Books: Happy Hawkins
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Robert Alexander Wason >> Happy Hawkins
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Well, they was a heap o' sense in what I said, an' I'd been thinkin'
over it a long spell; so when school opened up again in the fall
Barbie had her orders an' the' wasn't much in the way of trouble.
I didn't have any regular duties at the Diamond Dot--the worst
trouble about the Diamond Dot was that nobody had any regular
duties. Jabez was notionable to a degree, an' we all just floated
along, doin' what we did do right, but not havin' much of a plan for
it. I could have handled the place with ten less men an' got through
on a tighter schedule, but it was a fine place to work at an' we all
got what was comin' to us. Through the winter I used to ride over
with Barbie when the days was anyways rough, an' it took her a long
time to find out that Starlight really could beat her pinto. I
reckon that child was the best rider 'at ever backed a pony. As you
might say she grew up with a pony between her knees, an' the way she
could play a bit in a hoss's mouth was the finest sight I ever see.
I ain't much of a fool when it comes to pickin' out a ridin'
critter, an' the pinto was able--most uncommon able.
One Saturday morning she told me that she was tired o' seein'
Starlight beat Hawkins on ten-mile dashes, an' she was goin' to have
a real race that day. She allus called the pinto "Hawkins" after I
got back; she had said it wouldn't be polite to call us both "Happy"
an' as long as I had owned both names the longest, she was willin'
to give me my choice--an' then she said 'at that wouldn't be quite
fair to the pinto--she was mighty rigid on bein' square--so she said
'at we'd have to draw for 'em. She wrote "Happy" on one piece of
paper an' "Hawkins" on the other, put her hat in the pony's mouth,--
she had taught him a lot o' tricks,--an' I had to turn my back while
she dropped in the names. My luck was good, so I drawed "Happy," an'
the pony was called "Hawkins." I was feared I might have to go back
to John, an' John's a sort of a heavy baggage for a careless cuss to
he luggin' around.
It was spring, an' the range was smooth an' tough. All through the
snow Starlight's long legs had given him a big advantage, but now
her weight made it a purty good bet either way. "Let 'em go
grassin', Barbie," sez I. "This fine young grass--"
"I knew you were afraid to make a fair test of it," she sez
scornful.
"I ain't neither afraid," I sez, "but what's the use of a race just
to satisfy our curiosity?"
"What's the use of curiosity except to satisfy it?" sez Barbie, an'
she had me sure enough. A feller was a fool to argue with that
little witch. She allus had a come-back, an' the only way to get
ahead of her was either to boss or beg. I hadn't no authority to
boss, an' I was too blame young to beg, so she just about had me
roped an' tied. "How far are you goin' to race?" sez I.
"A hundred miles," sez she.
"Pshaw," sez I, "the country's wider'n that. Why don't you give'em a
decent work out."
"That'll be enough for this time," sez she, "an' if you hustle you
can have'em ready by five o'clock."
"Does the boss know?" sez I.
"He will sometime," sez she. "Now hustle."
It was a glorious day, an' I own up I was amused at the prospect.
Both hosses was hard as flint an' nervy. If I'd 'a' stayed at the
ranch I'd have collected up brandin' irons an' other truck for the
round-up, an' a hundred miles through spring sweetness was a heap
sight more temptin' to me; so I give in an' soon we was under way.
"Where is the course laid out, Barbie?" I sez. "You know I won't see
much of you back there in the ruck an' I want to know the path."
"All you need to do is to foller Hawkins's trail," sez she, "but in
case you can't find it just circle Mount Savage an' that'll be the
distance, so the boys say."
We started out at a comfortable gait, an' I watched her pretty
close. Once I tried her out by sendin' Starlight along for a mile,
but she just kept the pinto pluggin' away, an' I sensed I was up
against some head ridin'. Oh, it was gratifyin' to watch the little
rascal ridin' with her brain, like I'd taught her. She didn't throw
the reins down on her pony's neck, an' she didn't pull in on the
bit; she just played it in his mouth to keep remindin' him that this
was his busy day, an' that he'd better tend to his knittin'. Old
Starlight knew every move I made, an' he was resigned to a good long
pump of it.
