The Good, the Bad, and the Raccoon - Chapter 2: Hindus Valley
Tennessee awoke with an enthusiastic glint on his eyes as his alarm clock went off, which he then turned off as he sat up in bed. Yawning as a lazy smile appeared on his face, Tennessee felt a relaxed sigh escape him as he remembered that today was the day for him to begin his long-overdue vacation. After climbing out of bed and taking a short bath, Tennessee helped himself to a hearty meal of bacon and eggs before packing up some clothes as lightly as possible and heading out to Dash's stable with his shooting iron and suitcase in hand. Untying and mounting his horse before riding out of the cave and tunnel, Tennessee squinted his eyes as his usually night-accustomed vision was hit by the light of the morning sunshine, yet he quickly got used to the sudden change in light and began riding Dash out from behind the waterfall up a narrow trail that ran up the side of the ravine to the vast, mesa-filled desert above.
"This is just what we need, Dash," Tennessee remarked to his horse as they continued their ascent up the trail, "A nice, quiet vacation from all this. No thievery, no worries about the law coming after us, especially no dealin' with that Sheriff Fox! Lord knows I'm thankful that ol' Johnny Law won't be taggin' along on our little trip!"
Unfortunately, Tennessee would soon discover that the universe had a cruel way of proving him wrong, for as he rode Dash about a third of the way up the trail, Sheriff Fox and his posse arrived on their horses at the base of the waterfall after making their way through the same grove of trees they saw Tennessee disappear through the night before. Stopping near the edge of the lake at the bottom of the waterfall, the sheriff remarked, "Alright fellas, Cooper's hideout has gotta be somewhere around here. All of you spread out and start lookin' fer anything we can use to find him!" The posse did as they were told as they dismounted their horses and began searching on foot for any signs of the notorious raccoon who had stolen from their town for so long.
Beaks however, remained by Sheriff Fox's side as he inquired, "Uh, Sheriff? Why are we goin' after Kid Cooper like this? I know he's done a lotta wrong to our town over the years, but ain't we supposed to wait until he does somethin' bad to chase after him?"
At this, Sheriff Fox groaned irritably as he responded, "It's called bein' proactive, Beaks. If we catch him off guard before he steals somethin' from someone, then we'll have the upper hand on him. He won't have time ta think of a way to escape, so we'll finally be able to put that ring-tailed rat right where he belongs: in a permanent cell in the iron bar inn!"
Beaks was impressed by the cunning of his leader's plan, but he also felt a tad uncomfortable when he saw this glint in the Sheriff's eyes that seemed to be more than sheer determination in bringing one of the most notorious outlaws in the west to justice. So without a word, Beaks hopped off his horse and began looking around for clues as his boss watched him and the rest of the posse continue their search for signs of Tennessee's hideout.
As Tennessee and his horse continued to make their way up the Cliffside, the raccoon glanced down into the ravine once more… and immediately felt his eyebrows shoot up in alarm at the sight of a certain law-abiding vulpine and his men searching around the base of the waterfall for clues.
Son of a… How the hell did they find me?! Tennessee thought in dismayed disbelief as he felt his hopes of avoiding any form of law enforcement before starting his vacation shatter like a poorly-crafted vase. However, he calmed himself down after realizing that none of Sheriff Fox's men had seen him yet. "Okay Cooper… Let's take it easy. They haven't seen ya yet, so you can still make it outta here without them seein' ya." Tennessee mumbled to himself as he made Dash continue slowly up the path…
Only for the horse to accidentally kick a small rock off the path with his front hoof, which tumbled downward into the ravine as it bounced down the steep slope and left an echo with every impact it made.
Sheriff Fox whipped his head upwards to find the source of the sound to be none other than the very raccoon he was looking for. His men also glanced upward to see the notorious ring-tailed outlaw mounted on his horse on a trail that led up the side of the ravine with an expression of absolute horror plastered on his face as he looked back down at them.
Nobody moved or spoke for several seconds.
"…COOPER!" Sheriff Fox roared in fury.
Tennessee reacted instantly as he dug his heels into Dash's sides, causing the horse to move as quickly as possible up the trail without falling off. Nervously looking down again, Tennessee watched as Sheriff Fox rode his horse at full speed towards the trail while his posse hurried towards their own horses to follow their leader. Upon reaching the top of the ravine, Dash broke into a full gallop as he sped into the desert as Tennessee thought to himself, "Can't I go through at least one day without someone tryin' to put a bullet in me?! " Once again however, Tennessee was proven wrong as he felt a bullet narrowly soar past his shoulder, causing him to flinch and turn around to see Sheriff Fox quickly gaining on him while continuing to fire him. "Aw come on Sheriff, do we gotta do this again?!" Tennessee called back to his pursuer, "I haven't even stolen anything, I'm just tryin' to take a little vacation outta town!"
"Don't bother tryin' to make yerself look innocent, Cooper!" Sherriff Fox shouted back. "You think you can just waltz away from Cotton Mouth Bluff so you can try stealin' from some other town? Not on my watch! The only place you're gonna be visiting is- WOAH!"
Tennesse pulled on Dash's reins and brought the horse to a halt, confused as to why his rival's expression of fierce determination had morphed into one of alarmed fright. Rotating his head to see what Sheriff Fox was looking at, Tennessee's expression became one of absolute terror as he saw a massive, fast-moving cloud of dirt thundering across the desert to where he and Sheriff Fox had stopped.
"Dust storm…" Tennessee muttered in astounded horror before he shook his head and frantically began looking around for someplace he and Dash could take shelter in. He then noticed a small cave in the side of a Mesa a couple yards away, and with a snap of Dash's reins and a loud "Hiya!" Tennessee and his horse made a beeline towards the cave to avoid the swiftly-approaching dust storm. But Sheriff Fox wasn't about to let his ring-tailed rival escape from him again, so without a single concern of being blown away by the oncoming storm, he raced after Tennesee more determined than ever as he kept firing at his foe while hollering, "You're not going anywhere Cooper! Nothing, and I mean nothing is gonna stop me from puttin' you in the slammer!"
Tennessee however, couldn't care less about what the Sheriff was saying, for he was too focused on getting to the cave to avoid the sandstorm which was now about two and a half miles away from where he was riding Dash.
Come on Cooper, just a little bit further! Tennessee thought to himself as he gripped Dash's reins so tightly his knuckles turned white. The storm was now two miles away and approaching fast!
"Almost there!"
A mile and a half away!
"Come on Dash, don't fail me now!"
A mile away!
"If we live through this Dash, I'll give you all the carrots you want!"
Half a mile away!
"DASH, JUMP!"
The horse took a literal leap of faith as the dust cloud came within a mere ten feet of where he had leapt from. Time seemed to slow down for Tennessee as he felt the storm grow closer and another of Sheriff Fox's bullets fly past his head… before Dash landed gracefully and safely inside the cave just as the dust storm blew past. Sheriff Fox however wasn't as lucky as he and his horse were hit by the storm full force without any shelter to take cover in. But not even the strength of the sandstorm was enough to deter Sheriff Fox, who kept on firing into the cave even as his horse fought desperately to keep his hooves planted firmly on the ground, yet the strength of the wind was making it clear that the horse was fighting a losing battle against nature.
"DON'T THINK THIS IS OVER, COOPER!" Sheriff Fox hollered over the roaring wind "THERE IS NOWHERE, AND I MEAN NOWHERE IN THE WEST YOU'LL BE ABLE TO HIDE FROM ME! DO YOU HEAR ME RINGTAIL?! I'LL GET YOU! I'LL GET YOOOUUU!"
