Page 70 of Trickster King

“You bought a ranch, and it seems that the ranch had a mine in it, likely from before the war. The war would have stopped the mining operations. Did you find any evidence of shoring?”

“You mean wood pillars?”

He nodded.

“No, I didn’t see anything like that. Just the rock and dirt walls.”

“Someone probably found the gold before the war. If anyone here knew about the mine and that it had any actual gold, there would have been a rush.”

No kidding. While Texas had some mining, it was limited. Leaving my gold with Randy, I returned to my hole and used my stick to scrape at the rock and dirt. I plucked out another nugget, smaller but still sizable enough to be worthy of marvel. “Eddie, come see what you can find.”

To my amusement, Randy joined me in the hole, gesturing for Eddie to follow. Once stable on his feet, he returned my gold. “As the royal physicians really want you to have a good time, I am going along with this. You have two hours. That should give the vets enough time to see if that mare can be saved. As your phone is surely destroyed, we need time to go get you a replacement and set it up.”

Two hours digging through the dirt sounded like a dream come true after the past few days. Armed with my stick, I went to work, determined to fill my pocket with prizes I could take home to my wife and kids.

On the way back to the ranch, a shaft collapsed under me, dumping me into the cold and wet dark. Fortunately for me, I fell last, landing on top of the muddy soil. Randy spewed curses, and within moments of my fall, he was in the hole with me. While I’d landed on my ass, I’d emerged unscathed.

“Dad?” Eddie squealed.

“Randy? You have my permission to put me in a bubble for a few days. I might have contracted a curse.” As I’d taken enough falls off my horse to understand the routine, I began a head to nose check. To my disgust, I discovered a twinge in my right ankle, one that would end up wrapped and observed to make certain I hadn’t done anything serious. “I’ve got a twinge on the right side, but other than that, I’m unscathed. Minor scratches excluded. I’m sure I’ve got a few of those.”

“Ankle?”

I nodded. “We’ll test it and see how it goes.” With Randy’s help, I got to my feet, and after rotating my ankle, I determined it would hold. “I think it’ll be fine, but I’ll take it easy.”

“It’s not far, but we’re going to need to bring in an earthweaver to collapse all these tunnels so they can be filled in properly.”

“And mined so we can pay for operating everything here,” I muttered.

“And possibly mined,” Randy agreed. “Go up first. Eddie? You’re the lightest, so you get to go first. I’m going to call ahead to get horses brought to the safer ground so your dad doesn’t have to walk as much.”

“Okay.” Eddie hovered until we both emerged from the collapsed area. While I attempted to remove some of the filth from my clothes, the other RPS agents stuck with us hovered, and they eyed the hole as though it was the most offensive thing they’d beheld in their lives. I fought my urge to laugh, shook my head, and listened to Randy explain to the team that I had found yet another hole, deciding I needed to tumble into it.

I foresaw remedial training in my future, and it would involve muddy obstacle courses and pools. On second thought, both sounded more like fun than suffering, so I would feign disgust over being forced to participate in the scenarios.

Then, in my effort to keep the RPS on their toes, I’d request another trip to the ranch to find more holes and search for gold.

My pockets were full of treasures, and I’d enjoy showing my haul to my wife when I got home.

SEVENTEEN

“If I told you I tripped and fell into the mud, would you believe it?”

I regretted a great deal, and the muddy state of my clothes topped the list. However, the mare took top priority, so I trudged into the vet hospital, went to the front desk, and inquired if the mare flown in had survived.

The receptionist blinked, and I gave her a few moments to come to terms with my rather rumpled attire.

“Your… Your Majesty?”

“If I told you I tripped and fell into the mud, would you believe it?”

She looked me over, and after a moment, she nodded. “We’ve got a hose around the side of the building if you’d like to get some of that off?”

“I would, but can you give me an update about the mare first?”

“It’s a torn muscle and a severely infected cut. They’re treatable, but she’ll be with us for the next week while we get rid of the infection. We’ll need to use a sling for the first day or two, and then we’ll need to make certain we can distribute her weight to prevent problems with her other legs. I’ve been informed that you would take her home at first chance. You have enough rescues on your plate. Your vets are more than welcome to come help with your mare’s care, but we are not adding to your barn’s woes right now.” The woman reached down, grabbed a clipboard, and set it in front of me. “Dr. Gina is waiving the labor costs after conferring with the rest of the staff. You will be liable for disposable supplies, including the mare’s meals and medications.”

“That’s more than reasonable. Give me a pen I can ruin so I can sign the papers.”

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