The Peril Of Pauline

The Peril Of Pauline

Most people would agree that Arizona is hot in summer, although there are those who would call that an understatement, or even a downright lie. During the monsoon season this heat is compounded by humidity, and during August it feels about as hot and uncomfortable as any weather could possibly be. The small town of Humbug, Arizona was hot, the streets were hot, the hotel was hot, the restaurant was hot, the undertaking parlor was hot, even the coolest establishment in the town, the saloon was hot. The beer was warm. Many of the town’s men had taken refuge in the saloon, hoping that downing beer after beer would make the heat tolerable. These men weren’t planning to do any work that day, one of the hottest they could remember suffering through in years; instead the bulk of the patrons had brought their chairs close to the bar or were leaning against it reducing the distance between themselves and the glasses they languidly reached for. Only two of the round card tables had players. At one of these tables the game barely inched along. To an observer it would appear as if the players were waxwork figures and not living beings. The players at the second table had voted to cancel their game on account of the ‘insufferable weather’. With sighs and grunts of relief they pushed themselves away from the table, some to return home to take siestas, others to purchase refills from the bartender. Two men remained at the table including the lone player who had voted to continue the game even though he’d been sweating so profusely his straight brown hair was matted and he’d had to tie a blue bandanna around his head to keep the perspiration from dripping down his nose and cheek. Hannibal Heyes figured gambling was the best way to pass the time in this heat, and he couldn’t understand why the others had been so eager to quit. It didn’t make any sense. He looked at his partner, Kid Curry. “I don’t believe it, Thaddeus. What’s wrong with them? The game was just getting interesting. And you, what’s the matter with you? You voted with them. You know, you’re supposed to be my friend.” The Kid’s blonde curls were limp, plastered against his head, and his red shirt, damp under the armpits was open as far down as was decently acceptable. “Joshua, it is too hot to play. It is too hot to do anything.” “It’s only a little heat. Remember Yuma? That was hot. This is nothing compared to that. I think you’re getting soft in you’re old age.” “Hey—Joshua the cards were soaked, not to mention the players.” He cut off his partner before he could speak. “I’m stepping out for some air.” “You’re going outside? It’s too hot to play cards and you’re going for a walk?” He paused, and then looked at his friend with mock concern. “You sure you’re alright?”

The Kid stood. “It’s too hot to argue. I’m going. You wanna go with me?” “You are joking, aren’t you? I’m not going out into that heat. Why don’t you stay here and have another beer?” “I don’t see how it’s any cooler in here than outside, and I wanna stretch my legs. I’ll see ya later.” He put on his hat and left the saloon. “Hey you, Smith. We’re gonna be one player less here. Why doncha come on over and join us?” Heyes got up and moved to the other table. After all even a slow game was better than none.

The Kid was hit by a blast of heat when he stepped on the boardwalk. He almost regretted his decision, but he really didn’t want to play any more poker. He couldn’t let Heyes think a little heat was gonna get to him so quickly. Glancing up and down the street he saw a couple of men sitting outside taking naps with their hats pulled over their faces. A hound dog lying nearby breathed heavily; saliva ran along its muzzle. The dog had one eye closed and the other eye tracked the Kid’s movements. Then it yawned, shutting that eye as if it couldn’t be bothered. There was a buckboard in front of the mercantile with some purchases in it. The owner of the store came out carrying a large sack, hefting it into the wagon, then backed away and bent over panting. To the Kid’s surprise a young lady followed the storekeeper. She held a smaller sack that she struggled to lift into the wagon. He quickly ran over. “Here ma’am, you let me load that in for you. You shouldn’t be loading supplies.” He took the sack, pleased to see that she was obviously a nice respectable girl, and pretty too, with dark brown hair, hazel eyes, a real peaches and cream complexion, and a small straight nose. He turned to the storekeeper glaring slightly. “Lots of supplies,” the man gasped, “and I ain’t so young any more.” The Kid felt a bit bad that he had glared at the man. The fella was in pretty bad shape. “Tell you what. I’ll load the rest for the lady.” The storekeeper let out a gasp of air in relief, nodded, and collapsed into the nearest chair, more than happy to hand the labor over to the younger man. “Thank-you so much Mr.?” “Jones, ma’am, Thaddeus Jones.”

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“Thank-you Mr. Jones. That’s very kind of you to help, especially on such a hot day.” “Well, you just show me the rest of the supplies, and I’ll take care of it for you, ma’am.” “Pauline Pringle, Mr. Jones. Please don’t call me ma’am.” “Alright Miss Pringle.” The Kid smiled and followed her inside. She was pretty and polite. He’d enjoy helping her out and feel good about it too. Once inside his heart sank slightly although he did his best not to show it. Apparently the shopkeeper had only started to load what looked like almost six months of supplies that were piled into a small mountain near the front entrance. “I’m sorry it’s so much, Mr. Jones, but Papa and Mama don’t like to shop too often so when we do shop it—well there is a lot of it. My younger brother, Rodney, was supposed to help load,” she sighed and looked at the Kid with large, and he thought, apologetic eyes, “but he’s fourteen and well, you know what that age is like. He ran off with some friends as soon as we got to town.” The Kid couldn’t exactly remember what he was like at fourteen; he had memories of being on cattle drives at that age and didn’t think he and Heyes had gotten into too much trouble-yet, at least that’s how he remembered things. Then again, he figured, most normal boys probably avoided chores if they could. “Don’t you worry I’ll get it all loaded. You go and sit down over in that chair. I think this is gonna take awhile.”

