In the Shadow of the Noose

The others were peaking in the door, interested to see what was happening. I smiled.

"How about you? Clara asked.

"You don't look like your typical gunslinger."

"I'm not a gunslinger. Just someone who doesn't like injustice."

"Why here?"

"Just passing through. I... need to keep moving."

Clara studied me as if trying to prize out my secrets. She accepted I wasn't going to tell her more.

"You'd make tidy sum with that body if you ever want a change of profession. And the hair would be worth a handsome bonus."

I reddened at the thought.

"That's a dog that ain't gonna hunt."

"Shame."

She took a breath and stood up, glancing around her room as though she would never see it again.

"Think you can avoid shooting the place up too much? We have to live and work here you know."

"No promises. But without the Dukes, you might get a few more paying customers."

"I hope so. I have plans. This ain't a game I want to be in forever. Me and my gals, we want to go on to a decent life before we dry up."

Clara smiled again before glancing at the others.

"Okay gals. Go dress nicely."

She clapped her hands to hurry them along.

"I hear the townsfolk are all coming to the saloon tonight. One last shindig, just in case.

You won't mind if we come back for that?"

She started peeling her basque away to dress more decently.

"No. Just so long as you're at the Johnsons before morning."

With a momentary glance at her fine breasts coming into view, I turned and extracted myself from the room before I was tempted.

"If you change your mind."

I kept walking.

Annie was waiting for me outside, looking back and forth, assessing what we'd achieved.

"I've found a rider to go out first light and keep watch." She said pushing her hat up a little.

"His name's Henry. A sharp eye and he can ride. On a fresh horse, he can be back here well ahead of the Dukes, in time to get everyone where they should be."

I glanced up for the tallest point.

"Have someone to watch out in the church tower, that'll give us a few more minute's warning."

"Only problem now, is how to stop them where we need them." Annie said.

I took a breath.

"They're only here for one person. We'll give them what they want."

"Abigail." She exclaimed.

"You're gonna use yourself as bait?"

"Kinda."

"And what stops them just shooting you dead?"

"Distraction."

I didn't tell her how I intended that.

By evening, the town was ready and no one was questioning whether we were doing the right thing. No one that is, except Mary. The landlady at the hotel.

"Why are you doing this? Do you really think you can take down the Dukes?"

Mary looked subdued. Not her previous haughty self, eyeing me with disgust.

"Not alone. No. But with your menfolk's help, we can."

"It'll get some of them killed."

I shrugged.

"Sometimes you have to make a stand. What's a life if you can't live it how you choose? Look at this town. It's dying on its feet. You have no guests in your rooms. The saloon's empty. Even the whores are... branching out because your men are broke. Clara made me an offer earlier."

"I thought you'd have liked that."

There was that underlying disdain again.

"It might be lewd behavior to you, but your husband is probably a loving man. My experience of a man was somewhat different.

That's not something I ever want to... never mind."

There was a flicker of understanding behind her eyes. And also the fear that'd prompted this conversation.

"He is. And I don't want you to get him killed."

"He'll be in the cathouse. Surprisingly, he can shoot straighter than most. It's safer up there than on the ground. And no one is asking him to be a hero. It's me and the Sheriff that will be at the front of this."

She nodded as her face visibly softened.

She stopped me turning away with a hand on my arm.

"I don't... I don't want you to die either. I'm sorry I wasn't nicer to you."

"It's not important." I answered dismissively.

"It is. I'm wrong to judge you."

She looked down, as if not wanting to look me in the eye.

"What you do is... a sin I can't condone. But... love is love. I respect that because my husband has that love for me."

I softened my stance towards her. It took guts to admit she was wrong. And an even deeper strength to accept something the church told her was immoral and sinful. It didn't escape my attention that she hadn't said she loved her husband but I didn't dwell on it.

"I'm sure you find comfort in the church. And the pastor seems a good man. But I was forsaken by god in my hour of need. I'm sorry, I just don't feel beholden to his laws."

Mary accepted that. The tiny nod showed she understood even if she didn't know the details. What had nearly happened to me was a common experience away from the cities of the East. It didn't take divine revelation for her to guess at least a little of my trials.

As I turned to go she suddenly blurted out a question she seemed desperate to have answered.

