The next day after the
incident with the wolves, El was up early and ready to start felling trees.
He managed to get four two
man crews and told Clarisse and Missy to bring them a good lunch around twelve.
The big breakfast they had would be
little more than a memory by noon.
By evening all the logs were
down, cut to length and all the branches cut up for fire wood. El said tomorrow we start sledding them to the
barn to be shaped and fitted.
It took a week to trim two
sides so they would stack on top of each other and interlock. The large room
had walls with holes cut for windows and a door to the outside and into the
main ranch house. El said, “One more
week and I’m moving in.”
It took a little longer than
that but when the roof was on at least the snow was kept out.
Mayfield and Sid had bought the ranch next to them from an old man who wasn’t making it due to the stealing from him that was going on. There was a new store bought bed in the farm house which El said was his.
He took a little more
furniture from the place and once the new heating stove came from town he was
all set. His new room was three times as
large as his old one.
Missy claimed El’s old room
for she and Clarisse had been sleeping together since she was born and she was
old enough for her own room.
After seeing the progress El
made with his project Sid decided to take over the ranch house they bought from
the old farmer. It was in need of repair
and the barn needed to be enlarged. He
also wanted to build a new smoke house with a storm celler under it.
With his plans made he first
went to work on the house. As soon as it
was fixed up he was going to move into it. Then the barn would be next. It was going to take most of the year to
accomplish what he wanted to do.
Mayfield and Clara just
assumed Sid was going to marry Lucy and move into the farm house but when their
relationship would reach a certain point it would cool off.
By March things slowed down because
the ranch was requiring more of the hands time. Still by the end of May everything was ready
for the new tenant.
It had been noticed that Sid
was making trips over to Sanders’ place more often. Sanders had a daughter who was in her late
twenties and Sid was quite interested in her. He decided he would rather have her than Lucy
so he asked Sanders if it was alright for them to get hitched up.
Sanders said, “She is a big
help around here and I hate to lose her. I don’t know how my wife can keep up with
everything without her.”
Sid said, “Well if that is
the way it is maybe we should forget it.”
Sanders said, “Now let’s not
get too hasty, perhaps if you could sweeten the pot a little we could come up
with some solution. I could use another
team of mules and if she could help out at hog killing and canning season.”
Sid said, “I don’t know about
the team of mules. I will have to talk
to El and Mayfield about that. Maybe the
other stuff can be worked out, I just don’t know.”
El said, “It is okay with me
but whatever Mayfield says about it… after all they are his mules. He bought them with his money.”
Sid couldn’t decide between
the two women. One minute it was
Sander’s gal and then it was Lucy. That
mule deal was hard to get around because Sanders was insisting on it.
Sid wanted to talk to Lucy
and he walked in on her by mistake while she was bathing. A week later they were moving into their home.
El teased Sid that it was the
inadvertently seeing the merchandize that tipped the scales in Lucy’s favor but
Sid swore it had to do with the mules.
Mayfield and Clara reasoned
that it made more sense to just keep things as they were (except for a small
adjustment in the sleeping arrangement) in stead of making a wholesale change
in everybody’s life.
Their thought was Sid and
Lucy was a better idea than Sid and the Sanders gal. Sanders was happy that things didn’t switch
around but his daughter wasn’t sure if she was happy about it or not.
El asked Sid how is
everything going and he answered; “I should have done this a long time ago.”
Clara asked Lucy if she had
any questions about being married and she said no. Clara then asked, “How is everything going?” And
Lucy said, “Fine.”
“Are you sure you don’t have
any questions?” Clara asked, and Lucy whispered and asked something.
Clara turned red and said, “You
ought to be ashamed thinking about things like that and don’t ask me anything
else.”
Sid went over to Sanders
place driving a couple of head of cattle back that had wandered over to his
place and said, “Keep an eye on these cows for they like to wander.”
Sanders said, “I have
rethought that deal we had or were in the process of making and you know I
don’t need those mules so we can forget about them.”
Sid said, “It’s a little late
to be thinking about that.”
Sanders said, “Yea, I know
but if it don’t work out I’m willing to talk.”
Sid said, “I don’t have two
mules for you but here are two cows.”
As it turned out the Sanders
gal became single minded about this marriage thing and ended up marrying a farm
boy from the next county who didn’t have a cent and wasn’t too fond of working
either.
Sanders said, “Them two mules
I didn’t get sure were expensive.”
The two girls, Clarisse and
Missy decided it was time to tease El again. They said, “Now that you have a big room, room
enough for two, isn’t it time for you to get married like Sid?
Sid married in house. Maybe you should do the same. We’re both ready to get hitched. Which one of us do you want? You can’t have both of us.”
El was going to do his best
not to let them get under his skin so he said, “Why not? I got to have both of you. Both of you get in my bed and we will see if
we fit.”
They weren’t going to let him
get the best of them so Clarisse said, “Shall we take our clothes off?”
He still determined said, “Why
not?” and started pulling his shirt off.
The girls looked at each
other and laughed and pulled their dresses over their head.
Down went his pants with no
underwear on.
This was a case where no one
was going to back down. Off went the
last of the girl’s clothes.
As they stood there trying to
stare each other down then door opened and Clara came in and started laughing
and said, “You have gone about as far as you can go haven’t you? El, you might as well take your hat off for
the girls don’t have anything else to take off.”
So there they stood all four
of them looking at each other. Clara
said, “I think if I were you I would get dressed before Mayfield comes in and
sees the bunch of you… I think I hear him coming.”
All at once they grabbed
their clothes and were dressed in record time.
El said, “They won’t leave me
alone and this time I…pushed the envelope too far. Well you see where it went.”
Clara said, “I know. Canning season starts in a week and they will
be so tired they won’t worry about you.”
Clara said, “When it’s time
for you to take a wife you need to look around and be sure you get the right
one. You should include these foolish
girls in your search. They will grow out
of their silliness before long and make someone a good mate but until then they
had better stay out of your room.”
It was time to cull the herd
and ship their beef to market. Mayfield
went to town and met with the buyers at the stock yard. A stranger approached him and asked if
Mayfield would ship direct to Chicago instead of selling locally.
The stranger suggested that
Mayfield would make a lot more money and that he could handle the deal for him.
To be Continued
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