"Everybody can feather their nest, but it's not just anybody that can lay an egg!"
Posted September 23, 2021 / Arabella Mudd
"Loudmouth! Stop before I shoot you ----- in the back."
"Uh?" grunted Grimes, spinning and seeing the old man, some distance away, levelling a pistol in his direction. Who did he think he was, sticking his nose in?
It was Hiram Priest, sitting comfortably at his table, a revolver in his hand aimed straight at the trouble maker. In the confusion caused by the former judge, Frank was able to swiftly and deftly slip a derringer from an inner pocket.
Grimes raised his hands in supplication and grinned in a friendly, if strained, grimace. "Heeyyyy fellers, come on, two against one ain't fair. I was only joshin'! Can't you city fellers take a joke?"
Ralph now spoke clearly but softly, "Grimes, if the man shoots you, it's no skin off my nose. You got yerself inta this, yer on yer own."
The unpleasant loafer was now aided by an unlikely ally: Arabella, looking around to see if anyone was admiring her piano playing, saw what was happening and, sending her piano stool flying, ran over and, overcoming her usual cowardice, threw herself in front of Grimes so that the derringer was pointing straight at her forehead.
"Oh! Don't you dare shoot Mr Grimes, you... you..." "Mr Fancy Pants" prompted Fortner's target, carefully shifting his position and crouching down a little so he was better protected by the girl's body.
"Yeah, Mr Fancy Pants - don't you know he has a little sister to support and she's blind and everything! And he's her sole means of of support, and she came into the diner one time and I cooked her eggs and bacon and she ate it all up just like a real person. And also he's..." she jerked her thumb over her shoulder to the now virtually invisible Frank Grimes "... he's still recovering from where Top-heavy Tessie stabbed him repeatedly with that letter opener, and no one can understand it because who the dickens would write her a letter and besides I have to clean these floors and have you ever tried to get blood outta plain pine planking? No I bet you ain't!"
This soliloquy was was terminated by Frank's voice, muffled by the back of Arabella's smock, sounding "You tell him, Reb!"
Posted September 23, 2021 / Franklin Fortner
Fortner spoke up.
"I see you have a protector," he said quietly to the lanky lout.
With the derringer in his right hand, he took his left and placed it on Arabella's shoulder and encouraged her to move.
"Step aside, little lady, I'm not going to hurt your hero, at least if he listens to good advice."
There was an impressive silence that was finally broken when Priest eased back the hammer of his gun. CA-CLICK. "You should take his advice and listen to the gentleman. It would be a crime if such a pretty piano player got caught-up in any potential gunfire."
That settled, Fortner calmly asked the cowpoke, "I have strange habit. Do you have any habits?"
Posted September 25, 2021 / Caroline Mundee
Somehow despite Caroline's quick move, Arabella was faster and raced right into the midst of danger, that child really could be brainless sometimes Caroline thought. But frustrating or not, Caroline was fond of her and now caught up to the girl, planted between two armed men blathering as was her way.
"YOU! Get outta their way!" Caroline yanked at Ara's one upper arm and clamped down on the bony thing then glanced at the newcomer, "Sorry, we'll be right outta yer way. Just hold on a second!"
With that she led the girl off back toward the piano and way out of the line of fire, glaring at her as she hissed, "You askin' ta get shot? I have no desire to lose me my piano player, hon!"
Hold that critter down!
Posted September 26, 2021 / Frank Grimes
There was an impressive silence that was finally broken when Priest eased back the hammer of his gun. CA-CLICK. "You should take his advice and listen to the gentleman. It would be a crime if such a pretty piano player got caught-up in any potential gunfire."
"Oh! Do you think I'm pretty?!" started Arabella in reply "Just that... YUULLP!" she made the oddest sound as Caroline pulled her out of harm's way.
"YOU! Get outta their way!" Caroline yanked at Ara's one upper arm and clamped down on the bony thing then glanced at the newcomer, "Sorry, we'll be right outta yer way. Just hold on a second!"
With that she led the girl off back toward the piano and way out of the line of fire, glaring at her as she hissed, "You askin' ta get shot? I have no desire to lose me my piano player, hon!"
"Aw, that's so sweet of you to rescue me from rescuin' Mr Grimes!" beamed Arabella, throwing her arms around Caroline. Grimes was now covered front and back by the levelled pistols of Fortner and Priest, he held up his hands in supplication "Hey, come on fellers, now this ain't fair is it? Two against one!"
Fortner calmly asked the cowpoke, "I have strange habit."
"Hope it ain't a dirty habit!" grinned Grimes nervously. If that was intended to amuse the man pointing a gun at his forehead, it didn't seem to work.
"Do you have any habits?"
Grimes frowned. What the Hell was this fancily dressed dude with the quick draw and the backup man raving on about? Habits, habits... ?
"Er... chew a little?" he hazarded a guess in the form of a question. He somehow didn't think his addiction to chewing tobacco was what the stranger was driving at.
Posted September 27, 2021 / Franklin Fortner
Fortner calmly asked the cowpoke, "I have strange habit."
"Hope it ain't a dirty habit!" grinned Grimes nervously. If that was intended to amuse the man pointing a gun at his forehead, it didn't seem to work.
"Do you have any habits?"
Grimes frowned. What the Hell was this fancily dressed dude with the quick draw and the backup man raving on about? Habits, habits... ?
"Er... chew a little?" he hazarded a guess in the form of a question. He somehow didn't think his addiction to chewing tobacco was what the stranger was driving at.
Fortner smiled .. ever the gentleman.