"What's it like?

You know. With another... woman?"

I hadn't expected that and it took me a moment to figure out my response.

"I can't say how it's different because... it's all I know. But I guess... it all ends the same way if you care for someone."

What else could I say? That moment of absolute pleasure was the outcome no matter the horse you rode on the journey.

Mary seemed to accept that as an answer. Her face reddened as she spoke again.

"Please bring my husband home safe. I haven't felt... that ending in a long while, but he's a good man and I do care for him."

I nodded my understanding. Then I decided I should make a peace offering.

"Everyone's in the saloon." I said hearing the noise rising from the street.

"It's where I'm headed.

Why don't you walk over with me?"

Mary looked shocked.

"I don't.... No. I couldn't. I don't hold with alcohol."

"God doesn't forbid you from enjoying yourself."

Where there had been certainty I suddenly found confusion and doubt. As though she was looking for me to set her right.

I stepped closer and reached up to release her hair. It fell to her shoulders.

"You should wear your hair down. It softens your face.

You're a very beautiful woman."

Her lips quivered and I could feel the curiosity surging through her veins. It wouldn't hurt to satisfy at least a little of it. I leaned forward and put my lips to hers.

Mary froze but didn't pull away. I kissed her, a gentle smooch of my lips on hers and she responded likewise. It was only for a moment. But it was enough to leave her shaking.

"There. Not so different is it." I said quietly.

"No. No, I 'spose not."

I smiled.

"I love Annie just as much as you... should love Alfred. That's the bottom line. I don't believe any god that made me this way would deny me that pleasure. It's just old men in even older times that decided it was wrong. Not god."

Then with hope, I added.

"He also wouldn't have put liquor on earth if we weren't meant to enjoy it every once in a while.

So how about it?"

"I... suppose it wouldn't hurt to have just the one sip."

I took her hand and led her out of the door. Mary was about to be introduced to fun.

Annie was with Joe knocking back whiskey when we got there. That was a sight I hadn't expected to see. The condemned cattle rustler with a taste for gals drinking and laughing with a handsome Sheriff that would be an enviable suitor on any young woman's arm. But then most everyone here knew it might be their last night on Earth and intended for it to be a memorable shindig.

Even the undertaker was getting in on the act. The only man guaranteed to profit from tomorrow, he was at the piano enthusiastically banging out 'Oh Suzanna'.

I saw Mary truly smile for the first time as I pushed a bourbon into her hand. It wasn't the slight upturn of the mouth that she'd managed back in her hotel. This time it was a joyous grin. I felt good that I'd made that happen.

"That ain't hooch. It's the good stuff."

Mary was unsure. She sniffed it like a prairie dog around spoilt meat. Then she took a gulp.

"Urh." She choked.

I laughed.

"Careful. That's strong stuff."

Mary's face turned from the sourness of shock to the excitement and interest of a new experience.

"Now you're appreciating the taste."

I couldn't believe she had never tasted liquor.

A movement caught my eye.

"Charlotte." I called out seeing the maid looking slightly lost.

"Come and keep your employer from getting as full as a tick."

With a smile, she squeezed through the crowd to join us while I ordered another drink for her.

When I turned back I again noticed that natural comfort between them. Most definitely it was more than employer and employee.

"Someone's found a few cents to make the evening more fun."

Annie nudged me and pointed. Sure enough, Clara had a customer. A young farming type. Ned. He was one of our shooters who would be in the barn tomorrow. Tonight he was intent on experiencing Clara's charms. A young man who was ensuring he didn't die a virgin.

"If it's his last night on Earth, I guess he wants it to be memorable."

"He has the right idea." Annie said taking my hand.

Annie took me outside as the drinks flowed and the piano-playing undertaker was joined by someone singing. She led me to the side of the barn in the darkness.

"I couldn't share you any longer." She said.

We kissed with passion as she pressed me back against the wooden siding.

"If anything happens to you tomorrow." She continued.

"I'll shoot myself."

"Don't be a shanny."

She gripped my shoulders and banged me back against the wall to get me to take her seriously.

"I mean it." She said firmly.

Remember. You hold two lives in your hands."

I saw her eyes glare at me and I didn't doubt her resolve. Then her demeanour eased from its solemness and she smiled. Her hand gripped my skirt and hauled it up around my waist.

