the Gentleman Gunfighter, C. F. Allison [best e reader for android .txt] 📗

chimed in. “Yes. I believe I’ll put my twenty dollars in on that bet as well Huckleberry.” Clay, seeing the gauntlet of challenge thrown down on the table in front of him felt compelled to answer the challenge by picking it up.

Clay came busting out of the stable doors at a full gallop a top of his bare back steed wearing nothing but his hat, his gun belt, and his boots. He was shooting his six-gun into the air and screaming “Yee Haw!” at the top of his lungs. Down Main Street he came racing. Tipping his hat at the ladies when he passed by the Long Branch. John and Doc stood on the wooden sidewalk in front of the saloon and laughed as they enjoyed the show Clay was giving everyone.

Wyatt came running up the sidewalk and shouting, “Doc, what the hell was that?” Doc laughed again and told him. “I don’t rightly know Wyatt. I think it was a wild Indian.” It wasn’t very long and Clay came walking up to the three of them. “You didn’t happen to see a wild Indian down that way did you Allison?” Earp asked the approaching gunman. “No I sure didn’t marshal.” Clay replied. The marshal, frustrated, grunted to himself and said, “Well if I see him again I’ll put a bullet in him.” And then turned and walked back towards the jail. The three of them, Doc, Clay, and John laughed as they went back inside the saloon to finish their bottles and play some more cards.


It was around three o’clock when Clay and John excused themselves and went back to their room at the hotel so they could rest up. They wanted to at least be at least semi fresh when they reported to the bunkhouse on the next day. Jack and Mario had already turned in for the night.

The bright morning light came beaming in on the brothers as they woke up. The both of them were blurry eyed and felt as if they were wearing fur coats on their tongues. Clay still had part of a bottle left so the two of them had a couple of shots to cure the effects from the night before.

The brothers then gathered their gear and went down to the dining room for some steak and eggs before heading out to the ranch. They walked into the café and saw Doc was there. It looked like he had just finished eating and was smoking a cigarette while he nursed a cup of coffee. “Well good morning there Huckleberry. How y’all fairing on this fine sunny morning?” Clay and John sat down with Doc and called the waitress over while they said their good mornings back to Doc. The waitress took their order, they both wanted Steak and Eggs, “and some Taters with lots of Coffee.” Clay was sure to add. They sat for a while having coffee with Doc after having ate their breakfast. They told Doc they were going out to the McNulty Ranch to ride heard.

It was early afternoon before Clay, John, and their two new travel companions arrived at the ranch and report in to the foreman to get their bunkhouse assignment so they could get settled in. As they all walked into the bunkhouse, the foreman, Donny Dodd began introducing himself to the four of them as well as all the other newly hired cowhands. Everyone was getting settled in while he explained the routines around the ranch, “Chow is at six o’clock, lunch is when you get hungry out riding, and supper is at sundown. I hand out the work assignments for the day. As long as you do the jobs I give you the best as you know how and can, and don’t buck me on what I tell you to do for the day, then we’ll all get along just fine, and you’ll have a job as long as you want one.”

‘It all sounds good to me.’ Clay thought to himself as he stored his gear and got settled in at his bunk. It was really going to be nice to not be a drifter for a change. He was tired of drifting and the problems it caused. Depending on his gambling skills, or his hunting abilities for survival. He also thought of how nice it would be to not have to worry about getting shot in the back on some town’s Main Street. That was something that was not very likely on a cattle drive.

The work was hard and steady, but Clay and John had done it before on their parent’s ranch in Tennessee when they were growing up. That made it no new big thing for them to get used too. The ranch foreman and even Mr. McNulty noticed the two of them were hard workers and was very pleased at having hired them. Not at all what they had expected to find in a known gunfighter. They were as surprised as well as pleased with the quality and amount of work Clay got accomplished. He had turned into a valuable asset to the McNulty Company.

