Sabotage!
Maria, Jessie, and Rob were doling out pancakes, bacon, and eggs the next morning, when a latecomer to breakfast brought shattering news. “Hey, Tim!” cowhand Luke shouted over the breakfast chatter. “Somebody’s broken down the sign over the front gate!”
“What?” Tim shouted back from one of the tables. “You’re sure it didn’t blow down in the wind?”
“Nope, looks like somebody chopped it down!”
Tim jumped up. “Vandalism? I’ll take a look.” He raced out, Luke at his heels.
They reappeared a few minutes later. Tim’s face was stern as he called the dining room to attention.
“Somebody deliberately wrecked the sign,” he said.
“Took an axe to it. That sign’s been there for generations.
I’ve called the police, and they’re on their way up.
If anybody has an idea what happened, let me know.
I don’t know who’d want to vandalize the place.
I’ll ask around to see if any of the other ranches have damage. ”
He went out, leaving his half-eaten breakfast unfinished, with Luke following him. Danny, Will, and Blaise jumped up and raced after them.
Someone had literally taken an axe to the ranch sign? Maria’s stomach clenched. That sounded like the Wild West, but in a bad way.
“Well, of all the spiteful things!” Jessie exclaimed. “Who would do that? Pat’s gonna be upset. That sign is important to her. She has it repainted every year.”
“Do you think somebody’s got something against the ranch?” Rob asked. “In the old days, we had to deal with cattle rustlers and squatters, and a guy or two who claimed part of the ranch was actually his. But nobody does that kind of Wild West stuff these days.”
“I don’t know,” Jessie said. “More likely it was some drunk kid blowing off steam.”
“A drunk kid wouldn’t do that,” Rob said. “Too much work. I think there’s more to it than that.”
“Well, if there is, hopefully we’ll find out,” Jessie said. “Come on, we’ve gotta get this kitchen cleaned up. I expect those boys who left are gonna come back to finish their food. I hope.”
§
In the afternoon, Maria, who had been curious all morning without learning anything new about the broken sign, used her break time to take her ATV out to the road to look around.
She wasn’t worried about running into the vandal—nobody hung around with an axe in broad daylight.
The police must have come and gone by now, but maybe the vandal had left some clues.
She walked all around the grassy area, looking for clues. Nothing. No big footprints, no note, just a sad hacked-up archway where the sign used to be. That was too bad. Did somebody dislike the ranch?
Well, Owen probably didn’t like the ranch very well after Grandma Austin refused his offer.
But it would be silly to do something like that, especially since he would be an obvious suspect.
It didn’t do to jump to conclusions about people, anyway.
Maybe there were other people in the area who didn’t like the ranch.
But Jessie and Rob hadn’t seemed to think anybody would fall under immediate suspicion.
Maria gave up investigating and went back to the kitchen. Hopefully this was a one-time thing. What they needed was ranch security, but you couldn’t patrol every side and corner of such a huge property. Savannah’s Montana Rider would come in handy, if he wasn’t just a ranch legend.
§
That evening, Maria got back from her kitchen shift to find a commotion in the living room. She hurried in to find her relatives, plus Tim, all talking at once.
“Why didn’t the police talk to me?” Grandma Austin demanded over the hubbub. “As the landowner, you’d think I would learn what’s going on around here!”
“I suggested that they talk to you,” Tim said, “but they thought talking to me was good enough, since the ranch doesn’t have any known enemies. We don’t, do we?”
“No,” Patricia said, “but that doesn’t mean I shouldn’t be talked to! I’d like to give them a piece of my mind for letting dangerous criminals run around loose!”
This was where Maria could pipe up and explain that the best police force can’t prevent everything, but she couldn’t get in a word edgewise.
Uncle Russell was trying to soothe Grandma Austin; Aunt Steph was arguing with Elijah about whether they should interview the ranch hands; Annabelle was protesting that the sign vandalism could possibly be a prank; and Savannah was trying to get her mom’s attention, but nobody was paying attention to her.
Well, it didn’t seem like anybody had any news.
Maria’s ears hurt. This was the evening she had planned to explore the ranch.
Surely whoever vandalized the sign wouldn’t be hanging around in the area—she’d be perfectly safe.
Hurrying to her room, she grabbed a water bottle, a book in case she wanted to read, a sweater in case she got cold, and a package of trail mix in case she got hungry.
She was all set for a Montana adventure.
The only things missing were cowboy boots and a horse, but she couldn’t have stayed on the horse anyway.
