Fantasms - Softcover

Bailey, Len

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0765348640 ISBN 13: 9780765348647

Verlag: Starscape, 2008

Inhaltsangabe

Danny Ray, the best dang rodeo cowboy in Oklahoma, returns to Elidor!
 
Princess Amber has been kidnapped, and King Krystal of Elidor will do anything to bring his beloved daughter safely home. But rescuing the princess from the grasp of the evil fantasms will be no easy task. It's a tall order for even the most courageous of heroes. Enter Danny Ray, the best dang rodeo cowboy in Oklahoma--junior division, that is.
 
With the help of some very unusual characters--including Captain Quigglewigg, Prince Blue, Cherry, KarooKachoo, and Tûk--Danny Ray sets off across the Checkered Sea ready for adventure. But to defeat the dreaded King of the Fantasms, Danny Ray must first do battle with the sneaky Commodore Mumblefub, not to mention the nasty Captain Giddyfickle and a whole army of bloodsucking whiners…. If his luck and determination hold out, Danny Ray just might save the day!

Über diesen Titel

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Len Bailey is a professional radio-commercial and voice-over actor and sometime bagpipe player. He lives quietly with his wife and three boys in the western suburbs of Chicago.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Chapter One

 

Cowboys and Clowns

 

“You all right, cowboy?” said a light, musical 

 

voice.

 

Danny Ray sat atop a cattle gate in his rodeo outfit: blue and white checkered shirt, black cowboy hat and matching leather chaps over his jeans. Even in the darkness of the hay shelter, his blue eyes shone brightly.

 

“Howdy, Caroline!” he said happily, his face immediately brightening up, his heart fluttering like a jar full of butterflies as he looked down into the face of an angel. Caroline Robertson’s shoulder-length hair was as yellow as the shiny sun, and her twinkling eyes matched the clear blue sky around that sun. Her fancy leather top sparkled with rhinestones. He took off his gloves and left them on the gate, climbing painfully down and respectfully taking off his hat. He tasted dusty grit between his teeth and said, “Well, I got thrown in the arena, but I’m all right!”

 

“You want a second opinion?” she asked, smirking.

 

“Hey, Caroline! Saw you at the opening ceremony riding with the flag—mighty fine you looked, too!”

 

“Thanks, Danny.” She smiled, noticing how he took in her glittering red cowboy hat, the only one of its kind at the rodeo. She raised her nose up in the air and turned her head sideways: Caroline Robertson was this year’s rodeo queen. Danny Ray sure liked her, except for that perky thing she did with her nose when she knew someone was looking at her.

 

“Hey! What d’ye say we go get a soda?” His head was swimming with the sweet scent of her perfume, overriding the rich, heady smell of alfalfa hay.

 

“Maybe some other time, Danny,” she said, hesitating, and placed her small white hand on his shoulder. A flush of red passed over her cheeks.

 

“She’s gonna get a soda with me,” butted in a new voice. Here came Billy Whitehorse walking up, grinning like a possum eating a sweet potato. “After I ride Commodore, that is. He was my draw.”

 

Danny Ray just shrugged.

 

“Real sorry you drew Tomahawk, Danny.” But Billy Whitehorse didn’t sound sorry. Instead, he spit on the ground and said, “Rode him last year and he slammed me into the panels pretty hard.”

 

Danny Ray didn’t say anything.

 

“Sure you’re all right, dairy boy?” Billy laughed. It was more of a joke than a question. Billy prided himself on living on a real ranch, with horses and bulls, while Danny Ray worked a dairy farm. And Billy loved rubbing it in.

 

“Say, dairy boy!” Billy said. “You should get them blotchy black-and-white chaps for sale in the front window of Jackson’s Rodeo Store—they’re made outta Holstein cowhide. Then you’d be a real cow boy—get it? Ha, ha! Perfect for a dairy milker boy like you! You’d look like one of them fire engine Dalmatian dogs! Never seen a dog ride a bull before! Ha, ha!” Billy snorted and Caroline tried not to smile at the ridiculous picture in her mind.

