaker 1: and so far the mare had not given her any trouble.
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  Speaker 1: She had not realized when she came to the round
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  Speaker 1: up that Trix was one of the ponies that had
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  Speaker 1: been formerly used by the cowpunchers at the round ups.
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  Speaker 1: Tricks saw the bull break away from the stockade and
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  Speaker 1: made its plunge for freedom. At the moment that Jack
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  Speaker 1: turned her head and slightly relaxed her hold on the
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  Speaker 1: bronco's bridle, the pony's fighting blood was up. She did
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  Speaker 1: not intend to see a bull escaped when it was
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  Speaker 1: her business as a cowboy's pony to head him off
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  Speaker 1: and turn him back toward the herd. She made a
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  Speaker 1: leap forward, running diagonally across the plain in order to
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  Speaker 1: cross in front of the bull at the shortest possible distance.
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  Speaker 1: For the first time in her experience, Jack Ralston completely
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  Speaker 1: lost control of the horse she was riding. The pony's
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  Speaker 1: headlong rush had been too unexpected. Tricks was a good
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  Speaker 1: sized broncho with the well of her own and was
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  Speaker 1: convinced that she was doing her duty. Jack had unfortunately
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  Speaker 1: taken off her gloves. People in the West never ride
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  Speaker 1: the hard mouthed little Western ponies without thick leather gamlets.
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  Speaker 1: She pulled on her reins until they cut into her flesh,
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  Speaker 1: but the pony ran on still. Jack had no idea
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  Speaker 1: of not being able to control her before she got
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  Speaker 1: into danger. No one except Frank and Olive saw Jack's
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  Speaker 1: wild dash. The cowboys were riding in and out among
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  Speaker 1: the corrals, swinging their long ropes and forcing the excited
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  Speaker 1: cattle back into their enclosures. Get back out of the way,
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  Speaker 1: Frank commanded Olive quickly, almost before she realized what had
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  Speaker 1: taken place. Frank Kent was off like a shot after
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  Speaker 1: the flying Jack. His horse pounded along, but Jack was
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  Speaker 1: yards ahead. Frank did not know what he could do.
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  Speaker 1: If he reached Jack, he could only grasp her bridle
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  Speaker 1: and try to stop both their ponies. At best, if
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  Speaker 1: he got ahead of her, he might be able to
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  Speaker 1: shut off the bulls met charge. There would be only
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  Speaker 1: one way to do it, and that would be to
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  Speaker 1: let the animal rush upon his horse. He knew nothing
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  Speaker 1: of the cowboy's methods. He had no lasso. He had
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  Speaker 1: seen pictures of Spanish torreadors with their flaming scarlet scarfs.
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  Speaker 1: If he only had as much as a red handkerchief,
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  Speaker 1: perhaps he might divert the bull's course. Of course, Frank
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  Speaker 1: realized that this would have been a forlorn hope. But
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  Speaker 1: nothing really mattered. Jack's pony continued to gain on his,
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  Speaker 1: he had not a fighting chance of overtaking her. Frank
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  Speaker 1: hardly dared look at Jack. He could see so clearly
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  Speaker 1: what would happen. The ranged bred pony would take her
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  Speaker 1: straight in front of the fury's bull, not knowing that
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  Speaker 1: her rider was not a cowboy and would be unequal
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  Speaker 1: to the task of turning the great brute aside. She
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  Speaker 1: would do her part and expected Jack to do the rest.
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  Speaker 1: Jack did not have so much as a small riding
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  Speaker 1: whip in her hand, having lost it in her pony's
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  Speaker 1: first plunge ahead, but she now realized her peril. One
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  Speaker 1: glimpse of her face would have revealed this. It was
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  Speaker 1: white as marble save for the flying bronze gold of
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  Speaker 1: her hair. Her eyes were wide open and almost black,
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  Speaker 1: and her lips were parted. But there was no give
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  Speaker 1: up in her expression. Determination marked every fine cut line.
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  Speaker 1: Jack had considered but two alternatives. Either she must stop
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  Speaker 1: her wild pony or drive back the maddened bull. Now
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  Speaker 1: she knew she could do neither. She was only a
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  Speaker 1: few yours from the bull, and understood that an animal
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  Speaker 1: in a wild rush for liberty never turns aside unless
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  Speaker 1: he is driven half unconsciously. Frank Kent closed his eyes.
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  Speaker 1: Jacqueline Ralston had seemed to him so splendid, typifying to
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  Speaker 1: him the free, outdoor life of the Great West. He
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  Speaker 1: realized that Jack had lots of faults, but that she
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  Speaker 1: was the kind of girl who would make a wonderful woman.
