JUST
ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE DAYSJUST
ANOTHER ONE OF THOSE DAYS
Kid was cinching up his saddle, when Katy nickered at the galloping horse with no rider.
"It's saddled up. Maybe it's rider took a bad fall a way's back?" Kid said.
"Let's go and find out!" Teaspoon ordered. All three men rode into the direction that the horse came from.
They rode for awhile, but saw nothing of an injured rider along the way.
"That horse didn't just come out of nowhere," Jimmy said.
Looking around at their surroundings, Kid said, "Maybe someone picked up the injured rider?"
"Oh hell," Teaspoon rode toward what looked like a hanging. "Damm," he sighed.
"Who in hell would do this to a woman?" Jimmy asked with anger in his voice.
Kid lowered his head and sighed. "I'll never understand the hate that would cause someone to do this to a woman…"
Teaspoon gestured for the boys to find a proper spot for a grave. "Let's get her down, and do the best we can to bury her."
Buck and Millie rode for several hours, before stopping to rest their horses. From a few feet away, she noticed a horse grazing in a field. Her stomach began to tighten, as she instictively knew it was Sally's horse.
"Buck something has happened to Sally. I just know it!"
"Millie, what makes you certain something bad has happened to her?"
"I just know!" Millie mounted her horse, and gathered her reins. Buck walked in front of her horse, took hold of the reins, stopping her.
"Millie…you don't know what you are doing! You told me that you wanted to put this "outlaw" life behind you!
Millie jerked the reins away from Buck's grasp. He released them immediately.
"Don't stand in my way Buck Cross! This is something that I have to do!"
"Millie-
She kicked her horse into a gallop, and rode into the direction of town.
Riders approaching from behind, caught Buck's attention.
"Buck!" Kid shouted.
"We've been looking for you son. Where have you been?" Teaspoon brought his horse to an abrupt halt.
"It's a long story. I'll tell you along the way, but first we've got to ride into town. I need your help."
"All right son," Teaspoon shook his head in agreement.
"Do you know anything about a woman being hung, a few miles back?" Jimmy asked.
"Oh God… I'm afraid I do!" Buck grabbed his reins and mounted his horse. "Let's go!"
Millie arrived in Sweetwater, hoping that Jacob did decide to rent a room for the night. Based on what Sally once told her: It wasn't like Jacob to run very far from a crime he committed. It was his dare devil nature. He was good at lying low, and never acted suspicious. His innocent boyish charm played a big part.
When she arrived at the hotel, she tethered her horse near the alley. Just for a quick and clean getaway. She entered the hotel, and walked to the front desk.
"May I help you, miss?" The clerk pushed his half moon glasses further up the bridge of his nose. "A room for the night? With a hot bath?"
"I'm here to visit a friend. I'd like to know if he has checked in yet?" She was trying not to seem suspicious.
"The name please," the clerk opened the hotel register, and stared at a list of names.
"Mr Jacob Jalloby," Millie answered.
His finger went down a list of names, as he repeated the name Jalloby several times to himself. "Ah…here it is. He's in the second room to the right."
"Thank you!" She turned and headed for the stairs.
Jacob put his gunbelt on the bed, as he got ready to relax in a hot bath. By daybreak he planned to ride out of Sweetwater, never to return. He felt like his job was completed. Something I should have done a long time ago…he thought.
Slipping into the tub of bath water, he closed his eyes and puffed on a cigar. He heard a knock at the door.
"Who is it?" He asked with suspicion.
"A message from the telegraph office sir. Addressed to Mr Jacob Jalloby."
The female voice sparked his couriosity as well as the mysterious telegraph. "Just a minute," he reached for a towel while stepping out of the tub. He wrapped the towel around his waist. He hesitated, before opening the door wide enough to see the face of the mysterious female.
Millie smiled at the young man. She reached into her overcoat, and pulled out her pistol. She aimed it at his face.
"What the hell is this all about!?" Jacob ordered.
He started to back up when Millie pushed her way through the door. She shut it behind her, never taking her eyes off of Jacob.
"Do I know you!?" He asked, still clutching the towel around his waist.
Millie smiled and answered, "No. But I know you!"
Gunfire echoed through the room. Jacob fell backward against the bed. Millie walked to the window and climbed out into the alley. No one was around to witness . She quickly made her way to her horse, and mounted. Never looking back, she rode away.
When Buck, Teaspoon, Jimmy and Kid arrived in town, they noticed a gathering at the hotel. "What's going on here?" Teaspoon made his way through the crowd into the hotel. The boys followed behind.
The clerk ran up to Teaspoon. "It's one of our guest. He's never been here before. I believe he went by the name Jacob Jalloby."
Entering the room, Jimmy walked over to Jacob's lifeless body.
The clerk entered the room and said, "There was a young lady here asking to see him."
Teaspoon placed his hands on his waist, and looked at Buck. "The law will catch up with her."
Buck looked out of the window into the dark alley, and sighed. "That's what I am afraid of…"