When Grnadfather Journeys Into Winter Read Online Free Page B

the
black stallion.
    "Let us hope Fat Elk has good luck," said
Tayhua.
    Fat Elk slid down on the horse's back and
nodded that he was ready. The men holding the stallion agains the fence dropped the gate and
jumped back quickly to avoid getting trampled. The horse burst away from the side of the corral
with such terrific force that Fat Elk went head over heels backwards off the back of the
horse.
    "One and a half seconds," said Little
Thunder. "That's not too lucky, is it?"
    Tayhua grinned as Fat Elk got to his feet
and slowly limped toward the side of the corral. "Just about anybody could last that long even
with the saddle put under the horse."
    Blue Houseroof was the next rider. He was
tall and well muscled. He was skilled in the riding of broncos and had ridden in many rodeos
throughout the states and often taken top honors. If anyone could ride this black stallion, it
would be Blue Houseroof.
    "Now we shall see a ride!" said Tayhua, but
he was mistaken.
    Blue Houseroof lasted only a few seconds. A
high leap, a frantic whirl and an explosive side kick, and Blue Houseroof sailed over the corral
fence. He landed with a big splash in a long wooden horse-watering trough. Everybody started
laughing at this strange sight.
    Tayhua slapped his thigh and laughed so hard
he was in danger of losing his seat on the top rail.
    Little Thunder was laughing, too.
    Even Blue Houseroof was laughing as he stood
up in the horse trough and put his hat on. It was full of water, and it streamed down his face.
He spat water out of his mouth in a little stream and took a comic bow. This just made everybody
laugh all the harder.
    "That is one very fine horse," said Tayhua.
"When I was your age, I had such a horse as that one. Full of wildfire and free-blowing prairie
wind, that horse. He threw me over every fence in Indian country before I got him tamed. That is
the kind of horse you should have."
    Tayhua got a strange look in his eye. He
started climbing off the fence. "I think I've got me an idea."
    Little Thunder looked worried. "Grandfather,
that horse doesn't look..." He stopped talking unable to say what he wanted to say for fear of
hurting Tayhua's feelings. "Maybe you shouldn't try to ride him because..."
    Tayhua put his hands on his hips and stared
at his grandson with a fierce, angry pride. His shoulders went back and his back stiffened and
Little Thunder could tell that Tayhua was not pleased.
    "I hope my grandson wasn't going to say
something about how I might get hurt and all that kind of nonsense, that scared-mouse
noise."
    Little Thunder gulped. "After you finish
riding the horse down, can we get something to eat? I'm starving!"
    Tayhua lit up like a Christmas tree in a
store window. Tayhua had said exactly the right thing. He smiled his biggest smile at his
grandson and made a hand gesture that said very plainly, "Everything is gonna be all
right."
    Tayhua walked across the center of the
corral and went toward the white man who owned the horse. He placed himself directly in front of
Wilson Tanner, who stood leaning behind the corral rails. Tanner was chunkily built, with a body
that once might have been well muscled but now ran to fat. His western clothes were tailor-made
and the cigar he held clamped between his teeth was the expensive kind.
    No more riders seemed willing to try riding
the big black stallion. The men held him against the fence once more, but no one had made a move
to climb the fence and get on the horse.
    Tanner took the cigar out of his mouth. "Do
something for you, old man?"
    "I want to ride your horse," said Tayhua
calmly.
    Wilson Tanner ran his hand along the side of
his jaw, eyeing the old man with astonishment. He broke out in rude laughter.
    "Whooooooeee!" said Tanner, slapping the leg
of his pants with his white stetson hat. "You can't be serious! That horse will throw you right
into the old-age home and halfway into next week!"
    "I said I wanted to ride him,"