"My habit is collecting drunken cowpokes' guns." His smile widen. "You see, whenever I meet a drunken cowpoke, I always ask him for his gun. I ask him real nice, at first."
He held out his free hand, palm up. "Or, am I gonna have to take it from you?"
The question was put squarely to Grimes.
Judge Priest was enjoying this. He'd seen this very scene played out several times in dusty towns from Missouri to Montana. He rolled his tobacco wad from one cheek to the other, but his gun remained steady.
People were always misjudging Franklin Fortner.
Posted September 27, 2021 / Ralph Flandry
"My habit is collecting drunken cowpokes' guns." the newcomer's smile widened, "You see, whenever I meet a drunken cowpoke, I always ask him for his gun. I ask him real nice, at first."
He held out his free hand, palm up. "Or, am I gonna have to take it from you?"
Ralph just stood there listening, not inclined to interrupt. He didn't like Grimes and now the neer do well had gone and gotten himself into a fix of his own creation. When Frank glanced his way, Ralph just smiled.
"This is between you and him. You started it. And he is askin' you nice. Besides I'm sure you'll get your gun back...........sometime."
Hold that critter down!
Posted September 28, 2021 / Frank Grimes
"This is between you and him. You started it. And he is askin' you nice. Besides I'm sure you'll get your gun back...........sometime."
The sensible thing would have been to hand over the gun, of course. Hand over the gun and take the ensuing ridicule from his fellow rounders and no-good-ne'er-do-wells on the chin. In a way, that would have been the braver thing to do. Perhaps, had it just been the two of them, he would have done just that, and lied about what had happened to his friends later on.
But Frank Grimes had never been sensible. And he had seldom been brave: at least not when and where it mattered. And he was too cowardly now to face the shame of handing over his gun to this fancy dressed city slicker. He licked his lips, aware of all the eyes upon him. The cowpokes, the girls, the barkeep... the old man who surely couldn't hit an elephant at that distance... the man pointing the pistol at him.
He took a step back, despite the blood rushing in his ears he heard himself shout "The Hell I will!" and went for his gun!
Address me as Hon. Hiram Priest, esq.
Posted September 29, 2021 / Hiram Priest
But Frank Grimes had never been sensible. And he had seldom been brave: at least not when and where it mattered. And he was too cowardly now to face the shame of handing over his gun to this fancy dressed city slicker. He licked his lips, aware of all the eyes upon him. The cowpokes, the girls, the barkeep... the old man who surely couldn't hit an elephant at that distance... the man pointing the pistol at him.
He took a step back, despite the blood rushing in his ears he heard himself shout "The Hell I will!" and went for his gun!
Standing as straight-backed as can be, a slight smile still on his lips, Fortner pulled the trigger the instant the man signaled his desperate move. The percussion was almost simultaneous with the report from Priest's revolver. The shots hit Frank -- one in the chest from the Derringer and, quickly after, one in his left shoulder. It appeared as a patch blown out of Grimes' coat's fabric.
There was some commotion in the saloon, but no one came to Grime's defense.
Priest stood up and slid his gun inside his voluminous, frock coat. "Everyone remain calm," he said with surprising timber, years of mayoral and judicial proclamations showing through. "This is clearly a case of self-defense."
He turned to Ralph Flandry. "Can we count on you to be a witness?" he asked. "There will be a hearing, I'm certain."
Then he reached down and took Frank's unused gun from his hand, and handed it over to Flandry. "He should of listened to reason."
Through all this, Franklin Fortner remained unrattled.
Posted September 29, 2021 / Ralph Flandry
Well, if Ralph had been a betting man, which he wasn't, he would have never bet on Frank Grimes doing something so stupid as to actually decide to shoot it out. There in front of him was a man with a derringer already out and off to one side and behind his view another fellow with a pistol. Maybe it was the whiskey he'd drank or maybe just stupid male pride at not wanting to back down but it proved to be a final fatal mistake. Shots rang out from two directions and down went Frank.
"Well....damn," Ralph muttered leaning over the bar to check if the man might just have survived it but the glassy open eyes and no hint of movement or breathing. Nope, he was dead as a doornail.
The older man stood up and slid his gun inside his voluminous, frock coat. "Everyone remain calm," he said with surprising timber, years of mayoral and judicial proclamations showing through. "This is clearly a case of self-defense."
Caroline had watched it all, still hanging on tightly to Arabella, only letting go once the smoke hung above the bar and the victim lay there sprawled out dead.
"The fool," she muttered, just like Ralph she had not liked this man which is a far cry from wanting him dead though. Still she would not be mourning him either.
He turned to Ralph Flandry. "Can we count on you to be a witness?" he asked. "There will be a hearing, I'm certain."
"Not sure about a hearing but we gotta let the marshal know, he'll be asking questions," Ralph answered, "Yeah, I was a witness. The man went for his piece."
Then Priest reached down and took Frank's unused gun from his hand, and handed it over to Flandry. "He should of listened to reason."
Ralph set it on the bar, "Preachin' to the choir, mister."
Caroline sighed, "I'll go fetch him."
She doubted Arabella actually had ever seen a man die before her eyes so she wasn't going to make her go do it. And with that she walked out the front, not running, no reason to hurry - wouldn't change nothing.
Posted September 29, 2021 / Caroline Mundee
There were a few curious townsfolk peering thru the swinging doors and the bay window to see what the shooting had been all about as Caroline left the premises. She didn't even get halfway to the marshal's office when she saw the marshal coming her way.
"Hey, seems there's been a shootin' in the saloon. It's all over though. One jasper dead. No one else hurt," she quickly summarized then fell in with the man to head back to the scene of the shooting.