A Few Days at Devil's Hole
Farming, now that's a job harder on the back then herding as far as I'm concerned. Even as a boy growing up in Kansas where everyone was a farmer, I knew that wasn't the life I was destined for. Oh, there was aspects of it I liked, or at least didn't mind. I liked milking the cows in the quiet of the morning, a chill still in the air that I knew wouldn't linger once the sun was up. In fact, I didn't mind any of the chores in the barn, even cleaning the stalls weren't bad once you got past the dung.
But sowing and reaping were back breaking and skin baking, out there in the hot sun all day with maybe one lone tree in the middle of the field for shade, bending and stooping and straightening for hours on end. Yes sir, a farmer earns every last cent he makes on a crop, and then some. But mostly, after months of hard work, a farmer will barely break even. And if a storm or grasshoppers ruin a crop, well then a farmer just falls in to more debt, more misery.
There was some good leisurely times too, taffy pulls, making ice cream outta freshly fallen snow, lazy Saturday afternoons with Han at the fishing hole catching supper or maybe just skinny dipping on those miserably hot days. Han could come up with a million ways for us to spend a bit of free time.
Looking back on it now, I think them first ten years growing up on that Kansas farm probably helped mold me into who I am today. Heyes, too. We learnt just how hard a person has to work to make an honest living. Them years is probably what made us both decide "honest" weren't necessary to make a decent living.
I try to keep them next few years outta my conscious thinking. Them years was just... lonely, even with Han right there beside me. While Bloody Kansas was the beginning of it, them years at Valparaiso was what I call the dark years. Every boy there was just like Han and me, no folks, no family willing to take em in, no hope. Yeah, them was bad years.
But I learned a lot about people during those years. I learned most people only want what they can get from you, not what they can give. Most folks just look after themselves. Most people are willing to sell you out, sometimes literally, just for their own personal gain.
But I also learned it's the downtrodden that has the compassion in their souls, and dreams in their hearts. It's the downtrodden who know the pains of being walked on and overlooked. Them's the ones that can feel another's pain cause they've known that pain themselves.
I think that's why, when Heyes and me became outlaws, we decided to go after the money in banks and trains, but not the money in people's pockets, not the rings on their fingers, or the pocket watch heirlooms tucked in their vests and attached to a fob for safe-keeping. We didn't want to add to people's misery
We just wanted to end our own.
0-0-0-0-0-
"You look like your thoughts are a million miles away," Heyes said pushing open the screen door and stepping out onto the porch.
Startled from this thoughts, Kid first glanced up at Heyes, then cast his gaze at the glass of whiskey in his hand as he gently twirled the amber liquid in his glass.
"Just... daydreaming, I guess."
"Dreaming of anything of interest?" Heyes asked and leaned against the post, a glass of whiskey in his hand as well.
Kid shook his head slowly, then uttered a chuckled sigh. "I was remembering milking the cows before school, carrying those buckets up to the house and setting em on the porch to let the cream rise."
Heyes smiled. "And every cat on the farm rubbing at your ankles, waiting for some milk to splash outta those buckets," Heyes replied, putting words to his own conjured memories. "You know, if I think hard on it, I can still taste your Ma's fresh bread, hot out of the oven and lathered in butter she'd churned that morning. Your Ma was a fine cook, Kid. I ain't never again had bread and butter as sweet as hers. I think it was all the love she put in it."
Kid studied his whiskey for a moment before taking a fair size swallow. Then he leaned forward, set the shot glass on the rail, and stood up.
"Well, I think I've had my fill of old memories for one night."
"Wait, Kid, I've got a question for you... If things hadn't turned out the way they did back then, what do you think you'd be doing today?"
"I don't know...Probably would still be in Kansas, still working the farm, I guess. What do you think you'd be doing?"
"Well, back then, I wanted to become a lawyer."
"Really? You never told me that, Heyes. Why a lawyer?"
Heyes looked at Kid with a grin that contained just a touch of guilt. "Money... You remember Mr. Tugley's house?"
Kid smiled and nodded. "That was a fine house. Kind of reminds me of Silky's house."
