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By Grace R. Williams

Life’s Big Questions

Two wooden chairs graced the shore near the fishing hole. Hannibal Heyes sat in one of them, caressing its smooth wood surface. Memories warmed his thoughts as his fingers traced the initials carved on the underside of the armrest. 'J.C.' A housewarming gift, made by Kid and presented to him and Christina long ago. Weathered by the changing seasons, the chairs had become a symbol to Heyes of the friendship the two men shared - worn and greying, with a few nicks from hard use over the years, but sturdy, dependable, comfortable. He folded both hands behind his head, crossing an ankle over one knee. How long had he and Kid been using these chairs now? At least every Sunday for what, let's see, Lillian was 12 now and he'd been married to Christina for a couple years already by the time she was born. Must be about 14 years these chairs had served the friendship. 15 since the amnesty.

A dragonfly, appearing to be suspended in mid-air, clutched an almost invisible fishing line. To the casual observer, it would have seemed the man was studying the insect but Kid Curry's practiced eye knew his friend's mind was far away.

"Glad you're here, Kid." Even deep in thought, Heyes had heard the soft, familiar stride coming down the path toward their weekly meeting spot.

"Uncle Jed!"

"Unc'a Jed!"

Two fishing poles were abandoned while Kid was nearly tackled by two happy children.

Kid wrestled them for a while then, noticed the boy’s fishing pole bending toward the water. "Hey, Sam! Looks like somethin's about to steal yer bait!"

Jumping to the water’s edge with a net, Heyes assisted his son in landing a fair-sized bass. Much congratulating and back-patting later, eight year old Sam asked his little sister, voice still filled with excitement, "Ya wanna help me put him in the bucket with the rest, Rosalyn?"

"Nah, I'm done fishin'. Gonna sit with Unc'a Jed fer now."

She took Kid’s hand, leading him toward the unoccupied chair and climbed onto his lap, snuggling in for a good long stay. The Sunday afternoon 'sit' with her favorite uncle was somewhat of a tradition at the Heyes homestead, generally turning into a Sunday afternoon nap for both.

Kid watched as she pulled one petal, then another off the daisy held in her small hand. "...loves me...loves m'NOT!" she finished, tossing the plucked-bare stem to the wind with a grin.

"You sure seem happy 'bout somebody not lovin' ya, Rosie,” Kid laughed.

The three year old turned two sleepy, brown eyes on her uncle, taking his face in both tiny hands, which smelled a peculiar mix of daisies, worms and fish. Through her yawn, "I know you love me, Unc'a Jed. You and Pa. That’s‘nuff.”

He kissed the child's forehead and gently stroked her hair with his fingers. Rosalyn's eyelids grew heavier and heavier as her men talked. With an ear pressed against his soft, cotton shirt, the low rumble of Kid's voice soon had her lulled to sleep.

"Ya leave Nora up at the house?"

Kid nodded, "She and Christina are visitin' while they fix dinner."

Heyes’ oldest daughter Lillian arrived, pitcher of lemonade in hand and greeted her Pa and Uncle with kisses on the cheek. She poured two glasses of the cool drink. "Ma said it's gonna be a while till dinner and I should come and take the little ones so you two can visit."

Listening to the softly snoring Rosalyn, Heyes chuckled. "I think you can leave that one right where she is for now." Turning to his son he suggested, "Sam, would you like to go with your sister and start cleanin' the fish?"

The boy nodded and began to gather the fishing poles.

"Just take the fish son, Uncle Jed might want to try his hand at fishin'. We'll bring the poles when we go back for dinner."

"Whoa there now, Missie!" Kid reached out and stopped Lillian as she turned to leave. "You're not gettin' off so easy. What's this I hear about you winnin' that summer essay contest?"

Pride was evident on Heyes’ face as well as the girl’s. She blushed and shyly bit one lip. "It's about you and Pa. About how you both worked so hard to earn your amnesty and turn your lives around."

"When do I get to read it?"

"Right after dinner if you want to!" Lillian gave her father and Kid a wide, dimpled smile before walking back toward the house with her brother.

