The Owl Hunt by Richard S. Wheeler

Author:Richard S. Wheeler
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates

twenty-two

Dogwood hefted himself around to face Dirk and his mother Victoria. He scratched at his chin whiskers and lifted in his vast belly so it would set better over his belt.

“Ah do declare, you’ve had yourself a proper jury trial, and them jurors, they came up with a conviction, fair and proper. Therefoah, I’m condemnin’ you to hang by the neck until expired. Any questions?”

Dirk knew better than to say anything. But Victoria laughed, her faint wheeze sandpapering the assembled drovers and Yardley Dogwood himself.

“You got the funniest sense of humor I ever did see,” Dogwood said.

Off in the cottonwoods, the magpies were making a ruckus. Dirk saw scores of them, white-bellied black birds, rowdy as blue jays, insolent as crows. It looked to be a magpie convention over there, with more magpies flying in from everywhere. That was odd; magpies didn’t flock, and they wintered in the north. But there they were, collecting among the cottonwoods.

“All right, let’s get this here act of justice a-going,” the rancher said. “Jason, you git the wagon down there under the limb, and it’ll be a handy drop.”

Jason grabbed the lines and drew the wagon toward the cottonwoods, setting up an awful cackle among the magpies. Victoria whickered, and Dirk thought the old woman was daft. But Magpie was her spirit helper, and her magpie medicine had been with her all her years. Many was the story she told of the ways Magpie—she always used the proper name—had come to her and Dirk’s father in moments of trouble.

Jason led the wagon under a limb of a noble cottonwood and let it rest there. The rest of the cowboys, all still on horseback, collected there, and Dogwood drove his black buggy there also.

“All right now, we’ll do this right smart. Someone make some nooses.”

The cowboys stared at one another.

“I seen it done,” one said, “but I never done it.”

“Well, give her a try.”

Several cowboys undid the lariats from their saddles, and tackled the noose knot, with little effect. The magpies were making loud complaint, their white and black bodies springing from limb to limb, or sailing around the gathering.

“Maybe we’ll shoot a few of them magpies if they get pesky,” Dogwood said. “Anyone got a scattergun?”

No one did.

Dirk felt a deepening sickness in his heart.

Two or three more drovers wrestled with nooses, but they all came undone, or wouldn’t let a rope slide through.

“I ‘magine we’ll just have to do her with lassos,” one said.

“That would be fine, mighty fine, fittin’ and proper,” Dogwood said. “I declare they’re gonna swing from lassos. Suits rustlers mighty fine.”

Two lassos were thrown over that fat limb, which disturbed the magpies even more. Some sailed by, curious about what was disturbing their gathering.

Jason drove the wagon until it was directly under the limb.

“Lady and gent, you gonna stand up for the fitting of the necktie, or do we stand you up?” Dogwood asked.

The rest of the cowboys were crowding close now, most of them on their horses, watching the proceedings with glinted eyes.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.