Read Online Duster (9781310020889) by Frank Roderus - Free Book Online
Authors: Frank Roderus
Tags: Coming of Age, ranch, western adventure, western action, painted pony books, frank roderus, prairie rose publications
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morning. Even when the herd is down and
still, though, some old steer will get up every once in a while to
sniff the air and maybe bawl a little and clack horns with his
neighbor before he goes back to sleeping.
We was far off enough from the rustlers that
we couldn't hear the first thing of a herd of cows. About all I
could hear of anything was an occasional rustle in the brush nearby
where maybe a jack rabbit or a coyote or a javalina would be
wandering by and give a jump when he smelled that there was horses
and people close. They tell me there's a lot of wildcats and even
some little prairie wolves in the brush down our way, but I've
never seen a wolf in McMullen County, and the cats are too shy to
be seen very much.
After a considerable time, a little breeze
picked up and rattled the brush around some, so I knew it wouldn't
be long before the sky started to lighten up. That air felt clean
and fresh on my face, but it was cool, too, and reminded me that we
was running shy on sleep. There wasn't much to do about it except
shiver a bit and pull the leather closer over my chest to help keep
off the chill.
I must of dozed off some then, because the
next thing I knew, I could feel old Gert shifting around underneath
me, moving her weight from one foot to another, and when I looked
up, the sky was all gray so the stars could barely be made out, and
there was enough light I could pick out branches and even some of
the bigger thorns on the mesquite and retama around us.
Old Gert had spotted some sweet-smelling
huajillo just ahead of us, and she cocked her one good eye at it
and shuffled her feet some more until she decided she wasn't going
to let me interfere with breakfast; then she picked her way over to
it and dropped her head to pull at the soft, new growth.
Jesus and Oberon had shut up some time
before, I guess, maybe running out of lies to swap, for they was
both slouched low in their saddles and looked to be about half
asleep.
The breeze picked up more as the sky got
lighter and the stars began to fade away for the day. Pretty soon,
Stardust moved up to help Gert out with the huajillo, and Jesus got
awake enough to stretch and pound himself on the chest to warm
up.
Oberon said something in Spanish and Jesus
turned to me and grinned. "He thinks we are not so very pretty in
the morning, Duster," he said.
"Well, tell him I got no desire to go to
courtin' him so he needn't care about that. Besides, he don't
deserve no better. It's what he gets for leading a life of crime."
The moving around had just made me feel colder and meaner instead
of better.
Oberon kicked loose of his
horse and slid down on the ground to join us. Jesus told him
something, repeating what I'd said I guess, and he seemed to get a
kick out of it instead of taking offense. He said something back
and Jesus told me, "He says he was going
to invite us to join him, but now he thinks maybe you would not
make a good bandit after all."
Oberon said something else and Jesus said,
"He says you are missing out on something good. He says the pretty
girls in Mexico like boys with their pockets full of gold from
selling gringo cows."
That did seem to mean I'd been right in what
I thought about them. "Tell him the hours don't suit me," I said.
"I like to sleep at night."
Jesus and I went back to our stomping
around, and Oberon fiddled with his saddle, loosening the cinch;
then he dug around in a leather wallet laced on behind his cantle
until he found a few strips of jerky that he divided up in three
equal shares. He handed us our share and said something to Jesus
who passed it along to me: "He don't have no water—says he's sorry
about that." I smiled at him and bit off a big chunk of jerky to
show him I didn't hold it against him. The jerky tasted pretty good
for a fact, and it didn't seem quite so cold once we had that
inside us.
By the time the jerky was gone, it was
plenty light enough to see. Jesus and Oberon found themselves a
clear space and sat down
still, though, some old steer will get up every once in a while to
sniff the air and maybe bawl a little and clack horns with his
neighbor before he goes back to sleeping.
We was far off enough from the rustlers that
we couldn't hear the first thing of a herd of cows. About all I
could hear of anything was an occasional rustle in the brush nearby
where maybe a jack rabbit or a coyote or a javalina would be
wandering by and give a jump when he smelled that there was horses
and people close. They tell me there's a lot of wildcats and even
some little prairie wolves in the brush down our way, but I've
never seen a wolf in McMullen County, and the cats are too shy to
be seen very much.
After a considerable time, a little breeze
picked up and rattled the brush around some, so I knew it wouldn't
be long before the sky started to lighten up. That air felt clean
and fresh on my face, but it was cool, too, and reminded me that we
was running shy on sleep. There wasn't much to do about it except
shiver a bit and pull the leather closer over my chest to help keep
off the chill.
I must of dozed off some then, because the
next thing I knew, I could feel old Gert shifting around underneath
me, moving her weight from one foot to another, and when I looked
up, the sky was all gray so the stars could barely be made out, and
there was enough light I could pick out branches and even some of
the bigger thorns on the mesquite and retama around us.
Old Gert had spotted some sweet-smelling
huajillo just ahead of us, and she cocked her one good eye at it
and shuffled her feet some more until she decided she wasn't going
to let me interfere with breakfast; then she picked her way over to
it and dropped her head to pull at the soft, new growth.
Jesus and Oberon had shut up some time
before, I guess, maybe running out of lies to swap, for they was
both slouched low in their saddles and looked to be about half
asleep.
The breeze picked up more as the sky got
lighter and the stars began to fade away for the day. Pretty soon,
Stardust moved up to help Gert out with the huajillo, and Jesus got
awake enough to stretch and pound himself on the chest to warm
up.
Oberon said something in Spanish and Jesus
turned to me and grinned. "He thinks we are not so very pretty in
the morning, Duster," he said.
"Well, tell him I got no desire to go to
courtin' him so he needn't care about that. Besides, he don't
deserve no better. It's what he gets for leading a life of crime."
The moving around had just made me feel colder and meaner instead
of better.
Oberon kicked loose of his
horse and slid down on the ground to join us. Jesus told him
something, repeating what I'd said I guess, and he seemed to get a
kick out of it instead of taking offense. He said something back
and Jesus told me, "He says he was going
to invite us to join him, but now he thinks maybe you would not
make a good bandit after all."
Oberon said something else and Jesus said,
"He says you are missing out on something good. He says the pretty
girls in Mexico like boys with their pockets full of gold from
selling gringo cows."
That did seem to mean I'd been right in what
I thought about them. "Tell him the hours don't suit me," I said.
"I like to sleep at night."
Jesus and I went back to our stomping
around, and Oberon fiddled with his saddle, loosening the cinch;
then he dug around in a leather wallet laced on behind his cantle
until he found a few strips of jerky that he divided up in three
equal shares. He handed us our share and said something to Jesus
who passed it along to me: "He don't have no water—says he's sorry
about that." I smiled at him and bit off a big chunk of jerky to
show him I didn't hold it against him. The jerky tasted pretty good
for a fact, and it didn't seem quite so cold once we had that
inside us.
By the time the jerky was gone, it was
plenty light enough to see. Jesus and Oberon found themselves a
clear space and sat down
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