"It's a big responsibility, ain't it, Heyes? Raisin' kids and all?"

Heyes nodded to his partner of so many years. "Sure is Kid, but it's mighty rewardin’ too." He looked at his sleeping daughter in Kid's arms. "You and Nora plannin' on having a few of your own?"

"We just got married last spring, Heyes. Ya wanna give us a little time to work on that?"

"Well, ya better hurry up. Nora, now she's got plenty 'a time left, but you? Ya ain't gettin' any younger, Kid!"

It was true; Kid had waited a long time for a woman like Nora to come along. Who would have guessed, when she finally did, she'd be half his age?

Kid gave his friend a sideways glance, "Like I said, we're workin' on it."

His voice took on a more serious note. "It kinda scares me sometimes, Heyes. What if I make a mistake? You ever worry about stuff like that? Doin' somethin' wrong and makin' yer kid turn out bad? I mean, what made us go the way we went?"

"Money!" Heyes' laughed. His attempt at humor slipped right by Kid whose thoughts stayed their course.

"We never ended up with enough money for it to be about the money, Heyes!"

"The glory?" Heyes tried again.

Kid shot a look at his partner. "Glory? Ya mean like gettin' shot at, chased and locked up?"

“Musta been the women then.” Both men shared a hearty laugh then, grew quiet.

"I was one angry kid, Heyes. When we ran away from the home, I wanted to make somebody pay for what happened to us, to our families. Didn't much matter who paid, long as somebody did. I told myself we were just doing what we had to do to survive, but that wasn’t it. By the time I realized that, it was too late. We'd made our choices. We were wanted. Didn't seem to be any turnin' back then."

Rosalyn shifted position and Kid passed the sleeping child to her father’s waiting arms. They sat for a long time, only the sounds of a summer afternoon and Rosalyn’s slumber breaking the silence until Heyes spoke.

"I loved the challenge, Kid. The idea that I could outsmart the railroad or a bank. The feel of those tumblers falling into place at the touch of my fingers." Heyes shook his head. "That thrill is tough to equal, Kid."

Kid nodded in understanding. "So how do we make sure our kids make the right choices, Heyes?"

Two pairs of eyes met then, turned adoringly on the child Heyes held. The voices of two loving wives could be heard drawing closer to the chairs occupied by two lifelong friends.

"So ya wanna figure out the answer to that one another time, Heyes?"

"Right, Kid. We’ll figure it out together – over the next 15 years.



By Eleanor

Kid Curry sat hunched in an old, worn, armchair, gazing pensively through the window of the hotel room. It was raining heavily, and rivulets of water ran down the glass.

Lying on the bed, pillows propped behind his back, Hannibal Heyes appeared to be reading a book, but, every few moments, his eyes flicked across to his partner, his relaxed expression belying an underlying apprehension.

The atmosphere in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife, yet still Heyes continued to casually study his book, his legs stretched out and crossed at the ankles, the book braced across his abdomen and supported by one hand, his other arm folded casually behind his head.

The Kid had been in this somber mood since he’d been forced into drawing against the card sharp he’d exposed in the Saturday night poker game at the local saloon the previous night. The man had left the saloon in a storm of bluff and bluster after the Kid had exposed his cheating, but, angry at being shown up, he had waited until he and Heyes left the saloon, to return to their hotel, and then called him out. The man already had his gun in his hand as he moved from the shadows of an alleyway and the Kid had had no time to aim not to kill, before the man fired, drawing his gun and firing it in one, fluid, split second movement before dropping into a roll as the other man also pulled his trigger, his bullet slamming into a wooden pillar just a few inches to the side of Heyes’ head before the man fell to the floor, dead.

The Sheriff had seen the altercation in the saloon and, after interviewing the other participants in the card game, who had confirmed that the man had cheated and had been heard threatening revenge as he left, he had given Curry the benefit of the doubt in regards to the killing.

With a sigh of relief, Heyes and Curry had planned to leave town early the next morning, just in case the Sheriff did any more investigating which might arouse his suspicions as to their identities, but, half an hour later, the heavens had opened, torrential rain, gales and a vicious thunderstorm keeping them prisoner in their hotel room for the remainder of the night and all of this morning.

