Show M Y rl END 7 FLICK A h MARY OHARA st THE STOUT STORY SO fart FAH ten tan year old ken mclaughlin can ride any borne bone on his fam amori ilys dyons I 1 us ranch but he b wanti a colt 0 it of his own nil his father ather a retired army officer ce refuses to give him one until antil ids ahli school grades improve and he learns leardi to take responsibility keus keni mother mothe I 1 arlei tri I 1 9 to protect him from the tern stern discipline of his father and the youthful bullying ol of his older brother howard who always manages manager to do things thing right rl when W hen captain ca tato mclaughlin ln learnt lea M I 1 that ken ha has not net been promoted h be orden ord ers him to study instead 0 of joining the roundup ri on ad V but when ken li is through h lie dashed das has out to watch the horses tome come to la and accidentally stampedes them now continue with the story CHAPTER III even before he opened his eyes next morning ken knew that something was wrong and he pushed away thi the moment of comp complete lete awakening he lay facing the window and saw that the pines on the hill were quiet no wind today then he remembered he ha had stampeded at am P e d ed the mares he had a feeling that it was late for some time he had been half hearing all ail the early rooming too ruing noises I 1 f he slipped out of bed and went to the tha window hitching up Us his pajamas howard was on the terrace right underneath and ken could see the top of his head bead black and smooth with the part exactly in the center he had on blue leans jeans and bandana tan a bandana clean dana chambray shirt and a red howard looked ti up HI ken faded back into the room and hastily began to dress the smell of coffee filled the house howard watched his sprinkler gp moving it little by little down the terrace and planned his day ken would be all right now he be thought he was never hard to manage they might have fun in the swimming pool po ol 01 or go shooting breakfast sang out nells voice she ran out onto the terrace she had on a green dress with a zipper all the way down the front and a sash across the back she clapped her hands and yelled for them to come and rob dropped his bis shovel and ran at t her and ken stopped 0 tying his ne necktie atie to watch gone in ken kea hurried to finish but he hated to go down he felt so out of things on the th way w ay downstairs he be stopped before the picture of the duck it was a big black duck with white breast and legs and white bars on his wings he was fierce and handsome standing on his tock rock at the breakfast table his bis father was waiting to hear ken clatter the rest of the way downstairs 1 I bet hes looking at the duck maid aid howard what duck on the landing lie he looks at it for an hour sometimes howard reproved nell he n never ever looks at it for an hour well a long time seems like an hour mclaughlins ins voice was rising what duck on the landing my audubon print explained nell quickly the one that hangs under the clock ken likes to look at it kent roared his father fa ther and hastily kens sturdy shoes clattered the rest of the way down I 1 the he stairs andee and be came into the kitchen his hair meticulously parted and slicked clicked down and his face sullen what did you stop on the landing for ken opened his napkin and looked down embarrassed 1 I was looking at the duck the duck out the window the duck in the picture there there was a little amused amt alsed glint in nells eyes as she helped ken to oatmeal you know we were at breakfast b re keast 1 I I 1 P think finished his father for him ken look up or make my any reply he had bad known it would be like this he poured cream on his oatmeal and reached for the brown sugar ken said his bis father im going to take back an order I 1 gave you yesterday im going to remit your hour of study ken looked at his father in astonishment his mouth opening in relief and pleasure ive got other plans tor for you this tu surn nuner mer mclaughlin ln continued pompously and nell tucked her faie face aown to hide her smile and continued rob blandly tm im going to give you a colt ken shot out of his bis chair spoon and dishes went clattering A a spring pring colt dad or a y earling mclaughlin ln was taken aback but nell dropped her eyes again if ken got a yearling colt hed be even up with howard A yearling colt your father means sang kennie she said smoothly ken gathered up the china and silver liver he be had scattered replaced them and sat down again color had bad rushed to his face ill ID give it to you a week from today said his father between now and then you con can look them over and make your choice 1 I can have any yearling colt on the ft ranch that I 1 want asked ken his father nodded calmly pushed his chair back and took out his bis pipe speechless ken turned to look at howard and the two boys eyed each other even up at last does it have to be a yearling colt dad asked howard could it be a spring colt if 11 hed rather have a spring colt it could be anything foaled coaled on the ranch since a year ago said mclaughlin ln there are eighteen yearnings yearlings year 11 lings so far thirteen or fourteen new colts a few to come yet will you take a yearling or a spring colt ken asked howard in answer ken turned upon howard an exaggerated pitying sneer I 1 c opted copied from the movies and mastered only after much practice but his bis father asked the same a thing yearling or spring colt olt ken ken answered A yearling horse or filly BUY this stopped him his eyes lost focus as mental images crowded rocket was wa a mare but there was banner and the albino mustang hero there emerged from the confusion a definite sense of the superiority perio perlo rity of the male IU ill take a horse colt his voice was final and authoritative an imperceptible glance passed between nell and her husband mclaughlin ln said that narrows it down levs lets see how bow many horse colts were foaled coaled last year ten miles fillies and eight horse colts said old howard youve auve got eight horse colts to choose from ken things were moving very fast for ken horses crowding him which were they said nell ive got them all down in the stud SE A a spring colt