But Tennessee paid the sheriff no attention as the latter was blown off his horse by the powerful gusts of the storm while the ring-tailed outlaw remained in the cave with his head thanked the gods above for blessing him with such a faithful steed like Dash.
A couple of hours after the storm had passed and after making sure neither Sheriff Fox nor his posse were anywhere to be seen, Tennessee and his horse continued on their search for a place they could spend their vacation away from Cotton Mouth Bluff and were now heading south across a large plateau as Tennessee whistled a cheerful tune while observing the spectacular canyons around him. Pulling out his map, Tennessee decided to check where he was and see which town would be the best for him to spend his vacation in. Unfortunately, that was when he realized a flaw in his plan: he had already been to and stolen from just about every town in the West and he was certain at this point that a good number people had already come to know his name, his face, and especially his criminal reputation. Tennessee knew that if he were to go back to any of the towns he had previously stolen from, there would be no doubt he would be recognized and arrested for his previous crimes.
Though Tennessee loved to experience thrills that came with being an outlaw, even he had to admit that living this kind of lifestyle had its limits. And when one such limit was the fact that people would consider him a threat even when he wasn't up to any mischief, Tennessee wondered deep down why his family business had to be thievery.
"I don't know, Dash", Tennessee said to his horse with a sigh. "We've already been to almost every town in the West and I'm sure they won't take too kindly ta seein' me again. So maybe we should just-"
"HELP! HELP!"
Tennessee's ears stood erect as he heard a new voice reach his ears, snapping him out of his uncertainty and making him look forward to see where the cry for help came from. Squinting his eyes, Tennessee could see a small group standing near the edge of the plateau a yard and a half away from him next to a medium-sized, horse-drawn wagon. Forgetting about the risk of being recognized as a notorious outlaw, Tennessee's honorable nature kicked in as he snapped Dash's reins again, making the horse trot over to the group as his rider wore a concerned expression on his face. As he got closer, Tennessee saw that the group consisted mostly of young children with the exception of a middle-aged female otter wearing a yellow dress and a panicked facial expression as she stood at the edge of the cliff looking at something that was currently out of Tennessee's range of vision. If Tennessee assumed correctly, than this lady was a schoolteacher taking her students out on a field trip.
"Uh, excuse me ma'am?" Began Tennessee as he stopped Dash near the wagon, earning him the surprised attention of the otter and the children as he hopped off his horse and walked over to the former. "I couldn't help but notice that someone over here was cryin' out fer help. What's goin' on here?" He got his answer as the otter, who apparently didn't recognize him as a criminal and only looked happy that someone had heard her cries for help, grabbed him by the shoulder and pulled him over to the edge of the cliff before pointing a finger out and exclaiming, "That! That's what's going on here! One of my students is in danger!"
Tennessee rotated his head to see what exactly the otter was pointing at… then immediately did a double take as he saw a young jackrabbit, apparently nine years old and wearing a pair of tan pants, a green shirt, and a light brown vest with a matching hat, clinging desperately onto a tall pillar of rock about ten feet into the canyon with one arm while his other held tightly a bright red ball.
"Somebody get me outta here! Please!" The rabbit cried frantically.
"What the- how the heck did he get out there?!" Tennessee asked the otter in disbelief.
"He jumped mister."
Tennessee flinched and yelped in alarm at the new voice that suddenly made itself known to him. Turning to his left, Tennessee saw that the voice had come from a young female cactus mouse with a pair of long pigtails that reached down to her shoulder blades and wore a black and white dress that reached to her knees and a black sun hat on her head. Despite the dire situation her classmate was currently in, Tennessee noticed that this girl was surprisingly calm as she kept a remarkable poker face and eyed Tennessee with a sideways glance before continuing, "I told him he couldn't jump to reach that rock while holdin' that ball. I also told him it'd be a bad idea for him to try it. He didn't listen to me."
The otter however merely donned a look of annoyance as she sighed, "Becca, what have I told you about sneaking up on people like that? You know that's not polite!"
The mouse, now identified as Becca, glanced downwards as her face showing visible remorse as she mumbled, "Yes Miss Benson." Becca then glanced back at Tennessee as she continued, "So, do you have any rope with you at all Mister? I'm thinking that if we had some we could lasso Rudy there back over here."
Tennessee thought for a brief moment about what he had packed before leaving for his vacation, and he remembered that he did pack some rope in case he ever got in a sticky situation and didn't have his trusty Cooper cane/gun with him. Snapping his fingers with a smile, he replied, "Ya know what Becca? I did happen to bring some rope with me for my vacation. But I'm thinking I can do more than just try to lasso yer friend back over here".
Before the confused Becca and Miss Benson could ask Tennessee what he meant, the raccoon turned tail and walked back over to his horse. Fetching some rope from one of Dash's saddlebags, Tennessee started making a lasso with it as he walked back over to the edge of the cliff while his loyal steed followed him. He smirked to himself as he heard one of the schoolchildren watching him, who was a portly young toad wearing blue overalls over a white shirt with a worn-down looking hat on his head mutter to his Chihuahua classmate, "What's he gonna do with that rope?".
These kids and their teacher were in for a real surprise.
Upon reaching the cliff's edge and finishing his lasso, Tennessee began spinning the lasso over his head while the schoolchildren and their teacher watched closely, all of them wondering what this ring-tailed stranger was planning to do. After building up enough momentum, Tennessee threw the lasso out into the canyon in the direction of the stone column Rudy was still clinging onto… which is what the lasso caught onto instead of Rudy himself.
This elicited plenty of annoyed and dismayed groans from the schoolchildren who immediately assumed Tennessee had missed Rudy by a longshot. Tennessee however paid them no mind as he tied the other end of the lasso tightly to the horn of Dash's saddle and made sure the rope was nice and tight. Becca, who was more curious than annoyed as to why Tennessee hadn't used her idea, stepped forward and asked, "Uh, mister? Is there a reason you missed Rudy like that?"
Tennessee smirked again as he began stretching out his arms and replied, "Well Becca, I do think that you have a good idea in using a lasso to get yer friend to safety, but I think it'd be safer if I just went out there and got him myself."
"How are you possibly going to do that?" asked Miss Benson.
The grin never left Tennessee's face as he prepared himself for a jump and responded, "Like this!"
Tennessee sprung upwards and did a spin and midair before landing squarely on the rope, which he then began walking across over towards the stone pillar Rudy was still clinging onto, though the young rabbit's expression of fear had morphed into one of astonishment as he saw his savior approach him. Glancing backward, Tennessee snickered to himself at the similar expressions of amazement and fascination on the faces of Rudy's teacher and classmates, grinning wider as he heard them exclaim different things in astonishment.
"Woah, are you guys seein' what I'm seein'?!"
"How's he doin' that?!"
"It's like he's walkin' on thin air!"
"Was he in the circus?"
It never failed to amuse Tennessee when he showed off his self-taught rail-walk technique in front of a crowd.
After reaching the stone pillar, Tennessee held his gun out so that Rudy could grab the golden crook attached to the yolk and said, "Alright kid, just grab a hold of the gun and I'll get you to safety." Rudy however, looked conflicted as he glanced back and forth between Tennessee's gun and the ball he was holding in his other arm. Tennessee noticed this and said flatly, "Yer not really debatin' which is more important to you right now, are ya?"
