Western Short Story : Maggie and the Hoot Owl
71This Hub is Part Two of a three-part collaboration between Will Starr, Ghost32, and Wayne Brown.
Part One: Maggie May McAllister by Will Starr
Part Two: Maggie and the Hoot Owl by Ghost32
Part Three: Maggie May McAllister: Sacred Ground by Wayne Brown
Alternative Part Three: Maggie's Revenge by Ghost32
Tracker
The trail would have been invisible to the average soil tiller, but Pa had taught me well. Even the other farmers, those who mocked us behind our backs, knew me only as Tracker McAllister, the halfbreed kid who could follow wind over water.
Except I wasn't a kid any more. Not these days.
They had some start, them Scruggs did, and there was also some doubt about their numbers. Ma was confident there'd been at least three, but there could have been more. She just couldn't be sure. I had to move fast, but no rushing, never any blind panic. If they'd already had their way with Maggie May--oh God, that rhymed, get it out of my head! If they'd...done it, there was nothing for it. I had to do this right or not at all.
Still, checking out the gun rig and gathering my traveling pack didn't take more than a few minutes. I was on my way. The holstered iron hanging on my hip was both reassuring and bothersome, dragging down on that side. I shifted it around some until it finally seemed to find a home in crossdraw position, over in front of the other hip, riding up kind of high but easy to fetch. It had turned out to be a .36 Navy cap and ball, maybe even the one Pa was packing when he served in the War.
I'd had to load the gun, of course. The first time I'd ever done that by myself with a revolver, but I thought I'd done it right. Sure as Hell hoped I'd done it right.
Ma always said she'd never seen another traveling gait quite like mine, neither a trot nor a sprint but something she called a jog-lope. Made it up, that word. Ma did things like that. Whatever the word for it, I could cover thirty miles a day that way, day in day out, or fifty miles in a single run if I could rest after.
I was on the fifty mile pace.
There was a half moon that night or I'd have had to stop; not even Tracker McCallister could follow a worthless band of Scruggs through deep woods without some light. If there was a silver lining to Maggie May's cloud right now, though, it was hiddden in the very same Scruggs worthlessness that had led to her abduction. They'd be passing a jug of rotgut around, cussing each other, maybe fighting fist and foot over who was going to be first to ravish their stunning captive.
It might--just maybe--give me time enough.
I found their camp, if you could call it that, just at moonset. Their fire was too large by half...and every inbred, sister-mating, lowlife, baby stealing Scruggs in the party was staring right into the flames. All but one, the half-drunk, crosseyed hulk they'd actually (and surprisingly) assigned to sentry duty. That one--Pete, if I remembered his name correctly--was staring up at where the moon had once been. Without blinking.
Forever.
Maggie May was there, all right, her blue gingham dress torn in a couple of places. Didn't look to be all that much worse for wear, though being tethered with her back to a tree like that, it was hard to be sure. Her head was up, anyway, and as I inched closer to the little clearing where they were all arguing, drinking, cussing, and farting, I could see the look in her eyes.
It made me smile...the sort of smile you see on a rabid wolf before he tears your throat out. If brains had been gunpowder, not one of them Scruggs would've had enough to blow his nose or they'd all have have been scared half to death of Maggie May's eyes. She shifted her gaze a little when she heard the hoot owl, though, and those blue-green eyes changed just a bit.
When the scalp of their erstwhile sentry dropped out of nowhere and landed in their fire, filling the night air with the stench of burning human flesh and hair, the eyes on them Scruggs boys changed,too.
Considerably.
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Well done Fred! It's fun to see what path is taken by someone else.
It is, isn't it? I can't wait to see Wayne's ending.
I only had one real glitch: I'd missed entirely the fact that Pa was alive and well in Waterloo, so I'd killed him off in the War! Had to go back after sending Wayne the first draft and fix that--changed it to say he'd served rather than kicked the bucket.
Been thinking, if this works out overall, maybe we could think about doing one of these periodically? Monthly, or some such. I need to keep a fair chunk of my writing calendar clear for the political wars, but all work and no play....
How fun. Thank you. I want more!