did dad book I 1 left it up at the stables the other day in the tack room ken run up u P and get it it and well look over the the list ill go too said howard sliding out of his chair and both boys rushed out the door ken tore ahead A colta colt a boltl his awni own his n mind and was full of images A little foal just born almost knocked down by its mothers tongue licking it banner rearing Us his great forefeet beating the air ids his big light belly his fierce face and arching neck a little yearling running a black a chestnut his colt was all of them he dropped his head back and yelled he pranced and galloped howard caught up with him and said you crazym my colt my colt sang ang ken he ran in a circle pacing racking nj he H stuck his elbows out said whoa therel there hit 1111 he tossed his head bead and shook his mane you goofy I 1 exclaimed howard watching him ken rushed at him with fists up howard fell into position and they sparred ken care what happened to hinl him his arms went like flails howard blocked his blows easily ken broke out of it and went flying fly up to the stable he had bad a sharp consciousness of change and new importance things had bad begun at last things could be real now they found the stud book and ran back with it As nell Neli read out the list of year lings and the names of their dams ken began to feel queer these were definite flesh and blood animals named described tagged in a book not the colts that had bad kicked their heels and played and tossed their manes in his bis dreams he H felt the sense of loss lose which every dreamer feels when the dream moves up comes close and at last is concrete 1 I named them an all nell ned was saying there were some I 1 never saw they had run off somewhere when I 1 went up on an twenty to look them over and put them in the book the brone bronc bunch grunted mclaughlin referring to the progeny of the albino always missing when wanted ken and I 1 trained tour four of these yearlings yearnings year lings ourselves said howard every summer cummer the two boys had the job of handling and halter break ing tour four of the spring colts the colts the boys trained last summer were doughboy and college boy and lassie and fire firefly fly said nell studying the book two horse colts and two fillies say ken said howard eagerly why dont you take doughboy he ha was ons ono of yours and when he grows up hell be sort of twins with mine in his name anyway doughboy highboy see but ken kea looked scornful doughboy would never have half high boys speed last summer looking over the colts had bad said hes a ch chunk unk well n name me him doughboy lie he might turn out a heavy hunter look at the big legs on him I 1 lassie then suggested howard a gain again if you want speed ashes she fast as anything and ashes she black as ink like highboy 1 I said I 1 was going to take a horse said ken besides dad said lassier Las Lass sieU lell never go over fifteen hands bands 10 remember one thing ken said ln you cant tell much about a colt when its newborn new born and dot always much more when IV it a yearling bloods the thing the prepotency of blood they had heard this term often for whenever mclaughlin ln got talking about horses he used it the trouble with this stuff ive got from the albino he had prepotency that devil passed on his traits they dont wear out must have had some magnificent blood strains somewhere in his bis ancestry arab probably put eno enough u gh arab blood into a line and it gives prepotency to the traits you dont want as well as to thos eyou do lots of arab blood in these western mustangs comes from the arab a and d barb horses the spaniards brought over ln got up went to the shelf beside the spice closet and took down one of bis big favorite books on the genealogy of the american horse he turned th the pages looking tor for a passage howard suddenly jerked his head back listening car coming they all became motionless and heard the car rattle over the cattle guard it at the home pasture fence come up the low hill bill behind the house in second gear then chizz past the boys boy darted to the window at the be back ck of the house and saw the rear of the car as it vanished over the crest of the hill on its way to the stables A dusty black car announced howard returning mclaughlin ln closed his book might be doc he said to geld the two year olds asked nell yes howard run up to the stables stable s an and see if that was dr hicks 11 As howard left the room ken asked ked can I 1 watch dad agnell nell caught her husbands eye and he bo did not answer run up to my room and get me a handkerchief will you ken she said maid right hand corner comer top bureau drawer when ken had gone she said rob dont let them see the gelding they may might as well sold laid rob they have to know sooner or lator later they know already but so tar far never actually seen it youve always had bad it done before they got home from school wont hurt lem em 11 ken returned and handed his big moth 0 thin er the handkerchief howard arrived almost at the same moment at the back door its doe doc hicks dad and his assistant si 1 I thought so run and tell gus to light a fire up there and get some water boiling hes hei already up there hes has got the fire lit he was about to dash away again but nell called him back sit down and finish anish your breakfast said the she you too ken youve hardly eaten a thing the boys finished hastily gus appeared at the door it if we cude have an old sheet for clean rags missus nell brought an old sheet clean and folded from the linen closet closel ken finished eating wiped his hi mouth said excuse me please and darted after gus as he left go the room dads given me a colt gus any colt on the ranch up to a year old howard finished and ran after them NU nell sighed as am she rose to clear the table A bloody day I 1 hope they get through all right rob did not answer he looking at her suddenly he laughed ill take a horse colt did you bear the votes voice on him when he said that I 1 lit he never talked or looked like that la in his life before he pushed his chair back and got up now if be just picks pick a good one P he went to the door and hurried out TO BE CONTINUED |