Randle Chimes chapter 7 Getting to Know You

We spent a lot of time just talking and getting to know one another

 

 

Chapter seven

Jenny and I were spending each afternoon together and learning more about each other every day.

You think you know someone but just dating doesn’t reveal the little differences that only become evident after marriage.

By the end of two weeks we had explored most of the avenues of personality traits. I found there was nothing in her that I couldn’t put up with and that was after scrutinizing her severely.

She said she wanted my Ma to go with her to pick out a wedding dress. They left early in the morning and took the train to the big city and didn’t get home till late.

They said they looked at every dress in town. They were gushing over the dress they found and she said she couldn’t wait till I saw her in it. George and I just looked at one another and he said; “That must be a woman thing.”

I said, “I guess George and I will have to go shopping for my wedding suit.”

The women just laughed and said, ‘You can wear just any old thing for no one is going to be looking at you any way.”

George said, “Supper is on the stove, Randle and I have already eaten.”

Jenny said, “I’m so excited I couldn’t eat a bite,” and ma echoed that.

George sounded a little disappointed for he had cooked most of the meal.

The women sensed that he was hurt and said; “We had better eat so as to keep our strength up,” and they filled their plates up.

Everyone who cooks gets a good feeling when people enjoy their food and complement them on their culinary skills and George was no exception.

The next day Jenny was to return home and get on with our wedding plans. So far we hadn’t set the date other than knowing it wouldn’t be long from now. I would be following her in two more weeks when I finished my schooling.

This last year has proven to be very profitable for me.  We have studied diseases and how they can affect people. I also spent time with a vet and watched him treat the animals in his practice.

He gave me a list of periodicals that would help me keep up with the latest treatments for animals.  Since I was going to be in the cattle business I felt this knowledge would be a plus for me.

Jenny and I said goodnight to my Ma and George.  Soon after they went to bed it was apparent that they were engaged in a marriage ritual most married enjoy.

I had gone to Jenny’s room for I wouldn’t see her for two weeks which seemed to be an eternity at this stage of our relationship. She removed her clothes and put on her night wear right in front of me. She crawled into bed and said, “Why don’t you join me.”  I stripped down to my underwear and did as she had asked.

Holding her with the action going from my ma’s room was not an easy task to refrain from going further. We dropped off to sleep and it was morning when I woke up. I jumped out of bed and dressed quickly.

A short time later I was having breakfast and George spoke up and asked; “Did you sleep well last night?”

Ma was giggling and had to put her hand over her mouth to keep from busting out laughing.

I turned completely red and realized Ma had seen me in bed with Jenny.

I felt my appetite leave and a dense feeling in my stomach. I knew it would be useless to try to deny that anything happened, that we only snuggled together so I didn’t bother.

When Jenny came to breakfast Ma said, “Did you have a nice night?” To which Jenny replied; “Not near as nice as from what I heard in the next room.”

Then it was Ma’s turn to turn red. She smiled and said; “Now you hush child.”

I took Jenny to the station and she said something that made me feel good. “It was nice having you in bed with me all night.”

That threw me off guard for a moment and all I could think to say was; “I enjoyed it too and soon it will be every night.”

She smiled and said; “Yes every night.”

As the train pulled out I felt a sadness I hadn’t felt before, part of me had left and I wouldn’t be relieved until we are together again.

Little did I know this would be the last time I would see her alive.

The next two weeks were intense and the finals were going to reflect what I had learned doing my school years. I was pleasantly surprised that I was near the top of my classes.

Immediately I thought I’m smarter than I thought or my classmates aren’t as smart as I thought they were.

I decided to accept the former was true because it made me happier. I was to leave tomorrow and it was going to be harder than I thought. Leaving my ma and the man who was truly my father wasn’t easy. We went out to dinner to celebrate my emancipation from the hickory stick as the song goes.

The train had an early departure time the next day so I went to the station by myself. I had said my goodbye’s the night before so I didn’t wake the house up. I had something weighing on my mind and would deal with it at the proper time.

