Show 4 1 ZVI or 0 mafte THE STORY THUS FAR thunderhead commonly known as the goblin Is the only white horse ever foaled coaled on the goose bar ranch in wyoming ile he resembles his great grand grandsire a wild stallion known as the albino one day goblin wanders into a mountain valley and barely escapes death from his bis grand tires sires slashing hoofs when his bis wounds heal his 12 year old owner ken mclaughlin laughlin Hn begins to train him bim although difficult to handle goblin can run with astonishing speed and endurance in a trial he covers a mile in 47 seconds second ile he escapes gelding by an accident charley sargent millionaire horse breeder Is enthusiastic about goblins possibilities ties CHAPTER XV rob conceded that thunderhead had been promoted since the speed he had shown that afternoon he would be guarded cherished watched over like the crown prince ken could hardly believe it do you mean keep him in winter dad and and feed him oats cats and hay with my own fair hands more ill ride him and continue his training whenever I 1 h teve have ave time the least I 1 can do it 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 he be had given her she looked up as he spoke to her his face was genial and smil smiling ilig first the blow then the smile but she answer for a moment and ken was impatient mother he exclaimed yes she said by all means keep him in when nell asked rob she made it very casual she was brushing her hair for the night by the way rob did you see bellamy yes what about the sheep its OK thank heaven 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 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 calculated rapidly every summer he hid had halt half a dozen or so scrubs to sell at any price he could get horses who were too small or poorly developed 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 four hundred dollars what else would he sell to make up the difference there had been 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 dollars for fifty not if I 1 was starving but rob how many sales of that sort do you get ive had some weve lived we yes four horses four years ago 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 tor for one of those sales and they only come once in a blue moon when we need the money you might as well sell halt 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 thousand than twenty 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 cheap As hi he turned she he saw his face weary and harassed he went into the small adjoining bedroom where he 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 0 you see the best of it she said 1 I wish you had she could hear him polishing his shoes before he put them away oh he can run he said hes fast if he ever gets the kinks ironed out of him dont wait for me im going to smoke a pipe before I 1 turn in you dont seem to take much stock in him rob no I 1 dont after a short silence nell said neither do I 1 it just seems unlikely somehow that hell pan out shall we take skippy to the auction with us yelled howard busily brushing and grooming sultan the big blood bay who his father said was worth a good five hundred 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 mea 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 gates the mares trotted in and ken slid oft off his horse all dad he yelled 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 cf her jacket and her small feet in their sturdy flat shoes planted in the loose soil she had hac her little girl look youre taking sultan she i asked I 1 and smoky and blue she noticed them in the string that howard and ken were grooming they were blue roans a pair of beauties with sweeping tails and gentle eyes I 1 just too small for army or polo but well broken and beautifully matched nell had always thought of them as belonging to two little girls sisters who would love them and saddle and groom them themselves and taffy and A honey 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 I 1 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 13 aw za S ir AI LIN 0 ft we have to have that eight hundred by september the tenth for a hundred and eighty five dollars except tor for that scar on his chest damn the barbed wire 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 corral fience 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 sadly there wont be anything at the auction to touch themi them 1 I dont doubt it mother yelled howard from the other corral dont you think we ought to take skippy to the auction and sell her sell herl her scoffed rob sell skippy the boy must be out of his mind nell laughed someone might buy her A child could ride her 1 I think this fellow has had enough said rob dismounting would you like me to unsaddle him asked nell it if you dont mind he handed her the reins better change your mind and come along nell shook her head his eyes hardened learn some 1 thing j she looked at him wondering just what he meant it was a shock to meet the hard glinting animosity of his eyes he was doing it on purpose to pay her back for the other night the look was like a blow across her face then he walked away the blood rushed up and down her body and her hands closed into fists you coward she said to herself if he shouts you begin to cry he gives you a dirty look and you nearly faint you any guts the horse eyed her with his flaring frightened eyes he tossed his head up and down nell looked at him hardly seeing him for the mist of rage that veiled her eyes it cleared slowly and suddenly robs own words came to her lips who in the hell is he with the laughter that these words brought both her anger and her tremors left her injun seemed to agree she patted his nose again looking him over thoughtfully am I 1 a coward injun she asked what do you think when she led him into the stable she fastened him to the manger you wait she said youre not going to be unsaddled just yet the thirteen horses were ready for loading crowded into the small corral which opened into the chute it was always a difficult business nell stood near by watching it depressed her she mind the ancient brood mares and the scrubs but sultan and the three sorrel mares and the two blues skippy might help said nell and you could squeeze her in ashes so small they know she was there ken come here yelled his fa ather 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 other 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 it 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 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 ile old brood mares sold immediately for forty dollars apiece after it was ascertained that e each ach 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 rin ring 9 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 off for an average of forty five dollars each sultan was led in my gosh look at that horse exclaimed the auctioneer the hammer crashed bid a hundred for him A hundred A hundred bid 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 still fo fought aught I 1 j them the whips cracked cracke d he lashed with his heels and the auctioneer not looking at him was crying bid a hundred am I 1 V 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 bat bid eighty one sultan was sold to the farmer for ninety dollars the farmer was 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 are you going to use him to plough the farmer looked at him in astonishment ment 1 I sure am what you spose im payin ninety dag bolts dolts for hes a hunter exclaimed ken desperately A heavy hunter hunter repeated the farmer hunt what 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 plug 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 ap ken looked up the tall man with of the bowler hat stood beside him he had a red face and a sharp nose any more where he came from he asked yes said ken sullenly A lot 1 more whose horses are they my fathers captain mclaughlin ken walked back to howard when the auction was over the man in the bowler hat had bought smoky blue taffy A honey and russet 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 U way home the man in the bow hat was with 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 the bus with gus he stuck his hand in 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 where you take the bus over there he pointed giving howard precise instructions mr gilroy and I 1 are going 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 all my barse for are they for your own use ta no I 1 bought them for resal where will you sell them TO BE CONTINUED |