Young Hayes Knows His Business
Young
Hayes Knows His Business
From the West they came,
Just the two, but capable.
It was seen in their easy surety,
It was seen in their carriage,
It was seen in the wear of their weapons.
Sheriffs they were, or something like,
Though they bore no sigil,
They felt of Law,
And it seemed like they could deal it.
So went the talk in the tavern,
Though not in their presence.
Old Man Hayes was seen speaking to them,
No one questioned,
He was as close to an authority as they had,
And his horses were well kept.
The next morning grand-nephew Hayes went riding,
With him the men from the West.
Out toward the causeway it seemed,
Where ruffians had been encamped some months,
Using the narrow canyon that led for defense.
Their work was to harry the town and its folk,
And they worked it often.
As the sun moved to its bed,
The three came riding,
Two men and the boy,
With jests passed between,
And camaraderie evident.
That night the lad was invited into the tavern
Shocking his mother,
But given the approving glance from the Old Man.
The westerners fed him well,
And he quaffed even a small flagon of the good ale with
them.
At eve’s end, they spoke to him solemnly,
And he understood well.
Even the mother looked proud.
In the morning, the youth tapped quietly at their door,
But they had readied earlier,
And all three once again rode.
Two for the causeway,
But Young Hayes to the upper pastures.
There he gave over a heavy coin to the herder,
Who felt no unease - Young Hayes knew his business,
And he knew a powerful thirst.
He did not mark the cattle moving behind him,
The tavern was most in his eye.
Young Hayes knew his business,
And he knew these parts,
And he knew what was expected of him,
And he knew the outlaws were still abed.
They cattle went before him,
Balking some at the entrance to the canyon.
That was good,
Nervousness would serve.
Now Young Hayes goads the borrowed mount,
Now the cattle jostle and shove,
Now their panic sets in.
The stampede catches the looter off-guard,
They have time enough to run –
Into the waiting Sheriffs’ drawn weapons.
What battle ensues is short, bloody,
And a loss for the fleeing robbers.
The next morning Old Man Hayes
Got a fair price for his best mount.
The next morning the western men rode off.
The next morning Young Hayes rode off,
Rode west,
To complete his training.
Cliff Lake 8/1/2024
Copyright © Clifford Lake 2024
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