WACO’S
LUMMOX
By
Waddie Greywolf
Chapter
71
A month passed
since Coyote took off and no one saw hide nor hair of him.
He left no trail. Even bloodhounds couldn’t pickup his scent
further than the Potter/Goodnight ranch. From there, he seemed to
vanish into thin air. A week after the sheriff’s deputies found
his slave RFD chip inside the javelina, they gave up the search.
Another two weeks went by, and it was Thursday evening. Monty’s
ramrod came through the gate to spend the night with him. The
previous Sunday was the last night they spent time together. It
was a busy week with long days. Monty was running his ass off
trying to get everything done he needed to do. Since Tuesday
morning, Monty could think of nothing else but Jimmy Joe’s fine
cowboy cock, the graceful way it hung from his tight body, framed by
his handsome set of Monty-enhanced balls, and the full-bodied, strongly
masculine aroma of his manhood, to say nothing of the taste. The
taste of Jimmy Joe’s penis would haunt his dreams and cause him to
ejaculate in his sleep, but the very best, was the signature fragrance
of Jimmy Joe’s splendid body from which his fine cowboy penis
hung. He never used perfumed soap. He cleaned his body with
a good quality, hard-milled soap another buckaroo taught him about
years ago. Jimmy Joe’s distinctively clean, masculine smell was
all his own.
Monty wouldn’t
change his bedding until the morning before his ramrod was due to
visit. He would have several nights to enjoy the lingering
essence of his lover. While it would drive him to distraction
with lust, after he fell asleep the gentle quality of Jimmy Joe’s
lingering presence would drift in and out of his subconscious and bring
him the restful sleep of peaceful dreams. Monty was so
horny he was ripe for the picking. After another long day, which
he was sure would never end, he and his ramrod were finally alone,
together, relaxing and getting ready for bed. Jimmy Joe seemed to
be his same old self to everyone but Monty. His young devoted
slave noticed a difference in his partner. Since Coyote John went
missing, it was like a little
of his ramrod’s cocksureness, which made him the man Monty loved so
well, waned a bit. Monty wondered about it. He wondered
if his ramrod felt like he failed Coyote. It had been a little
over four weeks
since Coyote ran. Monty was surprised Jimmy Joe never talked with
him about Coyote’s disappearance. They usually talked about
everything and shared a free flow of information from important things
to tiny tidbits of day to day juicy gossip like what cowboy what
fucking whom or who had the hots for another. Jimmy Joe never
said a word to him about Coyote’s disappearance, and Monty never
broached the subject. He got the distinct feeling Jimmy Joe
didn’t want to discuss it, but he couldn’t abide the thought Coyote
might be a bone of contention, driving a wedge between them which might
possibly jeopardize their relationship. Coyote John cost Monty
enough. He wasn’t going to let him come between himself and the
simple, honest, hardworking cowboy he came to love so dearly.
“Ramrod?” he
asked with reticence.
“Yes?” answered
Jimmy Joe.
“Why ain’t we
never talked about Coyote’s disappearance?”
“I was
instructed not to,” Jimmy Joe responded, “and I guess there’s still
enough slave in me, I know when to obey my master, or in my case my
employer, and keep my big pie hole shut. Didn’t Master Angus talk
with you?” he asked.
“Yes, Sir.
He asked me a couple of questions. I told him the truth.” Monty
replied.
“Coyote John was
Angus Goodnight’s property. If he’s happy with your answer, then
I’m a happy camper.” Jimmy Joe smiled.
“I wish I could
feel comfortable with yore' explanation, but I ain’t. H'it ain't
because I don't believe you. I do, but I get the feeling
something ain’t quite
right. I don’t want Coyote coming between us, Master Jimmy
Joe. He done cost you'n me
enough. Is there some nagging doubt in yore’ mind, Sir?”
Monty asked.
“Don’t worry
yore’self none, he ain’t coming between us. I won’t let
him. I’m just puzzled why Master Angus wouldn’t want me
discussing it with you. He knows how close we are. I
thought you and me shared ever’ thing, but I guess we don’t. Yes,
I suppose I got me some lingering doubts; certainly some unanswered
questions. Only someone as close to the situation as you, me and
Angus would suspect some’um was wrong; some’um don’t rightly add
up. I wondered if you’s having some doubts.”
“You think it
would help if we discussed it?” Monty asked.
“Maybe, but we
gotta’ do it as slave to ex-slave, man to man, and not as master to
slave. You git's ma' drift? You understand my meaning?”
Jimmy Joe asked.
“I think
so. Is it like the cowboy code of honor?” Monty asked.
“Very similar,
but on a deeper, more secret level. Sort of like a man might
share sensitive information with his wife or vice versa. It
becomes pillow talk or privileged conversation protected by the vows of
marriage, bonding, or the sanctity of the bedroom. By that, I
ain’t trying to draw no analogies, mind you. Just trying to
stress what’s talked about in a man’s home and his bedroom, be it
between a husband and wife or two bonded cowboy slaves, if’n it’s
understood between them it's only for their ears and theirs alone, it
becomes a sacred trust. What is discussed in the bedroom stays in
the bedroom. It will never be repeated, especially if it’s agreed
upon and sworn to by both parties. Does that help, Son?”
“Yes, Sir.
I can live with that. Makes sense to me.” Monty allowed.
“Very well then,
do you know what caused Coyote to run?” Jimmy Joe asked.
“I got me an
idea, but only from what he told me. He said it was because
Master Angus fucked Little Bear in front of him one night and made him
watch. He thought it was Master Angus’ doing, but I assured him
it weren’t. It weren’t Master Angus’ idea a’ tall. It was
Little Bear’s. Little Bear done told me several weeks before, he
was gonna’ asked Master Angus to do it with him. He thought it
might make his dad see it ain’t so bad to be Master Angus’ slave.
He wanted to show his dad how much he loved Master Angus. I
don’t think it really mattered. I think Coyote was jes’ looking
for a reason to run and that was as good as any. If it hadn’t
been that, he would’ve found some other reason. Is there
something about that night I don’t know?” Monty asked.
Jimmy Joe was quiet for a while then grimmaced and shook his head
almost in disgust. “H'it weren’t just
Master Angus fucking Little Bear. There was a lot more to it than
that. Master Angus had me clean Coyote real good, insert the
biggest butt plug we got up his ass and tie him to a wooden,
straight-backed chair. I tied his hands behind him and his boots
to the rear legs of the chair. He was sitting on the big plug,
and I was instructed to shove a good size penis gag in his mouth, down
his throat and strapped it in tight. I had me a cattle prod on
low setting, and I my job was to stand there and zap him if he tried to
look
away. I followed Master Angus’ instructions to the letter.
They chose the big bed in my bedroom Ramrod Birdsall left behind.
I guess Ramrod
Birdsall was somewhat of a showman. He installed several small
spotlights from different positions in his bedroom to highlight one
thing going on in the room right in the middle of his big bed.
Master Angus and Little Bear got upon the bed, and went at it hot and
heavy. The bed became a big performance platform for their
coupling. The harder Master Angus fucked Little Bear the more the
boy taunted his big cowboy master he weren’t fucking him hard
enough. I ain’t never seen me two men go at it like they
done. They looked like something out of one a them S&M porn
movies. I could see it was upsetting Coyote, but it was exciting
to him at the same time. He kept a stiff erection the whole
time. He weren’t
the only one. Hell, ma’ old hoss was hot, hard and dripping heavy.
After Master
Angus and Little Bear finished, Little Bear come over to his dad, set
on his cock and did a major lap dance until he got his dad off. I
ain’t never seen nothing like it in my life. Some night, when we
ain’t got us nothing else to do, we gotta' see if Kyron has video
available. You won’t believe yore’ eyes. It was like Little
Bear was fucking his dad’s dick with all the frustration of his
eighteen years without his dad’s love. He was taking what he
wanted from his old man; what he needed all them years and never
got. It was like, if’n his dad wouldn’t love him, he was gonna’
take it away from him. He fucked his dad so hard with his ass I
thought he might hurt himself, but Angus didn’t stop him. It was
like Little Bear was determined to make his dad shoot his load in his
ass; like he wanted to wear his dad’s come up his butt as his personal
trophy.
There weren’t no
doubt in my mind when Coyote shot his load. Not even the penis
gag could muffle his roar, but it was more than just a shout upon
ejaculation. It was a cry of a wounded soul. It sounded
like the death throes of a dying buck. Little Bear responded in
kind and roared with him, but he just kept hump’n his old man’s cock
with his ass until I could see his legs begin to tire. Just when
I was sure Little Bear couldn’t make another jump on Coyote’s dick, I
watched as that young buck pumped out the biggest load I ever done
see’d come out of a man’s penis. It flew all over him and
Coyote. His young cock shot like he had bucket’s full of love for
his dad stored up
inside him that only now was coming out. At one point I wondered
if he was recycling the load his master and his old man deposited
inside him
After he was
completely drained, Little Bear set resting on his old man’s cock,
threw his arms around him and held him tight. He cried like a
baby. He cried like a man denied a great treasure in his
life. It weren’t the tears of a frustrated child or even a
confused adolescent, it was the tears of a mature man who learned the
high price of human relationships the hard way. It was a scathing
indictment of the man whose cock he was sitting on. Something
broke inside Coyote, and he started crying, too. I’d bet them
fine boots you made for me, that hardened old Indian ain’t never shed a
tear a day in his life until that moment. After Little Bear got
it out of his system, he slowly withdrew from his dad’s cock, knelt in
front of him and methodically cleaned him with his tongue like Coyote’s
body was some kind of holy relic he had desecrated with his carnal
lust, but now was trying to make amends, paying penance, by showing
homage. He reminded me of a young warrior who knew he might soon
die in battle, and it was his one and only chance to worship and redeem
himself before the altar of his god. He never said a word to
Coyote. He didn’t have to. His message was more clear than
any words could ever express.
