The Rustlers of Animas Forks

Chapter I: Bushwhack!
Paddy Connor rode slowly along the foothills of the San Juan range, not far from the boundary of the Double S ranch. He was scanning the area in front and to the sides as he rode, alert and wary. He caught the glint of sunlight on metal a second before he heard the shot, but for someone like Paddy, a second was long enough. He immediately dug his spurs into the horse and slipped sideways off his saddle so that his body was along the side of the horse, with one hand holding onto the horse’s mane and one leg still over the saddle. The horse had jumped forward when it felt the spurs, and the bullet sliced the air where Paddy had been a second earlier.
Paddy had been following the tracks of a small herd of cattle for at least three miles when he was shot at. That morning, he had been riding the range near the boundaries of the ranch when he noticed a lot of cattle tracks that seemed to be headed in the same direction. There was nothing strange about cattle tracks on a cattle ranch, but Paddy had grown up on a ranch and knew that cattle mostly moved about in small groups, and their movement was random. He first noticed the tracks of a few head of cattle moving in a straight line toward the boundary to the east, but the only thing that attracted his attention was the tracks of two shod horses, which meant that a couple of men were driving the cattle. That was also quite normal on a ranch, and the only reason Paddy even noticed it was simply because he was that type of man—he always noticed things. He continued riding until he spotted the tracks of a few more head of cattle that also trailed in a straight line to the same boundary, and again there were the tracks of two shod horses.
Paddy swung down from the saddle and studied the tracks closely. He figured the tracks had been made at least a day earlier, or possibly two, since there had been only a slight breeze for the past two days. Paddy was thoughtful as he swung into the saddle and continued riding, but now he was looking for similar tracks, and he found two more places with the same. He followed one set of tracks, which moved in a straight line until it left the boundary of the ranch, and then the tracks turned south. Further on, he found another set of tracks that joined up with the trail he was following, and as he rode, the same thing happened again. Now Paddy was fully alert and wary, because to him, this could only mean rustling. They were moving small groups of cattle to the boundary and then turning south so that all the groups would eventually join up. He debated whether to go back to the ranch and inform Mark and Brian or follow the tracks and see where they led. He decided on the latter option, but he rode with every sense alert. He glanced occasionally at the ground to be sure he was still following the tracks, but the rest of the time he was scanning the area in front and to the sides as he rode. He had covered almost three miles when he saw the glint of sunlight.