Heyes knew it wasn’t the weather that was responsible for the Kid’s preoccupied mood. He was brooding about having killed the man. Despite his skill with a gun, he wasn’t by nature a killer and had worked hard to become good enough that, most of the time, he didn’t have to kill.

It wasn’t the first time he’d killed a man, but that didn’t make it any easier for him to deal with. Heyes knew he would be going over the minute seconds it took both of them to fire, in his mind, trying to work out if he could have avoided firing the fatal shot.

Heyes once again flicked his gaze across to his partner, before lowering it back to his book and turning the page, patiently waiting for the questions that he knew would eventually come.

“What made us go the way we went?”

Heyes looked up, taken by surprised at the question.

“Huh?”

“What made us go the way we went?” the Kid repeated. “Down the path to outlawin’?”

Heyes sighed and closed the book.

“We didn’t choose to go that way, Kid.”

“We didn’t?” the Kid muttered, his gaze still fixed through the rain streaked window.

“You know we didn’t.” Heyes said quietly, swinging his legs to the floor and getting to his feet to cross to the window to stand in front of Curry. “We just did what we had to do to survive.”

The Kid gave a grunt, half of disgust and half of anguish, shaking his head to himself as he gazed out of the window.

Heyes reached out to put his hand on the Kid’s shoulder.

“You mustn’t blame yourself, Kid. It was him or you.” he told him.

“Or you.” the Kid responded. “That bullet missed you by a whisker.”

“Well, a bit more than a whisker.” smiled Heyes.

The Kid shook his head, not listening. “It’s my fault. I should have guessed that he might hang around looking for trouble. I should have been ready. That way I might not have had to kill him. I messed up. I’m sorry.”

“Listen,” Heyes said angrily, gripping the Kid’s shoulder harder and pulling him round to face him. “Don’t ever apologize, OK? If it wasn’t for you we’d likely both be dead by now. We went the way we did because we had no choice, and we’ve done what we’ve had to do to keep ourselves alive. It might not be legal and it might not be pleasant, but it’s necessary, and I thank God, every day, that I have you with me, ‘cos there’s no way I’d be here today if it wasn’t for you and your ability with that gun.” He sighed, heavily. “I know you feel bad when something like this happens," he said quietly "but it won’t always be this way, Kid. One day soon, we’ll come to a fork in the road and then we’ll take a different way.”

The Kid eyed him for several moments before saying. “You really think so?”

Heyes broke into a cheeky grin. “Would I lie to you?”

A ghost of a smile touched the corner of the Kid’s mouth.

“Hey, look, the rain’s stopping. We’ll be able to head out soon.” said Heyes, nodding towards the window.

The Kid turned to see the rain dying away and a ray of sunshine break through the clouds.

Heyes watched his friend as he gave a deep sigh, obviously having made some sort of recompense with himself for the previous night’s events, before he turned to look at him.

“Well, I hope that fork in the road comes up soon, Heyes.” he said wistfully.

Heyes met his gaze with a gentle smile. “It will, Kid. Believe me, it will.” Then, crossing to pick up his book and pack it in his saddlebags he said. “Come on, Kid, let’s hit the trail while the weather holds.”

Curry got to his feet and, picking up his belongings, followed Heyes out of the door.


By Lana Coombe

The flames of an active fire licked upwards, casting flickering light about the dimly lit room. A man sat perched on the edge of a heavily padded leather chair, elbows resting on his knees, fingers clasped, deep in thought. As he stared contemplatively into the flames, his deliberations were interrupted by the door opening and another man entering the room.

“I knew I had it somewhere!” Hannibal Heyes said, raising a bottle in his hand, before strolling across the room and placing it on a side table.

Jed Curry looked up at his partner and smiled but could not disguise the fact that something was troubling him, from the one man who knew him best.

“What’s wrong?” Heyes asked, seeing no reason to beat about the bush, as he had often found that the direct approach usually got the best response from his friend.

