Show 1 I 1 Q mafa V ohana W au THE STORY THUS fan fails thunder head commonly known as the goblin li Is the only white horse ever foaled coaled on the th goose bar ranch la in wyoming B he re his great grandil grand rc a wild stallion known as ai the abe albino one day goblin winders wander into a mountain valley and barely escapes death from rom Us his grand sires slashing boots when ills his wounds beat beal his 12 year old owner ken begins to train win him although difficult 0 to o handle goblin can run with astonishing speed and endurance in a trial ho be covers a halt hal mile in 47 seconds he escapes gelding by an accident charley sargent millionaire horse breeder Is enthusiastic about gobles Gobl las possibilities ties CHAPTER XV rob conceded th that at thunderhead had been promoted since the speed ae had shown that afternoon he would be guarded cherished watched over like the crown prince ken could hardly believe it do you fou mean keep him in this winter dad and and feed him ats and hay with my own fair hands more ill ride mm him and continue his training whenever I 1 have time nets the least I 1 can do if hes going to put wooden fences on the ranch and buy a furnace for what do you think nell he had seen her sitting there silent and white after the hard look te he had given her she looked up as he spoke to her his face was genial and smiling first firs athe the blow then the smile lu but it S she answer tor for a moment eni I 1 and ken was impatient Mo mother therl 1 he exclaimed yes she said by all seep beep him in when nell asked rob she made tt it very casual she was brushing hair tor for the night by the way rob did you see bellamy yes what about the sheep its OK thank heaven 1 will he be able to pay us the first half before howard leaves no he cant do that he has to wait until he sells his lambs What ll we do we have to have that eight hundred by september tenth rob had his back to her standing before his chiffonier there was something tom gom ething very rigid about his body the legs braced apart a little head back ill take some horses down to the denver auction this next week nell made no comment she cal sulfated rapidly every summer hs he had half a dozen or so Id scrubs to sell at any price he could get horses who were too small or poorly developed Jev loped eloped or with some defect sometimes he sold them to williams a horse buyer who went around to ranches with his own truck or at one of the nearby near by abc eions wherever he sold them he would be lucky to get fifty dollars apiece for them there were also the two old brood mares to be sold altogether that would make perhaps i four hundred dollars what else would he sell to make up the difference there had been rany many arguments between herself and rob on the subject of providing for their current needs by sales of horses no matter at what sacrifice he always refused to do it what sell a horse worth fifteen hundred collars for fifty not if I 1 was starving of but rob how ma many ny sales of that sort do you get ive had some weve lived we I 1 yes four horses four years ago lit at seven hundred dollars a piece then none the next year then one for two thousand I 1 admit that was a good sale but you must have thirty or forty horses just waiting for or one of those sales and they anly ny come once in a blue moon when we need the mo money ney you might as well sell half a dozen for anything you would still have enough fine horses for any sort of deal that came along id rather sell one for two tho thousand u than twenty ho horses at a hundred dollars a head or forty horses at fifty such remarks as these were unanswerable but he talking like that now nell glanced at him did he mean that he would take some of his fine stuff down to the denver auction and let it go 0 cheap As he turned she saw his face weary and harassed ile he went into the small adjoining bedroom where he be kept his boots and clothes they talked back and forth through the open door while she washed her face in oil and carefully dried it it exciting about thunderhead de she asked yep you see the best of it she said 1 I wish you had she could hear bear him polishing his shoes before he put them away said il hes es oh he can run runt W he fast if he e ever er gets the kinks ironed out of him dont wait t for me im going to smoke a pipe before I 1 turn in it you dont seem to take much stock in him rob no 1 dont after a short silence nell said 1 neither do 1 I it just seems unlikely somehow that hell pan out shall we take skippy to the auction with us yelled howard bust busi ly brushing and grooming sultan the big blood bay who his lather father said was worth a good five h hundred un dollars to anyone that wanted a well trained heavy hunter 1 I should say not yelled rob from the other corral where he was giving injun the workout work out he had promised nell the horse should have every day do you want to disgrace me what sort of horse breed er would raise an animal like that there was the sound of galloping three beautiful sorrel mares taffy A honey and russet came canter ing down the pasture toward the corral with ken mounted on thunderhead de behind them howard hastened to open the 1 gates the mares trotted in and ken slid off his horse all dad he yelled au all here thirteen of em all right unsaddle your horse you can wipe him off but dont take all day I 1 want you to help howard groom those others the gate of the corral where rob was exercising injun was carefully opened nell entered and stood watching she was dressed in a summer suit of light blue linen and a tan straw hat with a round brim that curved off her face it was nearly the color of the tawny bang that gleamed on her forehead with her hands thrust into the pockets of her jacket and her small feet in their sturdy flat shoes planted in 4 1 I 1 PV vv do t 4 ft 10 we jive have to have that eight han ban dred by september the tenth the loose soil she had her little girl look youre taking