Free The Case of the Three Rings by John R. Erickson Page B

happened.”

    â€œI ain’t talking. You’d just say it was stupid.”
    â€œOh, I will not. Scout’s Honor.”
    â€œPromise you won’t tell anyone?”
    â€œSlim, what goes on in your bathroom stays in your bathroom.”
    â€œWell…” He blinked his eyes. “I just wondered if I could stick my toe in there.”
    â€œThat’s it?” Loper cackled. “That’s the stupidest thing I ever heard. I can’t wait to tell Sally May. Ha ha ha!”
    â€œLoper, you’re a rat, but I don’t have time to talk about it.”
    Slim leaped out of the tub, wrapped himself in a towel, and dripped and hobbled into the bedroom, where he started jumping into his clothes.
    Loper followed. “Where are you going in such a rush? It must be pretty important. I’ve never seen you move so fast.”
    â€œI’ve got a date.”
    â€œWith a human being?”
    â€œWith Viola, if she’s still there.”
    Slim limped past Loper, gave him a glare, and went into the bathroom. Standing in front of the mirror, he raked his hair with a brush and started building a knot in his necktie.
    Loper watched. “How’s the toe?”
    â€œIt hurts, what do you think? You pret’ near jerked it out by the roots.”
    â€œWhat if you can’t get your boot on?”
    Slim hadn’t thought of that. He stared at himself in the mirror. “I’ll wear a house shoe.”
    Loper shook his head and chuckled. “Are you going to tell her what happened?”
    â€œLoper, just hush. I don’t know what I’ll tell her. I take life one wreck at a time.”
    â€œSpeaking of wrecks, what did you do to my pickup?”
    Slim talked while he tossed his tie into a knot. “That ‘calf’ Uncle Johnny told you about? It was a fifteen hundred pound buffalo bull, and he spent some time walking around on the hood of your pickup. Laugh about that .”
    Loper’s smile dropped like a dead bird.
    Slim hobbled back into the bedroom and rummaged through the closet until he found his dress boots, a nice pair of black bull-hides that he wore to church and funerals. He pulled on the right one without much effort, but the left one didn’t fit his swollen toe. He slipped his bad foot into a sheepskin slipper, pulled on his suit jacket, and showed himself to Loper.
    â€œWhat do you think?”
    Loper looked him over. “Ugly suit, crooked tie, old house shoe. Nice. Viola’s a lucky woman.” He gave Slim a pat on the shoulder and left. As he went out the door, he yelled, “I’ll send you a bill for the toe.”
    Slim put me and Drover outside, grabbed his banjo case, closed up the house, and hurried to his pickup, limping on his bad foot.
    We dogs sat on the porch and watched. Drover gave his head a shake. “What if Viola got mad and left?”
    I had been worrying about that too. “Then Slim will lose the best thing that ever walked into his life.”
    â€œI kind of wish we could go with him.”
    â€œI agree. If there was ever a time when he needed the support of his dogs, this is it.”
    Slim started the pickup and we heard the squeal come from under the hood. “Gosh, I think he just ran over a cat.”
    â€œNo, it’s some problem with the motor and…why are you staring at me?”
    â€œI just thought of something. If Slim needs our help, why don’t we go with him?”
    â€œBecause…” I rose to my feet. “Good point. We’ll have to jump into the back while the pickup’s moving. Can you do it?”
    Drover leaped to his feet and his eyes glowed with determination. “Oh yeah, I can do this!”
    â€œWell, let’s go!”
    We dived off the porch and raced after the pickup. It was moving but hadn’t gained much speed, and I noticed that Slim wasn’t looking into his side mirror. Do you know why? Because Winkie Buffalo had