Read Horse With No Name for Free Online Page A

She pointed to a darkened
stripe that ran across the palm of the glove.
    "Reins," Walt said simply.
    Julia nodded, "Exactly."
    "Well," Walt took in a deep breath and stood
up straighter. He put his closed fists on his hips and arched into
them. "You'd best go talk to the Major-General," he said, meaning
Merrick. "He'll be wanting to know who set the boots to
Hunter."
    "He's not at his office. Do you know where he
is?"
    Walt jerked his head to his left, indicating
the building next door, which was the other half of his business,
the town livery. "Earl's got a bit o' a cough so he's ministering
to him. Babying him, more like." But he smiled as he said it.
Animals were one weakness of Walt's that Julia had noticed. He was
friend to every dog and horse in town. Even the backyard chickens
loved him. The three dogs of unknown origin who hung around the
blacksmith shop and livery all day were no exception. They watched
Walt's every move with the adoration of apostles.
    "Thanks." Julia turned to leave the darkness
and heat of the forge.
    Walt picked his hammer up off the chair.
"When he starts yelling I'll come and rescue you."
    "Rescue him, you mean," Julia said,
smiling.
     
    Big men need big horses, and Merrick's grey
gelding was no exception. Earl was, at minimum, seventeen hands
high and had feathered feet that were larger than Julia's head.
Like Merrick, he was intimidating to look at but as gentle as a
kitten when you got to know him. Merrick and his horse were a
matched pair; both strong, steady, with even tempers and endless
stamina. Earl was a little quicker to display affection,
however.
    When Julia poked her head over the half-door
and greeted the constable and his ailing animal, Earl gently pushed
Merrick out of the way and stepped over to greet her. He lifted his
head over the door so Julia could rub his nose and cheek and
whisper sweet nothings to him.
    Merrick let this go on for a few moments and
then asked, "Are you two about done?"
    Julia grabbed a carrot out of the basket at
the front of the livery. She broke it in half and held one piece of
it out to Earl on her flattened palm. The crunching noises that
issued from the big grey's mouth sent a frisson of pleasure through
Julia.
    Julia's own horse, Stanley, a paint horse
with intelligent eyes and a curiosity that was never satisfied,
just like his owner, poked his head out from his stall as well. His
mistress walked down the center aisle of the barn and gave Stanley
the other half of the carrot. With both horses happily munching,
Merrick came out of Earl's stall.
    He was wearing his usual dark suit, although
at the moment his jacket was off and hanging from a hook on a post
nearby. He had rolled up the sleeves of his shirt and was putting
the lid back on a tin of ointment that smelled strongly of menthol.
His vest was a little scrunched up and his hands looked a shiny
from the ointment. Merrick glowered at Julia briefly, but she
didn't take it personally. She had the sense she ruffled his
feathers somewhat. He turned and walked all the way down the aisle
to the tack room and disappeared inside. When he reemerged seconds
later he was rubbing his hands on an old piece of cloth, removing
the greasy liniment.
    "Is Earl okay?" Julia asked.
    "He'll be fine. He's just got a bit of a
cough. It's almost gone." Like most men, Earl was probably loathe
to admit he needed any special care. He withdrew his head back into
the stall when he recognized Julia was out of carrots.
    Julia came right to the point. "I found
something." She held the glove out to Merrick.
    The constable draped the cloth over the top
rail of an empty stall and took the glove from her. He was quiet,
turning it over just as Walt had done. Then he looked up at Julia,
a hint of amusement in his eyes, "It's a glove."
    She smiled. "Thank you for that."
    "What's significant about this?"
    "I found it at James Hunter's shop."
    "And it's not his." This was a statement, not
a question. "Just the one?"
    Julia nodded. "I