The Cowboys
On a morning was Rupert Bear was playing outside when he suddenly fell down and lost the consciousness. After a while he woke up. He looked around him but he didn’t know where he was. His area had totally changed. Where was first a forest stood now a town with horses and stagecoaches. Rupert got up and walked into town. There he attracted a lot of attention. With a lot of interest he looked at the stagecoach and the horses too.
Suddenly a lady said to her travelling companion about him, “Who is that? He looks so cute.”
“I am Rupert Bear”, answered the bear friendly.
After having stroked the horses Rupert walked on. Now he really wondered where he was and why everyone was dressed so strange. Then suddenly Rupert ran into the sheriff.
“Sir, can you tell me where I am?”, he asked him.
The sheriff looked at him and said, “You are in Nutts City.”
The little bear looked at him amazed and stammered, “Nutts City? Then I’m lost.”
“Come. Then I take you along to my office”, said the sheriff who felt clearly sorry for Rupert.
He followed the sheriff to his office looking very curious around him. The people looked at the bear and wondered where he came from. Rupert thought of them the same.
In the office of the sheriff he said, “Jed, give out guest something to eat.”
Jed was the deputy and went to get something to eat for Rupert.
“What is your name?”, the sheriff asked Rupert.
“Rupert Bear sir”, told the bear.
Jed came back with a meal.
While Rupert ate the sheriff said to Jed in private, “Make sure that he gets a room at the hotel. Just say that he is a foundling.”
“Will do”, Jed said and he left the office.
He walked to the hotel. The hotel was a part of the saloon which was being run by Miss Sue.
“Hello Jed. What can I do for you?”, asked Miss Sue.
“We have found a little bear called Rupert. Is it possible that he gets a room?”, Jed asked calm.
Miss Sue nodded en said, “He has a beautiful room.”
Jed went back to the office where Rupert had finished his meal.
“Rupert, you have a beautiful room at the hotel”, said Jed.
“Rupert, come here for a second”, the sheriff said at that moment.
He got up and walked to the sheriff.
“Now that you are our helper you may wear a star. Her is your sheriff star. And a nice cowboy hat”, said the sheriff.
He pinned a star on the sweater of Rupert and put a black hat on his head.
Jed said, “Now you are our helper.”
“What must I do?”, asked the beer.
“Little errands like bringing messages around”, Jed explained.
That sounded exciting for Rupert who began to feel quite at home in Nutts City.
That same day the notorious outlaw Jack appeared in town. Rupert had seen hanging his poster in the office. When the bear saw him he ran as fast as he could to the office of the sheriff.
“Rupert, easy”, the sheriff said to him when he came rushing in.
Still out of breath Rupert said, “Sheriff, Jack is in town.”
“Jack The Killer?”, Jed asked amazed.
Rupert nodded and pointed at the poster on the wall.
“That is him. I saw it myself”, was the answer of the bear who had caught is breath again.
“Has he seen you?”, asked the sheriff.
But that wasn’t the case. The sheriff and Jed looked at each other.
“We will do this: we send Rupert to the saloon with a letter for Miss Sue. In it says that Jack has been seen”, the sheriff finally said.
He wrote the letter and said to hi little helper, “Bring this letter to Miss Sue.”
“Alright sir”, said Rupert.
He was going to deliver the letter right away. When Rupert came at the saloon to he looked through a window to the inside to see if Miss Sue was there. She stood behind the counter. Rupert went through the folding doors. Miss Sue saw him come and beckoned the little bear. He walked straight to her. In his hand he had the letter from the sheriff for Miss Sue. While Rupert had given the letter to Miss Sue read it in her office where Rupert looked.
Suddenly Miss Sue said to him, “I give you an answer along right away. You must give it only to the sheriff.”
“Okay Madam”, said Rupert politely as he always was. Miss Sue wrote the letter and gave him the letter for the sheriff. Without stopping Rupert ran back to his employer. In the Office, he gave the letter to the sheriff of Miss Sue.
When the sheriff had read the letter he got up and he said, “You stay here. I'm in the saloon.”
“OK”, said Jed.
Rupert went on the chair by the sheriff. While the sheriff to the saloon was Jed showed Rupert the cells. It made quite an impression on the little bear.
“Do people like Jack belong here?”, asked Rupert.
“Yes. The sheriff and I need to make sure that the here in the city remains quiet. If the sheriff is back, we drink in the saloon so miss Sue can get to know you better and you”, said Jed.
He liked the bear and it was the other way around too.
In the saloon the sheriff brought Miss Sue up to date about the whereabouts of Jack The Killer.
“Nobody knows why he is back”, said the sheriff.
“He won’t be reformed anyway. I will keep an eye on him. Where does that little bear come from?”, asked Miss Sue.
“I ran into him. We don’t know it either but he is nice and polite though”, answered the sheriff.
He got up to leave.
“He is just coming there”, Miss Sue said at that moment.
Jack walked pass the sheriff and Miss Sue but didn’t say anything. His look said enough. The sheriff went back to his office where Rupert sat in his chair.
“This is the sheriff”, Jed said when his boss just came in.
“Nice try boys. But this won’t work”, the sheriff reacted at once.