Heyes was seated at the card table with four other players praying for some action. The other gamblers seated included the town’s lawyer Frank Spindle, the owner of the livery stable, Morgan Dunck, and the blacksmith Harry Claxton. The dealer for the hand was one Benjamin Mulick, the mortician, a man who was not to be hurried. “Ah’m gonna deal out a hand of five card stud,” he announced shuffling painfully slow. “Harry you can go ahead and cut this deck now.” Harry obliged. “Now ah’m gonna deal a card face down to you Harry. There we go, that’s good. Now ah’m gonna deal a card face down to you Morgan. There-that’s good too. Now ah’m gonna deal a card face down to you Mistah Smith. Ah think we can all agree that’s good too.” Heyes surveyed the other players. They weren’t edgy or fidgety so he guessed this was pretty normal for them. He glanced down at his watch; it read half-past ten so by his calculations this hand would be finished at about lunchtime. He didn’t imagine that the rest of the players would deal like Benjamin Mulick, so if he sat through this hand there

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would be ample time for more hands, and more winnings, later. “Heahs a card, face down for you Frank. Frank howah did that reading of Marcus Jeffehson’s will turn out? Ya’ll done that yestahday didn’t ya?” “Well I’ll tell you Benjamin, it went all nice and smooth ‘til Miss Anna, that sister of his, found out he’d gone and left the bulk of everything to his nephew by his other sister living in Prescott. She went a shrieking and hollering, and I tell you I’ve never heard such a racket in my entire life. You’d think she been sentenced to hang.” “Well I never. That’s mighty interestin’, Frank. It surely is.” Heyes cleared his throat. “Is theah something the matter with ya Mistah Smith?” “No no. I was wondering if you were gonna deal yourself a card.” “Mistah Smith, you don’t mind if ah call ya Joshua do ya? I didn’t think so. Joshua, poker is a gentleman’s game, a leisurely game, and we are all gentlemen heah and we take our time. We’d like you to set with us and enjoy the game, but you gotta understand we are in no hurry.” “I can see that. I mean I understand absolutely. I wouldn’t want to hurry you along,” Heyes lied with an understanding smile. After all this was the only game in town so he’d have to play it their way. Well at least it would pass the time even if it was less lucrative than he’d anticipated. “Good. Now heahs a card face down for me, and that’s good too.” Dealing the cards facing up took even longer. Benjamin dealt these cards in the same manner as the first round of cards, but in addition distinctly announcing the value and suit of each card, as well as stopping for stories told by the others or him. Heyes discovered that he had underestimated the length of time this would take and instead of an hour and a half the game was running a little over two hours. Morgan Dunck had regaled them with a particularly long story about the water rats of New Orleans. This halted the deal for forty minutes. Heyes didn’t mind too much. Including his hole card, he had three queens and a ten so far which looked to be the winning hand. Morgan and Benjamin had folded but Frank and Harry were still betting and they didn’t seem to have a good understanding of the laws of probability. “Heahs a card for Joshua. Well look heah it’s a jack. That’s a purty hand ain’t it? Let’s see, he’s got two queens, a ten, and a jack. Ah don’t see many other tens or jacks out so maybe he’s got two pair. Ya other fellas better watch…” A loud screech was heard. Before the players knew what had hit them a small bundle of

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fur flew over Benjamin’s shoulder, yowling as it passed. It slid across the tables knocking most of the cards off. For a finish it scrambled up Heyes left arm and exited over his shoulder, scratching his face as it ran. Following it was a larger bundle of fur that upset the table in its hurry to catch the first ball of fur. The two balls of fur sped around the saloon and ran through the front door, barely recognizable as a cat followed by a terrier dog. “Those damn animals,” complained Frank. “I told Hattie Wilkens she needed to keep that dog of hers tied up.” “Howas your face, son?” Benjamin asked Heyes. “Ah, it’s not too bad. I’ve had worse.” He ran his finger up the scratches which traveled from his chin to his forehead. Frank poured some beer on his handkerchief handing it to Heyes. He patted the scratches and winced. Morgan and Harry righted the table plus some of the chairs that had fallen over in the confusion. Morgan bent over slowly picking up the cards which he handed to Benjamin, who commenced to count the deck. “Well we’ll have to start again boys,” said Frank. “Let’s return everyone’s money except the ante if that’s alright.” The others nodded. “And, since Benjamin didn’t get to complete his deal, I guess he’ll have to start over.” Heyes groaned.

The Kid wearily put the last item into the wagon and wiped his forehead with his sleeve. Pauline had followed him out of the store and stopped by his side. Next to the buckboard stood a skinny young fella who resembled Pauline, so the Kid realized that Rodney had shown up at exactly the right moment—after all the work was done. “Thaddeus,” during the loading they had moved onto first name basis, “I want to thank you so much for all your kind help.” Rodney stood behind and to her side to insure that Curry could see all the grimaces and faces he was making while she spoke. She looked down at her feet saying shyly, “I’d like to thank you properly. Would you like to ride out with us and have a late afternoon meal? Mother is a good cook, and, well, I’ve been told I’m pretty good too. The ride isn’t so far to our home.” Rodney snickered and said in a whiny voice, “Pauline’s got a beau. Pauline’s got a beau. You gonna hang onto this one then? Be careful you don’t poison him.”

