Close Call
I run as long as I can, but the two loose heifers are always just ahead of me. Sparkie tries to get ahead of them too, but the sharp rocks on the train track are hurting her feet and in her effort to avoid them she's unable to catch them either. Once I've stopped and called Sparkie back, I'm aware of how much my heart is racing from the sprint. Daddy jogs up behind me.
"Tom says there's a train due soon," he says tightly, and my stomach drops.
The two flighty heifers running alongside the line are very likely to spook right into the train's path as it approaches. For the longest time I watch Daddy jogging alongside the cows, until he is finally able to turn them back. My throat is dry. I'm shaking. Sparkie lies panting at my feet. The two loose cows are trotting back alongside the train track, Daddy running behind them. Sparkie stands as they approach, and we move forward to bring them in. We almost made it. Even though I've been listening for the approaching train, it's right there before I notice it. I pull back.
"Sparkie!"
She's right with me and I crouch down, grabbing her collar and pulling her close with my arm wrapped around her shoulders. The horn blares out as the train hurtles towards us. I see Daddy moving back towards the fence, and the two cows spook and start to turn, facing directly into the path of the oncoming train. Sparkie flinches, her head swinging around to see the train.
"Easy, girl," I say, tightening my grip, but I can't hear my own voice over the roar of the train.
I duck my head down, unable to watch as the train flies past. The ground shudders. It's a short train, only pulling four passenger carriages, but at that moment it seems to take forever to get past. And then it's gone and I raise my head, and the heifers are standing facing the way they'd just run from, scared but not in a million disgusting pieces on the train line. I'm shaking again as I stand up. Sparkie bounds through the long grass, unaffected by the close call. We manage to herd the cows back through the gate with no more scares, but it takes a lot longer for my heart rate to slow down.
"Tom says there's a train due soon," he says tightly, and my stomach drops.
The two flighty heifers running alongside the line are very likely to spook right into the train's path as it approaches. For the longest time I watch Daddy jogging alongside the cows, until he is finally able to turn them back. My throat is dry. I'm shaking. Sparkie lies panting at my feet. The two loose cows are trotting back alongside the train track, Daddy running behind them. Sparkie stands as they approach, and we move forward to bring them in. We almost made it. Even though I've been listening for the approaching train, it's right there before I notice it. I pull back.
"Sparkie!"
She's right with me and I crouch down, grabbing her collar and pulling her close with my arm wrapped around her shoulders. The horn blares out as the train hurtles towards us. I see Daddy moving back towards the fence, and the two cows spook and start to turn, facing directly into the path of the oncoming train. Sparkie flinches, her head swinging around to see the train.
"Easy, girl," I say, tightening my grip, but I can't hear my own voice over the roar of the train.
I duck my head down, unable to watch as the train flies past. The ground shudders. It's a short train, only pulling four passenger carriages, but at that moment it seems to take forever to get past. And then it's gone and I raise my head, and the heifers are standing facing the way they'd just run from, scared but not in a million disgusting pieces on the train line. I'm shaking again as I stand up. Sparkie bounds through the long grass, unaffected by the close call. We manage to herd the cows back through the gate with no more scares, but it takes a lot longer for my heart rate to slow down.