The Mopwater Files. John R. Erickson

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ and beauty and so forth, and would have done almost anything to help her out.

      You’ll notice that Slim and Loper were nowhere in sight. Bring out a shovel or a rake and those guys disappear. It’s like showing a cross to an umpire.

      They vanish like dewdrops in August.

      But there was Sally May, working and slaving in the hot sun; digging holes and planting tender little shrubberies and flowers around the yard fence. And what was the mainest threat to her tender little shrubberies and flowers and plants?

      Grasshoppers.

      You work and slave to put out your stuff, and the minute you walk away, the grasshoppers move in and start mowing ’em down. They’re a plague, a pestilence, a minutes to society, and they’ve been known to break the heart of many a courageous ranch wife.

      As Head of Ranch Security, I considered it my duty—nay, my privilege—to rush to the defense of my master’s wife and to protect her yard and greenery from all villains, monsters, and pests.

      And especially the hated grasshoppers.

      I was the first to arrive on the scene. I did a quick visual sweep and . . . hmmm, there was her cat lurking nearby. When our eyes met, he arched his back and hissed.

      Why? It had nothing to do with fear. Pete wasn’t smart enough to be afraid of a dog. No, he hissed out of sheer spite and jealousy. See, he thinks he’s Sally May’s precious kitty and he can’t stand the thought of sharing her attention with anyone else.

      So he hissed at me. Perhaps he thought this would throw me into an inflammation; that I would bark and give him the pounding he deserved, and that Sally May would rush to his defense.

      He thought, in other words, that he could use a cheap cat trick to get me in trouble with the lady of the house, but Pete had used that trick too often in the past and it happened that I was prepared for it.

      Hencely, instead of barking and causing a scene, I gave him a, shall we say, toothy smile. I thought that would be the end of it. I was wrong. It turned out to be just the beginning.

      Конец ознакомительного фрагмента.

      Текст предоставлен ООО «ЛитРес».

      Прочитайте эту книгу целиком, купив полную легальную версию на ЛитРес.

      Безопасно оплатить книгу можно банковской картой Visa, MasterCard, Maestro, со счета мобильного телефона, с платежного терминала, в салоне МТС или Связной, через PayPal, WebMoney, Яндекс.Деньги, QIWI Кошелек, бонусными картами или другим удобным Вам способом.

/9j/4TIkRXhpZgAATU0AKgAAAAgADAEAAAMAAAABC6UAAAEBAAMAAAABEggAAAECAAMAAAADAAAA ngEGAAMAAAABAAIAAAESAAMAAAABAAEAAAEVAAMAAAABAAMAAAEaAAUAAAABAAAApAEbAAUAAAAB AAAArAEoAAMAAAABAAIAAAExAAIAAAAgAAAAtAEyAAIAAAAUAAAA1IdpAAQAAAABAAAA6AAAASAA CAAIAAgAW42AAAAnEABbjYAAACcQQWRvYmUgUGhvdG9zaG9wIENTNS4xIE1hY2ludG9zaAAyMDEz OjAzOjE0IDE3OjE0OjQ2AAAEkAAABwAAAAQwMjIxoAEAAwAAAAEAAQAAoAIABAAAAAEAAAMgoAMA BAAAAAEAAATXAAAAAAAAAAYBAwADAAAAAQAGAAABGgAFAAAAAQAAAW4BGwAFAAAAAQAAAXYBKAAD AAAAAQACAAACAQAEAAAAAQAAAX4CAgAEAAAAAQAAMJ4AAAAAAAAASAAAAAEAAABIAAAAAf/Y/+IM WElDQ19QUk9GSUxFAAEBAAAMSExpbm8CEAAAbW50clJHQiBYWVogB84AAgAJAAYAMQAAYWNzcE1T RlQAAAAASUVDIHNSR0IAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAPbWAAEAAAAA0y1IUCAgAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARY3BydAAAAVAAAAAzZGVzYwAAAYQAAABs d3RwdAAAAfAAAAAUYmtwdAAAAgQAAAAUclhZWgAAAhgAAAAUZ1hZWgAAAiwAAAAUYlhZWgAAAkAA AAAUZG1uZAAAAlQAAABwZG1kZAAAAsQAAACIdnVlZAAAA0wAAACGdmlldwAAA9QAAAAkbHVtaQAA A/gAAAAUbWVhcwAABAwAAAAkdGVjaAAABDAAAAAMcl

СКАЧАТЬ