Hank Jarvis walked into town, his horse lame from so much travelling, especially over those darn mountains. Whatever else you’d like to call Hank, he was always kind to animals, he took his horse over to the Blacksmith first and then to the stables where he was fed and watered. He flicked a coin to the stable-lad and said, “Look after me horse lad!”
Hank looked round the town – found a barber, who shaved off his beard and cut his hair.
“Where can I get a bath?” Hank asked. “In the back room?” the barber nodded towards the rear of the shop. “That will be four bits, two for haircut – two for the bath!” “Where’s the best saloon in this town?” “The Sally Ann just across the street!” “You can rent a room there for the night for two bits!” Hank thought this was his first two bit town.
Refreshed he sauntered over to the Sally Ann Saloon and ordered a pint of the local brew, he found it sweet and thirst quenching, anything was sweet after travelling over the mountains for nine days in the sweltering heat, the horse had been lame for three of those days, that’s when he had to walk.
Hank was remembering how he’d been in that predicament in the first place. He certainly was bushwhacked – He was a foreman in charge of a lot of men and he was asked by the owner to herd horses to a nearby cattle market – it was only thirty miles away, a simple one and a half days’ ride away. It was during that night when one of the men was mysteriously killed and all the horses had been taken and yet no-one knew how.
Going on at the local saloon, the sheriff and two deputies will be stretched to guard Hank as well keeping the peace in town. One of the deputy’s popped in with Hank’s supper, Beef and Mash, two apples and a mug of tea Hank finished off the main meal in double quick time, as he hadn’t eaten since that morning, there was another reason as he asked whether he could keep the knife to peel his apples.
“Seems okay by me, I don’t think you’ll be digging yourself out with that!”
The deputy laughed out loud as he went of the door into the street, he just couldn’t resist bobbing back in with a “Hee-hee !” and then he was gone. Hank climbed up on a stool he used as a table when he had his supper and started on the bars at the window, he always knew that this was the weakest part of the jail. The builder’s never used the same amount of mixture, always cutting corners to finish the job early and then move on somewhere else, and as luck would have it two of the bars had already been loosened sufficiently to leave, there were five bars in all and Hank estimated that two more should do the trick.
The deputy kept coming in on the hour as part of checking procedure, it took about an hour to walk round this town. Hank was eating his first apple and the deputy stayed for ten minutes and as he opened the door to go out he said “You’d better peel that other apple! Next time I come in I’ll be wanting it !” he laughed again.
Hank rushed to work on the third bar some more until it became loose like the other two, he began to work on the forth bar, it was almost time for the deputy’s check. He sat down and began to peel the second apple as the deputy walked in. Hank handed over the knife and the deputy went out immediately. Hank lifted his mattress and found the main frame of the bed was made up of steel coils that had a straight piece at the end with a point, he managed to get it out, but there was no time left to do any work on the bar. He hadn’t realised it had taken a good hour to prise it out and his hands were covered with cuts and bruising. He laid down on the bunk just as the deputy walked in, he stayed for half an hour, reading the assault sheet. Things had quietened down outside and the deputy said to himself as well to Hank – “One more round and then shuteye !” he smiled at Hank as he went out. Hank climbed once more onto his stool and dug away at the fourth bar, the concocted mixture just crumbled away and the fifth bar fell out completely and clattered onto the cell floor. Hank never had time to replace it – the deputy walked back in and looked at Hank briefly
The Deputy thought Hank was asleep. and locked the main door to the street and replaced the rifle in the glass cabinet and locked it, undid his belt and holster and slung it on the back of the chair, took his boots off and threw himself onto the bed in one of the cells and fell asleep.
Hank waited awhile and the deputy seemed to be breathing evenly, he climbed he hoped for the last time and took out the bars and one by one threw them outside, hoping that they would not be heard inside. The deputy stirred and turned over, Hank froze as he could see that the deputy was facing his way, it must be the trick of the light because he could have sworn he was looking at him. Hank heaved himself upwards and just about managed to squeeze through the bars and he was expecting any moment the deputy would be shouting and pulling him back in, but all was quiet. Hank landed rather badly, he hadn’t realised that the window was 20 feet above the ground. He limped over to where he thought the stables were and found himself a horse and a saddle.
There was a moon tonight and the air seemed sweet to breathe in – he mounted the horse and very slowly rode off into the night.
Hank came back to reality and looked around the saloon, the saloon girls were dancing and singing, some men were playing cards or playing the wheel game, talking and boozing, not really paying much attention to what was going on. They were waiting for the main event, the Sally Ann Dancers and Sally Ann herself, it seemed to be the high-light of the evening, every evening. Hank really wasn’t interested in that sort of thing until he saw Sally Ann, she was a beauty, there was no mistaking in that. As Hank was new in town, he wasn’t going to make himself known to her, because she’d probably had a beau and besides he wanted to keep a low profile, because he knew deep down this town was where the horses were.
When he placed the horse in the stable, he noticed other horses with that certain brand just underneath the saddle line……………………To be continued.