As the day of their journey approached, Elizabeth and her hands made preparations to take two wagons, and as many of the ranch hands as they could manage, to help with the horses on the road. For many of the hands, this would be a chance to see friends and family for the first time in years. The party was becoming bigger and bigger, and Elizabeth knew that most of the families in the area were sending representatives. Her own men were hoping that their families would be counted among the numbers, and she found herself excited as well at the thought of greeting old friends on the Vargas Ranch.
They had made a game of the selection, in the end, as all the ranch hands had begged her to take them. Manuel had gathered ten rocks—nine plain rocks and one red one—and placed them into a hat, then gathered the ranch hands, blindfolded them, and asked them to choose a stone out of the hat. Anyone who chose the red stone would go to the party, while those who chose plain stones had to stay home.
Elizabeth watched this game, laughing at the joy of those who got the red stone, and frowning at those who found that they would have to stay. In the end, she promised that anyone who was staying would have extra days off in the month following the races, to visit their families on their own. She had always preferred to see her men happy, rather than dissatisfied, and was glad when even the men who lost went back to helping with the preparations.
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