(Note from Barry - This letter was written as Snake recuperated from his wounds. It is a long letter describing everything that happened with the outlaw Holmes and the trial and hanging of Johnny Cardwell. I am going to break it into different parts and spread it out with other accounts of the events from different people. Hope not to confuse you anymore that I already may have! LOL)
Prissy,
Now that things are over, I figured I owed you the truth. Or at least most of it. Know first that I love you girl. I reckon I always will. But that is neither here nor there now.
After the town meeting in the church, I deputized Fingers. I had him watch over your husband at the jail while myself, John, and Shots set out to the hills. We packed enough gear for several days. My worry was I didn't know how big The Kid's gang actually was. Johnny told me he didn't know, he had never seen them all. And I believed him. I was hoping we might get lucky and catch them in small groups, or out alone. Turns out we were half lucky. After 3 days we caught a trail and followed it. That night we came upon a group of 5 men as they were cooking their supper. I recognized one of them. His name was Big Tom. I knew he was ridin with Holmes 6 months back, so we had the right men. I had John and Shots get behind them and take cover. When they were ready I stepped out of the shadows and into the light of their fire with my pistols drawn.
"Howdy Tom," I said. They started to reach for their rifles. "Now boys, don't be foolish." I pulled back the hammers on both of my guns. "You know I didn't come alone." I heard the cocking of both John's shotgun and Shot's rifle.
"Marshal," said Big Tom, "you might not have come alone, but you also know I ain't going without a fight." He was a tall, thick, stupid man with a large bushy beard and a bald head.
"Yeah I figured as much Tom." I replied, "but you gonna get these other fellas kilt too?"
"You boys step away now. This here is between me and this ugly bastard." The others did as they were told. "Men," I called out to the rocks above,"you keep your sights on these others. One of them thinks about drawing, you put em down. Alright Tom, it's just me and you now". I holstered my guns. "You ready?"
"You always were a stupid son of a bitch." He drew his gun, and died.
I sent John back to town with the other fellas. But first I learned where Holmes was. Seems he had rode out to meet a band of flesh trading Comanche. Just him and 2 others. They were due back the next day. Shots and I rode ahead to ambush him before he got back to the main force of his gang.
We found a spot just above the trail we figured Holmes would be coming down. We had learnt from the prisoners that the main force of the gang, now numbering about 16 men, were in a large ravine about 3 miles to our east. From there they had been able to strike out to about 5 or 6 towns and outposts. They were waiting for one big score in Red Creek before they lit out south for the border. The men we captured didn't know what that score was supposed to be, just that it was rich.
About 2 o clock we spotted a set of horses coming up the trail. As they got closer I saw it was Holmes and his two men. The men were leading a string of 3 ponies. On each of the ponies sat a skinny girl. The girls looked to be 12 or 13 years old. I wanted to put a bullet in Holmes' head right then. But I didn't. Instead I had Shots kill his horse. The beast screamed and rared as he went down with Holmes underneath. I shot the man on his right has he drew his gun. The other spurred his mount and took off as fast as he could right under us. I dropped him when he got within 10 feet. The girls were screaming and one of the ponies raised up dumping his rider before he sprinted into the woods. Before I realized it Shots had jumped down from our hiding spot and was running up the road to where The Kid lay pinned under his horse.
"Shots!" I yelled after him "No son, don't-" The pistol shot rang out and I saw the boy spin in his tracks and fall. Holmes rose up from behind his horse and began firing in my direction. I stood up and took aim. The tree bark behind and to the side of me exploded from his bullets. I got off two shots before I felt the bullet tear into my left forearm. But I heard Holmes yelp in pain at the same time so I knew at least one of my own had hit their mark. I saw The Kid turn and run into the trees. I leapt from the cover of the rocks and ran after. He was limping bad. Apparently I had lit him in the leg. I gave chase. We ran down hill and soon I was within leaping distance. I jumped onto his back just as he was turning to fire his weapon again.The shot went wide as I hit him and we fell, tumbling down the hill. With a sudden stop we hit a large tree. The breath was knocked out of me. As I gasped for air I saw Holmes try to rise, his face covered in blood from a nasty cut above his eyes. He was looking for his gun, but he must have dropped it in the fall. My holster was empty as well. I saw The Kid grab a large rock and begin to raise it over his head, like he was going to try to bash my brains in. A evil grin crossed his face and I imagined this must have been the same grin my brother saw right before he killed him. The thought of Tobias cleared my head. I let Homes come closer.
"So long Marshal." he said as the stone went above his head. "Tell your brother I said hello."
"Tell him yourself you motherless fuck!" I pulled the 8 inch blade from my hip and struck out as fast as I could.
Why I didn't stick him in his evil heart, I don't know. God knows he deserved it. But my knife plunged into his thigh. He screamed and dropped the small boulder. I rose up and fell atop of him. My fists found his face again and again. But the next thing I knew I was being pulled off of him. It was Shots. Holmes' bullet has left a gash across his forehead. He was hurt, but alive. "Let me go damn you!" I screamed. "Let me go!"
"No Marshal!" He said, holding me back. "We need to take him in. He needs to hang!"
Damn. The boy was right. I stood up and looked down at Holmes' bloody face. He coughed and spit a tooth out. He looked at me and grinned. I kicked him hard in the nose. Then took him back to town.
No comments:
Post a Comment