Author's Note:
Chapters will continue to be numbered from the beginning of the tale; they won't start over with each part.
A word about how I write dialogue… It seems to me that the way Jess talks evolves somewhat through the seasons as he lives up north with the more educated Shermans and Miss Daisy. Maybe that was planned, or maybe it was because of groups calling for changes in westerns. (Bob has discussed that.) Well, I usually write Jess's speech as it was in the earlier episodes, especially in my stories about his younger days and his family. That manner of speaking is something I grew up with, and I appreciate it as the special regional dialect that it is.
I love the feeling of Texas and home in the Harpers' use of y'all, ain't, growed, might could, yes'm, droppin' of the g at the endin' of a word, git for get, agin for again, crick for creek, and other such turns of phrase. (Oh how I miss hearing my dad talk about ridin' his favorite sorrel and fishin' down at the crick.) I hear downhome voices from my youth in my head when I write dialogue, and my word choice and spelling is a re-creation of the way it sounds in my memory.
I hope it seems alright to y'all. I hope the dialogue reads "smooth as butter," but sometimes I wonder if it could be a stumbling block to the flow of the story. I'd appreciate it if you'd message me if you have suggestions about it. Thanks! And happy reading!
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Oath of I'm Fine
Part Two
Chapter Three
The year: mid summer 1857
Jess Harper's age: 11 years old
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
"Jesse Luke Joseph Harper!"
Uh oh. When Ma used his full name, he was sure 'nuff in for it. Eleven-year-old Jess stepped outside the tool shed, latched the door, and began the dreaded trek to the house.
"Comin', Ma!"
As he rounded the corner of the barn, the door of the house came into view. Ma was standing in the archway, and slightly behind her…
Oh dadgum. She had to go and haul Pa in on it.
That could mean big trouble. As Jess trudged forward, he recalled the various punishments that could await him. Based on past discipline of one kind or another for his occasional wildness that resulted in a range of typical boyhood shenanigans, he might be facing… Extra chores. Longer book lessons. No play time. Early bedtime. Loss of his piece of pie. Hoeing weeds instead of time on horseback. There were other punishments too. But taking away his riding time… that one was the worst. Even worse than no pie.
There were certain rules in the Harper household. Do your chores right and proper. Help them what needs it. Git along with your brothers and sisters. And now, Jess had broken the most important rule of all: Obey Your Parents Always. Ignoring that rule was pure and simple not tolerated. Not ever. He reckoned all the punishments he had just thought of might be heaped on his head this time.
Jess eyed the both of them as he approached the open door. Ma's arms were folded across her chest, her foot tapping an aggravated rhythm on the adobe floor. That ain't lookin' any too hopeful for me. Pa stood with his left hand braced against the doorframe, a cup of coffee in his right. At least he don't look near as put out as Ma. In fact, as Pa watched him walk toward them, he seemed mighty calm, just sipping his coffee as he took a short break from his hard work. That's a good sign. But Jess knew better than to assume that Pa would let pass whatever had Ma so upset. Pa always backed Ma. And Ma always backed Pa. Jess sighed. Well, he had tried to git away with it. Bound to be found out. Shoulda knowed.
He stopped at the threshold, hoping to avoid actually going inside.
"Jess, your Ma tells me the last two pieces of the side of bacon are missin'."
"The very last of our bacon. Two good-sized, cooked up, meaty pieces, mind ya." Anna was irritated, but didn't raise her voice. Still, it matched the stern look in her eyes as she scrutinized her oldest son. "I was gonna chop 'em up and use 'em to flavor the collard greens I'll be cookin' for noon dinner. And you kids knew that. Y'all had been told to leave 'em be."
Thumbs rubbing against fingers on both hands as they clenched into fists and then released, Jess glanced from one parent to the other. For a second he considered asking why they figured it was him who was the bacon thief. It would be easy enough to blame it on Benjie. His folks wouldn't go off much on his three-year-old brother. But Jess knew he would never do that. He couldn't cast blame on an innocent. And if he had it to do over again he still would go through with the same bacon grabbing action that he had pulled this time. So he'd just have to admit to the crime and take his lumps. Unless…
He dipped his head in regret that he did not really feel. "Sorry, Ma. Growin' like I am, sometimes I jus' git so powerful hungry. Even after a right fillin' and deelicious breakfast like ya made." Sparkling blue eyes looked up from under the long thick dark lashes, as he worked at keeping the feigned shame on his face and the smile from his lips and eyes, watching with secret assured satisfaction as his mother's anger melted away.
