Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1945-11-02
CHAPTER XVI


"Tn sell them at Doc Horner's
auction, in Setonville, Pennsylva-
MA"
"When?"
"He has two sales a year, one in
the third week of September, one in
May"
do you expect to make profit
on them?"
The man grinned. II sure will.
Those are fine horses"
'Do fine horses bring prices at
Horner's sales?"
II 60 around buying up horses
at country auctions. I collect a car
load of them a couple of times
year and sell them there" The man
reached into his pocket and brought
out bunch of cards. He shuffled
them through, picked out one and
gave it to Rob. "And they do bring
prices. That's hunting communi-
ty. And polo. Horsey, you know
people of wealth. Horner collects
really good stuff and they bring
good prices"
''What will you get for those
horses you bought-the two blues, for
instance?"
The man shrugged. otis pretty
hard to say. There's always an
element of gamble in horse-trading
you know-but that's a nice little
pair-they'd be nice for couple
of little girls-so gentle and pref
ty-"
eyes. How much?"
"I'd be surprised if I got less
than four hundred for the pair-if
just the right buyer is there, six
hundred"
"And big geldings? Polo ponies?"
"Ah-thoSe are the ones you real
ly get prices for. I've seen polo
pony-experienced, you understand
bring two thousand dollars. But
that's not every day."
"You must know, in round fig
ures, about what it costs to ship
horses from this district to Penn
sylvania-say two carloads-about
twenty-four horses to a car"
They did some figuring. 1t would
cost in the neighborhood of five or
six hundred dollars.
Howard had two new suits.
Rob Mclaughlin always said,
"Get them clothes that will show
every spot-that'll learn 'em!"
One of the suits was a dark blue
serge guaranteed to show every
spot. It was double-breasted. When
it was on Howard, buttoned around
him, he was hardly bigger than a
young tree, but Ken felt his dignity
and was awed.
The other suit was a silvery gray
tweed, very becoming to Towards
slick black hair and good color. Both
boys had fine skins; smooth, honey
tan and rosy. Both had blue eyes,
but here was the difference-the
changing shadows of Ken's, the
bright, unwavering stare Of How
ards.
Ken stared at Towards new tan
oxfords. They looked like his ia
theirs. How could they be so big!
How could Howard be so tall! Ken
stood in the middle of the room on
one leg, breathing heavily. How
could there have come, suddenly,
this great difference between him
self and Howard, so that he felt re-
spectful? He looked down at HIM
self. He was too small to count.
Well, Howard had only done this
shooting up in the last year-there
was still time.
The most impressive moment was
| hot
The nearly six feet of his slender
height had done nothing to his head
and face. The head was so small
you wondered at it up there, and
the face was the face of a little boy.
Topped by the Fedora hat! Nell
had to turn away to hide her laugh
ter.
Ken began to feel very close to
life with Howard going away like
this. The Fedora-the long blue suit
the huge Oxfords-life was an
enormous hollow to the right side of
him. 1t was as big as the world. 1t
was gray and filled with darker
gray clouds, swirling about. Often
he turned his head and looked into
it.
Howard going away to West
Point! Well, almost West Point.
He'd learn how to walk the West
Point walk. All their lives it had
been fun-it had been an exciting
stunt to get their father to walk the
West Point walk for them. When
they begged him to do it and at
first he paid no attention and then
suddenly stood up and then stepped
out, it always struck them dumb.
You could feel something at the
roots of your hair. At times he had
tried to teach it to them-right foot
and left arm and shoulder forward
left foot and right arm and shoulder
forward-the knees lifted high Gust
for practice) feet going in circle
like the curving trot of a horse. But
It was like trying to command the