The trip home to the ranch was pretty much uneventful  there was a couple sailors bothering some young ladies until the conductor told them he would stop the train and put them off out on the prairie. That took care of that matter. I noticed that the young women would slip a peek at the sailors ever so often which led me to believe they weren’t as offended as they made out.

In what they call the club car there were a trio of men playing cards and they got into a fracas which led to a few punches thrown.

Then there was a drunk who threw up not too far from where I was sitting. Even after it was cleaned up you could still smell it. The meals that were served in the dining car were a bit sparse for me. I felt like ordering another meal after I finished the first one.  It wasn’t the best place for a cowboy to eat.

There was another little spat going on, apparently one woman insulted the other by saying something uncomplimentary about her hat. After a few more words and both being in a huff they turned away and didn’t speak to each other again.

 

After an all day and night the train was pulling into the station and I was glad to be almost home.

To Be Continued

 

 

Randle Chimes chapter 6 - We decide to get Married.

The Swimming Place was Secluded and Private We Thought !!

 

Chapter six

It was a week later when Luke and Jenny came over to grandpa’s place and I was in the office going over some bills when Luke came in and said he read the Pinkerton report and admitted the man who was courting Jenny had him completely fooled.

He said I owe you a debt I can never pay.

I told him he was embarrassing me for I had seen many guys as slick as him. George had shared many stories with me and he had taken me with him where some fancy man was trying to bilk some woman out of their money. I spotted him right off and it was easy to send him on his way. The word Pinkerton scared him and he was done from that point on.

Luke said he was indebted to me in any case and Jenny wanted to apologize to me also. I told him that no apology was necessary and that she needed some time to get over the shock of what she has gone through. I excused myself and left Luke with grandpa to finish their business.

I slipped out the back way and took my horse for a ride to the swimming hole where the water fall was and decided to go for a swim.

My thoughts were bothering me for I hadn’t had time to analyze my feeling about everything that had gone on.

The one thing I have not told anyone was I had a Pinkerton man check on what was going on with Jenny and when I got there I already knew what was going on and the man was a fraud.

It may have seemed like I was being presumptuous in the way I plunged right in and unveiled the man but such was not the case.  To tell Jenny I had been checking up on her may have alienated her and that was not my intent or so I have tried to convince myself.

In any case I was going swimming and off with my clothes and into the water. Getting under the waterfall was exhilarating and I was forgetting all my worries.

I heard another horse whinny and my horse answering back which told me some else knew about this swimming hole.  I ducked behind the waterfall and waited.

It was then I saw Jenny on the bank. She cried out, ‘You might as well come out for I can see you behind the falls.”

I swam out toward where she was. She started removing her clothes and said; “Don’t turn your head for I want you to see me again. You can tell me if I have changed since I was ten years old.”

I did the math in my head, she was ten and now was fifteen, I concluded she must have changed.  While this stupid thought raced through my mind she was disrobing.

Then I had to laugh and said; “What about your ma’s new rules”?

She answered, “I can’t remember them all the sudden.”

“Do you want me to remind you of what they are?” I said, and she said, “No not now maybe later.”

As she stepped into the water I thought she is perfect. Where there were two beginnings of breasts now she was completely filled out. 

She swam over to me and kissed me with a passion I had not experienced before. She said, “Can you wait till I’m eighteen to marry me?”

I was stunned and said, “I don’t think so, maybe seventeen or sixteen and a half or less.”

Feeling her naked body next to me was almost more than I could bear. I craved her desperately. 

She ducked my head under the water and said, “I think you need to cool off a bit,” to which I agreed.

She said, “I’m going to get out and dry off and put my clothes on and I suggest you do the same.”

She got out but I had to stay in the water for a while until I returned back to normal.

After we dressed we lay on the grass for what seemed to be hours. We were just holding hands and occasionally kissing.

It was late evening when we returned to her home and Luke had returned also. He said, “Where did you two get together?”

I told him we met on the way here and I decided to see her home.

He said that was a good idea while grinning all the time. I said, “Luke is Jenny’s Ma available?”

He said, “Yes let’s go into the kitchen.”

After exchanging greetings I said, “Jenny and I wish to get married next year.  We have talked it over and think that will be the best thing for us to do.”

