A Day At The Station With Teaspoon Cooking is Always Perilous…
"Do you think it's safe for us to even eat?" Lou McCloud whispered, as she looked over the odd arrangement of bowls and platters of food that Teaspoon Hunter, Station Master to the Sweetwater Pony Express waystation and interim cook had prepared.
"I don't know." the Kid replied, picking up an open 'tin' and sniffing the slimy looking contents. He wrinkled his nose up and quickly set down the tin, letting out a muffled, "Ew!"
James Butler Hickok smirked at the chestnut haired rider sitting across from him. "It can't smell that bad, Kid. Some of this stuff Emma left behind for us to eat."
"She did?" Cody exclaimed the dejected look on his face replaced with hope.
Emma was their resident housekeeper who had gone on a trip with her beau, Sam Cain, to a neighboring town to pick up some much needed supplies that the local mercantile did not offer.
*I don't think that we're suppose to eat these before dinner, but they look better than anything on here.* Ike McSwain signed as he joined them at the table carrying a basket full of an assortment of cookies.
Cody dug his hand into a 'pile' of cookies and greedily began munching on them to the amusement of the other riders.
"Look, they have little designs on them..." Buck, the Kiowa rider pointed out, showing the others the cookie he had chosen. "This one has a 'wolf' on it."
"There are stars, moons, and I think…this is a 'ghost'." Lou exclaimed as she and the others sorted through the cookies, looking at the different designs on them. "I wondered how Emma was able to do it?"
"Who cares as long as they are edible?" Cody exclaimed around a bite of cookie. "These sure are delicious."
The other riders were quick to agree as they sampled the cookies in the basket and waited for Teaspoon to join them. The cantankerous stationmaster came into the bunkhouse a few moments later carrying a large, bubbling pot, and hastily Ike set the basket of cookies under the table at his feet. Teaspoon set the pot onto the center of the table, among the other bowls and platters of food and gazed around the table at his employees.
"Dig in while it's hot boys,"
Reluctantly Kid picked up the ladle and dished some of the foul smelling concoction into his bowl, before passing the ladle onto Lou. She wanted to argue that she was full, but knew that Teaspoon wouldn't buy her excuse, and dished herself some of the soup or stew as well. As she passed the ladle onto Buck, she couldn't help staring down into the bowl and trying to identify the mounds of grayish white meat swirling around in the nasty looking broth along with the root vegetables she knew.
One by one the other riders', 'dealt' themselves a portion of the mysterious looking substance, but none of them sampled their meal. Teaspoon served himself a portion last and eagerly dug into his meal, smacking his lips and urging the riders to do eat up. Not wanting to anger Teaspoon, Lou spooned up some of hers and after taking a deep breath placed it into her mouth. Her eyes widened in surprise at the tantalizing flavor that assaulted her senses and she chewed slowly to savor every bite. Kid, Jimmy, and the other riders, took their lead from her and quickly sampled their own portions, equally surprised at how good it really tasted.
"This sure is good, Teaspoon." Cody said, around a mouthful. "What is it?"
"Rattlesnake stew," Teaspoon replied. "…my own recipe."
A chorus of involuntary gagging sounds filled the bunkhouse in reaction to the stationmaster's words, but soon dissipated. Soon the only sounds in the room were that of everyone heartily enjoying their meal, strange though it was.