We Were There at the Oklahoma Land Run — John Shaqi
We Were There at the Oklahoma Land RunKjelgaard, Jim
History
We Were There at the Oklahoma Land Run
Kjelgaard, Jim
Oklahoma -- History -- Land Rush, 1889 -- Juvenile fiction
It seemed that everyone had been bitten by an invisible bug which
continued to bite and would permit no rest. Hands clasped behind his
back, the man who owned the race horse paced restlessly back and forth,
almost as though someone had measured off a space and ordered him to
walk in it forever. His cheeks were red and his eyes bright, almost
feverish. He looked at the two children as they passed without even
seeing them.
The family that hoped to "make out in Oklyhomy" were all busy, the man
oiling harness, the woman and her oldest daughter piling boxes in the
wagon, and the three smaller children getting in the way. The two lively
young men were having a wrestling match. The old man was looking
earnestly at his sorry-looking mule and saying over and over again,
"Now, mule, we got to go. We got to go, mule."
"Where you got to go?" somebody called.
"Oklahoma," the old man said. "Now, mule, we got to go. We got to go,
mule."
[Illustration]
A reckless rider on a plunging horse rode through the camp. His horse,
jumping suddenly sidewise, knocked over one of two water pails that were
standing beside a tent. The owner of the pails, a fat man dressed only
in red underwear, ran out of the tent and shook his fist.
"Come back and do that again!" he yelled.
"All right! I will!"
The reckless rider turned his horse, came back, knocked over the other
water pail, then, laughing, rode off. The fat man raised his arms
heavenwards and roared at the top of his voice. Then, shrugging, he
picked up his pails and, still wearing only red underwear, went to get
more water.
A bevy of youngsters were playing tag near by. "Join the game!" a
freckle-faced boy about Alec's age called.
"Let's!" Cindy said eagerly.
"Play tag, when the border's opening tomorrow?" Alec questioned.
"Oh!" the freckle-face bristled. "So you're too good to play tag with
us!"
He swaggered up to Alec, raised a threatening hand, and the battle was
about to be joined when Cindy brought her shoe sharply down on the
freckle-face's bare foot. He cried "Ooh!" and began to hop about on one
foot. Seizing Alec's hand, Cindy ran like a deer.
She led him around a wagon, dodged around another, then ducked behind a
tent. They stopped running and peered cautiously around the tent.
Freckle-face and his friends were hunting determinedly for them. But
they were hunting in the wrong direction.
"I could have licked him!" Alec glowered.
[Illustration]
"But not him and all his friends," Cindy reminded her brother. "Besides,
Mother doesn't want you fighting at all, and even Father would be angry
if you fought on Sunday. We'd better get back to our own wagon, or we'll
be late for church services."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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