When he finished
he slowly walked back over to Angus, gave him a big hug, a gentle kiss,
thanked him and they left together with their arms around one
another. The love that flowed between them was palpable. It
was obvious to me, Little Bear was making a powerful statement.
He was leaving with the man he loved, who loved him and became his
father in Coyote’s place. It was a castrating gesture to his old
man. I don’t think taking a sharp knife and cutting Coyote’s
balls off would have been as psychologically damning as what
Little Bear done. It said to his old man, I used you, and there
weren’t a damn thing you could do about it. Now, I’m casting you
aside to love another man who will gladly be the father to me you never
could; just like I had nothing to say, and there was nothing I could do
about it when you cast me aside. How does it feel? I knew
how it felt. I could feel the big man’s despair. Coyote was
devastated. I knew something inside him broke, but I couldn’t
tell whether it was for better or worse. Only time would
tell.” Jimmy Joe finished and shook his head in sorrow. His
eyes were watering. Monty put his arm around him and pulled him
close. They were silent for a few minutes, then Monty spoke.
“Jesus!”
he exclaimed softly, almost to himself, “I know Little Bear. I
don’t think he had that in mind when he done it. If he really
wanted to use his old man he wouldn’t a’ bothered cleaning him up and
paying homage to him afterward. I can’t tell you the number of
times he told me how envious of me he was for having had six months of
sex with his old man. He weren’t angry with me, because he knew
Coyote forced himself on me, but maybe therein lies the rub. He
was willing to give himself up to his old man just to gain his
love. I told him you can’t suck love out of no man. What
comes from any man’s penis, other than piss, might feel good for a few
seconds, but it can’t be confused with love. When you git some on
you and it dries, it ain’t no magic armor what’s gonna’ protect you
from the hurts of the world, it’s just dried come. I told Little
Bear, in six months of trying to please that hard Indian, he never once
told me he cared about me or thanked me for me responding to him.
It was only after my trial he said a couple of words that made me think
he might have, at least, appreciated my efforts.
What I come to
feel about Coyote was of my own invention. You can’t invest six
months of your life trying to please another person and not feel
something for them. At least I can't. It took me a while to
understand, whatever
affection I had or still have for Coyote certainly ain’t because he led
me to believe he gave a shit about me. Coyote never had nothing
to do with it. On the other hand, I can understand how Coyote
must have felt, but he was blaming the wrong man. The way I see
it, there weren’t no one man to blame. Like you done said,
Coyote’s master Angus’ property. He didn’t have no say about what
his master done to him. I hear’d worse stories than having to be
forced to watch two men fuck. Coyote ain’t no blushing, powder
puff ingenue in the forced sex department. Master Angus ain’t no
pushover neither. That big cowboy may be lot’s a’ things, but he
ain’t no fool. I think Coyote underestimated you and Master
Angus. Master Angus knew exactly what he was doing, but I also
know he loves Little Bear so much, he’d let his'self be talked into
just about anything to please him. In a way, they lit Coyote’s
fuse together,
and he exploded. No pun intended, pa.”
“I thought about
that, Son, and to be honest, it bothers me. It bothers me a
lot. It’s almost like they
set him up. What they hoped would open him up to a greater
understanding, only succeeded in deeply wounding him. Indians,
especially one like Coyote John, look on life differently from you and
me. I asked myself why Angus would do that to the man? Then
again, it ain’t my job to question Angus Goodnight about what he should
or
shouldn’t do with his property. It’s my job to take care of them
and make damn sure they give him a good day's work. Could he have
a cruel streak? Like you done said, was it really cruel a'
tall? Was it any more cruel than what Coyote done to you?
I don’t know, but giving Angus the benefit of the doubt, maybe he
allowed his judgment to become clouded because of his love for Little
Bear. They go back a long ways. All I know is, I weren’t
comfortable with it. As exciting as they was to watch, I was
uneasy about it the whole time. Maybe Angus went along with
Little Bear’s wishes for a reason; to kill two birds with one
stone. You know, he ain't
never been too upset about it. J’ever think maybe
Angus wanted Coyote to run? Did
he want it to happen?” Jimmy Joe asked with some
reserve.
“Master Angus
told me the night he talked with me he didn’t want me git’n involved
should Coyote try to run. He told me he didn’t care if I offered
Coyote some comfort, and by that, I took him to mean sex. Master
Angus told me no matter what happened not to set foot off’n this
property, and I assured him I wouldn’t. He said he would only ask
me one question and that was did Coyote come by here? Actually,
he asked me two questions: did Coyote come by here, and did I offer him
comfort? My answer was ‘yes’ he came by here but ‘no’ I didn’t
offer him comfort; however, Coyote insisted, and like always with
Coyote John, I gave him what he wanted to placate him. I told
Master Angus the truth. I didn’t offer Coyote nothing, but I also
told him I let Coyote fuck me. Beyond that, there really ain’t
much to tell.
Coyote was in
the barn hiding in the dark when I went out to feed Jenny Bottom for
the night and tuck her in. He jumped me from behind and held me
until he was sure I wouldn’t yell. I weren’t surprised. I
didn’t struggle none ‘cause I knew it was him. I knew he wouldn’t
do
me no harm. He begged me to run away with him. He was
convinced, if I went with him we could make it to the border of Mexico
and live in South America. He said people are poor down there,
but they don’t have slaves. He told me escaped slaves were
welcome in South America. I told him there weren’t no way I’d go
with him, but I didn't tell him the wonders I'd discovered since I
become Captain Shane's slave. I told him he was crazy for
running. I begged him
to go back through the gate with me to your ranch, and I would speak to
Master Angus on his behalf. I’d tell him after talking with me,
Coyote decided to return on his own. I thought for a first
offense, Angus would show mercy and let him off with a severe warning.
He wouldn’t hear
of it. He was determined to run. Master Angus knows I could
subdue Coyote if’n I wanted to. He never would have gotten away
from this ranch. I could’ve morphed into a lummox, overpowered
him, tied him up and held him for you men to come git him, but Master
Angus never
asked me to do that. He told me to let him go, but make sure I
didn't set foot outside this ranch. Coyote told
me he loved me and wanted me to go with him, but if I wouldn’t, could
he have one last piece of ass before he took off? I dropped my
Wranglers, and he fucked me right there in the barn. We never
came into my quarters. I cleaned him up, wished him well, hugged
him, gave him a kiss, told him I loved him, and sent him on his
way. That’s the last I seen of him.” Monty finished and
there was another long silence between them.
“Did you enjoy
it?” Jimmy Joe finally asked sort of dejected.
“Why would you
ask me that, pa? You must be having self-doubts. You never ask
me a question like that before. I ain’t never ask if you enjoy
your cowboy slaves and Master Angus. I never asked if you enjoyed
fuck'n Coyote John. I just assume you do or you
wouldn’t keep doing it. Do you want me to lie to you, Master?”
Monty asked quietly. “Is it really that important?”
“No, ordinarily
not, but jes’
this time, for personal reasons, I need an answer. Forget about
me being your ramrod or master for a moment. As one man to
another, I’m asking for the truth.” Jimmy Joe demanded.
“Of course I
enjoyed it. Coyote John’s like a wild animal, Jimmy Joe. I
learned to enjoy his brand of rough sex when I’s sharing the same cell
with him for six months, but sex with him ain’t near as good as what I
got with you. You got the same wildness in you. The
only difference is, you got it saddled and broke. He don’t.
You know how best to make it work for you and your partner, and you
don’t stop ‘til you git the fuck’n job done. Coyote? He
ain’t got no clue. No matter what magical four letter word Coyote
whispered to me to git what he wanted, my ass ain’t nothing more to him
than a convenient come-dump for his prick. Comfort ain’t only
physical. There’s a part what can’t be taken from a man. It
has to be freely given, even from the most subservient slave. I
would never give Coyote John the comfort I give to you. I
couldn’t. H’it ain’t in me to do. You’re the only man what
will ever be welcome to sleep inside me as long as you need me.
All I want is my self-assured, swaggering, cocky, buckaroo master back
again who knows his self-worth, who’s proud of his'self and his
accomplishments, who can appreciate the finer points of a good piece of
ass, and knows how to fuck the holy b’jesus out of it like he's a
wild man on a demonic mission when he gits it!” Monty built to a
climax, then shut up. There was another long moment of silence
between them. Jimmy Joe gently slipped his rough, calloused hand
behind Monty’s head and slowly pulled him to his lips. He kissed
Monty with a kiss of relief, like he needed the young man to reaffirm
his need for him.
“God, I love
you, boy. Sometimes you jes’ seem to know the words I need to
hear. You been read'n ma' mind?” he whispered.
“No, I ain't
been read'n yore' mind. H'it ain't ethical. I jes' love you
a powerful lot, pa. More'n I ever loved anybody in my life, and
that includes Shanna.” Monty responded quietly.
“You like
calling me 'pa,' don’t chu, boy?” Jimmy Joe stole another kiss.
“I feel the same
way about you Master Shane feels about his ramrod. I never got to
call no man ‘pa’ when I’s growing up. Yes, it means a hell of a
lot to
me. You’ve taught me so much. I thank the name of some
unknown god ever’ damn day I got you in my life. I couldn't have
me no finer man to love me and lean on, Master. When I have
self-doubts I think on you and how much you mean to me, and they vanish
like exorcized ghosts. Ever’ time I call you ‘pa’ it reminds me
how much I missed as a kid, but it also makes me believe in second
chances.” Monty said laying his soul bare for his ramrod.
“Means a lot to
me, too, Son.” Jimmy Joe sighed.
“Any more
questions, slave to slave or man to man?” Monty asked without nuance.
“No, I’m
satisfied, less'n you trust yore' old pa enough to share the rest with
him.” Jimmy
Joe fished and grinned at Monty..
“What makes you
think there’s more, pa?” Monty asked.
“I know you too
damn
well, boy. H'it's almost like you become my son, Monty. I
know what your talents are and how yore’ mind
works. Your body tells me things your mouth don’t.” Jimmy Joe
was bluffing with nary a card to draw to, but from the expression on
Monty’s face, he knew he
struck pay dirt. He won the hand.
