She wasn’t sure what he had in mind until he’d picked up a tree stump that had been torn from the ground and set it next to the fence. He placed one of his size-seventeen feet on top of the log.
“Hold up. Are you planning to jump over the fence?” She wouldn’t put it past him. Even as big a man as he was, he was very agile and graceful.
“Why not?”
“Okay, I can see that, but once you’re over here, how do you get back?”
“The stump’s close enough to the fence that I can roll it under then use it to jump back.” He pushed the camera bag under the lowest wire.
It made sense. People sometimes mistook Kid’s big, round face as a sign of lesser intelligence, but that was far from the truth. The man was smart as a whip. That and the fact that he reminded her of a big teddy bear made him the perfect friend for her.
“Hurry up.” She darted over to a heifer that was farther away from the main herd. “Easy, baby. I’m not going to hurt you. Not like the mean, old rancher that’s fattening you up just to kill you.” She was thankful that the animal didn’t understand what she was saying.
Kid made it over the fence with a resounding thud. He came to her side, moving gracefully and quietly, then grabbed hold of the heifer’s ear and wrapped his huge arm around its neck to keep it still. “Paint her, Mal, and let’s get out of here. I don’t want a butt load of buckshot in my ass.”
“Are you ready with the camera?”
“Naw. You’ll have to do the shooting. I don’t think she’s going to pose for you once I let go.”
“Okay, keep her still as long as you can.” She doubted anyone smaller than Kid could’ve managed to do that.
She petted the sweet, trusting bovine again, then took the paint can and brush, and started writing. Taking care not to spook her, she made bold strokes, moving the bright red lettering from an inch above the front leg, across her body, and onto the hind leg. Once she was finished, she stood back and admired her handiwork.
SENTENCED TO DEATH
“Yeah, that should send the message all right.”
“Get going, Mal. Even I can’t hold an antsy cow for long.”
She hurried to get the video camera, then returned as fast as she could without trying to startle the animal any more than it already was. The poor thing’s eyes were wild, the white of its eyes completely circling its pupils. “Okay, baby. Smile for Mamma.”
Her aim brought the heifer into focus as Kid ducked his head to keep his identity unknown. Later, they’d employ the old hidden-by-a-blur-of-pixels technique to further hide his face.
She cleared her throat, then started the video, speaking clearly and evenly as she’d practiced. “This is a heifer on a Texas ranch. Like so many others, she will have a very traumatic and painful death.”
She scanned the camera so that it picked up the rest of the herd, then centered the frame back on the painted letters. “From our investigations, utilizing both Internet sources and personal accounts from a neighbor near the ranch, these cattle, including our sweet little friend here, will soon wind up in a slaughterhouse. Terrified, the poor animal will be killed while she’s still conscious. Governmental guidelines, albeit still falling short of anything this reporter would call humane, call for the animal to be totally unconscious at the time of death. Supposedly,” she let the sarcasm layer her tone, “being unconscious will cause it less pain. I, for one, doubt it. And that’s assuming she’s really knocked out.”
She zeroed in on the pleading eyes. “Please, please, understand. This is unnecessary cruelty. Stop eating beef so that poor, defenseless animals like our peaceful friend need not die.”
She pivoted the camera, placing only her eyes in the frame, then gave her final lines. “Frightened, caged, and then killed without mercy. Would you like to die that way?”
She pressed the stop button and lowered the camera. “And we’re clear. Short and sweet, right? What’d you think?”
Kid let the nervous bovine go. It hurried toward the herd, mooing its displeasure. “It looked good to me. Are we doing another one or is one enough for the day?”
“Maybe one more with the slogan, ‘Cows have feelings, too. Do you?’ written in a different color. Red was great for this first one, but let’s use gold paint next. That color will stand out against the brown hide better. Plus, I’d like to get at least two videos done before we get out of here. It’s better to get as much done as we can now than to have to come back another day.”
“Whatever you say, boss.”
She wasn’t Kid’s boss or anyone else’s. They didn’t make a dime from their efforts, but it was worth it if they could save one animal from horrendous torture.