That night I spent on the ground outside the corral, talking to the horses, singing to them. I spent all the next day with them, observing them, and the next night as well. The following morning I cut seven from the herd, including the black stallion Luke Sawyer had his eyes on. He had been right about the stallion. Not only was he a beauty, but he seemed to be of fine quality. I led each horse with a rope around the meadow several times. I didn’t try to mount any of them. By the time I finished, Luke Sawyer had come down to the corral. “So, you’ve made your cut?” he asked.
“I’ve picked out the best seven.”
“Seven? I thought I told you six.”
“You did, but I’m thinking of buying the seventh one myself.”
Luke Sawyer looked surprised. “Didn’t know you were interested in buying yourself a horse.”
“Well, as you know, there’re some mighty good ones.”
“Which one you want?”
I hesitated and hoped Luke Sawyer would prove to be the man I thought he was. “Mister Sawyer, you asked me to find you the best six horses. I’ve chosen you the best seven. After you choose your six from this seven, I’ll take the remaining one.”
Luke Sawyer looked at me askance. “They’re all that good?”
“Like I said, they’re the best in the herd.”
Luke Sawyer turned toward the seven horses. “Then I expect I’d best go take a closer look at them.”
The stable boy, Luke Sawyer, and I put each horse into the chute and Luke Sawyer studied all of them. He didn’t examine the horses as thoroughly as I had done, but he did check their teeth, legs, and hooves, and he questioned me about each one. When he’d checked the last of the horses, he turned to me. “I’ll ask you again, which one do you want?”
“I said—”
“I know what you said. You tell me which one you want, and it better not be that black one. He’s mine.”
I looked out over the horses. “Well, if I had my choice, it would be that palomino yonder. The bay also looks fine.”
“The palomino, huh? Well, I’d just better take him myself.”
My face didn’t change. I knew what Luke Sawyer was doing. “As I said, Mister Sawyer, I picked out what I figured to be the best seven. Your choice comes first.”
“Miz Hattie said you know horses as well as you know carpentry. You figure that’s true?”
“I believe that to be so,” I replied.
“Well, I know you know carpentry, so I’ll figure your horse skills are up to the same quality. If I buy these horses, I’ve decided I want you to train them for me.”
I shook my head at that. “Don’t see how I can, Mister Sawyer. I’ve got my furniture-making contract with you to honor—”
“And, I know, you can’t work for a stable boy’s wages. So, what do you figure you can work for? Maybe that horse you want?”
“I’d figured to buy him myself.”
“You did, huh? Well, I don’t think so. I think you want to bargain me into paying you with him. That’s what I think. Well, I’m willing to do it, but on one condition.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m going to set a selling price this day on every horse I buy, and if after you’ve trained these horses and I don’t at least get my asking price on every single one of them, I’m going to take that palomino back.”
“Palomino?” I questioned. “But I thought you figured to keep him.”
“Naw. He’s too scrawny-looking for me. Besides, if he’s the one you really want, then maybe you’ll do even better at training the rest to have him. Agreed?”
“Agreed.”
“And one other thing, Paul. I’ll give you to the end of our work year agreement for you to have them properly trained and for me to sell. Another thing too. Any furniture we agree to do, that still has to be done.”
“As long as I’ve agreed to the orders,” I stipulated. “I know how much I can do.”
“You’d better,” said Luke Sawyer.
As he walked away, I smiled. I knew how much I could do, but so far Luke Sawyer didn’t.
That man from across the Mississippi sold his seven horses to Luke Sawyer, but not at the price he had in mind. I’d told Luke Sawyer the faults of all the horses, and that trader must have known them too, for even though he threatened to wait until the other buyers were present and put them up for bid, in the end he didn’t hold up Luke Sawyer about the price. Luke Sawyer said afterward he had done too much business with the man for him to chance losing any further business. The trader sold the balance of his horses as well, some at higher prices, but I figured the buyers would one day regret that.