“Tell me again
how that slave to slave thing works, pa? You sure it’s like the
cowboy code of honor between buckaroos?” Monty asked.
“It’s much
deeper than the cowboy code. If a slave or ex-slave swears on his
soul, you can bet chore’ boots he won’t never betray your trust.”
“It would be
nice.” Monty said. “I think it would go a long way to easing your heart
and any tension between us. I don't like keep'n things from ma'
pa. H'it jes' ain't right. Are you willing to swear on your
soul, Ramrod?” Monty put to Jimmy Joe with all seriousness.
“I do so swear,
Son.” Jimmy Joe smiled and held up his right hand.
“Will it git me
ma’ beloved master cowboy buckaroo pa back in his saddle again?” Monty
said in
frustration. “Will you promise to fuck ma’ cunt until you hear it
beg for mercy or start to sing a new song?” Monty challenged.
“Guaran-damn-teed!”
Jimmy Joe promised as he took the young man into his arms. Monty
was quiet for a good while and held his
ramrod tight. Jimmy Joe broke the silence, “Coyote won’t never be
found, will he, Son?” he said quietly like he was afraid to ask and
even more afraid of the answer.
“Naw, Sir, he
won’t.” It opened up the flood gates and Monty told his ramrod
everything. Jimmy Joe listened with his mouth open. He was
stunned. He was amazed, but he wasn’t surprised. He had to
stop Monty a couple of times he was laughing so hard. Tears were
streaming down his face. The old
cowboy hadn’t had a drink in years, but insisted Monty break out his
bottle of Comfort. Angus went through his only bottle, a pint,
but replaced it with a quart of the sweet firey liquor. The
bottle was never opened. At his master's insistance, they
shared two fingers together in a
toast.
“Here’s to
Coyote John. May he live long, prosper, have many sons and
daughters and find happiness South of the border.” Jimmy Joe laughed
and they took another sip. “You know what, Son?”
“What, pa?”
Monty grinned.
“I think our big
cowboy master is more shrewd than we give him credit. I think he
anticipated something lie'kiss. I think he knew what him and
Little Bear done might provoke Coyote to run. I think he wanted
Coyote to run, but Angus made damn sure he had all his bases
covered. That old cowboy ain't no man's fool.”
“No, I don’t
think so. Ya’ think? Hell, I don’t know. Well,
maybe. He did tell me some’um awful strange about how he thought
I was ready to handle Coyote, and he knew I would do it my own
way. He said it like he was proud of me, and if offered the
opportunity, wanted me to take control of the situation between me and
Coyote. He said he didn’t give a shit how I handled it, but he
trusted me to do the right thing. To my way a’ thinking, that
gives a man a hell of a lot of latitude. Do you think I done the
right thing, pa?”
“Oh, hell,
yes! Fuck’n A! Ain't no doubt in my mind, boy. I'm
proud of you. Ya' done damn good, kid!” Jimmy Joe exclaimed breaking up
into gales of
laughter. "I got me a feeling
if’n Angus ever found out he would have a fuck’n heart attack.
He'd do exactly like I done. He
would laugh his big cowboy butt off.” They shared another laugh and
rolled on
the bed together. “Now I
know why he didn’t want me jaw’n with you about it. H’it weren’t
like he said. He said he was trying to protect you. That’s
jes’ pure-dee old horseshit! He knew damn well you could take
care of yore’self. The men what he’s trying to protect is Little
Bear and his dad. As far as I'm concerned, he left the job to the
best man. He was right. He knew you was ready.” Jimmy Joe
smiled at his mate.
“You know what,
Ramrod?” Monty grinned.
“What, boy?”
“I got me one
hell of a smart pa.” Monty said sincerely as a big grin spread across
his handsome face.
“E’aup!
But h’it don’t take no shit load a’ brains to do what I’m about to do
to you, boy. What would you like to hear that sweet little pussy
of yorn sing, Son?”
“Oh, I don’t
know. How ‘bout the last act of La Boehme?” Monty tossed off.
“Git down there
on yore’ old man’s cock, Son, and hum a few bars. My
poo-cheenie’s a mite rusty. I’ll warm up that sweet little music
box of yorn with a good old-fashioned buckaroo mustache ride, and
fake the rest.” Jimmy Joe grinned real big. They fell out
laughing again. Monty was happy. He had his cocksure cowboy
ramrod
back in his saddle. After that evening, everything was back to
normal between Jimmy Joe and Monty. They were tighter than two
ticks on a dog and their love for each other blossomed. Everyone
commented it was like they shared a secret between them no one else
knew. Well, almost no one else. While they remained
steadfastly true to their secret vow to one another, it didn’t take
Angus long
to figure out they knew what he did.
* * * * * * *
Days began to go
by faster. It was the end of summer. The ranch would be
kicking into fall roundup gear and several of the young men would be
returning to school. It would be JR and Jerry’s last year
in high school and they were being carefully groomed as the next
football
heroes for the small town. They also had the heft and superior
brawn of Bron’s two boys, Bronc and Ts’gan. Bronc was
approximately the same age as Waco and his men, but he talked his dad
into letting him run wild with their relatives for a season and missed
a year of school. He heard the romantic call of the wild, he
answered it, but now he was back. The romance wore off real
quick. He decided life on the ranch was a hell of a lot better
than foraging for food, being on the run all the time, and freezing his
butt off in winter. He was bigger than ever, and he and his
little brother made imposing line backers. No one ever got
through. Their teammates called them ‘the animals.’ They
weren’t too far wrong.
Monty was busy
all week with various projects for Shane and Boss Potter. He
spent a good deal of his time with Bobby, Maxine, Rocky, Dexter, Cody,
Pearl, Ping, Pong, Jack and Jill. It just seemed natural for the
coyote cowboys to latch onto him. They wanted to spend as much
time with Monty and his posse as possible. They were the ‘in’
group in the Grange for the moment. They were where everything
was happening. They found Monty fascinating and thought of
visiting the Gopher Bay as their personal Disneyland. Monty set
them down and had a long, brotherly talk with them. Monty’s talk
was pre-approved by both Shane and Admiral Long. When they were
on board his ship there was no such thing as master and slaves.
He was the undisputed captain of his ship and his word was law in
keeping with maritime traditions dating back centuries. They
would obey his orders without question. Anyone found guilty of
disobeying one of his ‘thou shalt nots’ or cardinal rules would be
court-martialed immediately. No one would be forced to walk the
plank, but depending on the offense, it would be decided by a jury of
their peers (Monty’s posse) whether that person would be welcome aboard
the Gopher Bay anymore.
As a matter of
fact, the Admiral suggested Monty take such an action. The
cowboys had a reputation for cutting corners, taking liberties with
rules and bending them to suit their own purposes. Lazarus
stressed to Monty, with a ship as unique and valuable as the Gopher
Bay, he could ill afford to have a young kid try out some hair brained
idea at everyone else’s expense. They weren't
meanspirited. They were just too damn intelligent and clever for
their own good. They didn't
always use good judgment. In fairness to the coyotes, they
were growing up fast and were learning responsibility. They
certainly had come a long way since messing with their big brother’s
robo-cam. Also, for the purpose of security and a general beefing
up of a powerful sergeant-at-arms presence, Lazarus wanted another big
bio-droid male created to be a bookend for Rocky. He would leave
the details up to Monty.
The one dead
whale brain Wankle let them have in the first group Monty left
outside exposed to the elements. It was his thought the softer
rays of the sun reaching Earth, over a period of time, might stimulate
the brain and reawaken it. He checked it regularly for the first
couple of weeks, but it showed no response whatsoever. It seemed
deader than the proverbial doornail. With so many other things
going on he forgot about it, until one night, a couple of months after
Coyote took
off, Nurse Jenny Bottom came to him in one of her usual frenzies.
Jenny knew no moderation in relating. It was either mildly
annoying frenzy or if it was something she thought was really
important, it became a full-blown, super-duper-hyper-hee-hawing frenzy.
<<
Remember that thing you set in those rocks you said was the dead brain
of a giant critter from another world? >> she asked.
<<
Yeah. I forgot about it. It’s been there for weeks.
No, make that months. It’s been there since the first of the
summer. I was hoping it might begin to show some signs of life,
but I think it’s beyond hope. I gave up and forgot about
it. Unfortunately, Nurse Bottom, I ain’t got the same healing
abilities for silicone life forms. >> he lamented.
<< Maybe
you do. I think you should take another look at it, Monty.
I noticed some strange
lights inside it. >> she brayed.
<< Really,
little sister? Let’s go see. >> Monty was up and out of his
quarters in a flash with Missy Bottom close behind complaining the
whole time. Monty rushed out into the darkness of a moonless
night to the large boulders where he left the brain. Sure enough,
there were a couple of small lights glowing dimly inside. They
were barely visible through the dense neural webbing of the brain
matrix itself. He picked it up and rushed it into his lab.
He explained to his workers what Jenny found, and they gathered around
in awe. They were as impressed as Monty and they immediately
hooked it
up to meters and a computer interface. They tinkered with it for
several hours until Monty was about to fall asleep. He said his
farewells, left the lab, and got ready for bed. He knew by the
next morning his workers would have an answer for him. He checked
with them before he walked to the bunkhouse for breakfast.
Depending on the
way one looked at it, it was either very bad news or it could be very
good news. The whale’s knowledge was completely gone. There
was nary a trace of memory from a past life. It was a blank
slate. On the other hand, it was still fully functional and could
be refilled sort of like a write/rewrite CD or a memory stick only much
more sophisticated. Once the original power source died, all
memories were lost to time. What was left was analogous to the
human reptilian brain stem. His lab workers had no idea what
caused it to become active again. There were any number of
reasons it might have occurred, but to know for sure the experiment had
to be repeatable. He didn’t know whether he could get the other
dead brain from Wankle. He would have to talk with the
Admiral. To anyone else it would have been depressing news, but
not to Monty. He would have to speak with Lazarus about several
ideas he was considering. When he
presented his idea to Lazarus, it was over breakfast one morning at the
Goodnight ranch. Lazarus invited Monty and Jimmy Joe to come
through the gate early. Waco and his crew were there including
Waco’s mate Captain Vinceeth. When Monty told Lazarus what he
wanted to do with the empty brain he almost fell off his chair
laughing. The rest of the men laughed at Lazarus. Monty
wasn’t offended. He knew Lazarus was laughing because of the
uniqueness of his request.