"Well, I always figured one day I'd live in a fine house like that, and Mr. Tugley being a lawyer, well I just figured that was the way to do it."
Kid laughed. "Heyes, that was a boarding house. Mr. Tugley just rented a couple of rooms on the first floor. One was for his office and the other was for sleeping."
"Who told you that?"
"If I recall right, it was your Pa that told me that. He said when he and your Ma first came to Kansas, they rented a room there and he took a job as a barkeep till he had saved a down payment on your farm."
"I don't recall him ever telling me that."
"You recall ever asking?"
Heyes shook his head. "No, I don't," he confessed. "I'm glad you never told me that. That would have ruined all my plans..."
Kid laughed. "Sure, Heyes, like becoming an outlaw didn't ruin all your plans."
Kid yawned and headed for the screen door. "Now, I'm turning in for the night."
Kid walked into his room, shed his clothes, snuffed out the light, and crawled into bed. Heyes remained on the porch until his whiskey was gone. Then he picked up Kid's empty glass and carried it inside along with his own. Setting both empty glasses on the table, Heyes turned the oil lamp down low, leaving a very soft light in the room and headed off to his own bed.
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"Mr. Curry? Mr. Curry?" Excuse me but are you Jedediah Curry?"
Jed was sitting on a three-legged stool near the back of the barn, milking Old Beaut and raised his eyes toward the barn door where he saw a thin, almost scrawny looking man wearing a brown pinstriped suit, two-toned brown Oxford's, a brown derby, and black-framed spectacles.
"What's your business?" Jed called to the stranger.
"Are you the owner of this farm?" the man asked asked.
"I am," Jed replied.
A bit displeased that Mr. Curry didn't stop whatever it was he was doing to that brown and white spotted cow, the man stepped gingerly into the barn, carefully watching each step he took and pinching his nose to block the rather unpleasant odors wafting throughout the barn.
"My name is H.P. Heyes, Attorney at law," the man explained.
"Part of your name is Attorney at Law?" Jed asked.
The scrawny man smiled nervously. "No, Attorney at Law id my occupation, Mr. Curry, my title."
"Title, uh? Think of yourself like royalty, do ya?
"A title earned through education," Heyes replied.
"So, what are you doing here, H.P. Heyes?" Jed asked and he gave Old Beaut a couple of final tugs of the teat.
"I'm here representing Mr. Hiram Tugley."
Jed stood up and kicked the stool out of his way. Then he led the cow to the stall and returned for the bucket of milk that he picked up and started carrying out of the barn and toward the house.
"Hiram can't just pay a visit on his own?" Jed asked.
Mr. Heyes stepped lively, trying to watch each step to avoid ruts and piles of manure in the yard.
"I'm representing Mr. Tugley in a legal matter," Mr. Heyes explained.
Reaching the porch, Jed turned on his heels to face Mr. Heyes. "Wait here," Jed said and vanished into the cabin with the bucket of fresh milk. A couple of minutes later, Jed returned to the porch, an old rag in his hand that he used to wipe the dirt off his hands.
"Now, you were saying?" Jed said.
"Mr. Tugley has retained my services regarding a matter of land rights."
"What kind of land rights?"
"It involves the property directly adjacent to your property on the north side."
"Ah, that spot of land the Little Whistler runs through."
"I believe that was the name he attributed to the stream."
"Well now, you're about the fourth lawyer he's hired to try to steal that stream away from me. I suspect you'll be the forth lawyer to lose."
"Oh, I have no intention of losing, Mr. Curry."
"I s'pect none of them did either. You see Mr. Heyes, my Pa bought this property back in '48, and since that time, that stream has changed course three times. Each time, Mr. Tugley has tried laying claim to the property altered by the stream. But what Mr. Tugley chooses to ignore is the fact that my Pa made sure the deed to the property lists landmarks as well as that stream for setting boundaries. There's a hundred year old oak tree on one corner and a forty year old brick lined abandoned well on the other."
"Mr. Tugley has a prospective buyer for that stream," Heyes said.
"I've heard that story, too. Some famous writer that wants to widen that stream by over a mile and put a riverboat on it."