I nonsensed a while, tryin' to get her to laugh an' cut up, but not
her. "Now don't talk unless you have somethin' to say, Happy," sez
she. "I don't want Hawkins to imagine 'at we're out ridin' for an
appetite. I want him to believe 'at we're on mighty important
business."
"Oh, he'll sure enough think it," sez I, "when we swing around Mount
Savage an' he gets to see home through Starlight's dust."
"When it comes to that, I'll bet he won't be complainin' o' the
dullness of the business he's been on. Now just practice thinkin' a
while."
We watered about noon at a little snow stream on the opposite side
of old Savage; but we et our vittles on hoss back an' we didn't
waste any time on the waterin'. I figured we'd scaled up about fifty
miles, an' the pinto was still tonguin' his bit an' waitin' for
somethin' interestin' to turn up. Starlight was gettin' some
disgusted with the monotony.
We rode on for another hour an' then Barbie began to ride a little.
The pinto let out a couple of links as cheerful as a rainbow, an' I
rode at his cinch. I knew I could beat her in the brush, an' she was
easin' the pinto too much to make it a question of grit unless she
began to herd him mighty shortly. Well she did begin ridin' purty
soon, an' brother Hawkins responded like an echo. He was a hog for
distance, was that pinto. He was short on top with plenty of depth
to him, and his belly cut up quick, showin' he had lots o' room for
his heart an' his lungs an' his forage. Starlight's nostrils worked
a shade more than his did, but we were gettin' purty close to the
pinto's speed, an' Starlight had a load of it left, and he'd pay out
the last ounce of it when I said the word. I knew I could beat her
this time, but I was feared she might call for a repeat the next
day--an' I intended to remind Jabez it was the Sabbath.
Starlight was pretty wet with sweat, while the pinto was bone dry
when we struck Trouble Creek which was boilin' full. In we went, an'
the water hissed and sucked around our waists; but we crossed at
about the same time, an' then it was only ten miles to the ranch
house an' Barbie shook her quirt. Away shot the pinto, but Starlight
had his fussy streak warm by this time, an' I let him edge ahead as
fast as he wanted to. He knew the distance now, an' he knew I wanted
to cover it in the least possible time, an' he knew just how much
the' was left in him, so I drew a tight rein, eased it off again,
an' we dropped a gap between us an' the shorter legs of Barbie's
mount. We only gained an inch at a time an' I wasn't sure I'd be the
one to do the braggin' even yet, when all of a sudden we swept
around a point of rock an' there was Melisse hot-footin' it to the
ranch house. She heard us the minute we saw her, an' when we drew up
to her she gasped: "Pluto has about killed ol' Cast Steel, an'
Spider Kelley has gone for the doctor."
Barbie caught the words, but she never made a reply or asked a
single question; she just laid the quirt without a sting over
Hawkins's foreshoulder an' raced on. I stopped long enough to tell
Melisse that I would send the buckboard after her, an' then I took
after Barbie. It looked like a race, sure enough. I was worried.
Pluto was a high grade stallion Jabez had got after I lined up
Starlight alongside the range ponies, an' he had the meanest temper
I ever see put into a hoss. I had been tendin' him 'cause I'd got
wise to the ways o' these thin-skinned fellers down at the Lion
Head, but I never quite trusted him, an' I feared 'at maybe Barbie's
goin' off without notice had riled the old man an' he had tried to
take it out on Pluto.
We only had five miles to go, an' we sure went it. I beat her to the
ranch house, but Starlight hadn't got his breath back when she rode
in, an' the pinto only took one long breath an' shook his head. I
turned the hosses over to one o' the boys 'at were hangin' around
the door lookin' troubled, an' hustled inside. Jabez lay on the
lounge with a face like soured vinegar. He had a bandage round his
head an' another around his arm, while his leg was propped up on
pillows.