Luke seemed to know about what had just happened.

I said, “I don’t believe in living in the past for the future and right now is the only thing that counts.”

Her mother came over and took my face in her hands and said; “You dear boy you will be like a son to me.”

Luke said, “Well if ya’ll have made up your minds then next year it is. We’ll leave you in the parlor after we eat.”  Then he said, “You can stay here tonight instead of going home in the dark, cause you need to see Jenny in the morning before she fixes herself up!” Then he laughed.

The next three and a half months were almost torturous and filled with pleasure at the same time.  She stayed over at my grandpa’s or I was at her house so we were together most of the time.

By the time it was to return to my home with Ma and George, I was worn out. Being with her at arm’s length and learning the inner workings of the ranch and added to it trying to figure out ways to make it more profitable was taking its toll.

The months rolled by slowly as I was finishing my schooling and Jenny was in finishing school.

Everyone knew the story (or some version of it) about the man she had been engaged to and they had many questions about it.  She finally wrote a juicy version of what happen and posted it on the bulletin board for all to read.

This was exciting stuff for all who read it especially when they added their imagination into the mix. She pictured me as her hero and all the girls fell in love with the story book me. They all wanted to be swept off their feet by this magnificent hunk of a man.

I felt so very inferior to the story book image of me but then who wouldn’t. They all wanted me to be their first lover who has taken them over against their weakly protest.

Jenny finished her schooling a month before I did and I insisted she come and stay with me at my ma’s home.  Upon her arrival George said I feel I know all about you for Randy has continuously talked about you day and night since he came home and told us of your wedding plans.

My mother (Martha) just hugged her while starting to cry. It took Jenny a moment to adjust to this welcome given to her but then she began to hug her back. Then they were both crying and talking through their tears while George looked on wondering about the way they greeted each other.

He said to himself, “It must be a woman thing.”

A couple of hours later I arrived home and the hug-fest started all over.  I was so glad to see her it was difficult to talk so I just stared at her in an adoring way.

“I have my afternoons free so we can see the sights, what few there are worth seeing.”

She said, “I would like to meet some of your friends. I can tell a lot about a person by meeting the people they associate with.”

I said, “Fine you can come to my classes tomorrow and meet them all but I warn you that the boys will want you and the girls will be jealous and a few will be catty.”

She laughed at that and said, “I have been going to a school for girls and they all were catty so I won’t have any trouble with them for we will have an understanding right off.”

The next day was filled with introductions and some serious studies. Jenny stayed in the library/study hall during the actual teaching for she had enough of being taught. 

Some of the girls wanted to know how she managed to land Randle and she knowing how girls think said; “I just showed what he was going to get.”

She thought that should get some of them to show their colors and waited.

One of them said; “Well I showed him what he could have and he didn’t take it.”

After that several more spoke up and confessed to the wiles they used on him. Then one said; “He didn’t turn me down, in fact he and I are regular lovers.”

This quieted down the conversation and Jenny smiled and said; “For some reason I have to doubt what you say but if it is true then let me thank you for your generous gift to him.  He should be experienced in the art of love making which can do nothing else but please me.”

The girls just stared at Jenny for she had handled that in a way no one would have expected.

Later when Jenny was alone the girl who claimed to be Randy’s lover came to her and said, “Everything I said was a lie I made it all up.”

Jenny said, “I know but I’m glad you got it off your conscience.”

They had a long talk after that with Jenny telling about her experiences at the all-girls school.  Before she was finished she had a crowd of girls standing listening.

I came on that scene and said; “I hate to break up this gossip session but we have things to do and places to go.”

The girls responded to that with a lot of innuendos and one said; “Is the bedroom on the list of places to go?”

Jenny interrupted and said; “Not right but later, you can depend on it.”

I said; “I have to get away from all you loose women before you defile me.”

He and Jenny waved goodbye to them and were off.

He said, “Well, how did you get along with these wild women?”

She said, “Fine but strange as it seems there was one or two that were jealous of me.”

I said, “Is that all? I thought there would be at least a half dozen.”