Maggie May sat quietly hoping her kidnappers would forget about her. They had tied her to a tree a little ways away from their campfire which gave her time to attempt to free herself without the scrutiny of their gazes. As the Scruggs continued to drink their whiskey Maggie May kept busy with twisting her wrists to free them from the confines of the rope that dug into her soft skin that was now torn, bleeding, and blistered. Ma and Pa, especially Ma, had taught her well about men and their evil ways. Ma sure knew the scoundrels from the gentlemen and from an early age knew Maggie May needed lessons in both.......
Love this story guys, can't wait for more!!!
MM
What a beautiful start to my day. Great job on Part 2 Fred. It is going to be very interesting to see what Wayne Brown has in store for us in Part 3. I really appreciate you guys doing this. You each have unique writing styles and this is truly a marriage made in heaven.
good job. I envision and ending, I wondeer if it will be close to the real one.
Just another day int the west,scalp a few no-goods and get your sister back,intense and awesome Ghost32.;)
Great story ...
I have a hunch Tracker McAllister will have a new rhyme in his head after all is said and done. Something like:
Maggie May is now oh-kay
McAllister did save the day.
And a question ... is it possible to live through a scalping?
Really enjoyed this second chapter - well done!
Awesome Job Ghost :) I cant wait either!! I sure Hope Wayne gets Maggie May in Mommas arms again.
Enjoying this enormously... Bit of a culture shock. Most of our inbred, sister-mating, lowlife, baby stealing people live south of Croydon..
Engaging story with good continuity between Will and Ghost- I'm hooked!
Well dun Fred, a smooth transition from Will to you and a great breaking point for Wayne to fall into, dusty voted up
mslizzee: You're likely to get your wish--it's looking like Mike (Old Poolman) really stirred something up when he instigated this collaboration.
Maggie-May: Ah, the evil ways of men! And you should know, being Maggie-May her stunning self....
dahoglund: I'm thinking we're all kind of wanting to see how it turns out.
Mentalist acer: Thanks. Only one's been scalped so far; we'll see if more of 'em face that fate when Wayne uncovers the rest of the story.
Jim: Yes, it is. Been done. No fun, though, and plenty of opportunity for infection.
SilverGenes: Appreciate it. Not speaking for Will or Wayne, but this is my first-ever collaboration. Turned out to be a little less scary and a lot more fun to do than I'd have thought.
MindyJGirl: Worthy goal, no question. Just had a stray thought--exactly WHY is Pa in Waterloo? Huh. That's another story, perhaps....
Twilight Lawns: ROFLMAO! Bit less of a culture shock for me. One of my ancestors was actually hung as a horse thief, and another rode out from the family ranch in territorial Montana an hour before the Marshals rode in looking for him. The family never saw him again.
Cat on a soapbox AND Dusty: Will's chapter was so well done, his story flowed right on through my keyboard and pretty much wrote itself. Couldn't have bungled it unless I tried really, really hard. Thanks for the vote up!
Mike: I wasn't ignoring your latest comment--just wanted to set my response off separately as a way of saying, "Thanks for putting us up to this." I don't know about it being a "marriage made in heaven" exactly--LOL!--but it's looking like that inspiration you had was sure enough a "true vision".
Fred, all of you did an outstanding job on this story. I was amazed at how three different minds handled the same situation. I for one enjoyed the heck out of the read and appreciate the time and effort all of you contributed. Judging by the comments others liked it as well.
Say howdy to Pam for me.
Ah, the plot thickens Mike put all ya'all up to it! Great idea!
I did hear Maggie Mae was a little unsavory.......
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n6CTBMlu1PA
ha ha 50
Mike: Pam says Hi back.
50 Caliber: I'd not seen/heard this--thanks!
Oh - good writing here - all away around - onto part 3.
This is a great Western story. I've enjoyed both chapters, off to read chapter three. I 'jest know Maggie May 'ain't been 'ruint. Hee
Enjoy Part Three, you two. I know I did.
Great story. Very suspenseful. I am off to read part 3.
Happy trails!
AMAZING HOW WELL YOUR CHAPTER AND WILL'S TIED TOGETHER!
THANKS
Okay Ghost, you kept my apetite, and built on some real entertainment. I'm off to see how Wayne bring this one home.
fun stuff.
I'm loving this. What a fabulous idea. Up and awesome!
The toughest part is getting all tickled at these comments...while still needing to remember not to spoil the ending for the next reader!
Very good chapter. There is a real air of authenticity for those of us who enjoy reading westerns. Thanks for sharing.
