by Lee Lejeune
They dismounted and tethered their mounts to the hitching rail outside the general store. Both horses immediately dipped their noses into the drinking trough where Slam Smith had taken his last bath.
‘My my! Miss Elspeth and Mr Shining,’ the storekeeper greeted as they entered the store. ‘What can I do for you on this happy day?’
‘We’ve just looked in to see how the town’s rolling along,’ Sunshine told him.
‘Well, the town’s in an unholy mess right now,’ the storekeeper said. ‘Mr Baldock is run off his feet with all the dead they brought in yesterday. He’ll be sawing and planing for a couple of days before he can tuck those stiffs down in their final resting places.’ He looked at Sunshine. ‘They tell me you shot Jed Cutaway.’
‘Mr Shining freed my brother,’ Elspeth told him.
‘Well, that’s a relief, anyway,’ the storekeeper said. ‘Your ma will be pleased about that.’
At that moment Mrs Snaze appeared.
‘Why don’t you come through for a coffee?’ she invited. Sunshine thought she looked a trifle on edge.
They went through and sat at a table where Mrs Snaze served the good strong brew.
‘Things are pretty quiet in town today,’ Sunshine observed.
‘That’s because folks are keeping to their homes,’ Mrs Snaze told him. ‘Everyone’s talking about what happened between the Cutaway brothers and their men.’
‘And everyone’s talking about you too, Mr Shining,’ Mr Snaze put in. He was enjoying a coffee with them since trade was so dead.
‘They must be putting together a pack of lies,’ Sunshine suggested.
‘What are they saying?’ Elspeth asked Snaze.
‘They’re saying Mr Shining came face to face with Jed Cutaway, outdrew him and shot him down to free your brother Bart. They say Mr Shining is a top gunfighter with a charmed life.’
‘Well, that’s a slight exaggeration, Mr Snaze,’ Sunshine said. ‘I just did what I had to do in the circumstances, and I got lucky, that’s all.’
‘Well, you know how folks talk. So you’d better watch your step in case you walk right into a pile of horse shit.’
Sunshine shrugged. ‘I’ll bear that in mind, Mr Snaze.’ He got up from the table.
‘Where are you going?’ Elspeth asked him.
‘I’m just going to take a stroll down to the Close Shave, We Do You Good,’ Sunshine said.
‘I think you’ll find Stan Baldock is closed for business at the moment due to overwork in the other department,’ the storekeeper told him.
‘I’m coming with you,’ Elspeth announced with determination.
‘No,’ Sunshine said firmly. ‘You stay here and enjoy this good coffee.’
Mrs Snaze looked amazed.
‘My, oh my,’ she said. ‘You talk like an old married couple.’
Sunshine looked at Elspeth and they both laughed.
Sunshine stepped out on to Main Street and looked both ways. There was scarcely a soul in sight. He walked down to the Close Shave and saw the sign on the door. Closed for shaving and haircutting owing to pressure of work.
He was about to turn away when the door swung open and Stan Baldock beckoned him in.
‘Get yourself in quickly,’ the barber hissed. ‘Don’t you know you’re a marked man?’
Sunshine went inside and Baldock pulled down the blinds.
A marked man! Sunshine thought. That sounds like a board for target practice. He sat down in the barber’s chair.
‘Don’t sit there,’ the barber shouted. ‘Someone might shoot through the window and take you out. I’ve got enough dead men to put in the ground and I don’t want any more.’
‘So where would you like me to sit?’
Baldock beckoned again. ‘Come through to the back where we can talk.’
Sunshine walked through to the back room and sat down in an over-stuffed chair.
‘What’s this about being a marked man?’ he asked the barber. Stan Baldock sat down opposite him.
‘Well, people are all talking about how you killed Jed Cutaway in the battle out there.’
‘I don’t think I killed him,’ Sunshine objected. ‘I think one of his brother’s men killed him.’
‘That’s the trouble when brothers go head to head. Others get caught between them like flies and get themselves squashed.’
‘That sounds a little on the grim side,’ Sunshine said. It occurred to him that he was in even more danger than he had feared – and maybe Elspeth was too.
