by H. V. Elkin
He kissed her a last time. Then she looked up at him and smiled. “I hope you catch your bear,” she said, “so that then there can be something else. Go do it, John, as quickly as you can before it burns you up inside.” Then she turned and walked away without looking back.
Driving his wagon across the desert of Pecos country, Cutler realized that in some way he was not quite the same man he had been before. He could not say how except he felt different. Maybe it was as Molly suggested. Even though life seemed to be a series of meetings and partings, there might be some kind of meaning in it. You hardly ever went away without having left a little bit of yourself behind, without replacing it with something from the person you left. And who could say? Maybe there came a time and a place when it all added up.
But Cutler was very familiar with the way thoughts collided with each other when he was alone on the trail. He figured a man could go crazy if he let them get control. He reached behind the wagon seat for a temporary answer to the dilemma. But his hand came back empty when he saw the man sitting on horseback, waiting for him. As he got closer he could see it was Sam Bean.
Cutler stopped the mules when he got up to Sam. “Howdy.”
Sam nodded. His mouth seemed tighter than usual, and he looked as if he was trying to make up his mind about something. After a moment, he said, “Pa tells me you’re a good man.”
Cutler waited. There was no answer to something like that.
“Says you’re carryin’ a lot of money, too. His money.”
Cutler asked, “Want it back, does he?”
“He didn’t say so. You want to give it back?”
“No, but you’re thinkin’ you’d like to take it.”
“It ain’t the money so much.”
“No, I know what it is. Well, come on.” Cutler turned to the dog. “Red! Stay!” Then he got down from the wagon and walked several yards away from it. He turned and faced Sam who was still sitting on his horse. “Well?”
Sam forced a grin, then dismounted, walked away from his horse and faced Cutler.
“Now let me ask you,” Cutler said. “Now that we’re standin’ here facin’ each other and I’m ready to oblige you, don’t you feel a little dumb about it?”
“Do you?”
“Damn right. Don’t know why I’m even doin’ it.”
“Well, that don’t change nothin’.”
“Okay then. Go ahead. The way your head works, you figure we got some unfinished business, okay, go ahead and let’s get it finished.”
“Well . . .” Sam drawled, “if you got a mind to . . .”
Cutler started walking toward Sam.
“Hold it right there,” Sam said.
But Cutler kept coming. He was in front of Sam when Sam reached for his gun, but before Sam could get it out, Cutler shot out with his fist and knocked the young man on his rear. Sam looked up, bewildered. Cutler matter-of-factly grabbed Sam around the shirt and pulled him up, then hit the young man down again. Sam flinched as Cutler bent toward him a second time, but this time Cutler only reached to Sam’s holster and took his gun.
“You just make me impatient,” Cutler said. He sat down next to Sam and twirled the gun around his finger. “I’ve seen my share of hotheads before, but you ain’t even warm.”
Sam wiped some blood from his lips.
“Why didn’t you draw?” Cutler asked.
“Don’t know,” Sam mumbled.
“Guess I’ll tell you then. You didn’t want to. You come out here to settle a score but you didn’t want to. That’s as bad as drawin’ an empty gun. You ever try something like this again, you better mean it. Next man might get it into his head to take you seriously, so you better be serious yourself.”
“You shamed me, Cutler.”
“Oh, that makes me feel plumb sorry for you.”
“I was only doin’ it for Pa.”
“He tell you to?”
“No, I just figured he’d like it if I brought his money back.”
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About the Author
Vernon Hinkle earned a B.a. from Ithaca College, NY and M.F.a. from Yale Drama School, 1961. Bradford College, Ma, Head of Drama Dept. until 1971. Eclectic writing career including magazine articles, speeches for corporate executives, etc. Novels include Music to Murder By and Murder after a Fashion.
Vern has directed in educational, community and professional theaters, high points being The Odd Couple and Golden Boy in Athens, Greece. One of the Greenwich one-acts was translated and broadcast twice from Athens over Greek national radio. His one-acts have been presented in New York City at Theater-Studio and, by Love Creek Productions, at the Harold Clurman Theater. A trilogy of one-acts featuring older actors was presented twice at the Westbeth Theater Center. Some other presentations have been in Florida (City Theater--Coral Gables, Theater With Your Coffee--Miami), New Jersey (Puttin' On The Ritz--Oaklyn), Pennsylvania (Gettysburg College), and Virginia (Mill Mountain Theater--Roanoke). His one-act She's Been Away was a finalist in THEATRE THREE's Sixth Annual Festival of One-Act Plays and won the Market House Theatre (Paducah,KY) competition.
Using the pen-name of H. V. Elkin he continued the John Cutler series oringally started by John Benteen (see author's entry for detail) with book three onwards, contributing four titles in all.