Chapter 15

I looked at Lisa, and then said, “The first order of business today is to get us some sentinels.”

She looked at me strangely, and then asked, “Sentinels? You mean like guards?”

I laughed and then said, “Lisa, we need to know if’n anyone is gonna be nosin’ around here. So we’re gonna go visit Chris Asper and see if’n I can borrow a few mules from him.”

“Mules! What are you going to do with them?”

I chuckled, “Lisa, there ain’t nothin’ more nosy that I know of than a mule. They hear somethin’ or smell somethin’ they don’t recognize they have a habit of makin’ a lot of racket.”

Lisa nodded her head, “If you say so, Amos.”

We got ourselves dressed without too much playin’ around and were out the door by seven-thirty.

I made sure that both of us had rifles, and were carryin’ pistols. Yah, just never know when somethin’ was gonna happen.

I’d hitched up the double trailer and took it with us. We arrived at Chris’s place about ten minutes later.

Chris is a strange old fella. He and my dad were friends. Chris were still roamin’ the hills lookin’ for gold. I guess he found enough to keep hisself fed, but it sure weren’t enough for a decent place to live in. He had an ol’ shack up a draw that mostly broke the winter wind, and almost kept the rain out. But, it had to be colder than a well digger’s ass in the wintertime.

Chris had hisself about a half dozen mules. I ain’t got no idea what he used `em for, but one thing was for certain, they sure were a cantankerous bunch of critters. He kept `em in a pasture ‘long side his house, and when we pulled in to his yard, he was out feedin’ `em.

“Morning Chris,” I said, gettin’ out of my truck.

Lisa got out of the passenger side and came around to stand beside me.

Chris looked up and all you could see were his eyes and forehead. I don’t thin’ he had trimmed that beard of his in thirty years.

“Howdy Amos, who’s the purty lady you got with yah?”

I might as well spread the rumor, “She’s my girlfriend, name’s Lisa.”

Chris nodded his head towards Lisa and then asked, “What can I do for yah Amos, ain’t likely you come up her just to jaw.”

I laughed, and then said, “Well, I need a favor; I’d like to borrow a couple of your mules.”

Chris laughed, “I don’t recall you bein’ much on mules Amos, but if’n you need a couple take `em. You gonna feed `em good, I hope?”

“Yea I’ll get `em all fat an sassy fer yah.” I said with a laugh.

I pulled the trailer into the pasture and Chris and I loaded two mules into the trailer. When I had the gate closed Chris asked, “You need any tack?”

“Nope,” I responded, “I got everthin’ I need at my place. I’ll pro’lly only need `em a couple weeks or so.”

Chris nodded his head and headed back to finish breakin’ the hay bales apart for feed.

Once we had the mules in the trailer, they weren’t all that happy to be leaving their home. They started rasin’ a ruckus lettin’ us all know they weren’t too happy about being separated from the rest of their brethren.

When we got back to my place, I had Lisa help unload the mules from the trailer. I wanted `em to get used to havin’ her around. We finally got `em unloaded in the pasture, and it didn’t take too long for `em to settle down.