Maria headed out the side door into the warm evening air. The June sun was still high, and the sounds of the ranch came from all sides: trees and grass rustling, cattle lowing, frogs croaking on the edge of the trout pond. It was a beautiful evening.
Maria took the green ATV she usually used from the barn. She was on the way out when she ran into Tim on his horse. Maria didn’t know horses, but Tim’s horse was brown with white feet.
“Maria!” Tim stopped, swinging down from his horse effortlessly. “Were you at the house just now? I didn’t see you.”
Of course he hadn’t noticed her with everyone yelling. Maria was surprised her relatives got anything done, the way they all talked at once.
“I was in my room,” she said. “I was getting a book and a sweater and a snack.”
“I don’t blame you for wanting to read instead of hang out with the Austins,” Tim said. “You’d have to wear earmuffs to be in the same room with them.”
Maria laughed. “They definitely get loud when they’re excited. What did the police say, anyway?”
“They couldn’t tell anything.” Tim’s jaw was set.
“Whoever did it took all the evidence with them. In the old days, you could track horses. These days, everybody goes around in wheeled vehicles that don’t leave tracks on the pavement.
We filed a police report, but that’s as far as it’s likely to get. ”
“Wow,” Maria said. “Do you have any kind of ranch security?”
“We’ve got guys that ride the range at night,” Tim said, “and the house has got a security system, but it’s impossible to patrol every inch of the ranch. I hope it was a one-time thing. But I’ll see what I can do.”
Maria nodded at him. “Thanks for that.”
She was about to ride off, but Tim hadn’t gotten back on his horse. “What are you up to tonight?” he asked.
“Oh, I’m just exploring,” Maria said. “I still don’t feel like I’ve explored the ranch much.”
“Have you gotten the tour yet?” Tim asked.
“What tour? No,” Maria said. “Savannah showed me around the house, and I’ve seen the barn and some of the woods up there, and of course the kitchen and stables.”
“We’ll have to remedy that,” Tim said. “Want me to take you on a tour now? Think of it as shadowing me at work.”
She hesitated. It was tempting to have a tour of the ranch given by the foreman who was also investigating the sign vandalism. And Maria had had a good time going with Tim to pick up Owen and his wife.
But Tim had spoken dismissively of Maria in her hearing, and he’d disappointed Annabelle. Even if he hadn’t, Maria didn’t want to hang out with some guy. It felt like a date, and Maria had had her fill of dates with Seth. She would rather go around by herself.
“Thanks,” Maria said. “I appreciate it. But I think I’d like to do some exploring on my own.”
“Ah.” Tim’s smile faded, and he swung himself onto his horse. “If you change your mind, you know how to find me.”
He was disappointed. But hopefully not too badly. After all, exploring on her own had been Maria’s original plan.
Tim rode toward higher ground, and Maria started down toward the trout pond more slowly on her ATV. Dad had said there was a marvelous view from that area. Even though it wasn’t sunset yet, what better place to sit and read than a view over the water and into the mountain valley?
One novella later, twilight was gathering. It was too late to do more exploring. She shouldn’t have started with the book. She might have known she would get sucked into the story and not care about anything else. Well, she could explore some other time.
§
When she got to her room, it was occupied. Savannah was sitting curled on her bed, reading The Mark of Zorro. She was near the end of the book.
“Hi.” She looked up. “This is fun. It’s not very much like the movie, but I like it.”
“Me too.” Maria sat cross-legged on the floor. “Have you been here all evening?”
“Pretty much,” Savannah said. “I hung out by the bunkhouse for a while. Danny was cutting Blaise’s hair. Then some of the guys were sitting outside smoking cigars—Will and Danny and Luke and some of the others—but I got bored, so I came here. Did you go out on a ride in the dark?”
“I started when it wasn’t dark yet,” Maria said. “I was going to go exploring, but I got as far as the trout pond and got immersed in a book.”
“You oughtta come with me sometime,” Savannah said. “I love riding around at night. It’s so much more interesting. Down at the bunkhouse there’s always something going on. Sometimes the guys sit on the porch and play the guitar. Tim’s really good.”
“Thanks,” Maria said, “but I think I’m okay.”
The last thing she wanted to do was hang around a bunkhouse full of guys listening to Tim play the guitar. Maybe the guys would think Maria was interested in one of them. How embarrassing!
“Some of the ranch hands are cute,” Savannah said seriously, not ready to give up. “You don’t have a boyfriend, do you? You could date one of them.”