"Mark Twain and it sounds like a lucrative endeavor."
"To you, maybe. Sounds pretty foolish to anybody with any sense. That stream don't run more than four miles above ground. Now, Mr. Heyes, are you familiar with Judge Silky?"
"Judge Silky?"
"Yep. He's the District Judge that comes through here every six weeks or so. He's heard this case three times. He's ruled in my favor three times. You ain't going to be getting on his good side by trying to hash this all out in court a forth time."
From the corner of his eye, Jed saw a jack rabbit racing across the yard. In an instant his gun was clear of the holster, the shot fired, and the rabbit lay dead in the yard. Heyes stood awestruck as Jed twirled his gun before holstering it again.
"You won't be getting on my good side either," Jed said. "So why don't you just be on your way, off of my private property. Law don't object to a man killing a trespasser."
"You wouldn't..."
Kid smiled. "Wouldn't be the first time, H. ," Kid said with a smile.
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Kid woke with the smell of coffee brewing. He sat up in bed to gather his bearings and an amused smile spread across his face as he remembered every detail of the dream. He got up, pulled on his clothes, and padded barefooted into the main room of the cabin where he saw Heyes sitting at the table. Kid yawned and walked over to the stove to pour himself a cup of coffee before joining Heyes at the table.
"You look like you didn't sleep a wink last night, Kid."
"No, I slept. I just had a really strange dream."
"What was it?"
"Well, you know last night you told me you woulda liked to become a lawyer?"
Heyes smiled. "Yeah."
"And you remember that little stream that ran between our two farms when we was kids?"
'Uh-uh. That stream was dried up more often than it held water."
"Well, I dreamed you did become a lawyer, and you tried to sue me for the rights to that stream because Mark Twain wanted to put a riverboat on it."
Heyes smiled. "Who won?"
Kid shrugged. "I woke up before it ever went to court.
"You know, what's funny, Kid?"
"What?"
"I dreamed last night that you became a lawyer and I became a farmer."
"You think somebody slipped something into that whiskey we was drinking last night?"
Heyes laughed but shook his head. "No. I think you and me both just let our imaginations get the best of us "
"Heyes, you was quite the Dandy in my dream. You was spectacled and sissified," Kid said with a grin."Kinda prissy."
"What about you?"
"I was just a normal farmer. Old Beaut was in the dream, though."
"Your folks in the dream?" Heyes asked.
"Nope, I was living on the farm alone. But it weren't sad or nothing."
Kid took a drink of his coffee and chuckled. "Imagine me running that whole farm by myself. Hell, I could barely get the chores of a ten year old done in a day. I'm glad I didn't end up being a farmer."
"I probably wouldn't have made a very good lawyer, anyway."
"Well, not in my dream you wouldn't, but with that silver tongue of yours, I bet you'd be quite the orator."
Heyes took on a dreamy expression. "Hannibal Heyes, Attorney at Law," he said.
"H.P."
"What?"
"H.P. Heyes, Attorney at Law."
"Does have a nice ring to it."
Kid smiled. "Well, you might become a lawyer one day, Heyes, but I ain't becoming a farmer."
They both looked up when there was a loud knock on the cabin door.
"It's open," Heyes shouted.
The door opened and Wheat walked in looking a little sheepish.
"What's up, Wheat?' Heyes asked.
"Well, Heyes, you know me a some of the boys went in to town last night..."
"And?"
"And Kyle ran in to Hiram Kingsly..."
"Wheat, you know you're always supposed to keep an eye on Kyle when you go in to town," Kid said with a reprimanding tone to his voice.
Wheat gave a nervous shrug. "I was busy...upstairs, Kid."
"Being upstairs shouldn't be no priority," Kid replied.
"You're a fine one to talk, Kid," Heyes mumbled. "What happened, Wheat?"
"Well, Kyle says him and Hiram exchanged words, but that's all that come of it, Heyes. There weren't no fight."
Heyes shrugged. "So what's the problem?"
"When we got ready to leave, Kyle's horse was missing."
