Welcome To The Bullpen
The Last Gunfight
Mike McCann
It was 1885 and in the small town in Barry County, Missouri and the young sheriff warmed his hands near the old iron stove. It was early fall and there was a chill in the air that day but the chill going through this young man’s body was mostly nerves. The sheriff’s position had come open last year and since work was hard to find in this area and the pay was good for being the law, Jason had jumped at the task. The newly elected mayor had given him a badge and slapped him on the back and said “Got get-em.”
So now, after a few bar fights and family spats, he had settled in to his position and was the respected full fledged sheriff of the town. He never even bothered about wearing the badge most of the time since the town was small and he was known by everyone.
Jason pulled the gun from the old leather holster that he wore on his hip and flipped open the loading notch. The pistol had been given to him some years ago by his father. His father had come back to see him one summer when he was fifteen and had shown him how to use the pistol. His dad left his life as fast as he came into it and Jason never saw him again. He spun the cylinder and found he was two bullets shy. Then he remembered that he had to shoot the old mutt dog last week that had been showing signs of being rabid.
The old wooden floor boards creaked as Jason paced back and forth in front of his desk with head bowed thinking about the problem that lay ahead of him. Yesterday, news had arrived in town that Sam Barrett; a west Texas gunman had been seen in county. Chances were really good that he would come to town since the ladies at the local saloon were known to be the prettiest around. Barrett loved his women and had been known to kill for the likes of them. This was what was bothering Jason right now. How was he going to get Sam to give up his guns when he came into town? A no gun ordinance had been passed last year and so far it had gone well. But now with a known gunslinger coming to town, Jason would be enduring his first real test as sheriff. It was rumored Barrett had eight notches carved into the handle of his pistol and was proud of it.
No one really knows how you will handle fear when it arrives at your door. The fear of knowing that within days, hours, or even minutes you could no longer be alive can eat at your very soul. Your heart paces fast and you really don’t know what to do with yourself as you wait for that moment to arrive. Men have been known to be so scared that they would vomit. These are the feelings that Jason was enduring right now.
The door to sheriff’s office creaked as Clancy came in. Clancy was more or less the deputy sheriff. Most of all he was Jason’s best friend in town. Clancy ran the local tack shop and always seemed to know all the news about town. The news he brought Jason today was not really what he wanted to hear.
“I got some bad news sheriff. Barrett and another man have ridden into town. They’re down at the Livery Stable right now,” said Clancy puffing some from being out of breath from running.
“Guess this isn’t going to be a good day,” answered Jason. “Well Clancy, I had better go meet em and do what I gotta do.”
“Want me to go along with ya Sheriff?” asked Clancy.
“No, just hang out on the boardwalk. If for some reason things tend to go wrong then head over the county line and bring back the Marshal.”
Clancy nodded his head confirming he knew what to do and quickly slipped out the door.
The old wooden desk had a few papers scattered around on the top and among them was the old tin sheriff’s badge. Jason picked it up and slowly pinned it on the drab green shirt his wife had given him to wear that morning. He thought of her for a moment and a smile crossed his face as he thought about just how handsome a woman she was. He wondered for a moment if he would ever see her again. They had tried so hard to have a child and right now Jason was wondering if he was actually glad they hadn’t succeeded. He took his hat from the hall tree that was standing in the corner gave it a quick brush with his hand and sat it on his head. His shaking hand reached for the door handle and he paused there for a moment trying suck up all the nerve he could, then he went out the door. He caught up with the two men as they came out of the Livery.
Something came over Jason at the moment he finally saw the men. He realized that his imagination had made him a giant in his mind but now seeing him he realized he was just a normal person. He knew which one was Barrett the moment he laid eyes on him by the way he wore his gun belt. He wore it low on his hip and the holster was tied down to his leg. Other than that he looked like any other cowboy around town.
“Gentleman, it’s my job to tell you that we have a no gun law here in town. Now you are welcome to stay, but I need to keep your guns till you’re ready to leave,’ said Jason in a smooth calm voice.