"Um… Well…"
"Fer cryin' out loud Rudy, it's just a ball!" Becca shouted from back on the edge of the cliff as the cupped her hands over her mouth. "Just let it go, grab onto the guy's gun, and get yer fluffy tail back over here!"
"But you said-"
"Kid, either you grab onto the gun so I can get you back to yer class or I leave you stuck on this rock with a ball!" Tennessee interjected with a sharp frown at the rabbit. Rudy didn't need to be told twice as he released his grip on the ball and let it fall into the canyon below. Gripping tightly onto his rescuer's gun, the rabbit was lifted from the rock and placed onto Tennessee's back, wrapping his arms and legs around the raccoon's torso as he was carried back across the rope towards his anxiously-waiting teacher and classmates.
Reaching the end of the rope, Tennessee hopped off and was welcomed with a generous applause by the schoolchildren and Miss Benson as Rudy climbed off his back, something that felt quite foreign to him since he spent most of his life being chased and cursed, but was nonetheless appreciated as he smiled and tipped his hat to those cheering for him. Tennessee then felt something grasp his free hand and looked down to see Rudy vigorously shaking his hand with a grateful smile on his face as he exclaimed, "Gee mister, thanks a million for savin' my tail back there! One more minute out there and I would've been a goner!"
"Well, I-"
"Rudy Wilcox!"
Tennessee flinched as he was suddenly interrupted by the angry voice of Miss Benson, which also caused Rudy's ears to fall limp and his expression to go from grateful to fearful as he turned his head over to Miss Benson, who was glaring sternly at him with her hands placed on her hips. Knowing that he was already in a world of trouble, Rudy guiltily made his way over to his teacher with his hands behind his back to face whatever punishment was in store for him. "Y-Yes Miss Benson?" Rudy asked meekly.
"What in the lord's name did you think you were doing jumping off the cliff like that?! You almost gave me a heart attack by doin' that!"
"I-I only did it because Becca told me I couldn't jump that far!" Rudy attempted to defend himself, though even he couldn't deny that what he did was not at all well-thought out. "But I showed her!"
"And you didn't think about how you would get back if you succeeded?!" Miss Benson continued to scold. "If it wasn't for the efforts of Mister… Mister, um…" Miss Benson trailed off as she realized the raccoon who had saved her student hadn't even introduced himself until she turned to him and asked sheepishly with a light blush on her face, "…er… Who are you, stranger?"
At this point Tennessee was confident that this lady had never seen or even heard of him or his thieving reputation before, meaning that wherever she and her students had come from was someplace he had never visited and/or stolen from before and where the people wouldn't recognize him as a notorious outlaw. In other words, he may have found someplace he could spend his vacation. So without further delay, Tennessee tipped his hat and replied, "Tennessee Kid Cooper, at your service ma'am."
"If it wasn't for the brave efforts of Mister Cooper here," Miss Benson continued to scold Rudy, "who knows what might've happened to you?!"
"Uh, he woulda falled and died?"
"Rhetorical question, Gordy." Sighed Becca in annoyance as she rolled her eyes while her toad classmate picked his nose with his index finger.
"From now on, I don't want to see you even try something as dangerous as what you just did, ya hear?!" Miss Benson concluded sternly. Rudy glanced down guiltily as he mumbled, "Yes Ma'am". "Good! When your family finds out about what happened here today…"
Though Rudy looked initially frightened at the mention of his family, he then donned an accepting expression as he said, "Ya know what? I'm okay with that." He then glanced back over to Tennessee with so much gratitude in his eyes. "I want my family to know exactly who's responsible for savin' my life."
"Yeah, I'm sure you do." Muttered Becca dismissively before she turned back to Tennessee. "Now if you don't mind me for askin' Mister Cooper, what are you and yer horse doin' all the way out here?"
"Well, little lady," replied Tennessee with a smile and a twirl of his gun, "I was just tryin' to find a good place for me to spend my vacation away from Cotton Mouth Bluff, but unfortunately I seem to have lost my way thanks to a sandstorm that struck us a couple hours ago."
"Well, if it's a place you're lookin' to relax in, you can always come with us back to Hindus Valley," Miss Benson offered politely, "I've lived there my whole life and I can tell you you'll never find a town in the West with nicer people as the ones who live there. Would you like to come with us?"
Tennessee couldn't be more pleased that this lady had offered to show him to a town where nobody would scream, curse or shoot at him. "Ma'am," he responded politely "it would be my genuine pleasure."
XXXXXXXXXX
A short time later, after Tennessee and Miss Benson had loaded the children back onto the latter's wagon, Tennessee found himself riding Dash across the desert once more, only this time he was in the pleasant company of a kindly schoolteacher and her cheerful students.
"So, where is Hindus Valley anyway?" Asked Tennessee as he rode Dash up next to Miss Benson, who was sitting at the front of the wagon with the reins of the horses pulling it in her hands, "I've been to almost every town in the West and I've never heard of Hindus Valley in my life."
"Well, that's no surprise." responded Miss Benson casually, "Hindus Valley isn't known for attracting too many out-of-town visitors. We've practically vanished off the map due to the mayor's orders."
"Mayor's orders? Why wouldn't he want anyone to know where Hindus Valley is?"
"Because of outlaws, Mister Cooper." Explained Becca in her usual deadpan tone as she turned in her seat to speak to her friend's savior, "Ever since our town's been founded, crooks from all over the area have been terrorizin' and causin' trouble for us just so they could try to get at the Blood Diamond."
The word "diamond" piqued the interest of the thief in Tennessee as he asked, "the Blood Diamond?"
"It's the foundin' treasure of our town, Mister Cooper," Rudy took over as he turned around to face his rescuer, "a diamond as big as a watermelon and red as blood, and it's been drawing outlaws to our town like moths to a flame. We've lost a lotta good people over the years due to their rampages." The rabbit's face turned somber as he glanced downward and mumbled, "Even my parents…"
Tennessee's face softened in sympathy for the young jackrabbit as he recalled how he also lost his father when he was a child. He knew what it was like to lose a relative and it was never an easy experience.
"…Oh. Sorry to hear that." Tennessee told him in a comforting tone.
"Aw, that's okay." Rudy replied as he managed a small smile, "I still got my big brother Percy and my Grandpa Jack. He's a good guy, but he's as blind as a bat and more looney than a loon. Either way, I'm sure they'd love to meet ya when they find out ya saved me today. I might even be able to convince 'em to let ya stay with us on our farm while you're here, if you want."
"Rudy, I would very much appreciate that." Tennessee replied with a grateful smile.
"Glad to hear it! And another word to the wise Mister Cooper," Percy continued as he leaned out of the wagon and motioned for Tennessee to come closer, which the raccoon obliged to, "the ladies in our town do not take it kindly when someone gives 'em the whistles, especially when it comes to Miss Evans."
"Miss Evans?"
"The mayor's daughter, Mister Cooper." Rudy continued, "She's as pretty as a butterfly but she gets as mad as a hornet when someone gives her the whistles. She's even tried to get her daddy to throw people the slammer for sexual harassment. Course there's no law against whistlin' at the mayor's kid, but I still wouldn't recommend it. So you'd best be careful about gettin' on her bad side."
Before Tennessee could respond, a chortle was heard as another classmate, a stout young calf wearing overalls and a blue ascot with white spots interjected with a giggle, "I'll say! You shoulda been here ta see what she did a week ago, Mister Cooper! This one fella tried givin' her the whistles, and she kicked him so hard between the legs his voice got all high and funny-soundin'!"
