Chapter Nine

Fifteen minutes later their visitors were ready to leave. Mike was all cleaned up and, when they came back outside, they found that Cam had the buggy all hitched up and ready to go. Slim and Jess would rider Rocky and Galway. After being cooped up in the baggage car for several hours the two horses needed to stretch their legs.

"Where are we goin'? What the surprise?" the excited boy asked.

Cam smiled mysteriously and said, "You'll find out soon enough." She guided the horse in a northwesterly direction headed for the far side of town and a few miles beyond. The two men began to recognize the area as they approached a little farm.

Cam pulled the buggy up in front of the barn and called, "Mr. Quinn? Are you here?"

Peter Quinn, the older man from whom Slim had purchased Galway for Jess, came out of the barn. He was a medium sized man, about five feet ten - with silver hair and blue eyes which twinkled when he saw the girl and her companions.

"Well, Miss Cameron, have you brought me a return customer?" He remembered Cam's friends - and the now grown up Galway - from their visit over a year ago.

"You'll have to ask Slim that question," the girls said. "In the meantime I'd like you to meet Mike Williams. He's Slim and Jess' ward. I told you about him."

"Nice to meet you, Mike," the man said shaking hands with the youngster. "Nice to see you young fellas again as well. How's that colt working out that you bought?"

"This is that colt," Jess said proudly indicating his mount. "He's turning out to be a good cow pony - and he's won a few races besides."

"Yes. I heard about that one race," Quinn said. "Gave the prize money to that orphanage in Brimfield didn't you? After a little 'persuasion'?"

"Argument is more like it," Slim said.

"Yeah, more like an argument," Cam giggled, "but Mike, here, came up with the solution and that ended that.

Quinn smiled. He'd known the girl since she'd come to live with her aunt and uncle almost elven years ago. She sometimes gave new meaning to the term "stubborn Scot".

"I reckon you're here for the surprise you arranged for this young man." he said to his granddaughter's friend.

"Yes sir, we are. I haven't told Slim and Jess about it but I think they'll approve."

The two men in question looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

"What are you up to?" Slim asked.

'I'm not up to anything except making sure Mike has a good time while he's here," Cam told them.

"Kerry, bring Yankee Doodle out," Mr. Quinn called into the barn.

Seconds later a girl Cam's age, but with sandy hair and green eyes, came out leading a small buckskin colored horse.

"He's for you to ride while you're here, Mike," Cam told the little boy with the wide eyed look on his face.

"For me?"

"On two conditions," the teen told him. "First it has to be okay by Slim and Jess and second, because you don't know the area - or this horse - you don't go anywhere unless someone older is with you."

"I promise! Can I have him Slim? Jess?" The boy looked pleadingly at his guardians.

"I don't know," Slim said looking at his partner.

"Slim Sherman! Would I steer you wrong about a horse or a pony? I'm the one who picked out Galway for Jess - remember?"

"She did that all right," Jess said thoughtfully.

"Oh come on you two. The suspense is killing poor Mike." With a sly glance at Jess she added, "Yankee Doodle's going to be awfully disappointed if you don't say yes. I've been telling him all about the special little boy who was going to be riding him for a week since we got your letter saying you were coming."

"Please Slim?"

Jess dismounted and walked over to where Kerry stood holding the buckskin. The Texan smiled at the teen and then ran his hands down the animal's legs, checked its teeth and eyes before nodding to his partner.

"Well I like that!" Cam said feigning indignation. "You don't trust me!:

"Aw it ain't that," Jess protested.

"I know," Cam said as she, Kerry and Mr. Quinn burst out laughing. "You just had to be sure I wasn't pulling the wool over your eyes or setting you up."

Jess grinned sheepishly. "Well, yeah. It wouldn't be right not to check."

"I assure you, Mr. Harper, this horse is sound as a dollar and very gentle. Cam said Mike rides some but mostly with one of you."

"Please Slim" Please Jess?" Mike pleaded.

The partners looked at each other for what seem to mike to be an eternity.

"Ok. If Cam and Mr. Quinn have gone to all this trouble, and Jess found no problems, you can have him to ride while we're here - on the conditions that Cam set."

"Yippee!"

"Here, young man," Mr. Quinn said reaching down for Mike. "Let's get you up in the saddle so you can try him out."

The boy rode Yankee Doodle happily around the yard under the watchful eye of his guardians and the others. They got along just fine. Mike's eyes were shining as they said good-bye and headed back toward the McAllisters' with a dark gray Morgan/Quarter Horse cross name Smoke, that Cam was borrowing for the week in order to be able to show her friends around the area they had not seen.