Charley O'Rourke (From the Legacy of Charley O'Rourke)
(The the episode was titled for Charlie, but he was in fact a minor character)
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Nine years before Charlie's demise...
Kid Curry and Hannibal Heyes sat close to the warmth of the campfire, both with a cup of hot coffee cupped in his hands to help stave off the encroaching chill of the night mountain air. A full moon and an abundance of stars provided a soft light against the shadowed forest that edged their camp high in the Colorado mountains. The crackle of the fire and an occasional hoot of an owl only enhanced the stillness of the night.
"Permission to enter your camp?" came the sound of a voice so thick that some words seemed to roll together into one.
Kid quickly set his coffee on the ground and reached for his gun while his eyes tried unsuccessfully to spot a figure obscured within the woods.
"And who might you be?" Heyes called out in a friendly but cautious manner.
"The name's Charlie O'Rourke and I'm no threat to you. I'm just cold and tired, and hungry, and your fire, and the smell of that roasted rabbit seem to be calling to me."
Heyes and Kid exchanged glances and the corners of Heyes' mouth curled into a grin.
"You're welcome to come in," Heyes called.
Both men watched as a man leading his horse emerged from the safety of the forest. The man was about an inch shorter than Heyes and Kid and sported a black, bushy beard and mustache that covered the lower half of his face. Big, bushy, black eyebrows adorned his brow. His black hair was straight and dirty, and his clothes had not seen soap or water in quite some time. He was at least ten, and perhaps as much as fifteen years older than Heyes and the Kid, although the heavy beard might have added a few years to his appearance..
He offered a friendly, toothy smile that showed teeth far less yellowed than one would expect from his scruffy appearance.
"Tether your horse and come on over and sit down by the fire," Heyes said as Kid cautiously leathered his gun. "What brings you way out here in the middle of nowhere?"
Charlie's gait was that of a man who very likely walked more often than he rode. There was a weariness to his step but a warmth to his demeanor. He calculated his choice of seats and eased himself down on a rock on the opposite side of the fire from Kid and Heyes.
"Thank you," he said as Heyes handed him a cup of coffee. "And what should I be calling the two of you?" he asked then sipped at his coffee.
"Jed Curry."
"Just Heyes will do."
Charlie tested the heat of the skewer that held the remains of the rabbit, then set his coffee down and lifted the skewer from the fire and separated a chunk of meat from the carcass. "Heyes is it? I think we just might have a mutual acquaintance."
"And who might that be?" Heyes asked.
"Jim Plummer, and I say acquaintance cause I'd not consider the man a friend."
Heyes laughed as he was in total agreement with that assessment. "Nor do I, but just how do you know Plummer?"
"I knew him when we was both about the age of you two fellas. Of course we was both green around the gills back then."
"So, you're an outlaw?" Heyes asked
"Now friend, you ought to know better than to ask a question like that. Surely I ain't no more of an outlaw then you."
"I'm missin' something here. Who's Plummer?" Kid asked.
"Just a miserable, two-timing son of a... Well, you get the idea," Charlie replied.
"So what are you doing way out here?" Heyes asked a second time.
"Runnin.' I'm plannin' to make my way across the state line and into Wyoming. I hear Wyoming's still got plenty of empty space a man can lose himself in, and I ain't been back there in a while."
"That's where we're headed, Charlie. You can ride with us if you want. Sometimes there's safety in numbers," Heyes told him.
Charlie brought the skewer to his mouth and bit off another chunk of rabbit meat, but Heyes and Kid both saw his eyes sizing up the both of them. "I might just do that for a spell, if you don't mind," he mumbled with a mouthful of food.
Heyes smiled, knowing that Charlie had already decided he and Kid were people he could trust.
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"If we head north about twenty miles, then turn west, we can get clear to the Big Horn Mountains without even coming close to another town," Charlie told them over a campfire breakfast of pan biscuits and coffee.
"Charlie, why do I get the feeling that you knew exactly what you was doing when you walked into our camp last night?" Heyes asked with a jovial, yet serious tone in his voice.
Charlie flashed his not so pearly whites. "To tell you the truth, I didn't have a clue until I saw just whose camp I was walking into."
"You mean you recognized us?" Heyes asked.
"I recognized you. Saw you in a town back when you was riding with Plummer. I was with another fella you knew, Sam Baker."
"Sam Baker ain't an outlaw," Kid said as he too knew Sam from the orphanage.
