Rawhide
Incident of the Sterling Fox
Chapter 5
Dawn was breaking and a rooster greeted the rising sun as Harkness Mushgrove III rode into town with an extra horse in tow the next morning. Wishbone had gotten him up earlier than usually that morning and had sent him with another horse for Rowdy. Gil Favor had sent word the night before that Rowdy was well enough to leave in the morning.
Mushy stood in his stirrups to survey the buildings, trying to remember where the doctor's office was located. He leaned too far forward and almost fell on his horse's neck. "Whoa, boy." He said, even though the horse was used to Mushy's riding and had no intention of bolting. The horse blinked lazily and shook its mane vigorously. Shading his eyes from the sun rising on the horizon directly ahead, Mushy finally spotted the doctor's office near the end of the street next to the blacksmith's shop.
He trotted the horses up the street and reached the doctor's office to find Favor standing on the boardwalk in front of the building leaning on a post. "Howdy, Mr. Favor. I brought a horse for Mr. Rowdy like Mr. Wishbone said to."
"Good boy, Mushy. Why don't you come in? The doc's got a pot of coffee boiling."
Mushy dismounted and tied the horses to the hitch rack. "I'd like that, Mr. Favor. Mr. Wishbone, he says I should wait for you and Mr. Rowdy till you're ready to move out."
"Alright, then." With that, the two drovers entered the clean office of Dr. Dixon. To the right of them was an open door leading to the room where Rowdy had spent the night. Off to the left of the room, the doctor was preparing a pot of coffee. He looked up to see Favor and the young drover he had met last night. Rowdy was sitting at a table beside the stove. His head was bandaged and his arm was now in a sling. Mushy noticed the ramrod looked a bit grumpy.
"Hello, Mr. Dixon." He greeted the doctor, having met him the night before. Mushy beamed Rowdy a big smile and waved his fingers in salutation. "Hello, Mr. Rowdy. How're you feeling this morning?"
"Just fine, Mushy. Have a seat." Rowdy invited the young man with a sweep of his good arm motioning to a chair across from him.
"Thank you kindly." Mushy took his hat off and ambled over to one of the vacant chairs to sit down.
The doctor walked back to the table with several cups and the coffee pot in his hands. He carefully set them down careful not to spill any and then brought out a chair for himself. "Well, hello there, Harkness. Your friend here is doing just fine thanks to your quick thinking and bringing him straight here." Mushy blushed at the compliment.
The scene struck Rowdy funny and he sputtered his coffee while laughing hysterically. The doctor looked at him queerly and Favor interrupted. "My ramrod seems to think somethin's funny." He elbowed Rowdy.
"I'm sorry, I just-" He burst out laughing again. Favor elbowed him harder making him grunt. Rowdy cleared his throat and forced himself to stop laughing. "I, uh, just thought of something funny, that's all." He cleared his throat again and looked down, embarrassed.
The doctor was still giving him an odd look. "Oh, that's, um, that's quite alright, Mr. Yates. We all need a good laugh now and then. They say laughter is the best medicine, you know."
Favor rested his elbows on the table and continued to sip his coffee. The coffee was still hot but he wanted to get back to the herd as soon as possible. Mushy had taken off his hat and seemed to have forgotten about the invitation to coffee when the doctor had complimented him. He was now fumbling with hat and, yes, still blushing. Rowdy had managed to get control of himself and was halfway through his cup of coffee.
Outside, the horses stomped impatiently almost as eager as Favor to get back. Birds were singing their morning songs and the town was beginning to awaken. The sun was peaking over the horizon and slowly but steadily making its way to the dawning sky above.
They finally finished their coffee just as the sun looked to be sitting directly on the horizon. They thanked the doctor for his hospitality and Favor paid Rowdy's doctor bill. Mushy had gone out ahead of them and was waiting on the two drovers when the stepped outside. The horse that Hey Soos had picked for Rowdy's trip was a spunky bay gelding with a white star peeking out from under his thick forelock, giving him an almost haughty look as he tossed his mane.
Rowdy walked up to his side and rubbed the gelding's velvety nose. He snorted and bumped the ramrod's chest with his nose. He chuckled but his happiness faded when his thoughts turned back to Fox. Fox used to do the same thing. What am I thinking! 'Used to', Rowdy thought to himself, I'll get you back, Fox. I'll get you back if it's the last thing I do!