"Oh god."

I knew exactly where those fingers were going next. Sure enough, they were stroking back and forth along my cunny slit.

"Uhh."

I glanced back toward the street. I could still hear the sounds of the saloon echoing down to us. Shouts of excitement and the sound of music. Someone was singing again. But no one was around outside.

"Mmm."

Her finger penetrated me and my knees weakened.

"You come back tomorrow, you hear me? Come back and I'll do this to you every day for the rest of our lives."

"Uhh.

I'm gonna hold you to that promise."

It felt good. My flesh tingled. She was bringing me to my moment quickly.

"Don't stop."

I lifted a leg and rubbed my thigh against hers, feeling the warmth of her skin against mine.

Her mouth was on mine again. I tasted bourbon on her lips as I squeezed her breasts through the tunic.

"Oh god yes."

I tipped over, shaking as I lost all sense of where I was in a fuzz of delirium.

My body was still wracked with aftershocks as in my desperation to return the pleasure I rolled against the barn and pushed Annie to the wall. I bit her neck as I tugged her skirt upwards to search out her warm, wet place. Now I took her to the pinnacle of ecstasy.

As we exited the alley, I saw Mary making her way back to the hotel with Charlotte. She saw us straight away and our eyes met. I was certain she knew what had just happened in the dark, away from watching eyes.

Mary smiled and carried on walking.

SIX

There was unease in the air come sun up. Everyone rose early and there was a subdued mood that couldn't entirely be put down to the previous nights drinking.

Everywhere I looked, townsfolk paced, or checked their weapons again and again. Even the Sheriffs rifle was oiled more that day than in its entire serviceable life up to that point.

"I feel a storm coming." Annie had said quietly as we watched two women on a farm rig hurrying the horses out of town.

Stragglers that had stayed over night now desperate to reach the safety of an outlying farm.

I knew what was going through everyone's minds. I had the same feelings. The knotting of the stomach, a tremble in my bones that had no place, and the sense that this might be my last day. Every sense was heightened.

The Indians have a belief in the animal spirit. Something that enhances their connection to the natural world. If there was any truth to that, then today my spirit guide was an eagle.

I saw everything with a new intensity. The colours of desert and sky were richer. I noticed the subtle changes in temperature between sun and shade more. I felt the hot breeze lifting stray hairs on my head. Time itself stood still, personified by the hands of the town clock that never seemed to move.

Almost no one spoke. They just waited.

Henry came in at full gallop mid-morning. He was seen from the lookout in the church tower kicking up a cloud well before he reached us. His shouts told us nothing we hadn't known at the point of seeing our point man returning.

In an instant, time sped up again, racing towards an inescapable conclusion like a runaway locomotive destined to fall into a ravine.

"They're coming. Twenty men."

Henry waved his hat wildly in the air as though we might miss him. Beneath him, his horse reared up performing at an impromptu rodeo show.

"How long?" I called out.

"Thirty minutes at most.

They're ridin' mighty fast."

Annie snatched up her rifle.

"Last chance to back out." She challenged everyone.

For a second there was silence. Then they were picking up weapons and heading for their places.

"Remember. Keep your heads down. You only need to keep them in place for Annie, Joe, and me."

I grabbed Annie's hand before she could head for the tower. I didn't care who saw me when I hugged her and pressed my lips to hers.

Soft, silky lips that massaged my own. I took a deep breath, impressing on my memory her sweet natural smell.

"Come back safe." I whispered as we reluctantly parted.

"You too."

With Annie being the sharpshooter she was needed in the church tower. I watched her running there as my head switched to the moment. It fell to me to be the one who pulled up the Dukes in the exact place we wanted them and I only knew one way to do that.

The center of town would be a crossfire zone. That was our chance to reduce their numbers quickly. Anyone who made cover would be harder and more dangerous to take out, but we needed those men gathered in exactly the right place. Not moving or spread around. They needed one point of focus that would take and hold their attention. I would give them just that.

I drew a breath and walked out into the dusty street. They were coming in from the east which was a disadvantage to me. The sun was high in the sky but still in my eyes.

