By Madison
Copyright 1999
*Author’s note: I realize I haven’t kept up with my writing (sorry). For the people still interested in reading the conclusion, I will recap the story briefly for you. *****Recap: The journalist McKay wrote a Tale that portrayed Jake Colter in a very unflattering way, and Jake went to pay him a ‘friendly’ visit. The tale titled “Death For A Bounty” naturally revolved around Jimmy and Lou (McKay’s favorite ‘couple’). Well Cody decides to spy on Jimmy and Lou- to see if he can’t spy the ‘story’ between them. During which time, Teaspoon sends Jimmy, Lou, and Cody on a piggy hunt for their neighbors ‘The Rhodes’. They don’t have much luck rustling up the pigs, though a mud fight between them commences. Meanwhile, in Seneca (where the journalist resides), Jake has the journalist hostage (along with his assistant, Henry). Colter informs McKay (after a few threats) that him and Hickok go way back. McKay then suggests they talk things out over dinner. Jake, believing the journalist to be a helpless pencil pusher, lets down his guard and agrees. Soon Colter is drunk of expensive wine, and the journalist convinces him to sign a contract. The contract states that Colter will get paid a dollar for each Wild Bill adventure he has had. Not exactly the same price Jake demanded, but he was too drunk to know better. Henry was witness to the signing. The conclusion starts now.........
Piggy-less, mud bathed, and hungry wasn’t Lou’s first choice on how to spend the day, but she could think of worse. Like being trapped in a blizzard butt naked with no salvation in sight. Or being hunted by a thousand crazed madmen with only a stick to defend yourself with. Yes, those would definitely be worse days. However, she still firmly believed pig hunting was a strong runner up.
“Come on, Lou,” Cody pleaded for the millionth time. Her dead silence was driven him loony. “We were just playing.”
“Oh I know,” Lou said in the sweetest tone she could muster. Sure screaming and hollering at their little prank was an itching thought, but Louise wasn’t going to play the poor sport. No that would allow them to relinquish their guilty by calling her ‘touchy today’. A woman thing, they’d dismiss it as. Well, not today. “Might as well have a little fun while we’re out here, right boys?”
Jimmy shook his head. She’s planning on killing us with kindness, he mused. Her strategy was working wonders with Cody too he noted. Lou’s quite unexpected behavior practically had Cody chewing at his hat brim.
“Jimmy?” Cody called in a whisper. “Jimmy?”
Barely catching his friend’s hushed plea, the fastest draw in the west halted his horse. “What?” He asked.
“Shhh!” Cody hissed. Before stopping, he threw a cautious look at the lady rider preceding farther along the slippery trail. Luckily, Lou was paying no heed to them. “I got a bad feeling-”
“Yeah me too,” Jimmy confessed with counterfeited sincerity. “Who knows what she’s up to.” Hell, if Lou was gonna play mind games, then he might as well play them too. Unfortunately, Cody was everybody’s favorite victim. His narrowed, suspicious eyes and wild imagination just made him perfect for the part.
The wine had dealt its final blow to the barbaric hunter, leaving him in a helpless state. His head rested against the table, while drool guzzled out the corner of his lips as he half-consciously babbled on. Hmmm....yes, he was just as repulsive now as when I first met him. Quieter though, praise heaven.
Mr. Colter proved to be much more useful than I had ever imagined. His ‘tales’ (hazy as they were), if true, would help my career soar to new heights. Could it be? Did Hickok actually team up with this mannerless beast to prove a man’s innocence? A “Robin Hood” by the name of Lon Chase?
My head was spinning with creative twists I could add to Colter’s alleged adventures with Wild Bill. Yes, Colter’s visit was definitely beneficial despite his unpleasant company.
Any other journalist might be satisfied with the ground they uncovered. Don’t get me wrong. I’ll take any treat offered. But I was still unable to learn the identity of the Lady in Blue. Seeking out Hickok would get me nowhere....except maybe six feet under if I pushed him too far. I don’t think he and I have the same warm feelings for each other.
Colter was no longer an option....his snoring declared that. Maybe I should have inquired sooner. No. He barely managed to finish talking about Chase.
“Well,” I said after collecting my notes and the contract. “It was a pleasure Mr. Colter, but I’m afraid all good things must end.” Exiting (with my assistant, Henry, right on my heels), I made my way out of the restaurant and to the sheriff’s office. I had to wrap up a few loose ends hindering my scheme.
The Piggy Hunt.....
An hour had passed since Lou, Jimmy, and a very paranoid Cody lost sight of their prey. Fortunately, the little piggys had left a distinguishable trail the trio could follow. Oddly enough, the beasts appeared to be circling back toward home.
Cody, who seemed to be living by the motto “keep your friends closer and your ‘enemies’ closer”, hung tight by Lou’s side. The lady rider, sensing this, would simple smile sweetly when ever their eyes met. This Cody was finding more tortuous than any of Rachel’s lectures, and boy did he hate those!