"Too true, Barry, mi amigo!" A short Chihuahua student wearing a yellow sombrero and a red bolero jacket with matching pants scooted his way over to his bovine friend before continuing in his Hispanic accent, "I never thought someone's voice could get so high by someone else kicking them in the huevos!"
"Oh, you mean like this, Frederico?" Asked Rudy with an equally amused smile as he raised his voice by a few octaves to make it as high-pitched as possible, which caused all the children to burst out laughing, including Becca who managed a small giggle at her friend's antics as she quipped, "Yeah, we couldn't stop laughin' for hours when that happened." Miss Benson however didn't seem as amused as she scolded, "Now children, settle down now. We all know that Miss Evans is a very sensitive and defensive individual when it comes to her appearance and you should know better than to find humor in someone else's pain!"
Rudy merely rolled his eyes as he countered in his still-high pitched voice, "Aw come on Miss Benson, I saw you laughin' too when it happened, you thought it was funny like the rest of us!"
Try as she might, Miss Benson couldn't stop an amused smile from spreading across her face or the giggles that bubbled up her throat as she admitted, "Oh alright, I admit it was pretty funny."
Tennessee on the other hand couldn't have been more intrigued by this new bit of information the kids had provided him with. If there was anything in the world he enjoyed as much as thieving, it was putting on the old Cooper charms to make pretty ladies flustered and angry, and if what these kids told him was true, then this Miss Evans character sounded like his kind of woman: easy on the eyes and a real kicker when she's all fussy.
Huh. Guess I'll have to keep my eye out for ol' Miss Evans as long as I'm hanging around for my vacation... Tennessee thought to himself with a smirk.
A couple of hours later, Tennessee found himself riding Dash up a mountainside trial next to Miss Benson's wagon. According to the schoolteacher, this particular trail led up over the chain of mountains that separated Hindus Valley from the surrounding desert and into town, though this didn't mean said trail was the only way to enter the valley. Rudy told him that a pair of tunnels on separate sides of the mountain chain allowed trains to enter and exit the valley, along with a few other secret tunnels the outlaws used to sneak into and out of the valley at will.
As they reached the peak of the mountain trail, Tennessee glanced downwards to take a look at the valley… then immediately did a double take at what laid beyond him. Before him was a beautiful valley with more greenery than he had ever seen in his life, with grass rolling across the landscape and trees sprouting up from all over the place. From his position, Tennessee could see a few farms set up around the valley, as well as thick river flowed throughout the valley and deposited into a large sparkling lake, which was a yard or two away from the main town itself which was set up right in the middle of the valley. From Tennessee's perspective, the town looked almost like the one back at Cotton Mouth Bluff, only much more fertile instead of dusty and rocky.
"…Beautiful" Tennessee whispered in astonishment of the place he had been fortunate enough to choose to spend his vacation in.
"Hey Cooper, are ya comin' or what?"
Tennessee was snapped out of his wonder at the sound of Rudy's voice, then quickly made Dash break into a trot to catch up to the wagon, which was now a good several feet away from him since he stopped to check out the scenery.
"Gotta say Rudy, ya'll sure picked a swell place ta call home." Tennessee remarked with an impressed smile as he followed the wagon down into the valley towards town. "I take it this land is also good for farmin' in?"
"Oh yeah, Hindus Valley's a great place to live in if ya wanna make a career in farming." Rudy replied with a smile. "Frederico's family owns their own avocado farm and they make the best guacamole this side of the Pecos. And my-"
"OW! MI OJO! MI OJO!"
Tennessee and Rudy flinched as they turned to see Frederico holding his paws over his right eye while sending a sharp glare towards Gordy, who was looking back at the Chihuahua with fear in his eyes.
"Señorita Benson!" Frederico cried at his teacher while pointing an accusatory finger at his classmate, "Gordy hit me the eye with his tongue!"
"Only because there was a fly buzzin' around! I was just tryin' ta get a snack!"
"You want a snack? I'll give you a snack gordo!"
Still squinting the eye that had been poked, Frederico attempted to lunge at his amphibious classmate only to be held back by Rudy and Becca while Barry interjected, "Woah, now hold yer horses there Freddy, I'm sure Gordy didn't mean nothin'!"
"Yeah, just remember what we talked about when you get mad," Becca instructed calmly, "breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, and breathe out."
Frederico did as he was instructed and began taking deep breaths to make himself relax. After doing it a few times, he eventually slouched as he felt most of his anger leave his body, though he was still squinting the eye that had been poked. Barry smiled.
"Feelin' better?"
"Si… I'm okay now… I think-"
THWAP!
"OWW! Estúpido anfibio! I will nail your lengua onto a railroad!
At the front of the wagon, Miss Benson buried her face into her hand in annoyance as an infuriated Frederico, now sporting two hurt eyes after Gordy poked his uninjured one with his tongue upon seeing another fly, attempted to lunge once more at the toad while shouting threats at him in Spanish, only to be held back by Becca and Barry as Rudy rolled his eyes and shook his head while Tennessee snickered under his breath.
These kids certainly are an intrestin' bunch. Tennessee thought to himself with a smile.
Tearing his eyes away from the potential brawl in the wagon, Tennessee found that he was now riding through the main street of the town. Glancing around, he saw that the town had many of the places he would expect to find in a town in the American West, most notably a saloon, a general store, a blacksmith's shop, a post office, a large bank, a church, a clock tower, and a jail that doubled as the sheriff's office which had an old-looking male Bloodhound with a sheriff's badge on his vest sitting on a rocking chair at the front of the jail. But perhaps the most conspicuous building to Tennessee was the large wooden one that donned red white and blue-colored banners with a flag perched on the roof and which loomed over the town's main square, which had a statue of a chubby-looking male raccoon on a pedestal positioned in the dead center of the place.
Recalling Rudy's offer for him to stay at the young rabbit's family farm, Tennessee turned to find Rudy wrestling to keep the still-outraged Frederico from strangling Gordy, who was currently trying to make a living shield out of a slightly annoyed Barry.
"So Rudy," began Tennessee as Rudy turned around to face him while still keeping his arms wrapped firmly around Frederico's chest, "are ya sure your family won't mind me stayin' at your farm for my vacation?"
"Oh yeah, they'll be glad to let ya stay when I tell 'em you saved my life!" Rudy replied cheerfully even as he lurched forward when Frederico tried to break free of his grip. "You'll just have to sign in with Mayor Evans and let him know you'll be stayin' there temporarily."
"The mayor?"
"Yeah, sorry I didn't mention that earlier." Rudy answered sheepishly. "He's suspicious when it comes to newcomers in town since a lot of them turn out to be crooks, so nobody resides here without him knowin' about it beforehand." Tennessee halted his horse next to the statue at the town's center as Miss Benson's wagon began to head down a different road towards the town's schoolhouse, which was a yard or so away from town as Tennessee recalled his view from the mountainside trail. "Just tell him you'll be stayin' with the Wilcox family for your vacation!" Rudy called back to his older friend as the wagon continued further down the road and got farther away from Tennessee. "And don't be shy to tell him about how you saved me, he'll like that! I'll see if I can talk my brother into letting you stay with us!"
As the wagon drove out of sight and earshot, Tennessee smiled to himself at the kindness of the young jackrabbit and muttered, "Nice kid. Hopefully his family'll be just like him". Hopping of his horse, Tennessee led Dash over to a nearby wooden post and tied the horse's reins to it before heading into town hall, hoping to find this Mayor Evans so that he could officially begin his long-deserved vacation.
