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Authors: J P S Brown
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the great horned steer
mounted on the wall and the paintings of other great, gaunt steers
that had given up their freedom though the years to help this bank
help cowmen make their living, Kane sat and waited for the boss's
secretary to come back and give him an audience with the boss.
Miss Toots was the boss's secretary and the number
two man in the bank by seniority but the number one woman in the bank
by popular acclaim. Miss Toots was a small, erect,
not-yet-middle-aged woman, who walked on the finest set of legs and
had the thickest, shiniest, brown hair in the State of Arizona.
" Aha, I knew you would show up any day now, Jim
Kane, Miss Toots said when she came into her office.
" I guess my note is a week overdue. I should
have been here a week ago but I was busy helping gather a bunch of
wild Brahmas for Bob Keys and the Brahmas didn't care if my note was
due," Kane said.
" Never mind. You're here now. Are you going to
be able to pay the note?"
"No, Miss Toots. My horses are still
quarantined. I don't know what I'm going to do about the note."
" Go in and talk to the boss. Tell him about your
quarantine. I'm sure he knows all about it anyway. If you can't pay,
you can't pay and that is all there is to it. There is no use getting
bats in la belly about it, is there?"
" No, Miss Toots. I won't if you won't."
" I won't. I've seen too many of you
cowboys get out of this kind of trouble. You just tell the boss about
it. He won't leave you in la lurch."
Kane walked in the boss's office.
"Can you pay the interest on your note, Jim?"
the boss asked him when they had shaken hands and sat down.
" No," Kane said. "I don't have any
money."
" How many horses have you got now?"
" Forty-four. "
" When will they cross?"
" If they show two clean tests they should cross
in six weeks."
" The week after New Year's?"
" Yes."
"" I suppose we can carry you until then
without collapsing.
" I appreciate it, sir."
" I still believe you are on the right track with
your horses. I've seen them and they seem to be just as you described
them when we made you the loan. Maybe when you bring out the next
bunch you should stop them someplace further south and bleed them
yourself. Or maybe you should test them before you buy them. There
must be a practical way to handle the horses before you fall into the
hands of the U. S. Government, don't you think?"
"Maybe there is, sir. Maybe the most practical
way would be to leave all Jalisco horses in Jalisco."
" Maybe so. It would seem a shame to quit. You
have paid a large fee for your first lesson in buying horses in
Mexico. You might still find a way to profit by the education."
" Let's see what kind of shape you and I are in
when the venture winds up," Kane said, rising to leave.
" Maybe this venture won't work and the next one
we take on together will work. You take care of me and I'll take care
of you, and someday maybe one of our deals will click for us."
" That sounds like the best kind of deal,"
Kane said.
" These horses no longer have a chance to make
anything for us. Their corral fees, feed, sanitizing fees, burial
fees, death loss, duties, and brokerage make the situation such that
they would have to be made of pure gold to pay their way out and
still leave us any profit. These just won't make it for us because
they have never been given a chance. I wish we could keep them for a
while so they could produce and get us out of the hole but I guess
that would take too long."
" Personally, I would rather liquidate this bunch
and help you on some new venture. Let's sell them as soon as possible
and start over again," the boss of the bank said.
Out on the street again, Kane went to the flower shop
and ordered a bouquet of roses sent to the bank. On the card he
wrote, "To all the girls of the Valley Bank, attention Miss
Toots."
7
Gunga
Din
Kane was alone on the Keyses' desert ranch on
Christmas. He was alone except for his horse, Pajaro, the Mortgage
brothers, Warwhoop,
mounted on the wall and the paintings of other great, gaunt steers
that had given up their freedom though the years to help this bank
help cowmen make their living, Kane sat and waited for the boss's
secretary to come back and give him an audience with the boss.
Miss Toots was the boss's secretary and the number
two man in the bank by seniority but the number one woman in the bank
by popular acclaim. Miss Toots was a small, erect,
not-yet-middle-aged woman, who walked on the finest set of legs and
had the thickest, shiniest, brown hair in the State of Arizona.
" Aha, I knew you would show up any day now, Jim
Kane, Miss Toots said when she came into her office.
" I guess my note is a week overdue. I should
have been here a week ago but I was busy helping gather a bunch of
wild Brahmas for Bob Keys and the Brahmas didn't care if my note was
due," Kane said.
" Never mind. You're here now. Are you going to
be able to pay the note?"
"No, Miss Toots. My horses are still
quarantined. I don't know what I'm going to do about the note."
" Go in and talk to the boss. Tell him about your
quarantine. I'm sure he knows all about it anyway. If you can't pay,
you can't pay and that is all there is to it. There is no use getting
bats in la belly about it, is there?"
" No, Miss Toots. I won't if you won't."
" I won't. I've seen too many of you
cowboys get out of this kind of trouble. You just tell the boss about
it. He won't leave you in la lurch."
Kane walked in the boss's office.
"Can you pay the interest on your note, Jim?"
the boss asked him when they had shaken hands and sat down.
" No," Kane said. "I don't have any
money."
" How many horses have you got now?"
" Forty-four. "
" When will they cross?"
" If they show two clean tests they should cross
in six weeks."
" The week after New Year's?"
" Yes."
"" I suppose we can carry you until then
without collapsing.
" I appreciate it, sir."
" I still believe you are on the right track with
your horses. I've seen them and they seem to be just as you described
them when we made you the loan. Maybe when you bring out the next
bunch you should stop them someplace further south and bleed them
yourself. Or maybe you should test them before you buy them. There
must be a practical way to handle the horses before you fall into the
hands of the U. S. Government, don't you think?"
"Maybe there is, sir. Maybe the most practical
way would be to leave all Jalisco horses in Jalisco."
" Maybe so. It would seem a shame to quit. You
have paid a large fee for your first lesson in buying horses in
Mexico. You might still find a way to profit by the education."
" Let's see what kind of shape you and I are in
when the venture winds up," Kane said, rising to leave.
" Maybe this venture won't work and the next one
we take on together will work. You take care of me and I'll take care
of you, and someday maybe one of our deals will click for us."
" That sounds like the best kind of deal,"
Kane said.
" These horses no longer have a chance to make
anything for us. Their corral fees, feed, sanitizing fees, burial
fees, death loss, duties, and brokerage make the situation such that
they would have to be made of pure gold to pay their way out and
still leave us any profit. These just won't make it for us because
they have never been given a chance. I wish we could keep them for a
while so they could produce and get us out of the hole but I guess
that would take too long."
" Personally, I would rather liquidate this bunch
and help you on some new venture. Let's sell them as soon as possible
and start over again," the boss of the bank said.
Out on the street again, Kane went to the flower shop
and ordered a bouquet of roses sent to the bank. On the card he
wrote, "To all the girls of the Valley Bank, attention Miss
Toots."
7
Gunga
Din
Kane was alone on the Keyses' desert ranch on
Christmas. He was alone except for his horse, Pajaro, the Mortgage
brothers, Warwhoop,
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