This Louis L’Amour short story out of the book The Outlaws of Mesquite is a tale of the tenacity of Johnny Garrett, which was also fueled by the desire to be close to Mary Jane Gavin. His first problem was that he was unable to keep his thoughts to himself and when he shared them with Mary Jane she repeated them to Smoke the foreman of the Bar X. As this outsider tried to become the best cowhand on the ranch he was given every dirty job available. Now every rookie has to learn all the jobs but Smoke wanted to get rid of the competition.
The first major test was in the winter and he was sent out to check the fence that would prevent a drift from going off the edge of the arroyo. All the cattle would end up dead and pilled in the bottom. He saved the day but he was unable to win the foreman over. His next assignment was being the range hand that was the hand would be posted to stay out on the range. He was clued into the fact that the cattle count was short and he began to search for the cattle in his area. Rustlers were suspected and he was zeroing in on them.
If I tell too much you wont want to read this story. I think it is worth the read and you will find out that a new girl is inserted into the story. The art of telling a great story is the ability of the author to have a ring of truth and a common theme. I would recommend this story as a good read even though it does not have the compelling draw some other stories have. I would like you to judge for yourself.