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“Rodney shut up,” Pauline hissed giving him a dirty look. She rearranged her face into a winning smile and faced the Kid. The Kid was a little startled with her quick changes, but then little brothers were probably annoying, so ignoring Rodney he returned her smile. “Thanks Pauline. I’d enjoy that. I’ll get my horse so I can ride back to town later.” “You gonna bring your horse? I’ll ride him if you’re gonna sit in the wagon with my sis here.” “Sorry partner. I’m gonna tie him to the back, and sit up front with Pauline. You’re gonna ride in the back of the wagon.” No way was this kid gonna ride his horse. “Why?” in a very loud whine. “I don’t wanna sit in the wagon all uncomfortable when there’s a horse I can ride.” “Rodney, that’s not polite. You cannot ride Mr. Jones’ horse, so you just behave yourself.” “Who are you, a princess? We’re all nice and po-lite all of a sudden—ain’t we?” “RODNEY. I am so sorry, Thaddeus, he’s been like this all day. He’s not normally such a ruffian.” Her big hazel eyes actually had tears in them from the embarrassment. She was being so sweet, Curry thought, and then there was the promise of home cooking too. It was a heady combination. “Oh sure, I’m the town’s model boy,” Rodney muttered under his breath sarcastically. The Kid gave her a big smile. He’d make sure when they got to the house Rodney would do all the unloading to make up for the morning’s work. That thought made him smile even wider. “Like I said Pauline, I’ll go get my horse. A short walk would be good for it. I’m sure looking forward to trying some of your cooking.” As he walked away he thought he heard Rodney say under his breath, “What a chump.”

In the saloon the second hand of five card stud was almost completely dealt. The stories had been continuous, and for some strange reason rats were the main topic of conversation. Heyes figured they had visited most of the United States verbally throughout the early afternoon in search of rats. Ocean rats in San Francisco and New

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York, stable rats in the South, house rats in the upper states and territories, desert rats in Arizona, and one particularly nasty enormous rat in a hotel in Sacramento that couldn’t be caught or killed, had all been the leading characters in a series of tales that amused the other players. Heyes stifled a yawn. He couldn’t tell if the heat was more soporific than the stories or the stories more soporific than the heat. He’d been reduced to looking at the ‘artwork’ on the saloon’s walls, a series of unframed beer advertisements that had young pretty girls in front of waterfalls, rivers and lakes, which only served to make him feel hotter and thirstier. Finally he received his last card. “Well look there boys, Joshua’s got hisself two Kings and two nines. Course Frank’s got three Jacks. Well I guess I better finish dealing, and give a card to Frank heah so’s we can let them get done betting and see which of them’s got the better hand.” Heyes looked half-asleep on the outside but on the inside he was celebrating. His down card was a third King, giving him a King high full house, and there was no way Frank could beat him because Harry had the fourth Jack. “Fight. Fight. Hey everybody there’s a big fight outside between Hollis Green and Stan Regan.” A young man ran into the saloon at high speed, looked over his shoulder and turned quickly. He skidded up against a side wall to avoid being toppled over by three men following him. Two other men followed these men, locked into each others arms, each man wrestling and struggling to free himself to give a blow to the other. They veered towards the poker table. Heyes jumped up and placed himself between the men and the table. He moaned under his breath, “not the game not the game. Please not when I’ve got the winning hand.” The two men swayed towards him. “Hey back off you two,” Heyes ordered trying to push them up and away. The next thing he knew he was on his back on the table with the two men fighting on top of him. The table crashed to its side under their combined weight. The two rolled off of him still wrestling, heading for the opposite side of the room. Heyes lay stunned, staring at the ceiling and feeling as if all the air had been squashed out of him. A face stared down at him, then another and another and another. He wasn’t quite sure who they were, and tried blinking and swallowing to clear his head. “You alright, son?” Oh yeah, the card game. It was Benjamin asking if he was all right. He tried to answer but nothing came out. “I think we’d better sit him up. Here, Harry you help me.” Frank supported him on his right side and Harry on his left. Frank placed a glass before his lips and ordered him to drink. It was whisky and soon he was sputtering and coughing. “Well that’s better, son. Ya had us worried. You was so white I almost thought we was gonna be carrying you to my establishment. Now you got some color back.” “He’s got a lot of color back, Benjamin. Look at those bruises. A couple on his face, some on his arm too. Looks like a shiner’s coming up too in his left eye; must’ve got an elbow

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in it.” Morgan pointed the black and blue spots out. “You don’t have any broken bones do you?” “Huh?” “Bones, broken bones. Does anything feel broken?” “No and you don’t have to shout. I guess I was a bit stunned was all. I’m OK. Let’s just finish the hand.” “Well, glad you’re OK, son. But we can’t just finish the hand. The cards is all over the floor,” said Benjamin. “If we wanna keep playing we’re gonna have to start all over.” “No. No,” Heyes interjected quickly, his voice almost squeaking. “I trust you fellas. Why don’t we each pick up the cards we were holding and finish the hand?” He looked up at them and smiled, trying to coax them into completing the game so he could pocket the two hundred dollar pot. He wanted to have something to show the Kid so’s he could maintain some pride after explaining where all these bruises came from—after the Kid was done laughing-- he thought wryly. “Sorry son, but how can you and Frank complete the betting if you know each other’s hand, and you will if we pick up the cards. Nope. Guess we’ll have to call it a misdeal and start over. You boys want me to start again or should Harry deal?” “Still your deal Benjamin. After all you didn’t get to finish. What do the rest of you think?” asked Morgan. The others shook their heads yes in agreement, except for Heyes who watched them in miserable disbelief. “Alright let’s set the table up and try it again.” “I should leave. I really should leave. I know I should leave,” Heyes whispered to himself. But what else could happen he thought. The table couldn’t be upset three times in a row, the odds were against that. And they had to be out of rat stories.