“Is it alright if Rupert and I go to the saloon for a while?”, Jed asked then.
“Yes, it is. Jack is there so you can keep an eye on him”, answered the sheriff.
In the saloon Miss Sue kept unnoticed an eye on Jack. Nobody knew what he was up to but it wouldn’t be much good. When he was playing poker with others Jed came into the saloon with Rupert. They went to sit at a table and Miss Sue gave them a beer and a milk. From where they were sitting it was easy for them to see Jack but not the other way around.
One of the poker players said, “That bear will bring us a lot of money.”
“I wouldn’t kidnap him anyway because he is a deputy-sheriff, Adam”, said his brother Clark.
Jack didn’t say anything but had plans to kidnap Rupert. He didn’t know how yet but that it would happen.
“I must go. Are you coming or are you staying yet?”, Jed asked Rupert after as while.
“I stay here for a little while, Jed”, answered the bear.
Jed got up and asked Miss Sue, “Can you keep an eye on Rupert?”
“I will do it. Don’t worry. He is in good hands with me”, Miss Sue promised the deputy.
He left relieved the saloon with a wink at Rupert. He got another glass of milk. Miss Sue also liked the little bear. He looked curious around the saloon. Rupert saw that Jack was leaving the saloon. The bear quickly drank up his milk and said bye to Miss Sue. When Rupert had left the saloon the way got stopped by Jack.
He stood in front of the bear and said, “So you are that bear. They say that you are worth a lot of money so I take you with me to sell you.”
Rupert became scared and began to think of a plan to get away. The inhabitants saw what was going on and went inside for the safety. In an unseen moment Rupert ran away from Jack.
He looked around him and called loud, “Bear, where are you? Come back!”
Rupert ran as fast as his little legs could carry him just to get away from his assailant. On the street it was deadly quiet. Rupert realized that he was only safe in the office of the sheriff. He ran to it. Once inside the sheriff and Jed looked at the bear who made an exhausted impression. The let Rupert gasp for his breath and he told what had happened after he had delivered the 2nd letter. It turned out that Jack had seen him walking up and down.
“We set a trap for Jack. We let you bring a letter to the saloon for the last time but this one is for Jack. It says that he must be at 16:00 hours at Black Point. There we arrest him”, said the sheriff.
Rupert hesitated for a second but Jed said, “Jack is dangerous. You are the only one who can trap him.”
Finally Rupert agreed to the plan.
The sheriff wrote the letter and said, “Rupert, give this to Jack but don’t say from whom it comes.”
“Alright sir”, said Rupert and he left the office with the letter.
De sheriff said, “Jed, you pick up Rupert and go with him to Black Point. I follow via another road.”
“Can he ride a horse, can’t he?”, asked Jed.
“He will learn that right away”, reacted his employer.
Rupert walked to the saloon and saw Jack there standing at the bar.
He walked to him and said, “Mr Jack, I have here a letter for you.”
The outlaw looked the bear, grabbed the letter and read it.
“You go with me bear”, said Jack after he had read the letter.
Rupert startled of it but went along anyway. Unnoticed he saw a chance to escape by crawling behind the counter. Jack left angry without Rupert to Black Point.
Jed came into the saloon and asked Miss Sue, “Is Rupert still here?”
“He was just here. Jack wanted to take him along”, answered Miss Sue.
She looked behind the counter and found there the little scared bear.
“Rupert, come here because Jack is gone already”, she said to him.
Carefully he appeared. Jed took the little bear outside and lifted him on the 2nd horse. The saddle was a bit too big for Rupert but that didn’t bother him. They rode to Black Point in a quick tempo.
In an unseen moment Jed got knocked out and Jack kidnapped Rupert to his shelter. Rupert was too flustered to say anything.
In the shelter Jack didn’t notice that the sun was shining very bright already.
“Mr Jack, may I sit down at the entrance?”, Rupert asked after a while.
“Go. Remember: I keep an eye on you bear!”, Jack answered moody.
Rupert went to sit so that the sun shone on his gleaming star. The star on the sweater of Rupert blinded the outlaw completely. Meanwhile Jed had remained conscious again and he followed the tracks of Jack and Rupert to the shelter.
The sheriff had arrived also and he said, “Hands up Jack!”
Now Jack noticed that he was surrounded and he gave himself over very easily.
De sheriff took Jack along and Jed said to his boss, “I let Rupert see some of the area.”
“Alright”, said the sheriff.
Suddenly saw Rupert a stagecoach and Jed asked: “Would you want to drive with the stagecoach back to town?”
“With great pleasure Jed”, was the answer of the little bear.
They drove to the Stagecoach and the driver Miller let Rupert beside itself. Jed took his horse back. Rupert enjoyed the ride and the view until the stagecoach over a boulder reed and Rupert from it fell unconscious again and hit.
After a while he woke up. He looked around him and saw that he was back in Nutwood again.. For a second he thought that he had dreamed everything but then her saw the star on his sweater. Now Rupert knew for sure that it wasn’t so. He got up and ran home to tell his parents everything.
It already had become very dim when Rupert came home. After his shower Rupert told his parents what he had experienced that day. When he laid in bed and slept he dreamed about the cowboys and stagecoaches.