Born To Track
By Stuart G. Yates
Leading Nora amongst the overhanging branches, he puts down the saddle. He loosens his pants, relieves himself against an outcrop of rock, and closes his eyes to luxuriate in the feeling of relief. Nora snorts in disgust at the stench. He has held the contents of his bladder for too long. There is a hard tack in one of his bags. He takes a bite, clamps his teeth around it, and munches until he can swallow. It tastes like old, dry rope, and he washes it down with water from his canteen. His father sometimes would bring whisky or rye to drink on longer rides. Reuben has yet to experience whisky. He wishes he had.
Returning to the shade, he puts a blanket over Nora’s back before stretching himself out on the ground. The second blanket he puts around his shoulders. Although many small rocks jab into his back, he is tired. The day is mild thanks to the sun, and soon, his eyes grow heavy. Within moments, he is asleep. Something forces him awake. A distant cry jerks him bolt upright. For a moment, he is disorientated. Rubbing his eyes, he looks around. Nora stands still, her ears pricked. The sound comes again. Sharp shouts, too far away to recognize individual words but close enough for Reuben to know these are the voices of several angry men. He gets up, throws off the blanket, and shakes himself. Moving to where he put down the saddlebags, he pulls the squirrel gun from its sheath.
It is an old gun given to him some years before by Floyd Henderson, one of the boss ranch hands. Proving himself something of a natural, Reuben would often take himself to higher ground, draw a bead on the main barn, and shoot the rats as they scurried to and fro. Henderson said he was a ‘dead-eye shot’, whatever that meant, but he basked in the big man’s praise. He never expects to use the gun in anger. A tremor runs through him. Darting from his shady spot, he crosses to an outcrop of rocks and settles himself down to watch.
Genre: Western
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Stuart G. Yates
Biography.
About the author – These are challenging times for many of us, with uncertainty and unease, constant companions. A good book can help us all to escape to a different world. As a writer, I’m fortunate to create new worlds or visit old ones. I hope you can join me as I sit here, at my home in Spain, and do my best to do what I do best! Mine is not a rags-to-riches story, one borne out of hardship, the need to write to pay bills or the result of a college course. I write because I love it and always strive to make my work as enjoyable as possible.
Writing in several genres allows me to weave different stories, from Westerns to thrillers to historical fiction. Readers can enter another world and feel breathless, excited, and desperate for more. Sometimes I succeed, sometimes I don’t, but I try my best. I’m blessed with a good imagination. I don’t know where my stories come from, and I can structure a novel because I read. As Stephen King once said about how he learned, I love movies. I see the story I write as a movie played out in my head. The better I can do this, the better my book. There is no magic formula, no matter what you might read, and there is no easy route to success.
It’s just hard work and a determination not to give in. When I found my first publisher in 2009, I thought my dreams had come true. My lifelong ambition is to be a novelist. Well, I was wrong. My publisher was a crook, and I was ripped off. I should have stuck it out for an agent, but I was impatient. I wrote my first novel at sixteen, but no one would publish it despite many attempts. The years passed by too quickly, but when another publisher accepted my work 30 years after my first submission, I knew I was doing something right. But that elusive deal with one of the big boys is still to arrive, and I continue to try and acquire a literary agent to help me on my journey.
I’ve worked many jobs, and now I’m a teacher. I love teaching. I truly do. The kids keep me young! Sometimes, they even buy my books. Or their parents do. Writing, however, will always be my passion. I write stories that will appeal to those of you who like cracking good tales with lots of mystery, thrills, and suspense. Above all else, I write what I enjoy. I have a broad taste. It’s reflected in what I create. But whatever the genre, the main point is always the story!
Stuart G. Yates
