Then she went out to Annie and mounted the mare. Jewel decided to ride out and look over the south side of the ranch. She wanted to inspect the fences and see how the pasture grass was progressing. She rode down the drive a short distance, then cut out across the meadow of bluebonnets to a small clearing in the meadow that ran along side the creek branch leading to the south end of the ranch. The sun was just beginning to rise and Jewel could feel her emotions take charge. She had truly loved being on this ranch with her Grandmother and felt a heavy sadness at her loss. She led Annie into a fast trot over the grassy pasture until she came to the cool wooded area she had always dubbed "The Forest". Rays of sunshine were streaming through the wispy pine trees giving off errie shadows. She heard birds singing and stopped for a moment to glance at the lacy ferns and wood violets that lay on the forest floor. A little further down she noted the spider lilies had taken over and were growing among the other flowers and plants. She had always enjoyed the cool dampness of the forest with its many wooded plants.
Sometimes, she had encountered deer grazing there by the spring fed creek. Right now she felt so close to her Grandmother ,she could hear her speaking. On several occasions she had seen a bobcat and coyote at the spring. There were always little rabbits and birds near the spring. Today there weren't any little creatures to amuse her so she continued along the path to her destination. Something semed very strange to her. It was too quiet here, the birds were no longer singing. Just at that moment a wild hog came charging out of the bushes and was headed straight for Annie. Grasping the reins to control the horse, she tried to turn Annie in the other direction to make a run for it. But Annie reared up and Jewel went sliding down to the ground with her saddle before she had a chance to regain her balance.
Before losing consciousness Jewel thought she heard a gun shot and the dreadful death squeal of a pig. Then darkness and the feeling of falling into a deep pit overtook her. She heard someone call her name.
"Jewel! Jewel!" said the familiar voice that was repeating her name over and over. She felt strong arms lifting her and carrying her someplace but she was already lost in the state of semi-consciousness and didn't know what was happening.