‘I guess I should go back and warn Elspeth,’ he said.
Before he could push himself up from the chair there sounded a rumpus from the back and a woman came rushing into the room.
‘Stan! Stan!’ she cried, ‘Something terrible’s happening out there in the back alley.’ She stared bug-eyed at Sunshine. The barber grabbed her by the arms.
‘Don’t fret, my dear. This is Mr Shining, the man who killed Jed Cutaway.’
That didn’t do much to reassure his wife. In fact, if anything she looked even more white-faced.
‘You shouldn’t be here, sir. That James Cutaway is a terrible man. He’s shouting about how he wants you dead for killing his brother.’
‘Oh, my Gawd!’ Stan Baldock said. ‘He probably knows you’re in here. What are we gonna do?’
‘Well, there’s only one thing to do,’ Sunshine said. ‘I’ve got to get out of here for your safety.’
He went through to the front again and peered out between the blinds. Main Street appeared to be deserted.
‘It’s all happening somewhere out back,’ Mrs Baldock said from behind him. Sunshine turned to Stan Baldock.
‘Sorry I bothered you, Mr Baldock. I’ll just go out on to Main Street. I want you to bolt the door behind me. There’s no reason why you good people should be involved in this.’
He unbolted the door and stepped out on to Main Street.
He heard shooting from somewhere behind him. He drew the Colt Peacemaker and checked it. Then he walked along the sidewalk towards the store, keeping as close as possible to the buildings. He could see Chingalong and Elspeth’s horse. Now they weren’t drinking at the trough. They were just standing slightly apart as though deep in conversation. For some reason Sunshine found that reassuring. All he had to do now was walk to the store and warn Elspeth to get out of town.
Before he could take another step the door of the store opened and Elspeth appeared with Mrs Snaze, as if by thought transference. They turned towards him in astonishment. Now he had to step down off the sidewalk and cross the gap between the two buildings. As he stepped off the sidewalk he heard the sound of approaching feet; suddenly a man came round the corner of the building. It was Sheriff McGiven. He was holding a shooter in his right hand.
‘So, it’s you!’ the sheriff gasped.
Sunshine could see Elspeth and Mrs Snaze standing behind McGiven; he knew that if he fired the Colt he might accidentally hit one of them. So he raised his gun to shoulder level.
McGiven looked momentarily bewildered. He pointed his gun at Sunshine, as though he was about to shoot, but Fate intervened and he never pulled the trigger. A shot came from behind the buildings, the sheriff jerked forward and fell on to his face.
Mrs Snaze screamed.
‘Get back inside!’ Sunshine shouted, but Elspeth was already bundling Mrs Snaze back into the store.
Sunshine ran back to the sidewalk and pressed himself against the wall of the building. The next moment another man appeared: it was James Cutaway. Cutaway rushed forward and looked down at McGiven’s body.
‘Why, you yellow-bellied skunk!’ he shouted. Then he stood right over McGiven and fired two shots into his body. McGiven didn’t even jerk; he was already dead.
James Cutaway turned and saw Sunshine standing in the shadows on the sidewalk. Both men pulled their triggers simultaneously but only one gun fired. James Cutaway fell back against the sidewalk and stared at his revolver in dismay. He tried to struggle to his
feet but he fell forward right across the body of Sheriff McGiven.
Sunshine looked down at the Colt Peacemaker in his hand; the barrel was still smoking.
‘My God! I’ve killed him,’ he said.
There was a moment of deathly silence, then Main Street sprang to life. People came running from every door to look in astonishment at the two dead men.
‘You’ve killed James Cutaway,’ someone said.
Sunshine was still looking down at the Colt Peacemaker as though it were a rattlesnake that had just raised its head and struck. He became aware of someone standing beside him.
‘You killed them,’ Stan Baldock said. Sunshine didn’t reply. He just held out the gun.
‘Here, take this before it kills someone else.’
Stan Baldock shook his head.
‘No, sir, you might need it. Just put it back in its holster.’
Sunshine slid the gun into its holster. When he looked up he saw Elspeth walking towards him. She must have seen the look of horror on his face for she ran straight up to him and put her arms around him.