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  Speaker 1: She was a true American girl, brave, generous, and gay.
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  Speaker 1: The thought of her being injured or killed was horrible.
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  Speaker 1: She was the very spirit of youth and energy. Frank
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  Speaker 1: looked again. Jack was going to face death squarely, or
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  Speaker 1: else to drive her pony across the bull's course before
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  Speaker 1: it reached her. Yet the last method seemed hopeless, because
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  Speaker 1: the pony was master of the race, not Jack. The
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  Speaker 1: girl had stooped low in her saddle, her feet were
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  Speaker 1: out of the story, and she lay almost flat across
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  Speaker 1: the pony's back. She seemed to slip to one side.
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  Speaker 1: Frank watched for another horrified second. Jack and her horse
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  Speaker 1: were not a hundred feet from the bull. Then something
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  Speaker 1: slid along the ground on the right side of the pony,
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  Speaker 1: ran a few feet, let go of the bridle, and
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  Speaker 1: sat down limply in the brown grass. Frank shouted, as
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  Speaker 1: he had never thought. It ain't him to shout. The
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  Speaker 1: trick of dropping from her horse that Jack had just affected.
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  Speaker 1: He had seen accomplished once in a buffalo bill show
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  Speaker 1: in London. The vision of a girl doing it for
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  Speaker 1: her own safety was the most thrilling sight he had
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  Speaker 1: ever seen in his life. Tricks, deserted by her rider
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  Speaker 1: and uncertain what she should do alone, sprang to one
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  Speaker 1: side as the bull lunched at her, and the danger
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  Speaker 1: was all over in an instant. Frank found Jack shaking
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  Speaker 1: like one in a chill, but she smiled at him
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  Speaker 1: bravely and put out her hand to let him pull
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  Speaker 1: her off the ground. Perhaps, Frank, she said, forgetting formaladies
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  Speaker 1: in her thankfulness, If I live long enough, I may
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  Speaker 1: some day learn to do what I am told. Please
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  Speaker 1: take me back to Olive. Tricks, exhausted by her wild run,
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  Speaker 1: was led back to Jack, a weary and repentant pony.
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  Speaker 1: Jack was silent and shaken. She followed Frank back to
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  Speaker 1: the spot where they had left Olive without a word.
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  Speaker 1: The cowboys were returning to the work of branding the cattle,
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  Speaker 1: and it was high time the ranch girls started for home.
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  Speaker 1: But neither Jack nor Frank could find a trace of Olive.
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  Speaker 1: She had completely disappeared. They rode over to the spot
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  Speaker 1: where they had lunched with mister and Missus Simpson, but
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  Speaker 1: the automobile party had left for their wranch. Frank inquired
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  Speaker 1: of a dozen cowboys. No one of them had seen Olive.
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  Speaker 1: Jack tried not to cry, but the days ECS experiences
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  Speaker 1: had been too much for her. She had never been
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  Speaker 1: so utterly wretched before. Don't worry, miss Ralston, Frank urged,
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  Speaker 1: I'll bet you anything that miss Olive has run across
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  Speaker 1: her overseer Jim called her and has returned to Rainbow
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  Speaker 1: Ranch with him. Jack shook her head despairingly. Olive would
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  Speaker 1: not go away without telling me for anything in the world,
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  Speaker 1: she insisted. Besides, Jim would not leave me here. He
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  Speaker 1: is somewhere around, won't you find him. Frank insisted that
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  Speaker 1: Jack wait in a place of safety a mile farther
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  Speaker 1: along the trail toward their ranch. For an hour. Jack
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  Speaker 1: walked up and down a few yards of barren ground,
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  Speaker 1: her pony resting near her. The time seemed an eternity.
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  Speaker 1: By and by, Frank arrived with Jim Calder Jim looked
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  Speaker 1: sternly at Jack that she was past caring what he
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  Speaker 1: said or thought of her. Can't you find Olive, Jim?
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  Speaker 1: Jack played, I'll do my best. Jim returned, mister Kent
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  Speaker 1: will take you home to the ranch, but I can't
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  Speaker 1: go without Olive. Jim. I'll stay here until you find her.
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  Speaker 1: She has probably just lost her way. Jack entreated, hope,
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  Speaker 1: so Jim repeated shortly, But in any case, your place
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  Speaker 1: is at home. Jack hesitated. Haven't you made enough trouble
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  Speaker 1: for yourself and other people already to day? Jack? Jim
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  Speaker 1: questioned keenly, and Jack submissively bowed her head. End of
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  Speaker 1: Chapter eighteen. Read by Nancy Cochran Gergen Gilbert, Arizona, October
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  Speaker 1: twenty one, two thousand, twenty one.