Curry tried to be evasive, but the persistent look he received from Heyes made him comply.

“I was just thinking - and don’t say it, Heyes! Think we’ve come to an agreement over commenting on the agreement about thinking!”

Heyes chuckled softly. It had been sometime since he had agreed to stop referring to the fact that he was the one renowned for the thinking in their partnership. He nodded his head in deference to his friend and waited for him to continue.

“It’s just, well, I know it’s something I’ve asked before and we’ve both thought about and tried to answer many a time but, what did really make us go the way we went?”

As he poured two sizeable glasses of brandy, Heyes furrowed his brow in consideration. It was a question that had arisen many a time and he still hadn’t managed to convince Curry of the answer. Handing a glass to his friend, he lowered himself into the chair on the opposite side of the fire.

The amber liquid swirled pleasingly around the bowl of the glass, as he cupped his hand around it to warm the brandy. His partner mirrored his action as they sat in comfortable silence for a moment.

Eventually, after some contemplation, Heyes said, “Not sure we’ll ever really know the answer to that one, Kid!” He used the name affectionately. It had been some years since he had done so, but Curry accepted its use in the way in which it was meant, in reference to their past lives.

“I guess!” he replied, sinking back into his chair.

“Whatever the reason, it didn’t turn out too bad in the end, did it?” Heyes smiled warmly at the other man.

“No. Reckon it didn’t!” Curry returned the smile.

“I mean, those two lovely ladies we married sure do look after us. That sure was some dinner they cooked up tonight! Business is going well. We’re comfortable and we’re both still here!” he concluded, laughing slightly at the irony of the last statement.

“Can you believe it’s been a whole thirty years since we got amnesty?” said Curry, shaking his head, before taking an appreciative sip of the good quality brandy in his glass.

Heyes raised his own glass in the air. “Here’s to the next thirty years of freedom, peace and quiet!”

“I’ll drink to that!” replied his partner, returning the toast, as their glasses clinked together.



By Ghislaine

Amazed but Not Amused


Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry couldn’t explain it. But, inexorably, they found themselves riding into Kansas. And then, there came a time when the Kid didn’t think they’d be able to escape.
* * *


“Heyes, tell me again why we’re going to Dodge,” the Kid asked for the umpteenth time.

“Like I told ya before, Kid, this is just something we gotta do.”

“But what do we gotta do? That’s what I still don’t understand.”

Heyes looked at his partner sitting wearily on his horse. They’d pushed themselves to the point of exhaustion to get to Dodge City, though he wasn’t quite sure why. But he had to come up with an answer for the Kid. Something that made sense, though it sure didn’t make sense to him. Which was something Heyes didn’t want to think about too much.

“Well, why do most people go to Dodge?”

“Used to be, for the fun people had there.”

“Right. And what kind of fun was that, Kid?”

“Used to be, the saloons. But things have been a lot quieter lately, now the cattle drives are mostly over. Can’t say I’m sorry about that!”

Heyes grinned at his friend. “Yeah, and none of those gunslingers to bother ya, either! But there are still a few saloons around. I wanna see what the Lone Star has to offer.”

“But, Heyes,” the Kid was insistent, “what’s so special about this town that we had to get here so fast? You can play poker in lotsa other places.”

This was the tricky part. ‘Cause Heyes really didn’t know. “Well,” he started to answer, “there’s just something special about Dodge.”

They had almost reached the outskirts of the town and then, they both saw it. A massive green wall, just sticking up in the middle of the earth. It curved around as far as the eye could see. They pulled up their horses and stared.

No one else being near them, there was no need for a silent conversation. “What the…?” They looked at each other, amazed.

“Heyes, what is that thing?” The Kid slowly rode up to it. He didn’t want to get too close.

“It’s…” Heyes shook his head as he reached out a hand to touch it. At the last minute, he pulled back. It was just too weird. “I dunno what it is, but it looks like a giant row of corn.”

“I was afraid you were gonna say that. Any idea what it’s doing here?”

“No, but let’s ride along and see if we can find out.”

“I was afraid you were gonna say that.”

