The morning sun rose and lit the little town of Lincoln, New Mexico fully at around seven o' clock. It was June now, and the sun was rising sooner than usual each day. This morning found a forty-five year old John Tunstall, accompanied by his lawyer and close friend Alex McSween and Alex's wife Susan, stopping his wagon in front of his brand new store at the south end of town. It had been nearly two months ago that he'd come here to this little western town all the way from London England, and since then he had managed to set up quite a fine new life for himself here. There were a large group of cowhands coming up from Texas, scheduled to arrive in a few weeks, bringing the cattle he had purchased with them. They had been hired to drive them to John's ranch and then drop them off there before heading back to their own outfit in Texas, so there was still the matter of hiring on hands once the cattle arrived. The ranch itself was three thousand acres of wild New Mexican wilderness where somewhere in the very center a little adobe house stood, with a barn in front of it and a bunkhouse out back. There was land enough for hundreds of cattle but for now John would be starting off with only fifty head. But this was only until he could find some willing ranch hands to hire on. He'd buy more cattle when he had the men to take care of them. Now the store was a different story. This was something he could start on right away. The old place needed a lot of repairs and even more cleaning, but John was confident that he could get it up and running before his cattle arrived at the ranch in around three weeks. "Well, my dear friends, what do you think?" John asked, turning around in his seat to face Alex and Susan. Alex shook his head. "The place needs a lot of work, John." He said. "I don't know if we can get it done on time. Not even with the three of us working together." John got down from the wagon and walked up the front stairs to the store. "Nonsense, Alex." He said with a confident smile. "If we give it everything we have this old place will be up and operating in no time." Susan chuckled at as Alex shook his head. John sure was a persistent fellow. "Now then, Alex..." John continued opening the door of the old building. "Shall we get started?" Alex sighed and got down from the wagon before helping Susan down too. The couple then walked up the stairs of the boardwalk and followed John into what was now his general store.

...

For two weeks they worked to get the old place back into shape, but still with only the three of them, they were falling behind schedule. They needed another set of hands to help out. Another worker would surely be the answer to their prayers. And it just so happened that that answer was closer then any of them thought. The stagecoach came into Lincoln one hot sunny day at noon, and almost as soon as they'd stopped, a young, dark haired, dark eyes boy jumped off of the front seat where he'd been sitting next to the driver. Over one shoulder he carried a burlap sack filled with some clothes he'd packed before leaving home, and in his other hand he carried a rifle. There was a belt around his thin waist that held a six shooter as well, though he looked and should have been way too young for such weaponry. Especially when he seemed to be alone. John had been out on the front porch of the store, replacing the window glass when the stagecoach dropped the boy off, and now he stood, watching the child with a curious and worried eye. Why would such a young child be traveling alone out here in the rough and unforgiving West? John haulted his work and stood up straight by the front door to keep a better eye on the boy as he approached the door of the little cafe in the middle of town. The poor thing was probably starving if he'd been on is own for so long, and since John assumed that the child had no money, he figured he'd follow the young man in and treat him to a nice big meal. Then maybe he could find out more about this mysterious young stranger. "Alex, Susan. I'm going for dinner." He called to his friends who were inside the store. "Would you like to accompany me?" Alex shook his head. "No, that's okay, John." He said. "We ate a big breakfast this mornin'." Susan nodded in agreement. "You go on ahead, John." She told him. "We'll be fine here for a little while." John nodded and tipped his hat with a smile. "I'll be back shortly." He promised before walking back outside and crossing the street to the little town cafe. He entered the little restaurant just in time to the the young boy place a couple of shiny pennies on the front counter. "Sweetie, this ain't gonna cover a whole meal." The young lady behind the counter told him. John could see the disappointment in the child's eyes from where he stood. The poor thing was starving but he didn't have the money to pay for food. The boy sighed and turned to walk away but before he could leave John walked up to the counter and placed two shiny silver dollars on the counter. "Two meals please. One for me and one for this young gentleman." John turned and smiled kindly at the boy who was now looking at him with confused brown eyes. The woman nodded. "Sit wherever ya want." She told them both. "Your food'll be out in a minute." John turned to the boy and motioned for him to follow him. The boy hesitated for a moment, obviously confused why this strange man would pay for his food, but confusion and fear quickly gave into hunger and he followed John to a table. "Now then, my young man." John said, once they'd taken their seats at a table at the fat end of the cafe. "Allow me to introduce myself. I'm John Tunstall. I own a ranch just outside of town. And the new store that will soon be in operation here." John extended his hand to the young stranger. The boy nodded and shook John's hand. "Nice to meet ya, mister Tunstall." He said. "Name's Richard. Richard Brewer." John nodded and smiled at the boy. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Richard." He said. The young boy gave a small grin then went silent. John looked him over carefully. "I don't mean to pry, Richard..." He said. "But you look a bit young to be out here on your own...Are your parents nearby?" The boy looked up at him with sad eyes and shook his head. "No sir." He answered. John frowned. "I'm very sorry, my boy." He said. "You have my condolences."

