The Jeweled Spur (7 page)

Now as Laurie pulled the straw from her hair she laughed. “I guess they’ll know I’m just a country girl even if I get this straw out.”

“Naw, you just bust right into that ol’ college and bat them big eyes of yours at them teachers. You’ll win the whole shebang.”

Laurie smiled at Monroe, then moved to the passenger car, where she washed her face and made herself as presentable as she could in the bathroom. She changed her wrinkled dress for her riding outfit, assuming she’d have to ride Star to the college, then find a place close by to board him.

Returning to the baggage car, she quickly saddled the horse, and as she was slipping the bit between Star’s teeth, Monroe came in. Taking a look at her, he whistled. “Well, look at you, Miss Laurie Winslow!”

Laurie smiled at him. The riding outfit was new—a going-to-school gift from her uncle Mark. It was a fawn-colored divided skirt with silver conchos along the hem, a vest to match, and a pale blue silk blouse. The new boots were made of snake skin, and the hat that hung by a leather lanyard down her back was white with a low crown and a narrow brim. It also had silver conchos on a leather band around the base of the crown. She looked beautiful, and her eyes sparkled as she said, “Thanks, Monroe.”

The whistle sounded twice, and he said, “Well, I pray the Lord will keep you safe, Miss Laurie.”

Appreciative for all this fine young man had done for her, Laurie put her hand out suddenly. When he took it, she said, “I’ll tell my father how well you took care of me, Monroe.”

“Aw, I’d a done it anyhow, but thanks, Miss Laurie.” Taking a sheet of paper from his pocket, he quickly scribbled a few lines, saying, “Take my address. I come through Omaha regular. If any of them scholars give you any trouble, jest drop me a line. I’ll sidle in and give
them
a leetle education!”

Laurie’s eyes squeezed together as she laughed. “Oh, I hope it won’t come to that, Monroe—but I’ll write to you.” The motion of the train altered, and she said, “We’re slowing down. I’ll get my things.”

The train slowed to a crawl, then shuddered to a stop. Monroe shoved the sliding door open. “Here’s the chute. Goodbye fer now!”

Laurie had tied her suitcase behind her saddle and now guided Star out the door. “Thanks for everything, Monroe!” she called as they moved down the chute. When the big horse reached the ground, she waved at the brakeman, and he waved back, a smile on his homely face.

When she was almost out of hearing distance, he yelled in
a stentorian voice, “REMEMBER—DON’T SQUAT WITH YORE SPURS ON!”

The sun sat high in the sky, and the October wind was brisk as Laurie guided Star through the cattle loading pens and toward the station. Several men turned to stare at her with admiration, and one of them said loudly enough for her to hear, “Well, now, girlie, maybe I can get up on that black horse and we can have us a ride!”

Ignoring him, Laurie touched Star, and the gelding snorted and broke into a run. Laurie had been able to take him off the train for exercise only twice during layovers, and she was glad the trip was over. The station was some distance from the loading pens, which gave Star a chance to stretch his legs. As she pulled up in front of the red brick building, she held Star back. A fat man with a billed cap stood on the loading platform watching her, and she asked, “Can you tell me how to get to Wilson College?”

“Sure,” the man nodded. “It’s on the other side of town. You can either ride through town—or you can go around it.” Eyeing her carefully, he spit an amber flow of tobacco juice on the cinders at his feet, then shook his head. “Was it me, I’d go right through.”

“That sounds fine to me.”

“Take that road over there. When you get to the Palace Hotel, turn right. That’s Benton Street. Just stay right on it, miss. College is ’bout half a mile past the hotel.”

“Thanks a lot.”

Laurie turned Star’s head toward the street that led to the main part of town. The outskirts that lay beyond the railroad station were a jumble of poorly built shacks, almost all of them with garden spots turned brown by the autumn chill. An occasional cow nibbled at the dry grass. Small children, attracted by the sight of a girl on a fine black horse, came to the edge of the road. Many of them cried out, “Give me a ride!” but Laurie only smiled and rode by.

The town itself was bigger than any she’d ever seen. She
passed a section composed of factories, and then rode into the main business district, taking in the shop windows filled with women’s clothing that she’d seen only in advertisements. The streets themselves were broad and bustling with activity—congested with buggies, carriages, many horses, and large wagons loaded with freight.

