Breech Loader

By Christopher Langridge

Welcome to Widow's Patch. This little town is on its last legs; it is home to a mix of salesmen, drunks, gossips, hookers and small time gamblers. The only thing keeping this town alive is the O'Grady's. Sheriff O'Grady is an honest and principled man and his daughter, Katie, is just as decent; pity all of his Deputies have abandoned him. Once upon a time, Widow's Patch had all the right features. Nowadays, the few honest folks left lock their doors at night; Sheriff O'Grady just doesn't have the strength to stay up late at night, so he relies on the few citizens who own guns to help him keep order. His guns rarely come out of the locked cabinet next to the bookshelf; brave as he still is, Sheriff O'Grady is old, fat and slow. As much as people like O'Grady, they're amazed that he's still alive; one reason is that most vermin can't be bothered to plug him, the other reason goes by the name of Katie. Katie stood by her Pa even after all his Deputies had abandoned him to Dangerous Dan McGrew and his brother, Sam. More than once she's used her wits and fine figure to keep her Pa from getting killed, but Widow's Patch is just the kind of place for a pretty girl to get herself into trouble, and her Pa isn't fast enough anymore to get her out of it. In the words of Fred Kenyon, "Pourin' drinks in Widow's Patch is like handin' raw meat to starvin' dogs. I mostly serve whiskey straight, but always keep my mixin' spoon at hand. Its point is honed razor sharp, just right for nailin' a gunslinger's hand to the bar long enough for me to grab my shotgun!" Fred owns the Saloon, and that is probably the best paying job in town, almost everyone in Widow's Patch is an alcoholic. He works with Christina and Tameri as his waitresses and entertainers, people come from all across the Territory to watch his famous "Friday Night Fight" which involves a (staged) bar brawl out back in the little theatre Fred had built; people place bets on who they think will win, but the fight is rigged so Fred knows who will win so he can rate the odds accordingly. Dangerous Dan McGrew and his brother, Sam, basically run Widow's Patch; they control what goes on with their brawn and not their brains. Dan is a fist-fighter, but is a pretty good gunslinger; while Sam relies on his sheer size and strength to resolve situations. They leave O'Grady alone because they know he won't do anything about them.

Sheriff O'Grady was sitting at his desk, listening to two prisoners talk; one had been arrested for being involved in a bar brawl, and the other for trying to take advantage of Katie. They were talking about the bar brawl that the first prisoner had been involved in. "You should have seen it," the first man said, "It was every man for 'imself. Someone had made Dan spill his drink, which got 'im good an' riled, an' he got Sam to sort 'im out." He elaborated, "What happened?" the second man asked, "Nothing," replied the first, "Everyone just fought for a few minutes until Tameri went and got Fred. He came in with his shotgun, an' said 'Not in my bar, Sam! You gonna be a good boy or am I gonna have to throw you out?'" the first man paused here, as if to emphasise his statement, "What did Sam do?" the second man asked, "He said 'It's not even loaded!' an' Fred said 'I'm the fastest Breech Loader in the Territory. Now do you want me to prove it, or are you gonna take my word for it?' an' Sam just stood there, not knowing what to do. Eventually, Dan led 'im out." The first man replied. O'Grady had been listening to the conversation and had an idea; Fred was an honest man, and would always do what's right. He could hire him as his Deputy and restore order again in Widow's Patch. He would go and talk to him first thing in the morning.

