Western Short Story
The Medicine Show
Larry Payne
Western Short Story
Marshal
Cooper Smith stepped out onto the boardwalk in front of Della's Café.
He'd just finished his favorite breakfast of hotcakes, warm syrup and
coffee. Only one thing could make it better. Reaching into his shirt
pocket, he pulled out the fixings and rolled a cigarette, sticking it
between his lips. After a short search, he found a match, striking it
against the side of the building, lighting the quirley. What could be
better, he thought, taking a long drag and stepping off the
boardwalk, walking across the street in the direction of his
office.
Stepping
up on the boardwalk, he noticed a merchant's wagon coming toward him.
Driving the wagon was a skinny, middle-aged man wearing a derby hat
cocked at an angle. Beside him sat the prettiest young blonde woman
Cooper had ever seen. Her golden hair seemed alive as the curls in
her hair bounced to the rumblings of the wagon. Cooper stood at the
edge of the boardwalk as the driver reined the wagon up in front of
him. The colorfully painted wagon proclaimed DOCTOR MCDERMOTT'S MAGIC
ELIXIR.
"Good
morning, Marshal. Thaddeus McDermott at your service," said the
driver, tipping his derby hat, revealing a balding head. He gestured
toward the young woman at his side.
"And
this is my daughter, Annie."
"Welcome
to Sweetwater, Mister McDermott," Cooper looked over at Annie,
tipping his hat, " Miss McDermott."
"Please,
marshal, don't be so formal, you may call me, Annie," she
replied with a big smile.
"Looks
like a right nice little town you have here," said
McDermott.
"And
we aim to keep it that way," interrupted a raspy voice from
behind Cooper. His deputy, Otis Fuller, leaned against the doorjamb
of the office. "We ain't gonna let some snake oil salesman come
in upsettin' things around here either."
"Snake
oil salesman, indeed," said McDermott, objecting to Otis's
opinion of him.
Looking
back at Otis, Cooper jerked his thumb toward the office and the
deputy disappeared inside.
"You
folks will have to excuse my deputy, his manners ain't the best. He
just needs to warm up to you is all."
"Apology
accepted, marshal. Now, can you direct us to one of your
establishments where we can get a room and clean up a bit?"
"The
Sweetwater Hotel is just down the street and the big white house at
the end of the street is Sadie's Rooming House. Both will serve your
purpose, but Sadie's rooms include home cooked meals, cooked by Sadie
herself."
"Sadie's
will do just fine, it's been awhile since I've had a home cooked
meal. Thank you for your hospitality, marshal, I'm sure we'll be
seeing you again." Flicking the reins, McDermott set the wagon
into motion.
Cooper
touched his fingers to hat, getting a smile from Annie in return as
the wagon headed for Sadie's Rooming House.
"What
was that all about?" Cooper Smith asked when he walked into the
office. Otis Fuller was sitting on a bench at the far side of the
office holding a mug of coffee.
"That
stuff don't work them snake oil salesmen sell, Coop."
Cooper
sat down on the edge of his desk.
"That
ain't for us to say, Otis. So, until they break the law, I want you
to treat em like anyone else that comes to Sweetwater."
"Okay,
Coop, you're the marshal." Otis shrugged his shoulders and took
a sip of his coffee.
****
McDermott
stopped the wagon beside Sadie's Rooming House. Climbing down from
the wagon seat, McDermott, with Annie beside him, climbed the two
steps to the porch and knocked on the door. After a few moments, a
heavy set, gray haired woman opened the door. Immediately, McDermott
removed his derby.
"Good
morning, madam, the marshal told us you have rooms for rent."
"I
do." Sadie stood in the doorway looking at McDermott.
"My
daughter and I have just arrived in your town from a long trip and
would like to rent a couple of your rooms."
Sadie
looked from McDermott to Annie and opened the door the rest of the
way. "I happen to have two available. It'll be a dollar a day
each for the room, which includes breakfast and supper and a bath if
you care to take one. Payable in advance."
Reaching
into his pants pocket, McDermott produced a well used leather change
purse and took two silver dollars from it and handed them to
Sadie.
"Breakfast
is at 6 am and supper is at 5 pm. If you miss either you have to fend
for yourself." Sadie produced two keys from her apron pocket.
"The rooms are at the head of the stairs across the hall from
each other. If you need anything else, let me know." She handed
a key to McDermott and one to Annie. "Enjoy your stay."
"Thank
you, Madam," said McDermott, bowing slightly at the waist. Sadie
watched the two new arrivals disappear up the stairs, then turned,
going back to the kitchen.
****
Two
men wearing dusters stepped onto the boardwalk from the saloon. Their
eyes followed the wagon as it left the marshal's office and pulled in
beside the rooming house.
