The Frontier

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Sitting in a dark corner, Jack Carson stared into his empty whisky glass. Looking at the last droplets of alcohol resting in the bottom, he wondered how it had come to this. Only a few weeks ago, it had seemed like things were going well. He had money in his pocket, and had joined a few people on a job that could have been profitable. Now... now look where he was.

Dressed in loose fitting clothing and with a shabby hat, he looked very much down on his luck. But that was to be expected after the last week.

He had joined with 3 other men on a simple job. They were to ride after a bank robber, and bring him in. It had all gone well too, finding the man along with his stolen loot. He should have known it was going sour when one of them shot the robber. Then, on the return trip they were passing through a bit of desert and all of a sudden 3 guns were pointing at him.

His horse was taken, along with his guns, money, and his hat. He sure missed that hat. He had spent the past 5 years training it, and the silver band around the brim sure made him smile. Leaving him with nothing but his underclothes, they rode off. At least they didnt kill him, he was grateful for that.

He had tried to walk to the nearest town, but eventually gave up. He would have died there, if a stranger hadnt ridden past. Giving him a lift on his horse, he brought him this far, and even gave him a spare set of clothes and a couple of dollars to get started. Most had gone on the current hat he was wearing and a shot of whisky.

Looking around the saloon, he observed the regular bustle. It was just a regular frontier town, and he didnt expect much to be happening, but you never know. The man who had helped him was probably still around. He never got told his name, and he figured the guy had some reason for keeping it quiet. Afterall, he had a slightly shady past himself.

Reaching for the locket he kept, he cursed. They took that too. His locket was all he had to remind him of Marie. How long had it been since he'd seen her? Casting his mind back he tried to recall. 3 years! Was it really that long? How he missed her sometimes. The last time he'd seen her they had just robbed the small town bank, and were high-tailing it even as the town posse were being organised. They had split up to evade capture, and agreed to meet a few miles away... but she never showed. The times with her were some of the best of his life. It had never been dull, given that they never had to look for trouble. It always seemed able to find them.

Taking a sigh, he looked at the faces in the saloon. He needed money, and he really wanted to find those guys who had taken from him. Right now he'd take on almost anything... just to get back in the saddle. Well... a saloon was as good as anywhere to be, and maybe the man who helped him might want a riding partner for a bit. Who knows.

[ November 25, 2004, 08:25: Message edited by: Takara ]