Kid snorted a chuckle which earned an exasperated look from Heyes.
"And you think Hiram stole Kyle's horse?"
"Well, Kyle figures Hiram knows no outlaw is going to go reporting a stolen horse, Heyes."
"Did you go looking for it?" Kid asked.
Wheat shook his head. "It was dark by then, Kid."
"Well, Wheat," Heyes replied. "I suggest Kyle use one of the spare horses and the two of you go out looking for it. Stay off the roads while you do it."
"It ain't my horse that got stole, Heyes. Why do I have to go?"
"Because you were supposed to keep an eye on Kyle," Kid retorted.
"Kid's right, Wheat. Besides, I'm not sending one of you fellas out alone. Now, if Kyle don't want to do that, he could always just go buy himself a new horse."
"You know Kyle ain't got the money for that, Heyes," Wheat said.
"Then you'd best get going," Kid replied.
Wheat looked at Heyes but Heyes was nodding in agreement with Kid.
"Looks like rain, maybe storms coming," Wheat said.
"Then you best get going so you can get back before the rains start," Kid said, enjoying Wheat's dilemma.
Wheat gave Kid as stern a glare as he dared, then turned and left the cabin.
"Kid, why do you always try to rile Wheat?"
Kid smiled. "Sheer fun of it, Heyes."
"You know, if they don't get that horse back, you and me are paying Hiram a visit," Heyes pointed out to his partner.
"What makes you so sure Hiram has his horse? I mean, we're talking Kyle, Heyes. He couldda just forgot to tether him to the post."
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The rains began around noon and continued throughout the day, an occasional storm squall mixed in for good measure. Late in the afternoon, a drenched Wheat and Kyle returned empty handed. Heyes watched them from the window but didn't bother to go out in the rain.
"We're gonna ride over to Hiram's place in the morning, Kid," Heyes said, turning from the window and settling into an overstuffed armchair near the warm fireplace.
Kid, who was sitting at the table polishing his gun, just grunted.
There was a knock on the door and Heyes turned and saw the two soaking wet men standing on the porch.
"I'll be right out," Heyes called and pulled his duster from the peg near the door. Heyes looked at Kid and shrugged. "No sense dripping all the water in here," he explained and slipped into the duster before heading out the door.
Didn't find him, uh?"
"Oh, we found him, Heyes."
Heyes frowned. "Hiram got him?"
"Yep," Wheat replied. "And Kyle ain't got no bill of sale."
"Kyle, you gotta hold on to them kind of things. Devil's Hole can't go starting their own branding that would just announce to everyone who we are," Heyes scolded and Kyle looked sheepishly down at the floor.
"I though about just taking him, Heyes, but without a bill of sale, well I ain't added horse thieving to my poster. That's a hanging offense."
"That was good thinking, Wheat. Kid and me will go pay Hiram a visit in the morning. Kyle, if we can't get him back, you're paying for one of our spare horses and I'll make you out a bill of sale that you damn well better not lose."
Kyle nodded. "I won't lose it, Heyes. I'll put in under the sole of my boot."
"Fine. Now you two go get dried off. I don't want you getting sick."
The next morning, Kid and Heyes headed out to pay Hiram a visit. When they arrived at Hiram's farm, they found Hiram in the barn, and they saw Kyle's brown in a stall.
"Ain't seen you in a while, how are you?' Heyes asked from the door of the barn
Hiram looked up from his work. "Heyes, I know what you're here for and you ain't getting him."
"Aw, come on, Hiram, we both know that old nag belongs to Kyle."
"I found him wandering around loose on the road. Felt sorry for him so I brung him here. Now I'm keeping him."
"That's horse stealing," Kid interjected.
"No it ain't. I told you I found him. Neither one of them two boys you sent out could offer up a proof of sale. I got no reason to suspect it belongs to either of them."
"Hiram, you've seen that horse out front of the saloon every Friday night for two years. You know damn well that's Kyle's horse," Heyes argued.
"If he can prove it, he can have it back."
Heyes uttered an exasperated sigh. "What do you want for him?"
"Ain't for sale."