It wasn’t long before Clay found himself being put in charge of work crews. Riding fence lines. Rounding up strays in the North Forty acres. It was shortly after noon on a Friday. Clay was on his way up a hillside chasing after a calf when he heard a shot ring out behind him. Clay dropped down out of his saddle spinning around with his gun in his hand before landing on his feet. He saw Mike Griffith about twenty feet behind him. His six-gun falling to the ground. “He was going to back shoot you Clay!” Jack called out as Mike himself slumped and fell from his saddle hitting the ground as well. “Well Jack, he’s about as stone cold dead as you can get. Much obliged.” Clay said as he examined the lifeless body of his would be assassin. “Is swear Clay, he was going to shoot you in the back.” Jack shouted out again. “Easy does it my friend.” Clay said. “I believe you. Like I said I’m much obliged to you.” He added. “Well who is he?” Jack asked. “Just a nobody wanting to be a somebody I reckon.” Clay answered.
Clay and Jack dug a hole and threw the body in it. They kept the pistol belt and pistol along with what cash the cowboy had. Again, Clay offered the bounty to Jack but again Jack declined it saying it was blood money. Clay insisted he take the six-shooter and belt though saying Mario was going to need one for the cattle drive ahead. Clay told Jack he would teach Mario to use it so he wouldn’t have to rely on that Winchester he carried around. “Sometimes on a drive you got to be faster than you can pull a rifle from the saddle.” He explained.

Clay tethered Mike’s horse to his own so he could sell it when he got back to the ranch house or on his next trip into town. Either one would work for Clay. He didn’t care which.

It was after nightfall before Clay and Jack finished rounding up the strays they were sent after and made it back to the bunkhouse. “Where’d you get the pony Clay?” A voice called out from up by the ranch house. It was Mr. McNulty. “Had to kill me a bush whacker Mr. McNulty.” Clay responded. “You wouldn’t want to buy it and the saddle for a fair price would you?” Mr. McNulty told him to put them in the barn and come on to the house and settle up. Clay did as he was told. After settling up with Mr. McNulty he walked over to the bunkhouse to get something to eat.

The morning came too quickly for Clay. It seemed as if he had just laid down when the sun came peeking over the hillside and beaming through the window. “Well Jack, time to make another day.” Clay said. “You ready?” Jack nodded as he rubbed the sleep away from his eyes. “I suppose so.” He replied. The men gathered the gear they would need for the day and walked over to the chow hall.

After filling up on Ham and Eggs with the home made Biscuits and Gravy Cookie made, they reported to Donny to get their assignment for the day. “Allison. Get two men, fill a buckboard with enough supplies and take some barbed wire. I need you to ride the fence all the way around the ranch property. Fix the downs and breaks.” Clay chose Jack and Mario to do the job with him. They loaded the wagon as they were instructed to do. Got their bed rolls and started out to tend to the fences around the perimeter of the ranch.

As they got out of site of the ranch house Clay told Jack and Mario to begin at the main entrance to the ranch and work their way west down the fence line. He was going into town he explained to pick up some extra supply’s they needed but didn’t have. He took off towards town at a fast gallop. “I thought we had all we needed on the wagon Jack.” Mario said. “Don’t ask me.” Jack replied and kept steering the wagon to where he was to go. They arrived at the main entry to the ranch property before long and began the trek down the fence line to survey for damage to repair.

It was mid afternoon before they caught sight of a single rider coming towards them. It was Clay alright. “Boy he sure ran that horse hard if he’s done been to town and back this quick.” Jack commented. “Yeah.” Mario answered back. “I wonder what he had to go and get in town.” He added as Clay got closer to them. “I don’t know, but I bet we’ll find out before long.” Jack said. “He’s almost here. Keep working.” They had found a small place in the fence where the post had rotted and was in the process of repairing it.

Clay reached the pair of workingmen and tossed a supply bag into the back of the wagon as he walked past it to approach them. “You men had lunch yet?” He asked. Both Mario and Jack told him no so they stopped what they were doing and made a fire to cook some coffee and beans. Clay had also picked up three Porterhouse steaks while he was in town and three large pieces of apple pie at the café, but the bag in the back of the wagon still had secret contents in it. Jack and Mario figured maybe it was personal items Clay needed for himself. At any rate, they figured Clay would tell them if he wanted them to know what