Disclaimer: I do not own anything in this story except Marie…and I've noticed something about the end of Ch. 2. I said, "All 5 of us…yadda yadda yadda" its supposed to be all 6 of us. My math isn't so good, so I'm sorry about that. And some of my spelling mistakes might be intentional, so ask me if you're confused.
Ch. 3: Clues
Our whole gang headed up the huge hill on Cowboy Junction, seeing if we can find any clues to the whereabouts of Roxie's missing cows. This "gang" included Roxie, Ginny, Buddy, Gino, Lyndsay, and I. About a quarter of the way up the hill, Buddy "collapsed". "I-I can't go on a-any further. Go on without me!" he pleaded. "Oh don't be such a drama queen." Lyndsay scolded, picking him right off the ground. "Just imagine there's a nice cool lake on the top of the hill. Dive in." I imagined, and immediately felt a cool breeze. Immediately, Buddy dashed up the hill, and the rest of us had to run to catch up.
To Buddy's disappointment, no lake was on the hill. Only thing there was a young man, back turned to us. The smoke we saw came from the smoldering fire in front of him. His hair was the exact same color as Buddy's, only a lot messier (A.N.: hat hair :-P). A large, black hat was to the right of him, and so was a paisley bandana. He was wearing a long, dusty black leather jacket, though I'm not sure why because it's as hot as hell on this island.
"Hey, buddy!" Lyndsay called to him. "What?" our Buddy asked her. "Not you, the guy in front of the fire!" She hissed. "Go away, I don't likes people of your kind, or of any kind fer that matter." The man wouldn't turn around to see who was talking to him. His voice was very rough, but yet very sad. "Well," I soothed, "Why don't you tell us who you are and maybe we can help you." He slowly stood up, wiped the dirt off his butt, and turned around. I was immediately drawn to his eyes, the color of rust. Absolutely stunning. His face was completely covered in dirt, and his eyebrows bushy and sharp. He was easy to look at, but also very sad to look at. He was all alone up here for who knows how long.
"The name's Rusty, that's it. I've lived up here on this hill fer as long as I can remember." he said calmly. "Why haven't you left this hill and come down to see the junction and everyone that lives in it. I'm sure you'd be welcomed by everyone right away." Roxie chirped. "I'm –uh- not the sociable type. I like ta keep ta myself. No one's ever talked ta me this long." he sighed. "You ain't alone anymore, pardner! I'm gonna be your new friend." Ginny yelled. She skipped over to him and hugged him. This gesture made Rusty wince a bit, very uncomfortable doing this. "PHEW! You stink, no offense." She whispered and stepped back a bit. "I know! He can freshen up at my house down the hill." Roxie volunteered. "Let's-a go then." Chef Gino finally spoke up, being silent this whole conversation.
Our gang of 7 slowly headed down the hill for Rusty's sake. He was very nervous about leaving his hill. "It's ok, baby steps now." I soothed again. He needed to be treated like this until he got more confidence. (A.N.: Awww!) When we got to Roxie's little yellow cottage, there was someone waiting for us. It was an older looking man. On his face, a very knotted white beard covered most of his face. A small hat covered the rest of his hair. Bulging brown eyes were easily seen. His body was covered by an apron, hands covered by gloves, and on his feet, moccasins. Doesn't anyone on this island know the concept of temperature?
"Miss Roxie! Miss Roxie! I found sumtin' inside the cow pen!" the man exclaimed, jumping up 'n' down. "Who are you anyway? Do you live on this island?" I wondered. "Oh, yes-a, that's-a just Ol' Gabby, the island's-a blacksmith." The chef explained to us. "But fer his name, he don't talk much." The sheriff informed us. "I think Gino and Roxie should help Rusty get cleaned up, and Ol' Gabby can show the rest of us what he found." I instructed. We split up for the first time. Ol' Gabby led us to the empty pen.
"I found this inside. Don't think they belong ta anyone here." He pointed to a small plush doll and a pink ribbon. "Well, then no one on this island could've did it, unless these were dug up or something." Lyndsay wondered. "No, look, this doll still has the tags on it. It's brand-new." I spotted. "I know what we should do!," Buddy said, "We should go tell King Roland, and he can announce it to the whole kingdom!" "Why didn't I think of that? Great idea, Bud." I punched him softly on the arm.
Roxie, Gino, and Rusty came and joined us. "Wow, Rusty, you clean up good!" Ginny winked. "Shut it. What'd ya find?" "These." I held out the doll and ribbon. "I have ribbons like that. I wonder if they're mine." Roxie quickly walked back to the cottage, but came back with her ribbons in hand. "OK, they're not Roxie's ribbons. That's our first clue: ribbon…and this doll." I said. "Oh, Buddy had a wonderful idea. He, Marie, Roxie, Ginny, and I are heading back to Capital Island to tell King Roland. He can announce this to the whole kingdom, and they might be able to help us find your cows!" Lyndsay informed the other "party". "While we're gone, can you guys keep searching the island? Something else might turn up." I asked the 3 guys. "Sure." Gabby said.
So my little group headed towards the boat, and the 3 guys stayed on the island, determined to find anything that might be related to Roxie's missing cows. We got on board, left the dock, and started to sail towards Capital Island.
OK, Ch. 4 is about ¾ of the way finished…school is going so slow, so I've got lots of time on my hands. Also, I'm still not sure why my criminal stole the cows, so if you guys could help me figure out why he/she did it. Just send me a message or put in your review!