You're welcome--and thanks for commenting.
I think all three of you must be reincarnated from the Old West. You talk the talk and walk the walk.
Love this! Fantastic! Now I'm heading over to Wayne's ending. Great second installment!
Mike: Makes sense to me. For my part of it, I happen to consider that to be simple fact.
Plus, I was raised on a working ranch in Montana. In my younger years on the place, horsepower was still horsepower--horse drawn mower, loose hay stacks, plenty of pitchfork work, etc. Forked broncs, hit the pro rodeo circuit on both broncs and bulls for seven seasons. Hunted in the hills six ways from sunup. Lost myself in the mountains but walked out on my own. Lost two young town kids in the hills and tracked 'em down barely in time.
All I'm sayin' here is, from the West I experienced in this life to the Old West I experienced in other lives...just ain't that big of a jump.
cjv123: Tickles me every time, knowing what a treat you've got in store.
This a great idea, i'm looking forward to the conclusion. Keep up the good work boys.
Thanks; I'm thinking we will.
50! how did you put a link in the comments section??? I'll be happy to let an old dog show me new tricks.
Ghost32, great middle part. I love how he has that jog-alope gait that lets him cover 50 miles if he wants. Looking forward to the end.
And yeah, doing one of these a month as a collaboration between writers is a great idea. I am not sure if I'm brave enough to try that myself.
All you need to do to drop a link in a Comments box is copy and paste the URL; the HP programming does the rest.
About the jog-lope. I stole that term--from myself, that is. Used it as the primary traveling gait for a race of tall purple people on a purple planet with a purple-green sky (inspired originally by the hit song by Sheb Wooley [1958] titled The Purple People Eater).
Well I saw the thing comin' out of the sky
It had the one long horn, one big eye.
I commenced to shakin' and I said "ooh-eee"
It looks like a purple people eater to me.
Oh my, I overcomplicated it. I would insert html and that never works. Duuuuh. Thanks Ghost.
You're welcome!
Just stopping by for a few minutes from time away from the hub to give support to some of my favorite authors;
What can I say except Up and Awesome! :)
Thanks, Genna. I need to make the rounds of favorite authors, too--but think I'd best grab a nap first...:)
Lovely job so far guys. I am so surprised how well the story flows from Bill to you ghost. If the story hadn't all ready been seperated, I would of found it really difficult to establish the writer. Wayne has a challenge on his hands and I am away to read what he has written.
Bill's characters were easy to know and very articulate; I just wrote down what Tracker told me to say.
Right now, you're undoubtedly figuring out that Wayne was up to the challenge...and then some.
Nice continuation! Thank you. I'm off to read the rest. Keep up the good work!
And, Happy Trails to you! (Roy Rogers reference.)
I love the collaborative story project. It is something I would like to see Hubpages promote more of. Great story.
This one certainly started something. After the collaboration was completed, Will went back in, wrote his own versions of the 2nd and 3rd parts. Then C.Merritt did one, and now I've added my own alternative finish as well (Maggie's Revenge).
And it all began with a request from Old Poolman, like a lit match tossed in a pile of dry hay.
Great job. I feel like I am watching an old western movie
on to three!
voted upppp
That was the idea--Movie In Your Head! Glad you enjoyed it, and thanks for the Vote Up.
GRRR just when you have me hanging on every word... Damn.. Okay off to Wayne Brown.... You Dang Rabbits
Blame Old Poolman--he's the one what put us up to it!
Another page turner. Well done! You've got yourself a new follower
Thanks, BethanyLynn.
I just finished part one. I cannot believe I never read these. So good so far. I'm off to check out part 3. Voted up and shared. Great story - as usual!
This must have been one of the first stories I read. Still didn't know that I could comment. Beautiful story and definitely shared.
LABrashear: Welcome aboard! Wayne definitely does not disappoint in Part 3.
Becky: Welcome back! It was this collaboration plus repeated readings of Will's twist endings that in the end got me going in the genre.
Well, I am sure glad that he did. Your stories are awesome. It was this story that got me introduced to both Will and Wayne. Will is today's review and this story was featured, so expect some more.
Ah! That explains it.
Guess I'd best get to hopping over your way, see how those "features" are coming along. :)
Ghost32 Hub Author 14 months ago
Parts One and Two were published on March 19, 2011. Wayne Brown expects to add Part Three on March 20.