"You wanted to see me, Sheriff?" Fred asked, popping his head through the door of the police station. "I sure did, Fred" Sheriff O'Grady replied, Fred came in and closed the door; Sheriff O'Grady sat down is his chair and put his feet up on the desk, the chair creaked in protest as it tilted backwards. "Fred," the Sheriff began, "You're an honest man, and honest people are hard to come by these days." Fred stood there, awaiting the Sheriff's next words, "I was wondering if you would be willing to fill the post of Deputy Sheriff, now what do you say to that?" the Sheriff finished. "AYE!" Fred shouted, 'Aye' was old slang for 'yes' so at that, Sheriff O'Grady shook the hand of his new Deputy, and handed him his police issue Colt Peacemaker. Fred strapped the belt to his waist, and pinned the "Deputy Sheriff" badge to his breast pocket; "Now we can finally have order in Widow's Patch again!" Sheriff O'Grady cheered, "Now I reckon you could really line your pockets, by dispatching a few outlaws wreakin' havoc in my Territory." He pointed to some Wanted posters on his wall. "You might wanna try this guy first" He indicated to the leftmost one, "He calls himself the Riviera Kid, but I aint sure what his real name is. The bounty is $100, but he should be pretty easy." Fred thanked the Sheriff and left the large whitewashed Adobe hut that served as the jailhouse. He walked over to the blacksmith's and asked John, the owner if he could re-shoe a horse for him; John gave him Gunpowder, so named because he liked to sleep in he stuff. Gunpowder was quite a big horse, and was grey in colour (the gunpowder only intensified this). He paid John the $30 for his new horse, and mounted up. Gunpowder set off at a trot towards the gate that served as the town's entrance and exit; he saw Katie sitting on a boulder, reading a book, so he steered Gunpowder over to her. "Afternoon, Miss O'Grady" he said politely, he had had a soft spot for Katie since they were kids, and often was the one to defend her honour when one of the many varmints had tried to take advantage of her. Katie respected him and would always call on him for help. "Hey Fred, and how many times do I have to tell you that it's 'Katie'?" she smiled, "At least once more Miss O'Grady, as always" he replied, dismounting Gunpowder. Katie laughed, she always laughed at Fred's jokes and thought that he was funny, "Pa give you the badge yet?" she asked, by 'badge' she meant the role of Deputy Sheriff. "Ayuh," Fred answered in the affirmative, "He did. Just off to deal with some wanted hats." Katie put her book down and stood up, "'Bout time somebody did, they've been mountin' up an' up. Just be careful, Fred" she said, thoughtfully and kissed him lightly on the cheek; she walked off in the direction of the Jailhouse, no doubt to tell her Pa what a good choice he'd made in a Deputy. Fred mounted Gunpowder again and set off at a gallop, in the direction of the old fairgrounds where the Riviera Kid had his hideout. He arrived there two hours later, when it was getting dark. He dismounted and tied Gunpowder up at the fence by the gate, and then walked up the beaten track towards the derelict house. It was very quiet, far too quiet for a place that's supposed to be an outlaw's hideout; perhaps they were all out in one of the neighbouring towns. The house loomed closer and with every passing second, Fred was aware of shuffling noises coming from the surrounding outbuildings. He drew his Colt and hid behind the last remaining wall of an outbuilding, he looked around quickly. Two armed bandits on the left, and three on the right; he pulled the hammer back on his revolver.

A shot was fired that hit the wooden beam just above his head; these guys were good, maybe the Kid had been training them. He shifted out until he got a shot, aimed and fired the gun. The bandit's head exploded in a blossom of blood and he fell to the ground, "You think you can stop us, Gringo?" someone with a strong Mexican accent asked, "Who am I talking to?" Fred asked. A tall man, wearing a black and silver Mexican outfit with a huge sombrero stepped out from the shadows; "They call me the Kid, the Riviera Kid" he answered, he got out his twin silver revolvers and gave them a twirl. Fred took his chance; while the Kid was distracted twirling his guns, he stepped out and fired several shots in the Kid's direction. The huge sombrero fell from his head, and he looked down; blood was pouring out from the five bullet holes in the Mexican jacket, smiling the Kidd said "Damn!" rather feebly, and fell to the ground. His compadres scattered, leaving their fallen leader to Fred. He walked over, picked up the Kid's lifeless body and slung it over his shoulder. Holstering his gun, Fred thought how easy it had been; these outlaws were too full of themselves for their own good. He tied the body to Gunpowder's rump, mounted him and set off for Widow's Patch.

