Detective City Kids: Cowboy Roundup
"You darn city kids are soooo nosy," my uncle Paul the poisonous lectured us yet again inside his rundown house, "always sticking your little bratty heads into our conversations."
I gave Nick a wink and stared at the door signaling that we should bolt out of this literal sty in three… two… one…. I fled from the poisonous Paul as quickly as possible only to find that Nick didn't understand my signal and ran of alone… poor bloke.
I stood outside the house and waited for Nick so long that I nearly fell unconscious but woke up abruptly after my semi-sleep.
"Brian," Nick whispered softly but that was enough to stun me nearly to death, I shrieked out in surprise but Nick covered my mouth, "Brian the brains? Chicken droppings, since when did you ever have a brain?"
"You should know better then to take me by surprise and you know that after years of occurrence." I replied panting.
"Who's there?" Paul the Poisonous boomed, "I gotta shotgun…"
This time, Nick ran with me instead of after me….
Nick the ninja and I, Brian the Brains weren't caught by Paul the poisonous because of our incredible ability to orientate our way around the dude ranch and agility. Nicholas and I arrived at the safety of our dormitory and leapt into our beds pretending to be sound asleep but this was difficult as we needed to catch their breaths as well. Naturally, Paul checked on us several times before deciding that it was probably a stray fox and finally left us alone but long before that, we weren't exactly pretending to sleep anymore, we were.
The next day, Nick and I were constantly discussing why Paul was so paranoid and was often so mysterious and confined in his tiny apartment. By the time our discussion was close to completion, Joseph, the owner of the dude ranch called us into his office. It wasn't a modern one but instead looked more like a barn as there was no furniture besides a chair and a table which was empty.
"Paul has been very suspicious of you lately," he informed us while eying our every move, "I apologise for any inconvenience that my assistant has caused you and to compensate for his doings, I'll give you both free lassoing and riding lessons! Be at the edge of the dude ranch in approximately fifteen minutes, see you there."
We walked out of the office feeling gleeful that we received free lessons and glad that he didn't lecture us or anything that we expected while inside his tiny office.
"Why don't we threaten Paul the poisonous tonight not to command us anymore or else we would tell Joseph?" I asked with a sudden pang of excitement.
"Don't see why not," Nick replied, "even if we get caught we can run out like we did last time, right Brian?"
Nick and I waited by the edge of the ranch where most of the beginner lessons were held as instructed by Joseph. Several minutes later, Joseph arrived as promised and taught us the art of a cowboy by tying a saddle to a horse, riding a horse, grooming your horse and lassoing. I was clearly the top of the class in tying the saddle in terms of both speed and accuracy where as Nick was a clear natural in riding a horse as his skills were comparable with Joseph's. Those were the first two lessons of the day.
"Make a loop on a fraction of a rope and tie a dead knot below it." Joseph explained, "Make sure that the loop has a similar size to whatever you are trying to lasso."
The entire class could do it, the whole class but Nick and I for some unknown reason. We had to stay back in order to finally master the first lesson of lassoing.
"Flick the wrist and point towards a desired object and when it lands on it yank," Joseph taught with patience even after two tedious hours past the end of the lesson, "the sooner you yank, the more efficient your lasso will be."
To reward our tremendous effort, we received a horse but naturally we had to return it before we left for the city.
By the time we reached the dormitory, it was well past dinner and so we had to miss out but all I had on my mind was the mission that will occur tonight.
"What do you reckon we should pack?" I asked Nick, "A lasso?"
"You're the brains Brian and so you choose carefully."
Approximately half an hour later, I packed two ropes, a saddle; a communicating device I invented called the "speakerscope" and a pitch black cloak.
"The mission will commence now…" I hissed into the speakerscope, "over and out…."
Nick the ninja and I, Brian the brains sneaked cautiously towards the shed and approached the small house with stealth.
"And we round up all the animals tomorrow night…" Paul the poisonous murmured to the group of old men. Nick cried out in surprise as he inadvertently stepped in horse manure which alerted all of them who came out to investigate. Nick and I sprinted frantically towards the horse, I used my ability to tie up the saddle so swiftly while Nick directed it towards the safety of our dormitory but Paul the poisonous and his gang wouldn't give in and followed as best they could. I leapt onto my bed as quickly as before but Nick hesitated and did it reluctantly as the manure was still everywhere in his leg….