"What's the damage, Jabez?" I asked.
"Where's Barbie?" he demanded, not payin' any heed to my question.
She had flung herself from the pinto an' came running into the room.
"Oh, Daddy," she said, throwin' her arms around him.
"Where have you been?" sez he.
"I been racin' with Happy," she said. "Are you bad hurt, Daddy?"
"Who beat?" sez he.
"Happy did, about a hundred yards."
"It wasn't more'n fifty," sez I.
"How far did you race?" asked Jabez, grittin' his teeth.
"A hundred miles," sez Barbie.
"A hundred miles?" sez Jabez, grinnin' painful. "A hundred miles,
an' the black hoss beat your pinto carryin' a hundred'n fifty pounds
more weight. Hendricks--tell those blame fools not to kill Pluto.
Happy, you go an' see that they don't even hurt him. It was my
fault. Now, Barbie, tell me about the race."
I went out to the big open stall where Pluto was kept all by
himself, but first I sent one o' the boys with the buckboard after
Melisse. I found Pluto in the middle of his stall with three ropes
around his neck an' the boys snubbin' him to posts. They wasn't
minded to let him go, even on Hendricks's say-so, but I went into
the stall an' told 'em to ease off. "He's whipped one man in a fair
fight," sez I, "an' if another man don't whip him in a fair fight
the' won't be any handlin' of him from this on. Ease off these
ropes."
Well, I whipped that hoss in a fair fight, an' then I went in to see
how Jabez was gettin' along. I said a fair fight an' I meant a fair
fight. Yes, the' is a way to fight a hoss fair--that is, as fair as
any fight is. If you look at it one way, the' can't never be a fair
fight, 'cause one is bound to have an advantage--skill, luck,
experience, or courage; but what I mean is, that I fought that hoss
with nothing but just my own hands an' I whipped him.
Why the way I did it was this: as soon as they slacked off the ropes
I slipped up beside him an' jerked 'em over his head, an' we two
stood alone in the big box stall with size in his favor an' brains
in mine. I had some consid'able size in those days, an' he was
almost too brainy for a hoss; but I own up 'at I 'd had the most
experience.
First I stood off an' insulted him: I cussed him an' I called him
all manner of names an' then I laughed at him--you think a hoss, a
hoss like Pluto, can't be insulted? Why, pshaw! they're as high
feelin' as children. He was out o' humor to begin with, an' purty
soon his ears went back an' his eyes got red. I've heard tell about
an animal not bein' able to look a man in the eyes, an' I never saw
the wild animal 'at could; but I've seen three man-eatin' stallions
in my time 'at could look clear to your liver, an' a bulldog can do
it too.
First off he tried to bite, but I got him a shoulder-blow right on
the nose. It made him wink, an' he reared an' struck at me with his
front hoofs. I ducked to the left an' the minute his hoofs came down
I slipped thumb an' forefinger into his nostrils, an' tried to jerk
his head around to the right; but I'd thrown him once before that
way an' he was too quick. He threw up his head before I could grip
his mane with my left, an' a reachin' kick with his right hind foot
tore my vest away.
He floundered me around consid'able for a spell, but at last in
tryin' to jam me against the wall I got hold of his mane. I braced
my feet against the wall an' liftin' myself, I got his ear in my
mouth an' I bit it. It was a trick I'd learned from ol' Monody, an'
I sure bit hard an' close to the head. For mighty nigh a minute he
stood it fightin', an' then he give a groan. He hadn't had a sniff
of air through his nose since I'd grabbed it, an' he wasn't no
bulldog, he was a satin-skinned thoroughbred, an' he couldn't stand
the anguish in his ear.
He groaned an' then he shivered an' then of a sudden I let go his
ear, jerked his head around to the right, pulled up his left front
foot with my left hand an' heaved with my shoulder. Down he went an'
as he fell I leaped across him, an' put my weight on his head. Then
I took my fingers out of his nose an' patted him.