The buckboard reached a fork in the road. The road heading right looked pretty smooth but the road angling left looked a bit pitted. “Pauline, which way is your house?” “It’s to the right Thaddeus, but you wouldn’t mind heading down the other road a very very short way, would you? It’d only be the teensiest tiniest detour. I have some dear friends down the other road, the nicest people, the Jensens; I am ever so fond of them, Claire and I are just like sisters, and I just know you would like them ever so much, and it

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really isn’t so far, and I don’t see them very often…” “She don’t see them often ‘cause the road’s more holes than road, and ‘cause they’re a bunch of no good, lying, type of folk that borrows things and don’t return ‘em, sons of bi…” “Rodney you just shut your trap!” Pauline’s face screwed up into a dark scowl directed at him. She turned to the Kid with a pure innocent expression adding, “I am so sorry Thaddeus, Rodney simply has the most vulgar mouth. He picks it up from some of the boys in town.” “Hah- more like I pick it up from my dear sweet sister,” Rodney muttered. “Pauline that road don’t look very smooth to me so maybe we oughta head on to your home. Maybe you can visit your friends another time.” The Kid was getting a little worried. The trip was longer than he’d thought, he was hungry, and he wasn’t so certain about Pauline anymore. He didn’t like to think this about any girl, but maybe she wasn’t all she seemed, maybe she was a little weird. He looked directly at her. She returned his look with such a lovely innocent expression. No she seemed OK. Her brother was a brat, though. He probably liked to cause her trouble. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad meeting her friends if it wasn’t too far. “Alright Pauline, we’ll head to your friend’s place if it isn’t a long ways.” “Oh it isn’t, really it isn’t. Thank you Thaddeus, thank you so much. You are ever so kind, a real gentleman.” She gave a little bounce of joy. They continued following the left road, the wagon jolting and lurching with every pothole, and with every pothole so large it seemed more like a crater. “Ow! You are the worst driver ever. Don’t you know what you are doing?” exclaimed Rodney. They hit a particularly deep pothole as the Kid avoided an even deeper hole. “Pauline I think you don’t want this one, he’s purty stupid if you ask me.” “Well she’s not asking you.” The Kid turned to give Rodney his best icy glare. “If you don’t shut that mouth of yours…” Crunch. The left end of the wagon sank down as the wheel broke from all the rough usage. The Kid turned to Pauline. “Oh dear. Papa was meaning to change that wheel soon as it was getting a bit too old.” She swallowed, and raised her big eyes to the Kid. “There is a spare wheel we can put on.” “Yeah. Now it looks like you’ll have to change it. Bet you’re sorry now you agreed to visit the Jensens.”

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“Now it looks like we’ll have to change it you mean,” the Kid said loudly. “You’ll have to catch me first.” Rodney leapt out of the wagon and high tailed it until he was out of sight. The Kid gave a loud sigh as he climbed out of the wagon. Well at least the extra wheel was accessible, standing along the side of the wagon and not under the purchases. But he was really going to need some help to change it with all the stuff weighing the wagon down. “Pauline are those friends of yours close?” “They are, but I don’t think you can count on them for help. I mean they are my friends, but, well, but they don’t like to work too hard. I guess, well, I guess if you rode out to ask them you’d be wasting your time. I am so sorry.” The Kid dropped his head and groaned. He’d have to lift everything out of the wagon, change the wheel, and put everything back. He figured he’d better get started.

The Kid leaned against the wagon exhausted from the exertion and the heat. The clouds were darkening, the humidity was increasing, and his temper was rising. Thank goodness it was done, but when he caught that rotten brother of Pauline’s he was gonna give it to him but good. He figured if the kid knew what was good for him he had walked on home. “Thaddeus, you are wonderful. You fixed the wagon, and you did all the loading and unloading, all by yourself.” Don’t remind me he thought. “I am gonna make you the best home cooked meal you ever had, you just wait and see. I am ever so grateful. What if I had been out here all on my own and the wheel had broken? Oh Thaddeus you are a regular hero,” she gushed. “Pauline, all I wanna do right now is get to your home and rest.” And have a good long drink he thought. “Oh you mean we aren’t going on to the Jensens?” She asked in a disappointed tone. He stared at her. She understood the look and backed off. “Oh, uh, well I can see where you might be a little bit tired after all that work. I uh I’ll see them another day.” She finished with an understanding smile and gently touched his arm. “That’s right, Pauline. You see your friends another day.” He wearily climbed into the wagon. Pauline got in and he turned it around to head back to where the road forked. As

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they got close a voice piped up from the back. “Glad we’re on our way home. I’m getting pretty hungry. Anyone got any jerky?” The Kid stopped the wagon, turned and saw Rodney sitting in the back grinning at him. “Why you little…” he reached out to grab the youth. “Oh no. Thaddeus, no. Don’t,” Pauline cried out clutching his arm. “Pauline I just...” “Thaddeus I know. I know what you just went through. But he is my brother. Please don’t hurt him.” Oh Lord she was gonna cry he thought. “Look Pauline, I wasn’t gonna hurt him.” Well not much at any rate. “I was just gonna show him the error of his ways. If he don’t learn it now, someone’s really gonna give it to him one of these days.” “Thaddeus I know, and I’ll tell Papa. He’ll take care of Rodney.” “He’ll have to catch…” “…You first. Yeah I know. I’ll make sure and help him.” He gave the boy a wide grim smile. Rodney shrank back to the end of the wagon. The Kid urged the horse on. “I’m feeling better already,” he announced.

“Well now, tell you what boys. Since Ah’m dealing again, Ah’d like to change the game to draw poker if it’s alright with you, could shorten the game a bit. Whaddya say boys?” Benjamin looked at each of them in turn. Heyes jumped in, “I second the idea.” The others nodded. Benjamin began to deal in his slow, methodical manner. After dealing each man two cards he stopped deep in thought. A cricket was crawling along the edge of the table near him and his eyes were trailing the insect. Morgan looked from Benjamin to the cricket. “Too damn many crickets in Arizona,” Morgan uttered evenly. Benjamin raised and lowered his head in agreement.