I felt alone in the empty street. I knew there were perhaps twenty guns aimed towards this spot but I could see none of them. As I waited for the on coming storm, I could have been the last person alive in the West.

I saw the dust kicking up in the distance and shouts carried on the air. From there time seemed to stretch out into an eternity. Only the rumble of hooves carried in the air marked its passing.

I held my nerve at the galloping horses until they were almost on top of me. I think the intention was to run me down but that changed the moment I acted.

Staring straight ahead, trying not to think of male eyes on me, I straightened my posture and did the one thing I felt certain would make them pause before firing. I tore open my shirt.

Dust came up in clouds as the horses were hauled up sharply, hoofs sliding on the dry dirt. My ears filled with the snorting of protesting animals and unintelligible cry's from the men.

I trembled at the thought of these twenty beef headed blowhards staring at my breasts as the shirt slipped to hang behind me from my wrists. They could see the color of my nipples deepen as they hardened in an instinctive arousal I didn't want. My breathing became ragged and sensed every jiggle of my flesh as blood rushed to send my face and arms crimson.

Others could see me as well. Townsfolk waiting in their places that should be concentrating on their targets but were now distracted by the pretty girl standing half-naked in the center of their town. Time continued to stretch out and I felt as though I was looking down a long tunnel that was closing in around me.

I saw their eyes, staring. A momentary freeze that was broken by a shout.

"That's her. That's who killed Billy."

To my right, the barn doors swung open on Joe's makeshift pulleys. I saw the men's eyes turn, still not realizing what was about to come down on them.

The shots came in a deafening cacophony that hurt the ears and mayhem broke loose. I didn't even wait to see the carnage, instead running with all my might for the cover of carefully placed barrels. My modesty was forgotten as I drew my gun, shaking the shirt from my gun hand as I did so.

A bullet whizzed close by and I dived over the last few feet, rolling behind the makeshift barricade. For a second I gasped to recover my breath. My shirt was wrapped awkwardly around one arm and I tugged it away completely. No time for modesty now.

I turned and brought my gun up, instantly letting off a shot at the man looming in the doorway. A shoulder hit that sent him sprawling out of sight.

I could see men rushing to dismount, horses rearing up and galloping away. Already several men lay dead. Almost certainly some of them Annie's work. I took aim and fired as more shots came my way.

What I saw was exactly as intended. Chaos as the gunmen were trapped in a hail of bullets from all directions. The longer they stayed in place, the more of them fell.

One made a break on his horse for the edge of town only to be greeted by carriages rolling across his path. Panicked he turned and came riding back. I took him out with two shots and the horse passed by at full gallop, dragging his limp body by an ankle trapped in the stirrup.

Two of the Duke's men had managed to find cover under the porch of the General Store and were holding out.

I saw Joe run across the street and opened fire on the men, keeping their heads down until he'd covered the distance. I ducked back and reloaded. When I looked again, Joe was on the porch, stepping carefully to position himself above the men.

With his rifle pointed straight down, he fired through the planking.

It fell silent as finally there was no movement. It was over. Days of build up culminating in just a few minutes of mayhem. It seemed an anticlimax.

Carefully I stepped out from behind the barrels, grabbing my shirt to hold across my bosom. In the other hand, the gun stayed up.

Joe was venturing from the porch.

"Count the bodies." I called out.

"Twenty. We need it to be twenty."

I hoped the young lad had counted right. Fast-moving riders at a distance wouldn't have been easy to assess. Twenty could have easily have been nineteen or twenty-one. Perhaps even wider of the mark.

I kept my eyes about me as Joe checked. All I saw were the faces of our quickly trained little army beginning to appear as they felt safe. I hoped it wasn't premature. To my relief, everyone seemed accounted for. I even saw Alfred looking down from the Cathouse balcony. That only left Annie for me to find. It would be a minute or two before she could climb down from the church tower.

"Twenty." Joe confirmed.

I breathed a sigh of relief and allowed my eyes to look at what we'd done.

Even knowing they were bad men who'd intended to kill me and perhaps some of the townsfolk didn't make it easier. Twenty men had died today either by my hand or as a result of it. I felt sick.

The whooping and cheering broke my malaise. Everyone was coming into the open. All of them celebrating. It didn't seem right to be happy at so much death but they were free of a torment.