Fe-As-Ko

When the owner of Oregon's largest cattle ranch - the Four Arrows - is shot by his horse in a freak accident, Royal Leckner suddenly finds himself charged with teaching the owner's retarded son to take over management of the ranch. The son, Leviticus Perrault, comes as part of an unmatched set, which includes Toofer, a man split between bickering Confederate and Union personalities; Tommy Two Hearts, half-white, half-Indian, and half-paralyzed; and Lou(ella), an idiot savant.

In The Royalscope Fe-As-Ko, Northwest cattle rancher Royal Leckner finds himself in the middle of another fe-as-ko, this time in 1915 Hollywood. Dreams of stardom for her daughter, Elsie, and for herself entice Royal's wife, E.M., to buy a silent film company. She quickly renames it Royalscope Productions in order to convince her fuming husband it's a gift.

It seems that the FDR writer is back wanting more Fe-As-Ko stories from cowpoke Royal Leckner. This time it's 1897, Royal and E.M. have been married about four years. And so have Leviticus and Lou(ella) Perrault, owners of the Four Arrows ranch. Royal is still foreman of the ranch and caretaker of its owner. As he reminds us, Leviticus and Lou(ella) Perrault are "short a hat size," but "nice and honest, which is better than smart and fox-like any day." It's time to take the cattle to Portland for the annual sale, and Royal is bringing Leviticus along to teach him how "to sign on the dotted line."