Along this route, too, she attracted attention, for though she saw many women in the buggies, there were none on horseback. The stares of the people made her uncomfortable, and she began to wish she’d gone around the town.

Soon she arrived at the Palace Hotel, turned right, and almost at once found herself riding down a broad street shaded by huge elm trees. The houses were finer here, large Victorian style dwellings with gingerbread trim and high windows. Most of them had separate carriage houses and some had gazebos in the spacious front yards. The leaves were falling, carpeting the dry, brown grass with crisp layers, like a red and orange crust. Children played here, too, but were better dressed—though the smaller ones still came to the street to ask for rides.

Ten minutes later, she saw on her right a large two-story red brick structure set back at least a hundred feet from the street. It was not a house, for it was too plain and too large for that, and she saw numbers of young people walking along the pathways that crisscrossed under large oaks. “That must be it,” she murmured, then seeing a small brass sign set back off the road, she rode closer until she could read the letters—WILSON COLLEGE.

Pulling the horse up sharply, she looked at the square building and noted that there were two frame structures, obviously housing for the students. Then she stooped and patted the neck of the horse. “Well, we’re finally here, Star.”

But she was uneasy, for this was another world. She had grown up in places where the land never seemed to meet the sky, but stretched out for enormous distances. This world was small, cut into sections and bordered by trees so that
she could only see small parts of it. She felt it closing in on her and was filled with a sensation of being pushed into a tiny closet.

The people of this world would be different; she knew that instinctively. The denizens of her world had been hard-muscled, sunburned troopers, blowzy washwomen, seedy civilian clerks, and obsidian-eyed Apache. But somehow she sensed as she took in the well-dressed young people walking and laughing that even in this seemingly soft and gentle world there would be those who were not so tender.

Taking a deep breath, Laurie touched Star with her heels, whispering, “They’ll just have to move over and make room for us, won’t they, Star?”

A circular drive made of some sort of shells arched in front of the main building, and she stepped out of the saddle and tied Star to the hitching rail along with three other saddle horses. Moving resolutely, she mounted the three steps and reached out to open the polished oak door. It swung toward her even as her hand pulled the brass handle, and a small man with a pair of glasses perched on his nose almost fell flat on his face.

“What—!” Catching his balance, he straightened up and gave Laurie an indignant stare. He was a short man with a very rotund stomach, dressed in a gray flannel suit that made him look like a gray stork. He had a mouth like a purse and opened it now only slightly to demand in a nasal tone, “What’s that you’re wearing? Is the circus come to town?”

“Oh—no, sir,” Laurie stammered. Behind him, in the entranceway, she noticed a covey of students watching her carefully; one of them—a girl with flaming red hair—was grinning at her. The redhead nodded toward the small man, made a circle with her finger to indicate he was crazy, then winked broadly. Laurie didn’t know what in the world to make of that, but said quickly, “I’m here to enroll in college.”

“Indeed? Well,
do
it then!” Without another word, the
short man turned and stalked out the door, slamming it behind him.

The red-haired girl stepped up to say, “That was President Huddleston. Looks like you’ve made quite an impression on him.” She looked at Laurie’s outfit and smiled. “You look good in that thing. All you need is a horse to go with it.”

“He’s outside.”

“You’re kidding—” The girl ran to the door, opened it, and having stared out, turned and said with awe, “You really
do
have a horse!”

“I’m afraid so.”

The redhead laughed with delight, then came to stand beside Laurie. “I’m Maxine Phelps. Maybe I can help you get started.”

The girl had a kind manner, and Laurie said gratefully, “I—I’d appreciate that. My name’s Laurie Winslow. I hate to be a bother—”

But Maxine only laughed and waved her friends off, saying, “Tell Barton I’ll be late, Betty,” then proceeded to usher Laurie through the trials of registration. She even managed to get Laurie assigned as her roommate.

An hour later the two young women stepped outside of the building, and Maxine said, “Come on, I’ll help you unpack.” She watched with keen interest while Laurie untied Star’s reins, and as they walked toward one of the two large homes Maxine asked, “Why’d you bring your horse to college?”

“I wanted to be sure of at least one friend,” Laurie smiled, then added, “But now I see I’ll have more. Thanks for all your help, Maxine.”