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“You know, this heah bug reminds me of the time Ah was stayin’ in Texas, and it seemed like theah were the biggest bugs Ah evah seen. Even the ants was the largest evah. But Ah’m thinkin’ in particular of the time Ah was in a boardin’ house and it was invaded— invaded Ah tell ya by an army of cockroaches. Did Ah eveh tell ya that story, boys?” “Well now Benjamin, I do believe I’ve heard this one, but I don’t believe Morgan has heard it, or Harry neither, and we all know Joshua hasn’t heard it,” responded Frank. Morgan shook his head in a manner that indicated he’d never heard the tale. “Actually I’ve heard it,” said Harry, “but seein’ how it’s one of your best I wouldn’t mind hearin’ it again.” He chuckled at the memory of the story. “You know, I was looking forward to another one of those rat stories you fellas tell so well, or maybe we could talk about politics,” Heyes proposed. “No no, we’re all done with rat stories, right fellas? This is a story you just gotta hear, Smith,” and Harry laughed again. Heyes sighed . Benjamin put the deck to one side, and leaned his elbows on the table. “Well boys it was about five yeahs ago, or mebbe it was six, and Ah’d taken the train to San Antone…”

Heyes stared at his hand keeping a blank face. Somewhere between Benjamin’s cockroach and locust stories he’d been dealt two kings, a ten, eight, and a three. He threw out the ten, eight and three right when Frank began a story about cicadas, and had incredibly picked up two more kings and an ace. He knew he had a hand that could not be beat. The pot was the biggest it had been all day; there were at least five hundred dollars in it. He was feeling good again. Now he and the Kid could take it easy for awhile, even take a trip away from this heat. He imagined getting out of Arizona, heading north a ways, somewhere where he could double or triple his winnings. It would be worth putting up with all those pest stories. To make a good thing even better, they hadn’t completed the betting. “Like I was sayin’ the lice was just unbelievable, you’d of thought it was a lice epidemic.” It was Harry’s turn now, and he was telling his story punctuated by his own laughter. “Morgan, Morgan Dunck!” A stout woman of formidable bearing strode briskly to the table. The bartender scuttled to her.

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“Mrs. Dunck. Mrs. Dunck, ma’am. This saloon is for men only. Well, men and the saloon gals that is. Respectable women ain’t allowed in.” Mrs. Dunck turned to the bartender who shrank from her steady gaze. “I have come for my husband, and no one, especially a little weasel like you is gonna stop me. Morgan Dunck, where have you been? What have you been up to? You were supposed to have been home two hours ago. I have been searching this whole entire town for you.” “Martha dear…” “Oh don’t you Martha dear me. You’ve been drinking and gambling. Now you come on home with me this minute.” “But Martha, we’re almost done here…” “I said now. Don’t you go and make a laughingstock out of me.” She reached over and pulled her better half up by the ear. “Mrs. Dunck, I can see you are a reasonable woman.” Martha Dunck turned to see who dared to address her. Heyes continued. “A woman of high moral standards as anyone can see, but I am certain a reasonable one.” Harry shook his head in the negative and backed away as Heyes added in a calm tone, “If you wait one moment the game will be over and Morgan will leave with you.” Heyes finished by giving her his most pleasant smile. “I don’t know who you are, young man, but you look like nothing but trouble to me. What kind of a fool are you Morgan Dunck, playing cards with an obvious no-good like this. Just look at his face, he’s been in some drunken brawl I don’t doubt.” “Oh no Mrs. Dunck, I assure you I have not been in a fight. Merely a series of unfortunate incidents.” “That’s right my dear. This young fella is the victim of some freak accidents… the game is almost over…we just…” Looking at his wife, Morgan’s voice trailed off. She grunted and flexed her right fist. “Morgan Dunck don’t you go and make things worse by lying to me. “ Morgan ducked as she raised her fist towards him, the resulting blow landing squarely in Heyes’ right eye. “Hey. In case you haven’t noticed I am not your husband.” He rubbed his eye ruefully. “A lady with a right hook like you should be more careful where you aim.” “Humph. I don’t doubt you deserved that. Drinking and gambling and wasting my husband’s time.” She locked her arm around her husband’s and dragged him towards the door. She stopped and coldly looked into the eyes of each and every man in the room in

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turn. “I’m warning you, all of you. We ladies have had enough. You’re going to face the punishment you richly deserve for your sins. You wait and see.” “Hey fellas, play my hand for me. I’ll see ya lat…” Morgan disappeared through the wooden swinging doors. The men exchanged looks and shrugged their shoulders. “Gentlemen, I believe we should show our hands--- now. If you don’t mind that is.” Heyes’ voice was commanding, brooking no dissent. The men reseated themselves to finish the hand. As if by agreement they showed the hands they held at the same time, anxious to avoid any other disruptions, eager to get the game done once and for all. Heyes smiled at the others and reached to collect the pot.

The buckboard neared the Pringle home, the Kid loosening his grip on the reins. The horses didn’t need his guidance any more which was handy. He peeked over his shoulder, pleased to see Rodney asleep and listing to one side. Without any notice he swiftly moved to the rear of the wagon and snatched Rodney by the collar. “Huh wha…?” “We’re home Rodney. Now you’re gonna unload the wagon and I’m gonna watch.” Rodney let out a yelp. “I ain’t gonna unload all this stuff, not by myself at any rate.” “As a matter of fact partner that is just what you’re gonna do.” “That’s right Rodney, don’t you talk back to Mister Jones. He’s done all the work so far.” Pauline glared at Rodney and smiled at the Kid. “Now I’m going to get you a tall glass of lemonade Thaddeus and you can just set yourself on that rocking chair on the porch.” The Kid dragged Rodney from the wagon avoiding the boy’s feet as they kicked out at him. The boy screamed as if he was being murdered. “Will you shut up?” Curry yelled at the boy. A woman in her forties ran out the front door, and stopped putting her hands on her hips. “What in tarnation is going on here? What are you doing to my son? You let that boy alone.”

