The Elephants of Shanghai by Stephen Jared

Author:Stephen Jared [Jared, Stephen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Adventure
ISBN: 9781490381985
Google: ny0mnQEACAAJ
Amazon: 1490381988
Goodreads: 21334239
Publisher: Solstice Publishing
Published: 2013-05-06T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWO

Under a sky of robin-egg blue, a young boy sat atop his favorite horse, his gaze wandering from a high hill to the soft earth rippling beneath him. He did little but stare for some time. Then, sharply, he cried out, “Heeyah!” and snapped the reins.

He thundered downhill, face lit with excitement. Long-aged oak trees flew by in a flash. Wild critters whirled to the pounding terrain then dashed off to escape the charge.

In the distance, but fast approaching the boy, a Western-style ranch covered a large stretch of land. A half-painted fence lined its perimeter, and an older tubby fellow napped on stacks of hay in the rear of a nearby pickup truck.

Flying straight at the wood fence, clearly hoping for a good jump, the boy shouted, “C’mon, champ! You can do it!” as he dug his heels into the horse’s flanks.

They leaped, taking to the air and the brief silence—the break from the pounding of soft earth—was sliced in two by a thwack as a hoof hit the fence. Hard wood snapped.

Nevertheless, the boy and his horse landed safely. As they rounded to the damage, the tubby worker fully awakened.

He pushed his cowboy hat above his eyes, sat up, and grimaced. “Tyler, you could’ve hurt yourself.”

“Sorry, Clancy.” Seemingly embarrassed, the boy galloped away.

Watching him go, Clancy grabbed an opened Coca-Cola and climbed down from the truck. He stepped over to his paint buckets, brushes, and the broken fence. After tipping back a swig of cola, he shook his potato-shaped head. A gentle smile lifted jolly cheeks as he watched Tyler, happily atop his prancing steed, in the sunshine some distance away.

Clancy wiped his mouth on a shirtsleeve, then again considered the damage. He softly kicked the broken wood. “I’ll fix your old bones tomorrow, fence.” With that, he returned to the rear of the pickup truck and climbed back in. He eased himself over the haystacks, mumbled, “I get busier and busier,” and pulled the cowboy hat over his face, settling himself.

Inside the ranch, a teenage girl pivoted left and right and back again, as she admired herself before a standing mirror. The rustic, slightly colonial appearance of her bedroom had been rendered youthful and cheery by whimsical, colorful hand-painted designs over dark wood.

Passing her bedroom and pausing in the doorframe was an elderly man with a dash of amusement sparkling in his eyes. He held himself flagpole straight, and his chin was raised as he spoke. “Such an exquisite dress, my dear. You look very nice.”

She spun around, the ends of her dress chasing her legs as she moved. “Max won’t let me go to the dance.”

“Ah, so I’ve heard. You do know, Lindy, her heart is in the right place. Next year there will be another dance, and you will go to that one.”

“But Mr. Quigg, what if there are fewer boys at next year’s dance?”

“My dear, consider how problematic it will be when you discover each and every one of the boys is in love with you.

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