The Hawkline Monster: A Gothic Western

Miss Hawkline

As they rode slowly down the hill toward the house the front door opened and a woman stepped outside onto the porch. The woman was Miss Hawkline. She was wearing a heavy long white coat. The woman stood there watching them as they rode down closer and closer to the house.

It seemed peculiar to Greer and Cameron that she should be wearing a coat on a hot July morning.

She was tall and slender and had long black hair. The coat flowed like a waterfall down her body to end at a pair of pointed high-top shoes. The shoes were made of patent leather and sparkled like pieces of coal. They could easily have come from the huge mound of coal beside the house.

She just stood there on the porch watching them approach. She made no motion toward them. She didn’t move. She just stood there watching them as they came down the hill.

She was not the only one watching them. They were also being observed from an upstairs window.

When they were a hundred yards away from the house, the air suddenly turned cold. The temperature dropped about forty degrees. The drop was as sudden as the motion of a knife.

It was like journeying from summer into winter by blinking your eyes. The two horses and the huge flock of red chickens stood there in the heat watching them as they rode into the cold a few feet away.

Magic Child slowly raised her arm and affectionately waved at the woman who returned the gesture with an equal amount of affection.

When they were about fifty yards away from the house, there was frost on the ground. The woman took a step forward. She had an incredibly beautiful face. Her features were clean and sharp like the ringing of a church bell on a full moon night.

When they were twenty-five yards away from the house, she moved to the top of the stairs which went down eight steps to the yellow grass which was frozen hard like strange silverware. The grass went right up to the stairs and almost up to the house. The only thing that stopped the grass from directly touching the house were drifts of snow that were piled against the house. If it hadn’t been for the snow, the frozen yellow grass would have been a logical extension of the house or a rug too big to bring inside.

The grass had been frozen for centuries.

Then Magic Child started laughing. The woman started laughing, too, such a beautiful sound, the sound of them together laughing with white steam coming out of their mouths in the cold air.

Greer and Cameron were freezing.

The woman ran down the stairs to Magic Child who slipped like a grape peeling off her horse and into the arms of the woman. They stood there for a moment with their arms around each other: still laughing. They were the same height and had the same color hair and the same build and the same features and they were the same woman.

Magic Child and Miss Hawkline were twins.

They stood there with their arms around each other: laughing. They were two beautiful and unreal women.

“I found them,” Magic Child said. “They’re perfect,” with snow piled up around the house on a hot July morning.

The Meeting

Greer and Cameron got down off their horses. Miss Hawkline and Magic Child had exhausted their very affectionate greeting and now Miss Hawkline had turned toward them and was ready to meet them.

“This is Miss Hawkline.” Magic Child said, standing there and looking exactly like Miss Hawkline except that she was wearing Indian clothes and Miss Hawkline was turned out in a very proper New England winter wardrobe. “Greer, Miss Hawkline,” Magic Child said.

“I’m glad to meet you, Miss Hawkline,” Greer said. He was smiling softly.

“It pleases me that you’re here,” she said.

“And Cameron,” Magic Child said.

“You please me also,” Miss Hawkline said.

Cameron nodded.

Then Miss Hawkline walked over to them and held out her hand. They both shook hands with her. Her hand was long and delicate but the grasp was strong. The grasp was so strong that it surprised them. It was another surprise in a day full of surprises. Of course all that had transpired so far to surprise them was just a downpayment on the things that would happen before the day was out.

“1, 2,” Cameron said, looking at Miss Hawkline and Magic Child.

“I’m sorry,” Miss Hawkline said, waiting for Cameron to finish what he was saying. Cameron didn’t say anything more.

“That means he’s glad to meet you,” Magic Child said, smiling at Greer.

The Ice Caves

“Let’s go inside the house,” Miss Hawkline said. “And I’ll tell you why Magic Child has brought you here and what you have to do to earn your money. Have you had breakfast yet?”

“We left at dawn,” Magic Child said.

“It sounds as if breakfast is in order,” Miss Hawkline said.

Greer and Cameron had noticed that the closer you got to the house, the colder the air became. The house towered above them like a small wooden mountain covered with yellow snow.

Greer saw something in a second-story window. It floated like a small mirror. Then it was gone. He thought that there was somebody else in the house.

“You’ve noticed the cold, haven’t you?” Miss Hawkline said as she led the way up the stairs to the porch.

“Yes,” Greer said.

“There are ice caves under this house,” Miss Hawkline said. “That’s why it’s cold.”

The Black Umbrellas

They went into the house. It was filled with beautiful Victorian furniture and very cold.

“This way to the kitchen,” Miss Hawkline said. “I’ll cook up some breakfast. You boys look as if you could use some ham and eggs.”

“I’m going upstairs to change,” Magic Child said. She vanished up a curved mahogany staircase into the upper reaches of the house. Greer and Cameron watched after her until she was gone. Then they followed Miss Hawkline into the kitchen. It was very pleasant trailing after her. She had taken her coat off and she was wearing a long white dress with a high lace collar.

She had exactly the same kind of body that Magic Child had. Greer and Cameron could imagine her without any clothes on, looking exactly like Magic Child which was a very good way to look.

“I’ll cook some breakfast and then tell you what we want done. It’s a long trip here from Portland. I’m glad that you came. I think we’ll all turn out to be friends.”

The kitchen was immense. There was a large window and you could look out and see the snow and the frost on the ground. A hot fire was burning in the stove and it was warm and comfortable in the kitchen.

Greer and Cameron sat down in chairs at the table and Miss Hawkline poured them cups of strong black coffee from a huge pot on the stove.

Then she got a ham and sliced off some big pieces and got them cooking on the stove. Some biscuits were made very quickly and put into the oven to bake. Greer and Cameron couldn’t remember anybody making biscuits that fast and getting them into the oven so quickly.

Miss Hawkline was very skillful with her kitchen as she was with all the things of her life. She didn’t say much as she went about cooking breakfast. Once she asked them if they liked Portland and they said that they did.

Greer and Cameron watched her very carefully, thinking about her every move, wondering what was going to happen next, knowing that this was all the beginning of some pretty strange adventures.

They looked casual, relaxed, not in a hurry at all, as if what had happened so far and this strange house perched over some ice caves with frost on the ground in summer were every day occurrences with them.

Cameron had brought the trunk full of guns into the house with them. He had left the trunk in the front hall next to a large elephant foot full of black umbrellas.

The First Breakfast

Just about the time breakfast was ready, Magic Child came into the kitchen. She was wearing exactly the same clothes that Miss Hawkline was wearing. Her hair was also combed the same way and she wore patent leather shoes that shined like coal. You could not tell the difference between Magic Child and Miss Hawkline.

They were the same person.

“How do I look?” Magic Child said.

“Fine,” Greer said.

“You sure are a pretty girl,” Cameron said.

“I’m so glad you’re back,” Miss Hawkline said, suddenly stopping breakfast to rush over and throw her arms around Magic Child again.

Greer and Cameron sat there, staring at these two identical visions of beautiful womanhood.

Miss Hawkline went back to the few minutes that took care of cooking breakfast and putting the food on the table where soon they were all gathered eating the first of many meals that they would eat together.