Since her brother-in-law Buck Cannon had found an old cookbook and taken that home to the High Chaparral Victoria Cannon was looking for a guinea-pig to try out the recipes. Buck and his brother John made sure that they were away and the son of John, Billy Blue, was also a lot absent. But Victoria was smart enough to keep someone at home time after time. Her first victim was the one who had given her the cookbook.
On a morning she asked her brother-in-law, “Buck, can you help me in the kitchen?”
“Why?”, Buck asked amazed.
“You will notice that”, she replied mysterious.
“Well Buck, we wish you good luck”, John said smiling.
He got up and went with Blue away.
Manolito Montoya, the brother of Victoria, said to Buck, “I hope that you survive it. If not….it was nice to have known you.”
He too went away. Buck was too indignant to react.
Victoria looked at her brother-in-law and asked, “Is there some action today yet?”
“I am already coming”, replied Buck.
He looked for a second if he could get away but his sister-in-law kept the door closed.
“I never should have given you that cookbook”, he said.
“And why not? I thought that you loved food? What is wrong with trying out a new dish?”, asked Victoria.
“Err nothing but err…”, Buck tried to say but he couldn’t come up with a good excuse like he normally could.
“You know where the kitchen is”, said Victoria.
“Upstairs?”, Buck asked innocent.
Victoria sighed deep and dragged her brother-in-law along to the kitchen.
There Buck got put on a chair harsh. Worried he kept an eye on Victoria. First she did the dishes and made then coffee.
“Victoria, did I have to come to the kitchen to see how you do the dishes?”, asked Buck.
“No, but otherwise you would take off as well. Just like the others. In that cookbook are also recipes cakes. I have baked one and I want to know your opinion about the cake”, replied his sister-in-law.
“Victoria, I am sure that that cake will taste very well”, Buck said trying to get away from it anyway.
But that didn’t help either because Victoria had already cut a slice and put that in front of Buck. He looked from the cake at Victoria and back.
“You aren’t afraid of slice of cake, are you?”, asked Victoria.
“Me afraid for a slice of cake? Victoria, before you go ahead at me in Spanish, let me tell you that Buck Cannon is afraid of nothing. And certainly not for a slice of cake”, was the fierce answer of Buck.
In a jiffy the slice of cake had disappeared. To the big amazing of the rancher the cake tasted very well.
Reluctantly Buck said, “Victoria, unfortunately I have to admit that your cake tastes excellent.”
“I wanted to hear that”, Victoria said satisfied.
To her big amazing and annoying Buck took the rest of the cake along.
His excuse was, “Maybe Rebel likes the cake as well.”
And away were Buck and the cake. Victoria scolded at him in Spanish which the rancher didn’t understand. But she had made up plan B already. She prepared a few sandwiches from a recipe from the cookbook. That was for the next one who would come home.
At a safe distance Buck shared the cake with his horse. The animal too liked the cake. Buck thought, ‘Tonight I am going to sleep in Tucson just in case Victoria needs again a guinea-pig.’ He mounted on and rode to town where he ran into his nephew Blue.
“Hi uncle Buck. Has Victoria let you go or did you escape?”, Blue asked teasing.
“I have helped her and escaped then. By the way, she asked me if you wanted to go home now”, was the answer of his uncle.
Blue looked at Buck worried and asked, “Why?”
“I don’t know. Have fun Blue Boy”, Buck replied cheerful.
Blue got his horse Soapy, mounted on and rode back home. Buck watched him smiling and hitched his horse. Here after he went into the Waterhole saloon.
In hurry-scurry Blue rode to the High Chaparral. He became worried because he didn’t know why he had to go home. At the yard he jumped from his horse and he ran into the ranch house. At that moment Victoria came into the living room and she saw her stepson running in.
“Blue, you are coming just in time to do something for me”, she said.
“Just say it. Uncle Buck said that you have asked him if I wanted to come home”, said Blue.
“I haven’t asked him that at all”, Victoria replied indignant.
They walked to the kitchen where Blue got a vague suspicion of what was waiting for him. On the kitchen table stood a plate with four sandwiches.
“Blue, here is your lunch”, said Victoria.