"Ah, come on Hiram," Kid said. "Devil's Hole gang has always been real nice to the folks of this town, you included. Who pitched in and helped you when your barn roof needed repaired?"
"I appreciate that, Kid, but I don't see how it relates to this matter."
"Hiram," Heyes said, his eyes brightening with an idea. "Hiram, how about you and me take this to court?"
"Court! This town ain't got no lawyers and even the Circuit Judge don't come here. How do you propose we take this to court?"
"We'll hold our own court. You pick six towns folk and I'll do the same. You and me will act as our own lawyers. All we gotta find is someone to act as an impartial Judge."
Kid looked very skeptical but Hiram stood scratching the back of his neck as he considered the proposition.
"We both gotta agree on the Judge."
"That's only fair," Heyes replied.
"Suppose your six jurors will all be outlaws..."
"And yours will all be fine, decent, honest town folks," Heyes countered.
"You can't put Wheat of Kyle on the jury," Hiram insisted.
Heyes nodded. "That's fair. I'm gonna need them for witnesses, anyway."
"Who we gonna use as a Judge?" Hiram asked.
That did present a dilemma and they both thought long and hard with no name coming to mind.
"How about a woman?" Kid suggested.
"What!" Heyes and Hiram said in unison.
"Who better to be impartial? She ain't gonna know the first thing about horse ownership. Every bit of evidence you present would be new to her. And it ain't like she's gonna convict anyone. All you two are trying to determine is ownership. She's just overseeing the case, they jury's the ones who'll actually decide who's right and who's wrong."
Heyes and Hiram exchanged glances. "You know, that just might work," Hiram said.
"So what woman are we gonna ask?" Heyes asked.
"Can't be none of them saloon girls. They might show some partiality," Hiram replied.
"How about Reverend Stanford's wife?" Kid suggested.
Heyes shrugged. "Fine by me."
"Me, too,"Hiram replied.
"Tomorrow afternoon you and me will go pay the minister and his wife a visit," Heyes said to Hiram and Hiram nodded in agreement.
"I'll meet you here and we'll ride over there together," Heyes said and again Hiram agreed.
With that, Heyes and Kid mounted up and headed back to Devil's Hole.
"You know, Heyes, that dream I had might just be coming true. Here you are acting as a lawyer and all."
"You still ain't no farmer though, Kid."
Kid laughed. "That part of it was more a nightmare than a dream, Heyes."
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"Good afternoon Reverend Stanford, " Hiram said as he climbed off his horse and walked up to the porch of the Manse. "Good sermon you presented today."
"Thank you, Hiram. Always nice to hear the Lord's words have made an impact on a member of the congregation."
"Oh, Reverend, this is Mr. Heyes. He lives up in the hills and don't get to town too often."
Heyes smiled politely. "Reverend, nice to meet you," Heyes said, extending his hand.
"You as well, Mr. Heyes. Is this a social visit, Hiram?"
"Well, sort of a business matter, Reverend. Heyes and me was hoping to talk to your wife."
"Rebekah?"
"Yes Sir, Reverend," Heyes said pleasantly.
"What about, if I may ask?"
"Heyes and me have a...dispute to settle. We thought Mrs. Stanford could referee."
"Referee? Is this a fight, gentlemen?"
"Oh, no, Reverend. Nothing like that. You see Hiram and I are in a bit of a quandary as to the ownership of a horse. We've agreed to settle it in as close a thing to an actual judge and jury trial as we can get. Being that there is no legal representation in this town, we've agreed to ...create our own, so to speak."
"We both agreed a woman would make the best judge, being as she don't know nothing about the legalities of the dispute."
The Reverend was obviously confused as to why they would want someone unfamiliar with the legal system, but chose not to pursue the issue just yet.
"Well, I certainly can't speak for Rebekah, but I'll go see if she is available to see you," he said and disappeared into the house.
Heyes and Hiram stood about waiting for several minutes before the Reverend and his wife walked out on the porch. Rebekah carried a tray with a pitcher of lemonade and four glasses and poured a glass for each of them before sitting down on the wicker settee with her husband.