Heyes tugged on his reins and his horse walked to the right; the Kid followed. Not long after, Heyes pulled up. “Hey, there’s an opening here!”

The Kid looked at the hole. He looked at Heyes. He knew what was coming next. “Ya wanna go in, don’t ya?”

“Ain’t ya curious, Kid?” Heyes’ eyes glittered with excitement.

The Kid could see Heyes’ brain working, trying to make sense of the puzzle. The Kid was tense but he was also amused. They’d been partners a long time and he knew Heyes just had to solve the mystery.

Still on their horses, they both looked through the hole but all they could see were more giant green corn rows. Heyes felt himself being drawn to the opening. Without realizing it, he found himself on the ground and walking up to the edge of the wall. Instinctively, he knew this was the reason they’d come to Dodge.

The Kid quickly dismounted and drew his gun. “Hey, wait a minute!”

Heyes looked at him strangely. “It’s okay, Kid. There’s no danger here.” He walked through the opening and disappeared.

“Aw, Heyes!” The Kid quickly hobbled their horses and went in after Heyes, gun still in his hand.

He found Heyes walking slowly, almost as if he were in a trance. They were in between two rows of giant corn stalks, the plants in each row so close together they couldn’t see through them. Nor could they see over the tops of the stalks. They were surrounded by corn.

After about a hundred yards, they reached another opening. Without looking at the Kid, Heyes walked through.

“Heyes, what’s the matter with you?”

No answer.

The Kid stepped in front of his partner, who stopped walking. “Heyes, what’s going on?”

Heyes cocked his head. “I dunno, Kid. We have to go this way.” He nodded to the left and resumed walking.

The Kid followed, wondering at Heyes’ strange behavior but not saying anything.

They continued walking and came upon several more openings. Heyes never hesitated whenever they reached one. Some they went through, others they passed by.

After a couple hours of walking, the Kid had lost all sense of direction. He’d also lost his patience. “Okay, Heyes. Enough of this. Let’s get outta here.” He was no longer amused.

“But, Kid, we haven’t found the answer yet. We gotta keep going.”

“All we gotta find is our horses, Heyes. Let’s go.” The Kid turned back the way they’d come.

Heyes stood there stubbornly. “I don’t think that’s the way out. That’s the way we came, ain’t it?”

“Well, yeah. So we just gotta go back the same way.”

“No, we have to keep going forward.”

“Heyes, that don’t make no sense.”

“Trust me, Kid, I know what I’m doing.”

The Kid snorted.

Heyes, indignantly, “Don’t you start, Kid!”

“Then just get us outta here!”

“All right, all right, don’t get proddy!”

They continued walking. Another hour passed. It was obvious to the Kid that Heyes did not know where he was going.

“Heyes, I’m warning ya…”

“Take it easy, Kid. We’re almost there.”

“Oh yeah? How ya know that?”

“I got a feeling.”

The Kid, sarcastically, “A what?”

Heyes sighed. “Kid, what made us go the way we went?”

“You did, Heyes. You got us into this.”

“And I’m gonna get us outta this, too.“

“When, Heyes? Today would be nice!”

“Aw, come on, Kid, where’s your sense of adventure?”

“I left it with the horses.”

They kept walking. It began to look familiar but, on the other hand, all the corn pretty much looked the same after several hours.

Finally, Heyes stopped. Triumphantly, “There!” He pointed at an opening.

The Kid looked through it. He saw…the prairie. He didn’t see…their horses. “Uh, Heyes?”

Heyes, condescendingly, “I accept your apology. Ya know, ya really should have more faith in your partner, Kid.”

“Uh, Heyes.”

“What? Ya gonna tell me I should be the champeen tracker in all of western Kansas? Thanks, Kid!”

The Kid, sharply, “Will ya shut up and get over here? Whaddaya see, Heyes?”

“It’s the way out, Kid! Didn’t I tell ya?”

“Heyes!” The Kid was frustrated and exasperated. “Where are our horses?”

Heyes finally saw what the Kid saw. Or, rather, what he didn’t see.

