High Country : A Novel Read Free

him. She gave him some peanut-butter sandwiches she’d wrapped in brown paper. He put them in the saddlebags with his socks. He’d grown tall, but there was still no weight. He looked much too young to be leaving home.
    “You look older.” Mary’s hands were playing at her apron again. “Be careful. We don’t want you coming home in some new cast.”
He gave her an awkward hug and she felt his leanness through the jacket, the tightness of his body the only sign he gave her.
She went into the house after their dust settled, thinking she might have a cry. But somehow she couldn’t. She took off her apron and found a needle and set about sewing on the tie. It had broken loose again.
    Ty felt hollow on the ride into Missoula. He ate one of the sandwiches, feeling a little sad about what was behind him, a little worried about what was ahead. He wasn’t nervous about the work; he was just worried that Fenton Pardee wouldn’t stand still long enough to answer any questions. And Will wasn’t much help. He just drove, concentrating on the road as he smoked. It seemed to Ty his father looked more pessimistic than ever.
    His worries grew when they pulled up at the feed store and Horace Adams explained that Pardee was picking up mules north of Hungry Horse and couldn’t find anyone to meet Ty.
    “Don’t you fret.” Horace looked at Ty. “I’ll ship you out there with the lumberjacks.Won’t have to test that bad arm hitching.” He looked at Will. “He’s growed. Up but not out.” His eyes turned back to Ty, the kit bag, and the ragged jacket. “And you got your gear. That’s good. Gets cold as a witch tit in that country.”
    “Fenton will approve of your boy’s duffle,” Horace said to Will. “What won’t snug into them saddlebags he can fit in his pockets.” He led Ty over toward the secondhand tack. “Look at the saddles. Fenton needs some bad but claims I’m a robber if I want cash money.You best find one out there that won’t cripple you up if you’re in it for twenty hours. That’ll be one of the short days.”
    Ty saw that one was a Meana rig, broken in just right. He rubbed a hand along it, tried to focus on it, but his mind drifted. He wondered how far he had to go. How he’d find Pardee when he finally got close.
After awhile Will came over, looking better after talking with Horace.
    “Them lumber boys’ll get you out there,” he said. “Think I’ll slip over to the Elkhorn and get a bite before I head back. Wanna come along?”
“I got the sandwiches,” Ty said. “Guess I’ll wait. Hope I can find Mr. Pardee when I get close.”
“ Yo u’ll find him. Too goddamned big to miss. There ain’t a man woman or child up there don’t know who he is. Or has had to listen to him talk about his mules. Just don’t test that broke arm too soon. And learn the knots, if he’ll slow down to where you can see how he ties ’em.”
At the Elkhorn Will heard more bad news than he wanted to hear. And spent more money than he meant to spend. It was late when he finally left, so he didn’t bother stopping back by the feed store.
By that time Ty had eaten the other two sandwiches. He’d had plenty of opportunity to look at the Meana saddle too, which was rigged almost the way he’d rig one himself. He examined it again and again, looking up every time anyone came in the door.
    It turned out the men from the sawmill didn’t even come into town until the next day.Ty had to wait three more days before they were ready to go back to work at their mill below Crippled Elk Lake.
He didn’t see Will and Mary again until after the big Christmas snow.
2

One Way to Shoe a Mule
The lumberjacks were still drunk when they got to the feed store, which didn’t seem to bother Horace. He threw the Meana saddle in the pickup, saying if no one had the money to buy it, Fenton might as well keep it oiled until they did.
    “Got somethin’ else too.” He went back in and came out with a blanketlined canvas