Jimmy smiled, bearing witness to Louise McCloud’s devious mind game. Her ornery behavior was just another thing to love about her. And even though the sky had begun spitting on them once again, Jimmy felt content. Some how, riding with Lou always made the worst of days better.
A mile later, the trio found themselves back at the Rhodes. But, they weren’t the only express crew on the premises. Buck, Ike, and the Kid already had the fugitive pigs back in their cell, and were busy mending any weak areas the pen contained.
Jimmy shook his head in dismay. “Okay, how’d you catch ‘em?”
“It wasn’t hard,” Buck declared with a grin. Seeing his fellow riders mud soaked revealed the troubles of their hunt.
“Well that explains so much...” Cody mumbled. “Mind humoring us with the details?”
“Well, by the time we got here,” Buck began with his amusement barely hidden. “They were already in their pen.”
*Came home for dinner,* Ike added.
“We just shut the gate behind ‘em,” Kid concluded. “Oh, and replaced some old boards....”
“That figures!” Cody exclaimed in frustration. That’s it! He had it with the spying, the piggy hunting...and most of all, having to watch out for Lou’s next move! Digging for this story proved to be more trouble than it was worth! And then it dawned on him. If McKay could get by using more imagination than fact, well......he was always known as a dreamer. Yes, he could write his own tale.....and not just about the ‘fastest draw in the west’, but the entire express crew. He could use his journal as a reference! “Brilliant, just brilliant,” Cody declared loudly before making tracks for home.
“Brilliant?” Kid repeated puzzled. “I thought it was just a mixture of luck and common sense.”
“Common sense is brilliant to Cody,” Jimmy declared. His wise crack sent the riders into a fit of laughter. They could all recall the crazy schemes Cody had come up with. Surprisingly, most of those wild ideas actually worked! But what is he up to now? Jimmy found himself wondering as the group began their journey home. It was never nothing with Cody.
The Final Showdown in Seneca.....
BOOM!!! That was the deafening sound my door made when it crashed into the wall. Colter soon thundered in with his usually charm. Even though his arrival had me nervous, it was expected.
“We have a score to settle,” he bellowed at me with his foul breath. Leaning over my desk, he hissed, “Where’s my reward money?”
“Of course,” I said quickly. Then I reached into my drawer and pulled out his compensation. “Here you go.”
Colter stared at the payment in disbelief. “That’s not what we agreed upon, book man.”
“Oh, but it is,” I replied smugly. “After all, we both signed the contract.”
“What contract?” Jake asked before striking up his trusted cigar. I passed the document to him then watched the anger rise within him. “You little pencil pushing...”
“A deal’s a deal,” I reminded him.
“Is that so?” The brute questioned before grasping my jacket fully in his fists and yanking me forward.
“Uh huh,” I replied somewhat timidly. Then gathering my courage, I warned, “I have a witness to our deal, and the sheriff knows as well.....so if anything should happen to me...”
“I’d be the number suspect,” Colter finished bitterly. With a shake of his head, he stated, “You’re smarter than you look.”
“That’s so very kind of you to say...” I mumbled before Jake’s death grip was released. In moody state of defeat, the bounty hunter turned to leave when I urgently called out to him. It was an odd gesture that a strong yearning devouring my brain brought forth. “I have one last proposition to make. A rewarding one.”
“I’ve had about enough of your ‘rewards’,” Jake announced. “Unless of course it involves the privilege of knocking you straight on your scrawny ass.” A wicked smile crossed his once pouty lips. Colter obviously had a problem with being out foxed by a mere ‘dime novel’ journalist. But then, only a writer would be able to throw such deceitful twists into peoples’ lives.
“Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of fifty dollars?” The spark in Jake’s eyes guaranteed me his undivided attention. “A name is all I seek. The name of the Lady in Blue.”
“Money first,” Jake insisted. Nodding, I pulled the loot out of my desk drawer and surrendered it. I was taking a risk with this snake, but then that’s what a journalist does best.
“Belle,” he confided after an eternity of silence. During that dreadful time, he counted his reward. “Belle Lewis.....but, you didn’t hear this from me.” Then after puffing on his cigar a while, he added rather sarcastically, “Seein’ how I’m so afraid of Hickok an’ all, I’d just hate for him to come after me.” With that he was gone.
I had to admit, Colter was a much more intriguing man than I had originally suspected. Still I didn’t care for him much as a person. But then again, as a character he would be truly amazing. Too bad I killed him in ‘Death For A Bounty’. Oh, but I could write about his younger days! Yes, I could focus on how the Wild West can make the best of boys bad. Not to say Colter was ever good! Still, it did make for another outrageous tale. After all, a creative mind never rests!