sultan shi she asked and smoky and blue she no them in the string that how ard and ken were grooming the they were blue roans a pair of beauties esp with sweeping tails and gentle eyes just too small for army or polo but well broken and beautifully beautiful matched nell had always thought though of them as belonging to two little girls sisters who would love then them and saddle and groom them them selves and taffy and A honey floney and russet said rob turning injun and riding him down along the fence again nells question was answered rob was going to do the thing he had always vowed he would never do throw away some of his best stuff to meet an urgent need of the moment injun turned and came back robs face was hard as nails nell hated to look at it she could see the real suffering underneath id have saved sultan for the army sale hed have been certain for a 2 hundred and eighty five dollars except for that scar on his chest damn the barbed airel As if injun felt the passion and violence of his master he began to crouch and lunge rob turned him sharply away from nell and forced him to resume his measured pacing up and down the cor corral ral fence when he reached nell again he paused and said more calmly you dont often see such horses as these in this country 1 I know you dont said nell sad ly IY there wont be anything at the auction to touch 61 6 1 I 1 dont doubt it IsM mother otherl 1 yelled howard from the other corral dont you think we ought to take skippy to the auction and sell her sell herl scoffed rob sell the boy must be out of his mindl mind nell laughed someone might buy her A child could ride her the thirteen horses were ready for loading crowded into the small corral which opened into the chute it 14 was always a difficult business nell stood near by watching it depressed her she mind the tha ancient brood mares and the scrubs but sultan I 1 and the three sorrel marest and the two bluest skippy might help said well nell and you could squeeze her in ashes so small they know she was there ken come herel here I 1 yelled his father he put ken on skippy placed her in advance of all the others and told the boy to ride her through the chute and up the ramp As ken did so rob and howard forced the others horses after them skippy led the procession triumphantly but laid her ears back when she found herself penned into a corner of the truck with no room to kick and no oats just promise not to bring skippy back even if you have to give her away called nell as they closed the truck she walked up onto the hill to see the last of them kirn kim and chaps sat down beside her and watched too she thought she saw a hand waving just before the truck went around the curve then it was gone and she hurried indoors the old brood mares sold immediately for forty dollars apiece after it was ascertained that each one carried a foal better that than the coyotes muttered rob there was more bidding for the scrubs they were ridden around and around the ring by the ring ling boys while whips cracked and the raucous voice of the auctioneer rattled as fast as the tobacco sellers on the radio the scrubs were auctioned oil off for an average of forty five dollars each sultan was led in my goehl look at that horse exclaimed the auctioneer the hammer crashed bid a hundred for him A bund hundred redl A hundred bid bd a hundred As he poured out his line the ring boy made a leap for sultans back sultan reared and plunged away tore loose from the rope and went galloping around the ring three boys pursued him cornered him got his rope he be still fought them the whips cracked he lashed with his heels and the auctioneer not looking at him was crying 0 bid a hundred am I 1 bid a hundred seventy five bid a heavyset heavy set farmer seventy six bid the man in the bowler hat the farmer bid eighty the man in the bowler hat bid eighty one sultan was sold to the farmer for ninety dollars the farmer was vas at sultans side as ken slid off him he was pleased with his buy what I 1 call a real horse hell do me as well as a farnall would and without gasoline too he chuckled and ran his hand over the horses withers do are yau you going to use him to plow the farmer looked at him in as ment 1 I sure am what do you spose im payin ninety dollars for hes a hunter exclaimed ken desperately A heavy hunter hunter repeated the farmer fanner hunt what of foxes foxes you mean coyotes I 1 hunt plenty of coyotes but I 1 hunt them with a ford and a couple of greyhounds grey hounds I 1 wont need a PI plug ug g for that what do you cau call him sultan the ring boy led the horse away and the farmer followed ken stood looking after them miserably a good horse sonny ken looked up the tall man with the bowler hat stood beside him lie ha had a red face and a sharp nose any more where he came from he asked yes said ken sullenly A lot more whose horses are they my fathers captain mclaughlin ken walked back to howard when men the auction was over the man in the bowler hat had bought smoky blue taffy A honey and russet tor for prices ranging from six ty five to ninety five dollars rob stood with his boys out in the road while the jam of cars trailers and trucks edged out of the parking places and started on th their air way home the anan man in the bowler hat was with win him rob said this is mr gilroy my two boys mr gilroy howard and ken the boys shook hands 1 I want you to go home in t the ile bus with gus he stuck his hand in Ws his pocket brought out some bills and gave them to howard get home by nine buy some sandwiches and eat them on the bus you can get them aher you take the bus over there he pointed giving howard precise instructions mr gilroy and I 1 are going mohave to have dinner together ill bring the truck tell your mother not to wait up ill be late at dinner rob asked would you tell me what you bought nil all my horses for are they for your own use no I 1 bought them tor for resale where will you sell them TO ITO BE CONTINUED 4 |