"They
sure took their sweet time about gettin' here," said Case
Harden, as he and Grady Barker stepped off the boardwalk into the
street. Spurs jangled as Harden and Barker stepped up on the porch of
Sadie's Rooming House and knocked on the door.
"Sorry,
I don't have any rooms available," said Sadie when she opened
the door.
"We're
here to see a couple of friends of ours, a fella in a derby hat and a
girl," said Case Harden.
"I
don't want any trouble here, I run a respectable place."
"Ain't
gonna be any trouble as long as you mind your own business,"
said Harden, pushing past Sadie into the room. "Now where are
they?"
"Two
rooms at the top of the stairs."
Case
Harden and Grady Barker trudged slowly up the staircase.
"
I'll call the marshal at the first sign of trouble."
At
the top of the stairs, Harden and Barker walked through the door
Annie held open for them.
"Welcome,
gentlemen, it's good to see you again," said McDermott, sitting
on the sofa near the window; the ever present derby hat perched on
his head.
"You
took your sweet time getting here," said Case Harden.
"We
wanted to give you plenty of time to look the place over,"
replied McDermott.
"What
did you find out?" asked Annie.
"Two
people work in the Wells Fargo office," said Case Harden, "the
depot agent and the freight handler. When the last wagon leaves, the
freight handler cleans things up and goes home. The agent usually
stays doin' paperwork. When he's done, he always leaves through the
back door. We could be in and out before you're done."
"Can
you be ready tomorrow?" asked Annie.
"We're
ready now," replied Harden.
"Tomorrow
will be soon enough," said Annie.
****
Standing
outside the marshal's office, Otis Fuller watched Harden and Barker
walk down the street and disappear into Sadie's Rooming House.
Leaning against the building smoking a quirley, Otis watched the two
dustered cowboys re-emerge from Sadie's ten minutes later and walk
down the street to the Four Aces Saloon. Flicking his quirley into
the street, Otis Fuller stepped off the boardwalk.
"Sorry,
boys, I cain't serve you no liquor before noon," Otis heard Pete
Ackley, the bartender, tell Harden and Barker when he walked through
the batwings.
"We'll
have coffee then," said Harden when he spotted the deputy
marshal. The two gunmen took their coffee to an empty
table.
"Coffee,
Otis?" Ackley asked Fuller when he walked up to the bar.
"Yeah,
sure." Ackley set a mug on the bar and filled it with coffee.
Otis took a sip of the steaming liquid and set it back on the bar.
"What can you tell me about them two, Pete?"
Ackley
shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, I don't know, Otis. They showed up
here bout five, six days ago. Never caused no trouble, but, they
always sat at a table near the door or a window, like they was
waitin' or lookin' for somebody."
"Maybe
they was and maybe whoever they was waitin' for showed up." Otis
took a big drink of his coffee and pushed the mug toward Pete
Ackley."I think I'll have me a little chat with them
two."
Harden
and Barker tried to ignore Fuller as he approached their
table.
"Howdy,
boys," said Otis, pulling out an empty chair. Putting his foot
on the seat, leaning forward, he rested his arms on his
knee.
"Mornin',
depity," said Harden.
"Depity,"
replied Barker.
"Enjoyin'
your stay in Sweetwater, are ya?" asked Otis.
Both
men nodded their heads."Yes sir," said Barker.
"Right
nice town you have here," added Harden.
"Gonna
be stayin' long?"
"Jest
driftin' through, depity," said Harden.
Removing
his foot from the chair, Otis Fuller sat down. "I hope you boys
ain't plannin' nothin unlawful. Cause you see, boys, when we extend
our hospitality and someone does somethin' ill-legal, Marshal Smith
and I take it sorta personal like. You catch my drift?"
Looking
into Grady Barker's eyes, Otis smiled, causing Barker to look down
into his mug of coffee. Looking over at Harden, Otis rose from the
chair, pushing it back under the table.
"You
boys have a nice day now, hear?" said Otis. Touching his fingers
to his hat, he winked at the two gunmen. Turning toward the bar, he
waved at Pete Ackley and left the saloon.
"He
knows, Case," said Barker after Fuller left the saloon.
"How
does he know, Grady, huh? You tell me that. You let him spook you.
Drink up, let's get outta here."
Pouring
coffee into a tin cup, Cooper Smith looked up when Otis Fuller strode
through the office door.
"Where
you been?"
Removing
a tin cup from a peg on a wall rack behind the stove, Otis held the
cup up to the spout of the coffee pot.
"Plantin'
seeds."
*
* * *
Sitting
with his chair tilted back, his feet on the railing, Otis Fuller's
finger pushed his hat up from eyes to watch Thaddeus McDermott drive
his medicine wagon up the street from Sadie's Rooming House. It went
past him and stopped in front of the hotel, giving him a ringside
seat for the show. After a couple of minutes, the back of the wagon
was lowered making a makeshift stage for Thaddeus McDermott to peddle
his wares. Annie moved two tables onto the stage when McDermott
secured it.
