Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

By John R. Erickson and Gerald L. Holmes

Who - or what - has been killing the chickens? And, more importantly, what is Ranch Security going to do about it? These are the critical questions in the sixth adventure of Hank the Cowdog. A fiendish murderer is loose on the ranch, and never before has Hank followed so many clues or interrogated more suspects. Every character in the book turns out to be a suspect - including Hank himself. Can he solve the crime and prove his innocence before he is relieved of his command...and condemned?

• Language: English
• Publisher: MAVERICK BOOKS INC
• Release date: Mar 15, 1986
• ISBN: 9781591887065

John R. Erickson

John R. Erickson, one-time bartender, handyman, cowboy, and founder of Maverick Books, has written and published seventy-five books and more than 600 articles. He is the author of the bestselling Hank the Cowdog series of books, audiobooks, and stage plays. His writing has garnered many accolades, including the Audie, Oppenheimer, Wrangler, and Lamplighter awards, and his works have been translated into many languages. A fifth-generation Texan, Erickson owns a ranch in Perryton, Texas.

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Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

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. 1986,

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, 1985, 1989

All rights reserved

library of congress cataloging-in-publication data

Erickson, John R.

[Hank the Cowdog and let sleeping dogs lie]

Let sleeping dogs lie / John R. Erickson ; illustrations by Gerald L. Holmes.

p. cm. — (Hank the Cowdog ; 6)

Previously published as: Hank the Cowdog and let sleeping dogs lie.

Summary: Hank the Cowdog, Head of Ranch Security, pursues an elusive chicken murderer.

ISBN 1-59188-106-4 (pbk.)

[1. Dogs—Fiction. 2. Humorous stories. 3. West (U.S.)—Fiction.] I. Holmes, Gerald L., ill. II. Title. III. Series: Erickson, John R. Hank the Cowdog ; 6.

[PZ7.E72556Le 1999] [Fic]—dc21 98-41853 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

For Jake and Audrey

Contents

Chapter One An Awful Fiendish Murder

Chapter Two The Case of the Moving Garden

Chapter Three Another Triumph over Pete

Chapter Four Terminal Rootabegga and Another Murder

Chapter Five The Mailman Gets It

Chapter Six An Unexpected Trip into Spook Canyon

Chapter Seven A Brilliant Interrogation of a Difficult Suspect

Chapter Eight On Trial in the Horse Pasture

Chapter Nine Drover Confesses

Chapter Ten A New Twist in the Case

Chapter Eleven The Sting Stings the Wrong Guy

Chapter Twelve Breakfast Is Cancelled

Chapter One: An Awful Fiendish Murder

It’s me again, Hank the Cowdog. The night was dark and still, the air so heavy that I could taste it. And what I tasted was . . . MURDER!!

Drover had stumbled onto the body, what was left of it, down by the creek just before dark. He sounded the alarm and I raced to the scene. In the last light of day, I conducted my usual thorough investigation.

Drover, I said after sifting the clues and analyzing the facts, this was no ordinary murder. It’s the work of some kind of fiend. And he may still be on the ranch.

Oh my gosh! Maybe we better hide.

I caught him just as he was about to run for cover. Hold on, son, I’ve got some bad news. We’re this ranch’s first line of defense. If there’s a murdering fiend on the loose, we have to catch him.

Drover shivered and rolled his eyes. You’re right about one thing.

And what would that be, Drover?

It’s bad news. I’m scared of murdering fiends.

Being scared of scary things is normal, son. But you don’t go into security work to be normal. We have to be tougher and braver than your ordinary run of mutts.

Could I work on that tomorrow?

Negative. In this business, a guy never knows if he’ll be around tomorrow.

That’s what I’m afraid of.

Drover, being afraid is the major cause of fear. If you can get that under control, you’ve got it licked. He stared at me and then licked his chops. When I said, ‘You’ve got it licked,’ I wasn’t suggesting that you should lick your chops. Are you trying to be funny?

No.

Good, because you’re not.

I’m too scared.

Let’s move out. We’ve got a job to do.

I sent Drover off to scout the eastern quadrant of headquarters while I gave myself the more difficult job of checking out the western quadrant, which included the saddle shed, corrals, calf shed, and feed barn.

As I groped through the inky blackness, I found myself worrying about Little Drover. What if he found the fiend? Or what if the fiend found him?

I crept through the front lot, sweeping the territory in front of me with eyes that had been trained to see what ordinary eyes were unable to see.

The wind stirred. No, the wind moaned. It moaned in the tops of the cottonwoods across the creek and cried through the pipes of the doctoring chute, and suddenly I heard a crash behind me. I leaped into the air and turned to face the attack of I-knew-not-what manner of monster . . . 

 . . . and realized that Slim and High Loper still hadn’t taken the time to pound two piddling galvanized nails into that dadgum piece of tin on the roof of the calf shed.

Here we have a classic case of ranch mismanagement. How many years had that piece of tin flapped in the wind? Two? Five? Ten? Every time the wind changed directions, it banged. And every time it banged, Slim would say, We’ll have to fix that thing one of these days, and Loper would say, Yup, when we get caught up.

And so it banged and flapped every time . . . 

. . . THE WIND CHANGED DIRECTIONS. There was my first clue. Yes, the pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fall into place. If the tin banged every time the wind changed direction, and if the tin was banging at that very moment, then it followed from simple deduction that the wind had changed directions.

Exactly what that had to do with the murder case, I wasn’t sure, but I had a sneaking suspicion that the two were connected. The murderer was near. Somehow I had to get word to Drover.

The wind was rising now. Off to the north, a bolt of lightning cut through the night and bathed the caprock in ghostly silver light. Then came an ominous thumber of rundle . . . uh rumber of thundle . . . rumble of thunder while the tin banged against the roof of the calf shed.

Against the rising scream of the

Reviews for Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

[jalenv_2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Hank is trying to solve the murders of two pullets on his ranch and, as usual, messes up words and clues. He does finally solve the crime, only the answer doesn't bring him the satisfaction he expected. As usual, I loved the sound effects (especially that rocket-like zoom when Hank is running), and the old music used for the background. This time I noticed 'I've Been Working on the Railroad' along with 'Turkey in the Straw' and 'Red River Valley'. Thanks to an attempt to show off for the beautiful Beulah, Hank takes a tumble. This leads to a brief reunion with Ralph the beagle from It's a Dog's Life. Later, Hank finds himself in grave trouble -- so grave that the buzzards expect to eat him for breakfast. Fortunately, Hank is given a chance to save the day and comes through.My favorite part was the scene with the mailman. I know the tune used for 'Bark at the Mailman Battle Hymn,' but I just can't remember its name. It's a rousing song, though. As for 'I'm Locked in the Jailhouse With Buzzards on the Roof,' the use of the old 'dun dun dun dun DUN dun dun dun dun dun dun funeral notes used in cartoons as part of its tune, I was tickled.Great family fun!