 

Danny Ray was feeling pretty low. He reached up, grabbed his gloves, and plopped them together.

 

Billy Whitehorse stopped smiling and stepped forward, his spurs jingling. The two boys were the same height, the front rim of Billy’s white hat rasping against the front rim of Danny’s black one.

 

“I got your girl and next I’m gonna get your championship belt buckle.” Billy’s hands doubled up in fists. “Gonna try to stop me, dairy boy?”

 

“I ain’t gonna fight you, Billy,” said Danny Ray. “You got something out for me. Don’t know what, but that’s your problem, not mine.”

 

“You’re just chicken,” Billy Whitehorse said as he cast an amused look over at Caroline. He came right up in Danny Ray’s face, their noses just inches apart, and waved his elbows up and down clucking, Blaaaawk! Blaaaawk! Blaaaawk!

 

“Danny Ray don’t have to give you no excuses!” Leaning back against the shed was a rodeo clown with a painted face, bright red and white striped shirt, purple suspenders, and blue shorts. Yellow knee-length socks stood proudly above a pair of red sneakers. “He figures you can’t ride old Commodore with a black eye and a fat lip!”

 

Billy studied the clown a moment and then turned back to Danny Ray. “Nah, I don’t think so. He’s just chicken! Ain’t that right, dairy boy?”

 

The distant PA system announced the name of Bobby Lee Henderson, Danny Ray’s brother.

 

“Billy James Whitehorse!” Caroline stated, tugging at his hand. “Stop talking silly! It’s almost time for your ride! Let’s go!”

 

Billy looked Danny Ray up and down one more time and, with mock respect, touched the front rim of his hat in farewell.

 

“Danny,” said Caroline apologetically, a strand of her blond hair straying to the corner of her mouth. “Maybe I’ll see you later, huh?”

 

“But probably not!” said Billy over his shoulder, laughing. He jerked Caroline around by the hand and led her away toward the arena.

 

The rodeo clown sauntered over, sniffed with his painted red nose and sighed. “Bad day, eh, Danny Ray? Well, just goes to show: some days you’re a cowboy, some day’s you’re a clown.”

 

“What d’ye mean by that?” Danny Ray frowned.

 

“Oh,” said the clown, “you’ll understand someday. But hey! I’ll bet ol’ Billy Whitehorse gets thrown off in three seconds—get that nice white hat of his all covered with dirt and manure! Yessir! And then we’d have to call him Billy Brownhorse!”

 

“I don’t need your help,” muttered Danny Ray. “I can take care of myself.”

 

“But you needed me in the arena a few minutes ago, huh?” replied the clown with a grin. His teeth looked yellow against his stark white face paint.

 

Rodeo clowns commanded a whole lot of respect. Once a cowboy hit the ground, it was their job to run straight at the bull and wave their arms and legs to draw the bull away from the rider. It was a dangerous job wearing bright colors and clapping and waving, shouting and running in front of an angry, frustrated bull.

 

“So, it was you that got ol’ Tomahawk off my tail?”

 

“Yep. Only me—Hanky the Clown!”

 

“Obliged to you.” Danny Ray touched the rim of his hat. “Where’d you get a name like Hanky?”

 

“Don’t rightly know.” He smiled with a twinkle in his eye as he pulled and pulled a polka-dot handkerchief from his pocket, and it got bigger and bigger until it was nearly the size of a tablecloth! HONK! He blew his nose and Danny Ray chuckled out loud.

 

But then the cowboy grew serious and leaned back against the...

Details zur Ausgabe

• Verlag: Starscape
• Erscheinungsdatum: 2008
• Sprache: Englisch
• ISBN 10: 0765348640
• ISBN 13: 9780765348647
• Einband: Taschenbuch
• Anzahl der Seiten: 304
• Kontakt zum Hersteller: Nicht verfügbar
• Verantwortliche Person: Nicht verfügbar