Chapter 1

"Howdy, Partner. Waite Phillips' the name. Can ya spare me the time? I've been on the road couple of weeks now, and don't rightly know what day it is or even what time. Done lost my watch to some scallywags in North Caroliney. Well, it actually saved my life. The gut shot that one bastard tried caught me in the vest pocket whare I keeped it. Knocked me down and probly saved my miserable life, too. That let me get my Colt out and put one between his eyes. Damn Yankee carpetbaggers anywho. I gotta get me back to Texas. Now tell me, kind Sir, what be the date an time?"

Mr. Guthrie looked at the stranger. He thought this boy is a rough one, but he seems to be alright. "Well Sir, the date is May 17^th, 1873, this is Sneedville, Tennessee, and I reckon it's just about noon. You are in the William Guthrie general store, and I just happen to be the aforementioned Mr. Guthrie. Is there anything else I might do for you? Is there something I can get you?

"Well, Sir, I'd be much obliged iffin you had some work for an honest worker. I'm strong and smart. I can read and cipher better than most. I also know how to use the sidearms I have on. I'm real good at protecting people needing it." He patted the handle of his 1860 Colt Army six-guns. They had been converted to that new .44 cal. rimfire just so it'd match his Henry repeater rifle. They were all new. He'd gotten them off the highwaymen he'd met last week. He'd also gotten 27 double eagles. With over $500 in cash on him, he knew better than to let on about his wealth. He would have to kill someone again if he did.

"Well I'm sorry, Son, but I already have two people working for me. My son, Billy, is my handyman, and Carol Ann Stratford is my clerk. That's all the help I need here. We're just too small of a town to need anymore."

"Thanks anyway. I guess I'll be heading out." With that he turned to leave, and then stopped. "Oh, do you have any of the .44 rimfire cartridges? I need some more." He said as he turned back to Mr. Guthrie.

"Yes, I do. I got a shipment last week. I have 6 boxes of them. How many do you want?" He asked.

"I guess I'll take them all. How much do you ask for them?" Waite responded. "I hope you aren't one of them carpetbaggers who charge an arm and a leg..."

"Oh, no Sir!" Guthrie responded indignantly. "All six boxes will be twelve dollars. But I can't take any script, it's gotta be gold. You understand."

"Yeah, I do. I got me a double eagle here. You throw in a bunch of hard tack, jerky, bacon if you got any, beans, coffee, sugar, salt, some of those sour-gum candies and we'll call it square."

"Right, we'll get right on the order. CAROL!" Guthrie yelled. "Customer order. Come fill it."

Right then from the back room entered a vision of loveliness the likes of which Waite Phillips had not seen before. Carol Ann was the picture of feminine pulchritude. She was tall and slender. Her golden tresses in ringlets surrounded her angelic face and cascaded down to her chest. Her eyes were limpid pools of blue. The bodice of her dress was tight, constraining a rather massive amount of flesh. Her waist disappeared below that to almost nothing, only to have the flare of her womanly hips expand out to match the girth of her bust. Her blue and white gingham dress swirled as she walked. She looked at Waite and liked what she saw. Long eyelashes batted a silent hello there and the smile on her face was an open invitation for Waite to get to know her better. She went over to Mr. Guthrie and picked up the order sheet. She busily got the order together as Waite watched her body's fluid movement. It was making him a little uncomfortable in his Levi Straus jeans. He had to shift positions more than once while watching her.

"Here you go, Sir; I think your order is complete. I hope it meets your approval. Don't hesitate to ask if there is ANYthing else I can do for you." She was definitely flirting. She'd thrust out her chest and was coyly looking at Waite. Her voice was like a lark, sweet and lyrical. It left a person wanting to hear more.

"I-I th-think that's a-all for now." Flustered, he gathered up his purchases and was about to leave when Mr. Guthrie spoke up.

"Say, young man, I just remembered. You might check down at the livery stable for work. Old man Foster runs the place and he fired his helper yesterday for drinking too much most of the time. I'm sure he could take you on."

Waite thanked Mr. Guthrie, and took another long look at Carol Ann before heading down the street with Ruth, his mule, in tow. Ruth was a good mule, strong and smart as mules go, but she could be stubborn sometimes. When that happened, Waite would haul off and punch her in the side. That usually did the trick. When they got to the stable, Mr. Foster was leaning against the door. He did a quick scan of Waite and said, "$1 a night."

"Whoa up there a minute. You don't know what I was coming ta ask." Waite said. "Mr. Guthrie said you was looking for someone to help out. I come to apply for the job. I'm big and strong, I don't drink whiskey and I seldom get in fights."

"Answers still the same, $1 a night, but you get free room and board for you and your, your whatever. Take it or leave it." One thing was for certain, this Mr. Foster sure was a disagreeable sort.

"I'll take it. When do I start?"

