Chapter 19, Part Three

No Honor; 19, Part 3: End's Beginnings

It was ghastly. Those men hung from that tree for at least fifteen minutes. Finally, when we was sure the mob had left, and everythang was all clear, James and me went out an' cut 'em down. Sal came out ta help as well.

We talked about what to do fer a bit. As business owners, they couldn't leave those bodies bakin' in tha sunlight, and we wasn't sure if anyone was gonna come along, ta take care of 'em. How many was there left in Marco's camp?

Three? Two?

Moon did an excellent job o' thinnin' out the herd, and The Station took out tha rest, with no trouble at all. As things stood, there was no way Marco was gonna get more money out us, and no way, was he gonna be able ta enforce anythang. The Station was lawless, and that was terrifying.

In the end, Sal took up tha job o' diggin' graves, as the bodies was closest ta his place. James decided ta help and I moved on. It was half past five, when I walked into tha front door, o' the grocery. Mitchell's eyes lit up a bit, when he seen me.

There was a few customers, at that time. Mr. Stevens, and some other man I don't know. I acted like I was browsin' tha aisles until they left, and when they did, I met Mitch at tha counter.

"Hello young man", I said. "Kin you escort me ta tha back please?"

He said, "Yes sir!"

In tha back, Moon and Norm was sittin' wit tha guests o' tha house. Norm was sayin' somethin', but he hushed up as soon as he saw me. Rex glanced over and his breath caught in 'is throat, then he sighed and looked away. Carter turned and saw me and smiled.

I said, "I wanna apologize, to you gentlemen, for my absence."

They was all sayin', "No, no", and Carter said, "Not at all, sir".

Norm said, "We're sorry about that fire, Wayne."

I shook my head, "It's a burden off my mind. Believe me...

"So what's hap'nin?"

Carter said, "Well, there's two orders ah business... First, we was discussing what to do with our Mexican friends here. Their time with us is up I thank, but I don't want 'em rejoinin' ranks.

"What we need is a volunteer, other than us here, ta drive these men in a wagon, to the border. Once they at the border, all tha man's gotta do, is drop a small knife by 'em, and then drive the horses back to this area, leavin' the wagon there."

I nodded.

Carter said, "If you know someone Wayne, that'd be excellent. I'm willin' ta offer twelve dollars, ta the man for the job."

I thought about it. I was su'prised myself, at how quick tha answer came.

"Cliff", I said. "Clifford at The Stable would do it, I thank. He's a fan o' yours def'nitely, and no friend ta Marco."

"A'kay", Carter said. "I'll leave it to you, ta put it to 'im... The next thang is, Mr. Marco himself.

"Now I still don't believe, that Larson's on his property. But as it stands now, he's as weak as he's gonna get, and we should be able ta match his defenses, man ta man. We may even have better odds...

"So, tonight gentlemen, we're gonna eliminate his place as a possibility. And with any luck, we kin end this, right away."

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