I hate to whip a hoss, I hate to break the pride of any livin'
creature; but when I start in to do it I don't just pester him. I
wait until I have good reason an' then I convince him--whether he's
able to live through it or not. I stroked old Pluto's ears an' nose,
all the time murmurin' to him, an' durin' the murmurin' I told the
boys to file out. I never shame nobody in front of anybody if the'
's any other way round.
Well, Pluto was drippin' with sweat an' havin' his bit ear rubbed
was mighty soothin' to him. We all like a lot of babyin' after we've
been hurt, whether we own up to it or not, an' Pluto wasn't any
exception to the rule. After a while I explained everything to him
an' told him that if he'd just act like a human bein', he'd be
treated like a king; but if he wanted to carry on like some savage
varmint we'd have to remove his hide an inch at a time; an' when I
finally let him up he was mortal shamed of himself.
It was plumb dark by the time I let him up, an' I watered him an'
fed him an' rubbed him until he began to eat, an' that was the last
bother any man ever had with Pluto; but I was the only one he'd mind
without bein' chainbitted. He counted me his best friend, an' after
a while he got so he'd play with me--nip my ear with his lips an'
such things, which I count as bein' a game way of takin' punishment.
Still, it ain't just gettin' beat, it's havin' it rubbed in that
makes a feller bitter.
I walked around to where Starlight an' Hawkins was enjoyin' their
evenin' meal, an' I was mortal proud of the condition they was in. I
reckon the' wasn't another pair in the territory 'at could 'a'
covered their ante that day, an' it was a feather in Uncle Happy's
cap all right.
But all the time I was thinkin' o' these things I was dreadin'
havin' it out with Jabez. He was contrairy enough at the best; but
all bunged up, I could see my self-control gettin' strained twice a
minute. I knew enough about us both to know 'at whenever it came to
a show down, it meant a breakin' of home ties, an' I hated to cut
loose from Barbie. After a while, I washed up, fed up, an' went in
to have it over with.
CHAPTER SEVEN
MENTAL TREATMENT FOR A BROKEN LEG
Barbie an' three of the boys were in the room when I went in. Barbie
was tellin' the old man of our ride, an' the three punchers sat with
the rims of their lids between thumb an' finger, lookin' at the
floor as solemn as if they was on trial for their life. Barbie had
just finished about our meetin' up with Melisse when I stepped in.
"Who's boss o' this place?" sez Jabez to me.
"If the' is any boss," sez I, "I reckon you're it."
"Who told you you could be gone all day?" sez he.
"Nobody told me. Nobody told me what was to be done if I stayed.
Nobody hasn't told me what to do on a ranch for some several years.
Why?"
"Looks to me as if you 'd have sense enough not to risk this child's
life with your fool nonsense," sez he. I looked at him calm an'
steady, an' I didn't grin--much.
He knew all 'at I was thinkin' of,--about my leavin' the last time
an' also about my comin' back,--but he also knew 'at I knew he was
thinkin' of the same thing, an' that we'd neither of us mention it,
an' that it wouldn't ever weigh an ounce in whatever happened to
come between us. I didn't say anything.
"What makes you humor her in everything for?" sez he.
"As far as I know, she ain't my child," sez I.
He give a start an' it made him groan. "What's the matter with your
leg?" sez I. "It's broke!" he yells. "Do you think I got it stuck up
on pillers 'cause my foot's asleep?"
"Is it easy that way?" sez I.
"No it ain't," he snaps.
"Perhaps if you'd get it fixed easy you might be able to talk easy,"
I sez. "Do you want me to fix it easy?"
"For heaven's sake, yes, if you know how," he sez; so I examined it.
It was a nasty break. It seems 'at Jabez had hunted over the place
to find something to fuss about as soon as he discovered 'at Barbie
an' me had flown the coop. Luck was in his favor when Slinky Bill
left Pluto's door open an' he got out. It took 'em some time to get
him back, an' they finally roped him. None o' the boys seemed
anxious to go into his stall an' take the rope off unless he'd let
them ride him a while to get the ginger out of him. Jabez took a
short club an' went in an' took off the rope, an' if the boys hadn't
been handy he'd 'a' been took off himself. As it was the hoss had
smashed his leg something fierce.