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“What am I doing to your son? It’s more like what has he done to me. Pauline you tell her.” “That’s right Mama. Mr. Jones has been ever so kind. He loaded the wagon at the mercantile, and drove us home, and he changed that worn out old wheel for Papa. Rodney didn’t help him at all.” She sniffed. “I was going to get him a cool drink after all he did.” She walked to her mother and whispered to her. “Ma you just let me handle him. He’s good looking and a hard worker. You just give me some time with him, and maybe you and Pa won’t have to work so much anymore, you know what I mean?” She turned and smiled at the Kid. “I was just telling Mama that I invited you to stay for a home cooked meal with us. You just come and sit up here. Come on now.” The Kid didn’t loosen his grip on Rodney. “What about him? I am not gonna unload that wagon one more time.” Mrs. Pringle walked over to her son who was still trying to wiggle free. She grabbed him by the shoulder. “Ow Ma, you’re hurting me.” “That’s not all I’m gonna do. You get yourself over to that wagon and you get it unloaded.” She gave him a shake. “He should help me. He’s bigger and it’ll go faster.” “He’s doing no such thing. He’s company. Mr. Jones you come with me. Pauline you get him that drink.” She tried to smile at the Kid but it came out more as a grimace than a smile, as apparently she hadn’t had much practice in being pleasant. As they walked to the house Pauline neared Rodney. “Now you behave yourself. Don’t you go and ruin this for me,” she hissed. Rodney shoved her, and she punched him in return. “You just unload that wagon or I’ll make your life miserable you little…” The Kid reached the porch and, turning around, sat in the chair. Pauline brushed her hair back and looked at him sweetly. She went to join him making sure to turn and give Rodney one more warning glare. Shortly after, the Pringle mother and daughter excused themselves to go inside and fix the meal. The Kid rocked his chair back against the wall, stretching his right leg out putting his foot on the rail. The clouds were gathering and darkening, the humidity increasing to

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the point where a few raindrops fell. “Better hurry Rodney, I don’t suppose you’re gonna wanna be unloading if the rain really starts. You know it looks like there’s gonna be some lightening.” He sipped his lemonade. A small hand tugged on his pants leg. He looked down at the hand, and then at the small body it was attached to. A pair of big hazel eyes stared firmly at him surrounded by a dirty face with stringy hair down to her shoulders. She must have been about five Curry figured. The hand tugged again. “I’m thirsty, gimmie some drink.” “Uh Pauline, I think you’re little sister is out here. She’s thirsty.” “That’s Annie,” Pauline shouted in response. ‘I’ll bring her something in a minute.” “I’m thirsty.” The tugging increased. The girl tried to wiggle onto his lap, but considering how dirty she was he decided not to let her up. “Tell you what Annie. Let me bring that other chair over for you, and we can sit and, uh, talk.” Annie tried to force her way up, and he put the lemonade down on a small table next to him to keep it from spilling. Now half perched on his lap Annie began to hit him on the chest and on the face. “Hey what do you think you are doing? That hurts.” He grabbed her hands to stop the onslaught of miniature blows. “I’m thirsty.” “I know you’re thirsty. Pauline, where’s that drink for Annie?” “Just a moment.” Pauline came out with a glass for Annie. He let go of the little girl’s hands and she promptly reached for his glass, spit in it, and laughed. “Thanks, Annie.” The Kid held up the glass, frowning slightly. “Annie! I’m sorry Thaddeus. She’s always into trouble.” She took Annie by the hand, handed her the other drink, and led her back into the house. The Kid lifted his glass. “Uh Pauline?” There was no response. It sounded as if the women were pretty busy with the cooking, and frankly, not too happy either from what he could hear. He decided to wait for the meal to get a new drink.

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Heyes smiled at the others, and reached to collect the pot. A group of townswomen entered the saloon led by a tall thin woman dressed entirely in white, using a matching white parasol as a baton to point with. Two of the women held a banner on poles that read: “Men of Humbug Repent Take the Pledge and Save Your Souls.” “Ladies of the Humbug Temperance Society we must unite to destroy this den of sin and ruin before it destroys our men.” The parasol swung in a horizontal arc indicating the room and its contents. “Ladies, ladies, you must leave here at once.” The bartender ran in front of them. The women’s leader ignored him, and went to the center of the room. She climbed on top of one of the tables careful to avoid displaying her legs. “You have seen what this sinful place can do. You all saw Mrs. Dunck, our dearest Martha Dunck, remove her Morgan from here not two minutes hence. Drink is the ruin of these men. We must save them from themselves. And how can we save them? By removing the temptation, the awful temptation, of alcoholic spirits. Ladies we must cleanse this building with the fire of the Lord.” She looked down at her followers. “Sissy,” she whispered, “You do have the matches don’t you? Where’s that can of kerosene?” The men eyed each other nervously. “Crazy temperance wemin.” “Should we stop ‘em?” “I’ve got a better idea. Let’s get out of here.” “I’m with you.” “I don’t know Sarah, I think we forgot it, but Jean and Eunice brought some bricks so we can destroy all those evil bottles of spirits.” Heyes hurriedly scooped the money towards him. Some of it was paper money but the majority was in coins. This made it difficult, and slowed him down, but after all he’d been through he wasn’t planning on leaving any of his hard earned winnings. The other

