Jaimy Gordon - Lord of Misrule

The paddock judge flipped up the horses' lips and read their tattoos, the jockeys were lifted into the saddle. Hansel and the girl were standing at the walking ring when they saw Zeno. They whispered to each other, got a where-did-he-come-from look, and Medicine Ed, watching from under the clubhouse overhang, noted they ain't happy.

…

Why didn't you tell me Zeno was here?

I didn't know, the girl said. He must have been hiding.

What's he doing here? He can't be betting that horse.

Why not? Maggie said. Maybe he's been schooling him on the quiet. That's what I was telling you.

Don't be dumb. It's a nothing horse and he knows it. The horse wouldn't be worth the trouble. Maybe he's hoping to draw a claim.

This reminded Hansel he was worried about drawing a claim himself-though it was too late to do anything about it-but still he scoured the fringe of seedy horseplayers that milled around the outside of the walking ring in their rumpled jackets and stingy brims for a familiar vulture, and found none.

Now their two horses went off to the track, and Zeno, whether his company was desired or not, smiling like a man giving a banquet, joined Hansel at the rail. Gus Zeno, who was born in McKeesport, Pennsylvania, liked to dress like a rich rancher: he wore a string tie and a silver belt buckle on which was tooled G / Z between a pair of longhorn skulls. The buckle bit deep into his belly. His cord-piped light blue jacket bunched poorboy style under his arms. Next to this finery, the coiled leather shank in his hand looked small and plain.

All bums except our two, Zeno panted to Hansel. It's a match race.

And one of them's a bum too, Hansel said, smiling, and then he stopped smiling. He was looking at the coiled-up shank in Zeno's hand. It was an ordinary, indifferently cared for piece of tack, used for leading a horse anywhere, any time. Medicine Ed was standing under the clubhouse overhang some way off, holding another shank just like it. No racehorse needs two shanks.

Goddamnit, Zeno, Hansel said, you bought my horse.

He's a very, very good horse for the money, Zeno said. But you know, Tommy, I like my horse in this race. Sure he's a bum, but the price is right and he likes the distance.

Damn it, Hansel said. Damn it to hell. He didn't raise his voice, but his eyes were wild. He was pacing up and down the gap, looking at Zeno as if there might be some hole in the deal, some clause or sleight of hand he hadn't yet thought of. But then he burst out raggedly laughing.

Hey, Tommy, this business will run you crazy, Zeno said, slapping him on the back. They stood there together with their backs to the clubhouse, looking at the tote board.

IT WAS MOST PECULIAR, them two big heavy-head red youngsters just like twins, save how one was wearing that number 4 with green silks for Zeno, and the other, that number 2 and red and purple, for the young fool. Zeno come out of the clubhouse to saddle the horse, his pop-eyes shining. What could it mean save that Zeno had been to the windows, getting down heavy on his own horse? Mr Boll Weevil went on toepoints to the track and so did his ringer in front of him, his might-could-be twin brother owned by that young fool. But the horse goofer had been made up for one horse and one horse only.

Under the clubhouse overhang, Medicine Ed, too, watched the tote board. The two horses kept trading back and forth, 6-1, 11-2, 5-1, 6-1. Praise Jesus, the folks with the money liked another horse entirely. The frizzly hair girl flew in her holey sneakers up into the grandstand. The young fool ain't even see her go.

Two minutes to post and now the young fool also went off to bet. It happen him and Medicine Ed hit the windows at the same time. From his eye corner Medicine Ed couldn't see, to the fifty-dollar window, exactly how much come off that roll, but the young fool was in for a bundle.

Medicine Ed was fading away down the center stair to the lower deck when the young fool taken him by the shoulder. I like the way you handle horses, he say. Whatever Zeno pays you, I'll add a dime to that. My woman, you saw her, she's strong as a horse, he smiled, but I need an experienced hand.

I done work for Mr. Zeno eight years now, Medicine Ed said, and he has been good to me.

You think about it, the young fool say, and Medicine Ed say: I think about it. What he don't say: Gus Zeno gone be here tomorrow. Gus Zeno gone be here next year and three years from now. Where will you be? And more he don't say: I done heard that run-crazy laugh, I seen you throw the frizzly girl in the dirt for talking her mind. In the name of the Holy Ghost, let this man go home to hell where he come from, let him take away that Devil he's carrying, and keep me wide of a boss such as that.

For he liked the frizzly hair girl a little better now. Old Deucey had spied into the heart of this young woman and seen there slavery of the man-woman kind. Medicine Ed could see the chains on the girl. They were thick and heavy as railroad couplings, but they lay in a loose necklace round her neck and shoulders. She was no little bitty silky thing. The weight of them chains had raised muscles on her. She had a long bird neck with strong cords in it, and square shoulders. And Medicine Ed saw this: While the young fool ain't looking-suddenly he had something else, probably the money he fixing to lose, on his mind-the frizzly hair girl lifted the heavy chains off her shoulders like a daisy chain and laid them down again. She stepped out from the place where the young fool thought she was and run away on goofered feet up into the clubhouse, gone to play some other horse than the master play. She was a slave but she had the power to ride the grandstand just like the master do, if she see her chance.

Gates clang open and Mr Boll Weevil, he is looking for a home all right. He's still looking around that gate like he's thinking about putting up wallpaper in it, making a down payment on a living room suit, moving in for life. Finally he drops his big head and it soaks in that all them other horses have done already gone and left him behind. He takes off running, passing horses right and left, and you can see he ain't half trying yet. He just eats holes for hisself between them other animals in his weevilly way.

But the young fool's red horse has long since flew to the rail and all Ed can see is the dusty thunder under his red behind, barreling round the clubhouse turn. Then Medicine Ed blinks his eyes and he is into the back stretch. The horse has some speed, Jesus take me home, that horse be at the half-mile pole already heading into the far turn-and he is five lengths in front, going on six, by the time Mr Boll Weevil comes creeping. If this keeps up, Medicine Ed is gone to lose his lucky money, never mind how much goofer powder he has thrown.

Meanwhile Mr Boll Weevil has steadily climbed up the rest of the racetrack in his sideways-frontways weevilly way. He passes all the rest of the pack but he's still running in the red dust of the young fool's horse. He ain't gaining on him, just hanging four, five lengths behind him, and the young fool's horse look like loping out there, jogging down the medder for a morning look-around.

And then it's like Medicine Ed has called the race. The young fool's horse does just that. He looks around. He pulls up at the head of the stretch, drifts out from the rail, maybe eyeballing all the white paper flapping in the grandstand, which is all them people looking at they cards, trying to make out who that 2 horse is. What is the matter with that boy on his back? Well, now he comes to life, busting on the horse. But Mr Boll Weevil has crawled up on the inside in his weevilly way, eats along the rail, gets his ugly red nose in first.

Medicine Ed and Zeno pass the young fool in the gap on their way to the infield. Hansel has a torn-in-half look in his burning eye, like he aspires to be freehearted and to exult with Zeno, but he ain't able. Well, Zeno, that's the last time a nothing horse beats The Mahdi, he hollers.