Sam Barrett didn’t say anything for a moment or two as he scoped out the young man in front of him. “Just a kid” he thought. “We’re here just to give our animals a rest and some food. We are going down to the saloon for a steak and a drink then we will be leaving town. I don’t think young man that I will give up my gun to you or anyone else” said Barrett gruffly.
“In that case Mister, then I must ask you to leave town now,” said Jason, surprised that his voice didn’t crack and at the strength he had mustered up to stand up to these two men.
“Heck Sam, let’s just move on. There is no sense of having trouble now and messing up our plans for tomorrow.”
“Just shut up, would ya?” Sam barked back at his partner. “This young whippersnapper of a kid ain’t gonna tell me what I can or cannot do concerning my gun. Now kid sheriff,” he said turning back to Jason, “if you want my gun then you’re just gonna have to kill me for it. If not then just get out of my way.”
This was the scenario that Jason had dreaded and had wished more than ever that wouldn’t come to pass. He saw the mean look of the man in front of him and new right then and there that one of them would probably die today. He watched as Sam Barrett backed up a few steps and waited offering Jason a chance to draw his gun against him or to leave. His partner withdrew from the situation and moved back towards the livery stable. He didn’t want any part of a shoot out. Jason stood there for a moment keeping his calm and thinking what it might be like to die.
It all happened in a split second as guns were drawn and shots fired.
The wagon, pulled by an old horse, pulled up where the body lay in a pool of blood on the ground. The barber of the town and also the mortician when needed, loaded up the body with the help of Clancy. He would take the dead man back to his shop, measure it, and then build a box to fit the body.
The last gunfight of the county was talked about for years. The old timers that saw the fight said they had never seen any man draw and shoot a gun so fast. His hand had almost been a blur as it moved to pull the gun out of the holster and fire. The shots had hit the other man in the chest and head killing him instantly. They say Sam Barrett’s gun barely cleared the holster when it fired.
Jason Barrett’s partner led his horse over to where Jason was standing still holding his pistol in his shaking hand. He put his foot in the stirrup and sat in the saddle ready to leave. “Son,” he said calmly. “Just who the heck are you and how did you learn to handle your gun so well? I’ve never seen such a fast draw as that. Heck, old Barrett was dead before his gun went off into the dirt.”
Jason turned to face him, his face still showing the signs of shock and relief. “My name is Jason Haycock and my dad taught me how to handle a gun.”
Barrett’s partner started out of town but when he got to the barber’s shop he saw Clancy coming out so he stopped for a moment and asked, “Just who was the young sheriff’s dad?”
“His name was Bill Hickock! Most people know him as Wild Bill Hickock,” said Clancy answering the man’s question.
Jason Haycock held his wife tightly that night and cried softly into her shoulder letting out all the fear and anguish that had built up inside of him that day. Tomorrow would be another day and it would be a good day to be alive.
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REVIEW 1
You capture the scene very well. A good story that, IMO, needs one or two refinements.
L. Roger Quilter.
Suggestions.
slapped him on the back and said Got get-em.
Should this be go or got?
slapped him on the back and said Go get-em.
The pistol had been given to him some years ago by his father. His father had come back to see him one summer
Father used twice. Suggest making this one sentence.
The pistol had been given to him some years ago by his father, who had come back to see him one summer
Sam Barrett didnt say anything for a moment or two as he scoped out the young man in front of him. Just a kid he thought. Were here just to give our animals a rest and some food. We are going down to the saloon for a steak and a drink then we will be leaving town. I dont think young man that I will give up my gun to you or anyone else said Barrett gruffly.
This paragraph needs a word or two to show the change from thought to spoken dialogue. Suggest
Sam Barrett didnt say anything for a moment or two as he scoped out the young man in front of him. Just a kid he thought. Aloud, he said, Were here just to give our animals a rest and some food. We are going down to the saloon for a steak and a drink then we will be leaving town. I dont think young man that I will give up my gun to you or anyone else said Barrett gruffly
Review 2
Worth reading. However, suggestion to the author, please keep the names of your characters straight. You start out with Sam Barrett, and then, after Jason has shot & killed him, and Barrett's partner comes up, your refer to him as Jason Barrett's partner.
Little things like that will 'kill' sales of stories.
Ronald G. Ross
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