The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse

By John Erickson and Gerald L. Holmes

When it comes to dealing with Tuerto, the one-eyed stud horse from the next ranch over, Hank's usual approach is not to approach him at all. But when Tuerto breaks loose and charges Little Alfred and his cousins, it's up to Hank to save them.

• Language: English
• Publisher: MAVERICK BOOKS INC
• Release date: Mar 15, 1987
• ISBN: 9781591887089

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The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse

John R. Erickson

Illustrations by Gerald L. Holmes

Maverick Books, Inc.

Publication Information

MAVERICK BOOKS

Published by Maverick Books, Inc.

P.O. Box 549, Perryton, TX 79070

Phone: [phone]

www.hankthecowdog.com

First published in the United States of America by Maverick Books, Inc. 1987,

Texas Monthly Press, 1988, and Gulf Publishing Company, 1990.

Subsequently published simultaneously by Viking Children’s Books and Puffin Books, members of Penguin Putnam Books for Young Readers, 1999.

Currently published by Maverick Books, Inc., 2011.

1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

Copyright © John R. Erickson, 1987

All rights reserved

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Erickson, John R.

The case of the one-eyed killer stud horse / John R. Erickson ; illustrations by Gerald L. Holmes.

p. cm.

Originally published in series: Hank the Cowdog ; 8.

Summary: Hank the Cowdog goes to the rescue as a wild, one-eyed horse creates havoc on the ranch but some of his outrageous stunts get him into more trouble than he bargained for.

ISBN 1-59188-108-0 (pbk.)

[1. Dogs—Fiction. 2. West (U.S.)—Fiction. 3. Humorous stories. 4. Mystery and detective stories.] I. Holmes, Gerald L., ill. II. Title. III. Series: Erickson, John R. Hank the Cowdog ; 8.

PZ7.E72556Cau 1999 [Fic]—dc21 98-41817 CIP AC

Hank the Cowdog® is a registered trademark of John R. Erickson.

Printed in the United States of America

Except in the United States of America, this book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out, or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all the farm and ranch wives who have to put up with noisy kids, ornery husbands, and sorry dogs.

Contents

Chapter One The Case of the Coded Transmission

Chapter Two Stricken with Sneezaroma Because She Whacked Me on the Nose with a Wooden Spoon

Chapter Three The Case of the Embezzled Scrambled Eggs

Chapter Four Bacon Grease over Burned Toast Makes a Lousy Breakfast

Chapter Five Was It My Fault That She Tripped over Me and Twisted Her Dadgum Ankle?

Chapter Six Drover Passes His Test, but Just Barely

Chapter Seven Tuerto, the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse

Chapter Eight Top Secret Material!!!!

Chapter Nine Sally May Returns on Crutches

Chapter Ten Thank the Lord for Making Gals!

Chapter Eleven A Fight to the Death with the Killer Stud Horse

Chapter Twelve Happy Ending and Also the Case of the Flying Punkin Pie

Chapter One: The Case of the Coded Transmission

It’s me again, Hank the Cowdog. Fall is a beautiful time of the year in the Texas Panhandle, or so I thought before the relatives descended upon the ranch for the Thanksgiving holidays and Sally May went lame in her right leg and I found myself involved in the Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse.

Sounds pretty exciting, huh? Just wait until you meet Tuerto, the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse. He’ll scare the children so bad, they’ll have to sleep with their mothers and dads for a whole week. They’ll see his gotch eye in their dreams, and if they’re not careful, they’re liable to wet the bed.

Any of you kids who wet the bed, don’t mention my name. Don’t mention your name either. Just pretend it didn’t happen. When Mom and Dad wake up in the night and find that big cold wet spot in the middle of the bed, tell ’em that it rained during the night and the roof leaked.

Where was I? Under the gas tanks, one of my favorite spots on the ranch and the place where many of my adventures seem to begin. Drover and I were asleep on our gunnysack beds, having returned at daylight from our patrols around the ranch.

Little did we know what adventures lay in store for us because we were catching a few winks of sleep after putting in a long night of patrol work. I’ve already said that, but it doesn’t hurt to repeat yourself repeat yourself once in a while in a while.

I love to sleep. Sometimes I dream about bones and long juicy strips of steak fat. I remember one dream in particular when Sally May drove up to the gas tanks and unloaded a strip of steak fat that was half a mile long. That was a dream to remember. It took me two weeks to eat that strip of steak fat. When I was done, I couldn’t walk. Had to crawl around on all-fours with a roller skate under my belly.

That was one of my all-time great dreams. Another involved a fifty-foot steak bone, I mean a bone as big as a tree. Took me a month and a half to eat that rascal. After I’d finished, I was telling Drover about how I’d just by George destroyed a steak bone that looked like a tree.

He gave me his usual stupid expression and said, You mean you ate that tree that looked like a steak bone?

I didn’t pay any attention to him, but I spent the next three months sneezing sawdust, which made me wonder. That was all in a dream, of course.

Bone-dreams and steakfat-dreams are wonderful, but perhaps the wonderfulest dreams of all are the ones that star Beulah the Collie.

Ah, Sweet Beulah! Be still my heart! Return to thy cage of ribs and venture not forth into the dark night of darkness like a stalking jungle beast venturing and stalking through the inky dark blackness of . . . something. Love, I guess.

Mercy. Just the thought of that woman gets me in an uproar. Just mention her name and suddenly the same mouth that reduces trees to sawdust and pulverizes monsters begins gushing poetry. Beats anything I ever saw.

Experts will tell you that I’m a very lucky dog. I mean, it ain’t every dog that has the honor of falling in love with the most beautiful collie gal in the whole entire world. Even more experts would tell you how lucky

Reviews for The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse

[Charlotte Rae · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

great book daughter loved it. hank and drover are the best

[jalenv_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Alas, my local library doesn't have an audio audition, so I had to check out their printed copy of The Case of the One-Eyed Killer Stud Horse. While it was nice seeing more of the illustrations than the cover, I really missed Mr. Erickson's narration, the old-time background music, and the sound effects. I wish I could have heard Hank singing, 'Thank You, Lord, for Making Gals,' and Sally May singing 'A Fundamental Disagreement'. Still, I got to laugh at Hank's misinterpretations of situations. (Yes, Hank, it was partially your fault that Sally May got hurt. If you'd heeded her warning, you wouldn't have been in her way -- even if her reaction would have gotten her in trouble with the SPCA.) Had to feel for Sally May -- that dedication was the least Mr. Erickson could do after what he put her through in this book. On the other hand, I didn't feel sorry for Pete the Barn Cat, even though I like cats more than I like dogs.Little Alfred's cousins are nice girls (enjoyed Hank's remark about Little Alfred by way of contrast). I liked Grandma Loper as the Voice of Experience, especially the remark she made about her son, High.

[debnance_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Hank must defend the ranch against Tuerto, the one-eyed killer stud horse from the ranch next door. I love the part where Hank throws up on Sally Mae's shoe, just as Sally Mae is preparing for a visit from her mother-in-law.