Savage Sam Page #2

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turkey gobbler with a rock.

Didn't you?

Now, I believe if it was me, I'd just

go wash the dirt out of that bucket...

And finish milkin' up

the cow.

Yes, sir.

Ah, ahem.

I reckon she'll give you the milk

without you holdin' my gun on her.

Huh?

Oh.

I reckon she will.

I don't see how you do it,

Uncle Beck.

Now, any way I try to manage him, it's

like pokin' a stick in a hornet's nest.

Well, that's generally the case

with being the older brother, Travis.

Maybe what you gotta do

is learn to out figure him.

hey, smells like

something's afire.

It's the bacon!

Dang that Arliss!

Can't even milk a cow.

Hey, I picked... whee... I

picked this up in town for you.

A letter. Yep,

San Antone it says.

It must be

from your Mama and Papa.

Mama says the doctor had

Grandma figured for a goner,

But she fooled them.

That don't surprise me none.

Crowd you to kill that little

ol' lady with a choppin' axe.

That's about the way

Mama puts it.

She says, "it will be a while

before Grandma is back on her feet.

But she's

just doing fine."

Well, I bet on it too.

I never will forget that

little old lady back in Sedalia.

When me and your Papa was

nothin' but tow-shirted kids,

We couldn't swipe a peach,

turpentine a cat,

Ride the old milk calf,

nothin',

Without Grandma Bailey swarmin'

all over us, three times a day.

Burnt the breakfast,

didn't you?

I got another batch started.

Mama never let

the breakfast get burnt.

Always had it

ready for me to eat,

The minute

I finished milkin'.

Now, maybe your

Mama didn't have to

spend so much time

duckin' rocks neither.

I best be movin' on. Oh,

you don't aim to eat with us?

No thanks.

I don't blame you...

bacon and mush.

I ate early. I got to

hunt up a missing heifer.

Probably hold up in some thicket

with a new calf. New calf!

Golly, maybe I better

go help you hunt her.

Now you better help

your brother finish the

grubbin' because your

Papa wants to sow...

That new ground of winter

wheat, quick as he gets home.

Aw, heck!

You need any help,

you let me know, hear?

I'll be looking in on you

every now and then.

You remember what I said now.

You got to learn to outfigure him.

Outfigure who?

Outfigure who?

Oh...

nobody.

Nobody particular.

Well, holler when the bacon's

fried. I'm near starved.

Where you going?

While you're cookin' up the grub,

I'll go harness up Old Jumper.

He can pack in the deer we

shoot when we go huntin'.

I said we might go when

we get the work done.

There's plenty of

time to get Old Jumper.

I need him, anyhow,

to ride to work on.

Ride? That field

ain't a quarter mile off.

If you think I'm gonna do all that

walkin', then work too, you're crazy.

Be too plumb wore out

to hit a lick.

Now, confound it, Arliss, if

you're figurin' out some new...

figurin' out what?

Figurin' out some new way

to make work easier,

Why, that's fine.

And takin' Old Jumper

to drag that brush,

I don't know why

I didn't think of that myself.

Well, come on, Arliss.

Go get 'em.

All right.

I'll bring along an extra rope

to clear away the brush with.

Good idea. That's right

smart thinking, Arliss.

Atta boy, Sam.

Warm up that scent, boy.

Sam's fixin' to pick up

a varmint trail.

Go get him, boy!

nudge him out, boy.

He's in there someplace.

All right, Arliss,

she's tied.

Tote her down.

Stay with it, Sam.

You'll get him directly.

All right, Jumper, giddap.

Come on, Jumper, giddap.

Whoa, Jumper!

Whoa, Jumper!

Dang you, whoa!

Arliss!

You and Jumper sure made

a mess out of that.

What do you mean? He piled the

brush right where you wanted it.

It sounds like

Sam struck a hot one.

Yee-hoo!

Lookie yonder!

Yee-hoo! Go get him, Sam!

Man, oh, man, ain't he makin'

that ol' cat get high behind?

One thing you can say

for old Sam, anytime

he takes to a trail,

he'll hang with it,

Better than any dog

I ever heard tell of.

Come on, Travis. We'll mount up,

and we'll jump her and follow her.

We got work to do,

remember?

But that ol' cat's been raiding the

chicken roost. We gotta catch him.

Sure we do. And when Sam trees

him, we'll go right out and get him.

But, meanwhile, we'll just

keep grubbing brush, right?

Who ever heard tell of workin'

when you could chase a bobcat?

Now, Arliss,

come on back here.

I'll set your britches

to smokin', you hear me?

Travis!

Travis Coates!

Mr. Searcy.

Injuns! Injuns raiding

all over the place!

Get your gun, boy. Get some bullets.

Break out a fresh keg of powder!

Injuns?

Where, at salt licks?

Could be. By now, they're liable to

have wiped out the whole settlement.

Burnin', killin'

scalpin'. Draggin' poor

screamin' women off to

a fate worse than death.

Lisbeth, honey,

would you mind slippin' down?

This poor old pony is gettin'

a mite winded. Yes, Papa.

Well, who saw the Indians,

Mr. Searcy?

Well, I don't know.

Best I could learn...

Is they struck

at loyal valley last night.

Old Wiley crup, he come up with 16

head of horses missin' this mornin'.

What's that I smell

cookin', boy, frijole beans?

But, Mr. Searcy, missing horses

don't have to mean Indians.

Horses can stray.

Not them horses.

Crup says Injuns got 'em.

Told Todd McDougal they did.

But he didn't

set eyes on 'em.

Wiley said it sounded

like Injuns to him,

and you know Wiley

wouldn't tell a lie,

'less maybe there's

a little money involved.

them beans just about done,

ain't they, boy?

What's that dog after,

Injuns?

No. Sam and Arliss

are trailin' a bobcat.

Thunder-ration, boy. Don't

you know no better than that?

Lettin' a helpless

youngun run footloose

through them hills just

swarmin' with savages.

Them red devils are liable to haul

off and scalp that boy any minute.

Eat that dog too,

if you ain't watchin'.

Injuns are partial

to dog eatin'.

If I was you,

I'd go get him,

Before we even bother to set

a foot under that dinner table.

Oh, well, it might not hurt

to go get him.

Yeah, well, you just do that.

You just do that.

Lisbeth, honey, you might ought

to water this poor old pony.

Shuck him out

a few ears of corn too.

Build back his strength

a little. Yes, Papa.

And while you're out there

roundin' up the youngun,

I'll just be neighborly like and

go and look at them beans of yours.

Be a cryin' shame

if they was left to burn.

Tarnation,

them beans is hot!

You know, about them Indians, that's

mostly just scare talk, wasn't it?

Well, you know Papa, always trying

to make things bigger than they are.

Sometimes I wish he wouldn't,

well, you know, go on so much.

Oh, that ain't your

fault. Did you happen

to hear just what

Tom McDougal did say?

Well, now, yes.

What he told Papa was that what Mr.

Crup said if it were ten years ago,

He'd just bet it was Indians

who stole those horses.

Yeah, that's about

what I figured.

It's been a long time

since Apaches come

out of those high

mountains on a raid.

Well.

Still need to

round up Arliss, though.

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