She answered, ‘No and neither was very convincing.”

I said; “Wow that is a real put down. I’m surprise that you want me after that experience.”

She said, “I guess I’m a little less demanding and try a little harder to see a bit of worth in a man.”

All I could say was; “Wow and wow.”

The Old Man and His Bible

This short story is added here - - My continued story will resume soon.

 

 

It was time for the old man to do his daily Bible reading and his attention was drawn the following scriptures.

"Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 

The  old man stared at those words for a long time. He just couldn't get his mind to believe what he was reading. No matter how many times he read it, he couldn't make it read differently from the first time. Surely someone had made a mistake for this was too good to be true.

There it was, Ask and get, Seek and find, Knock and walk right in.

He took a sheet of paper, sat down and began to write. He listed everything he could think of that fit one of the three categories. He wrote and wrote for he had a hunger for hundreds of things.

Some of it was for himself, and some for others.

He would solve the world’s problems with just a few words. This is too good to be true. Why didn't I know about this before he thought?

Then it struck him, something has to be wrong. He decided to test it and see if it really worked.  What shall I try first? To ask? Seek or knock.

Since asking was the easiest he decided on that for the test.

Since he was old he didn't need a wife but he could use a house keeper. Yes, house keeper it is!

He struggled with how to get in an asking position. He felt anything that important should require him to be positionally correct. He finally settled upon a kneeling position and asked for a house keeper and waited. After a few minutes he got up and sat in his recliner thinking it won't hurt to be comfortable while I wait.

Some hours later he awoke with a start. He then realized it was dark and he had slept for hours and still no house keeper. Toward the end of the next week he had all but forgot about getting a house keeper.

The only thing that remained was the words written in the Bible, Ask, Seek, Knock and - - -. He studied the scripture for a long time and concluded that he didn't understand them or there was more to it than what immediately met the eye.

In seeking out other scriptures he came across John 15:5,7 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.

Well that puts a little different light on the subject he thought. And in verse eight; "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." The words that stood out for the old man was; "In me."

This took him to another subject; What is the meaning "in him?"

His study on this subject took him to many scriptures like "If any man be in Christ he is a new creation" and "For in him we live, and move and have our being."  

Once again he was exhausted from all his study and needed to let it rest there but in summation he concluded, one must be in union with Christ much like a vine and the branches. Then everything you do should glorify the Father and that includes what you ask for. What I ask for must have as it's purpose the glorification of the Father and that alone.

If there is also a benefit which I get to enjoy along with it, then so much the better.

He went out and started to till his garden and think on other things for he could only take so much of that which he plans to apply to himself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dvIXHG9HEFU

 

Randal Chimes Chapter 5 - Chapter five "The Cheating Bookkeeper"

Some for You and Some for ME

 

Chapter five  "The Cheating Bookkeeper"

Grandpa said it was time for me to stop fooling around and get down to business and I agreed with him.

Over the next four months he taught me about everything that pertained to the business. I requested the book keeper to give me the books so I could go over them.

He had a fit and accused Grandpa of not trusting him.

Grandpa asked me why I wanted to see the books and I told him it had to be part of the learning process.

It only took me a short time to see the book keeper was stealing from the ranch account. He was taking almost as much as the ranch was keeping. I told grandpa about it and he went wild.

I had to convince him to settle down so we could get some of the money back.

Grandpa knew Jenny’s pa was using the same bookkeeper and he figured he was cheating him as he was doing to grandpa.

He took me to Jenny’s Pa Luke’s ranch and we met with him.  He welcomed us and we went back to his office.

The book keeper was there and so were the books. Luke asked for the books and for him to be able to explain anything we didn’t understand.

After a session of four hours I had everything I needed to know. Luke looked for the book keeper and he wasn’t’ to be found. A search for him was started immediately.

One of the hands said he left in a hurry about an hour ago with his buggy.

Luke said, “Pecos you know the short cut to town don’t you?”

He said, “Yes I sure do.”

“Then bring that man back and let’s see what he has to say about what Randy has found.”

Three hours later Pecos came back with the man in tow.