Fred arrived at Widow's Patch well into the small hours; he doubted that Sheriff O'Grady would be awake so he decided to leave everything 'till tomorrow and get some sleep. He dumped the Kid's body, unceremoniously, in an empty horse trough outside his saloon and pushed the swing doors open. He went upstairs to his small bedroom and slept until 11 o'clock next morning. Fred went downstairs, where Christina and Tameri had already opened the bar for him, and left them in charge while he went to see the Sheriff. He hauled the Kid's body from the horse trough and dragged him to the jailhouse, kicked the door open and draped the body over Sheriff O'Grady's desk. "Well, you did good son" Sheriff O'Grady complimented him, "But you're outta luck. Take a look around, there aint much here; I got nothin' to offer ya." The Sheriff was basically saying that he couldn't afford to pay the bounty for the Kid's body, which angered Fred somewhat. "All I can do is write ya a promissory note" the Sheriff apologised, "But there's no bank anymore" Fred complained, "This is a different kind of promissory note" Sheriff O'Grady promised, "Katie!" he called. Katie stepped out from the adjoining office and stood behind her Pa, "Me and Katie have been talking," Sheriff O'Grady explained, "And she says that she would very much like to marry you. I, of course, have no objection to this; we just need your word on it." Katie looked at Fred, expectantly. "Well," Fred started, "I guess I'll have to start calling you 'Pa' from now on." Katie exploded with joy, she ran over to Fred and gave a hug comparable to a bear's and cried tears of happiness into his shoulder. The girl he'd adored since he was a child would now be his wife. Fred hugged her back and could not think of anything else except Katie for hours.

Fred would need to get a suit for the wedding, but the last tailor left Widow's Patch months ago; he would need to go to Existence, the next town over. He got Gunpowder ready, and set off on the long journey to Existence. He arrived four hours later, at about half past five; he rode past all of the townsfolk who were staring at his odd horse. He stopped off outside the saloon (which was opposite the tailor's) and tied Gunpowder up to the wooden bar and entered the tailor's. The owner welcomed him and asked if he could help; Fred explained he was getting married and would need a fine suit, to which the tailor went into the back room to get his tape measure. He measured Fred up and started showing him suit samples, there was a nice black suit with a red lining that Fred chose; the owner promised Fred he would have it ready in two hours for him. Fred thanked him and left for the Sheriff's office in the next street. The name plate on the door announced that Will Carton was Existence's Sheriff; Fred knocked on the door and went in. He introduced himself and shook hands with Carton, who apparently had received a Telegram from his new father-in-law announcing Fred as Widow's Patch's new Deputy. Carton congratulated him on a fine job with the Riviera Kid, and paid him the $100 reward due; Fred explained to him about Katie being his fiancé and how he had come to get the job in the first place. Apparently, Fred was the only Deputy to not have abandoned O'Grady to the McGrew's, to which Fred felt quite proud. Fred thanked the Sheriff for the reward and left the jailhouse; he decided to spend the $100 on some articles to add to his wedding suit and a ring for Katie, so he went to the jewellers shop to have a look. Fred bought Katie a nice diamond ring and himself a gold-plated pocket watch to hang on a chain with his suit; that rung up $50, so he would pay the $20 for his suit and spend the rest in the saloon on food and whiskey. He had a meal and some drinks in the saloon and went to fetch his suit, he thanked the tailor and paid him the $20 he owed; he then set off again for Widow's Patch.

Fred arrived back just before midnight, he had needed to stop along the way to disarm a highway robbery and had lost a lot of valuable time. He dismounted Gunpowder as he reached the gate to the town, and saw a note tacked to the post, he ran to read it. In untidy scrawl it read:

If you ever want to see Katie alive again you will leave town by morning!

