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Show THE STORY SO FAR: Tcn-year-old Ron McLaughlin can ride any horse on his family's Wyoming ranch, but he nanls a colt of his own. HisN father, a retired army olllcer, refuses to give him one until his srhnni mri., in,n. on the bit. Hold him in but don't carry his head. Talk to bim a f lot. He'll quiet down for the voice ; better than anything else. Ken, you take Lady. I'm giving her to you because most of the time you don't know where you are. You sit like a sack of meal, almost forget to hold the reins she'll not know you're on her back. I've noticed when you're on her, she's never gathered. Goes about as if she was grazing. It's a good thing. Good for that mare, anyway. Eases her down. But watch out for her running away. Just don't let her get going too fast. When she does, it suddenly comes to her the car and went to the store, in which a number of men were making mak-ing purchases or sitting about. Other cars were stopping for gas, and Mrs. Olsen came running in and out to make change. Old -Reuben Dale, their neighbor on the west, asked, "Any sign of mountain lions on your ranch this summer, McLaughlin? I've lost two calves out of the pasture on my place down near your Castle Rock Meadow, and I've got a notion it's a lion. Bert heerd a cat scream the other night when he went out to bring the cows in." "Cats," said McLaughlin slowly. and he learns to take responsibility. Ken's mother tries to protect him from the stern discipline of his father and the youthful bullying of his older brother, IIowardn who always manages to do things right. Nell convinces her husband hus-band that the colt may be Just what Ken needs, so In spite of the fact that he has not been promoted, Ken Is to have a colt. But he Is having a hard time choosing one. Now continue with the story. CHAPTER V There were two miles of winding road with a fine hard-packed surface of reddish decomposed granite; then a sharp turn under the big sign that said GOOSE BAR RANCH, and out onto the Lincoln Highway. ' "Dad," began Ken. "Yes?" "I hate the gelding." "I do too, son, but it's got to be done." Ken sat thinking about it. Especially Espe-cially about the race horses that were gelded and still were big and powerful, still ran races. His spirits were rising. He felt that he was catching something of his father's attitude about it. He could even think back to what happened hap-pened in the morning without sharp "No. I haven't seen any. Haven't heard any either, but I think I'm short a colt" "They love horse meat," said Reuben, grinning. As Ken and his father left the store with the mail and the yeast and tobacco and three lollipops and a peppermint patty for Nell, Ken looked up at his father. "What colt, Dad?" McLaughlin didn't answer, and they got into the car. Ken asked again, "What colt are we short?" "Rocket's. I think she had a foal. She hasn't got it now. Before I drive her out of the Stable Pasture, I'm going down to Castle Rock Meadow to take a look around." Ken felt excited. He thought of the aspen grove, of Castle Rock, as big as a hotel, with all the caverns and passages and tunnels under- that she'll take the bit and run away; kind of goes to her head. 1 want to break her of that habit this summer. She's a fine horse." "I'll help with Lady too," said Nell. "She always behaves well with me. I love to ride her. We understand each other." "O.K. As a matter of fact, you could ride any of them, and it would be a good thing to change about. Any of you could ride Buck and Baldy. No use telling you what to do with Baldy, he'll do what he pleases, but it'll usually be the right thing. He won't object to orders unless they're unreasonable. And Buck needs a lot of suppling and he's not as bridle-wise as he should be. Take them down into the practice field and do figure eights on them for an hour every other day. Just get them a bit quicker at answering the aids; more up and coming. Practice Prac-tice starts on the trot and the canter. can-ter. Use saddles. Groom them before be-fore and after. Now remember, boys, this will be a daily duty for you, don't forget it, or neglect it, and I don't want to have to watch you or bother about it. You can keep the four of them in the Calf Pasture, they'll be handy to get at and won't get mixed with the other horses. Give them all the riding vou