Chapter 9

Nothing! That described their luck in this part of Oklahoma, so they decided to try the panhandle. If they didn't find anything there, they could always drop a few miles south and be back in Texas where they both felt more comfortable. They rode a little bit north before cutting west because the roads seemed a little bit better in Cherokee country. They could tell when they got to the panhandle, because the road pooped out like it had been cut with a knife. The frugal Cherokees had not spent a penny on a road they were not responsible for.

The first town they came to in the panhandle was more like a disaster area than a town. It had seven saloons, and that was it! If you wanted a meal or a room for the night, you had to go to the next town. On the other hand, if you wanted alcohol or opium or a woman, by the fuck, by the hour, or by the night, you had come to the right place. The town was named Lucky, but neither Jack nor Bill could figure out why, unless it was the way you felt if you got away with you life.

It was reasonably early in the day when the two walked into the first saloon, but it was already a madhouse. There were two shootings and a knifing before they finished their first beer of the day. This was too much! They put their empty mugs on the bar and walked out of the saloon, got on their horses, and felt lucky as they rode out of town.

Jack said, "Shit, if the rest of the panhandle is like that, I'm fer goin' back ta Texas as fast as this here hoss kin take me!"

Bill agreed, but suggested, "Ya're exactly right, but let's look at a couple more towns afore we gives up too easy. I can't believe that the whole panhandle is like that town we jus' escaped from."

They rode for about 15 miles and came to another town. This one was much more like the kind of towns they were used to. Sure, there were four saloons, but there was a hotel, a restaurant, three general stores, a barber shop with an attached bath house, an undertaker, a marshal's office and jail, and a (boarded up) church. There was also a prominently displayed gallows. They expected a quiet town from all of the evidence, but they found out that it was quiet for the wrong reason. There was a cholera epidemic, something they found out when they stopped at the first saloon. There was a big QUARANTINE sign displayed, nailed to the closed door. The sign had enough detail that they got the hell out of town as quickly as they could.

Ten miles further on, there was another town, but this one seemed more normal. There were people walking the streets and the hotel was open for business. They checked in and found that there were only two available rooms, one of which they took. The hotel was full of people from the town with cholera, but who had seemed to escape before being stricken.

They left their stuff in their room and went to supper. They were a little bit late for the usual serving hours, so they had to settle for beef and beans, though they did get coffee. The price was outrageous, 30 cents each for the food and 5 cents for the coffee! However, this was the only restaurant in town, and the owner appeared to be trying to make money while he could.

Later, after supper, they visited one of the three saloons, but were too tired to go any farther. They dragged into their hotel room and stripped for bed. Both were so tired that they just kissed and cuddled for a few minutes before falling into an exhausted sleep.

The next morning, they ate breakfast at the same restaurant at the same exorbitant price, but they got a much higher quality meal, so they were not as pissed as they had been the night before.

They stopped off at the marshal's office and told him why they were in the territory. The marshal said that the only high priced crook he knew of in the vicinity was The Highpoint Kid. There was a $1,000 price on his head posted by the State of Texas. It seems that he had murdered the judge and prosecutor that had got him convicted of bank robbery and sentenced to 20 years in the State Penitentiary at hard labor. The marshal remarked that he could use the money, but he was not fool enough to go up against The Kid. That man was a dead shot, and "dead" was the proper word!

Actually, the marshal would like to see The Kid arrested by somebody, because he was terrorizing the town. He was living in the same hotel that Bill and Jack were using, and he usually slept all day and caroused in the saloons all night. Every bartender had asked, no, begged, the marshal to lock up The Kid, but the marshal was not that big a fool. All the marshal would promise was to lock The Kid in a cell if they brought him in.

Bill and Jack thanked the marshal for the information and went back to their hotel room to study the wanted poster the marshal had given them. There was a photo on the poster, so the two bounty hunters were sure that they would not try to arrest the wrong man. They spent the time until they needed to go looking for The Kid with sex play and sleep—they wanted to be at their best when they faced the killer.

They decided to use the same tactics that they had used against Jake Blade, with some minor modifications. They planned to enter the saloon separately, so that it would not be obvious that they were acting together. Bill would go in first and stand beside The Kid at the bar. Jack would come in a minute or so later and stand on the other side of The Kid so that they would have him sandwiched. Jack would jostle The Kid and attract his attention. At that point, Bill would stick a gun muzzle in The Kid's kidney and demand that he surrender. They would play it by ear from there.

They found the saloon where The Kid was leaning against the bar and drinking a beer. Bill walked in and pushed his way to the bar between The Kid and a man who was standing beside him. At this time of night, the bar was plenty crowded, so neither man at the bar thought anything amiss. Bill ordered a beer and waited for Jack to show up.

A moment later, Jack came in and muscled up to the bar on the other side of The Kid. Jack ordered a beer and suddenly realized that they had the wrong man sandwiched between them. The man they really wanted was standing on the other side of Bill. Jack almost panicked when he saw his mistake, but quickly regained his aplomb and stepped back away from the bar.

Bill was shocked when Jack did this, but looked in the mirror at the man he was about to try to arrest and realized the mistake.

Jack kind of flailed around as if he had tripped. He managed to throw about half of his beer all over The Highpoint Kid. Now, that's enough to get anybody's attention! The Kid pulled his gun to shoot Jack and this was the time Bill had been waiting for. Bill drew his pistol, pulled the hammer to full cock, and jammed it into The Kid's back about even with his right kidney.

"OK, Kid, ye're under arrest. Put yer gun on the bar an' turn around afore my finger twitches." At this moment, Bill felt a gun muzzle pressed into his own back.

The man whom they had almost mistaken for The Highpoint Kid said, "Ifen ya pull that trigger, ya're gonna need a new backbone. Now you lay yer gun on the bar."

Bill said, "This here looks like a Mexican standoff. I ain't gonna move my gun from where it is as long as ya press yer gun inta my back. Think it over an' decide what ya're gonna do, cuz I don't know how long I kin stand here. But ifen ya pull that there trigger, I guarantee that yer friend will have a new hole in his kidney. Ya kin kill me, but there ain't no way that ya kin keep me from killin' yer friend at the same time. Put that in yer pipe an' smoke it."

Nobody was paying any attention to Jack, so he quietly pulled his gun and just as quietly cocked and fired it into the wrist of the man holding the gun on Bill. The impact of that .44-40 bullet was enough to shatter the man's wrist and flip the gun away from Bill before the man reflexively pulled the trigger. His bullet buried itself in the wood at the front of the bar. Jack had removed him from the fight very neatly and effectively.