The Waterfall

I made dry camp on high ground above the falls. I unsaddled Badger, rubbed him down with some dry grass I found, took his halter off and let him graze in the tall grass nearby. I put more grass under my bed roll cause the ground was hard and rocky. Walter laid down against my saddle and closed his eyes. I knew I could count on both of them to alert me if they sensed danger. I was hot and tired and the water coming over the falls into the clear cool pool below sure looked good but I couldn't risk getting trapped in the open. The air was still hot with no breeze at all and my shirt was wet with sweat. There was no sign of movement around the falls but it was pitch black with no moon and I couldn't take a chance. I could see lightening off to the west but I couldn't hear the thunder. I laid on my bed roll and watched it til I drifted off to sleep. I had always loved to watch storms. A loud rumble of thunder shook me awake and I instincticly bolted upright with my gun in my hand. A rain cooled breeze hit my face and I realized it was the storm I had been watching when I fell asleep. The cool air was refreshing and with the flashes of lightening I could see Badger 50 feet away facing into the wind. I had rode him hard and I know the cool air felt just as good to him. Walter had moved in under a big cedar tree behind me so I picked up my saddle and joined him. I taken out my slicker, spread it over my bed and climbed back in. The rain came in sweeping torrents and it felt good on my face. It would wipe out any tracks we may have left and I could get to the caves from here without getting on the main trail. For some reason I thought about the last time I had been to Paw's cabin. It was raining just as hard as now and he was sittin lookin out the back door at his critters when I walked in. He was drinkin strong coffee and eatin a doughnut. I said,"I'm your boy." He looked at me long and hard and said,"Ain't got no boy." I smiled at the thought and drifted back to sleep.