can." stinging feelings in the palms of his hands. All the same "Dad, I've decided to take a filly instead of a horse colt." McLaughlin laughed. "O.K. But don't take it too seriously, Ken." Ken sat thinking about his colt. He had a week to choose. He would ride up to the Saddle Back every day, look over the yearlings "Something I want to say to you, Ken." Ken looked up. The man-to-man way his father spoke to him made him feel thev were almost friends. "It's this. Ken. I'm giving you a colt. Any colt you want. And yet, I'm not satisfied with the performance perform-ance you've given this spring. You know that. Maybe you think it's funny I give you the colt when what you deserve for flunking all your exams and pulling that stunt yesterdayis yester-dayis a good hiding." Ken's face sobered, and he looked straight ahead. McLaughlin continued. "I don't want you to think I'm letting you off. I'm not. I haven't gone soft don't get that into your head. 1 expect just as much of you as I ever did. And this isn't any reward, re-ward, because you haven't won a reward." "What is it?" "It's a partnership. I'm going to need the help of both of you boys, and you have to be trained so you'll , i ;.7tt it Vnn're poine A Colorado buyer, Joe Williams, came to see if McLaughlin had any horses to sell. He came once or twice every year, collecting horses that he afterwards sold at the local auctions; but the prices he offered were so low that his appearance at the ranch was always the signal 1 for Rob McLaughlin to lose his temper. tem-per. Williams offered thirty-five or forty for-ty dollars for an old brood mare with her spring colt; twenty or thirty thir-ty for an old gelding broke for saddle and work provided his teeth ' were good enough to keep him in I" flesh; but as he paid cash down, and the only other way of getting anything at all for horses that were not fit for good markets was to ship ' them to the glue factory in a car-' car-' load of old plugs and wild broncs f dragged in off the range, McLaugh-" McLaugh-" lin, after hours of argument, loud I words and insults, usually made a deal with him. Nell always urged u: rt "After all " she Said. "they're only getting older, and it's nard to keep them in condition, and he can get eight or ten of them into his truck, and even at his prices, that means a couple of hundred hun-dred dollars." On this occasion McLaughlin said that he'd get in some horses that were useless to him from his outlying out-lying pastures, and they'd make a deal; and Williams drove away, promising to be back inside of a week with his truck. The really big event of the week was that McLaughlin engaged a bronco-buster to break the three-year-olds. Ken saw the man first when they were coming down from the stables sta-bles just before supper one evening, eve-ning, and the bronco-buster was standing on the Green talking to Nell. He was very small and neat. His legs were thin and bowed in tight blue jeans that were rubbed to light blue inside the thighs and on the seat. His waist was not much larger than Ken's and was belted snug. His small face was bright red and blank-looking. blank-looking. His blue eyes were so direct di-rect they made other eyes seem shifty. Nell introduced him, just saying that this was Ross Buckley who was going to ride in the Rodeo and had a couple of weeks of free time right now, waiting for the Rodeo, and thought he would put it in breaking some horses. "I heerd you-all had some hot-bloods hot-bloods up here," said Ross in a pleasant, drawling voice. "Thought I'd like to have a try at 'em, il you've got any that need breaking." Nell said, "Come on, Howard and Ken time to clean up for supper," and walked away with the boys, leaving McLaughlin there talking tc Ross. 1 Humanity of all ages packed it rom floor to roof, and poured out Then the door opened leath it, and the skeletons and bones ' hat lay in them. Wildcats-McLaughlin Wildcats-McLaughlin was driving a little aster. Kennie glanced at him and saw that he had something of his aard angry look. His father was worried. "What gun will you take, Dad?" McLaughlin didn't answer for quite a long time, then said, "I'll take the Winchester. But I won't use it, Ken. The time you come on a wildcat is the time you haven't got your gun with you." The week that followed during which Ken was to choose his yearling year-ling was a