The Dog Who Would Not Smile by Stephen Bly

Author:Stephen Bly
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: old west, fiction for boys, divine providence, trust in god, west adventure, survival story, danger and excitement, boys adventures series, 8to14 year olds, nevada territory
Publisher: Bly Books

At first it was just a white reflection on the horizon. Then as they moved closer step by slow step, the shimmer of tent tops began to take shape.

“It’s Galena! We made it, Tona, we made it!” Nathan shouted.

The dog made no reply, but as usual it faded into the sage as Nathan and the horses entered town.

In most eastern towns, the sight of a tattered boy wearing an Indian shirt and moccasins, riding a team of horses, dragging a wagon slat with an unconscious man aboard would certainly have captured the attention of nearly everyone.

In Galena, Nevada, no one even bothered to look up.

“Hey, mister,” Nathan yelled at a man unhitching his horse, “where’s the doctor’s office?”

“Doctor? Have we got a doc?” the man yelled back.

“My friend is hurt bad,” Nathan called out.

The man saddled up and spun his horse toward the building he had just exited. Then he called in through the open doorway, “Hey, Kerby! Is there a doctor in this town?”

A short man with a full black beard stepped out onto the wooden sidewalk. “Sure, we got a doc. I just saw Stryker down at the Wild Horse Cafe.”

“Stryker’s a doctor?” the man questioned.

“During the war, he was,” Kerby explained.

“Well, you heard him, son. Check down at the Wild Horse. Clear on the other side of town.”

Nathan rode on down the main street and came upon three men digging a deep hole right in the middle of the street. He stopped and peeked over the mound of dirt to see what the men were doing.

Unable to see anything, he started up the team again, only to see the barefoot girl he had spoken to several days before.

“Did you find your ma and your daddy?” she asked him. Then, before he could answer, she continued, “Where’d you get them Indian clothes? Where’s your old shoes? I’ll take your old shoes if you don’t want them. Who’s that man? Is he dead?”

Nathan kept the team moving. “No, I didn’t find my parents; Indians gave me this jacket. No, you can’t have my old shoes because I lost them, and, no, the man’s not dead.” For the first time Nathan thought about how ragged he must look.

Jumping off the horse, he walked past a line of men waiting to eat at the Wild Horse Cafe.

“Is there a Mr. Stryker in here?” he called out.

He glanced through the crowded room and called out again, “Mr., I mean, Dr. Stryker?”

A tall, thin man with red hair spun around on his bench. “Are you Dr. Stryker?” Nathan asked.

“Yep, but most folks just call me Stryker.”

“Well, Mr. Dawson, a trader, got hurt real bad. I think both legs are broken. I need you to come take a look at him.”

The doctor scraped a final bite from his plate and called out to another man, “Come on, Wacey, I might need some help.”

As Nathan turned to scurry to the front of the tent- covered building, he looked across the room and saw the man who had been on the stage from Battle Mountain Station three days before just entering the cafe.

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