"Get a board," sez I. The three boys left in a body to get the
board. I lined up the bones as well as I could, 'cause the leg was
some swelled. Then I bandaged it purty tight, next took an old boot-
leg an' bandaged that in, an' finally split a joint of stovepipe an'
packed cotton to fit the leg, tyin' the whole business to the board
when it arrived, an' proppin' the board up on pillers with one at
each side of the foot. Then I wet the bandage on his head an' arm,
puttin' in plenty of turpentine on the arm to prevent poisonin'. The
turpentine made him twist an' grunt, but when it stopped burnin' his
face cleared up.
"My leg's a heap easier," he sez. I only nodded. I knew he had a lot
more steam on his mind. Presently he said, "But we might as well
settle things now as any time. Who are you workin' for?"
"I settled that a long time ago," sez I. "I'm workin' for myself."
"Then what the deuce do you mean takin' my wages?" sez he.
"I ain't takin' your wages, I'm takin' my own," sez I; "but if I was
you I'd keep calm. You'll raise your fever."
"It's my fever!" he yells, an' even the three punchers had to grin.
"Look here, Jabez," sez I, "the' ain't any sense in your gettin'
riled. You ain't dangerous when you rant around, an' I know it; but
you're most uncommon irritatin'. We didn't run any risk in our ride
to-day, an' it proved 'at my way o' feedin' is the right way. You
don't own a pair o' hosses 'at can go out to-morrow an' keep in
sight o' Starlight an' the pinto. An' my way o' handlin' Pluto is
the right way too, but if you don't like my way o' workin' for
myself on your ranch--why, the' 's plenty of other ranches. The'
ain't no use o' your makin' us both miserable, quarrellin' like a
pair o' children."
"That's what I say," sez Barbie.
"You wait till you're spoke to," sez Jabez; but at that moment the
buckboard came in with old Melisse, an' the very first thing she did
was to chase the three punchers out o' the house, fix up a mess of
her own to put on Jabez's head an' arm, an' then she picks up Barbie
in her arms an' I saw the little chap's lip begin to quiver; I saw
Jabez wink his eyes too fast for comfort; I saw the tears rollin'
down the cheeks of old Melisse, an' I went out into the starlight to
look up toward Mount Savage where Monody was sleepin'. It's a funny
thing, life. After a while I went back inside an' they were purty
cozy again. "You been away purt nigh a year," sez Jabez, "where you
been?"
Melisse grinned; she was a Mexican an' had been good lookin' a
century or so before. She was the silent sort, but she could do a
heap sight keener thinkin' 'an lots of 'em 'at kicks up more dust at
it.
"Part o' the time I been right here at the ranch," she sez," but
when the snow was heavy I stayed in a little cave right up the
ravine from the pony corral. You don't reckon 'at I'd leave this
child just on your account, do ya?"
It was some comical to see Jabez's face. "Lord, no!" sez he. "I'm in
the habit o' payin' wages to people 'at work for themselves, an' I
don't reckon I got the authority to make anybody get off my ranch.
If you've been foolin' around here, how come the dogs never barked
at ya?"
"Dogs ain't apt to forget the hand that feeds 'em. After a dog has
thought well of ya for a while, he don't turn on ya just because
you've become out o' favor for a spell; the friendship of a dog
works both ways--dogs ain't like human beings, Jabez Judson."
Melisse had a low, musical voice; but I kind o' felt my hair raisin'
in pity for the man on the sofey. It seemed like she had stuck a
knife into him, an' was twistin' it around slow without losin' her
temper. He squirmed, he bit his lip, his thumbs kept runnin' over
the inside of his fingers. It was some time before he spoke, an'
then he said, "How much longer you goin' to keep that child awake?"
