Page 64 of Stockman's Stowaway

‘You bet your sweet chilli sauce cattle thieving is a problem, girlie. Flamin’ bloody mongrel duffers they are,’ mumbled Charlie, pushing back his hat to expose his scowl.

‘Listen, Pop, we might be able to argue that those mustering contractors missed these cattle. It’s why I brought Craig out—to cover our arses. But, Pop, you have to stop telling people that we hid them in Wombat Flats.’

‘I only told these boys, as the owners.’

‘And the Station Hand. And—’

‘I swear we won’t say anything to anyone.’ Cap had to help them. ‘We wouldn’t even have a herd if it weren’t for you two.’

‘Cap is right. The stock you took gives us a great head start,’ said Dex.

‘Technically, we didn’t take them,’ said Bree. ‘We just moved them.’

Ryder crossed his arms over his chest. ‘What happens on the station, stays on the station.’

‘Aw, cupcake, now you’re speaking my language.’ Bree even tapped his arm. ‘Look, guys, Craig is a stock inspector, who can sign off on your herd’s Waybills to stop any questions being asked. It’ll be like glossing over the details on the paperwork thatother stock inspectors would be asking. And I don’t trust them, like I trust Craig with our business.’

‘It’ll just be for the first sale, that’s all,’ explained Craig.

‘Thank you.’ Charlie sighed with relief, patting Craig’s back.

‘It’s the least I can do for you and Bree. You’re family.’

‘Not to interfere with your business, guys,’ spoke Bree, ‘but as the new owners of Elsie Creek Station lots of eyes will be on you,especiallywhen you take your first lot of fats to the Elsie Creek train station. Everyone in town will wonder where they’ve been. Especially when they take one look at your beef and see their age and exceptional condition.’

‘So, Craig is here to make it all look legit?’ Ryder asked.

Craig nodded at Ryder. ‘With the disbandment of the local co-op, I can hook you up with a few stock agents I’d recommend. Not only will they get you a good price for your stock, they won’t ask too many questions, because they trust me enough to know I’ll only trade a decent beast. But I need to see the stock first, because I’m putting my reputation on the line, too.’

‘As a ladies’ man.’ Dex playfully punched Craig’s arm.

‘Leave off. Craig’s one of the best stock inspectors in the district. He just hates doing paperwork, so we’re lucky to have him on board,’ said Charlie.

‘You taught me, but I’ll never have as good an eye for stock as Bree has.’

‘But the kid could never track a hoof trail as good as you.’

‘I knew it!’ Ryder pointed at Bree. ‘You went to the east boundary searching for where those wild dogs came onto the property, didn’t you?’

‘We did. And they came in through the east fence line.’ Bree dragged out a map from her back pocket. ‘It was two vehicles, heavy tread, big utes. Craig, you agree?’

Craig nodded, pointing at the map. ‘They weren’t buggies, bikes, or trucks, but utes. One of them had these special all-terrain tyres, the type you’d expect to find on fancy tyre rims used by concrete cowboys. But they came from your neighbour’s block. One was extra heavy, like it was weighed down by a steel cage, probably for the dogs.’

‘You didn’t jump the fence and follow those tracks, did you, Bree?’ asked Ryder.

‘Bree wanted to, but I made sure she didn’t.’ Craig tapped on the map. ‘We worked out that someone cut your boundary fence here… They then backed up to let the dogs out of the cage, fixed up the fence and the rest you dealt with. We saw your cameras. Those fake ones look fake, mate.’

‘Sorry, Ash, the weather got to them.’ Bree patted Ash’s shoulders.

‘It was only a temporary measure while we were out mustering in Wombat Flats.’

‘At least we have those poles in place to add the new cameras,’ said Dex. ‘Are they here?’

‘Yep. Box on the porch. I’ve ordered more for Ash’s intranet system, too.’ Ryder straightened out the map to extend the area. ‘I’ve already put camera’s here and here. Could you tell if that cut fence was in clear sight?’

Bree shook her head as Craig said, ‘We think they picked that area purposely because it’s a blind spot.’

‘Damn.’ Ryder wiped over his mouth. ‘Can you estimate when it happened?’

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