Upon entering the spacious lobby of Town Hall, Tennessee noticed an elderly male turtle seated at the front desk across from him, slowly typing at a typewriter with a lazy expression on his face. Glancing upwards, Tennessee saw a portrait of a chubby, older-looking raccoon standing a dignified pose with a proud yet warm expression on his face. Huh. Maybe that's Mayor Evans., Tennessee thought to himself as he walked over towards the front desk and rung the bell on it. The turtle stopped what he was doing and slowly looked up to see the stranger standing across from him. "Hello...there…sir" the turtle began very slowly and quietly, apparently due to his old age. "What...can…I…do...for...you..."
"Well, I was-"
"on...this...fine...day?"
A little put off by how slowly the turtle spoke, Tennessee replied, "Uh, afternoon sir! I was wonderin' if the mayor's available right now. Ya see, I'm new in town for the time being, and I was hoping to check in with him and let him know I'll be stayin' her for a short time, ya know?"
At first, the turtle looked at Tennessee as if he didn't understand a single word the raccoon had just said. Then he slowly reached for a notebook that bared the word, Schedule, and slowly started flipping pages to find a good answer.
"Well it…looks like…he'll…be…back…in a…few…minutes…" the turtle slowly told Tennessee, who was beginning to grow impatient with how long it took for this old secretary to finish his sentences. "If…you…want…you…can…wait…in…his…office…and…I'll…tell…him… you're… waiting… for… him…"
Glad that the turtle had finally finished, Tennessee thanked him and headed up the stairs in hopes of finding the mayor's office. Reaching the top of the staircase, Tennessee began walking down the hallway to find any indication of where the mayor's office could be and saw that the walls of the hallway were lined with photos of numerous animals, which he assumed were citizens of the Valley. Upon further inspection, Tennessee saw that the wooden frames surrounding the pictures had small golden plaques with two dates on them, and that's when he realized that these were all memorial photos of people whose lives had been taken in the rampages he had been told of by Miss Benson and her students. One particular photograph caught his attention, which was one showing a pair of kind-looking jackrabbits, a male and a female respectively, who were holding hands and wearing warm smiles on their faces. The plaque below them said:
Lucy and Harvey Wilcox. 1848-1879. Loving parents, neighbors and friends.
So you're Rudy's parents, eh? Tennessee thought sadly as he continued to gaze at the picture of the now-deceased mother and father of the rabbit whose life he had saved earlier today. Would've been swell to meet ya in person. You have a great kid.
Shaking his head in sympathy for the deceased rabbit couple, Tennessee continued to walk down the hallway until he reached a red-colored door at the end of the hall with the word "MAYOR" imprinted on it in gold letters. Realizing that he had found the mayor's office, Tennessee opened the door to find an old-looking room with green-painted walls and a large window that gave him a pleasant view of the valley from behind the building. On the right side of the room, there was a large bookcase that stretched to both ends of the room while on the left side there were five portraits of older-looking raccoons hanging from the wall by golden frames. Right across from Tennessee, there was a wooden desk that had a red velvet chair behind it and two extra seats stationed in front of it, along with a dark red rug that covered the floor.
But what really caught Tennessee's attention was what was under the five portraits of the raccoons, positioned neatly on a pedestal under a clean glass case: a diamond, as large as a watermelon and as red as blood, just as Rudy had described to him. Walking over to the case, Tennessee leaned down to get a closer look at the diamond and he could even see his reflection looking back at him in the diamond.
"What a beauty…" murmured Tennessee in wonder of the treasure that laid in front of him.
"What a beauty indeed." A jolly-sounding voice agreed.
Tennessee turned towards the doorway to see a chubby, brown-furred male raccoon who appeared to be in his late forties or early fifties. He had blue eyes behind a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, a thick mustache that connected to his equally-bushy sideburns, and wore a blue jacket over his white shirt with a red vest, which complimented his dark blue slacks and black boots. He appeared to be 5"11 in height, though Tennessee was certain that this was only because of the boots.
The older raccoon smiled warmly as he entered the room and shut the door behind him. Walking towards Tennessee, he pointed up towards the first portrait nearest to the office's entrance and continued, "My great-great-great grandfather, Mayor Thomas Evans discovered this here valley and the Blood Diamond shortly after building this town. He was a legend. Following him was my great-great grandfather Benjamin Evans, who took after his father and extended trade for Hindus Valley. Then came along my grandfather, Wiley Evans. He wasn't as great as the last two, nearly dragged us all to hell by taxin' everyone dry! After him came my father, Randy Evans, who brought our town back to glory, for a short time anyway. And then..."
Tennessee watched as the older raccoon pointed at the last painting on the wall as he finished, "There's me. Mayor Bill Evans, at your service." The mayor then offered Tennessee his hand and smiled, "Welcome to Hindus Valley, good stranger. It's been a while since we've gotten visitors who aren't here to rob us blind."
"Nice to make your acquaintance, Mister Mayor." Tennessee replied as he accepted the mayor's hand with a frim shake. "My name is Tennessee Kid Cooper."
"Pleasure's all mine Mister Cooper.", the mayor smiled as he walked over to his desk and took a seat at his chair before pulling out a small book and a pen, "So what brings you to our humble little valley?"
"Well sir," Tennessee responded as he took a seat in front of the mayor and placed his gun down next to the chair, "I was just tryin' to find a nice place to spend my vacation away from Cotton Mouth Bluff, and your local schoolteacher Miss Benson was generous enough to lead me here after I helped out one of her students."
"Cotton Mouth Bluff, huh? That's quite a ways away." Mayor Evans then opened up the book and began looking for someplace for Tennessee to write his name in. "Anywhere in particular you'd feel like stayin' at while you're here?"
"Well, to tell you the truth I was thinking about stayin' at the Wilcox residence as long as I'm here for my vacation."
"Ah, the Wilcoxes." The mayor said as he donned a look of fond recognition on his face. "One of the first families to make their home in Hindus Valley after my great-great-great grandpappy discovered it. I was good friends with the most recent members of the Wilcox family, Lucy and Harvey." Mayor Evans' face then fell in slight sorrow. "Course then, they got killed during an attempt to get at the Blood Diamond by some outlaws. Since then their older son Percy's been helping me strengthen security around the Blood Diamond to make it harder for it to be stolen. He's a smart boy, I gotta say, always comin' up for new ideas for security measures. But I'm gettin' off topic here, why would you like to stay with the Wilcox family?"
"Well Mister Mayor," answered Tennessee with a smile. "I just so happened to save the life of Rudy Wilcox when I came across Miss Benson and her class takin' a field trip to the canyons outside of the valley. Little Rudy was so grateful that I saved him from fallin' that he offered to let me stay at his farm while I'm in town."
The Mayor looked greatly surprised and impressed at this revelation as he replied, "Did you now? Well, I'm sure Percy will be mighty thankful of you savin' his little brother like that!" He then pushed the open book and pen towards Tennessee as he finished, "I'm just gonna need you to sign in for a temporary stay here in town."
"With pleasure."
Taking the pen, Tennessee signed his name down in the book along with the current date before sliding the book and pen back to Mayor Evans. Standing up after putting the book away, the mayor smiled, "Well Mister Cooper, as the mayor of this fine town, let me be the first to say welcome to Hindus Valley. I hope you enjoy your vacation."
"I hope so too. Say, now that I think about it, I'm feelin' a bit thirsty after spending most of the day out in the desert. Do you know where-"
SLAM!
"DADDY!"
