Dude Ranch by Bonnie Bryant

from Stewball’s withers. Stewball stood absolutely still even when the calf’s sharp hooves scraped across his withers. Stevie was admiring the horse more and more with every passing minute.
    “Here you go, boy,” Eli said, slapping the rump of the startled calf. “Time to go to Mama!”
    The cow approached her newborn, sniffed him a few times, glanced at Stewball and Stevie, then nudged the calf ahead. In a few seconds, the pair had merged with the herd and it was soon impossible for Stevie totell just which calf it was that she had saved from drowning.
    T HAT NIGHT , S TEVIE lay in her bedroll, staring up at the million stars that were sprinkled across the sky like so many grains of spilled sugar on black velvet. She thought with sadness about Tomahawk’s death, and then she remembered Eli’s dog, Mel, and her puppies. Stevie wondered whether one of Mel’s puppies could ever make up for Tomahawk, but she knew that an animal like that
couldn’t
be replaced. She hoped she’d be able to think of some way to thank Christine, but she knew it wasn’t by trying to fill Tomahawk’s place.
    She thought about the other things that had happened during the day. She couldn’t remember a more eventful day in her whole life, or a day in which she’d had more new experiences. It had been an odd mix of fear, sadness, friendship, happiness, love. Eli was right that there was a lot to learn. But despite her hectic, even traumatic, day, Stevie fell into a deep, dreamless sleep almost immediately.
    W HEN MORNING CAME , there was just a short ride before the herd arrived at the ranch. The riders brought the herd into the corrals at The Bar None before lunchtime. The girls watched while the wranglers cut and counted the herd and while the calves werebranded with The Bar None symbol. Stevie thought she could tell which calf she’d carried across the creek, but when she saw another almost like it, she wasn’t so sure.
    “Come on, let’s go shower and change our clothes before lunch,” Kate suggested to her friends.
    “Why?” Stevie asked. “We’ll just ride again after lunch, won’t we?”
    “Probably,” Kate agreed. “But would you really want to sit next to yourself at lunch after two days on the trail?”
    The girls laughed. They
did
smell like horses, and cattle, and dust.
    “I guess a shower isn’t such a bad idea after all,” Stevie agreed. “And, of course, a change of socks!”
    “I CAN’T BELIEVE how hungry I am!” Lisa said, looking at her plate. “Why, I must have had two helpings of everything!”
    “You had
three
helpings of rolls,” Carole teased. “But don’t worry, I did, too. Everything out here tastes so good.”
    “That’s because you can really build up an appetite herding cattle,” Kate said. “I told you so, didn’t I?”
    “I think I’ll give herding a rest for a few days,” Stevie said, “but I’m ready to go for another ride. When shall we go out?” she asked.
    Kate, Lisa, and Carole exchanged looks. Stevie wondered what
that
was about.
    “I think I’ve done enough riding for the day,” Lisa said. “I wanted to take some time to send my mother another postcard, maybe take a nap this afternoon. I didn’t sleep all that well last night.”
    “Me, too,” Kate said. “Besides, my mom asked me to give her a hand with a chore.”
    “Carole?” Stevie asked.
    “I promised the little kids I’d show them how to tack up a horse. They want to use the ponies and Eli’s too busy with the cutting and branding.”
    Stevie couldn’t figure her friends out. Normally, they’d be happy to ride fifteen hours a day. What was going on?
    “Well, then, I’ll just ride by myself,” she said, the annoyance clear in her voice. “Stewball and I will have a wonderful time!”
    With that, she pushed back her chair, picked up her plates to clear, and strode out of the mess hall.
    “I’m on wrapping!” Lisa announced as soon as the door closed behind Stevie. “I
love
to