Chapter 12, Part Two

No Honor Ch 12 Pt. 2: The Outhouse Incident

Anyone that lives in a small town'll tell ya, that news an' rumors spread faster than light. There's reasons fer this. Ya see, in a small town, there's less people for word ta spread to... That's one thing. The other is, small towns get less news, which means that, what news it gets, is looked at an' talked about, forever.

No secret is safe in The Station. No closet stays shut tight, forever. Those skeletons will see the light o' day, and around here, they studied and mused over, piece by piece. Even when the dirt's in a language ya don't understand, someone's gonna hear it, and translate it, so you don't have to.

Manny's anguish, and moment o' fame, made its way by mouth to all o' Marco's guys, by night's end. By mornin,' it had passed on ta Ernest tha Tailor, who had helped mend the slacks, o' one o' tha original witnesses. Ernest then translated that story, to another witness, and it spread like wildfire from there. The following account, comes from a guy, who spoke to a guy, that spoke to a man that talked ta Ernest...

Emanuel Guerra, entered the outhouse behind the bar, around ten after eight. With 'im, he had tha latest issue o' 'Harper's New Monthly Magazine'. See Manny was smart, and though he couldn't speak it, he could get the gist o' English words, whether read or spoke aloud.

There was no lamp, or candle in the outhouse, but that was okay. He could make due with the light comin from tha bar, and a nearby residence. So he read, and his bowels wasn't movin', so he lost track o' time. He reckons that after twenty minutes or so, there was a knock on the door.

That seemed odd. There was a slide lock, keepin' the door secure, so why knock? If the door's locked, it's obvious someone's inside. Still, there was another knock.

Manny said, "Hey, I'm in here!", but he said it in Spanish, so he wasn't sure if he was understood. Another knock, and he thought about what to do. He settled on sayin', "En use", a few times... The knockin' stopped after that, so he figured it worked.

So, his bowels start movin'. Though his eyes is closed, at the start o' that business, he felt a shadow creep over 'is face. He started a bit,  in 'is seat, but he couldn't really move, he wasn't done yet. The door was still closed, ta his relief, but whatever was in front of it, was blocking all the light from outside, even from the moon. 

Back came the knock again, and then a heavy poundin'. Manny screamed ta be left alone. Screamed for his friends to quit playin' around. It had ta be one o' those vatos, it had ta be.

The shadow melted back, and then it moved on. Manny cursed after it. He was angry, and by all rights, he shoulda been...

He heard the shadow's feet walkin' off, to his right. They retreated... and then they stopped, and then they came closer, and then he didn't hear 'em at all. Manny's gun was in the gun belt holster, by his feet. He reached for it, and then a wide, black blade, chopped right in through the wall.

It looked sorta like a small axe blade. It pulled out, and then it was hacking, loudly hacking away, at the wooden stall. Manny screamed. He reached for that gun, but then his stomach seized up, and his bowels got ta movin' again.

That business demanded his full attention, but that blade kept hackin' and hackin' away. There was splinters flying, inta his lap. He reached for the gun again, and he did pull it out, but then the hacking stopped.

He yelled a warning in Spanish. Whoever was messing with him, friend or foe, was gonna get shot. He wanted that crap to continue, he said. He wanted ta kill someone.

There was a pause, and except for the laughs, and tha talkin' from tha bar he heard, the night was quiet around 'im. It stayed like that, for a good five minutes, and then Manny heard metal, scrapin' on wood. That blade, was movin' up the space between tha stall door, and tha frame. It hit the slide lock... and then it started movin' it.

Manny fired, three times inta the door. Then he heard feet movin', so he fired twice to his left. It was really quiet afterwards, and he didn't think he hit anyone. Scared pretty good by this point, Manny decided to leave the outhouse. His business wasn't done, he knew that, but he figured he'd squat outside somewheres, where he could see.

He put his pants on, with that pistol still in his gun hand. He reached down, to get his gun belt, and that same, wide black blade, chopped right through the door in front of 'is face. Thinkin' on it later, he figures that musta been the time, when he messed his pants... And then he slipped.

You kin figure out the rest. That stall Wally showed me was ruined. It was chopped up, shot up, and the door was halfway off tha hinge. Embedded in the center of tha door, was a tomahawk, to no one's surprise.

By the time that story, reached our ears the next day, eight more o' Marco's soldiers left town... Manny included.

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