By this time I had explained to Luke how much the man had pilfered from him. The man denied taking the money and said I didn’t understand book keeping.

Pecos wasn’t in the mood for lying so he said, “Let’s cut this short and get to the truth.”

Luke said, “Okay go ahead and see if he wants to lie to you.”

Pecos grabbed the book keeper by the back of the neck and walked him out to the watering trough. Without saying anything he shoved him under the water and held him there.  After a short time he pulled him out of the water and while the man was trying to clear the water from his lungs Pecos said. “The time under will get longer each time until I finally forget to pull you up.”

The man said, “I’m ready to talk now.”

Pecos said, “No you are ready to lie now, and I want the truth,” and down he went again. True to his word Pecos kept him under a bit longer this time.

The man almost drowned this time and it took him several minutes before he could speak.  He was exhausted but managed to say, “I have the money in a safety deposit box at the bank.”

Pecos said, “Let’s all go get it.”

Luke and grandpa said okay but if he was lying there were watering troughs in town to finish him off.

As they were leaving, I bumped into Jenny, and she turned up her nose at me and I handed her the report from Pinkerton about her boy friend, which showed that he was a fraud bilking young women out of all he could get.

I left with the ranchers to make sure the bookkeeper  returned all he had stolen from them.  As it turned out he was short a thousand, he said he partied on.

Pecos said, “I think he is lying and I can find where he has it stashed away.”

Luke said if you think you can, then go ahead and find it. As Pecos was dragging him to the watering trough the man cried out okay I will tell you where the rest is.

As it turned out he had hid it in a small cave he had found and when he reached in to get it he was bit by a viper and lost his arm as well as suffering great pain.  When he was well enough he was incarcerated for five years.

Both Luke and Grandpa were singing my praises but I told them it was Pecos who deserved the credit and should get a reward.

They agreed and gave him a big reward for what he had done. Pecos said he didn’t know what to do with so much money for he had always lived from month to month ranching.

I told him to put it in the bank and pretend it didn’t exist until he wanted something special and then go buy it. He said that was what he would do that except he wanted a new pair of boots and a new hat right now.

I said, “Then buy what you want and put the rest away for later.”

He wanted me to go with him to the bank and get everything set up proper, after he got his boots and hat.

TO BE CONTINUED



Randal Chimes Chapter 4 - Maturing and Learning to Fight



Randal was Learning to Fight with His Feet

 

Chapter four

Jenny’s family went to the big city on the same train as I rode, so we got to sit together with her brothers keeping their eye on us.  When they weren’t there her Ma and Pa were nearby.

We arrived at my town while they were going on to the biggest town on the East coast. I got my few belongings and she kissed me several times in full view of her mother.

Ma and her husband George met me and I was glad to be home again. At times I feel a dark loneliness but then I snapped out of it in a few minutes.  I continued to do my routine of boxing at the gym and shooting at targets. A birthday made me thirteen and the workouts increase my muscle tone. I was beginning to look a bit manlier.

As the year went on I found myself changing much like Jenny was. I also found myself being interested in some of the girls at school. Seems I liked the ones who were worldlier than the reticent ones.

George took me aside and explained that I wasn’t ready to go in the direction I was headed.  His advice didn’t altogether match my feelings but after several sessions I began to get the picture.

He said it would be easy to get stuck with someone I didn’t really want to live with the rest of my life especially if the ranch life was to be my future. After all I was going to inherit my grandpa’s ranch someday.

I began to get anxious to return to the ranch and learn more about ranching and what it took to run a large operation like grandpas.

While here at home with Ma, I had learned a lot more about women from George and yes, from the girls I dated.  Some bordered on being raunchy but they were the best teachers.

The day was here. It was time to return to the ranch. I had spent time riding and roping things like fence posts and was now able to lasso whatever I aimed my rope at.

Once again Ma and George saw me off and George gave me one last bit of information about diseases some of the town girls sometime carry.

The trip seemed much longer this time for I was anxious to do what I needed to do. Then was the unanswered question about my relationship with Jenny. How much has she changed?  I hoped, not as much as I have.