Cooper
Smith stepped from his office onto the boardwalk, eyeing the slow
gathering crowd around the medicine wagon. He sat down in a chair
next to Otis and put his feet up on the railing.
"You
got a ringside seat," said Cooper.
"Yeah,
and in just a minute, I'm goin' down to the bank so I can give
McDermott my life's savings like everyone else is gonna do."
Cooper Smith laughed at his deputy.
Waiting
for the crowd to grow, McDermott produced a deck of cards. He
shuffled the cards, cut the deck with one hand, fanned them and
reshuffled the deck again. He pointed at a young girl standing with
her mother near the stage.
"My
dear, would you like to assist me?" Smiling, the young girl's
mother nodded at her and the she walked up the narrow set of steps
onto the stage.
"Have
we ever met before?" asked McDermott.
"No
sir," she said, shaking her head.
McDermott
fanned the cards holding them face down. "Pick a card, my dear,
and show it to the people, but don't let me see it."
After
a moment, she slid a card from the pack and held up the two of
diamonds to the growing crowd. McDermott picked up the cards.
"Now,
my dear, return the card to the pack." The girl slid the two of
diamonds back into the pack. McDermott cut the cards and made one
shuffle, holding the cards face down in front of the girl.
"I'm
going to go through the pack, tell me when to stop." McDermott
transferred the cards, one at a time, from his left hand to his
right.
"Stop."
McDermott turned his right hand over showing the girl the bottom
card. The girl's eyes widened.
"Is
that your card, my dear?"
"Yes,"
she said, nodding her head.
"Show
everyone." The young girl took the card, holding up the two of
diamonds for the crowd to see. The revealed card brought applause and
laughter from the crowd.
He
gave the pack of cards to the girl and took a shiny dollar from his
vest pocket, holding it up in his left hand to the crowd. He placed
it in his right hand and closed his fist. He raised his right fist
and opened it revealing an empty palm, bringing a buzz from the
crowd. With his left hand, he reached behind the girl's right ear,
producing the shiny dollar, bringing cheers and applause from the
crowd.
"For
your able assistance, my dear," said McDermott, handing the
dollar to the girl.
"That's
why they call them tricks," said Otis, getting a chuckle from
Cooper as they watched the smiling girl leave the stage and return to
her mother's side.
Otis
caught movement from the corner of his eye and looked over to see
Case Harden and Grady Barker, without their dusters, blend in at the
back of the crowd.
"Ladies
and Gentlemen," started McDermott, holding up a brown bottle.
"Let me introduce you to Doctor McDermott's Magic Elixir. It
will cure arthritis, rheumatism, gout, stomach ache and back
ache."
Otis
watched the two gunmen weave their way to the front of the
crowd.
"For
the tidy sum of one dollar, you will have the cure for all your
troubles. One brown bottle will take care of all your needs."
Case
Harden held a dollar bill over his head. "I'll take a
bottle."
"Me
too," said Grady Barker, holding a dollar bill up to Annie, who
gave them each a brown bottle of the elixir.
Amid
a forward surge of the crowd waving money, Harden and Barker sought
an avenue of escape. Stepping forward and moving along the side of
the wagon, the two gunmen met at the back of the crowd. Handing their
brown bottles to two thankful men, they walked toward the saloon and
their waiting horses.
Rising
from his chair, Otis watched the two gunmen ride around the corner of
the Wells Fargo office.
"I'll
be right back,' he said to Cooper Smith and stepped off the
boardwalk.
Walking
across the street, Otis Fuller stepped up on the boardwalk and walked
toward the Wells Fargo office. Stepping down between the freight
office and the hardware store, he went to the back alley. He eased
around the corner of the building and stopped at the back door of the
Wells Fargo office. Stepping through the open door, he drew his Colt.
Tiptoeing around the crates in the back room, he looked through the
partially open office door.
Sitting
against the wall, gagged and bound, was Abe Shipley, the freight
agent, watching as Case Harden and Grady Barker filled canvas Wells
Fargo bags with money from the open safe. His hunch had been right.
McDermott, Annie, Harden and Barker were all working together. The
medicine show was just a distraction and a cover.
"Okay,
let's get out of here," Harden said to Barker, throwing the tied
moneybags over his shoulder.
"Sorry,
boys, I can't let you do that," said Otis Fuller, sliding
through the door, leveling his cocked Colt at the two
outlaws.
Firing
a quick shot, Case Harden dove for the protection of the nearby desk
causing Otis to slide back through the door.
"I
told you he knew," said Grady Barker from the protection of the
open safe door.
"Give
it up, boys, nobody needs to get hurt. Throw down your guns,"
shouted Otis.
