“Unless my shoulder mends rapidly I’ll never be able to ride in the rodeo,” she thought. “And without that five hundred dollars I haven’t a Chinaman’s chance of saving the ranch.”
CHAPTER V
Pop Bradshaw’s Treachery
In the morning Connie’s shoulder was so stiff and sore that the slightest movement of her arm gave her great pain. At Lefty’s suggestion she rode in to Red Gulch to consult old Doctor Horn. Other than to give her a liniment to rub on, there was nothing he could do.
“Just rest the muscles for the next two weeks,” he advised. “It will gradually get better.”
“But I’m planning to ride in the rodeo,” Connie declared anxiously.
The doctor shook his head.
“Don’t do anything foolish, Connie. I doubt very much that your shoulder will be well by that time.”
Connie left the doctor’s office feeling as if all her troubles had reached a climax. She knew she had no one to blame save herself, yet that made it no easier.
She was walking along, eyes on the ground when she heard her name called. Turning quickly she saw Nate Jordan, an old rancher who had been a close friend of her father’s. He operated a profitable dude ranch, the Circle R, near Santa Fe.
“Why, hello, Nate!” cried Connie in delight. “What are you doing up in our country?”