THE DAY THEY HANGED HANNIBAL HEYES - Chapter Three

Oh shit!

For a split second the rope held, and Hannibal Heyes kicked wildly in a panic before the rope snapped and he was dumped unceremoniously on the ground in a heap. He struggled to an upright position as he frantically worked his bound hands in front of himself. He felt his vision start to darken, but managed to claw loose the rope around his neck and dragged himself towards Kid, making it to his body before everything went black.

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When the posse made it to the clearing, they pulled their horses to an abrupt stop. Hanging from the trees like ornaments on macabre Christmas trees, were at least ten men. The buzz of flies filled the air, in one long drone. Two bloodied men lay off to the side, softly moaning. The one man had a noose still partially around his neck, with the tail end of a broken rope laying in the dirt. He was lying next to the other man; his bound hands gripping the man's bloody shirt.

"Cut 'em down. Every last one of 'em!" Marshall Dave Bliss saw the reluctance in his newly appointed deputies' faces. "NOW! You all know my reputation and I'm not a man to ask twice." His hard stare conveyed his seriousness to the men.

He heard the click of a hammer, as a gun was cocked. He pulled his gun out and pointed at the man who had aimed it in the direction of the two prone men.

"You pull that trigger and I'm pulling mine."

"But these men are dying. Just trying to put them out of their misery."

Without saying a word, Marshall Bliss cocked his gun.

The other man reluctantly lowered the hammer and slowly put the gun back in the holster. "Seems like a waste trying to save these two only to have to rehang them."

"You kill 'em, then we ain't no better than them vigilantes. You all swore an oath when you were deputized. Anyone feels they can't abide by it, you can get the hell out of here." Marshall Bliss said, making his Texas drawl sound slow, calculated and menacing.

Several men grumbled and rode off.

"Anyone else?"

The other men shook their heads, the thought of ten dollars in their pockets was too tempting to just give up.

Bliss dismounted, and knelt beside Kid. He pried the other man's hands from the shirt. Kid moaned as he was turned over onto his back. It was obvious he had been shot multiple times and beaten, not hanged like the others. Kid's eyes opened briefly, as he tried to mouth a single word before falling unconscious. There wasn't much Bliss could do for the man except pack his wounds and get him medical help at the closest town, which was back in Junction City.

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There were flashes…the sound of men arguing…the sensation of the rope being pulled from his neck…His hands cut free…then back to blackness.

Bliss pulled the remaining rope off Heyes' neck and pressed an ear to the dark haired man's chest. His breathing was weak and shallow. He grabbed Heyes' waistband at the belt buckle with both hands and raised and lowered him several times; as he tried to draw air into him. Heyes began to sputter and cough.

Heyes eyes fluttered open. Marshall Bliss knelt beside him. He didn't miss the terror in the man's eyes as he stiffened when he reached a hand out to help him.

"I'm the law…the real law."

Heyes relaxed and mouthed the word water several times.

Bliss grabbed a canteen from his horse, and kneeling beside Heyes, slipped a hand under the man's bloody head.

Heyes tried to drink but his swollen throat made it difficult to swallow, as it ran out the corners of his mouth to his chest.

Heyes attempted to lift his head higher to locate Kid, but it was too painful.

Heyes' questioning eyes met the Marshall's.

"Alive."

Bliss wasn't sure how long he would be, but for now he hadn't lied to the man. He hadn't missed the look of relief in the man's pain filled dark eyes.

Heyes managed a weak nod, then passed out.

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The urgency was to get these two men to a doctor. He unwrapped his bandana from his neck and tore it into sections before packing one against Kid's shoulder and chest wound. The other he tied high around Kid's leg. Neither man was in any condition to give him trouble. In fact, he would be amazed if either one lived long enough to make it to town. There wasn't much else he could do for them.

While one man backed the wagon under each tree, another one cut the rope. Several men stood in the bed and stacked the bodies like cords of wood.

"We ain't got much room with the dead men in the wagon…"

"I'm sure these two won't know the difference nor give a mind. Throw some blankets over the dead and load 'em up. We need to hurry and get 'em to a doc."

"You want us to tie them…"

Bliss looked at the man with an incredulous look on his face, "Afraid they might run off…" His look and shake of head, let the man realize what a stupid question it was.

"You others gather up what you can…their horses, saddlebags, anything you can find and meet back in Junction City. Better be no theivin' either or they'll be hell to pay." He nodded his head to an older man, "Wes, make sure they abide by my orders."

The older man nodded and rode after the other men.

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Marshall Bliss held his hand up stopping everyone a few miles outside town.

"You boys make sure you're fully loaded. I don't suspect… I know we are going to have a party waiting for us." Bliss said, as he flipped the cylinder open on his pistol and checked the chambers. "And you ain't getting paid until those two men are safely in that jail tucked in like babies. You understand?"

"What if they're already dead?" One posse member timidly asked.

"If they are dead…They are dead. But if they ain't…your job is to make sure they have a chance at real justice…with a trial and a judge."

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As predicted, the angry townspeople were waiting when they rode into town, alerted by the other men who had deserted the posse. They tried to rush the wagon, before some well placed shots stopped them from Bliss' gun.

Bliss stood tall in his stirrups and said in a loud contained voice.

"Y'all know me. And you know what I stand for. I can't abide by your intent…Don't make me choose cuz the law is going to win. So let me do my job and let this play out in a legal civilized manner. Someone go get Doc now," he ordered, though he wasn't absolutely sure he was still needed.

Bliss pushed his horse through the crowd, forcing the mob to retreat as he led the posse to the front of the jail.

Sheriff Johnny Pryor was waiting with the door open. He held his cocked rifle in one hand and aimed it at the crowd to warn the vengeful mob not to surge too close. Two of the deputies pulled Heyes from the wagon and carried him inside the jail. Two others did the same with Kid. The last man inside kicked the door shut as the mob tightly gathered outside the jail with some of their faces pressed to the windows of the sheriff''s office.

Johnny recoiled when he saw the dire condition of the two prisoners, his eyes questioning Bliss' as he entered.

Bliss shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know if he's still needed but I've sent for the doctor."

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Author's Notes:

I pictured my marshall as the late great actor Ben Johnson. So I took his character Marshall Dave Bliss from "Hang 'em High" and added him to the story…seemed appropriate.