"We
ain't givin' nothin' up," yelled Harden, firing another shot at
Otis.
"What're
we gonna do, Case?" asked Grady.
"We're
getting' out of this. When I say, throw some lead in that door."
Reloading his gun, Case looked over at Grady.
"Now."
A hailstorm of gunfire splintered the door hiding Otis.
Case
Harden bolted from the desk followed by Grady from behind the safe
door. As Grady ran by him, Abe Shipley stuck out his bound legs
sending Grady Barker sprawling across the floor, losing the grip on
his gun. Looking up, Grady saw Case dive through the window of the
Wells Fargo office. As he reached for his gun, a booted foot pinned
it to the floor. Grady looked up into the barrel of Otis Fuller's
cocked Colt and dropped his head to the floor.
"You
alright, Abe?" Otis shouted at the Wells Fargo agent. Receiving
a muffled answer from Abe, Otis looked down at his prisoner.
"You're
under arrest, mister."
The
second gunshot caught Cooper Smith's attention. Listening intently,
he heard the barrage of gunfire.
"That
came from the Wells Fargo office," said the man standing next to
Cooper.
As
he ran down the street, Marshal Smith saw Case Harden crash through
the window of the Wells Fargo office. Seeing Cooper Smith bearing
down on him, Harden fired a wild shot, turning to run for the horses.
Cooper's return shot on the run hit Harden in the leg, knocking him
down. From one knee, Harden fired at the marshal again. Stopping,
Cooper Smith fired twice, the second shot hitting Harden in the
chest. The outlaw fell, unmoving, into the street.
"Otis,"
shouted Smith, walking toward the downed outlaw.
"Everyone's
okay, stop McDermott and the girl," shouted Otis through the
shattered window.
At
the sound of the gunshots, McDermott lost his captive audience when
they followed Cooper Smith down the street.
"My
dear, I think we've worn out our welcome," said McDermott when
Harden came crashing through the window. With Annie scrambling to the
front seat, he jumped down from the wagon and raised the
tailgate.
"Leavin'
us so soon?" asked Ira Harkin, as McDermott climbed into the
wagon seat. The big blacksmith stood in front of the wagon.
"Yes,
I just remembered someplace we were supposed to be. So if you'll step
aside, we'll be on our way."
"I
think the Marshal might want to talk to you two," said Ira,
seeing Cooper Smith come back down the street.
"Get
out of the way, mister," said Annie, pulling a gun from under
the seat.
"Heeyah!"
yelled McDermott as he slapped the reins when Ira stepped aside.
Before the horses could bolt forward, Harkin grabbed the harness of
the nearest horse. Ducking down in front of the horse, he barely
eluded Annie's shot.
"Drop
the gun, Miss McDermott," said Cooper, coming up on the opposite
side of the wagon. Annie dropped the gun into the street.
"You
alright, Ira?" The blacksmith came up from the cover of the
horse.
"I'm
okay, Coop."
Cooper
Smith waggled his Colt at the wagon seat. "Both of you climb
down."
Cooper
stopped them at the back of the wagon. "Open it up," he
said to McDermott.
"Watch
em, Ira," said Cooper, handing his Colt to the big blacksmith.
Cooper climbed up into the back of the wagon. He opened boxes and
crates and looked in drawers.
"Looking
for anything special, Marshal?" asked McDermott.
Cooper
lifted the lid of a large trunk and smiled. He pulled out four empty
moneybags. "I found it, you two are under arrest."
"But,
Marshal, I don't know where those came from," said
McDermott.
"We'll
let the judge decide that. Ira, take'em away."
The
blacksmith waggled the Colt at the two prisoners. "Move
it."
They
met Otis at the door to the marshal's office. "Got two more for
ya, Otis," said Ira.
Cooper
Smith walked into the office as Otis hung the cell keys on a peg next
to the door. Throwing the moneybags on the desk, Cooper sat down and
starting writing a letter he would telegraph to Wells Fargo. Otis sat
in the chair opposite Cooper. After a couple of minutes, Cooper
looked up at Otis.
"Ain'tcha
got somethin' to say?" asked Otis.
"About
what?"
"About
them." Otis jerked his thumb toward the jail cell.
"
Yeah, the judge won't be here til next week. Bein' you're the
deputy, you gotta watch em. So get comfortable," said Cooper.
Rising from his chair, he walked toward the door.
"But,
Coop, you know my lumbago always kicks up when I have to sit too
long," pleaded Otis.
Cooper
Smith walked out the door, returning a couple of minutes later
carrying a crate. Setting it on the desk, he lifted the lid. Removing
a brown bottle of McDermott's elixir, he set it in front of
Otis.
"Guaranteed
to kill or cure," said Cooper.
"SNAKE
OIL." Otis Fuller was still yelling when Cooper Smith stepped
off the boardwalk.