‘I saw what happened. James Cutaway tried to kill you. Thank God he didn’t succeed!’ Apparently, after bundling Mrs Snaze into the store she had opened the door, looked out and seen everything.
One of the men knelt down and retrieved James Cutaway’s gun. He spun the chambers; they were full of empty shell cases.
‘He tried to gun down on you but he’d used the last two bullets on the sheriff,’ he told Sunshine. Someone gave a grim laugh.
‘So he sort of killed himself.’
Someone clapped Sunshine on the back. ‘You’re a lucky son-of-a-gun.’
‘Well, that’s the end of those two brothers in blood,’ another man said. ‘Now they can wreak mayhem in the other place.’
‘Wherever that might be,’ someone said, and laughed.
‘Two more stiffs to bury.’ Stan Baldock sighed.
‘That’s money in the till,’ the same man rejoined. ‘You’ll soon be as rich as that Greek guy with money coming out of his ears.’
The storekeeper had now appeared in his blue-and-white striped apron.
‘Come into the store,’ he said to Sunshine. ‘You need something a lot stronger than coffee to set you up.’
Sunshine didn’t dispute that. He took Elspeth’s arm and they walked to the store together. As they approached the door a cheer went up from the crowd.
‘You’re a hero,’ the storekeeper told him.
They went inside and through to the back room where Snaze produced a glass of the best rye whiskey.
‘Here, get this down. You’ve earned it.’
Sunshine was shaking. He sat down and took a gulp of whiskey. It nearly took the top of his head off but it calmed him down considerably. What’s happened to me? he wondered. Elspeth reached across and took his hand.
‘I thought I might lose you,’ she said.
‘Just after I’d found you, too’ he said, somewhat inconsequentially. Outside they could hear the sound of folk laughing and cheering. Snaze grinned.
‘They’re celebrating the end of an era,’ he said.
‘Time to go home,’ Elspeth told Sunshine.
‘Time to go home,’ Sunshine agreed. They went out and mounted their horses. Sunshine patted Chingalong’s neck.
‘Well, Ching, what did you make of that bust-up?’
Chingalong tossed his head and Felicity gave a low snort.
‘I think they both agree you’re lucky to be alive, and I’m a lot more than lucky,’ Elspeth said. ‘You’re still alive and we’re together.’ She leaned across and kissed him.
Though he was shaking he felt a whole lot better.
They rode back slowly. Elspeth was humming quietly to herself.
‘What are you thinking?’ he asked her.
‘I’m thinking of the future,’ she said.
‘What do you see ahead?’
She turned and smiled.
‘I see a road. It’s kind of bumpy in places but there’s smooth patches too,’ she paused, ‘and I see trees with the sun shining brightly between them.’
‘That sounds like a very pretty picture.’
‘Maybe you should paint it, Mr Shining.’
Sunshine thought on that for a moment.
‘I have a better idea, Miss Bartok. Instead of painting it I think I’m going to live it.’
When they reached the farmstead Bethany was working hard as usual. Bart was lounging back in a rocking chair on the veranda. As soon as he heard them approaching he sprang to life and headed for the door. He was obviously jittery after his incarceration. Then he turned and shaded his eyes against the sun and relaxed.
‘So you’re back,’ he crowed.
‘So we’re back,’ Elspeth said with a tinge of irony.
They dismounted and took their horses into the corral where they could feed and drink their fill.
‘You’ve done a real good job today,’ Sunshine told Chingalong. ‘You’ve seen more things than I care to mention. You carry on like this and you’ll have a whole store of things to tell future generations.’
Bethany appeared.
‘Good to see you back safe,’ she said. ‘I hope everything went according to plan.’ She put her arms round Elspeth and kissed her on both cheeks. Then she turned to Sunshine. ‘You look somewhat washed out,’ she said, ‘You’d better come right inside and tell me what happened in town.’
They went into the cabin and sat at the table; after a moment Bart came in to join them.
‘What happened, as it turned out, was quite a lot,’ Elspeth said.
‘A lot of what?’ Bart enquired.
‘Well,’ Elspeth said. ‘Two men got killed. One of them was the sheriff and the other one was James Cutaway himself.’
