a tale of hector and joe

As Hector started away from him, Joe stepped in to shake hands.

"Good to meetcha, mate. 'By! See ya later, Moseby!"

Hector nodded his agreement and turned to depart. Then he hesitated, his attention returning to the man's outstretched hand, his expression thoughtful.

"By the by, Joe," he called out, pausing in midstride. "Mate? I suppose I'll be seeing ya around. Might be yer best, mate, with yer gear and such. I'm a regular 'round this 'ere neighborhood. Well, thanks. I'll bear yer words in mind."

"Glad to 'elp, Hector. Anytime. Now go on. Get away. I wanna piss," Joe said with a grin. "Wanna piss! Got some gear in me 'and. I got to go piss!"

Hector smiled. The bloke would go piss, all right. He turned and walked briskly away, the wind tugging at his cap and ruffling his hair, ruffling his heart. And suddenly he turned. "Hey, Joe? You wanna know the difference between a horse an' a woman? A horse will always give you the same thing! 'Course she does, mate. You know why? Cause a horse ain't got a damn brain. She ain't got a brain. You know the difference between a woman an' a mare? That's right, mate. A mare 'as a brain. She's smarter than you or me. She don't give you that. She don't always give you the same. She don't do the same things all the time. But she's got a brain. Yer woman's got a brain, mate. She knows where the gold is buried, an' she knows how to use it to make ya a rich man. That's right. Don't you worry about the gold, mate. Ya just sit right there. It ain't much farther. I'll be back."

Hector chuckled at his own thoughts and looked around for the signpost to the well. A large man on horseback passed him, and the horse snorted and sidestepped nervously as the rider cursed and swore beneath his breath.

"Come on, boy. Dammit to hell. You're going to get us both killed, yer bloody ornery cuss!"

An angry horse snorted. They both came to an abrupt halt as Joe drew up short beside Hector and reached out to grab his arm. He looked down at his friend.

"Joe, I dunno 'bout this."

"Course ya don't, mate. You want a good one, you 'ave to start with a good mare. 'At's right