The Calling

The Calling

The Calling is a captivating story about a northern New Mexico cattle ranch, the Cross S or Piedra (stone), in the 1950s. The action unfolds through the eyes of a half-breed Indian, top hand on the ranch, Frank Dalton, as he teaches an enigmatic young would-be cowboy named R. C. Roth the ways of cowboying, rodeoing, and life itself.As Dalton educates Roth to the ways of "the calling," both men become embroiled in complicated love affairs-Dalton falls in love with the daughter of the top hand on a neighboring ranch, and Roth with Francesca "Kika" Jaramillo, daughter of a Hispanic rancher-friend of the Cross S's Boss Stone.In addition, both cowboys are confronted with a puzzle begging to be solved-at the top of the formidable mesa overlooking the Stone ranch is a single, lonely grave marked with a granite headstone bearing the mysterious inscription "Abajo Verdad-Arriba Cielo" (below is truth, above is sky).As he unravels his tale of tragedy, deceit, and love in the land of enchantment, Hyson provides an absolutely fascinating reader-education in ranching and the cowboy life-including bronc peeling and controlling horses with a tendency to booger as well as respect for the old ways. From Booklist Hyson, cowboy-turned-rancher-turned-novelist, is a voting member of the Pawnee Tribe, spent two decades on the rodeo circuit, and is a western singer. His first novel, set in New Mexico in the 1950s, not only presents readers with an expert view of ranch life but also provides a primer on horse handling or, as he prefers, cowboying and "bein' a horseback." Hyson's narrator is Frank Dalton, half Comanche, half Anglo, who teaches young tenderfoot R. C. Roth what the cowboy's world is all about, both in and out of the saddle. Ranch owner Boss Stone, his wife, their grandson, another hand, and Frank's good friend Poke all contribute to R. C.'s learning about the "calling." Lovely Fancesca "Kika" Jaramillo, a neighbor's daughter, complete's R. C.'s education, while Frank gets himself involved with a young woman from yet another neighboring ranch. Hyson's straightforward, no-frills storytelling delivers something rarely found in westerns--a good clear look at cowboy reality. Budd Arthur