"Oh, no sir." The boy replied. "They ain't dead...or at least not both of 'em anyway. Pa died of small pox last year but Mama's still alive and well." John nodded. "My apologies, Richard, I shouldn't have just assumed." The boy shrugged. "It's alright." He muttered quietly. John eyed him carefully. "If you don't mind me asking, dear boy, where is your mother?" He asked the child. Richard looked up at him again, but this time he seemed very reluctant to answer. "She's back home." He said, his voice uneasy. John raised an eyebrow. "And where exactly is home?" He asked. The boy looked down at the floor before replying quietly, "Vermont." John's eyes widened at the boy's reply. "Vermont?" He asked. "Well you're a bit far from home then aren't you?" The boy nodded slowly. "Bank took the farm after Pa died." He said. "We're real poor, Mister Tunstall. I came out here to find work. Mama can't feed us all with the money she's been makin'." John's eyes saddened. The poor child. He needed help, that much was obvious. "Does your mother know your here, lad?" He asked his new young friend. Richard looked up at John for a moment and then down at the floor before shaking his head. "I left her a note." He told John. "Told her I was headed to New Mexico. Said I'd heard there might be some kind of ranch work down this'a way." John nodded. "Don't you think she might be worried?" He asked. Richard shrugged. "Probably not." He replied. "She's probably glad I left home. She's got one less mouth to feed with me gone." John frowned. "I'm willing to bet that she's worried sick about you, young man." He told Richard. "How old are you anyway?" Richard looked up at John. "Ten." He told him. John sighed. "Well, Richard. I know you'll probably think that I'm wrong by telling you this but I think you should go back home to your family. The West is no place for such a young man." Richard shook his head. "I can't Mister Tunstall." He told him. "I promised my Pa 'fore he died that I'd be the man of the house. That take care of Mama and the little ones. I can't go back to 'em with nothin'. I gotta do somethin' to help or they'll all end up starvin'." John could see tears forming in the boys eyes. He was desperate. Anyone with a good eye could see it. This boy needed help now, and John decided he was just the man to do it. He sighed as he finally made up his mind about what to do. "Well, my young man, if that's the case I suppose it wouldn't be right to send you back now." The boy sniffled and looked up at John hopefully. "I'll tell you what. Why don't we send your mother a telegram and let her know that you're safe and sound and where your at, then you can stay here if she gives her blessing. Fair enough?" He asked the boy.

Richard nodded. "Yes sir..." He agreed. "B..but how am I gonna find work if she let's me stay? All the folks I asked already said I was too little to handle a man's work and sent me away." John pulled a thoughtful face and looked the boy over again. "Stand up for me, lad." He told Richard. The little cowboy obeyed and stood up from the table. "Well you seem able enough to handle a man's work to me." He told him. "How are you with cattle, Richard?" The boy's face lit up. "Real good, Mister Tunstall." He told him. "We raised cattle back home 'fore the bank took the farm." John nodded. "Well.." He said. "It just so happens that I'm expecting a shipment of cattle to arrive at my ranch in a matter of days now. But, alas I've yet to find a single wiling sole to work them." Richard gasped and gave John a hopeful look. "Are...are you offerin' me a job, Mister Tunstall?" He asked, his dark eyes filled with hope. John smiled and nodded. "I'm in desperate need of a Foreman more than anything else at the moment." He said to the boy. "If you're interested, Richard, the job is yours." A smile wider than John had ever seen spread across the young cowboy's face and he looked up at John with big brown, grateful eyes. "Thank ya, real kindly, Mr. Tunstall." He said. "I don't know how To repay ya fer this." John smiled then turned his head when he heard foot steps behind him. The young woman who owned the Cafe laid two big plates of food in front of John and Richard. "There ya are, Fellas." She said, before walking off. John looked back at the boy. "How about you just put some muscle back on those bones of yours and we'll call it even, huh?" John said with a smile. Richard smiled back and nodded before he began digging into what was most likely his first meal in days. John smiled. He'd taken care of the foreman job, and he'd managed to save a young runaway from starvation and probably help his family start to edge there way out of poverty as well. It had been a very successful day for him. Now if he could only find some other ranch hands to assist Richard and himself everything would be perfect.

TBC