Connie parted company with the cowboys farther on down the road, returning alone to the ranch while they delivered Catapult into the keeping of Jack Crawford. It was after two o’clock when she reached home. Letting herself quietly into the house, she went to bed and slept so soundly that she did not awaken until Marie opened the door in the morning.
“Oh, I had no idea it was so late!” Connie cried in dismay. “If I don’t hurry I’ll be late for the rodeo.”
As she hurriedly dressed in cowgirl regalia which she planned to wear in the parade, she tried out her shoulder. It was still sore, but she could bear the pain now when she moved it.
Connie had coffee and rolls in the patio alone, and then hastened outside. Lefty and Alkali, resplendent in bright colored shirts and silver-trimmed sombreros, were saddling up their broncos ready to start for Red Gulch. Blakeman and Jim Barrows already had left.
“How did you come out last night after we parted company?” she asked quickly.
“Everything’s set,” chuckled Lefty. “And you should have heard old Blake a-blowin’ around this morning. He thinks he has that bulldoggin’ event cinched. Wait ’till Catapult gives him the double ’o’.”
Connie laughed and declared that she would not miss the fun for anything in the world. Saddling Silvertail she rode into Red Gulch with her friends. On the way in she told them of her determination to compete in the various events open to girls.
“You’re takin’ a big chance with that game shoulder,” Lefty declared. “I wouldn’t do it if I was you.”
“That money means a lot to me,” Connie replied soberly. “If I could win the five hundred dollar prize, I might be able to raise enough extra so I could meet my bank obligations. Then I’d be able to keep the ranch.”
“We’ll sure be a-pullin’ for you, Connie,” Alkali declared warmly.