Hank doesn't exactly cover himself with glory in The Case of the Haystack Kitties. He's his usual hasty, conceited self for most of the book, starting with one of his amazing leaps to a completely false conclusion when talking with Drover. In case you think cottonwood trees aren't real, they are. We have them in my part of Arizona, too. Those seeds do look like cotton.

Slim Chance, the Lopers' slovenly, lazy hired hand, has been ordered to take some feed to the cattle. Slim takes Hank along, which leads to a lesson for Slim and danger for Hank (not to mention a cameo appearance by my favorite buzzards, Wallace and Junior). Part of the aftermath of that danger made me wince with disgust.

The haystack kitties are a skinny stray cat, Gertie, and her six kittens. The kittens are old enough to have their eyes open, but not old enough to hunt. Hank is very hard-hearted toward the plight of the 'squatters' as he calls them. He wants them off his ranch, a sentiment heartily endorsed by Pete the Barncat. Gertie is a timid, polite cat, but don't even THINK of hurting her kittens.

Crash, a bull, has been knocking down the fence to get at the feed. Slim sets Hank to guard the pen from Crash. Gertie is worried about her kittens if that bull gets in again.

Hank does get to redeem himself at the end, of course. As for the songs, I don't agree that Slim's was boring, as Hank claimed, but Slim did get in a few snarks about a dog. Hank's song about kitties may have accurately reflected his feelings about cats, but he shouldn't have sung it to Gertie's kittens.

Hank the Cowdog is great fun, but this time he definitely takes a backseat to Gertie.

Note: I think the name Slim drops and Hank mangles is 'Barney Oldfield,' an American racer who, according to Wikipedia, was the first man to drive 60 miles an hour (96.560 64 kilometers). Luckily for me, my late dad knew who he was back in pre-Internet days so I didn't have to wait until I could get to the library to look him up. ( I was reading a Doc Savage reprint. Doc had instructed his driver to do a Barney Oldfield.) ( )

I thank it was a ok book ( )