THE BLUE FEATHER
363
thing I can do for you? Need any horse supplies? We have
plenty of those things…saddles, bridles, brushes?”
“Well,” Tital spoke up, “we do need to find two good drivers
to help us for about a month, maybe more.”
“My name’s Bill Wotherton. You folks moving in on one of
the cattle ranches around in this area?”
“No, we are unfortunately just passing through. My name is
Tital Almanza.”
“And mine is Bardala Negreté.”
“I wish you were stayin’ around here. It’s not often we get
such a nice, young looking couple like y’all to stay. If you change
your minds, the old Bell Ranch, twenty-four thousand prime
acres, is for sale. Just call me, here’s my card, never hurts to
advertise, my sister Martha says. Top quality alfalfa hay is four
dollars a bale; they are wire-tied and weigh over a hundred
pounds, guaranteed. That comes to one hundred dollars, and the
all-grain is four dollars for a fifty pound sack, that would be
another eighty dollars. The total is one hundred and eighty
dollars. No tax on cattle, or horse feed. Now, let me see about
who might want some work,” Old Bill said with a broad smile.
Tital paid the bill by taking out a small leather bag. He
reached in and pulled out a marble-sized gold nugget.
“Would this be enough to pay our bill, he held it out for Bill to
take.”
“My, my! Haven’t seen one of these in a while. It will pay for
it and let me throw in a new Simco saddle and bridle for the little
lady. By the way, where did you find this rock? Been up in the
hills around here?”
“No, they came from a mine in old Mexico,” Tital told him.