When they reached the boundary, Monty turned Buck to run parallel to the fence. Shortly, he reached the point he was looking for and reined Buck in to a sliding stop. He leapt off the horse and stood his rifle against a fence post. His objective was a simple ranch fence gate, put here in case either owner need to go onto the other's property to return strays. The gate matched the fence, with four strands of barbed wire attached to one post. The other ends of the wire were attached to a short pole. It was held in place with its top and bottom ends each snugged into a loop of wire attached to the next fence post.
Monty grabbed the pole at the top and shoved it towards the fixed post, loosening it enough to slip the top loop off. He then yanked the bottom free and tossed the gate to the side. He snatched up the rifle and swung into the saddle again. Buck was almost in a crouch with his hind legs under him, quivering with excitement. The moment Monty had his feet in the stirrups, Buck sprang through the opening and hit a full gallop. Monty didn't give a thought to the fact that he'd just broken the cardinal rule of country living: you leave a gate the way you found it. If it's open, you leave it open. If it's closed, after you pass through, you close it again. But he knew that in an emergency like this, neighbors would be more than happy to saddle up and help round up and separate cattle, if any went through the gap and mixed with the other herd.
There was a note of desperation in Monty's voice now as he urged Buck on, heading him toward the far corner of this pasture. Over the pounding of hooves on the hard ground, and over the pounding of blood in his head, Monty could hear a familiar sound. It was the deep rumble of his truck's exhaust, the sound carrying through the still night air even though the truck was on the other side of the ridge. The sound rose and fell as Ranny picked his way along the narrow, unfamiliar road, curves to the left followed by curves to the right, but the sound was getting nearer.
When Monty finally reached the corner of the field, where the ranch road butted up against the wider county highway, he again brought Buck to a sliding stop and leapt out of the saddle. He dropped the reins over Buck's head: trained to ground-tie, the horse would stay there until his master picked up the reins again. The fence was too high to step over, even with Monty's long legs, so he passed the rifle through between the top 2 strands of wire. Bending at the waist, he followed that arm with his leg, and slid his body through. He heard a ripping noise and felt a stab of pain as the sharp end of a barb dug into his back, but he had no time to worry about a torn shirt or a scratched back. He got through the fence and raced across the road to the other side.