Chapter 7

Jones and her gang were still looking for the Doctor.

"There he is, Suzette."

"Where?"

"Right there." She pointed to the dance floor. "Dancing with that sheila." The Doctor and Nita were dancing again.

"What are ya gonna do, boss?"

Jones held up a very tiny gun. "I figure…I'll bury this muzzle deep enough in his back, nobody'll hear the shot."

"Careful, Suzette, you only got the one bullet with that."

"I only need one."

Jones walked over to where the Doctor and Nita were still dancing. Suddenly the Doctor felt the tiny gun at his back and froze with a look of terror on his face. Nita stopped with him.

"I told you to watch your back, Smithy."

"Jones. But you're early," said the Doctor, surprised.

"It's a Derringer, Smithy. Small but effective. Last time I used it the bloke took two days to die. Bled to death inside, it was real painful." The gang laughed. "That means you'd be dead by about teatime Saturday."

"I don't know who you think you are, but we're dancing," objected Nita, trying to distract her.

"Oh, really? I'd like a dance, too."

The Doctor turned around to face Jones with a brave and determined look on his face. Now Jones moved the gun barrel to his throat.

"I wouldn't give you the pleasure; you'll just have to go ahead and shoot."

"Alright."

Nita realized they were in danger. "No, Doctor. Dance with her."

"Girls, keep the lady company while I get better acquainted with the blacksmith." She pushed Nita aside and her gang members took a hold of each of her arms. "Woo…ha ha ha! Yeah. Oooh."

"I don't dance very well when my partner has a gun in her hand," said the Doctor.

"Well, you'll learn." Jones called to Nita. "You know, lady, I may just take my 80 pounds worth outta the smithy another way." Nita struggled to get free. "Woo…hahaha! Yeah! I bet there's somethin' you can do that's worth 80 pounds," she said to the Doctor.

"I'm afraid you've underestimated me, Miss."

"Have I now?"

The Doctor jerked back and kicked Jones hard in the shins. She cringed in pain and the Doctor backed up. The music died and everyone stopped dancing at this turn of events. Nita got free.

"Stop it! Damn you, Jones!"

"No, I damn your Smithy."

She drew her gun and aimed at the Doctor. Ace was sitting over to the side and saw what was going on from her vantage point at the banquet table. She grabbed a discarded Frisbee plate.

"I damn you to hell!" Jones yelled at the Doctor.

At the very same moment that Jones fired her gun, Ace threw the plate. It deflected the bullet and it shot off the Doctor's hat instead. The Doctor was very stunned. Jones whipped around to see who had stopped her from shooting the Doctor.

"You!" cried Jones, recognizing the Doctor's 'housekeeper'.

"Hey, lighten up, toe-rag!"

Jones turned to her gang members, who shrugged in response.

"Mighty strong words, housemaid! You woman enough to back that up with more than just a pie plate?"

Ace backed down. "Look, just leave my friends alone." She turned to walk away.

"What's wrong, mate, you a wuss?" Ace stopped in mid-step and turned slowly to face Jones. "That's what I thought. Wuss."

"Nobody…calls me wuss."

"Let's finish it…right now."

"Un, not now, Suzette…Constable's got our guns."

"Like I said, we'll finish this tomorrow."

"Tomorrow we're robbin' the Toowoomba Stage."

Jones turned in exasperation to her gang behind her.

"How 'bout Saturday? We doin' anything on Saturday?"

The gang members looked at each other and shook their heads.

"No, Saturday be fine…you can kill her on Saturday."

"I'll be back this way on Saturday. We'll settle this then. Right there out in the street, in front of the Stock Exchange Pub."

"Yeah, right, well, when? High noon?" asked Ace sarcastically.

"Noon? I do my killin' before breakfast. Seven o'clock!"

Ace tried to put up a brave front. "Eight o'clock. I do my killin' after breakfast," she said, again gaining confidence.

"Ace…no!" pleaded the Doctor.

Nita looked at him then and he casually changed his expression to smiling and stopped talking to Ace. Joseph and Emma are watching all of this. Emma's brought young Mariah and she suddenly began to cry in her arms. There was a long silence. Suddenly the Constable came up on stage with his rifle.

"Alright now, break it up. What's all this about…you causing trouble here, Jones?"

"No trouble, Constable. Just a little personal matter between me and McShane. This don't concern the law."

"Tonight everything concerns the law – now break it up. Any brawlin', there's fifteen days in the lock-up." He turned to the crowd. "Come on, this is a party! Come on, let's have some fun!"

The band started playing again and people began to dance. Jones walked over to where Ace was standing. "Eight o'clock, Saturday…you ain't here, I'll hunt you and shoot you down like a duck."

"It's dawg, Suzette. Shoot 'er down like a dawg."

Jones got flustered but didn't want to admit that she messed up. "Let's go, girls! Let these sissies have their party!"

They quickly left, and the Doctor pulled Ace aside.

"Ace, what are you doing, saying you're going to meet Jones?"

"Professor, don't worry about it! Saturday morning, 8 A.M. We'll be gone by then, right?"

"Theoretically, yes, but what if something goes wrong?"

"Wrong?"

Nita popped up at the Doctor's side.

"We'll discuss this later," said the Doctor.

"No, we'll discuss this now…late?"

"Thanks for saving us, Ace," said Nita.

"No, hey, mate."

"If you hadn't done something, the Doctor might have been shot!"

"Ace, I think we should go home."

Before Ace could reply she was pulled aside by another man.

"You sure set her straight, Miss McShane. I'm glad somebody finally got the gumption to stand up to that bitch."

"You're alright in my book, Miss McShane…I'd like to buy you a drink," said another man.

"Hey, look, I don't want a drink. It was no big deal."

Ace was tapped on the back by the gun salesman. He was holding out a gun.

"Young lady, young lady…I'd like you to have this brand new Colt Peacemaker and gun belt, free of charge!"

"Free?" She took the gun and belt.

"I want ever'body to know that the gun that shot Suzette Jones was a Colt Peacemaker."

"Hey, hey, thanks."

"Of course, you understand that if you lose…I'm taking it back." He smiled and walked away. Ace stared after the gun salesman dumbfounded.

"Thanks again."

Ace walked in the other direction and ran into Emma and Joseph. Emma was carrying Mariah. They continued along together.

"You had her, Miss McShane! You could have just walked away, and nobody would o' thought the less o' ya for it," said Joseph. "All it would have been was words…hot air from a yobbo. Instead you let her rile ya…rile ya into playing her game, her way, playing her rules."

"Joseph, relax, I know what I'm doing."

"She reminds me of poor Anita," said Emma.

"Aye."

"Who?"

"Me sister," said Joseph.

"Wait a minute…you have a sister named Anita Atkins?" They stopped walking.

"Had a sister. Anita used to let people provoke her into fighting. She was concerned people would think her a coward if she refused. That's how she got a bowie knife shoved through her belly in pub in Sydney Town. Never considered the future, poor Anita, God rest her soul." He walked off.

"I hope your considerin' the future, Miss McShane," said Emma, following after Joseph with Mariah in her arms.

"I think about it all the time," said Ace to herself.