Roy quickly scampered down the back wall and ran over to the body lying on the ground. He was a young man, but the bullet pierced through the skull and his eyes were still open in shock. Roy took his hand and closed the man's eyes. Suddenly, Roy heard running feet closing in on his location. He crawled under the raised floor of Dillard's store and squeezed himself back into the dark shadows, pointing his rifle where he saw the young man lying. Three pairs of boots stopped in front of the dead man. Somebody whistled.

"Ol' Dix is gonna be mad now. This is his kid brother. Who's gonna tell him?"

"Not me."

"Don't look at me."

Another pair of boots with spurs walked up behind the trio standing there discussing the situation.

Advertisement..

"Tell me what?"

The men moved aside so Dix could see. A big wad of chewing tobacco splatted onto the dusty dirt. "That stupid farmer is a dead man. You find him and bring him to me alive. I want to look into his eyes when I slit his throat. I want to watch the life drain from that idiot's eyes. Fan out. He couldn't have gone too far."

Roy watched three pairs of boots head in different directions. Dix walked over and knelt down over the young man. Roy could hear the man sniffle.

"Jake, I taught you better than that. What a fool thing to do." Another sniffle and more chewing tobacco spit on the ground in a big clump. "I'm gonna kill him for you Jake, but I want him to suffer when I do. I'll make him pay for killing you." Dix stood. "That stupid farmer is a dead man."

Roy crawled on his belly and went over two buildings. He emerged out from under the back steps of the saloon where he started. Scanning in all directions, he saw Dix standing over the body of his slain brother, his back to Roy. Dix started walking away and around the other end of the buildings. Roy followed but stayed close to the side of the building, his rifle ready and pointed at the back of Dix's head. Roy watched Dix walk across the street to the bank and step into the doorway. Crouching behind the end building, Roy spotted an open window above his head. He crawled into the building through the window.

When Roy arrived at the front, he peered out the windows and across the street. He watched in horror as Dix walked out and Pretty-Boy met him with Buddy.

"Look Dix. It seems the sheriff here was trying to escape."




Most Popular