Macadoo of the Maury River Read Online Free PDF Page A

walked with a limp, yet managed to almost keep up with the boy, who came running up to me.
    “Poppa, look, a pony! Come with me!” The curly-haired boy ran in circles, then raced past John Macadoo.
    “Slow down, Izzy, wait for me,” his poppa shouted.
    Izzy.
The boy reached me first, then the man. Out of breath from trying to catch the child, he corrected the boy, “That’s a colt, Izzy. A Belgian, I believe. What a breed — half love, half work! He’ll be a very big and very fine horse one day. He’s like you, Izzy; he’s big for his age.”
    John Macadoo came into my field and haltered me while the older gentleman introduced himself.
    “Young man, I called you earlier today. My good friend, Russ Ramsey, says you’ve brought back some nice horses from the draft sale in Alberta,” he said to John Macadoo. “But, allow me to introduce myself. Harry Isler from over in Buena Vista. And this is my grandson, Isler. He goes by Izzy.”
    John Macadoo nodded and said, “Judge Isler, good to meet you, again. I believe I was in your courtroom when I was a teenager. Driving too fast.” Then he asked the boy, “How old are you, Izzy? About twelve?”
    “No, sir,” Izzy answered. “I’m only nine, but I’m almost ten.”
    “Well, you sure are tall. Would you like me to bring the colt out so you can get a better look at him, Judge Isler?”
    Izzy answered before his Poppa could. “Oh, please, bring him out!” John Macadoo led me out of the paddock and over to the boy and his grandfather.
    I spurred a quiet puff of air on the older man’s wrist. He patted my neck and Izzy did, too. The thick calluses I felt on the pad of the judge’s hand told me that he worked hard every day. The soft, quiet manner in which he handled me told me that he loved horses.
    “You’re not afraid of the colt, son?”
    “No, Poppa. He’s not afraid of me either.”
    The judge said to John Macadoo, “I’d like to purchase this Belgian colt.”
    John Macadoo forced a smile. “What’s your intention, Judge Isler, if you don’t mind my asking? This colt is finely bred. Even though I don’t have his papers, I know he’s purebred. He needs a home that appreciates him and that understands the breed.”
    Izzy’s Poppa nodded. “I’ll definitely use him on the trail when he’s ready; possibly train him as a hunter. We’re horse people — well, Izzy will be soon, I hope.”
    “You know, I bought this one and his mother intending to keep them together. If I’m going to let the colt go, I want to know that he’ll be well cared for. Belgians need a job, you know. If you treat him right, you’ll find his heart is as strong as his work ethic. Do you have enough work for him?”
    Then, placing his hand gently on the back of the boy’s head, the judge turned to the boy. “Izzy, I want you to feel like Cedarmont is your home as much as it is mine and as much as it was your mother’s when she was growing up. I know you miss her very much. I do, too. I can tell you for sure that there’s no better friend than a man’s horse and no better salve for his grieving heart. What do you think?”
    Izzy wrapped his arms around his poppa. “Thank you so much. I love him already.”
    I hadn’t an extra day or an hour but only a few minutes in the field to say good-bye to Mamere while John Macadoo and Izzy’s poppa finished their business of exchanging me.
    My Alberta wish had seen us through the auction together. Now, though, we would live apart. Mamere would stay with John Macadoo, and I would go with Izzy and his poppa.
    Mamere closed her eyes, and I closed mine. For a moment, I wished us back to Alberta, when my ear was still whole, and I didn’t know any of Mamere’s stories. When I opened my eyes I was ready.
    “Oh, Mamere. I’m leaving soon. I thought I would be here with you forever.”
    “Sweetest one, my entire life was lived in fear of tomorrow. You helped me see that there is only today. How many todays have I been granted