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men were already racing out of the saloon, some calling for the fire brigade in anticipation of the ladies’ actions, while others, realizing a monsoon rain was about to start, merely found convenient seating to watch the uproar. The leader of the temperance society pointed the parasol towards Heyes. “There is an example of the evils of this den of iniquity. Look at him. Look at his face.” Heyes groaned and raked in the remaining money. The ladies picked up some of the bricks and faced the bar. They raised their arms aiming for the bottles on the counter. Heyes sped for the exit. He held up his hand. “Ladies, I’m on my way out of here. If you don’t mind, could you wait until I’m out the door before you start throwing bricks around?” Sarah announced loudly to the other women. “Ladies hold your fire until this miscreant leaves. Rachel! I said hold your fire!” “Oh Dear.” The ladies lowered their hands, and stared as Heyes slid to the floor unconscious. “Oh Sarah I am so sorry. I was aiming for the bottles. I didn’t mean to hit him.” Sarah glanced from the bar to Heyes, observing the five foot distance between the two. “Rachel with aim like that it’s a wonder you didn’t hit one of us. You go and help Sissy set the fire; I suppose without kerosene you can’t hurt any of us too badly. Here, you two help me drag this poor misguided creature out the door.” Two of the others joined Sarah, and the three ladies lugged Heyes’ body out the swinging doors. Sarah straightened up, panting. “Gentlemen, this is one of yours. You’d better pick him up and get him out of here before we light the place.” Benjamin, Frank and Harry walked over. “Some folks just got no luck. Well I’ll lift his ahms if you two lift his legs. Guess we’d better take him oveh to my establishment. It’ll be nice and quiet theah. Fella like this needs some rest. Leads too excitin’ a life if ya ask me.”

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“Well now, what have we here?” Glancing over his shoulder, the Kid saw a man in his forties approach him from the house, yawning while pulling up his suspenders. Assuming this was Pauline’s father the Kid stood to greet him. “Mr. Pringle? I’m Thaddeus Jones. I rode back here with Pauline and Rodney from the store in town.” “Guess I should thank you for helping with the supplies then. Don’t suppose Rodney was good for much.” They shook hands. Mr. Pringle sat in the chair next to Curry. “To be honest, you don’t suppose right, sir. I notice he’s got a habit of disappearing when there’s work to be done.” Pringle guffawed. “Get’s it from his old man. Take it from me, son, too much hard work ain’t good for the constitution. That’s what I tell my missus. Brings on my lumbago, pain’s so bad, I gotta sleep mostly all day.” He winked at the Kid. “Hey you two, food’s ready.” Mrs. Pringle came out and lightly touched her husband’s shoulder with a wooden spoon. “Get yourself inside old man. You too. You go on in and set next to Pauline.” She gave him another grimace posing as a smile. Inside the family sat around the table. Mr. Pringle was at the head, Mrs. Pringle at the foot. Pauline sat near the foot by her mother, the Kid to her left. There was another chair between him and Mr. Pringle that was soon occupied by a ten year old boy who introduced himself as Joey. On the opposite side Rodney sat next to Mr. Pringle, a girl, aged about twelve named Missy was opposite the Kid, and Annie sat next to Mrs. Pringle, rhythmically kicking the table leg. The food did smell appetizing, and the Kid was relieved to be given a new glass of lemonade. The boys started to dig in, followed by Mr. Pringle, when Mrs. Pringle stopped them by rapping on the table. “Ahem. Boys! Mr. Pringle will say grace for us, as he always does, before we partake of this meal.” “I will? Oh yes, my dear, grace, of course. Uh, um, let’s bow our heads in, uh, in thanks to our Maker, for, uh, for this meal. Amen.” Pleased with his performance he smiled at his wife, who rolled her eyes in return. Rodney snickered, and Joey snorted. The meal officially began accompanied by the sounds of chewing and swallowing, punctuated by the children reaching for food from each other’s plates in return for small kicks and punches as they each tried to hang onto their own meal. Occasionally, when one had attempted to take food from Pauline, the Kid, or one of the Pringle elders, the offender was given a sharp slap by Mrs. Pringle who had the

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motherly ability to reach clear down to the far end of the table. The Kid was impressed. Mr. Pringle, sated somewhat, leaned back in his chair, and smothered a belch. “Young man what is it you do for a living?” “Sir?” “For a living, what sort of work do you do?” “Well, my friend and me, we mostly travel around, pick up jobs where we can. Honest jobs, that is.” “I see. Nothing in particular?” “Uh, no not really. Seeing how there’s a depression on it’s not easy to get regular work so we move around a lot.” “I understand,” chipped in Mrs. Pringle. “Of course if you had regular work, and maybe some incentive,” she looked from the Kid to Pauline significantly, “you’d no doubt stay on somewheres. It’d be much easier than traveling about, and more secure-like too. A man oughta settle down and have a family.” “Family? Uh I don’t think so ma’am. I mean I’m not the family type. My friend and me, we like traveling. We don’t like staying in one place too long. In fact we’ll probably be moving along in a day or two.” Pauline gave him a sharp look and kicked the table. The two boys and Missy laughed. “Looks like Pauline’s gonna miss out again. You’re gonna wind up an old maid sis.” Rodney’s face beamed. “You just shut up Rodney Pringle.” Pauline stood up to start clearing the dishes. As she passed Rodney she gave him a slap on the back of his head. “Ouch. What’d you do that for? It’s not my fault you can’t catch a man.” Pauline gave Rodney an evil glare. He, Joey and Missy, knowing their sister’s moods, hastily fled from the house and her reach, and could soon be heard playing outside. The Kid decided to stare at his plate. He wasn’t sure how this had happened, but somehow his helping a pretty girl, and eating a meal with her folks was, well, was turning out all wrong. He couldn’t grasp how he had been turned from a helpful stranger into a potential suitor and from a potential suitor into a cad so quickly.