Luke knew full well what the scamp was doing. Dadgummed young charmer. He also knew Jess wasn't that hungry so early in the day right after chowing down like he did at breakfast. Not hungry enough to risk the wrath from ruining a parent's plan. Oh, the kid took that meat for sure. But not for himself. The boy wasn't actually lying, but he did want them to think he had eaten the bacon, a blame that shouldn't be credited to himself.
Luke fixed a firm scowl in place. "Still got that cougar cub, don't ya?"
Jess raised his eyes to meet his father's.
"Sneakin' food to him. Kept him in the shed last night, didn't ya? And after I told ya days ago to send him away."
There was no use denying it, and Jess wouldn't lie anyway. "He stays 'round here fine in the day, Pa. Follows me like a pet. But lately, when he can't see me at night, I'm worried he'll be apt to wander off."
"He should be wanderin'. He's feelin' the call to be out there in the Open where he belongs."
Jess resisted the urge to point out that the cougar cub would feel like it belonged right here, if it would just be allowed to sleep with him in the house. Or if he'd be allowed to sleep in the shed with the cat. He had already tried to fight those battles and lost.
"But, Pa, I raised Gatomigo since he was knee-hi to a flea. He's too doh-mesticated now to survive in the Open."
Growing up in Texas, the kids were close enough to the border to pick up some Spanish from the Mexican ranch hands, folks traveling through, and Luke himself, who was pretty fluent in the language. Inwardly, he smiled at the Spanish name his son had given the cougar. Two words put together. Gato for cat. 'Migo, a shortened version of amigo, for friend. Catfriend. He shook his head and gulped the rest of his coffee. Time to make the boy face reality. The cougar wouldn't be a friend much longer. Soon, the mountain lion would be seeing the family as a source of food in a way entirely different from the table scraps Jess sneaked to him.
"He's got teeth and claws, don't he, boy? He knows how to use 'em."
At that, Jess winced slightly and cast his eyes downward ever so briefly. Anna silently took note of that reaction.
"He's growin' fast, Jess," Luke continued. "And he ain't no barn cat. He can't be trusted 'round folks now. I shouldn't oughta let ya keep him as long as I did. But no more."
Jess could tell from the tone of voice that there was no give. He couldn't talk his way out of this one.
Then, Luke did something that struck fear in the boy's heart. He handed his empty coffee cup to Anna and then reached to the side of the door inside the house. When he pulled his hand back, there was a rifle in it.
Jess's eyes grew wide. "Pa! No! You ain't gonna shoot him? You can't, Pa! You just can't! Please, Pa!"
"Settle yourself, boy. I ain't fixin' to shoot him. Ain't no need for that." Luke threw a pointed gaze toward his son. "Is there?"
Jess shook his head vigorously back and forth. "No. I'll do whatever ya say, Pa. He's a good cat. Please let him be."
"Jess, I'm just headin' to the barn to saddle up, and I'm gonna put my rifle back in the scabbard. Brought it in last night to clean it."
Jess let out a breath, heavy with relief.
"Plan to do some huntin' tomorrow. You can come with me. Johnny too, if'n he's up to it. We need to be puttin' some meat on the table for supper. Now go do what you're s'posed to."
Anna reached to pat her son's shoulder. "Say your goodbye, hon. And let that cub go."
Jess nodded in resignation at his parents' decision and acceptance of their instructions. But he remained standing right where he was.
Luke gave Anna a quick hug and started for the barn. His command, cast back across his shoulder, was firm. "Right now, son."
"Yes, sir."
Turning away, with his thoughts focused on what he knew was required of him, Jess forgot to disguise the limp he'd been fighting for two days.
Anna didn't miss it. She put that scene together with the earlier wince.
"Jess, somethin' the matter with your leg? Or your foot painin' ya?"
"I'm fine, Ma."
He made sure to put his full weight equally on both legs as he finished the walk back to the shed, just in case Ma was still watching.
Jess pushed the door open and chuckled in delighted surprise as the cat happily leaped onto his chest and he caught the animal in a hug, noting the increased weight from the previous time the two had playfully wrestled. The smile faded, and he sighed as the cougar cub licked his cheek. Saying goodbye was hard. The last time he had had to do that it about ripped his heart out. When his baby sister had passed away six years earlier. He hoped he would never have to use the word again. Wasn't sure if he even could.
He spent a few minutes patting the cub, playing with it, and bidding a subdued 'vaya con Dios.' He watched sadly as Gatomigo circled around his legs for a while, swishing up against them as though saying his own farewell. Then the cat meandered through the yard a few times, as Jess watched, and finally it ran down a small hill, disappearing through the brush along the creek. Sad dark blue eyes followed every movement until the rustling of the tall grass ceased.
'''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''
Author's note:
Trying to keep a cougar cub as a pet was inspired by a scene in which Jess told Slim he had done that. Do you recall the episode?