Texas Surgeon: an Autobiography Page: 42
xii, 180 p. ; 21 cm.View a full description of this book.
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to admonish me. Could I not, in heaven's name, watch what I
was doing! In answer to this plea I abandoned the coachman's
art. I ran my hands farther down the reins to get a good purchase
and, in cowhand style, braced my feet and arched back with such
a tremendous heave that the horses' heads snapped back almost
to their withers.
This arrested our forward motion so effectively that Mrs.
Boren and Alice were catapulted right out of their seats. More
female complaints and lamentations arose behind me, so acri-
monious that I dared not turn my head. But good Mr. Boren
hushed his womenfolk, and I drove the rest of the way without
incident.
The trouble, it devolved, after grave consultation between
Mr. Boren and Frank, was Minnie, the recently purchased mare.
Minnie's temperament as yet was unexplored, but plainly
promised disappointment. It was she, Frank said, who had first
bolted, setting a bad example for her mate. What Minnie
needed, Frank said, was a little touching up around the ribs with
a pick handle. But Mr. Boren would have none of this. He was
a decent man in all my experience with him.
That very afternoon via Bridget, the Irish cook, I received
mocking notice that the following morning, bright and early, I
was to take Mrs. Boren and Alice to catch a train to town. At
the prospect of another runaway I became downcast, even after
Frank assured me that Minnie would not be used. Not even
Bridget's raillery could raise my drooping spirits. Mrs. Boren,
Bridget told me, intended to buy me a silk hat to fit my head.
"Come," said Bridget, "use your brains. You must be overloaded
with them."
I retired to my room over the carriage house to brood. I had
already made up my mind to quit. My boyish problem was how
to tell Mr. Boren I was through on such astonishingly short
notice. Just then I heard steps. Peeking out, I saw Mr. Boren
walk across the feed loft and unlock the door of a room facing
out back. Summoning my nerve, I knocked and was invited in.
42
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Atkinson, Donald Taylor. Texas Surgeon: an Autobiography, book, 1958; New York. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth143566/m1/54/: accessed March 29, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting University of Texas Health Science Center Libraries.