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Pauline took some dishes to the sink. She pumped water in, all the while turning to look at the Kid in anger. “What a waste of time,” she muttered. “Mr. All nice and sweet turns out to be a worthless drifter.” She banged some of the pots and pans on the counter. Mr. Pringle shrugged his shoulders at the Kid to indicate that he didn’t understand women either. “Mr. Pringle, Mrs. Pringle, I think I better be on my way now. Thank you for the meal. It was delicious. Uh Pauline…” “What?” “Uh, thanks for the meal. You and your ma are good cooks. I uh…” “Oh be on your way, already. What do you care? Get a girl thinking you’re sweet on her and then just run off.” The Kid backed to the door. Pauline picked up the rolling pin. He swallowed. “I’ll be saying good-bye now.” He pivoted and hurried out the door. “Oh no,” he groaned. Rodney and Joey were on his horse. “You two. You get that horse over here. Now. “You gotta catch us first,” they both shouted. He ran towards them. Fortunately they were near a fence and he was able to grab the reins before they could wheel the horse about. “OK, I’ve caught you. Now get off that horse.” He started to pull the boys off. Mr. and Mrs. Pringle and Pauline ran out the door. Pauline had the rolling pin in her hand. Still furious at the Kid she now had an excuse to vent her ire. “What are you doing to my brothers? You let them go. You son of a b---h, you.” She ran towards them, pin held high. The Kid had Joey off the horse, and began to struggle with Rodney. “Hey sis, you want me to hold on to him so you can hit him?”

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Rodney was now half off the horse; Pauline aimed the pin at the Kid but he ducked and the blow fell on Rodney. “Serves you right.” The Kid caught Rodney as he slumped down. Lifting his head he smacked right into the rolling pin. Pauline caught hold of him and began to scratch, and pummel his face with her fists. “Look what you made me do,” she shouted. “Look what I made you do?” He pushed Rodney onto her, swung up into the saddle and sped away. He galloped a good mile before slowing done to a walk, figuring the Pringles couldn’t catch up to him that way. The sky was getting darker and the rain really started now. He figured there was gonna be some lightening, but risking that was a definite improvement over being with the Pringles and that crazy Pauline.

As he neared the town he smelled smoke which was odd. Had lightening struck a building? But wouldn’t the rain keep anything from getting set on fire? He made for the main street and the saloon to find Heyes. Sheesh, he thought, he’d sure have some explaining to do. Heyes was gonna laugh at him, and say something clever about his helping out girls. He sighed. A bit farther along he realized it was the saloon that had been on fire. Well, not really on fire, just a bit scorched actually. The rain had prevented any real damage. He stopped, dismounted, and looked around. He thought he recognized some of the men sitting in chairs across the street from the saloon as the fellas in the game Heyes had been in. He walked over to them. “You fellas wouldn’t happen to know where my friend is, would you? He was playing cards with you, my height, brown hair, skinny.” “Ya mean Joshua. Yeah, we took him to my establishment, the funeral parlor.” The Kid’s heart stopped. He couldn’t think, could only look at the men blankly. “Now theah, don’t ya get all worried now. He’s just resting up a bit. Had an exciting day,” all the men nodded, “and we thought that would be a nice quiet spot for him. Ah’ll take ya theah.”

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The Kid breathed again and smiled weakly. “You did have me a bit worried, uh…” “Benjamin- you call me Benjamin.” “Benjamin. But my friend, he’s OK?” “Oh sure he is. Let’s go on over.” They walked together to the funeral home. Benjamin looked the Kid up and down. “Looks like you had an exciting day yourself, son,” he observed. “You could say that. You know the Pringles by any chance?” Benjamin laughed. “You gotta watch out for them. Let me guess, ya met Pauline, am Ah correct?” “Yep, I met Pauline alright.” “Heah we are. He’s in that room to the right in the back. Ah’ll let ya go on in theah by yourself. Think Ah’ll go rejoin my friends and watch that saloon.” He shook hands with the Kid and left humming. The Kid turned the ornate brass door knob, and entered the building. Passing the red velvet chairs of the lobby, he caught an image of himself in a long mirror that hung on the wall. He stopped to take a good look at himself. His face was bruised, scratched, and he had a beauty of a black eye starting. He shook his head. He was not looking forward to seeing his partner. He looked down at his feet, raised his head, sighed, and continued on. Better to get it over with. Curry pushed open the door to the back room. He stood, allowing his eyes to adjust to the dim light. He saw Heyes lying on a table, head propped up with two pillows. He couldn’t believe it. If anything his partner was in worse shape than he was. Boy, his face was really bruised and scratched, plus both his eyes had shiners. He felt bad for Heyes, but had to admit he felt better for himself. He touched Heyes’ arm gently. “What happened to you?” he asked. Heyes opened his eyes or tried to at any rate. “What happened to me? What happened to you? You look terrible, Kid.”

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“I look terrible? Heyes have you seen yourself recently?” Heyes tried to raise himself, groaned and fell back. “It’s nothing, Kid, just a small accident.” “A small accident?” The Kid raised his eyebrows. “I’d hate to see you after a big one then. Whoa partner, here let me lift you a bit.” He put his arm around Heyes back to support him as he tried to sit again. “You know, Kid, I really don’t need your help. I’m just a little stiff is all. So you gonna tell me what happened?” “Sure partner, right after you tell me what happened to you.” Heyes glanced towards his feet, and then smiled sheepishly at the Kid. “Alright Kid, tell you what. We’ll go back to the hotel and clean up. Then you can tell me what happened. Oh I’ve got five hundred dollars by the way—from that poker game.” “That’s nice, Heyes.” He helped Heyes off the table. “But you’re still gonna tell me what happened to you first.” They walked to the door. “Tell you what Kid. We’ll do it fair. We’ll flip a coin, and whoever loses goes first.” “Fine with me Heyes, seeing how you’re so stiff and all, I’ll flip the coin.” They laughed quietly, and turned towards the hotel.

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