“Now, let me see
if I got this right. You wanna’ try to download your Oracle from
the spheres into the empty whale brain, thereby creating a second
sergeant-at-arms, giving your Oracle a permanent physical presence and
a permanent link to the spheres?”
“Yes, Sir,
that’s pretty much what I had in mind.” he smiled weakly. You
could've heard a pin drop around the table.
“Brilliant,
boy. That’s all I got to say. It’s a fantastic idea, but if
I might make a suggestion?”
“Of course,
Admiral.” Monty replied.
“If you’re
successful, I’d like for us speak with Rocky and see if some of the
secrets of the spheres and communication with them could be achieved by
downloading information into his brain matrix without destroying or
altering his basic personality. I think we all agree, Rocky has
become a well thought of and beloved fixture with you men. If
there was the slightest doubt his personality might be jeopardized I
wouldn’t approve it.”
“I understand,
Sir. I feel the same. He’s unique. It would make
sense to have a backup link to the spheres in case of an
emergency. When you’re dealing with advanced applications, there
ain’t no such word as ‘redundancy.’” Monty allowed and Lazarus agreed
with him.
Rocky wasn't
present at breakfast that morning. He was spending some time with
his little brother and sister at Angus' ranch and helping Angus and
Jimmy Joe with several projects. Rocky took up
permanent residence in the large downstairs bedroom off the kitchen in
Shane and Cole's house. He was so damn pleasant and
comfortable to have around, Shane and Cole invited him to stay with
them. He was pleased and flattered. It was much nicer than
his small room off Monty’s office in his quarters. Besides, he
was with Monty almost every day, and he felt Monty needed his
privacy. Since Dexter got his new body he needed a larger
bed and a place to call his own rather than a cot in Bobby’s
room. He became a regular guest in the other downstairs bedroom
which shared a bath with Rocky’s room. Sometimes Dexter would be
found in Rocky’s larger bed in the mornings when Cole poked his head in
to wake them. No one asked and they didn’t tell. It became
a question everyone had on their mind, but no one really wanted to know
the answer. There were many bets made one way or the other, but
only Dexter and Rocky knew for sure. They were aware of the talk,
but neither seemed bothered by it. They just never talked about
the time they were alone together. When asked, they gave the pat
answer that echoed the cowboy way, “Cowboy’s don’t never kiss and
tell.” They never did.
* * * * * * *
Monty hadn’t
opened his spheres since the night of the move to the Potter/Goodnight
ranch. He really didn’t have any need for them, but things were
getting more complicated on the Gopher Bay, and aside from consulting
them about his ideas, he needed help. He also wanted to talk with
his Oracle about either duplicating his persona or taking up residence
in the dormant whale brain. He was pleased to see Ben Johnson
again. The older cowboy was as fine looking as ever. Monty
was convinced he would make a fine bookend for Rocky. After they
exchanged pleasantries the two men set down to talk.
“You’re learning
to change your shape and alter others.” Ben observed.
“Yes, Sir.
There is a couple, a man, and his canine companion, who taught me how
to use my morphing abilities. They’ve come in quite handy.”
Monty told his
Oracle what he’d been up to and his accomplishments. He told him
about moving the barn and his quarters. The Oracle, who spoke for
all the intelligence within the spheres, was impressed. Monty
went on to tell them about his ramrod and his love for Jimmy Joe.
Ben never batted an eye. He smiled several times and
nodded.
He kept Monty company in his bed many times in the past when he was
lonely. Ben taught Monty about the female sex and how to satisfy
a woman. Like Monty would do for his ramrod, the big cowboy would
morph his genitals to provide Monty the tools with which to
learn. The greater the intelligence, and the more one is educated
without guilt and shame, the less one is prone to be confused about
sexuality. Monty began to tell Ben about his work with the
bio-droids and the whale brains. The spheres were very interested
and asked many questions. He finally told them about the lifeless
silicon whale brain he brought back to life by accident and what he
wanted to try. The spheres reacted much like Lazarus. They
thought it was a great idea, and told him to go ahead and create a new
body. He explained he wanted to give Ben a chance to become more
than a program. The Oracle was moved.
Monty gave
instructions to his workers to create another adult male body using the
same body pattern as Rocky which they fashioned after Captain Shane,
but the new body from the neck up would be a copy of Ben Johnson.
Since the spheres created Monty’s workers, they were familiar with Mr.
Johnson. In keeping with Lazarus and Shane’s wishes he also
instructed them to start work on five more bodies for the remaining
whale brains in their possession. The brains who hadn’t received
bodies yet were more happy than they were on Mars. They could go
anywhere and look in on anything going on in the world and the various
ranches of the greater Grange due to the electronic net. With the
Admiral and Ping’s permission, Kyron gave them almost total free access
to anything they wanted to view. Of the five left were three
young adults, in whale years, and two older adult brains. It was
decided to create two more adult bodies, one male and one female to
become a team of surrogate parents for the younger whale brains and
those going through adjustment periods following implantation.
All of these new bodies were produced in a week of what Monty came to
refer to as ‘real’ time.
* * * * * * *
The last week in
June, Maxine suffered through her first heat. She was
miserable. Ping, Pong and their kits were good to give her a shot
of specially produced pheromones which would relieve most of her
yearnings and relaxed her. She wasn’t the only pup going through
the throes of awakening sexual awareness. Her sisters, Patty and
Laverne were going through it close to the same time. They hit
within days of each other. They sometimes met in sickbay but had
little to say to one another. They just wanted to get their daily
dose of Langerian pheromones and go back to their families.
Maxine stayed close to Monty the whole week. Boss Potter even
gave her special permission to stay with him several evenings.
Her best girlfriend Essmee Biddle felt bad for her and would slip her
favored treats. Ox gave her some of his milk several times.
She slept a lot. She would follow Monty to sickbay, Ping would
produce a pheromone for her, she would follow Monty to the Gopher Bay,
curl up in a comfortable nook he created for her and sleep.
Monty would wake
her when he needed to return, they would stop by sickbay on the way
back to the ranch for another shot from Ping or one of her kids, go
through the gate, Maxine would have her supper, go to her small bed in
the corner of Monty’s office and be zonked out for the night. She
swore she didn’t know if she could put up with it the rest of her
life. Monty assured her she wouldn’t have to. After she had
a litter, he could take the urge away and give it back to her again in
the future if she wished to have another. She loved Monty
dearly. She had two great heroes in her life. Boss
Potter reached out to her in the depth of her despair from depression,
offered her a home and family, and according to her, saved her
life. Monty saved her life for the second time and opened a world
to her she could only dream about. He created a small headset so
she could communicate directly with the evolved intelligence on the
Gopher Bay. She could run the whole damn ship if needed.
Monty made her his first mate. He even gave her the title of
Ensign Maxine Potter. All this was done with his master, Boss
Potter,
and the
Admiral’s approval.
She told Boss
Potter several times if and when he decided to allow her to have a
litter, she wanted to have Monty’s pups. Monty agreed he would be
pleased and honored to provide the stud service for her when she
needed. Maxine wasn’t too closed mouth about her passions and
word got around she wanted Monty to be the father of her pups.
There was much good-natured razing about Monty being a salty old dog;
also, there were many bets made about the future pups and what talents
they might have which would far exceeded those of Scraps and Happy’s
puppies. There was no way to tell what the combination might
produce.
* * * * * * *
Frieda Toosoon
was skeptical at first about a new baby moving into Ox’s small condo,
but she was too large to fit so she really had no prior claim.
She sort of liked the idea of having a little brother even if he
was furless. After several months of being taken care of,
pampered, and catered to by everyone, she was beginning to think living
in a world of mixed species was far better than being cold, hungry and
dirty in a dank, dark cave that smelled of death. Ox didn’t
forget her. He made sure he showed her extra affection when he
took on the new bairn. Shane’s new baby slave in Ox’s pouch
didn’t have a name yet. Shane decided there was no rush, but
until the child was old enough to decide for himself, Shane decided to
call him 'Oblio' because he had such a nice round, little head, which
was not at all well suited for the game of triangle toss,* and there
was a country rock bank out of Missoula, Montana, from the early part
of the century Shane liked named Oblio Joe. So, until further
notice, the baby’s official name would be Oblio Arrow Goodnight.
For all practical purposes, for a while at least, he would become Shane
and Cole’s de facto son. Shane considered farming the boy out to
Strom and Lyle Chambers but the more he got to know the kid the more he
wanted to keep him close him him. Cole saw a deep need to play
"mother hen" within his mate and encouraged him. Shane had many
talks with the babe and
explained the difficult circumstances under which his dad became
Shane’s slave. He explained it would be necessary for Oblio to
hide his identity from Monty for a while, but Shane made him a promise,
when he was four years old and Monty was granted his emancipation, they
would sit down and tell him together. Until that time, Oblio was
to grow up in Shane’s household and look upon Shane and Cole Jenkins as
his parents and masters.
“Will I be a
slave like my dad?” he asked.
“Yes, Son,
because of legal situations on Earth right now, for your protection as
well as your dad’s you must be a slave. One of our Admiral’s
finest, most beloved sons is his slave. We’ll have you talk with
Lucas Long. He will tell you what it’s like to live as his dad’s
salve and what’s expected of him. He’s been offered his freedom
several times but refused each time. There are certain advantages
to being a slave to a good master on Earth at this time in
history. Other times, not so much. To further answer your
question, you will be a slave, but not like your dad. You dad is
a grown man with many talents, and he’s using those talents to work for
me to help us get off this planet when the time comes. You, on
the other hand, will be growing up and be mostly involved in being a
kid and learning. You will be given certain responsibilites as
you grow in keeping with your age and physical abilities. You
will be assigned chores and duties to perform but no more than any
average ranch kid growing up might expect to have. You’re main
job, as my slave and son, will be
to be a kid, learn as much as you can and make me proud of you.
