The Case of the Most Ancient Bone by John R. Erickson

Author:John R. Erickson
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: cowdog, Hank the Cowdog, John R. Erickson, John Erickson, ranching, Texas, dog, adventure, mystery, Hank, Drover, Pete, Sally May
Publisher: Maverick Books, Inc.
Published: 2015-05-05T21:08:31+00:00

Chapter Thirteen: I Get Demoted

At 1:00 or thereabouts, Slim and Loper came out of the house and walked to the yard gate. There, they stopped. Loper glanced over both shoulders and said, “She was right. That roast was cremated.”

“Well, it was better than boiled owl.”

They shared a laugh, then Loper yawned and stretched his arms. “I’m going to hook up the trailer and start hauling water, but I want you to know that I’ll be with you in spirit. Don’t forget your bedroll. That ground gets hard in the middle of the night.”

Slim gave him a scorching glare. “You ain’t one bit funny, Loper, and there will be a time for paybacks.”

“Have fun.”

Loper headed for his pickup, whistling a tune. Slim’s gaze followed him and he muttered, “A man invests a small fortune in cowboy gear, and they send him off to summer camp! Baloney.”

Loper drove away in a cloud of dust, just as Alfred and his momma came out of the house. Alfred was loaded down with camping gear and his eyes were sparkling with excitement. The boy said, “I’m all ready, Swim. This is going to be fun!”

Slim ran a toothpick through his mouth and grumbled, “I’ll bet.”

Well, it appeared that the moment had arrived for Our Team to leave for the excavation site. In my spot in the wilted weeds, I launched myself into the Jack and Lift Procedure. In the terrible heat, this was no small matter.

First, I lifted the front half of my enormous body and propped it up on my two front legs. Next, I jacked up the hind end and slipped my two back legs beneath it. Then and only then did I test the entire structure to see if it would carry the full weight of my body. It did, and I made my way down the hill to the yard gate.

When Alfred saw me, he beamed a smile. “And Hankie can go with us!”

There was a moment of dead silence. Slim and Sally May exchanged looks, and she said, “I don’t think so.”

“But Mom, Mr. Wilkens has his dog.”

“Honey, his dog has manners. Your dog spent his whole morning trying to drive me batty. He doesn’t deserve any privileges.”

“But Mom . . .”

Slim nodded. “Your momma’s right. One dog on an archeology site is probably enough.”

Sally May leaned toward Slim and whispered, “When you leave, I’ll lock him in the barn, so he won’t follow you.”

What?

Did you hear that? I couldn’t believe my ears. Leave me behind? Deny me the opportunity to expand my career? There must be some mistake. I turned toward Slim and proceeded to give him Sad Eyes and Spiritually Wounded Tail. Maybe it would work. Don’t forget that Slim and I had a long history of . . .

He didn’t notice, didn’t even look at me. Okay, we were down to Sally May and . . . gulp. You know, when you’re down to Sally May, you’re down to . . . not much. Over the years,

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