A Horse Called Danger - Part 2

Good Morning FFFs!
Boy, oh boy, could I get on a soapbox after class last night! But I think I'd better wait and get my report written and then let you all read it. I will say this though, remember that once you put something on the internet, it's there forever! You may delete it, but you don't know who else had done something with it and spread it around. And, everything you delete can be recovered. So be careful.

This week wasn't quite as busy and crazy as last week, but I still had plenty to do. The kiddos came over Friday morning and we had them until around 2:30 on Sunday. It was fun and Doodle Bug gave us a few good laughs. One night he and his brothers were sitting on Grammy's bed waiting for Pickle Puss to finish getting a bath. Doodle Bug was playing with a stuffed dog and he turned to S and asked, "Dis his nose?"
S replied, "Yes, that's his nose. You have a nose too."
He thinks a minute and then says, "Dis his tail?"
S: "Yes, that's his tail."
A moment later, Doodle Bug reaches behind him and feels. Then he says thoughtfully, "Unt (I don't) have a tail." :D

I tutored a new student on Thursday, taught writing classes on Wednesday, attended the SCA last night and tonight we're going over to celebrate Funny Boy's 4th birthday! (How can he be four all ready?) I also worked with my best friend to get the cover for TCR-1 done. :) Now I'm working on the inside! It's very exciting.

Thank you so much for voting on what story I should write. I would like to start TCR-3, but I have to have an empty file on NEO first. :) So, I'm trying to finish up a Christmas story which I started last year but never finished. I also have about 300 words of a Dr. Morgan written that I need to make into 1,000 words. There are so many stories that I'd love to write, but I either can't think of what comes next, or I don't have the time to really get back into the story (such is the case with the Graham Quartet), or I don't have room or something!

Now I'll let you read the next part of this story. And remember, this really happened. The names and places have been changed, but it's based on a true story. Enjoy!

A Horse Called Danger - Part 2

    Since I was older, Uncle George treated me almost like one of his few hired hands. I rode out to check some fence line at least three times a week, went along in the pickup to feed the cattle, helped train some of the horses, and ate more of Aunt Julia’s good cooking then any other person on the ranch. Grandma said I was growing. I suppose I was but I never stopped long enough to really think about it much. Every night I tumbled into bed and never knew what happened after my head hit the pillow until I was awakened in the morning.
    During that summer I rode several horses, but there were two that were my favorites and I rode them every chance I got. One was a nut brown gelding named Sea Hawk and the other was Dandy Boy.
    It wasn’t until the latter part of summer that things happened. Mom and Dad were expected back in a few weeks, and I was looking forward to riding with Dad. I knew he’d be on Dandy Boy and figured I’d ride Sea Hawk. In my mind there wasn’t much difference between them except that Dandy Boy was a little faster and acted, well, like a dandy. I told Uncle once that the horse should have a mirror hung up in his stall so he could admire himself each day.
    One afternoon Uncle George and I had ridden out to check on a smaller group of cattle not far from the neighboring ranch line. This time Uncle George was riding Dandy Boy and I was on Sea Hawk. We stopped for lunch by an old blackened stump and gave the horses a breather since it was a warm day. Uncle was standing near that old tree stump looking across the vast grazing land. “Yep,” he said in answer to a question as Dandy came up. “I always carry my pistol when I’m out on the range. Never know when it might be needed.”
    Dandy Boy began rubbing his head against Uncle as though telling him it was time to move on. Suddenly the sound of a gun shot startled me and I turned in time to see Uncle gasp, take a staggering step and then fall. Dandy Boy and Sea Hawk pranced and whinnied nervously, especially Dandy Boy who kept near Uncle George.
    Rushing to the side of my uncle I saw blood staining his right pant leg! What had happened? Quickly I tried to push Dandy’s head away and it was then that I realized what had happened. In rubbing against him, Dandy had managed to catch part of his bridle on the trigger of Uncle’s gun. Quickly, but with shaking hands, I managed to free the bridle and the horse instantly backed away. I did the best I could to stop the flow of blood, but it was soon evident that Uncle needed more help than I could give.
    “Art,” Uncle whispered from a pain filled face, “take your belt off and fasten it around my leg above the wound.”
    I did as I was told, and leaving Uncle George holding on to one end of the belt to keep it tight, I mounted Sea Hawk and tore off for the neighboring ranch. Although I had to ride around their fence, it was still closer than going home. Besides, the phone line at the ranch hadn’t been working all day and I wasn’t sure if the repair man had come out and fixed it yet. I was praying the whole time I rode, let me assure you, because I’d never seen anyone shot before and that had me scared.
    Reining up before the barn where I could see some of the men, I sprang off Sea Hawk as they gathered about me, and gasped, “The horse shot him! He’s got to get help!”
    They must have thought I was crazy and I’ll admit it does sound crazy.
    “Hey, what’s this?” Mr. Gardner asked, putting his hands on my shoulders. “Take a deep breath, Son, and calm down. Now try again. Who’s shot and who did it?”
    I was shaking from shock, but I tried again. “Uncle George,” I gasped out. “He’s in the pasture near your fence line by the old, black tree stump.”
    “I know where that is,” one of the men said quickly, and Mr. Gardner nodded.
    “But who shot him?”
    “His horse!”
    At that Mr. Gardner put a hand on my forehead. I knew he thought I must be sick.
    “I’m telling the truth,” I insisted, breathing hard. “Please, you’ve just got to help him! He’s bleeding a lot.” I was nearly in tears and, though I doubted they believed that bit about a horse shooting anyone, they saddled up quickly, for they knew something had happened. Mr. Gardner hurried to call for an ambulance.
    Before they rode off, they assured me they would find my uncle, and I clambered up on Sea Hawk again to ride for home and tell Aunt Julia about the accident since the phone line was still down.
    As I neared the the ranch, I urged my horse faster and faster. The shock of everything had made me lose my usual confidence. All I wanted right then was for someone to tell me Uncle would be all right and to forget the sight of all that blood. Flying up the lane, I galloped straight across the nicely kept lawn to the kitchen door screaming, “Aunt Julia!”
    Ivy and Aunt Julia hurried out onto the porch. When they saw Sea Hawk on the grass, Aunt Julia exclaimed, “MacArthur Lee Washington Stuart! What are you doing riding a horse onto my lawn?” She had told me several years before that if she ever saw me riding a horse onto her nicely kept lawn, she’d take a switch to me, but at that point I didn’t care or even remember that threat.