You do those things well, and I’ll be a happy camper. In
return, I will make sure you have a happy, well adjusted childhood.”
“Will I get to
visit my mother?” he asked.
“I told you I
will always be honest and straight forward with you, but that’s a
question I can’t answer. Why? Because a lot will depend on
your mother. She’s been brought up in a religious home that is
very strict in their ideas about life, living and their view of
society. They are mainly interested in suppression of free
thought and reason. They worship an imaginary being they consider
their creator and are convinced he sent his son to Earth as a messiah,
teacher and prophet for the redemption of all mankind if they only
believe in him. Legend has it he was killed by the people of
his own religion some two thousand years ago, but they believe he will
come back for them and take them away to a wonderful land where they
will spend an eternity being slaves to their creator and worshiping
both. Every generation, for two
thousand years, have thought they would be the generation to see the
return of their messiah. If he ain’t showed up in two thousand
years, chances are, he probably never will.”
“Their religion
don’t sound very reasonable to me.” Oblio said.
“H’it ain’t,
Son. There’s even more crazy things they believe, but they’s jes’
the main things. It would be all right if they believed what they
do and left others alone, but they feel the need to change the world to
believe like they do. To accept their religion is to become brain
dead to reason and new ideas. It’s like a powerful, mind numbing
drug they believe is the answer to all their problems and helps them
git through the drudgery of day to day life. They give up all
responsibility for their own actions because no matter what they do to
their fellow man, they will be forgiven because they believe.
They become like zombies who feed on the negative energy of their
narrow beliefs and vehemently oppose trying to understand any concept
beyond their rigid dogma.
They’ve become
powerful, because men of reason and intelligence were either too
accommodating, too complacent, or too passive to speak up to ignorance,
to confront their foolishness, lies and mindless propaganda based on
nothing more than blind faith; faith in imaginary mythological beings
and religious ideas that can’t be tested or proven. They dumbed
down the public school systems and insisted on teaching faith based
science, which is no science at all, and allowed each succeeding
generation to become less educated and more ignorant. When you
take away people’s ability to reason, it’s easier to fill them with
lies and outrageous beliefs so you can control them to think like you
want them to. Together, they impose their will on government and
everyone’s private lives. Your mother is a votress of their order
and has told us she won’t give up her blind faith in mythology to
become a part of us. We’ve invited her. We were open with
her when she was convalescing from your birth. We asked her to
stay, but she refused. We’re still in touch with her. We
adjusted the neural pathways in her brain by feeding her lummox milk
ice cream every day. We hope she’ll come around, but only time
will tell. In the meantime, I can promise you a life filled with
education, reason, enlightenment, understanding, with lots of healthy
humor thrown in for good measure, but best of all love and
the encouragement of a large and uniquely diverse family.”
“How long will I
have to remain with my second parent?” he asked.
“You don’t have
to remain in Ox’s pouch any longer than you want to. It’s been
almost a month you’ve been living inside him. He would love to
have you stay until you’re too big to fit, but we need to get you up
and around.”
“I love it when
I’m inside him. I love him for providing me such a warm, safe
place to mature in, and his milk has really opened my mind to all the
possibilities before me. How long will I have to remain an
infant, Sir?”
“Only until you
can learn to morph into an older child, say one or two years of
age. It would make it much easier on us, and it would be the
perfect cover so your dad won’t be suspicious. We can provide you
with the genetic information if you need.”
“Won’t be
necessary, Sir. I can morph to look like Ox, you or Mr.
Jenkins. You all have held me, and I’ve absorbed your genetic
information. Who shall I look like, you?”
“If you think my
looks are pleasing, I would be flattered, Son.” Shane responded.
“I wouldn’t mind
living as a lummox, Sir, if it would help, but if you’d rather me
appear human, either you or Mr. Jenkins would suit me fine.”
“No, I
definitely want you to appear human. There might be a time I’ll
give you permission to morph to a young lummox if you like, but for
right now I need you as one of us. You might be more difficult to
explain if you looked like Mr. Jenkins. If you look like me, you
can pass as a Goodnight man.”
“Makes sense to
me, Sir.” Oblio said and began to morph until he looked like a one year
old boy. He was just a toddler, but he could walk with a little
assistance. He was quite handsome and looked like a tiny
identical copy of Shane all the way down to his penis. He even
copied the musculature of Shane’s massive body. He looked like a
diminutive bodybuilder. Cole took one look and almost fell on the
floor laughing.
“I love it!” he
exclaimed, “Your very own mini-me.” he laughed.
“Hesh up, pa!”
Shane laughed at his ramrod.
“Did I do
something wrong, Sir?” Oblio looked bemused.
“Not at all,
Son. H'it’s jes’ ma’ ramrod’s got a warped sense of humor.
You done fine. I wouldn’t have you no other way.” Shane grabbed
Oblio up into his massive arms, hugged and kissed him.
“I may have some
accidents until I learn to control my you-know-what.” Oblio said.
“We fully expect
it, Son, and we won’t have no problems with it, but it will take less
time for you to adjust than if you remain an infant.”
“Right, Sir.” he
smiled.
Shane fitted him
with a large diaper. Now, all they had to do was make
arrangements for Obilo to see Ox regularly for more lummox milk, get
him some clothes, a nice pair of boots and he would be the youngest
buckaroo-slave on the Potter/Goodnight ranch. Ox wasn’t ready to
let go
so quickly and asked Waco if he could be the boy’s wet nurse for a
while. Waco would do anything for his slave and granted his
permission. Therefore Ox and Frieda Toosoon came to live with
Shane and Cole for a while and Ox became Obilo’s wet nurse, chaperone,
wrangler and guardian. Frieda wasn’t sure about going to live on
the Potter/Goodnight ranch, but when she learned she would get to be
around
Monty more often, she changed her mind. The three were a perfect
combo. Ox, Frieda and Oblio could carry on wonderful
conversations and no one could hear. Ox was the perfect early
tutor for the boy about the ways of the world and how to relate to the
people and critters within. He became Oblio's jungle-gym.
The boy could grab a handful of lummox fur and pull himself to a
standing position and hold onto the huge beast as he took his first
steps. Ox was always there to catch him when he stumbled.
With
two bairns to care for and their
wonder at learning a new world, was for Ox like reliving his youth and
made him yearn for the day when he, Waco and Trey would have bairns
together. He envisioned himself becoming the caretaker of
the clan. His big heart ached for a large family.
Shane didn’t
bother to explain the details to Monty or the other ranch hands about
Oblio except he was the illegitimate son of one of Shane’s
brothers. By that, Shane was considering Monty his brother, but
everyone thought he was talking about one of his two older, city
dwelling brothers Jessie or Dermont Goodnight, with whom, the ranching
Goodnights had little contact anymore. Charlie, Angus and Shane
were surprised if they saw them and their families once a year around
Christmas. His story made sense. Shane Goodnight was the
type of man who would rescue and hide his brother’s indiscretion even
if it mean raising the kid himself. Only a handful of men knew
the truth. The fewer who knew, the less likely word would get
back to Monty. What better place for a young child who was of
questionable birth to be raised? The term ‘illegitimate’ held no
negative connotations at the Potter/Goodnight ranch. It simply
meant a child born out of wedlock and no more. Cowboys held
little truck with the pedigree of a man’s birth. It was what he
grew up to be that mattered.
Shane shared
their secret with
Angus, and the old cowboy fell in love with the boy. He wasn't
around Frieda Toosoon very much, but he included her in his
affections. Angus was a hard man for a kid of any specie
not to love. Beneath all the bullshit and bull-of-the-woods
bravado, beat the heart of a child just about Frieda and Oblio’s
age. Angus spoke kid fluently and became a third father to the
two of them just as he became a second dad to Monty. Oblio and
Frieda along with Ox were welcome to visit their cousins, Cody and
Pearl, at their Uncle Angus and Aunt Jean’s ranch anytime they
wanted. Jean hadn’t been exposed to lummox bairns very much but
came to love and appreciate Frieda. Oblio and Frieda communicated
well with the whale brain children and they formed tight bonds.
Likewise, they captured the heart of Angus’ ramrod. There was
just something about the little boy that captured Jimmy Joe’s heart and
imagination, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.
Shane made a
pact with Oblio he wouldn’t use his abilities without either his
master/dad’s permission or Shane’s ramrod they called Pa Cole.
Monty was fascinated by the new boy, and they seemed to get along
fine. Shane was worried Monty might be able to detect his own DNA
within Oblio, but the kid was more advanced than his dad. He
disguised his DNA to be almost an exact duplicate of Shane’s. He
made minor variances so it would appear a normal evolutionary
progression. Monty didn’t have a clue Oblio was his son, and far
from being frustrated, the boy seemed to revel in the idea he could be
with his dad and not be recognized. He was perfectly happy with
his adult support staff of Captain Shane, Ramrod Jenkins, Boss Potter,
Maxine, Angus, Essmee Fay Biddle, Gil Morris, Bobby, Dexter, his
little lummox
sister,
and their ubiquitous wrangler Ox.
* * * * * * *
Things began to
settle down into a more comfortable routine for everyone on the
Potter/Goodnight ranch. Ox and Frieda stayed with Oblio six
months until he was strong enough to get around by his own power, and
he was housebroken. Then they returned to Captain Waco’s
world. Shane made sure Oblio could spend as much time with them
as he wanted, but he soon became caught up in the world of the
Potter/Goodnight ranch and didn’t see them as much. By default,
he became included in Monty’s posse and was learning by leaps and
bounds. Maxine, Rocky, Bobby, and Dexter knew who Oblio really
was, but they protected his secret like it was their very own.