"You're looking for a woman to act as a judge. I'm afraid I don't understand," she said.
"Well, you see Mrs. Stanford, Hiram and I are both aware of the truth of this matter. We just have both agreed to let an impartial jury decide who actually owns the horse."
"If you both know the truth, why do you need an impartial jury to decide?" she asked.
"We both know the truth, Ma'am," Hiram explained. "We just don't both agree on the same truth."
"I see," she said, hiding a smile."And you want me to act as the judge?"
"Yes, Ma'am," Heyes and Hiram said simultaneously.
"But I have no qualifications and know virtually nothing about the legal system."
"But, being a minister's wife, you know a lot about right and wrong," Heyes replied.
"Isn't it the jury that decides the right and wrong of the matter?"
"Yes Ma'am. In fact, your job would be to make sure Hiram and me don't throw in things we can't prove, innuendos and bold face lies and such."
Rebekah gave her husband a dubious look.
"Where would you hold this...illegal court?" she asked.
"Oh, it ain't illegal, Ma'am. It just ain't...legal.
She couldn't help but smile at that explanation.
"Well, we can't hold it at the church," Hiram said. "You know, being that one side or the other would be lying in the House of the Lord."
This time the Reverend stifled a grin.
"How about the schoolhouse?" Heyes suggested.
"I'm agreeable," Hiram replied.
"So, would you be willing, Ma'am...to preside over the matter?" Heyes asked.
"How long do you expect this to take?"
Heyes and Hiram looked at each other and shrugged.
"An hour, maybe two," Heyes said and Hiram agreed.
And when?"
"Well, ain't no school on Saturday..." Heyes suggested.
Rebekah looked at her husband with an amused look on her face.
"Fine, I'll make the necessary arrangements and reserve the schoolhouse for this Saturday, let's say one to four in the afternoon," the Reverend suggested and all agreed.
"Reverend," Hiram began. "Heyes and me each get to put six people on the jury. I'd be honored if you would be one of them."
"I object!" Heyes replied. "His wife is the judge!"
"You don't think a man of the cloth would be impartial, Heyes?" Hiram asked.
Heyes opened his mouth to protest, but found he had no argument.
"Fine," Heyes grumbled and Hiram smiled feeling the victor of round one.
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"So how did it go?" Kid asked when Heyes returned to Devil's Hole.
"He's got the Reverend on the jury," Heyes replied.
"Ouch. That don't sound like it would bode too well for Kyle, being an outlaw and all."
"Ya think!" Heyes snapped back.
"Heyes, you got six people that's gonna back you no matter what Hiram says. Six men that all know without a doubt that the horse belongs to Kyle. All you gotta do in convince just one of Hiram's picks to come over to our side."
Heyes nodded. That did make the job sound much easier.
"Hell, Heyes, we could probably bribe at least one of them," Kid added.
Heyes was not above considering that suggestion as well.
"You're right, Kid. After all, we do have the truth on our side."
"Old Hiram sure is going to a lot of trouble to keep a horse getting up there in years. You think it's just because of some grudge against Kyle?"
"That's hard to imagine, ain't it? Kyle don't go out of his way to cause nobody no trouble."
Kid grinned. "Guess it just comes natural to him Heyes."
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On Saturday, jurors, town folks, judge, Heyes, and Hiram all descended on the one room school house. It was quite the sight to see grown men trying to squeeze themselves into those small, two seat desks. Spectators all stood along the walls of the room. A surprising number of spectators attended, most likely because there was nothing else to do, and the Devil's Hole gang had always been kind and generous to the little town so no one was fearful of them.
Mrs. Stanford was seated at the teacher's desk and called the trial to order.
"Since there is no defense or prosecution sides assigned, who would like to begin?"
When she got no answer, she pressed the matter. "Hiram, would you begin?"
Hiram stood up, but said nothing.
"Would you like to call your first witness, Hiram?" Rebekah asked.
"I've got no witnesses, Ma'am," Hiram replied.
"No witnesses?"
"What would I have a witness to, Ma'am? I ain't done nothing wrong."
"Objection!" Heyes said standing up.