Tennessee nearly jumped out of his boots in fright at the sound of the door slamming open and the screeching feminine voice that followed it. Leaping out of his chair and spinning around, he instinctively reached for his gun, only to freeze as he saw who was standing in the doorway of the mayor's office.
A young female raccoon, apparently around Tennessee's own age, with brown eyes, light brown fur and dark brown hair that reached to her shoulders stood in the doorway of the office with an expression of offended outrage plastered on her face. Despite the infuriated frown she was wearing, Tennessee could not help but stare at the ruffled purple dress with darker purple trims that hugged her body and displayed a curvaceous figure to him. And clenched tightly in one of her purple-gloved hands was a closed parasol that matched her dress.
Holy… Now there's a pretty face ya don't see every day! Tennessee thought to himself in awe.
"Daddy!" The female raccoon continued to rant as she pointed furiously behind her, not noticing Tennessee gaping at her, "Some of them railroad workers were givin' me the whistles again! One of 'em even tried to look up my dress! I want those perverts locked away in jail with key thrown away, ya hear?!"
Mayor Evans however looked only mildly annoyed, and by the tone of his voice Tennessee could tell that this wasn't the first time the Mayor had dealt with something like this as the latter stood up from his chair and walked around his desk while sighing, "Jessica, sugar-plum, can't you see daddy's working right now?" The mayor then placed a hand on Tennessee's shoulder as he continued, "I was just helping this young gentleman get settled into our little town."
If Tennessee's eyebrows could've risen any higher, they most likely would've flown off his face as he shouted mentally in shock, "THIS is the Miss Evans those kids were tellin' me about?!"
On the other side of the room, every ounce of anger and embarrassment Jessica carried as she entered town hall abandoned her the moment she laid eyes on the scruffy yet handsome young stranger standing next to her father. Taking a good long look at the male raccoon, Jessica felt her mouth go dry and a blush appear on her face as she eyed the stranger's slender yet well-built physique, and as she looked straight into his eyes, she could feel her heartrate rapidly accelerate and her legs turn to jelly.
Golly, he…He sure is a handsome fella. Jessica thought dumbly as she continued to gaze at the stranger.
"Ah, where are my manners?" Mayor Evans said with a grin as he led Tennessee over to his daughter, "Mister Cooper, this here is my pride and joy, my one and only daughter, Jessica Evans! Jessica, this here is Mister Tennessee Kid Cooper. He'll be stayin' here in town while he's here for his vacation."
Tennessee shook off his bewilderment and donned a smirk as he saw the female raccoon still gazing at him in awe. It was time to turn on the old Cooper charm.
"So," Tennessee began as he sauntered over to Jessica with smile "you're this Miss Evans I've been hearin' so much about?" Jessica could feel herself overflowing with timidity as the handsome male raccoon took a good long look at her, making herself fell like a small schoolgirl being looked at by the most attractive boy in class. "Can't say I blame those fellas for whistlin' at you the way they did." He then took Jessica's gloved hand and kissed it lightly as he finished, "I mean, with face as pretty as yours, how could they resist?"
"Oh… um… tha-that's very kind of you… and… um… thank you!" Jessica squeaked meekly, almost too embarrassed to speak as her face became as red as a tomato when Tennessee kissed her hand.
Mayor Evans gave an amused chuckle at the sight of his daughter's flustered expression as he laid a hand on Tennessee's shoulder and continued, "Mister Cooper here will be stayin' with our good friends the Wilcoxes for the time being. So I'd like you to make sure he feels right at home in our little valley, ya hear?"
"Don't worry sir!" Tennessee told the mayor cheerfully, "If your local schoolteacher and her students are anythin' to judge by, I'm already feelin' welcome here! Now if you'll excuse me…" Tennessee then adjusted his belt as he continued, "I'm gonna go pop into your local saloon for a spell and a drink before I try to find this Percy Wilcox fella and tell him about what happened today with his brother. Have a nice day!"
And with that, Tennessee walked out of the office, but not before winking charmingly at Jessica which caused her to look away timidly at this gesture. Pleased to know that he had done another good deed as the town's civic leader, Mayor Evans sat back down at his desk and asked, "So, what was it that was botherin' you sugar-plum? Somethin' about the railroad workers?"
Jessica however couldn't take her mind off of the stranger who had shown her courtesy and respect the likes of which she thought she would never receive from any man except her father and only from those she considered her closest friends. "It uh… It's nothin' to worry about Daddy…" stammered Jessica as she kept her eyes glued to the hallway Tennessee walked down before descending down the staircase back to the building's lobby. "I'm… I'm just gonna make sure that Mister Cooper, uh… doesn't get lost tryin' to find the Saloon! I'll see you later!" Jessica then departed as quickly as possible from her father's office in hopes of keeping up with this handsome newcomer, while the mayor himself chuckled in amusement at the sight of his daughter taking a very keen interest in the raccoon who had saved the youngest son of his deceased friends.
Felling confident that he had made a good first impression on the mayor and his daughter, Tennessee made his way back outside while whistling a merry tune, oblivious to the fact that Jessica was silently following him across the lobby and watching him through one of the building's front windows as he untied his horse's reins from the wooden. Walking Dash over towards the statue of Mayor Thomas Evans as Jessica exited Town Hall to watch him from behind the guardrail, Tennessee glanced around to find the town's saloon and began walking over to it as soon as he saw it.
"HEY, RINGTAIL!"
Tennessee stopped in his tracks and turned his head to see a young male jackrabbit, apparently eighteen years old and wearing a green button up shirt beneath a tan-colored vest with blue jeans and a Stetson hat on his head, marching over towards him with a stern frown on his face.
"Uh… Somethin' I can help you with?" Tennessee asked with uncertainty as the rabbit stopped a couple feet in front of him with his hands on his hips. Despite the rabbit being a good few feet shorter than him (his head was level with Tennessee's torso) the raccoon felt a bit uncomfortable as the rabbit continued to glare at him.
"I certainly hope you can." The rabbit responded while keeping his frown "My name's Percy Wilcox and I hear that you're the one who saved my little brother Rudy earlier today, is that true?"
"Um… Yeah, I did save him, but hasn't Rudy already told you about that?"
"He did, but I wanted to speak with the fella who's responsible for pullin' it off and who everyone in the schoolhouse claims to have done it by lassoing the rock Rudy was hanging onto and walking across it like a tightrope walker at a circus, if that's really what happened." Percy replied as he narrowed his eyes up at the slightly intimidated raccoon.
"Er… Yes. That's just what happened."
"So I hear." Percy then let his arms fall to his sides and continued to glare, "Now listen, I've been livin' in this valley my whole life and I've learned that news like this spreads like a common cold. And you're gonna be hearin' this from a lot of people, so you might as well hear it from me first."
"Um, hear what?" Tennessee asked nervously.
Percy said nothing for a few seconds as he continued to glare at Tennessee… until he donned a humbled and truly grateful smile as he offered his hand and replied, "Thank you Mister Cooper. Thank you so much for saving my brother."
Happy and relieved to realize that he wasn't in any kind trouble, Tennessee grinned and accepted Percy's hand with a firm shake as he said, "You're very welcome, Percy! And please, Mister Cooper's my father, you can just call me Tennessee."
"Well Tennessee, I still can't thank you enough for savin' my brother like that. He's always gettin' into trouble and I'm usually the one who has to get his fluffy rear out of it."
"Well, tell you the truth Percy," Tennessee responded with a grin and a twirl of his gun, "I was a bit of a wild child myself when I was your brother's age, always gettin' into trouble so I could find my way out of it. Speakin' of which, where is Rudy anyway?"
