Chapter 7

That was so much money for one job, that we was both tryin' ta think of some way that we could find more of them. Nothin' occurred ta either one of us, an' we just went back ta normal bounty huntin'.

We didn't have no hunches at the moment, soz we just flipped a coin ta help us decide which way ta go. Damned ifen that coin didn't point us toward San Antonio, so we headed that way. Nothin' interestin' happened fer the first three days, an' we were wonderin' ifen we was doin' the right thin'. Ya kin tell that we was right spoiled by all of our previous good luck, an' we was fidgetin' 'cause nothin' was happenin' ta keep us amused. It was obvious that I had forgotten that I sometimes went a month or six weeks afore I found a fugitive, an' most of the other bounty hunters what I knew figured that I was just too damned lucky ta be real!

Anyway, we rode into Curtis Falls, not expectin' much, but hopin' fer a lot. It was mid-afternoon an we was both thirsty. Most places, there was no restrictions on any male goin' inta a saloon, no matter what his age, so Sam an' I went in lookin' fer somethin' ta cool our whistle. I wanted a Mexican beer, but Sam settled fer a sasparilla. We took our drinks ta a table in the back of the saloon an' cooled them down ta our taste.

We sat there talkin' about nothin' much, but enjoyin' the cool of the room an' bein' out of the direct sun. It might be late fall, but it was still right hot in the middle of the afternoon on most days. Anyway, we was relaxin' from a long borin' day when nothin' was happenin'. That changed right quick when a pair of galoots walked inta the saloon.

One of them was so big that ya just naturally wanted ta call him "Goliath", but it would be wise ta ask his opinion afore ya did it ta his face. The other one was so small that he looked like he would do well as a watch fob fer the first man. We wouldn't of paid any more attention, but we got a glimpse of their thoughts.

Them bastards was plannin' ta rape some woman what lived alone at the edge of town. Now, there was just no way I was gonna put up with somethin' like that, an' Sam was with me all the way. This rape was planned fer this afternoon right after them two had a whiskey ta boost their nerve.

I couldn't wait fer them ta start with the woman, soz I made plans ta take out them two afore they left the saloon. It was easy ta tell that they was the kind what liked ta bully other people, mostly 'cause they could get away with it. Goliath was the muscle of the pair, but Fob was just as mean an' low down, an' I ain't talkin' about his size.

I figured that the easy way ta do this was ta incite a little bullyin' toward me, then I would have a good excuse ta shoot them both. I asked Sam ta back me up, but ta let me do the shootin' unless it looked like I was in over my head.

I got up from my seat an' walked up ta the bar. The big fellow had just gotten delivery of his whiskey, but hadn't taken a swallow yet. I timed my approach so that I would bump his elbow just as he tipped the glass ta his mouth. My timein' was perfect, an' the whiskey sloshed down his front instead of inta his mouth.

That really pissed him off, but I pretended ta apologize an' offered ta buy him another drink ta make up fer the one he had spilled. Well, that seemed ta be all that was needed ta trigger his mean bullyin' instincts. He punched me in the upper chest with his finger an' let me tell ya, I felt every bit of it. God, he was strong!

I stumbled back a little bit, an' that stumble wasn't no sham! It wouldn't surprise me if Goliath could of pushed his finger through a tree ifen he'd taken a mind ta do it! I'm pretty tall, but he was a good six inches taller, an' he looked down at me all full of hate an' meanness. He growled, "Ya little piss-ant, I'll show ya that ya can't go around bumpin' inta people like that." Aha! My plan was movin' in my direction. All I had ta do was ta make sure that I didn't do somethin' stupid an' let him git his paws on me.

I danced even farther back like I was afeared of him an' said, "Now, hold on, Mister. It was an accident. Ya don't need ta git so riled over an accident."

"Don't tell me what I kin an' can't do, ya piss-ant. I aim ta beat ya ta a pulp ta teach ya how ta act around yer betters."

OK, that was what I had been waitin' fer. He had made a serious threat toward me, an' most everybody what counted had heard him say it. Shit, he was enough bigger than me ta make that threat become reality, an' everybody in the saloon knew it. Now I could justify shootin' him in self defense. In fact, I'll bet that most of the people in the town would welcome me doin' it!

I said in a kind of tremulous voice, "Now, hold on mister. I know that ya could beat the shit out of me ifen I gave ya the chance. But, ya better know this—I ain't gonna give ya that chance. Ifen ya don't back off real quick like, I aim ta put a bullet inta yer gut what will stop ya from hurtin' me."

I could tell from the turmoil in his mind that he had no intention of backin' off. He had forgotten everythin' except the pleasure he was gonna derive from beatin' me near ta death. He didn't plan on killin' me directly, he was just gonna beat me 'til I had no chance of survivin'. His mind said that he had done that afore now, an' he figured himself ta be a real master of the art.

I backed off one more step an' said, "Mister, ya take one more step forward, an' it'll be yer last one. Ifen ya come any closer ta me, I'm gonna kill ya. I kin do it an' I will."

Goliath just laughed an' took the step. Shit! He was already too close fer comfort, so I pulled my gun an' shot him in the chest right over his heart. Son ... Of ... A ... Bitch!!! He didn't stop, but kept comin' right toward me. That was enough! This time, I shot him between the eyes, an' that .44-40 bullet made a real nice hole goin' in, but it made a real mess comin' out the back side of his head.

Meanwhile, Fob had drawn his gun, an' was tryin' ta git a good shootin angle at me. Sam never gave him a chance ta do that. Sam put a bullet right inta Fob's right ear, an' it made a suitable mess comin' out the other one. No question about it, they was both dead, an' I swear I heard a collective sigh of relief come from the bartender an' the patrons in the saloon.

I asked the bartender ta send his swamper fer the marshal, an' I got the answer right away, "There ain't no need fer that, Mister. The marshal is sittin' right over there."

Now I was really pissed! That fool marshal would of let Goliath kill me rather than take a chance of tryin' ta break up the confrontation. I knew right then that I had better git out of town real quick afore I added shootin' a town marshal ta my list of misdeeds.

I said, "OK, Marshal, what's the verdict? Did I shoot in self defense or not?"

"Yes, Sir, Mister, ya sure did. An' we're all glad fer it. Y'all did this here town a right big favor by gittin' rid of that there pair of bullies, an' we thank y'all. As far as I'm concerned, ya was as justified as a man could be."

I nodded my head, an' Sam an' I got out of that saloon an' that town as fast as we could reasonably move. We was glad ta git rid of the rapists like we did, but both of us felt that, otherwise, the town had been gittin' what it deserved!

We rode on fer a couple of more days without gittin' any guidance 'bout where we should go or nothin' else. We was actually glad when we ran into a gang of four road agents. We knew about them afore they knew about us, soz we was ready fer some fun. Them bandits was hidin' in a dense growth of trees an' brush, soz we was able ta git up ta about 100 yards of them without them knowin' that we was there. We had ridden into the woods plenty far enough back, an' they never caught sight of us.