(no subject)

[snowy_river_man]

Harrison's cattle station must be the largest for hundreds of miles, Jim thinks to himself as he crests a small hill and pulls his horse to a sudden stop. He's surprised he has never heard the name, even up in the mountains. The man must live like a king.

Lush green grass surrounds the low level house and outbuildings, and Jim counts at least five corrals. While he watches, a man whistles and drives ten to fifteen heads of cattle toward a paddock.

With the exception of the small hill he's on, the land is flat.

Jim exhales and says a small oath, then gallops across the remaining stretch of green.

---

"Mountain boy?"

Harrison is perched on the top rail of a holding pen, reading the letter Jim had secured from Mr. Patterson.

Jim nods respectfully. "That's right, sir."

Now that he's had time to study his face, Jim can't help noticing that Mr. Harrison not only sounds like Spur, he also resembles him.

"Curly, cut the heifer out,” Harrison orders in a no nonsense tone of voice. Jumping off the fence, he gives the letter another glance and then folds it along the lines. "I'll give you a try. Make yourself known to the foreman.”

There's something in the man's glittering eyes that makes Jim feel as if he's being sized up like a heifer facing slaughter. "Thank you, sir."

His new boss grunts and strides for the house as if he has already forgotten about Jim.

I'm going to walk like that one day, Jim thinks. That’s how a man should walk.

---

Jim is immediately put to work chopping logs. It's honest work, and work he knows well. There's no shame in it. He doesn't pause to wipe away sweat or to wonder where he might find water. Not until the job is done.

The foreman passes by, walking through the gate to the main house. "When you're done here, muck out the stables."

"Yes, sir."

Face shining from the heat, Jim brings the axe down on another log and splits it neatly in half. Out of the corner of his eye, he sees the foreman speaking with a woman who must be the cook. He has the sneaking suspicion they are discussing him, but that doesn't stop him from continuing.

The logs aren't going to split themselves.

He wonders when he's going to start feeling like a man.