The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western by Richard Brautigan Read Free Book Online Page A

it’s definitely colder,” the other Miss Hawkline said. “I’ll put some more coal in the stove.”
    She got up and went over to the stove. She opened the lid on top to find the stove filled with coal because she had put some fresh pieces in just before she had sat down with her sister to talk to Greer and Cameron about the monster.
    “Now, we were talking about Hawaii, right?” the other Miss Hawkline said.
    “That’s right,” Greer said.
    “It’s a miserable place,” Cameron said.
    “I think we’d better go into another room,” Miss Hawkline said. “This fire isn’t warm enough.”
    They left the kitchen and went into one of the front parlors. They didn’t say anything as they walked down the long hall to the parlor.
    As soon as they stepped into the parlor, Greer turned to Miss Hawkline and almost shouted, “We were talking about the fucking monster, not Hawaii!”
    “That’s right,” she almost yelled back and then they stood there staring at each other for a moment before Miss Hawkline said, “Something happened to our minds in the kitchen.”
    “I think you’d better tell us all about that monster right now,” Cameron said. He looked grim. He didn’t like his mind fucked around with by anybody, including monsters.

• The Chemicals •
    The parlor was exquisitely furnished in an expensive and tasteful manner. They were all sitting down in beautiful chairs facing each other except for Cameron who was sitting on a couch by himself.
    There was a generous coal fire burning in the fireplace and the room was warm and cozy, far different from the kitchen and they all could remember what they were talking about.
    “Where’s your father?” Greer said.
    “He disappeared into the ice caves,” Miss Hawkline said. “He went down there looking for the monster. He didn’t come back. We think the monster got him.”
    “How do we figure into this?” Greer said. “Why didn’t you go for the marshal and have him come out here and take a look into this? He seems to be a good man and he has a lot of interest in one of you.”
    “There are too many things to explain and we’re sure that our father is dead. That the monster killed him,” Miss Hawkline said.
    Cameron listened carefully from the couch. His gray eyes looked almost metallic.
    “We were instructed to complete our father’s experiment with The Chemicals,” the other Miss Hawkline said. “He told us that if anything ever happened to him that we were to complete The Chemicals. It was his last important experiment and we are following his instructions.”
    “We cannot stand the idea of our father having wasted his life,” Miss Hawkline said. “The Chemicals meant so much to him. We consider it our duty to complete what he started. That’s why we didn’t get the marshal. We don’t want people knowing what we are doing out here. That’s why we got you to help us. We cannot concentrate fully on The Chemicals until the monster is dead. It’s distracting having that thing down there, trying to get out of the ice caves and into the house to kill us. So if you kill it for us, it will make everything a lot simpler.”
    “What happened there in the kitchen?” Cameron said. “Why were we talking so strangely to each other? Why did we forget what we were talking about? Has that ever happened here before?”
    There was a slight pause while the two Miss Hawklines looked at each other. Then one of them said, “Yes. Things like that have been happening ever since our father added a few more things to The Chemicals and then passed electricity through The Chemicals. We’ve been trying to figure out a way to correct the balance of The Chemicals and complete the experiment. We’ve been following the notes that our father left behind.”
    “I like the way you say, ‘behind,’” Greer said. “Behind meaning that some God-damn monster ate him in the basement.”
    “Not the basement, the ice caves!” Miss Hawkline said. “The laboratory is