volume one IN THE D U D L E Y C L A R K - Ohio Vine Tours

“Harry Carey?”
No.
“Hoot Gibson?”
Never.
“Henry King?”
Sorry, again.
“John Ford?”
Nope.
Old Guy shakes his head.
“You never hearda John Ford?”
“Nosir.”
Old Guy looks stunned.
“All right, all right—here’s one for you. Ready?”
Roy moistens his lips.
He almost says shoot.
“Roy Rogers an’ Dale Evans.”
Somewhere deep inside Roy, these names have resonance,
they ring a bell. He can’t recall where he’s heard them, or
exactly who they are, but he’s thrilled he can finally say—
“Yes.”
Old Guy smiles.
He actually smiles!
“That’s the Roy I meant when I said you had his name!”
Finally, something that makes sense.
“But my name’s not Rogers.”
Old Guy waves this aside.
“There for a while, before he became famous, he went by th’
name Dick Weston. Then he became Roy Rogers. You got both
’is names.”
Roy nods as if enlightened.
As if he cares.
“How ’bout that.”
Old Guy’s smile goes goofy.
“But you never heard’ve Trigger?”
Roy wants to be helpful.
“Trigger th’ Wonder Horse?”
After all, Old Guy still has a gun.
1 ROY ROGERS IN THE 21ST CENTURY