Blue got the plate and ate the sandwiches after each other.
“Victoria, they taste delicious. How did you get the recipe?”, he asked.
“From the cookbook that your uncle had given me. Buck tried my cake and ran away with it”, replied Victoria.
“That’s why he was so cheerful when I ran into him in Tucson. How do you want to get hold of pa and Mano?”, Blue wanted to know.
“Your father will get a recipe to eat from the book and that brother of mine will get a special recipe”, replied Victoria.
Blue disappeared again and left his stepmother alone. Victoria went to work out plan C.
By evening time John came home. Through the whole house there hung an unknown but delicious smell. The rancher followed the smell and ended up in the kitchen.
“Hello John. Nice that you are here. Where are the others?”, asked Victoria.
“I haven’t seen them since this morning. What do we actually eat?”, asked John.
“You soon will see that”, his wife replied mysteriously.
When the food was on the table John felt the shivers coming on his back.
“Enjoy your meal”, said Victoria.
“You too”, John said distrusting.
But once the rancher was eating he had to admit that the meal tasted very well.
“My compliments for the delicious meal”, said John.
“I thought so too”, his wife replied.
“Those recipes do come from that cookbook which Buck had found, don’t they?”, asked John.
Victoria nodded.
She told, “This morning Buck had to taste a slice of cake but he took the whole cake along right away. Blue was the victim for the sandwiches. So now you are it for supper.”
“But now there is still that brother of yours who has to taste it. Knowing Manolito he will do everything to keep away from it”, said John.
“To get him home again I won’t be experimenting anymore for the time being”, she said.
So said, so done.
But in the meantime the Cannons were sick of it that they had to play for guinea-pig and the brother of Victoria didn’t.
John said to his brother and son, “You go to Tucson to find my brother-in-law and then you bring him home. If necessary you knock him out cold. If you have to do that, then we put him in the hammock and Victoria gives him a custard. After a recipe from that cookbook.”
The eyes of Buck started to glister and he said then excited, “Come on Blue Boy.”
They rode away at once. John went inside to explain the plan to his wife who of course played it along.
Soon Buck and Blue ran into Manolito who fetched his meals in Tucson.
“Blue Boy, do you understand that now?”, asked Buck.
“What do you mean?”, asked his nephew.
“Señor here must pay for his meals in Tucson while his own flesh and blood sister cooks at the ranch for free. And delicious too”, replied Buck.
“You may talk what you like, my sister is still busy with that strange cookbook and she will never get hold of me to taste something”, reacted Manolito.
“What gave you that idea? Those recipes were so dirty that even uncle Buck didn’t like them. Victoria cooks now normal food again”, said Blue.
“Would we be able to lie to you?”, asked Buck.
Manolito replied, “No, certainly not. But I still do not go home with you.”
Buck decided to go over other and more drastic measures. Without saying anything he knocked Manolito out cold with one fist hit. They picked up their roommate and put him on his horse. Here after Buck and Blue mounted on themselves too. Satisfied they rode back to the ranch.
John saw them coming and started to smile.
“John, here is the runaway”, Buck said laughing.
He dismounted and dragged Manolito to the hammock. With the support of John and Blue Manolito got put in the hammock. Slowly Manolito woke up and when he noticed that he was home again the Spanish scolding flew across the whole yard. The Cannons were safe in the ranch house by then.
After a while Victoria came outside with a ladle and a bowl with vanilla custard. Unsuspecting she went to stand by her brother and she threw a spoon full across him. Manolito realized what was happening and again the Mexican book of scolding appeared.
“What is the matter Manolito? Don’t you like the custard? It comes from the cookbook that Buck had found for me”, said Victoria.
Manolito got up angrily and rushed to the kitchen. On the dresser laid the cookbook open. The Mexican snatched it away and walked with it to the open fire place. Not much longer the book was burning in the fire.
“Good riddance”, Manolito said satisfied.
“It really were delicious recipes. Shame that you have burnt the book”, said Buck.
“If you ever find something like that, leave it then where it is”, he got to hear from Manolito.
Buck had clearly learned his lesson because he never took a cookbook home anymore.