Creation Ranch 11

Chapter :  11  Leaving Rich

 

 

Hap slipped out onto the street and since no shot was ever fired he slipped away to the inn and to his mother’s room to get the rest of his things.  To his surprise his mother was waiting for him, or his father, he was unsure as he opened the door ever so slowly; a quarter of an inch at a time I suppose.

“Ma?” he said when he saw her standing on the other side of it smiling down at him where he crouched.  “What are you doing up?”

“Where’s your dad?” she asked sternly.

“He’s … he’s in that queers wagon I suppose.”

She put a hand to her heart and sighed as if allowing anxiety to deflate her system.

Hap looked at her like a dog staring at a snake; his head cocked fully to the right.

“He was afraid you wouldn’t go ahead with him on this con?”

All of Hap’s anger and fear of being caught for sure, all left him as he walked by his mother and collapsed on the couch.

“I took everything in sight this time.  He never told me about it.  I just discovered the two of them.  It was quite a shock, Ma?” he said as he emptied his pockets, his coat, and even his pants which were as full as the elastic sown in the bottom hem of them could allow without falling out.

“My!” she nearly shouted, “That much!  He must have taken that rich old lady for more than I thought and your daddy was after it all!  We’re rich!”  Then she looked at Hap who had expected his dad to be back by then, “We’re rich, Hap?  What could have you down?  You, you didn’t kill your pa did you?”

“I hit him hard, Ma!   Real hard; I hit him so hard he’s late coming here.”

“Do you mean …?  He might be … dead?” she said coming to the same conclusion Hap had.  Then she looked at Hap with surprising joy, “We are rich!” she yelled and sat down and hugged her son close to her bosom. 

Then she said, “Go get the wagon ready?  You and I are leaving.  Even if he’s only injured he’ll never find us.  You, Hap, you and I are going to Dacica!   We are going straight … well, you are anyway.  We’ll buy a house and settle in until some honest man decides to make me rich forever!” 

She stood and kissed her son atop the head and said, “Now go get the wagon ready.  I’ll pay the bill … we’ll be off.”

Therefore Hap was out the door smiling and unable to believe he had done well, even in accidentally (?) … killing his dad and looked back at the door to his mother’s room expecting to shake his head and move on.  But, there was a piece of paper lying on the floor in front of it instead this time, and a moment later and he saw Eli, the innkeeper’s son, slip down the bottom of the stairs.

“What were you doing up there you little sneak?” the innkeeper said.

“Nothing that would interest you, Hey,” Eli’s voice came back up the stairs.

Then when the innkeeper continued to object the boy, Eli, said, “Blaine,” and then there was silence for a second or more before Eli finished by saying, “See I told you we didn’t need to discuss it.”

Hap couldn’t believe his luck.  First he got rid of his dad, his mom loved it, and now he was in possession of a paper the innkeeper’s son was blackmailing his pa with.  But even then when he read the paper he was amazed as to whom the innkeeper really was, and decided not to exact any payment from Eli now, but merely to let him know somehow his little secret was safe with old Hap.

Moments later his mother came to the door.

“What’s that?” she asked looking at the paper.

“Just a piece of paper, Ma,” he said and tossed it on the stairs.  “But Ma, why are you going to pay the bill?  I’ll do it for you.  Don’t you trust me?”

She looked at him and then down the stairs before she said, “Okay here,” and she handed him plenty of money to take care of the bill and said, “What’s left you keep!” as she hurried down the stairs to the wagon.

Hap waited for her to disappear before he smiled, picked up the paper and went out to the wagon he had already filled with their stuff, but seeing Eli standing there with his hand out so to speak, Hap walked up to him and started to give him something but instead just said, “The innkeeper certainly is generous when you call him, Blaine, isn’t he?”

Eli was quickly worried.

“Don’t worry, Eli,” he said, “I’m sure our rooms were free all along, just be sure to call him by his real name when you tell him we didn’t feel like paying this time, okay?”

Eli nodded and looked worried anyway.  It seems he always does.  But especially whenever Hap’s around which Eli realized he would not be shortly.

Then Hap got into the wagon but his mother wouldn’t let him change from his raggedy old work clothes which he loved to wear when he was working and happened to have on when he visited Mr. Fancy D. Canter and his dad that same night.  He only gave in when he saw his mother was in her work clothes too now.  ‘I wonder whether anyone will even notice, let alone sympathize with us,’ he thought as he drove the horses away with a flick of his wrists, and a quick glance back at Eli, whom he caught digging frantically in his hip pocket.

“Bye!” he shouted to Eli with a wonderful smile.  “Good luck with that pocket!”

Eli straightened his pocket and smiled, but only to see Hap go, knowing his secret was safe until they came back.