Slim Evans and His Horse Lightning

  Chapter Four

  Trouble Looms

  Chuck returned with the handful of dishes and laid them by the firewhere the heat would dry them thoroughly.

  "You dropped a letter," said Slim. "I tossed it over on your blanketroll."

  Chuck straightened up quickly, almost too quickly, thought Slim, andstepped around the fire. The Circle Four cowboy picked up the letter,glanced at it quickly but thoroughly, and slipped it into an innerpocket.

  "Thanks. It's important, I wouldn't want to lose it."

  "There are lots of valuable things we don't like to lose," said Slim."Once in a while they disappear and we can't seem to do much about it."His eyes wandered over to the saddle which he had pulled off Lightningonly a little more than two hours before.

  "Meaning what?"

  "Meaning my horse, for instance. If I'd have thought for a minute thatI'd have lost Lightning when I went trailing down to help you out, I'mnot so sure I'd have gone."

  "You're not putting a whole lot of value on my life," smiled Chuck.

  "Maybe it's just that I'm placing a lot of value on a good horse."

  "You must have thought a deal of that animal. Now you take the cayusethat was shot out from under me--just a plain range horse. Plenty goodfor cow work, but nothing fancy, and about as ornery as you can makethem. Course I hate to lose the horse, but I'm not going to shed a wholelot of tears."

  In spite of himself, Slim felt his eyes filling as he looked at thesaddle. His voice choked.

  "You can say that all right. You had just a plain horse to lose--but Ihad Lightning."

  Chuck looked at his companion sharply and saw that Slim was deeplyaffected.

  "I never had anything but a cayuse," he said. "Maybe if I'd had a reallyfine horse I would have some idea of how you feel."

  "Maybe you would. You see, Lightning was almost human. I could talk toher and she'd understand almost everything I said."

  "That's a lot more than a good many humans can do."

  "Lightning was smarter than a lot of humans." Slim stretched his longlegs on the blanket beside the fire, pillowed his head on the saddle andlooked up toward the new moon.

  A desperate ache tugged at his heart. Lightning was gone and there wasonly a great void there. He had to talk, he had to tell Chuck about thewonder of his horse. If he didn't he knew he would burst out in tears, ahighly undignified thing for a husky young cowhand to do.

  "Lightning was a sorrel with a white star on her forehead and whitefeet. She was long-legged, fast as the wind, and with plenty ofendurance. There wasn't a horse anywhere around that could make her goher limit, and when it came time for the round-up, she could do the workof any other three horses."

  "Sounds kinda like a wonder horse," said Chuck as he tossed anotherhandful of wood on the flames.

  "She was a wonder horse in every sense of the word," went on Slim."Lightning was a queer mixture. Her mother just a plain cayuse on theFlying Arrow. We never knew just exactly what kind of a horse her fatherwas, but my Dad swears that it must have been Nige, leader of the bandof wild horses over on the Sunfield spur of the Cajons. Nige's neverbeen broken, and only a few people have ever been able to get a ropearound him. He's a beauty--coal black and all fire and temper."

  Chuck nodded.

  Even over on the Circle Four they had heard about Nige and his smallband of wild horses which roamed the eastern slope of the Cajons.

  "I've heard there was Kentucky blood in Nige," said the Circle Fourcowboy.

  "That's what my Dad always said," went on Slim. "Anyway one of ourcayuses, just a plain little sorrel with a splash of white on her faceand legs, was the mother of Lightning. She was a colt in a thousand, youcould see that at a glance."

  Slim paused and looked up at the moon again for comfort. The ache wasstill in his heart, but talking to Chuck, telling him about Lightning,was easing a little of the piercing pain.

  "I was just coming along to the age when I was going to need a goodhorse," went on Slim, "and Dad picked out Lightning and turned her overto me. We seemed to get along first-rate right from the start, seemed tounderstand just what the other wanted to do. Why, I remember one time inspring round-up when Lightning went into a prairie dog's hole and threwme. I busted one leg and sprained the other so bad I couldn't stand.There I was sprawled flat on the range, five miles from the chuck wagonand a thunderin' big storm whooping down out of the mountains.

  "Lightning took one good look at me and set out for the chuck wagon at afull gallop. It wasn't an hour later when she brought Dad and the boysback with her. They got there just before the rain and believe me, I wasglad to see them."

  "I've heard of horses like that," nodded Chuck, "but I never knew anyonethat owned one."

  "There's only one Lightning. At first I trained her so she wouldn't letanyone else ride her, but the other boys on the ranch didn't like itvery well so I broke her of that habit. If I hadn't done that, she'dnever have been ridden away from here this afternoon. It used to beshe'd lash out with her feet whenever anyone came near, but that waskinda dangerous on the ranch."

  "How do you suppose the fellows that were gunning for me got her?" askedChuck.

  "All they had to do was to walk up and climb on, she was that gentle.Believe me, if I ever get her back, she's going to be a one-man horsefrom now on."

  "I'm afraid there isn't much chance you'll ever get her back," saidChuck, "if this country is as sparsely settled as you say."

  "I'll get her back somehow," replied Slim in a tone that brooked no goodfor the men who had taken Lightning.

  They were silent for a time, both thinking of the long walk down the SkyHigh trail that faced them with the coming of the dawn.

  "Funny I didn't see you ahead of me when you went over the summit," saidSlim.

  "I must have crossed a good hour ahead of you. My horse was pretty badlywinded and I didn't try to make much time for the first half hour comingdown this side. Fact of the matter is, I stopped a little above here forwater and to let the cayuse graze."

  The fire was dying and there was no need to put on fresh wood for theywere ready to roll into their blankets. Slim kicked his boots off,pulled the blanket up around his shoulders, and said good night to hisnew-found companion.

  He was worn out by the long ride of the day, the adventure in theboulder-strewn wash below and the mental grief of having lost Lightning.But sleep did not come at once.

  Why had Chuck been ambushed? His thoughts centered on the letter in hisown shirt and the one that Chuck had dropped. Both were from BillNeedham. Could they be on the same mysterious mission, could both beanswering a sudden call from the old cattleman?