The case of the monster.., p.7
The Case of the Monster Fire,
p.7
“Sally May is putting together a box of groceries.”
“Tell her I need a can of coffee, fifty cans of mackerel, and ten pounds of frozen turkey necks. She can feed the rest to the dogs.”
Viola rolled her eyes. “Bachelors.”
He found an envelope with no writing on it. He opened it and pulled out six fifty-dollar bills. “What’s this?”
“It looks like cash.”
“Who’s it from?”
“Santa Claus, I guess.”
“Not Woodrow.”
“Maybe.”
“He doesn’t even like me.”
“You exaggerate. With Daddy, it’s hard to tell sometimes.”
“I’m not used to taking charity.”
She parked her hands on her hips. “Well, mister, you’d better practice up. They’ve started a fund at the bank and checks are coming in from all over the place. In the Texas Panhandle, if you don’t want charity, don’t let your house burn down.”
He shook his head and gazed off into the distance. “I don’t know what to say.”
She went to the pickup and brought out a cassette tape player. “I want you to listen to a song by an Amarillo group, Comanche Moon.”
“Viola, I really ought to…”
“Shhh. Your boss and the cattle can wait. Sit down and listen.”
They sat down and she started the tape.
Together In This
When you come back home to a burned out house
You’re shuffling through the ashes, feeling broke and turned out;
When you don’t know where you’re gonna go when the night comes
You’ve got your friends and your family standing by your side.
And we’ll be the ones you hold onto, the ones you know are always there.
We’ll be the melody you’re humming that goes, “I am not alone, we’re gonna be together in this.”
When you’re growing old and the lights are getting dim
And you have to go to funerals just to see a friend
Feels like you’re tilting at windmills every time you open your mouth
Well it’s not too late to dream a dream for what you love; it’s not too late to find someone who’ll be there when you need it,
Someone that you can hold onto, someone you know is always there;
Who’ll be the melody you’re humming that goes, “I am not alone, we’re gonna be together in this.”
People say that we die alone, but we don’t have to live that way
‘Cause in the soul of everyone is the need to believe and to give.
So when you’re sitting at your table with the ones that you love
Remember the ones who’ve gone before you and the ones who are alone
Try to give a hand to one who needs it, say a word for one who cannot speak
Give a thought for the ones who are forgotten.
Doesn’t matter if they’re living right, don’t wait for them to reach out if they need
Someone that they can hold onto, someone they know is always there;
You can be the melody they’re humming that goes, “I am not alone, we’re gonna be together in this.”
Viola shut off the tape and they sat in silence for a while. Slim said, “That’s mighty fine. Where’d you run into it?”
“They were playing it on the radio yesterday morning as a tribute to all the fire victims. I thought it said a lot. We’re together in this.”
“Thanks for playing it. And thanks for the breakfast too.”
She laid a hand on his shoulder. “Slim, in all of Texas history, there has never been a report of a banker eating a cowboy. Try to remember that.”
He smiled. “That’ll get me through the day.” He stood there for a minute, moving his feet around, then swooped down and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks again. Come on, dogs!”
Slim and I loaded into his pickup. Drover was a no-show until he heard the pickup door slam, and here he came like a little bottle rocket. Slim let him in and he took his spot in the middle of the seat.
He said, “I sure didn’t want to get left. Last time I stayed at the house, it burned down.”
And so we launched ourselves into another day of Life After the Fire: loading hay, feeding cattle, clearing rubble, and repairing miles of burned fence. People showed up to help and brought food, clothes, and more hay. Slim and Viola got their heifers back, donated by ten nice people who didn’t give their names, and all of us started life all over again.
I guess that’s about the end…wait, we have one more detail. The day after the fire, Sally May still couldn’t find her cat. She looked everywhere and walked out into the pasture, calling his name. Night came and no cat.
The next day, I was supervising the men whilst they loaded hay, and who do you suppose showed up like flies at a picnic? The cat. Pete. He came sliding down the north side of the pickup, rubbing the tires, purring like a little chainsaw, and smirking, of course. Always smirking, that’s the cat.
In his annoying whiny voice, he said, “Well, well, it’s Hankie the Wonderdog! How was your fire?”