Monty wondered at how quickly they integrated Shane and Cole’s new ward
into their midst. Monty had some reservations about including a
small boy as young at Oblio, but he was strongly encouraged by his most
trusted teammates. Maxine, Rocky, Bobby and Dexter said they
would look after the boy and make sure he didn’t get into
trouble. They thought Oblio showed great potential. He took
them at their word and was pleasantly surprised how quickly the kid
learned. Even the coyote cowboys, who remained clueless, came to
appreciate and encouraged Oblio. Bobby Morris fell in love with
Oblio and he and Dexter became his big brothers. They gave him
the cognomen of "Yoda."
Monty developed
the new Sargent-at-arms, but it took him longer than he expected.
It didn’t take his workers any longer to get Ben’s new body perfect,
but the spheres were so sophisticated they were having problems
interfacing the blank whale brain. Once it was accomplished, it
only took one twelve hour period to download all the necessary
information into the brain. It worked perfectly and Ben Johnson
was
born. Monty thought he looked really hot and wondered if he would
be able to resist his attraction. In the meantime, he was working
with Rocky as well as downloading huge amounts of information from the
spheres to his brain. They were impressed with the size and
storage ability of the whale brains. With the new brain for
Monty’s Oracle, they could rebuild it from the basics. It was
unimaginably fast and accurate. The new Ben Johnson was able to
be in contact with the spheres at all times. Information flowed
both ways and it was a great opportunity for the entire evolved
intelligence to grow and expand. It was a win-win
situation. Rocky was somewhat more limited, but
nevertheless, they were impressed with his capabilities, and he
provided
the perfect backup for Ben.
The big day came
when Monty felt he and his team were ready for the maiden voyage of the
Gopher Bay. Since it was brought on board the Bandersnatch it was
never moved. Lazarus insisted Monty and his crew explore every
facet of the ship before they attempted flight.
Lazarus also
insisted he and his staff be included on their first flight.
Naturally the major players of the Potter/Goodnight ranch were
invited. Everyone was there except Essmee Biddle. She
didn’t want to make that trip until she knew the end was coming.
Of course Monty invited his ramrod and Master Angus. They had a
ship full of the who's-who of the Grange. Boss Potter was there
to see his little girl sit as number one next to the captain of the
sparkling ship. Shane and Cole were proud of their crew.
Monty even included his cowboy slave daddies. Along with Bart and
Telly, he invited
Phil Pie and Eli Stone.
Monty also
wanted to include several of the Ong family, but this time only the
major males. The Ongs took to the Grange like geese to
water. They attended and contributed to everything. They
were constantly being wowed by some new critter or person they
met. They were in constant contact with Monty and Dexter.
They were so thrilled for Dexter and his new, improved body.
Shane didn’t keep Oblio secret from the Ongs. He figured they
should have as much exposure to him as the rest of the family.
He knew they would keep the boy's secret. Shane and Cole made a
special trip with Oblio to a dinner with the family for them to meet
the boy. They were in awe of him and how much he looked like
Shane. Shane told them he could look like anyone he wanted, but
his appearance was a disguise to fool his dad. They understood
and supported Captain Shane’s decision. While they were sad to
hear about Oblio’s mom, they knew the child would be better off with
men like Captain Shane who understood his abilities.
Monty invited
granddad Ong, Mr. Ong and his three oldest sons. They were
pleased and humbled to join the group. Monty showed them the ship
before. They were impressed, but to be included in the maiden
voyage was a great honor for them. They brought him small gifts
to commemorate the day. Monty was touched. It would be
their first flight into outer space. The first flight
of the Gopher Bay went off without a hitch. It was capable of
extracting itself from the Bandersnatch by a means similar to Monty’s
shifting dimensions to project himself from one place to another, but
the Gopher Bay’s technique was more subtle and far more
sophisticated. One minute they were in the dock on the
Bandersnatch and the next they were hovering over the Goodnight ranch.
“Are we in a
cloaked mode, Son?” Lazarus asked.
“We are,
Sir. I had Ensign Potter see to it before we got underway.
Take us out, number one." Maxine was strapped into her seat
next to Monty and gave the word to the ship's intelligence to move the
ship into space. The next thing they knew they were looking down
on the Earth just a little beyond the Clark orbit some twenty-three
thousand miles. The Earth was a beautiful place from that height.
“What have you
planned for a test run, Son?” The Admiral asked.
“We planned to
circumnavigate the moon and serve refreshments behind the dark
side. We’d like to show off the ship’s jump capabilities.
It would seem they are similar to the jump engines on Mars.”
“Let’s see what
she’s got, Captain Montana.” Lazarus smiled at Monty.
“Let’s go to the
moon, Ensign Maxine.” Monty ordered, Maxine gave the command to the
ship’s intelligence and faster than anyone could blink an eye, the ship
was positioned about a hundred miles behind the dark side of the
moon. The ship’s holovid screens made it look like you were
looking out into space itself and not protected by the energy walls of
the ship. To everyone’s surprise on the surface they could
clearly see hundreds, perhaps even thousands of space ships. It
was no doubt to whom they belonged and why they were there.
“Is there any
chance we might be detected, Captain?” Lazarus asked.
“None, Sir,
according to our intelligence, we're fully cloaked from their sight and
sensors. They would have to be aware of our power systems to
detect them, but they ain’t even come close to discovering the
technology behind this ship’s drives.” spoke Maxine proudly.
“Well done,
Ensign.” the Admiral praised her. Monty looked at Maxine and
winked. He was proud of her. No one seemed the least amused
or found it odd Monty’s first mate was a dog. Lazarus
smiled
to himself. He wished he had a dozen more Maxines. Maxine’s
family were aboard including Scraps and Happy. They were so proud
of their little girl. Moe was thrilled for her, but her other two
brothers Shep and Larry were a little jealous of their sister.
They were crew members of Captain Vinceeth’s ship. She was second
in command of a starship. She wore a fancy, dark navy-blue
leather collar on board ship with gold Ensign bars Monty made
especially for her. She looked smart and official in her role as
Monty’s number one.
“There seems to
be a lot of activity, Admiral.” Waco observed. “What do you think
they’re doing in such massive numbers?”
“We're looking
at an old-fashioned drive-in diner, gentlemen. This is where they
bring the animals and humans they abduct and chow down. You’re
looking at the fleas and ticks of the universe.”
“We have some
powerful weapons on board, Admiral.” Monty said.
“I know you do,
Son. You gave me a complete list. The ship has some
impressive fire power, but now ain't the time. We want to escape
this plague, not stir it up. We’re going to have to start
monitoring this side of the moon more frequently. At least once a
week. That will be a good job for your crew. I don’t want
any heroics. All I want is reconnaissance. They’re building
up for something. If they can’t have what they want from Earth,
if we oppose them, they’ll destroy it. That’s just how ruthless
they can be.” Lazarus shook his head.
“I don’t
think anyone will feel like having refreshments looking down on that.”
Monty allowed.
“Take us back to
our last position. We can enjoy the beauty of our blue marble
one last time. Time is growing short. Some of us may never
get to see it again in its current pristine beauty.” said Lazarus.
“Good idea,
Admiral.” agreed Monty. “Give the order, Number One.”
Maxine
instructed the intelligence to return them to their previous
orbit. Monty and his crew learned how to operate the replicators
on board the Gopher Bay and created a fine table filled with delicacies
for their passengers to snack on and several beverages. Monty
programmed it to replicate several exotic and tasty oriental dishes he
created. The Ongs were impressed. They held their
refreshment period on the observation deck which was more like a giant
greenhouse. It was like visiting a very formal tropical
forest.
It was beautiful. It grew wild the many years the ship was
buried, but Monty found out how to activate the caretaker drones
and in no time it was looking fine. All waste materials were
reduced to pulp and taken to the matter reactors. There, it was
broken down to its lowest common denominator, its molecular level, and
used in the
replicators to create new and delicious things. They were
actually eating the reorganized materials. No one complained, it
was delicious. After everyone finished they returned to the
same docking bay from which they left.
“Does this ship
have land storage capabilities, Son?”
“Yes, Sir, we
made a video. We’ll submit it for your information and
approval. As you might expect, it’s far more advanced than our
current standard models of land compression and storage. It uses
a sophisticated layered tesseract technology. Hundreds of
thousands of acres, perhaps even millions can be stored on this
ship. Enough to equal the land mass of all of Russia and the
African continent combined. Not that you’d want to miniaturize an
entire continent, but it has the capability.”
“Good, I’ll look
forward to reviewing the video. In the meantime, I think you and
your crew should start practicing making some grabs. Next week a
few of us will go along with you and help you make your first
grab. We should start with some Alaskan wilderness. We’ll
yank some large land area and make it look like a meteor hit it.” he
grinned.
Everyone
complimented Monty and his crew on a successful maiden voyage of the
Gopher Bay. They took everyone on a grand guided tour of the ship
and each
place they took them the more impressed they were. It was a grand
ship. It was designed for long flights and provided the utmost
comforts. Monty’s cabin alone was massive and boasted its own
private garden complete with small birds. Monty invited several
of his hummer friends and several species of finches families to live
on board, and they were happy in their new home. They had no
pedators to worry about and were very friendly with Monty's
guests.
There were maintenance
droids everywhere cleaning or repairing something. Everything was
in its place and all was spotless. Maxine shared her captain’s
quarters. Every member of the crew had their own personal
cabin. Their youngest member shared a large cabin with
Bobby. It boasted opulent guest cabins for visiting guest of
high rank like the Admiral, Captain Vinceeth and his mate.
They were impressed.
“Wanna’ trade
ships, Son?” Lazarus grinned.
“Thanks for the
offer, Sir, but we’re happy with the Gopher Bay.” they shared a laugh.
“You should
be. This is magnificent. How was it when you began?” he
asked.
“Not too
bad. A skeleton maintenance crew were left active, though not
very many due
to energy reserves, but they kept things pretty much in a status quo.”
“Impressive
ship.” said Charlie Goodnight.
“I agree,
Dad. I had no idea it was this large.” Waco commented.
