He Gave A Homeless Woman A Job — Months Later, She Saved His Ranch
Chapter 5
The first sign of trouble came with the cattle.
Jonathan discovered twelve animals dead near the northern pasture.
Their bodies showed no wounds.
No signs of wolves.
No broken fences.
Mary knelt beside one.
She touched the animal’s mouth.
Then smelled her fingers.
“Don’t.”
Jonathan stopped her.
“What?”
“Don’t let anyone move them.”
He frowned.
“Why?”
“I think they were poisoned.”
Jonathan stared.
“Poison?”
“Maybe.”
She examined the grass.
Then the water trough.
“Where did they drink?”
“Here.”
She looked inside.
The water appeared clear.
Mary dipped a cup.
“Don’t drink it.”
Jonathan nodded.
They took a sample to the apothecary.
The answer came two days later.
A bitter mineral had contaminated the water.
Jonathan’s face went cold.
“Someone poisoned my cattle.”
The apothecary nodded.
“It appears so.”
“Can you tell when?”
“No.”
Mary looked at Jonathan.
“How many cattle have you moved north?”
“Nearly half the herd.”
“Move them tonight.”
He hesitated.
“It’s dark.”
“Then use lanterns.”
Jonathan looked at her.
“You’re sure?”
“Yes.”
He gave the order.
The ranch hands worked until midnight.
By morning, the northern trough was empty.
A search revealed something else.
Someone had cut the fence.
Not enough for cattle to escape.
Enough for a person to enter.
Jonathan followed the tracks.
They disappeared near the woods.
Mary stood behind him.
“This isn’t about the cattle.”
Jonathan looked at her.
“What do you mean?”
“Someone is testing us.”
“Testing?”
“To see whether we notice.”
She was right.
Three days later, a barn caught fire.
Jonathan and the ranch hands managed to put it out.
The damage was limited.
But Mary found something beneath the ashes.
A piece of cloth.
Dark blue.
She recognized it.
“I’ve seen this before.”
“Where?”
“At the market.”
“On whom?”
She looked at him.
“Samuel Pike.”
Jonathan’s former foreman.
Pike had disappeared after being dismissed.
Jonathan clenched his jaw.
“I thought he left the county.”
“He may have.”
Mary turned the cloth over.
There was a stitched symbol.
A black circle.
Her face went pale.
Jonathan noticed.
“What?”
“My father used that mark.”