"She's been asleep in my arms for some time," sez Melisse, lookin'
down at Barbie's face, which was nestled up close to hers. "I reckon
I'll put her to bed now." She got up an' carried Barbie to the door
an' then she turned an' sez in a low tone: "You're mighty proud o'
being called Cast Steel, you love to trample over people; but I want
to tell you somethin' to remember; I sha'n't never be separated from
this child again except by her own will. Next time I can't live
around you I'll take her with me. You've known me a long time"--an'
she shut the door without slammin' it.
"Oh, I don't reckon it's allus some one else's fault," I sez, after
he had got through cussin' about his luck.
"Am I a hard man to work for?" sez he.
"You ain't," sez I.
"When am I ever unjust?" sez he.
"When you go off halfcock," sez I.
"What is it allus about?" sez he.
I thought over everything before I answered. "Why, it's allus about
the child Barbie."
"I ain't Cast Steel about her; I'm spring steel where she's
concerned, an' you fellers ought to know the way spring steel works
if any one does."
"That's all right," sez I,--I was still smartin' a little,--"but the
deuce of the thing is that you go off at halfcock, an' then you
allus expect the other feller to pay the damage. It's goin' hard
with you some day, Jabez, if you don't watch closer."
"Oh, you can't understand it. If you only knew what lyin' an'
disobedience sometimes does, you wouldn't talk so calm about it,
neither. The' ain't nothin' I wouldn't do for Barbara--except see
her get started wrong. You're different from the rest, some way, an'
she thinks more of you than the others. That's one reason why I give
you a wider circle to range in, an' why I give you foreman's pay for
odd-job work--"
"Now if you think 'at I don't earn all you're payin' me," sez I--but
he broke in: "If I didn't think I wouldn't pay it," sez he.
"I can go down to the Lion Head any time I want an' get more'n
you're payin' me," sez I.
"I can pay you as much as any man in the West," sez he.
"You couldn't hire me at all if it wasn't for Barbie," sez I.
"An' I wouldn't hire you at all if it wasn't for her," he snaps.
"You can do the right thing at the right time better'n any other man
I ever had; but you're the contrariest man to work with on the job.
You're allus flyin' up, an' you'd talk back if your throat was cut."
"I'm free," sez I, "an' what's more, I know it. The' ain't no law
ever been framed up yet 'at can herd me in with the cows, an' I
don't never intend to act like a cow. I'm man to man wherever I am,
an' a lot o' you fellers with big outfits are beginnin' to forget
that proposition; but I don't forget it, an'--"
"Well, for heaven's sake," he yells, "I ain't tryin' to put a bit in
your mouth; though I must confess if I had my way about it, I'd like
to put a quart o' bran there sometimes. What I'm tryin' to do is to
come to an understandin' about the child."
"Hasn't she gone to school every day this term?" sez I.
"There's another thing," sez he. "When I told you to give that
schoolmaster a rawhidin', you wouldn't do it."
"Course I wouldn't do it," sez I. "He may have been in the right as
far as I know, an' anyway, she gave him the worst of it."
"I don't want her to give 'em the worst of it. I want her to act
like a gal child. Ridin' her pony into the schoolroom an' ropin' the
master ain't no way for a gal child to act. What I want is for the
teachers to play fair. It ain't reasonable to suppose 'at these
mountains was ever under water."
"You stood for it when the astronomer said so," sez I; "an' the
Bible sez so, an'--" "Well, that's all right when it comes to grown-
ups; but the' ain't no use makin' a child say somethin' it don't
nowise believe. The truth is more important than a lot of water 'at
dried up millions of years ago--if it ever was here."
"Well, the truth is a heap o' bother to Barbie's teachers at the
best," sez I. "Look at her spellin'--she comes upon a cross-bred
word in a book an' the teacher sez it's pronounced one way, an' you
another, an' me another, until she thinks we're all liars; and she
knows it the next day when she comes across another word spelled
almost alike an' pronounced just the opposite. How you goin' to
teach a child to spell an' be honest both?"
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