Waving her hand, Maxine said, “Glad to have you. I was afraid I’d get a stick of a roommate. Nice to have a real cowgirl.”

The two reached the two-story house, where Laurie untied the suitcase and Maxine took it from her over Laurie’s protest. Then Laurie pulled the saddlebags free, putting them over her shoulder.

“What’s in there?” Maxine asked curiously.

“Oh, just some books and my pistol.”

Maxine had turned to mount the steps, but on hearing this, she stopped and faced her new roommate. “Your
what?
”

“Why, my .38,” Laurie answered. “I’ve carried it since I was fourteen years old.” Noting the strange look on Maxine’s face, she explained, “The Apaches get pretty bold sometimes, so my dad bought it for me and taught me to shoot.”

“I see. And did you ever shoot any?”

“Well—just one.”

Laurie’s simple reply delighted Maxine. Her broad mouth turned upward, and her bright blue eyes sparkled. “Come on, Laurie,” she said. “I’ve got to make a list.”

“What kind of a list, Maxine?”

“Why, a list of people you’re going to shoot!” She ran into the house yelling, “Hey—come and meet my new roommate. But mind how you talk or she’ll put a bullet in your leg!”

CHAPTER FIVE

Laurie Finds a Teacher

Finding a place to board Star had been a simple matter—but it had come about in a way that startled Laurie. She’d gotten permission to keep the gelding in the stable used for the horses belonging to the faculty for the first night, but the next morning, she awakened worrying about a permanent arrangement.

“I’ll have to take care of Star before I start classes,” she’d told Maxine. The pair were eating breakfast, and Laurie’s head was swimming as she tried to remember the names of the students Maxine had introduced to her. Most of them seemed friendly, but some were obviously amused by the “cowgirl” who’d invaded the ivy-covered halls of learning. One of them, a sharp-featured student who was somewhat older than the others, had not bothered to lower her voice as she’d said, “Well, I hope she remembers to scrape the manure off her boots before she comes to class.”

“That’s Pearl DeLong,” Maxine informed Laurie, seeing the shock on her new roommate’s face. “Don’t pay any attention to her, Laurie. Her old man’s got all the money in Nebraska, and she expects everybody to kiss her foot.”

Laurie shrugged the matter off, saying with a wry smile, “I don’t guess you do much foot kissing, Maxine.” Then she got up from the table, saying, “Well, I’ve got to go find a place for Star.”

“You ought to get set with your classes first.”

“I don’t have any choice, Maxine.”

She went straight to the stable and threw the saddle on Star. A wizened stablehand with gray hair and bright blue eyes was watching her, so she asked, “Do you have any idea where I can find a place to stable my horse—maybe a farm close by?”

“Don’t rightly know of any, miss,” the man shrugged. “There’s a livery stable in town. Owner’s name is Blakely.”

“Thank you.” Laurie swung into the saddle and rode out. For the rest of the morning, she moved along the main road, stopping at farmhouses but finding nothing. Finally she got a lead on a possibility and wound her way down a country lane until she came to a dilapidated house surrounded by fields and wandering pigs. The woman who came to the door had unfriendly eyes and snuff-stained lips. She listened to Laurie, then shook her head. “Ain’t got time to take care of no stock,” she said shortly.

Laurie thanked her, wondering what she could be so busy with, but in any case, she would not have liked to trust the care of Star to such people. By two o’clock she’d had no success at all, and in desperation rode back into town to check at the livery stable. The owner, a hearty man named Blakely, nodded at once when he heard her request. “Be glad to keep your animal.” Laurie felt a wave of relief, but when he named the fee for boarding a horse, her spirit fell. “I’ll see about it,” she murmured.

There was nothing else to do but to board Star in Blakely’s stable, but she knew it would take every penny she had—or would have.
I can’t ask Daddy for more money. He and Mother have done enough.
Depressed, she rode back to the college, where she dismounted and pulled the saddle off Star. The small stablehand had been giving a fine buckskin a rubdown, but when he looked up from his task, he saw the discouragement written on the girl’s face.

“No luck, miss?”

“No, I’m afraid not.” She pulled the saddle blanket off, patted Star, and turned him into the corral.
I’ll have to do
something right away,
she thought, but as she turned to go to the office, her shoulders drooped. “I’ll go ask if I can leave him here again tonight.”