“Where’s my
room?” grinned Jimmy Joe.
“You done seen
it, Sir. Mi casa su casa, Ramrod.” Monty smiled.
“That’s
pert-damn posh for an old cowboy.” he grinned.
“Don’t worry,
buckaroo, I built you a bunkhouse with a two-hole'r out back.”
everyone laughed at them.
The Ongs asked
the Admiral if their boy, Monty, could extract their property for the
trip when the end came. He assured them Monty had his
permission. They were thrilled they could keep it all in the
family.
* * * * * * *
That fall
several things were accomplished. The two new adult bio-droids
took up residence on one of the first couple of land grabs Monty and
his crew made under the watchful eye of the Admiral and several of his
main staff. Along with a large chunk of Alaskan wilderness,
they lifted a fine piece of abandoned property from the wilds
of Washington State. It was run as a resort lodge by a
wealthy liberal family who were wiped out during the early and middle
government purges of anyone who was suspected of being the slightest
bit left of center. One of the Admiral’s other ships who did only
reconnaissance and inquiry about such things gave him the coordinates
and how much to take. They did their homework. There
was a beautiful lodge and any number of outbuilding that were
comfortable and habitable. It was taken and stored on the Gopher
Bay.
Lazarus was
getting worried the Potter/Goodnight ranch was getting heavy with
bio-droids and thought some should be relocated to the protection of
the
colonies on the ships to avoid discovery by the government. He
knew they were in no jeopardy from the local law as Sheriff Don
Lassiter and most of his men were solid Grange members.
Therefore, the two new adult bio-droids Boss Potter named Maggie and
Jiggs were given the lodge to live in and they would be accepting more
of the resurrected whales for education and a period of acclimation to
their new bodies. They ran it as a working, producing farm and it
taught the young one’s the value of hard work and gave them a sense of
accomplishment. They contributed greatly to the overall wealth of
the colonies and provided organic food products they couldn’t get
anywhere else. The last group of bodies Monty produced who were
living in the bunkhouse with the cowboy were due to go with them, but
the cowboys grew so attached to them they didn’t want to give them
up. The three young females insisted on learning the ways of the
kitchen and were a great help to the cowboy slaves who were the
cooks. The three young males, for their small size made great
junior
buckaroos. All the cowboys had to do was show them once how to do
something and they could do it with little or no practice. With
Cole’s recommendation, Shane decided to leave them where they were for
the time being.
The other thing
that happened was Angus’ oldest boy, Shane’s favorite nephew and his
family began coming to more Grange functions. While Angus’ boys
and two daughters were members of the Grange only Darrell
seemed interested in the ranches and coming to Grange meetings.
Darrell had a lovely wife named Martha and two wonderful kids, a
boy of ten, and a girl of eight. Darrell was one of Angus' boys
who was kind and understanding with his older uncle when he
got into trouble and became a slave. He never treated Shane like
a slave unless his dad was around; then, it was with
compassion.
He always treated Shane with respect and never stopped loving him as
his uncle. Sometimes Darrell was the only one of Shane’s family
with whom he could carry on a normal conversation. When you're a
slave sometimes the smallest considerations by someone else can take on
great meaning. Shane adored Darrell.
Darrell was a
successful business man, but he was unhappy in the city and was worried
about his children being overly influenced by the neo-con packed
schools. They were forced to attend fundamentalist bible classes
in their public schools. Science classes consisted of memorizing
the first chapter of Genesis from the old testament and they were told
that’s all they needed to know about evolution and where we came
from. The small schools in the rural areas were still teaching
both but pressure was mounting to do away with teaching evolution
altogether. He expressed his concerns to his uncle a couple of
times but never said anything about leaving the city. He never
said a word to Angus. Of Angus’ three boys, Darrell was the most
like his dad. He looked so much like Shane they were often
mistaken for brothers. He was a Goodnight man to the bone with
all it
implied. Angus begged Darrell to bring his wife and family to
live on his
ranch with him. After five years, Angus would make him a full
partner in the ranch, but after graduating from Texas A&M with
several degrees in farm, ranch and corporate business practices, after
his obligatory service in the army, he was
offered a job in the city he couldn’t refuse. He became quite
successful and wealthy, but he didn’t believe in what he was
doing. His dad taught him differently and while he thought he
could feel one way and work for a company who had no soul or thought
about the safety and health of their employees or consumers, he began
to grow weary.
One afternoon
while he was visiting his Uncle Shane they decided to get away together
to talk. He and Shane saddled a couple of the ranch’s finest
horses to ride to the Crandall ranch, the new property Boss Potter and
Shane acquired during the summer. Shane was chatting away about
what they planned to do with the property and how it would fit into the
rest of their operations. Darrell listened intently but was quiet
and didn’t say much; however, when Shane showed him the remodeled three
story old ranch house and all the out buildings he broke down and
started sobbing. Shane took him into his massive arms and held
the young man to comfort him.
“Has it come to
this, nephew?” Shane spoke softly.
“I have it all,
Uncle Shane, yet, I have nothing. Can you understand what I’m
saying?” he asked like he was throwing out a lifeline.
“More than you
might imagine, Son.” Shane held him tight. “When you git ready to
throw in the towel, boy, you let me know. There’s always a place
here for you. You can have this place if you want it. We
been trying to figure out someone to live here and help run this part
of the ranch. Boss Potter’s got three thousand sheep being
delivered the first of next week. We got more and more slaves we
need to buy to save from ruthless ranchers who don’t take care of
‘um. They take better care of their animals than they do they’s
slaves. We get two to four freemen per month wanting to come live
as slaves on our ranch just to have three meals a day and a clean, dry
place to sleep. We shore’ could use us a man like you, Darrell,
to
run this place. I’ll make you the same offer I made Gil Morris;
we'll offer you a minimum base salary to begin, but after you work for
us for five years, we’ll start sharing profits with
you.”
“I’m ready,
Uncle Shane. When can we move in?” he said enthusiastically.
“How long will
it take you to quit your job in the city and sell your house?”
“A month.
Three at the most. If I have to give the company longer notice,
I’ll commute.”
“Fine.
Have you talked it over with your dad?”
“You know how
dad is, Uncle Shane, he’d insist we move in with him and
mom. I lived under my old man's rule
for twenty-one years. While I love and respect my dad like no
other, I don’t know’s I could do that no more.” he
lamented.
“Say no
more. I know exactly what you’re talking about. You'll
always be his little boy. I’m still
living as a slave to him in his mind. The only difference is, I
don’t mind. I let him git away with thinking I’m still his
slave-boy. As my ramrod pointed out to me, in a way I guess a
part of me always will be his slave.”
“You’re a bigger
man than I am, Uncle Shane.” Darrell said.
“No, I
ain’t. Your daddy, for all his flaws, is one of the finest men I
ever know'd in my life. He’s just a little rough around the
edges and don’t think about people’s feeling sometimes, but never make
the mistake of underestimate’n that big cowboy. He’ll pull the
rug right out from under you when you least expect it.” Shane
laughed.
“Let me tell
him, Uncle Shane.”
“Won’t say a
word, nephew.”
It took Darrell
a little longer than a month, but he was fully resigned from his job
and living in the old house, running the new ranch by the following
spring. He cashed in all his chips in the city and had close to a
million dollars from stock options and the sale of his home in a
wealthy residential area of Houston. He wondered about his wife,
but she knew he was unhappy for some time and realized it was for
the best. She saw how his attitude and love for her changed once
he made up his mind. She had her old cowboy husband back again
and soon became pregnant with their third child. By the time
Darrell and his family move in, the sheep were well established and
Maxine had a wonderful new job. Her two sisters were green
with envy and got permission from their masters to help her. Moe
loved working with Stan and Jimmy Bob on the Dodge family ranch, but
the lure of sheep was too much for him. He would travel from
their gate to the old Crandall ranch to help his sisters. Larry
and Shep discovered their parents were helping out on larger roundups
and drove Trey crazy until he gave them permission to take leave to go
play with the sheep. They insisted on wearing their
headbands. It was sometimes uncomfortable for her, but Maxine
would wear her Ensign’s collar to one up them.
When Darryl
visited the ranch with Profesor Wankle and his fiancee he saw another
opportunity
for a money making story. He took hours of video clips provided
by Kyron and pieced together a story of a family reunion of the singing
pups and their parents on the sheep ranch. He even got Lucas to
teach them some new songs and their daddy, Scraps, sang bass.
They sang cowboy songs and several popular songs, but the song that got
the people the most was an old folk song Johauk Kodaly taught them to
sing. It went to number one on the charts in the colonies, Mars
and Venus and stayed there for weeks. A second song they
recorded on their album was one from the turn of the century. It
shot up on the charts and alternated back and forth as number one and
two with their other song. It was called “Who let the dogs out”
complete with them barking on the chorus.
The film was a
moving story about the pups journey so far in life. It told about
their ups and downs, Maxine’s tragic loss of her little mistress she
took care of so faithfully and her touching climb back from
depression. Laverne’s several problems. However, there were
the successes of Patty becoming a favorite welcome hostess at the Two
Meadows Inn and her volunteer work with patients at the clinic in
Parsons. Moe was a successful ranch dog on the Dodge ranch
and his brothers Larry and Shep were crew members on one of the best
known
ships in the solar system, the Banshee, and were the personal guards of
the captain and his staff. The story told of Maxine’s rise from
the depths of depression to become Captain Montana’s number one on his
starship and flying with the winged horses of Mars. The film was
shown all over the colonies, Mars and Venus. Darryl made millions
and set up a trust fund of several million for the pups. Maxine
was a millionairess several times over. She could have designed
and paid for her own starship.