busy one for everybody. It rained every day out of one big purple cloud which drifted away at night, so that the mornings came in hot and clear, but by noon it was over the ranch again, and would start to rumble, then shiver and crack with lightning; then the downpour down-pour of rain, while the horizons all around were calm and blue, with fleecy white clouds motionless upon the hills. Nell called it the Goose Bar sprinkling sprin-kling system. It brought out the strong, fresh colors of the flowers; dark salmon geraniums in the ultramarine ultra-marine blue window boxes, and red, pink, purple and white petunias in the flower border. The roofs of the buildings were red and clean, with no dust on them, and the grass as green as a billiard table. The boys were riding Lady and Calico and Buck and Baldy, the horses that were being trained to rent for the Rodeo. When you're hunting for Rocket and looking over the yearlings and M,asine the geldings you might as KJ1UW uuw iu to train the yearling. I'll give you J a little help just with the first breaking, break-ing, but you'll train her, and she'll train you. I want you to make a f good pony out of her. I want her i to make a man out of you. Get me?" "Yes, sir." Ken looked up with a ' wide smile lighting his face. "But that's not all." said his fa-ther. fa-ther. "You've got other duties. You can give some time to your colt not all youi time. You've got two of ' these foals to halter-break" "Yes, sir." "You've got to help exercise four horses for the Rodeo; run the geld- ed colts every day for half an hour for this whole week; help with all the ranch work the way you always do I don't want to find you welching welch-ing on work because you're off . playing with your colt" "No, sir." , "This giving you the colt is a kind r of bargain between us. I give you the colt, you give me more obedi-o obedi-o ence more efficiency, than you ever have in your life before. Is it a bargain?" bar-gain?" "Yes, sir." McLaughlin slapped his hand on Ken's knee, and a flush colored the boy's cheeks. As they arrived at Tie Siding, there drew up from the opposite direction di-rection a sample of the type of conveyance con-veyance which is to be seen on ev-crv ev-crv mile of the western highways Tt was a Ford sedan, bulging and sagging like an old washerwoman. The top of it was piled with mat-tresses mat-tresses chairs, tables, bedding. The rear end was festooned with bundles bun-dles and boxes tied on with knotted fgth, of clothes line; an old rusty stove, half covered by a bed quilt, was roped to one fender. Humanist Humani-st all ages packed it from floor to roof! and poured out when the door PMresd Olsen, wife of the man who ran the combination Post Office and "ore came hurrying out in her neat white pants and ifeket Hello" she said cheerfully. She had a trim, close-cropped black head, a great deal of rouge on her cheeks and lips, and a quiet, efficient way of going about thing Til take two gallons." sa.d the tall oldish man who had climbed In 'of the sedan, and he stood over Mrs Olsen as she put the hose mto - watcmng a PJ f NV0VCn stce! vcre in a b? - fath(,r R0, out oj well be training these plugs," said McLaughlin. Which shall we ride?' asked Howard. McLaughlin, stretched out in a chair on the terrace with his pipe just before supper, gave this careful care-ful thought. "Now, let's see. Lady s nervous and she runs away. Went over backwards with Tim last week. Baldy stubborn brute, argues with you but he's always right. More sense than a man. Calico, a running run-ning fool. Never knows when to stop Wears himself out. Howard, vou take Calico, and don't forgot "for a moment that he hr.sn t got ,cre He'll be in a lather over I nothing. Too willing. His mouth's hard Don't encourage him to lean Ross had arrived in a torn sedan se-dan piled to the roof with saddles and bridles and blankets and lariats, and when Nell had talked to him and found out what he wanted, she kept him there until McLaughlir came down from the stables. McLaughlin engaged him, and tool him up to the bunk house and intro duccd him to Gus and Tim. and ev ery day since he had been workinf in the corral at the broncs. And in addition to all this, hour; had been spent every day, lookinj for Rocket; but no one had seen bid( nor hair of her. Ken had not yet been able to dc cice on his colt. (TO BE COXTISIED) |