"You may state your objection." Rebekah replied.
"Whether or not Hiram's done something wrong ain't been established, Ma'am. I'd like his last statement stricken from the record."
"Mr. Heyes, you do realize there is no record?" Rebekah asked.
Heyes hesitated. "A manner of speaking, Ma'am."
"Alright, the jury is to disregard Hiram's last statement."
Kid, a juror, gave Preacher an elbow nudge and grinned proudly at Heyes' success,
"Mr. Heyes, would you like to call your first witness?"
"Yes Ma'am. I call Kyle Murtry."
Kyle got up and walked to the empty chair near the teacher's desk and sat down.
"Kyle," Heyes began.
"Mr. Heyes?" Rebekah interrupted.
"Yes?"
"Aren't you going to swear in your witness?"
"Ah...well...did anyone bring a Bible?" Heyes asked the crowd.
The Reverend stood up with his Bible in his hand. "You may use mine."
Heyes walked over and took the Bible and thanked the Reverend.
"Put your right hand on this Bible, Kyle," Heyes instructed and Kyle obliged.
"You swear to tell only the truth?"
"Sure, Heyes."
Heyes nodded and set the Bible on the top of the desk.
"Kyle, what does you horse look like?"
"He's brown with a white diamond near the top of his head.
"How old is he?"
"Pert near twelve as far as I can guess."
"Anything special about him?"
"Well, he's got two left feet?"
"What?" Heyes asked, confused as he had never heard this claim before. "Kyle, every horse has two left feet."
"Well then, he's got three, one in the back and two in the front," Kyle replied.
"You couldn't ride a horse with two left front feet, Kyle," Heyes said, feeling the verdict slipping rapidly from his grasp.
"Sure I can, Heyes. It just takes a little extra work. "
"Does he look like he's got two left feet in the front?"
"No, but Wheat is always telling me he has two left feet, on account of how often he miss-steps."
"Miss-steps?"
"Well, I do have to admit, if there's a rut within ten miles, that horse'll find it."
In the jury stand, Kid could be seen nodding his head in agreement.
"When did you last see your horse, Kyle?"
"A week ago yesterday, outside the saloon where I had him tethered."
"You sure you had him tethered, Kyle?"
"Sure I'm sure, Heyes," Kyle said, reaching into his back pocket and producing a frayed strip of leather. "Right here's the tether."
Kid visible slumped down in his seat wondering why Kyle had not mentioned that before."
"That's what you had him tethered to the post with?"
"Uh-uh. Must of chewed through it."
Heyes closed his eyes and dropped his head. "I have no further questions," Heyes said, dropping his head.
"Hiram, do you have any questions for Mr. Murtry?"
Hiram was laughing out loud. "No your...Mrs. Stanford," he chuckled.
"Would you like to call another witness Mr. Heyes?"
Heyes hesitated. "Wheat Carlson, Ma'am," he said reluctantly.
Wheat came up front and swore to tell the truth before sitting down.
"Wheat, you got anything to add to this story?" Heyes asked.
"Well, just that Thunder, that's the name of Kyle's horse. Thunder can be a handful sometimes, Heyes, but that horse is damn...Sorry Reverend, darn loyal to Kyle. Seems to me the best way to know who that horse belongs to is to stand Kyle and Hiram fifty feet away from him, and see who he goes to."
Every head in the jury box nodded, which didn't go unnoticed by Mrs. Stanford. This sounded like a logical solution.
"Hiram, would you object to this?" Mrs. Stanford asked.
Hiram hesitated but every eye of the jury was focused on him and he knew it. Kyle looked as nervous as Hiram, but Wheat caught his eye and nodded his head.
"I suppose it would be easier to bring the horse here, than for all of us to go out to Hiram's place," Rebekah said.
"I'll go fetch him," Lobo volunteered.
Half an hour later the school yard was full of people milling about waiting for Lobo to return.
"Maybe lawyering ain't your calling after all," Kid said in a low voice to his partner.
"I don't think you're even supposed to be talking to me, Kid."
