Chapter 2

Well, ya kin bet yer bottom dollar that I wuz at the station waitin' fer the special messenger from Laredo with my bank draft fer $750. I stuck that there bank draft in my money belt so fast that I nearly took two of the messengers fingers with it! I had enough money in cash fer a little toot that evenin', soz I decided ta treat myself. I splurged at the bar of the hotel saloon an' had TWO beers! Shit, I wanted to celebrate. At the end of my second beer, one of the saloon whores came up, an' I engaged her services fer the rest of the night.

I wanted ta try out some of them things that I had seen Jubal doin' with his whores. I ain't never tried none of them special things, so I made sure that this here whore wuz willin' to go along with sumpthin' special. She agreed, soz we went up ta my hotel room, an' she spent the whole night with me. We did all them things that I seen Jubal do, plus some she knew about what I ain't never heard of, afore. She even gave me sumpthin' new ta me the next mornin' afore she left, sumpthin she called a "blowjob." That wuz an expensive evenin', it cost me $5, but it wuz worth every penny of it!

The next mornin', I went by the bank after breakfast an' cashed my draft. I took the money in eagles cuz all that weight an' bulk jus' naturally made me feel good. Them 75 gold pieces made a nice bulge in my money belt!

After I collected my reward in cash, I stopped by the marshal's office to say hello ta the marshal an' ta Jubal Atkins, the source of my wealth. We wuz talkin' 'bout this an' that when Jubal said, "Sam, don't ya wander too far, cuz I might be makin' some more money fer ya afore too long."

I didn't know what he wuz talkin' 'bout, but he wouldn't tell me any more. He just had this shit-eatin' grin on his face when I left ta see ifen I could find a poker game. My luck shore had changed, cuz I won $27 that day at poker, my best take, ever! I felt so good that I bought a round of beer for the house; it cost me $2.65, but I didn't care.

The next mornin', I didn't have anythin' else ta do, so I resumed my journey toward Laredo. I wuzn't in no hurry, soz I wuz still on the trail a week later when I happened to ride by a T&G RR station an' see plastered ta the wall a monster size poster. Damn, it wuz a new wanted poster for Jubal Atkins. I figured that it must be a joke or an outdated poster, at least, but I stopped in ta talk ta the station agent out of curiosity.

No! It wuz a fer real poster with a reward of $500 for Jubal Atkins delivered, alive, ta the jail in Laredo. In small print, the offer wuz fer $100 ifen he wuz delivered dead. The agent said that Jubal had escaped on his way ta Laredo an' had already robbed another train. Doggies, that Jubal wuz a caution! I figured that I didn't have much luck chasin' Jubal down, again, but I'd keep my eyes open, just in case.

What with one thing an' another, I decided ta try my luck up around Eagle Pass. Fer y'all what don't know, that's between Laredo an' El Paso. I wuz ridin' along, mindin' my own business, when I heard the sound of gunshots from the road up ahead. I didn't know what ta expect, but it could mean some money fer me, soz I sped up ta see what I could see.

I topped a little rise in the road an' saw an overturned stagecoach. Three men were near the coach, an' four more were off to one side. The two groups were shootin' at each other, soz I didn't have no trouble figurin' out what wuz goin' on. There wuz pistols on both sides, except fer the shotgun fired every once in a while from the stagecoach. I didn't know how long the fight had been goin' on, but I knew that it would run 'til one side ran out of ammunition, cuz the two sides were too far apart ta do much good with just pistols, an' the shotgun weren't no better.

Even ifen I didn't git no money out of the thin', I couldn't jus' leave the men at the coach ta fend fer themselves. I hauled my Winchester from its scabbard an' dismounted to find a good shootin' place. I found a spot behind the bandits where I wuz protected by a few big rocks. I rested my left arm on the rock an' drew a bead on one of the bandits. The range wuz only about 50 yards, so I wuz in good shape. I fired my first shot an' hit the crook in the back. He collapsed, an' I moved my aim ta the next man in line. This shot missed, but my third shot hit the man I wuz aimin' at. The other two men finally caught on that there wuz another gun in the mix an' looked around ta see where the new shots were comin' from. I got off another shot an' hit my target in the leg.

The fourth man didn't fool around, but took off in a dead run. Ya ever see anybody try ta run in regular cowboy boots? It's so funny that I had a hard time not breaking down with laughter. I put a bullet into this bandit, too, soz I wuz four for four.

The men at the coach saw what wuz goin' on an' stopped shootin'. I waved at 'em an' went ta see the condition of the men I had been shootin' at. The last man wuz dead, so I walked toward the other three. Two were dead an' the third man had a shattered hip. Hell, he an' I both knew that he wuz goin' ta die of gangrene ifen he didn't hang first. He asked me ta shoot him in the head, soz I did.

I went over ta talk ta the men in the stagecoach, an' the driver told me that they were bein' chased by the four bandits an' about ta escape when they hit a rock an' broke a wheel. That caused 'em ta tip over an' I knew the rest.

They were stuck until they got a new team cuz their mules had broken loose when the coach turned over. Lord knows where they were, now. I told 'em that I would ride back ta the relay station with the news. Those folks would bring up a new team, an' the coach could be on its way.

The people at the coach helped me tie the four bandits ta their hosses soz I could haul 'em in fer the $25 reward fer killin' stagecoach robbers. I led the four hosses ta the relay station an' told 'em what happened. A replacement team wuz sent ta the coach, an' the rider confirmed my story when he got back. The relay station manager wrote me a receipt fer the bodies, an' I stripped 'em of valuables afore we buried 'em. I had ta turn in the receipt at the stage lines office in Eagle Pass ta collect my money, but that weren't no chore.

When it wuz over with, I'd made almost $200 over stoppin' the robbery. My luck really had changed! While I wuz in Eagle Pass, I went by the county court house an' picked up all the new wanted posters. I figured that I better ride my new luck fer all that it wuz worth, cuz I'd never know when it would change, again.

Dang it all! My new luck didn't extend ta poker. I lost $11 at the first saloon I stopped in.

I spent some time studying the pictures on the posters, cuz I never could know aforehand when I might run inta one of them people what wuz wanted, an' I needed ta be able ta spot 'em right off. My memory wuz pretty good, soz I had a good chance of recognizing one of 'em ifen I saw him.

Meanwhile, I spotted another one of them Jubal Atkins wanted posters. This time the reward wuz up ta $1,000. Man, the T&G wuz really pissed at him this time. The cotch wuz that he had ta be delivered ta their office in Laredo afore they would pay up. Also, this time, it wuz now $1,000, dead or alive! I talked ta the station agent an' found out that Jubal wuz playin' hell with the T&G; he wuz hittin' a train 'bout every other day. He wuz close ta drivin' the T&G out of business, an' that would be bad fer Texas.

I figured that, what the hell, I didn't have nothin' more important ta do, soz I might as well go back ta huntin' fer Jubal Atkins. I still had his picture I had cut out of that there handbill, soz I jus' started ridin' toward Laredo, stoppin' at every hotel an' askin' ifen my friend wuz registered there. I figured that Jubal wuzn't gonna give up livin' high off the hog, so I should eventually find him ifen I jus' checked enough hotels.