Pecos met me at the station with my horse or the one I rode all the time when I was here before.  He said no one had ridden him since I was gone so he might be a little frisky. Well he was just that he threw me twice before I got him settled down. 

Pecos thought it was funny so we both had a big laugh. I was glad to see him for he had kept me from getting myself killed when I was here before.

Pecos said I should sleep in the big house, for the men would get too friendly with me and want to take advantage of that friendship which would lead to trouble.

He said I was just a boy before but now you are going to have to act like a man.

He also said some of the hands were kinda ornery and might challenge him to fight. He said sometimes it is better to talk it out than to fight but occasionally it’s the other way around.

He said he would take up the argument and handle the matter in order to keep me from getting beat up and then grandpa would shoot whoever it was. I told him it would be best for me to fight my own battles and if I got whipped we could keep it from grandpa. I said have been whipped before and it won’t be the last time.

All of the information Pecos gave me was right on and seldom would I overrule him.

When I got to the ranch everything was pretty much as I left it.

Right off when I was stabling my horse one of the hands said, “Here’s that snot nosed kid who needs to learn a lesson or two and I’m the one to teach him.”

I didn’t respond while some of the other hands were watching to see if I would take it or respond.

I said, “You’re fired get you gear and be out of here in an hour. If you didn’t ride your horse here then you will have to walk to town for you don’t ride one of our horses.”

Everyone was shocked that I stood up to the smartass.  He said a couple of things and took a swing at me. I remembered what George had taught me about dirty fighting and I kicked the man on the side of the knee. He folded up like a fan and was screaming with his leg out of joint.

Grandpa heard the noise and came down to see what was happening.

Pecos told him what had occurred and grandpa said; “Throw him in a wagon and take him to town and leave him.”  Grandpa handed the man his wages and that was the last we saw of him.

Grandpa came to the house and said, “You are here only a minute and already ran off one of my hands.”  He added, “Good riddance,” and gave me a big hug till grandma pushed him out of the way and took over.

She gave me her usual kiss on the forehead and hugged me some more. I heard him tell grandma “I don’t know who that boy’s father is but he sure is my grandson.”

I determined to make the most of the time I had with my grandfather this time.

I had already learned how to rope and ride as they say but now it was the business I was interested in.

Pecos fixed me up with one of grandpas hostlers, one that had been cut down for a fast draw. He said we are going to town and buy you a new gun.

I felt like a fool wearing a tied down hostler but it added a bit of a swagger to my walk.  As we came out of the gun smiths I ran into Jenny.  She was surprised to see me, as I was to see her.

As soon as I recovered from the surprise, I pulled her to me and kissed her and said I have waited for eight months for that kiss. She started to say something but I kissed her as passionately as I possibly could for a long time with all the passersby watching.

When she got her breath she said, “Now wait a minute I have moved on!”

I looked into her eyes and said, ‘So have I but that doesn’t mean that you aren’t still the one for me.”

She said, “I have a fiancé and we are going to be married next year.”

I said, “No you’re not for you are too young.  You will only be fifteen and I want a fully mature woman not a school girl. You and I will be married when you are eighteen and not before.  What kind of a man wants to marry a girl this young.”

She answered, “He is twenty five and comes from a good family.”

I said, “We’ll see about that.  It sounds like he is a money grabber and since your family has plenty of it you are the perfect target.”

I went on saying, “Where can I find this cad?  I will get this straightened out right now but answer me this; Have you had relations with him?”

She said, “Absolutely not.”

“Then you just saved his life for if you had…”

Jenny said, “He is down at the railroad station getting our tickets to New York.”

I said, ‘Fine this will be settled in a few minutes.”

Sending a wire to George, I asked him to check this man out for me. 

I asked Pecos if he knew the man by sight and he said, “I think so.”

When I told Jenny to give me the ring he gave her, she refused.

Trying to scare her, I said, “I will cut your finger off if you don’t give it to me right now.”

When I pulled out my knife she took off the ring and pressed it into my hand as hard as she could.

I said, “That’s good for I don’t want my wife to be short a finger.

Pecos and I went down to the station and Pecos pointed him out.