The next thing I remembered was being suspended in by my ankles in a house that stank of Paul's putrid odour. There was a lock to ensure that I wouldn't escape but Nick the ninja wasn't anywhere to be seen, the only useful objects in the room were the key on the table which was three meters away and a thick rope below my head. I felt extremely lightheaded as I realised that the sole way to escape was to lasso the key with an extremely thick rope upside-down!!! I grabbed the rope with all my might and attempted feebly… I missed by two meters. I'll never get out of here I thought glumly….
During my second attempt, I clearly recalled what Joseph taught… make a loop on a fraction of a rope and tie a dead knot below it, make sure that the loop has a similar size to whatever you are trying to lasso, flick the wrist and point towards a desired object and when it lands on it yank, the sooner you yank, the more efficient your lasso will be. I did exactly that but my dizziness contributed to why I failed yet again.
I summoned the last of my strength and picked up the rope again…. I made a key-sized loop and tied a dead know…. I held it up above my stomach (remember, I'm upside-down) and flicked my wrist…. This time, it actually hit the key which clanked on the ground…. I blacked out.
I regained consciousness some time, this time; I was in a stable with my horse and Nick besides me. We were trapped inside with ropes tying us up like crabs….
"Nosiness never pays," Paul the poisonous laughed hysterically outside, "now we can pull it off without interference."
I searched my pocket and pulled out the speakerscope after he left… I will have only one shot at this as the batteries are nearly dead due to the fact that it was turned on the whole night.
"Joseph…" I whimpered, "I'm stuck in a horse stable… I've got no time to explain, please HELP!"
When Nick finally regained consciousness, I explained our plan… there was only an hour before Paul the poisonous and his gang would strike and so no time can be wasted. We untied each other's rope and stretched after such a long time of stillness.
"OWW!" we cried in unison, it seems like we both cramped our legs…. This mission will be suicidal….
The rope was the only useful tool I could locate in Paul's house and so we brought it along with us… it could come in handy. We left the house with a sudden pang of fear and heroism.
The night was chilly especially since we were in shorts and singlet but there we did this for Joseph and his benevolence… the thought of his kindness and horse encouraged them to persist with this unbearable task. Suddenly, we spotted them, Paul the poisonous were leading a herd of all animals into his truck…. We ran back and rode the horse, Tracey; back to the scene of the crime… nearly half the animals were already inside the truck.
"We fight for our lives now…" I murmured.
Tracey charged towards Paul who noticed us when we were a long way away and stopped leading the animals into the truck and maneuvered his horse sharply right. Before I realised it, we were circling each other…. The animals all came out of the truck, the battle of Paul the poisonous, Nick the ninja and I, Brian the brains officially begun.
The animals were spread out thus, a battlefield was formed. I whispered strategic plans into Nick's ears while he skillfully did exactly as he was told. Paul the poisonous zigzagged though some cows but we could see in his bloodshot eyes that we were his target. Tracey charged towards Paul… the collision would take place in five… four… three… two… we were so close that I could count the amount of freckles on his nose. Tracey skidded and fell as I instructed and Nick put into action….
WHAM! The tremendous force blew us of Tracey. Paul the poisonous and his horse tripped over poor Tracey and were now lying unconscious in the mud…. We squirmed with agony; after all, we did fall of a horse and landed on concrete.
"What's the noise over here?" a voice asked… it was Joseph!
"OVER HERE!" I cried… I've never felt so overjoyed to see another person before.
I felt my overwhelming pain ebb away as I explained exactly and precisely what happened to Joseph who listened with utmost interest and solemn.
Hours later, the police along with my parents to sort matters out….
"Oh I don't know how to thank you Nick and Brian…" Joseph thanked us… "The least I could do is giving you my horse…."
So after many days of bravery and determination, we caught Paul the poisonous who we had dreaded for days after all his lectures.
"Kids," the police officer said, "it turns out that Paul has been behind many crimes and not even professional detectives could stop him…. Here, a bunch of kids managed to catch him is impressive, you are now agents of the Western Australian Police Force also known as the WAPF. I now pronounce you Detective City Kids…."