Was I glad to see the little pestilence? Let’s be honest. I felt a tiny particle of gladness, but you don’t need to blab it around. Let’s just say that I had mixed feelings, and leave it there.
We all survived the fire, is the point, and this case is closed.
Further Reading
Have you read all of Hank’s adventures?
1 The Original Adventures of Hank the Cowdog
2 The Further Adventures of Hank the Cowdog
3 It’s a Dog’s Life
4 Murder in the Middle Pasture
5 Faded Love
6 Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
7 The Curse of the Incredible Priceless Corncob
8 The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse
9 The Case of the Halloween Ghost
10 Every Dog Has His Day
11 Lost in the Dark Unchanted Forest
12 The Case of the Fiddle-Playing Fox
13 The Wounded Buzzard on Christmas Eve
14 Hank the Cowdog and Monkey Business
15 The Case of the Missing Cat
16 Lost in the Blinded Blizzard
17 The Case of the Car-Barkaholic Dog
18 The Case of the Hooking Bull
19 The Case of the Midnight Rustler
20 The Phantom in the Mirror
21 The Case of the Vampire Cat
22 The Case of the Double Bumblebee Sting
23 Moonlight Madness
24 The Case of the Black-Hooded Hangmans
25 The Case of the Swirling Killer Tornado
26 The Case of the Kidnapped Collie
27 The Case of the Night-Stalking Bone Monster
28 The Mopwater Files
29 The Case of the Vampire Vacuum Sweeper
30 The Case of the Haystack Kitties
31 The Case of the Vanishing Fishhook
32 The Garbage Monster from Outer Space
33 The Case of the Measled Cowboy
34 Slim’s Good-bye
35 The Case of the Saddle House Robbery
36 The Case of the Raging Rottweiler
37 The Case of the Deadly Ha-Ha Game
38 The Fling
39 The Secret Laundry Monster Files
40 The Case of the Missing Bird Dog
41 The Case of the Shipwrecked Tree
42 The Case of the Burrowing Robot
43 The Case of the Twisted Kitty
44 The Dungeon of Doom
45 The Case of the Falling Sky
46 The Case of the Tricky Trap
47 The Case of the Tender Cheeping Chickies
48 The Case of the Monkey Burglar
49 The Case of the Booby-Trapped Pickup
50 The Case of the Most Ancient Bone
51 The Case of the Blazing Sky
52 The Quest for the Great White Quail
53 Drover’s Secret Life
54 The Case of the Dinosaur Birds
55 The Case of the Secret Weapon
56 The Case of the Coyote Invasion
57 The Disappearance of Drover
58 The Case of the Mysterious Voice
59 The Case of the Perfect Dog
60 The Big Question
61 The Case of the Prowling Bear
62 The Ghost of Rabbits Past
63 The Return of the Charlie Monsters
64 The Case of the Three Rings
65 The Almost Last Roundup
66 The Christmas Turkey Disaster
67 Wagons West
68 The Secret Pledge
69 The Case of the Wandering Goats
70 The Case of the Troublesome Lady
71 The Case of the Monster Fire
About the Author and Illustrator
John R. Erickson, a former cowboy, has written numerous books for both children and adults and is best known for his acclaimed Hank the Cowdog series. The Hank series began as a self-publishing venture in Erickson’s garage in 1982 and has endured to become one of the nation’s most popular series for children and families. Through the eyes of Hank the Cowdog, a smelly, smart-aleck Head of Ranch Security, Erickson gives readers a glimpse into daily life on a cattle ranch in the West Texas Panhandle. His stories have won a number of awards, including the Audie, Oppenheimer, Wrangler, and Lamplighter Awards, and have been translated into Spanish, Danish, Farsi, and Chinese. USA Today calls the Hank the Cowdog books “the best family entertainment in years.” Erickson lives and works on his ranch in Perryton, Texas, with his family.
Gerald L. Holmes is a largely self-taught artist who grew up on a ranch in Oklahoma. He has illustrated the Hank the Cowdog books and serial stories, in addition to numerous other cartoons and textbooks, for over thirty years, and his paintings have been featured in various galleries across the United States. He and his wife live in Perryton, Texas, where they raised their family, and where he continues to paint his wonderfully funny and accurate portrayals of modern American ranch life to this day.
John R. Erickson, The Case of the Monster Fire