Bethany was halfway through loading her stubby pipe. She stared at Elspeth in astonishment.
‘You mean James Cutaway is dead?’ she asked in wonder. ‘How come?’ Elspeth wasn’t one for mincing words.
‘Sunshine shot him – in self-defence,’ she said.
Bethany stared at Sunshine.
‘You shot James Cutaway?’
Sunshine’s face was glowing with embarrassment. and something like shame.
‘He was about to shoot me, so I just pulled the trigger. I was lucky. I didn’t know he was out of bullets.’
‘Because he’d just used the last two bullets shooting the dead sheriff,’ Elspeth added.
Then she laughed and broke down in tears of relief.
‘What happened to all the other gunmen?’ Bart asked.
‘We don’t know,’ Sunshine said. ‘They’ve probably abandoned ship, like the rats they are.’
Elspeth was smiling through her tears. ‘We’ve got something else to tell you.’
Bethany had now succeeded in lighting her pipe. She puffed out a cloud of blue smoke.
‘So, what the hell!’ she said. ‘Did the sun fall down from the sky?’
‘No,’ Elspeth said joyfully, ‘it’s a whole lot worse than that. Mr Shining asked me to marry him.’
Bethany clamped her teeth on her stubby pipe and looked thoughtful. Then she took the pipe out of her mouth and held it up like an Indian chief summoning the ancestors.
‘Did you say yes?’
Sunshine was smiling nervously.
‘I did intend to ask for your approval, Mrs Bartok, but it sort of crept up on us.’
Bethany grinned and nodded.
‘And how will you support my daughter, Mr Shining?’
Sunshine swallowed hard.
‘I’m not sure I know the answer to that, Mrs Bartok.’
Bethany nodded. ‘So she did say yes?’
‘Indeed she did.’
Bethany raised both arms.
‘Then there’s no more to be said, is there?’
In fact there was quite a lot more to be said, though not on that subject directly. At sunup next morning they all took an early breakfast, except for Bart
who was still snoring in bed. Sunshine realized that the boy wasn’t too keen on work.
There was hay to reap. Sunshine took the scythe, sharpened it up and started swinging it in the long grass. Elspeth followed, piling it up in stoops. The weather was fine but there were darkening clouds in the west, suggesting a coming storm.
‘The sooner we get this under cover the better,’ Bethany said.
As she spoke Sunshine looked up and saw riders approaching over the brow of the hill. He wasn’t wearing the gunbelt, so he wondered what he should do.
‘It’s OK,’ Bethany said. ‘I see who it is. It’s my neighbour Jeremiah Gibson and the boys.’
As they rode closer Sunshine saw that it was indeed Jeremiah Gibson. With him were Jordan Rivers, Slim Savage, and Jon Jenson. They rode right up to Sunshine and Elspeth. Jeremiah Gibson acted as spokesman as usual.
‘Good morning, Bethany,’ he said. ‘Me and the boys have come to help out. We reckon you need it.’ He looked at Sunshine and grinned. ‘You deserve it, too, Mr Shining, after what you did.’
‘You sure do,’ echoed Jordan Rivers.
They all got down from their horses and tethered them at the edge of the hayfield. They were all carrying reaping hooks. Those boys knew how to work: they had the hay stored in the barn in practically no time at all. Then they went to the house, where Bethany produced some of her best brew and they proceeded to get a little tipsy. They were all laughing and joking when they heard a commotion outside. Then someone rapped smartly on the door.
‘Who’s there?’ Bethany shouted.
‘It’s the law,’ a peremptory voice replied. The door swung open to reveal a tall rugged man wearing a badge of office on his chest.
‘Why, good day to you, Marshal,’ Jeremiah Gibson greeted cheerfully.
‘Please step inside, Marshal.’ Bethany stepped back from the door to allow the man admittance. The marshal stepped inside and looked at her rosy face.
‘Which one of you is Mr Shining?’ he asked. Since he had probably met most of the others before it seemed a strange question, especially since he was looking directly at Sunshine. Sunshine held up his hand.
‘That’s me, Marshal.’