Dan & Sam McGrew

Katie had been kidnapped by those pug-ugly varmints. Fred swore that they would rue the day they ever laid eyes on her. He ran to the saloon and got his shotgun out, Tameri came out from upstairs; "Fred, Katie's been-" she started, but Fred cut her off "I know" he said. He finished loading the prized shooting iron and ran out the door, heading for the jailhouse. There was no-one on the streets and the casino was dark, something unheard of in Widow's Patch; Fred did not like it, all the windows were shuttered and the houses were dark. He kicked the door of the jailhouse open and shouted "SHERIFF? GET OUT HERE, NOW!" Sheriff O'Grady slipped out from the adjoining office; "Fred," he muttered, "I'm sorry. I tried to-" but Fred cut him off, "Save it." He spat, "There are slightly more important matters at hand." He and the Sheriff began formulating a plan to get Katie back and to be rid of those damned brothers once and for all. It involved Sheriff O'Grady using the gattling gun that they had been given by the Governor of the Territory, to fight off the invading Indians, to herd Dan's goons out of the fight so Fred could face the brothers alone. So they had to get the gattling gun from the blacksmiths where it had been sent for repairs; they hoped to God that John had had time to fix it.

As luck would have it, John had fixed the gattling gun, so they were in business. They set it up on top of the derelict Livery barn, and put the new magazine-loading system to work that John had added; they didn't have time to test, so they just had to hope that it worked. "Now, when the goons come out" Fred explained to Sheriff O'Grady, "Try and herd them out of town. The gun's range should be enough to do it." O'Grady nodded to show he understood. "NOW HEAR THIS!" Fred yelled, "I'M NOT LEAVING THIS TOWN; SO IF YOU DON'T LIKE THAT, YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO KILL ME!" Dan came out closely followed by Sam. They glared at Fred and Sam hissed "I'm lookin' at a dead man!" Fred just smiled, "What a coincidence, so am I!" he unholstered his Colt, and ran for cover behind the giant barrel in the middle of town that served as the water tower. He got off a few shots in the brothers' direction, but no hits. He reloaded his gun and heard the big gattling gun start up; bullets whipped past him and outlaws ran in all directions. The Sheriff managed to hit a few who were promptly ripped to shreds by the gun's fast rate of fire. The rest ran off in the direction of the gate, so the Sheriff had done his bit. Then Fred heard muffled whimpers and looked around to see Sam manhandling Katie, he took his shot and got Sam in the chest. Sam collapsed and Katie ran off, only to be grabbed again by Dan. "So what's it gonna be?" Dan asked, "Are you gonna let her die, or are you gonna come quietly?" Fred stepped out, hands in the air. "Drop it!" Dan ordered. Fred dropped the Colt onto the dusty ground; Dan hadn't noticed that Fred had his shotgun on his back, so Fred went for it. He didn't have time to aim, so he shot from the hip; luckily, he hit his mark. Dan went down flat on his backside, but not before he got a shot off himself; Fred looked down at his stomach, and saw the red, open wound. His legs fell from under him as he realised what had happened; Katie ran towards him and caught him before he hit the ground. Fred looked up at her; he lifted his hand to her face and tried to whisper something, but before he could finish his hand fell from her face and he lay silent, staring up at the night sky. Kate wept into his shoulder as the full realisation of what happened swept over her, her Pa climbed down from the Livery and knelt at her side; he took her into his arms and she cried even harder.

The next day was Fred's funeral, everyone in town was there. It was a solemn service, but the priest who attended was not of Widow's Patch; George Darvill had left Widow's Patch two years previously, so they had to enlist the services of Roger Sandhurst from Existence. He said the usual passages from the bible and then went on his way; afterwards everyone was herded over to Fred's Saloon for the funeral party. Sheriff O'Grady was left, once again, without a Deputy; so Widow's Patch would continue down the never-ending spiral of corruption and lawlessness. With the McGrew brothers gone, there would no doubt be worse villains on their way, eager to take advantage of the situation. O'Grady was contemplating hanging up his revolvers for good and taking Katie to live somewhere else, where they could live in peace. Without a doubt, Widow's Patch had lost it's finest Deputy, and the fastest Breech Loader the Territory had ever seen…

THE END