"You can brush down the horses in the stalls, then muck the stalls out, and the rest of the day is yours," Foster said.

Waite didn't think that was such a bad deal. He put Ruth up, and stowed his saddle and gear in the hayloft. He then got the brush and currycomb out and started on the horses. He mucked the stalls out once that was done. Foster showed him where to put the shit behind the livery. He was selling it as fertilizer at $1 a barrow full. It looked like business was a bit slow lately. What he did see back there impressed him. It was a brand new Conestoga wagon. It had never been used. There was also a team of mules there that looked like they would pull all day. When he was finished, he cleaned up in the horse trough and decided to go over to the café to eat. He would save his purchases for if he left out later. Crossing the street was easy. There was no kind of traffic, human or animal. He was just about the climb up on the board sidewalk when a rough character shouldered him back.

"Why don't you watch where you're going?" the man snarled.

"Well, Sir, I was watching. Seems to me that you decided to take up the same space as me, so I'd be obliged if you'd apologize," Waite returned.

"You saying I pushed you, you gol darn pipsqueak?" His buddies on the chairs in front of the barbershop were laughing. "We just can't have something like that going on now. I think you're the one that should apologize pronto."

"I'd like to if I was in the wrong, Sir, but I know I'm not," Waite started to say. That was about all that was going to be said. The troublemaker went to draw his six-shooter. That was a mistake. Waite was fast, very fast. The man was dead before he knew it. His gun hadn't even cleared the holster. One of his cronies made the same mistake. Waite drilled him with his left hand Colt. The other two froze when they saw that.

Just then the Town Sheriff came running up, gun drawn. "What's going on here? Why did you kill those two men? Who are you?"

These were all valid questions the Sheriff was asking. Waite was about to answer when a vision of loveliness entered the scene.

"He just did what you should have done a long time ago. He rid this town of a menace. Black Bart and his henchman, Crowley, started the trouble. I was standing at the window of the store and I saw the whole thing. This man only drew in self-defense, and I, for one, am glad it happened. That Black Bart has been sniffing around and wouldn't leave me alone. I'm not the only one either. Carol Ann at the General Store, and Lisa Marie at the Millinery, have also had trouble with him. A decent woman couldn't walk down the street alone without him pestering us. It was only a matter of time before he did something horrible to one of us. Now you run those other ruffians out of town. Now, or I WILL tell mama you didn't. You know what mama will do!"

The tirade came from a walking, talking Venus. Hair red as flame, eyes green as emeralds. Her skin was pale and dotted with freckles. The skin of her chest molded inside the dress to form two perfect cones of womanhood. She had broad womanly hips, and the fire in her eyes exuded the passion she felt as she spoke.

Waite said, "Thank you, Ma'am, I'm at a loss. You seem to know me, but we haven't been introduced. You sure did arrive in the nick of time. I think you saved me from the gallows there. I know it was self-defense, but I don't know the Sheriff; your brother, I assume? He seems to have been set straight by you. Many thanks again. Oh, yes, may name's Waite, Waite Phillips."

"I'm Peggy Sue Watson, the village schoolteacher. I know about you from talking to Carol Ann. She described you perfectly. We room together over at Mrs. Jordan's boarding house. We tell each other everything. I was hoping I'd meet you. She has nothing but good to say about you."

He thought a moment, and then said, "I'm heading over to the café for dinner. Would you like to join me?"

"Oh, I'd be pleased to have dinner with such a courageous man as you. Handsome too, I might add," she coyly answered.

"Then would you wait right here for two minutes? I have something important to do. I won't be long, please?" he begged.

"Yes, I'll wait. They've hauled the bodies off and I can sit here on the bench. But hurry, don't be long," she replied.

Waite ran back across the street and up to the door of the general store. It was locked and he pounded on the door. Carol Ann came out of the back room, and ran to open the door when she saw Waite. He stepped in to the store a minute.

"I don't need to buy anything right now, Carol Ann. I just met your roommate, Peggy Sue, and I invited her to dinner." Carol Ann looked crestfallen, but she brightened up immediately when he continued, saying, "And I'd like to take both you and her to dinner. So what do you say?"

She threw her arms around his neck and soundly kissed him. "YES!" she cried, "Just let me get my shawl and I need to lock up. Mr. Guthrie always leaves before 5 PM so he can get home to that shrew of a wife. I'll only be a moment."

Carol Ann appeared back in the store with a dark blue shawl thirty seconds later. It complemented her dress and eyes. Waite opened the door for her and waited while she locked up. He offered her his arm and they crossed the street together. Peggy Sue looked a little upset to see Waite and Carol Ann together.

Waite forestalled any disagreement by stating, "Since you two are the best of friends and I'm sure you ALWAYS do everything together, I just knew I couldn't take one out to eat without the other. Thus, I had to go fetch Carol Ann so she could join us in our celebration."