Chapter One - Kid
My partner is a peaceable man for the most part. This won't come as much of a surprise to folks as I am the one with the reputation of violence due to my natural born talent with a gun.
The gang, however, has a slightly different viewpoint than most folks. Heyes rarely loses his temper with them; almost never raises his voice neither but, somehow, they are all terrified of him. Even Wheat who will push Heyes further than anyone at the Hole 'sides me. Wheat hides it well, but he's scared of Heyes. He makes sure he never crosses the line completely. He always knows just when to stop.
I know I can straighten the boys out with a move to my sidearm, but Heyes can freeze them in their tracks with nothing more than the "look". They fall all over themselves getting out of his way after being on the receiving end of that look. I reckon even I can sometimes feel that way when it's leveled at me, though I'd never let Heyes see it. 'Course, I've been there when that look was followed up with some pretty rough action. Heyes does have a tipping point and when he passes it, all hell breaks loose.
Another thing, most people don't know is that my partner is a real animal lover. Growing up on a farm like we did; there were animals everywhere. Myself, I pretty much viewed them as walking chores. I hated feeding the chickens and fetching the eggs. Those birds sure were ugly tempered to a small boy.
Heyes was always playing with the animals. Stealing rides on the plow horses, chasing the pigs; even trying to teach the chickens to fly. Might be 'cause he was an only child. I guess I was too busy trying to make my place in the world as one of six kids to have much time for frivolous things such as fooling with the livestock, though I've always treated my animals well.
Heyes had himself a dog for a while as a kid. A big, goofy, black dog that followed him like the sun rose and set on his shoulders. Heyes liked that real well. I think he wanted the same from me, but I wasn't willing. That dog couldn't take his eyes off Heyes. I remember him showing up at my house one day with the dog. Heyes called him Wellington after some famous English guy. Said Wellie just showed up as he was walking across our cornfield. After that, you never saw Heyes without Wellington. That is until the day our folks died. Heyes never said, but I reckon Wellie died right along with them 'cause Heyes had tied him up when we ditched our chores to go fishing. He didn't want ol' Wellie giving us away. I tried to ask what had happened to him soon after, you know; but Heyes wouldn't say. Wouldn't even look at me when I asked, just walked away, and I knew better than to ever ask again.
We had mice at Devil's Hole. They got everywhere and into everything they could. One day, Heyes took off for town by himself to get supplies. Said he had something special he needed and didn't want help. He showed up the next day with a litter of four male kittens. No women were allowed in the Hole, after all. They were orange and white tabbies like the ones he'd had as a kid. The boys were all pretty excited. Not only did they see an end to the mouse situation but they liked the kittens, too. Guess it made us all feel a bit like kids again. Heyes said he'd named them Lucifer, Beelzebub, Scratch, and Satan since they were going to be residents of Devil's Hole.
Those cats grew up spoiled. We all enjoyed the heck out of having them around and there wasn't a one of us at one time or another who didn't have ourselves a favorite, but we all knew Lucifer was Heyes's. They just had a natural affinity for each other. Heyes let him sleep on his bed and have the run of the leader's cabin. I wasn't too happy about that as I was raised that all animals belonged outside, but I couldn't argue it with him as that cat made him too damn happy. I saw him come in the cabin at times and look around for Lucifer just to be sure he was there. Many times, I'd wake up in the dead of night and I'd find Heyes sitting in his chair by the fire with that cat on his lap, talking over the next job with him. The boys and I all knew Heyes loved that cat, though he'd die before he admitted to loving anything on God's green earth.
The day Walt Oakley and his brothers, Carl and Sam, rode in I knew they were trouble. They all looked trail worn and hungry; and their horses looked worse. They said they'd been chased by a posse for the past week and came into the Hole seeking shelter for a spell until things died down. Heyes and I exchanged a glance. We both wanted to send them on their way, but we both knew we couldn't. Heyes called Kyle and Lobo over to take the Oakley's horses and he told Walt and his brothers they could bed down in the barn. They weren't too happy about that. Thought they ought to be welcomed in the bunkhouse with open arms. I knew Heyes was pissed about the beaten, starved look to their horses and there was no way he'd give them better.
Anyways, later that same night, sometime after we'd all settled in; we heard a horrible yowling coming from the direction of the barn. Heyes had been sitting at the table in our cabin working on some plans. He was on his feet and out the door before I knew it. I scrambled to catch up with him, but had to drag my boots on while trying to keep up. The boys spilled out of the bunkhouse at the same time we rounded the corner of the barn. There, pinned to the wall by a knife through his tail, was Lucifer screaming and howling. The Oakley boys were sitting in front of a stall, laughing and falling across each other in glee. Carl Oakley had his knife sheath out and we could all see it was empty.
Heyes freed Lucifer, who was clawing and crying something fierce, but Heyes held onto him tight until he could pass him off to Preacher; asking him to doctor Lucie up. What happened next, happened fast. In one move, Heyes crossed the aisle, seized Carl by his shirt front and proceeded to beat the living daylights out of him. The rest of us, who had them, held our guns real steady on his brothers so as to be sure there'd be no interruptions. The fight didn't last long, but it was brutal. I don't think Carl had a tooth left in his head or a rib unbroken by the time Heyes was finished. When Carl finally lost consciousness, we were all relieved. Heyes dropped him to the ground like a discarded rag doll, and you could tell he was looking around to see who was to be next. The boys were stunned. They always knew Heyes could be dangerous, but hadn't ever seen firsthand what happened when he lost control. I had.
Times like this the rage in Heyes makes itself known. It didn't matter that Carl was 40 pounds heavier and 3 inches taller than Heyes. There ain't no way for a man to defeat that kind of anger.
We all stood there for a moment afraid to move or breathe. Then Heyes hauled Carl up and shoved him at his brothers telling them to clear out right then and there. Turning, Heyes stalked out of the barn leaving the rest of us to make sure the Oakleys got on their way.
Lucifer lost part of this tail that night and it spooked him bad. Preacher fixed him up as best he could, but Lucie was never quite the same after that. It took Heyes a few days to return to himself, too. We all gave him lots of room until he did.
None of the boys ever talk about that night but, of course, Lucifer was a constant reminder of what happened when you crossed Heyes bad enough. I know my partner, and I know he was ashamed of losing his temper like that, but I was proud of what he'd done. The boys and me know that Heyes takes care of his own and, all of us, even the critters; were his own.