Darrell settled
in and began to get slaves from everywhere. Lazarus developed
close financial ties with Hoot Austin and Cotton Daniels over the
years. He paid for the upkeep and maintenance on the Stamper
brothers and their building projects. They were well known
throughout the county and if you wanted a good job of building you
contacted Hoot, Austin or their young partner Blake Tindell. Hoot
and Cotton had their noses in everything going on in their area of the
state and attended many slave auctions and estate sales of property and
slaves. Lazarus paid them a finder’s fee for any good slaves they
could find and not just the strong and healthy. They were
instructed to buy the worst of the lot to save them from being ground
up for dog food. Some of Charlie, Lazarus, and Shane’s best
slaves were those saved from the jaws of the grinding machines.
As families were
torn apart by the loss of their children, large quantities of unwanted
slaves were flooding the market and prices dropped. The
government didn’t seem
to be doing anything to stop it. Things got so bad,
the smaller
ranchers couldn’t afford to feed their families let alone their
livestock. Sometimes the law had to step in where there was
severe neglect. Don Lassiter knew better than to just put them
down. He and his men couldn't do it anyway. While slaves
may be classified as livestock they were still human and they saw it as
murder. His men would load them in trucks and take them to Hoot
and
Cotton’s ranch. With Lazarus’ money, the Stamper boys built a
large, comfortable,
new slave hospital and rehabilitation center for just such a
purpose. Once the slaves were
healthy again, they were farmed out to one of the Goodnight or other
Grange ranches.
Darrell
Goodnight threw himself into his work with a passion, a passion he
never experienced working for the corporate world. He never was
so happy since he was a young man working for his dad on their
ranch. Angus was proud of him, but had to work some things
out. He was a bit hurt Darrell came to his uncle instead of him,
but it said a lot about the young man’s faith in his uncle. Agnus
always knew Darrell was fond of Shane and would never say anything bad
about him. Many times he stood up for Shane against his dad
and told Angus he was being way to hard on his uncle. As with
every minor setback or disappointment, Angus quickly adjusted and was
as supportive of Darrell and his family as anyone.
Monty’s second
prophetic dream came true the following fall when the pups once again
gathered to help him and his posse with the gathering of the sheep for
counting, dipping and shearing. He went to Hoot and Cotton’s
ranch and saved the dying cow dog. He was a hero again and
beloved by all the critters on many ranches, but several strange things
began to happen. Sometimes, when Jimmy Joe was visiting, he loved
to take his coffee and go to the door of Monty’s quarters to see who
was lined up patiently waiting to see Doc Monty. That morning
he was blown away when he opened the door. There were four older
elephants patiently standing in line behind each other. Each held
the one
in front of them’s tail like they were trained in a circus. He
was stunned but began to see the humor of it all. He laughed and
hollered to his partner.
“You better come
take a look at this, Doc Montana. Y’ain’t gonna’ believe what
chu’ got for patients this morning.”
“What are they,
Pa?” Monty asked as he walked to the door with a cup of coffee in
his hand. “Holy crap!” he exclaimed. "I seen them big furry
critters on Mars, but I ain’t never even seen me no elephants up close
before, Pa. Where you think they came from?”
“Their mothers.”
laughed Jimmy Joe not giving much help. He had no idea where they
came from.
“What do I do?”
he asked.
“What you always
do. They ain’t here to hurt chu’ none. They’re here because
they need your help. Maybe only one needs help and the others are
sisters what come along to keep the sick one company. I
understand they’re very social animals.”
“How’d ju’ know
that, Pa?” Monty looked at him with new respect.
“Nature programs
on PBS.” was his reply. "You watch a lot of television when you live
alone, Son." he winked at Monty and laughed.
Monty slowly
approached the first elephant. She was huge, but had a gentle
look in her eye. He tried sending to her.
<<
Welcome, great mother. Have you come to see me about a health
problem? >>
<< We must
have the wrong ranch, sisters. >> she sent to her companions.
<< No, no,
Doris, I’m sure this is the ranch where the child lives. I
can hear him. He is near. >> her second sent to her.
<< This
human is too old to be the healer. The one we seek is but a young
child; hardly three years old. He has a strange name like ‘Oleo.’
>>
<< Are you
looking for Captain Shane’s boy, Oblio? >> Monty asked.
<< Yes, we
were told he could help Doris, our matriarch who stands before you.
>> her second sent to him.
<< Pardon
me, great one, but I don’t know about any healing powers Oblio
has. I’m the one all the animals come to see. My name is
Montana. >>
<< We’ll,
for goodness sake, if we can’t see the boy let this man try to help
you,
Doris. >> her companions urged her.
<< Very
well. >> Monty could hear her sigh, << You may
proceed. I’m worried about my calf. >>
<< Where
is your calf, Mother Doris? >> Monty asked without thinking.
<< Place
your ear to my side, and you will hear another heartbeat. I’m
concerned because it is sometimes erratic and seems to hiccup. >>
she told him.
<< Of
course, great mother, forgive me. I didn't understand. >>
Monty went to her side and
placed his ear against her. He felt with his fingers and sent
probes into her. Everything was as it should be.
<< Excuse
me, Mother Doris, but there are three heart beats. Yours and two
others. I know it’s probably rare for your species, but
you are carrying fraternal twins. One male and the other
female. The male is stronger than the female and you hear his
heartbeat more readily. The female’s heartbeat is faint, but it’s
only because of poor nutrition. If she doesn’t get better quality
nutrition and more food she will die. You will run the risk of
losing both. Where you came from, did they feed you well enough?
>>
<< No, me
and my sisters were always hungry. >> she lamented.
<< Your
problem can be corrected with proper nutrition and more food. We
will feed you and later I will give you some special milk to drink
which will help your calves. >>
<< I would
be most grateful. Thank you for seeing me. >>
<< You’re
most welcome, Mother Doris. >>
Monty took them
to his barn. They never saw a building so large, and felt like
it was made just to hide them. They said they were on the run
from a nefarious Mexican circus who beat them and treated them
awful. They told Monty they walked hundreds of miles to get
to the ranch. Monty offered them temporary refuge until he could
talk with his bosses. They had fresh oats, lots of new mown hay
to eat and were welcome to walk down to the creek for fresh water and a
bath. Later Monty called for a large donation of lummox milk from
the stomping of Bigfeet on Mars. He managed to obtain a couple of
gallons and fed it to Doris. She called it 'magic milk' because
it
seemed to improve her health almost overnight. That morning at
breakfast in the big house Monty told his family about the new visitors
and their matriarch’s problem.
“The strangest
thing is," he mused, "they didn’t come to see me, they came to see
Oblio.” Monty
watched the boy as he slowly picked at his food. He didn’t look
up but turned a dark red color. Shane glanced at him but didn’t
look disturbed.
“You been in
contact with them hefalumps, Son?” Shane asked him with a smile.
“They came to me
in a dream, Pa Shane. I been fascinated by elephants ever since I
seen them on videos. They’re like the Mammoths and Mastodons
on Mars without the hair. They asked if I knew of an animal
doctor
who might see their leader because she was feeling poorly. I told
them I didn’t know about no animal doctor, but my big cowboy slave
brother sometimes healed animals. I didn’t give them Monty’s name
but told them to come here and ask for me. I give them
directions. They come a long way.” Oblio’s statement
seemed to satisfy everyone.
“I guess that
lummox milk you been drinking really opened you up to such
things.” Shane covered for the kid. He knew he’d get the
real story later.
“Yes, Sir.
I sleep with a large body of consciousness. It's sort of like
that movie "Where the wild things are.” The hide me away on the
bottom of the pile, keep me warm, protect me, chase away bad
dreams, and sing to me." he replied.
“Let’s take care
of them here for a couple of days, then you and Maxine fly the Gopher
Bay over the ranch and beam them aboard to the new bio-droid
ranch. They have plenty unused pasture land for them to graze in
‘til their heart’s content. It’ll be a good animal husbandry
learning experience for the bio-droids. Momma hefalump can have
her babies there in peace and comfort. Then we can decided where
we want them from there. We might consider taking them to the
savannah on Mars. They will fit in fine with the other large
critters.” Monty thought it was a good idea. He had enough
to do taking care of all his projects and seeing after the sheep
as well. Darrell was slowly taking over the sheep project, but
for a while Monty would have to run the operation. Later, Shane
questioned Oblio.
“What did you
leave out of that story, Son?” he asked.
“I healed a
grackle who stopped by the ranch for a handout on migration. A
wild cat almost got him and broke his wing. He managed to get
away and came to me. I took pity on him, healed him, fed him some
chicken scratch and sent him on his way. I told him not to tell
nobody. It jes' goes to show, ya' can’t never trust a
grackle. He done told momma elephant about me while he's
cleaning parasites from her back.” he shook his head in sorrow.
“You done the
right thing, Son. Don’t fret none. I ain’t mad at cha.’ You
covered yore’ butt pretty damn good. I don’t think he caught
on. Look, if it comes down to you saving a life or your dad
finding out, save the life, but do your best to keep your secret.
You’re creative enough you can cover your ass so’s he don’t have no
clue. We can always tell him you might a’ picked up some of
Officer Jones’ DNA by accident.”
“So y’ain’t mad
at me, Master Shane?”
“No, I might be
if you done something meanspirited, but healing a wounded grackle ain’t
no mean thing. It’s an act of kindness. T’ain’t chore’
fault grackles are notorious gossips, Son. Have you been in
contact with other critters who talk with you in your sleep?”
“Yes, Sir, a
strong voice what lives here on the ranch. He comes to me almost
ever’ night, and I seen him several times in the pastures. He
wants to come to me, but I’m afraid of him. He claims he’s a
human what my dad changed into a coyote. He asked me if I could
change him back to a human, but I told him I didn’t think so, I’s only
three years old. He’s taken a wild female coyote as his mate he
calls Criga. She’s shown him how to live as a wild animal, and
they have a litter of pups he’s having to provide for.”
“Did he tell you
his name, Son?” Shane braced himself for the boy’s answer.
“Yes, Sir, he
calls himself Coyote John.”
End of Chapter
71 ~ Waco’s Lummox
Copyright 2008 ~
Waddie Greywolf
All Rights
Reserved ~
Mail to:
waddiebear@yahoo.com
Proofed: 12/14/09
*
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Point!