Clockwork Cowboy

Chapter 12

White clouds skidded across an eggshell blue sky. In the distance Jese could see sharp snow capped mountains, rising heavenward. The soft green grass underfoot preventing the horses hooves from making any sound. Only the creak of metallic spats could be heard.

Nova rode in front of him in silence. She'd given her horse its head, and the black mare had set a fast pace. Her hair flowed behind her like a revolutionary flag.

"Did you hear that?" She called over her shoulder, before drawing her horse to a halt. She turned to him, her cerulean blue gaze stopping him in his tracks.

They'd come abreast of a wide river. The water charged through the rapids dragging debris onward at breakneck speed. Jese reined in in his mount in he listened intently. "It's a pup."

The fearful whines of distress were barely audible. Confusion tugged his brows together. He hadn't seen or heard another soul about, and for the life of him he couldn't discern where the noise was coming from.

"What is that over there?" Nova dismounted and made her way to the side of the river, where a hessian sack had become tangled in the undergrowth of a Willow tree. Snapping a nearby branch, Nova managed to hook the bag with it and drag it toward the bank.

The strangest combination of yelping and clanking brass bits assailed her ears. Nova untied the sack with trepidation. There, amidst its four dead siblings, was a tiny puppy hacking up water.

"You poor little mite!" Nova scooped the puppy out. Only then noticing the brass contraptions that had replaced the pup's amputated legs. "Oh God!" She felt her stomach heave. "Some creep has been tampering with these animals." His dead litter mates had all fallen victim to a psychopath.

Jese was beside her in a moment, inspecting the mechanical components. "Can it walk?"

She placed the pup on all fours, but it soon wobbled and crashed earthward. "Who would do this to an animal?" Her voice wobbled with controlled rage.

"Someone hoping to make their fortune. There is always someone out there that would spend his money on a novelty purchase."

"What were they thinking? Even if it had worked - momentarily - the poor thing would have outgrown them. What breed is this?" She lifted the pup to eye level. "A kelpie coyote cross?"

"It's a mongrel alright," Jese said. He stood up. "I should put it out of its misery quickly."

A mixture of horror and anger greeted him. "What is wrong with you?"

"The thing can't move. It is the kind thing to do."

"His tail is wagging... did your sight go missing at the same time your soul did?"

"I can't remember," he said tonelessly. A momentary look of compassion crossed her features, which had him worrying that he too would be added to her overflowing menagerie of wounded animals. If she thought she could rehabilitate him then she was completely deluded. He was a lost cause.

"He is coming with me."

"Why?"

"I can help him. And who knows? Maybe one day he will be able to help me."

He laughed loudly. "You expect an immobile dog to protect your house? Perhaps he will... if all intruders are polite enough to make themselves known to him."

"He won't be immobile for long. Then, who knows? Maybe he'll help work the cattle."

"If he has a mix of Coyote he'll be too primitive to train."

"I'll be the judge of that." Nova squeezed the moisture out of the pups fur, glancing about in suspicion. "Someone must have just passed through. He's not miserable enough to have been in the bag for long."