The Cat

Slim went to bed about ten. Ranch life dictated early starts. As soon as the sun was up, the workday began. The chores had to be done, regardless of weather or if you were deathly ill. Horses had to be cared for, chickens fed. Most nights, Slim was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. He put in long hard days and sleep was usually the least of his worries.

Tonight, however, Slim couldn�t sleep. He lay in bed, staring into the darkness listening to the sounds of the night outside his window. The occasional nicker of a horse in the corral, the barking of a dog, the crickets that feasted on the mosquitoes at night.

Tonight his mind was occupied. He couldn�t put his finger on what was bothering him, but he was uneasy. Slim finally got up and went out to the living room and sat by the fire. As he was looking into the fire, he noticed that one of the stones on the right side of the hearth was loose. He stood and pushed it back into place. It was one of the stones that surrounded the secret hiding place on the side of the hearth.

Slim smiled and reached for the loose stones that covered the hidden hole where Jess kept his old six-shooter. Slim reached in and pulled it out. He knew Jess took it out every once in awhile to clean it, but Slim hadn�t seen it in years. He unwrapped the oilcloth and held the gleaming gun, turning it over in his hand. The balance was perfect, the trigger was filed, the bone handle was smooth and worn. Slim held it up and took a bead down the barrel. The site was perfectly aligned. Slim remembered the day that he and Jess had put this gun away. Jess was symbolically putting away his old life by taking off his gunfighter�s weapon. Jess hadn�t seemed to regret his decision. He had a hard adjustment at first, but over the years, he has settled in and become Slim�s best friend, and his business partner.

Slim carefully wrapped the gun back up and laid it into the cubby-hole. The thought came to him like a light illuminating the dark. It had been exactly five years, almost to the day, that Jess had come to live here. He remembered the day because it was a few days after Andy�s birthday, and he always noted it every year, mentally if not verbally. Jess was never a sentimental sort and he had never mentioned the day to anyone. Slim smiled and wondered if Jess even remembered.

Jess, That was what was had been on his mind. He hadn�t realized it until this moment. Jess had left before dawn this morning. He wasn�t due back until tomorrow night, so there was no reason for concern. Still, Slim had a feeling of unease. He moved over to the window and pulled back the white lace curtain. The cold from outside permeated through the glass. Slim noted that the outside temperature had dropped precipitously since dinnertime. The sky was light because of the full moon, and large clouds rolled across the sky. If the weather was turning here, what must it be doing up in the higher ranges?

Slim dropped the curtain which fluttered slightly from the wind leaking through the window frame. He stepped back over to the fireplace and put a log on, staring into the leaping flames, thinking of Jess and hoping he was warm in the line shack.