The man was a good looking guy and about two inches taller than me and a little huskier than I am. I went up to him and told him the wedding was off and for him to get him a ticket out of town on the next train. I said, “It doesn’t matter where it is going just get on it.”

He became irritated and wanted to know who I thought I was.

I told him “The Pinkerton was checking him out right now and he would be in jail in a couple of hours if he was still in town.”

With that he swung at me and missed. I used the ole kick to the side of the knee to settle him down and told the station master to give me a ticket on the next train he said it was a cattle train and I could ride free if I didn’t mind riding with the steers. I said fine.  He said it is about to leave now so you better hurry. Pecos and I found a car that wasn’t very full and threw the Romeo in.

Jenny had watched the whole thing and said for me not to come around for she didn’t want to see me ever again.

I told her if that was what she wanted then I wouldn’t come courting her ever.

Pecos said, “Whooee, that gal is going to be hard for you to put your brand on.”

I said, “Now that we’ve taken care of that business let’s go home.”

On the way there I said under my breath, ‘She will be mine in a couple of years if she knows what is good for her.”

We caught up with her and her driver on the way home and Pecos and I rode by without recognizing her.  Pecos tipped his hat, but I kept looking straight ahead.

She grabbed the reins and whipped the horses to a gallop and ran me off the road.

Pecos said she is a little riled or something. I laughed and said she is a woman scorned.

TO BE CONTINUED



 

AND THE RAINS CAME DOWN

Dust on the Bible

 

The old man had slept in if you call five o'clock in the morning sleeping in. there was just enough light for him to see it was raining.

By six he could tell that the rain would let up and then begin to pour once more. Ever so often there would be a flash of lightning and upon seeing that he decided to stay indoors.

The cows were in the barn hallway so they were safe and the horses were in the stables.

The only one not accounted for was his hunting dog. He called him and he came out from under the house. He was just wet enough to still smell of the skunk he had tangled with a week ago.

He let him in and made him lay on the hearth of the fire place. After breakfast he decided to look up a scripture. It was something about loving GOD.

He looked for his old study bible and when he found it there was a layer of dust on it. As he wiped it off the words of an old song came to mind.

 

Lyrics Dust on the Bible

I went into a home one day to see some friends of mine
Of all the books and magazines, not a Bible could I find
I asked them for the Bible; when they brought it, what a shame
For the dust was covered o'er it, not a fingerprint was plain
Dust on the Bible, dust on the holy word

The words of all the prophets and the sayings of our Lord
Of all the other books you'll find, there's none salvation holds
Get that dust off the Bible and redeem your poor soul

You can read your magazines, read of love and tragic things
And not one word of bible verse, not a scripture do you know
When it is the very truth and its contents good for you
If dust is covered over it's sure to doom your soul
Dust on the Bible, dust on the holy word

The words of all the prophets and the sayings of our Lord
Of all the other books you'll find, there's none salvation holds
Get that dust off the Bible and redeem your poor soul

Oh, if you have a friend you'd like to help along life's way
Just tell him that the Good Book shows a mortal how to pray
The best advice to give him that will make his burden light
Is to dust the family Bible, trade the wrong way for the right
Dust on the Bible, dust on the holy word

The words of all the prophets and the sayings of our Lord
Of all the other books you'll find, there's none salvation holds
Get that dust off the Bible and redeem your poor soul

 

While those words came to him he found the verse he was looking for.

 Matthew 22:37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

 

He wiped a bit of dust from the page he was reading from. It came from the dust on outside of the Bible but was gone after he wiped it off and blew it completely away. The words "thou shalt" stood out from the page as he read. They didn't leave any wiggle room, it is something you must do if you are a Christian. He knew the word "Heart" meant spirit in many cases and this was one of them. You must love GOD from your innermost being, the deepest part of you. Included is the admonition to love and worship GOD with our souls. That is the part where the feelings and deciding takes place. Love must flow upward from there.

 

And then there was a scripture that came to mind that is found in the New Testament.

Colossians 3:1-2Therefore, since you have been raised with Christ, strive for the things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dhe6ASTaqqw