As if to answer his question, Tennessee and Percy turned their heads upon hearing the sound of rapidly-approaching footsteps and saw Rudy jobbing up towards them. "Hey Percy, Mister Cooper." panted Rudy as he skidded to a halt and looked up towards his brother and rescuer. "Sorry for the hold up, Miss Benson had me clean the chalkboards for jumpin' off of that cliff earlier today."
"Plus you're grounded." Added Percy.
"Aw, but Percy!"
"But nothing!" The older rabbit snapped sternly "You shoulda known you'd get grounded for pullin' off somethin' like that! If you died and ma and pa saw you in the afterlife, they woulda risen from the grave just so they could beat me over the head for failin' to keep you safe! I don't wanna even hear you doin' anything like that again, ya hear?!"
Rudy's ears wilted in shame as he replied with a downcast glance at the ground, "Yes Percy."
Taking pity on his younger new friend, Tennessee spoke "Say Rudy, if it would make ya feel better, would you be up for…" He then patted Dash's saddle and Rudy instantly perked up while his ears stood erect as he nodded vigorously upon realizing that Tennessee was allowing him to ride upon his horse. Forgetting to ask his brother, Rudy hurried forward and climbed onto Dash's saddle with an excited smile stretching across his face… which then turned into a sheepish one as he realized he was seated backwards on Tennessee's horse, which elicited a couple of chuckles from Percy and Tennessee.
"I heard Rudy's classmates talkin' a lot about you, Tennessee." Percy remarked with a smile. "You must've made one heck of a good impression on them."
"Well what can I say? I'm great with kids."
As if to prove Tennessee's point, an adult female kit fox walked by the trio with her daughter, who immediately smiled upon seeing Tennessee and exclaimed, "Mommy mommy, look! That's the nice raccoon who saved Rudy today!"
"Hi Claire!" Greeted Rudy cheerfully with a wave as Tennessee smiled and tipped his hat.
Having overheard the entire conversation, Jessica the blush return to her face and a warmth in her heart upon hearing of Tennessee's courageous rescue and seeing the kindness he displayed towards the two children. He even cares about children...! Jessica thought dreamily.
"Say Percy," Tennessee said as he turned back to his new friend. "I don't know if your brother's mentioned this to you, but since I saved him do you think I could-"
"You can stay with us for your vacation." Percy interjected cheerfully. Tennessee was thrown off-guard for a moment as he stammered, "R-really? You don't mind me stayin' with you?
"Nah, anyone who saves a Wilcox is a friend of ours for life! I would've preferred it if I was asked if a complete stranger could stay at my home…" Percy sent an annoyed glare towards his brother, who winced and smiled sheepishly. "But since you stopped him from windin' up a red stain on the bottom of a ravine, I'll let it slide. Even better, I think I'll repay you with a drink at the Saloon, so why don't we-"
"Yoo-hoo~! Percy~!"
Percy's expression went from casual cheerfulness to dread as his ears wilted and his eyes widened in horror. Turning to see where the voice came from, Tennessee, Rudy and Percy saw a young female jackrabbit, apparently around Percy's age with green eyes, light gray fur and wearing a bright yellow dress with a book under her left arm making her way over towards them, specifically where Percy was standing while smiling happily at him.
"Oh, uh… Hey there Stacy." Percy said nervously as the female rabbit, now identified as Stacy stopped a couple feet away from him and began smiling flirtatiously at him. "I thought I saw you leavin' the schoolhouse earlier. I was startin' to worry I wouldn't see you today!" Stacy continued to smile as she batted her eyelashes at Percy.
Amused by what he was seeing but also a bit perplexed, Tennessee leaned over toward Rudy and whispered, "Say Rudy, who's-"
"Stacy Rivers." Rudy whispered back. "She's a family friend of ours and she's had a crush on Percy since they were kids. Unfortunately my brother is terrible when it comes to talkin' to pretty ladies like Stacy."
Still watching the scene before her, Jessica giggled to herself at the sight of her best friend since childhood once again flirting with the rabbit she had been smitten with since childhood.
Deciding to save his brother some embarrassment, Rudy decided to step in. "Say Stacy," Rudy called from upon Tennessee's horse. "I'd like you to meet Mister Tennessee Kid Cooper. He saved my life earlier today and he's gonna be stayin' with us for his vacation for a few days."
"Nice to meet ya Miss Rivers." Tennessee smiled as he shook the female rabbit's paw before glancing back to Percy, who seemed relieved that he was no longer the center of Stacy's undivided attention. That's when Tennessee decided to have some fun with the older rabbit as he continued. "I was hopin' I'd get to meet the girl Percy said he enjoys bein' around so much."
The expression of dread returned to Percy's face as Stacy gasped happily and whipped her head back towards Percy with a twinkle in her eyes. "You like being around me?" Stacy asked joyfully. "Um... Well I… Uh…" Percy could only stammer as a sly smile spread across Stacy's face before she leaned in closer to him, making the male rabbit take a few steps back until he was right in front of Dash's posterior as Rudy and Tennessee watched with barely-suppressed laughter. Eyes darting around in hopes of finding something to distract his admirer, Percy noticed the book Stacy was holding and blurted, "Is-is that a new book?"
This seemed to have the effect Percy was hoping for as Stacy glanced down at the book she was holding and replied, "Oh yes! I bought this book just today and I can't get enough of it!" She then donned a dreamy look as her eyes wandered away from Percy while holding the book close to her chest and continuing. "I almost wish I were like the girl in this book: whisked away from home into a life of thrills and drama, spending day after day with a handsome stranger before we fall in love and marry and have hundreds of children!" Stacy then turned back to Percy with a seductive gaze. "The only difference is, I don't need to wait for my knight in shining armor to come for me because he's standing right in front of me."
Percy's nervousness was at a maximum as Stacy's face came closer and closer to his own, making him realize that she had no intentions of going away until he gave her a kiss. In all honesty, Percy did enjoy being around Stacy as he knew she was a kind and compassionate girl at heart, but her tendency to frequently invade his personal space to flirt with him made him feel very uncomfortable. Barely acknowledging the poorly suppressed laughter coming from Rudy and Tennessee, Percy began praying to the lord above to help him get out of this awkward situation.
Oh lord almighty, I'm not ready for this! Please do something to help me out of here, please! Percy thought desperately as Stacy slowly began to close the gap between their faces with puckered lips.
SLAM!
"OUTTA THE WAY, VARMITS!"
The three rabbits and raccoon whipped their heads around to see a short, nasty-looking bobcat burst out the front doors of the town's general store with a bag of stolen money in his left hand and a pistol in his right one, which he began firing off randomly to scare people off the streets. One of his bullets hit the ground between Dash's front and back hooves, making the horse let out a frightened whinny before rearing his back legs up in preparation for a kick. Turning around and realizing what was about to happen, Percy instinctively pushed Stacy out of harm's way, but was left with no time to save himself as Dash bucked him square in the chest and sent him flying backwards several feet before continuing to buck and whinny in panic as Rudy, still mounted on his back, clung onto the horse's saddle for dear life while screaming his head off.
"Percy!" Stacy cried out in alarm as she rushed over and kneeled next to her crush before leaning his head up and resting it on her lap. "Percy, are you okay?!"
"…Anyone for sarsaparilla?" Percy asked dizzily, which elicited a giggle from Stacy. Even when in pain, he was able to make her smile!
