The legal form signed I listened to Frank for hours going over and over the daily duties which I was to be responsibile. The beef cattle were to be fed grain once per day. The beasties were to be watered when in the feed lot but if on the open pasture had windmill pumps bringing up water for the animal's needs.
Even as sid had warned me about tending to horses the beef cattle too took a fair amount of work on a daily basis. Once I'd worked there and accomplished a routine showing Frank a satisfactory method of accepting responsibility then he'd move me up into the knowledge of breeding cattle.
Once our long session was done I went back to the condo and was met by a worried wife. I told her only of the explained duties and not of the form for legal dispensation awarding the farm all our goods and money at death. We then had a late lunch and went out to meet more of the other people there in the condos.
Late that night after Mary had retired I wrote a long detailed letter to our Attorney. In the letter I made a special request that he contact us directly each month for the next year. I made quite plain my thoughts and those of Sid's as to the strange happenings.
The next morning I was leaving for to start my duties when Sid came out to greet me. He was stunned I'd choosen beef cattle as my chores. I told him of the scene in the barn between Frank and the pregnant Percheron mare.
As I walked the sidewalk toward the barns a look over my shoulder toward Sid had him long faced and wondering.
At barn three I met two other men from the condos and a regular employee who worked the farm as did Frank. I was shown where the feed was siloed and how to open the silo without being buried alive. Then the feed placed in large wheelbarrows was walked out to the standing cattle and scooped into troughs.
John and Ted worked with me they being used to this labor helped me get into the swing of things. As we finished up our first mornings work Frank came out to see how I was doing. Ted was the first to spout telling Frank I worked just fine. John was next as he patted me on the back, then the two of them walked out of the barn leaving me and Frank alone.
Frank smiled and then told me he wanted to show me one additional duty that was not to be done on a regular basis. He walked me to a stall at one corner of the barn. There inside the stall was one large bull. Frank said it was of the Shorthorn breed but was still dangerous, it was not a tame pet!
I watched thinking and looking on as Frank walked out a small narrow door that no loose cow could ever step through. He soon brought into another stall a cow her lowing sounding like she was in pain. Then he opened an adjacent gate allowing the bull to step in with the cow.
Watching the bull was a sick sort of ritual as it approached the nervous cow. Tails flicking by both as one was lusting and the other quite nervous.
Frank mentioned this was for the cow her first time with a bull and she was like anything new very nervous about being mounted.
It was then on Frank's walkie talkie he was being summoned to the main house. He told me to watch and stay out of the pen. Then walking quickly out the barn he left me to watch this orgy.
The cow kept turning her rump away from the bull as if her need was not as bad as her fear.
A bull being scorned his pink cok was poked out about six inches past the thick skinned and hairy sheath. He danced about turning this way and that as the cow turned to keep her rump away from the bull. Groaning the bull tried to mount her from the side and inch his way behind. A quick move sent the bull falling to his four hooves with a thud.
Mooing in some frantic manner it seemed the cow was looking at me much of the time. Her feelings of fear of the bull were hitting me and making some odd impressions.
A time or two the bull stopped and turned his face toward mine then making some strange gutteral sound.
After yet an hour and Frank still gone the cow was sweating herself into a lather. The bull too was getting lathered both physically and mentally as try after try failed.
Turning to face me the bull lifted his head up as high as possible he could. Then to my astonished ears he spoke out a gutteral trail of words which sounded like begging me for help.
Laughing made him angry and he charged the steel fence where I stood.
The cow backed her rump up to the fence near me and stood her ground.
Then she turned her head to look at me and like the bull dragged out her throat some sounds seemingly as if thanking me for my help in keeping her a virgin.
Now this all had me rather upset when Frank returned some time later. I told him the two had not coupled and were just fighting constantly. He took out a cattle prod and zapped the bull's behind driving him back into his stall. The cow needed no such prodding and headed out into the pasture and freedom.
"Duties are over for today!" Frank yelled and walked out the barn leaving me still looking at the bull.
Pacing back and forth the bull walked then to stand directly infront of me by the steel bar fence.
Deep sounding voice came out the throat and mouth of the bull. I stood there amazed by what I was seeing and then hearing made me fear this place all the more.
As if fitting out the words the bull his lips unable to help form words spoke to me in short statements. It sounded first like "Why?" Then "She was mine!" "Needed your help!" "Want me to go to market?"
Once I contained my fear the thought of asking a question came to mind too. "Who are you?" a simple but direct question knowing that bovine animals can't talk!
The reply was slow as the bull tried to say what he wanted to say but not having lips and a tongue working in as if human it was of course difficult.
"Simon Templer assistant state investigator"
My eyes widened as the memory of Sid's story about the man who came checking on the forged lottery check. It would seem that this farm was a front for some wierd and terrible scientific project. Worse yet was that Mary and me were in danger here!