The Unknown
by Patricia Henry
Chapter Twenty Six
Jess was gone longer than expected. Both Jonesy and Slim glanced with curiosity as he left the cabin. But Jess said nothing as he mounted his horse.
�You tell Ronnie goodbye?�
�Yeah, he came in the cabin through the back door.�
�How about Gwen?�
Jess only nodded.
Slim said with a grin, �Well then let�s go home.�
�Prettiest words I ever heard,� Jess answered with his own grin.
�And the smartest words you�ll ever hear will come from your elders,� Jonesy advised as he sat in the buckboard, gathering the reins. �Remember I told you that something bad was going happen when you didn�t blow out all the candles on your birthday cake. I reckon next time you�ll listen to your elders and pay heed.�
�Jess, you know what I think was the worse thing that happened to you?� Slim asked.
�What�s that?� Jess tilted his head with interest. .
Slim replied, �That you had to give up Gwen�s good cooking and go back to eating Jonesy�s cooking. It don�t get much worse than that. Guess that�s the bad luck Jonesy�s been talking about you having.�
�Sure does seems the worst that could happen to a man,� Jess replied.
Jonesy�s face reddened. �Why you two...�
�We better get out of here,� Slim said with a laugh. �Before Jonesy comes up with some more advice.�
Slim and Jess started to race their horses away from the buckboard.
�Go ahead, boys,� Jonesy countered. �But when you get back to the ranch, you�re going to wish I was there cooking. Because until I get there you�re going to have to eat own cooking.�
Slim and Jess reined their horses to a stop.
�Well what are you waiting for?� Slim yelled at Jonesy.
�That�s right, I�m hankering for some of your good cooking,� Jess added. �Slap leather to those mangy horses!�
Jonesy chuckled. �Yes sir,� Jonesy mumbled to himself, �those boys are beginning to listen to their elders.�
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