Despite the chaos that was occurring around him, Tennessee kept a cool head as he remained focused on the bobcat outlaw who was still firing off shots like a madman. Quickly pulling out his gun, time seemed to slow down to Tennessee as he saw five potential targets around where the bobcat was standing: the hand that held the bag of stolen loot, the hand that held the pistol, the bobcat's belt, and the two chains that held up a sign for the store that was hanging above the robber's head.
Easy targets. Tennessee thought to himself with a smirk.
The raccoon then fired off five shots that hit their intended targets: one bullet hit the bobcat's right hand and made him drop the bag of money, the second hit his left hand and made him drop his pistol, the third one hit his belt and made the robber's pants fall down and expose his red and white spotted boxer shorts for all the world to see, and the fourth and fifth bullets severed the chains holding up the sign, making it fall down onto the bobcat's head and knock the bandit unconscious.
"Well, that's one problem taken care of!" Remarked Tennessee with a chuckle and a twirl of his gun. He then glanced over to his horse, who was still bucking around wildly while Rudy continued to cling onto his saddle for dear life and scream his head off. "Now to deal with the other one."
As Rudy continued to cling desperately onto Dash's saddle, some of his school friends entered the town's main square to see what was going on. Each carrying an ice cream cone for themselves (except for Barry, who had bought a second one to give to Rudy), Becca, Gordy, Frederico, Barry, and Chester, who was a spindly young roadrunner wearing a white waistcoat, a purple jacket, a thin black bowtie and white spats but no pants, donned looks of surprise at the sight of their long-eared friend sitting backwards on a rampaging horse.
"What the- Is that Rudy?!" Barry exclaimed in bewilderment.
"What's he doin' on Mister Cooper's horse?" Becca wondered aloud.
"And why are we standing around while there's a rampaging horse on the loose?!" Chester cried out as he attempted to flee, only to be held in place by Frederico as the Chihuahua clutched his tail feathers to keep him from running away.
"Will you will relajarse, Chester?" Groaned Frederico in annoyance. "Rudy's been in fixes like this before, and he's doing just fine so far."
"Say, you're right! He's doin' great!" Added Barry as he how his friend managed to stay on the horse without getting bucked off, despite being seated backwards on the animal itself. Grinning, the calf took off his hat and hollered, "Yee-haw! Ride 'em Rudy!"
At first confused by his bovine friend cheering for him, Rudy then donned a gleeful smile when he realized he must've looked like a professional bronco rider for managing to remain on Dash's back for this long. "Wahoo!" He exclaimed as he took his hat off while his other hand remained clutching to the saddle. "Make way everybody! Grade-A rodeo star comin' through!"
Unfortunately, just as Rudy was beginning to enjoy himself, Dash managed one final buck and sent the young rabbit flying off of his back, the latter screaming his head off as he soared through the air. Everyone watching gasped in horror as they saw Rudy sail towards where a wagon filled with several potted cacti and other spiny plants was parked. Yelping, Rudy covered his face in a vain attempt to shield himself from the forthcoming agony he would endure upon landing. Tennessee however was not ready to see his younger friend get hurt and quickly sprang into action. Breaking into a sprint, Tennessee leapt upwards towards Rudy and used the crook on his gun to grab the rabbit by his belt, doing a spin in midair before throwing Rudy in a different direction with all his might, fortunately towards a cart full of hay which he landed in harmlessly yet ungracefully.
Landing on his feet, Tennessee and several other townsfolk hurried over towards the cart Rudy had vanished into while some of the town's men went over to calm Dash down. Percy, who had recovered from Dash's kick, quickly stood up and made his way to the front of the crowd next to Tennessee as he exclaimed, "Rudy! Rudy, are you okay?!"
Percy's question was answered by the sound of his younger brother's laughter before Rudy stuck his head out of the hay pile and replied with a grin, "Okay? I've never felt more alive!" Rudy then turned his head towards Tennessee and added, "That's twice you've saved my life today Mister Cooper!"
Climbing out of the wagon and brushing the hay off his body, Rudy faced the surrounding crowd and gestured towards Tennessee while saying, "Folks, if this raccoon here ain't a hero for savin' my life twice, then I don't know what is!"
Taken aback yet pleased by the cheering from the onlookers in front of him, Tennessee then heard another, older-sounding voice add, "I couldn't have said it better myself." Turning to his right, Tennessee saw the old Bloodhound sheriff he saw sleeping earlier approach him while dragging the bobcat bandit, who was still knocked out from being hit on the head and was bound tightly in some rope, behind him. Extending his hand, which Tennessee shook with a smile, the sheriff continued, "Sheriff George Henderson's the name Mister Cooper, and I've gotta say you've done this valley quite a favor bringing down Wild Will here." He kicked the robber lightly before saying, "This here varmint's done more than enough troublemakin' in our town and thanks to you, he'll be behind bars where he can't cause any more harm. And if you don't mind me askin', how'd you manage to shoot and move that fast?"
Tennessee merely shrugged and replied, "Uh… years of practice, I guess. It was nothin' much"
"Nothing much?! You were incredible!"
Everyone turned their head to look at Jessica, who then blushed at the sudden attention she was given and what she had just said out loud. "I-I mean… that was really brave of you Mister Cooper…" Jessica said timidly "Y-you're quite the hero for doin' what you just did."
"I couldn't agree more!"
The crowd parted to make a path for Mayor Evans, who walked over to Tennessee with a pleased and greatly-impressed smile on his face. "Son," began the mayor "I saw everything you just did and I'd say that your display of courage and selflessness makes you a hero to all of us!" He then raised the younger raccoon's arm up as he exclaimed, "Folks, let's give a big round of applaud to Mister Tennessee Kid Cooper!"
Once again, the townspeople gave Tennessee what he never thought would be given to him: a generous round of cheering and applaud. Being a career criminal, it felt only natural to Tennessee that he would be cursed at and condemned for his career and lifestyle so it was understandable how amazed he felt when he was commended by people who didn't know of his thieving reputation.
He only hoped they wouldn't find out the truth.
"You know what Cooper?" Asked Mayor Evans as the cheers slowly died down, "Since you haven't gotten that drink of yours yet, I'd say that you've earned yourself one! Round of drinks at the Saloon on me!"
As crowd cheered exuberantly once more, Rudy seemed somewhat despondent upon remembering that he was still grounded, but he cheered up once Barry approached him and offered him the extra ice cream cone he had bought, which the young rabbit accepted gratefully.
As Tennessee was escorted towards the saloon, he couldn't help but grin at his good fortune. Only the first day of his vacation and he had found someplace where he wouldn't be recognized as an outlaw, made two new friends, gained the respect of the town's mayor, and became a hero in the eyes of the valley's populace. But best of all, he could tell that he had made a very good first impression on the lovely Miss Evans, who he saw blushing and smiling flirtatiously at him as he approached the saloon.
He knew he was going to enjoy this vacation.
I appreciate the positive feedback about this story so far! I can't wait for you all to read the next chapter! :)
Things are going alright with getting the house ready to sell. I'm currently working on the fourth chapter of The Thief Chronicles: Son of a Thief as we speak. If lucky, I'll have it done and ready to send to my editor for the story by next week.
Chapter 3 for this story is being edited right now; it's at the finishing touches. I was told I should have it some time this month for you guys. If I'm lucky, I hope to get the chapter in soon. Chapter 3 is a blast! ;)
Until next time, I hope you all are enjoy this! Can't wait to have you read what's next!
See ya soon,
~Nixter97~