The mule's reins were still clutched in Gus's strong hand, and he numbly watched as Buck first rolled to the right and then went to his knees, then to his feet, as items fell from the pack. The mule looked at the old man accusingly as if he were responsible for this embarrassing episode.

Gus shook his head to clear it. "Son of a bitch, things are gettin' a mite strange out here, and don't go lookin' at me, I didn't knock you off your feet."

But Buck wasn't listening; he pulled the reins free of the old man's grip, and like the rabbits and the coyote, he ran from the mountains as fast as his heavy load would allow. Gus could only watch in astonishment as the mule sped into the desert. He slowly turned and looked at the now quiet and, for a reason he didn't understand, menacing Superstition Mountains.

It had taken Gus over an hour to find Buck. He had followed the trail of pots, pans, and shovels until he came across his companion chewing some sagebrush down by an old washout. The mule casually munched away as if the blow that had happened upon them earlier was nothing but a distant memory. The tarp was hanging loose at the mule's side, and the old man's few possessions that hadn't fallen out during Buck's furious romp were dangling from the damaged pack. The old man cussed the mule as he tried to put everything back in and repack. The huge animal was outright ignoring Gus.

"Go ahead and act like it wasn't you running like a scared jackrabbit," he grumbled. He walked around and looked the mule in the eyes. "You could have broken your leg running across this hardpan like that!" Gus scratched his four-day-old growth of beard and softened his voice. "Well, that wind had me spooked a little myself, old boy, don't feel too bad." He stroked the animal's nose. Buck twitched his right eye and flicked his ears, but kept chewing.

"Okay, ignore me then, you old bastard. See if I talk to you any more today. Now let's get back up there and get to work." He grabbed the reins and started to tug. The mule, after some initial resistance, started forward, still chewing.