"Nope, a horse trader, and a damn good one. I generally work alone so a good horse is important to me, and I had heard he was the best horse trader in the business. Well, I ended up buying a couple of horses and Sam and me went into the saloon to seal the deal with a drink. That's when he saw you and wanted to go over and say hello, but I saw you was with Plummer. and I convinced Sam that might not be the best of ideas."
"That had to be well over a year ago," Heyes replied.
"Yep. Sam said you're the kinda man that don't turn his back on a friend. So when I seen it was you at that campfire last night, well, I knew it was safe for me to approach."
They finished their breakfast and started out north just as Charlie had suggested. Charlie was quite the talker and Heyes and the Kid spent most of the morning listening to Charlie's opinions of some of the more famous outlaws, as well as some of the jobs he had pulled over the years. He told them he seldom worked with more than one or two other men as he always found that the larger the number of people involved, the greater the risks for serious mistakes.
"I've wounded a deputy or two in my day, but I ain't never killed no one," Charlie said as he set his eyes on the Kid who he noticed wore his gun low and tied down.. But Kid offered no response. "You sure are the quiet type, ain't you."
"When I got something to say, you'll hear it," Kid replied, but his expression remained friendly.
"Either of you two know a man by the name of Charlie Taylor? He rides with the Red Sash Gang. Their hideout is in the Big Horn Mountains," Charlie asked.
"Nope, never heard of him," Heyes replied.
"Me either," Kid added.
"That's who I'm going to see. Charlie and me go way back. I got me an idea that would get me and Charlie so much money, we'd never hafta work again. I might be willing to cut the two of you in on it."
Heyes gave Kid a glance before politely declining. "That's awful thoughtful of you, Charlie, but Kid and me... well, we ain't decided what path we wanna follow just yet."
"You mean you're thinking of giving up outlawing after one bad experience with the Plummer gang?"
"No," Heyes replied. "Kid here ain't never ridden with a gang. In fact, he ain't even wanted. Like you and Charlie Taylor, the Kid and me go way back, and we just recently got back together again. We want to test the waters before we decide on a final occupation."
"The Kid? Now why didn't I put that all together last night. You're Kid Curry?"
"Been called that," Kid replied.
"Well I'll be. You may not have done any outlawing, but you've got yourself quite the reputation already. Are you as fast as people say you are?"
"I don't pay much mind to what people say," Kid replied.
"That idea I've got, it's gonna take a lot of planning, and it could end up in a gunfight. You'd be just the fella to have on our side," Charlie told him.
Kid shook his head. "Sorry Charlie, but I always make it a point to avoid a gunfight, not get caught up in the middle of one."
Charlie sighed and shook his head."The two of you are missing out on a fine idea."
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After twenty miles, they turned west toward the Big Horn Mountains, and still Charlie chatted away. Sometimes Heyes wondered if Charlie even cared if he and Kid were listening, but he certainly made an impression on both Kid and Heyes. They liked Charlie and enjoyed passing the time listening to the bragging sort of tales he weaved. He was certainly rough around the edges, but he had a very amicable way about him and was quick with a smile.
The three horses came to a stop late in the afternoon when they reached a pass leading into the Big Horn Mountains.
"Well Charlie, I guess this is where we part company," Heyes told him.
"It's been a pleasure getting to know the two of you," Charlie replied."If you ever decide you want in on my idea... well hell, I can't think of no way for you to get word to me."
Heyes chuckled. "I've got a feeling our paths will cross again sometime. Like I said, the Kid and me ain't decided what path we wanna take just yet, but we're gonna make a name for ourselves. Just give us a little time and you'll know how to get in touch with us."
"More than likely through the Wyoming Territorial Prison," Kid said with a twinkle in his eyes.
Charlie laughed. "We'll likely all meet up there one day, and we'll sure give them guards a run for their money," he said, then gave his horse a nudge and Kid and Heyes watched him make his way up the mountain pass and out of sight.
"You think we'll really ever run into Charlie again some day, Heyes?" Kid asked.
"Oh yeah. I can picture it now. You and me will be having a beer in some quiet saloon in some peaceful little town. We'll be famous outlaws by then so we'll be trying to keep a low profile. Good old Charlie O'Rourke will walk in and spy us across the room, and at the top of his lungs he'll shout a greeting that'll turn us on our heels hightailing it outta town like a streak of lightening."
Kid laughed. "You just keep dreaming, Heyes. You're stories are almost as good as Charlie's."