In all my life, I never met a man who loved his horses as much as my brother. He'd ride them bareback with no bridle, simply nudging them along the way with a gentle push or pull of his legs – but never a kick – to tell the animal where to go. Oftentimes, too, he'd do some trick riding, sliding underneath the horse in mid gallop and then coming straight up all the way around to sit on the horse's back as if none were the wiser. He was a true connoisseur of the breed, that cannot be denied.
So it goes without saying that he was visibly outraged when a local ne'erdowell of the village of Five Points by the name of Harry Godfrey stole my brother's last and best horse, a stallion named Iceberg and then sold it to the highest bidder. He took Harry to court at which Harry was fined the high sum of five dollars for horse thievery – a fine he paid off by borrowing it from another fellow at the courthouse with his “No shucks” manner. Unfortunately, however, my brother's horse was never recovered seeing as how the man Harry had sold the horse to had straightaway sold it to another who then left Lowndes County for points unknown.
To put matters to further shame, on my brother's way out of the courthouse Harry tried to hitch a ride back to Five Points via my brother's old beatup pickup truck.
“Sorry, Harry,” my brother said. “You'll have to find your own way home.”
My brother was then further dismayed when he got back to the ranch and discovered that Harry had forged his name on yet another transaction that yielded Harry a profit of $ 30 and no little loss to my brother.
“That's all right,” my brother said when the bank called. “Our problems are a lot greater than $ 30 dollars.”
Yes, that's my brother, heart of gold, loves his animals. Still manages to get by on a little common sense and will power. I love the hell out of him to this day.
But he never in his life owned another horse after the one that Harry stole. And Harry? I hear he's tending bar in Lowndesboro. Still has a winning smile even if he's fresh out of luck. Don't you worry, though. Guys like Harry always get by though I've yet to figure why. It's just their nature.
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