THE OLD COWBOY Part Twenty Five
(continued)

"Then he turned and bucked and snorted an' pawed the ground and' snorted again. He looked at me an' I looked at him and' waited for the longest second of my life. Then I turned to get my bearnin's and' in that split second he lunged for me. I was never so glad as to see that clown jump across my path.

When that bull came towards me I turned to run an' a cowboy rode up an' gave me a lift out of the middle of the arena to the side. While he was doin' that, a couple more good cowhands cleared that bull out of out of the arena. When I saw him go in that pen I breathed a whole lot easier."

"Well Grandpa just how big would you say that bull was?"

"He was one of the biggest I've ever seen. They said he'd stomped a feller to death the year before. And the year before that when he still had horns, he used them horns to throw a cowhand over the chutes. The poor fella wound up with a dent in his head and three broken ribs, and a broken right arm. I'll tell ya Grandboy the man was never the same after he recovered.

When they told me who he was, I'd know him. I'd ride over to the 'katy' (KYT) ranch. The straw boss had me pick up leather goods, and eggs and some other things we couldn't always get in town. I'd seen that fella walkin' around in circles, or tryin' to rope a fence post.

The boss said he was the ranch owners son. He told me his doctors had said he'd be like that the rest of his life. He didn't seem to know where he was, or care that he was there.

Poor fella. I decided I wouldn't ever ride another bull, as long as I had my health, as long as I lived. I gained a new respect for the bulls. Even out...

To Be Continued. . .