“Oh, well.” Heyes wasn’t bothered. “They’re around here somewhere. Don’t worry, we’ll find them.”

The Kid glared at Heyes.

“They’re probably on the other side. Come on, I know a shortcut.” Heyes turned back to the corn.

“Heyes, I ain’t going back in that thing! Are ya outta your mind?!”

Heyes stared at the Kid, briefly considering the idea. Nah. There had to be a reasonable explanation. Too bad he couldn’t think of one.

Hannibal Heyes and Kid Curry started walking towards the lights in the distance, into Dodge City.




By Denise Craig

“Heyes?”

The horses plodded on.

“Heyes?”

The sun beat down on their backs.

“HEYES?!”

Still no answer. They had been plodding along for what had seemed like hours. His partner ahead of him, slowly leading the way. The sun continued to beat down, the horses hooves creating little dust clouds with every step. It was HOT! The country they were traveling in had been in drought for months and the little rivulets they had come upon had dried up. They had two canteens each but the second was almost empty. They needed to find a town or water…and soon.

“Heyes,” tried his partner again. Kid was feeling contemplative and certain questions were gnawing at him.

“What made us go the way we went?”

It was a question he had thought about often. He had answered this question for himself, with all honesty, and didn’t much like what he had come up with. He was hoping that Heyes had a different answer. An answer that would assuage his guilty conscious. He was pretty sure it wouldn’t, but he wanted to give it a try. Also, his partner hadn’t talked to him in a fair bit and it was worrying him. Heyes wasn’t usually one to let a few miles go by without some kind of comment.

He rode up to his partner and looked at his face. His face was sweating. His brow furrowed. His eyes…closed. He was…ASLEEP! “Heyes!” Kid shook his partner who promptly fell out of his saddle. Kid grinned down at his surprised partner. “You okay?”

Heyes looked around him, not recognizing where he was. Kid dismounted and sat next to his partner offering his canteen. Heyes gratefully took a drink. As he passed the canteen back to Kid, blue eyes looked into his.

“Heyes, what made us go the way we went?” asked Kid, still mulling.

“It’s all my fault,” Heyes said sadly.

This wasn’t the answer Kid had been expecting. He waited for his friend to go on.

“I’m sorry Kid. This is all my fault. I…I fell asleep.”

Kid just looked at him and then burst out laughing. It felt good and lifted a little of the gloom from his heart.

“I don’t think it’s funny Kid. I could have fallen over a cliff. Then where would you be?”

Kid just laughed harder. It wasn’t the answer he was looking for but it would do. For now…it would do.



By Patricia Percival

The sun was high in the sky as the two outlaws sat quietly by a stream, enjoying the peace and quiet. The water gurgled and gently splashed as it trickled over the stones. Kid Curry sat with his boots and socks off, his pants rolled up to his knees, allowing his feet to dangle in the coolness of the water. In his hand was a crudely made fishing rod. His partner, Hannibal Heyes, was lying down on the soft grass, hands clasped behind his head, his hat pulled over his face shading his eyes from the intense sun, and his fishing line tied to his big toe, his boots and socks nearby on the ground.

“Hey, Heyes, catch this.” Kid had removed his shirt and thrown it at his cousin, the shirt landing on his partner’s chest.

“Aww, quit it, Kid!” shouted Heyes. “You sure know how to spoil a moment.”

“Hey now, don’t get proddy.” Kid teased. “I’m only having a bit of fun. You got a bite yet?”

“Have you heard me say ‘Hey, Kid, I’ve caught a fish!’, or actually seen me pull one out from the water?”

“OK, OK. Just trying to make conversation. Gees, Heyes, something wrong?”

“No, I was just enjoying the peace and quiet is all. Do you really find it so impossible to just sit and enjoy the peace and quiet of the place?” asked Heyes.

Of the two outlaws, Heyes quite often found that he was content to sit and watch the world go by or read a book, whereas Kid seemed to get restless, and the quieter his partner was, the more restless Kid seemed to get.

“OK, OK. A fella can take a hint.” said Kid, a small sulk forming across his face.

