Today started well but quickly soured.
New calf. Needed to be chained. Mr. Silence proved his mettle, pulling the calf as if he’d been doing so daily for at least my lifetime. He then proceeded to break the stallion that we’ve been calling Devil Eyes(now named Air Groove?) with near minimal trouble
BV showed up towards the end of the day. Large group of men, led by Mr. B. Phelps and Mr. Black Dog(?). Black Dog appears to be a shaman of his people(Cherokee, or maybe Apache? Unable to tell.) and a former states confederate(?). Both Mr. Sutter and Mr. Silence seem to recognize the name if not the man himself. Mr. Phelps did most of the talking, the expected thinly veiled threats Mr. Sutter has been receiving for months now.
While Mr. Phelps was talking to Mr. Sutter, Mr. Black Dog did something. Father Sinclair -who appears to be fluent in the trading language- said after he had claimed the father, Mr. Silence, and I were dangerous.
are they…?
If they are and Debbie knows, she isn’t telling. She has been refusing to speak to me lately, and even if she was I doubt I’d be willing to give her what she’d want for that information. Much better to find out on my own.
If Sunday is, I’m unsure if asking him would still be a good idea. I really did not want to involve anyone from the ranch. Perhaps Mr. Atticus- I still have not caught his last name- would be willing and able. He’s a capable hand, if not as impressive as Mr. Silence.
As for BV, the father was able to convince them to leave peacefully. I will admit, the air was charged and I was prepared for the situation to quickly turn into a fight. We outnumbered them, but if Mr. Black Dog and Mr. Phelps live up to even close to their reputations it’s not impossible that we may have lost.
Isadora saw none of the ordeal, thankfully. However, it was quite hard to get her to sleep. She was restless and fussy. I cannot blame her, as most all of us are after that little display.
Was able to get Maverick outside today. She’s the better for it.