Kid looked around the yard. The Reverend was standing talking to his wife, Wheat and Kyle were engaged in some conversation, even Hiram was milling about chatting with Preacher.
"I don't see nobody else following any kind of protocol, Heyes."
"Here he comes!" someone shouted and all heads turned to look down the street where Lobo was approaching on his horse, pulling the reins of the brown behind him.
"Okay, everybody move back," Heyes said, taking charge. Kyle, you and Hiram come stand right here. Lobo, you walk the brown to the edge of the road and face the horse in this direction."
Everyone did as instructed and Heyes made sure Hiram and Kyle were parallel about thirty feet apart.
"Okay, Lobo, let loose of him," Heyes said.
Lobo released the reins and moved to the edges of the yard with the other spectators.
The horse stood still, not so much as kicking the dirt. Five minutes passed and the horse did not move.
"Why don't each of you try calling him," Heyes suggested.
"Hey, Thunder, come here Thunder," Kyle and Hiram called, their voices overlapping.
Still the horse did not move.
"Thunder is a might stubborn," Kyle conceded.
"Thunder, get your sorry ass over here!" Wheat shouted and followed up with a high, shrill whistle that startled the horse and he turned and galloped away.
"Wheat, why did you go and do that?" Heyes shouted angrily.
Wheat just shrugged. "Sorry, Heyes. It's worked before."
"I'm afraid, gentlemen, we'll have to call a mistrial," Rebekah said. "The horse is gone, which means the evidence is gone."
Heyes looked at Hiram questioningly.
"Suppose we could go after him," Heyes suggested.
"Ah, don't bother. That brown's a sorry excuse for a horse, anyway," Hiram grumbled.
"The court is adjourned," Rebekah announced.
A lot of mumbled grumbling could be heard as everyone began migrating away from the school yard.
The Devil's Hole gang all mounted their horses and began their trip back to the compound.
"Ah, Heyes, maybe with some schooling, you could learn to be a good lawyer," Kid teased as he rode beside his partner.
"Uh-uh. Just like you could be a good farmer," Heyes retorted and Kid grinned.
"Couldda been worse, Heyes. I couldda dreamed you were a Sheriff."
Heyes laughed. "Maybe just don't tell me about your dreams no more, Kid."
Several yards behind them, Wheat and Kyle rode side by side.
"Why did you whistle like that, Wheat? Thunder has always been skiddish to them high pitched sounds. Scares him near to death."
"Kyle, you ever had a dog?"
Kyle shook his head.
"You take a dog out in the woods somewhere, and he gets scared like that. He hightails plum for home. I 'spect that's what Thunder is doing."
It took Kyle a good minute to figure out what Wheat was telling him.
"You think Thunder will be waiting for us at the Hole?"
Wheat puffed his chest, feeling very much a man of wisdom. "Willing to bet money on it," he replied.
Sure enough, about a mile up the path just beyond the first check point, the entire Devil's Hole gang brought their horses to a halt and stared at the brown who stood just off the path grazing, looking as laid back as a horse could appear.
"Wheat," Kyle whispered to his friend. "With your kind of smarts, you should be the leader of this gang. "
"I heard that, Kyle," Kid said, a bit of a threat in his voice as an intimidating reminder. "You best go gather up them reins and get that horse in the barn before me or Heyes decides to return him to Hiram."
Kyle gave Wheat a nervous look as he held a wad of tobacco juice in his mouth, afraid to even spit for fear of riling the Kid.
"Go on, now," Kid instructed.
Kyle urged his horse over to Thunder and he reached out and grabbed the reins. Then he started up the path and all the other gang members followed, with the exception of Heyes and Kid who sat in their saddles and watched the others disappear up the path.
"That was smart thinking on Wheat's part," Heyes admitted after the other were out of earshot.
"Uh-uh."
"Would you have thought of that, Kid?"
"Can't say as I would."
"Me either," Heyes said, shaking his head.
They both gave their horses a kick and started up the path.
"Think Wheat'll ever will be the leader of a gang, Kid?"
Kid was silent for a minute.
"Not one I ever belong to, Heyes."
Heyes chuckled. "Yeah, me either."