The two men settled back to their fishing and the tranquillity returned.

“Kid, was that you?” Heyes asked.

“What? Was what me?” Kid was confused he hadn’t seen or heard anything.

“That rustling. I’m sure I heard something rustling in the trees.” explained Heyes.

“Well if it was something rustling in the trees, it was probably a bird.” came back the rather sarcastic reply.

“I think I recognise a rustling in the trees if it’s a bird, and that wasn’t a bird I heard.” Heyes rolled his eyes to the sky.

“Well I don’t hear anything; maybe if there was something there, that certain something has gone.”

“Umm, maybe.” Heyes conceded begrudgingly.

The peace and quiet returned until Kid yelled “Heyes, Heyes, I caught something!”

His partner leapt to his feet as Kid began to haul in his line.

“Wow, Heyes, it’s a big un.”

A huge grin spread across Kid’s face as he caught a glimpse of his catch.

“Easy now, easy.” encouraged Heyes.

“Wow it’s huge, Heyes! Help will you?”

The dark haired outlaw ran to his partner’s side and began to assist pulling in the large fish. They both stared in wonder as an enormous Salmon landed on the ground near their feet. Neither man spoke as they gazed in awe at the large catch. Then, without any prompting, they both began to leap around, slapping each other on the back, whooping and hollering at their good fortune.

“Heyes, are we gonna eat good tonight or what? Am I brilliant or what?” asked a rather smug Kid Curry.

“Kid, you’re brilliant!”

Kid bent down and lifted up the huge fish to admire it more closely.

“Hey, did you hear that?” asked Heyes.

“What? Are you hearing birds rustling in the trees again, partner?”

“No, I’m not. I told you it wasn’t a darned bird. Ssshhh listen.” ordered Heyes.

Kid cocked his head to one side. All of a sudden there was a rather loud rustling sound from some of the bushes behind them.

“I heard that.” whispered Kid. “What do you think it is?”

“Well it ain’t a freaking bird, that’s for sure.” Heyes replied rather smugly.

“OK, you were right. There is something or someone there.” Kid stood there, still clutching the now dead fish. “What we gonna do?”

Before Heyes could reply, a huge, black bear came rushing out of the bushes, grinding to a halt as it stared at the two startled men.

The bear suddenly let out a huge roar, rising at the same time on to its hind legs.

“RUN!” yelled Heyes.

Both men set off as fast as they could with the bear in hot pursuit.

“Run, run, it’s chasing us!” shouted Kid in between gasps of air.

“What the hell do ya think I’m doing? You worry about you, I’ll worry about me!”

Kid dared to glance behind them,

“Heyes, it’s catching us up! What we gonna do?”

“I don’t know! Hell, Kid, I didn’t know bears could run this fast!” Then Heyes looked at Kid with an incredulous look. “You still holding that darned fish?”

“Yeah, course I am. It’s gotta be the biggest fish I ever caught. I wasn’t gonna leave it behind, was I?”

“Are you being serious? We’ve got an enormous bear chasing us and you’re holding onto a prize fish?”

“Well, what made us go the way we went anyhow?” asked Kid.

“Are… you… serious?” replied Heyes, now struggling for breath. “We’re being chased by a bear and you actually want to discuss how we came to be here?”

“Yeah, I do, Heyes. I mean, I wanted to go into town, but, nooooo, you wanted to stop and laze by the stream.”

“Kid, I swear… if you… don’t drop that darned fish, if that… bear don’t kill ya I sure will.”

“I’m just saying, is all. Had… we gone into town… like I wanted to, we… wouldn’t be being chased by a bear, now would we?” Kid was also starting to struggle for breath.

“Alright, alright!” yelled Heyes. “It’s my fault… now throw that darned fish down!!”

“OK, Heyes, there you go getting all proddy again.” Kid reluctantly threw the fish onto the ground.

Both men ran on for a short distance, until at the exact same moment, they turned round to look behind them. Relief washed over them as they realised that the bear had given up the chase to eat the salmon. They both stood where they were, bent over with their hands on their knees, breathing heavily as they tried to catch their breath.

