Elephant Speak by Melissa Crandall

Author:Melissa Crandall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Ooligan Press
Published: 2020-03-03T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

Building Alliances

1980–1983

Roger knew how fortunate he’d been with regard to partners. First, he inherited Cochran and Robbins from Al Tucker. After they left came Wes Peterson, who’d started on staff the same day as Roger. When Peterson accepted promotion, it was “gentle giant” Gordon Noyes, followed by a slew of others whose devotion to the elephants mirrored Roger’s own.

Peterson, in his new role as foreman, arrived one day in the spring of 1980 to inform Roger that his newest partner would be Jay Haight. Roger was less than enthused. Haight had discovered the evidence of Thonglaw’s missing tusk and Roger owed him a debt of thanks for partially laying that mystery to rest, but the man’s reputation as an independent thinker and a smart-ass worried him. Roger never considered himself the ultimate elephant keeper—there was always room for improvement and he welcomed input—but the last thing he needed in the barn was attitude. He could just imagine Haight swaggering around, scattering opinions like birdseed, doing things his way instead of following rules, and being a jerk in the process. Plus, the man had never worked with elephants. How was Roger supposed to keep the cheeky wiseacre alive while he learned the ropes?

It turned out that his premature assessment of Haight couldn’t have been more wrong. The man was opinionated, no doubt about it, but he was also quick-witted, hardworking, thoughtful, profane, conscientious, and innovative, and he possessed a wicked sense of humor. In some respects they were very different individuals, and in others they were the veritable twin sons of different mothers. Once they grew accustomed to each other, Roger and Haight became a perfect team, able to sense each other’s moods and read each other’s minds.

Haight delighted in springing practical jokes on his new boss. One day, he handed Roger a spray bottle of what appeared to be a well-known brand of automobile body protectant but was actually water mixed with a bit of detergent. He told Roger the latest thing cooked up by the vet was to spray a bit of this on each of Pet’s toenails and rub it in with a towel. Willing to try anything when it came to protecting an elephant’s feet, Roger fell for it and went to spraying and rubbing away madly. When he discovered he’d been duped, he flung down the towel and exclaimed, “Hell, it made perfect sense to me.”

Roger wasn’t the only one to whom Haight took a liking. Inexplicably drawn to Hanako, he took it upon himself to ameliorate her aggressive tendencies toward the keepers. With Roger’s blessing, he set to work converting the troublesome elephant. First, he brought in Rosy and Tuy Hoa and chained them facing a cement wall. Then he placed Hanako between her mother and auntie and asked her to kneel. He knew from prior observation he had roughly five seconds before she’d try to ram him. At the four-second mark, Haight deftly rolled beneath one of the other cows as Hanako lunged, smacking her head hard against the concrete.

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