“You…mind… if we go… back for our boots…before heading into town?” panted Kid

Heyes rolled his eyes, shaking his head at the same time.

“Maybe next time you’ll listen to me when I say I want to go into town.” Kid told Heyes.

His partner turned to face him, wondering where to start, before deciding to keep his mouth closed. He put his arm around Kid’s shoulders as they made their way back to their belongings.

“You know, nobody’ll ever believe just how big that fish was.” stated Kid.

“No, Kid, no. I’m sorry you had to throw your prize fish away to save our lives.”

His partner turned to look at Heyes, a huge grin spreading across his face.



By Shenango

Curry was pissed. He'd been putting up with the incessant chatter for too long now and wanted it to stop and soon.

Heyes was all too familiar with his partner's moods and the reasons for them and this one, he had to agree, was a good reason.

They'd been trying to stay out of trouble now for some time, and doing a reasonably good job of it, if they did say so themselves. They'd been in touch with Lom to see if there was any news from the governor, and it had become a way for Warren to have jobs set up for them to do. The more jobs they did, the more he became familiar with them and accoustimed to the way they worked.

So now they were in the strange position of trying to do a job for the governor and escort the female relatives of some close friends part of the way from Denver, and see them safely to Porterville, where Lom would escort them to Cheyenne. The knew that going to Cheyenne would be too dangerous for them, but Heyes was starting to worry if it was more dangerous for them in Cheyenne or the women they were escorting to keep annoying the Kid.

The "incessant female chatter" had run the gamut from the landscape, what trail they were taking and why, how things were done when setting up camp for the night and breaking down in the morning, to why they wore what they wore and on and on.

Heyes knew he had to do something before that chatter got one of the women killed.

Throwing Curry a glance, he led them off the main path on to what was an outlaw shortcut, which would save them considerable time.

Unfortunately, one of the women who fancied herself able to read a map has noticed and now was questioning his decision.

"Why did we go the way we did?" She asked. "We aren't lost are we?"

"No, ma'am," Curry answered, "Just a shortcut we know."

They quietly made about their chores and after a short while, they got back on their way.

When they finally got settled for that night, much closer to Porterville than the women even expected, Kid approached his partner and quietly asked, "Heyes, why DID we go the way we did?"


"Cause, Kid, as crazy as these ladies are driving you, I gotta tell you, they're doing the same to me. And if I can't justify stopping you from shooting them, I might just do it myself. Lom is going to owe us big for this one!"

"Glad we're in agreement on that. You want first watch?"

Heyes leaned back with his coffee. "Sure, Kid, I can stand the silence."

"Thanks, Heyes, for watching my back. I'm not sure how much longer I could've put up with them two chattering like they did today."

Curry crawled into his bedroll and drifted off. Heyes, meanwhile, tried to remember ever other outlaw shortcut they'd found to get them closer to Porterville.



By S.J. Smith

Kid Curry let out a heavy sigh as he glanced at his partner. He was bone weary and wet. No not just wet soaked thru to the skin. The only good thing was that after 4 long days of rain it finally had stopped. He let out another heavy sigh.
Hannibal Heyes reigned in his horse and patiently waited for his partner to speak.

“Heyes, how did we get here? I mean why did we go this way?” Kid asked.

Heyes looked at his partner somewhat concerned. “Did you catch a fever?” he asked reaching out to put his hand on Kid’s head. Kid smacked it away.

“No! I just want to know why we went this way?”

“Kid, don’t you remember the flash flood? The bridge was out.” Heyes said. “That’s why we went this way.”

“Oh yeah. I forgot.” Kid said. “Hey I’m hungry, you know I forget things when I’m hungry.”

Heyes gave his partner a dimpled smile. “Cheer up Kid. Briantville is only another three or four miles away.” Heyes said prodding his horse forward. “We’ll have a bath, a steak, a beer, some poker and then a nice dry warm bed.”

Kid Curry grinned ear to ear. “Sounds like one of your better plans Heyes. Race ya!” And he kicked his horse into a gallop. Heyes let out a whoop and followed.