Last call for Blackie Sage

Wilson Springs was one of those small desert towns that rose up overnight in the mid 1800's, there was a creek that ran through the outskirts of town named for one of the founding fathers of the little town that was no bigger than a flea on a cow's backside.

Nothing extraordinary ever happened in Wilson Springs, once a week a wagon came with fresh supplies for the General Store, the mail and other various items. When people saw the dust of the delivery wagon kick up on the horizon, they would get excited.

In the beginning, panning for gold was an option, but the gold dust from the creek that streamed from the mountain went fast, the owner one Blackie Sage set up an expensive system that screened out even the most minute speck of dust. There was gold in that there mountain, lots of it, but the entire mountain was owned by Blackie and Blackie had their own mining crew. And to make matters worse, nobody was allowed within a mile of the mines and its little community of miners.

The saloon sat on the edge of town where a piano player played the same worn-out tune on an out of tune piano over and over again. Next to it was the smallest church any man had set their eyes on, across the street was the General Store and then the Hotel.

The noon sun hung high in the sky as two girls played just on the outskirts of town, both were sisters and Clara had turned 18 and was at the proper age for eligible men to show interest in her and vice-versa. And there was one man, a newcomer to town who rode a bright white steed that she had become friendly with. He was just a few years older than her with dark brown hair and eyes.

Mary, the other girl was a few years younger than she was. As they and Bobby from the General Store were the only kids in the town of just over 100 people, all they had were each other, she took interest in panning for gold inside a small spring that was created by the creek. Despite having the right tools, neither one of them knew thing one about what they were doing, but the important part was they were having fun doing it and were killing time which they were very good at. Did either of them know that further upstream was an elaborate screening system? Clara did, but she still played along with what her sister was doing while her mind was on... other things.

Mary could hear the gentle clopping of a horse moving slowly behind her. At first as she thought it was Vic, the stranger that Clara had recently taken interest in, but he rode a white horse and this one was as black as night. On the horse sat a not too unattractive woman with long blonde hair, a long black jacket that flowed behind here like a cape and a black rodeo hat.

“Is a rodeo or a circus coming to town?” Mary asked.

“How should I know?” Clara shrugged and looked up at the dark woman on the dark horse; she was coming from the direction of the forbidden mine. She studied the woman for a second. On the back of her horse was a pack that seemed to be incredibly heavy for its size. “Just keep quiet and let her ride by.”

“OK.” Mary said as Clara put a finger to her mouth.

The dark rider rode by and the weight in the heavy pack shifted just enough so that a small object about the size of a tiny pebble fell out. The light of the sun reflected off of it, and it gave off a golden glow as the dark rider rode on oblivious as to what just happened.

Mary should have waited for the dark rider to ride out of view, or she should have even waited for the cloak of night before she investigated what the object was. But she did neither of those things. Instead, she ran right up to the pebble sized object, picked it up in her hand and yelled out in a joyous tone. “Gold!”

This caused the dark rider to stop in her tracks and Clara look on at the disastrous event that was about to come at her as fast as a train being derailed at full speed. She could neither bear to watch the coming events, nor could she simply look away from them.

“Put that down this instant,” the dark rider dismounted from her horse and sauntered her way towards Mary, as she did, she pulled out her six shooter and pulled the hammer back. “Do you know what we do with little thieves like you?”

“Blackie, stop!” Clare blurted out. “Miss Sage, please!”

“You know who I am,” Blackie said, “how can that be, since we've never met!?”

---

Meanwhile at the Last Chance Saloon:

Vic Savage sat at the bar drinking the whiskey from the dirty little shot-glass, he downed the liquid in one gulp and looked at the older man who sat next to him.

“...why Clara,” the older man said as he bit down on his cigar and studied the 20something man, “why my oldest daughter?”

Vic leaned back against the bar and spoke poetically, “Well, I kinda like her. I think she likes me as well. Will you let it be?”

Bill's eyed furrowed as Vic spoke like he was reciting some sort of haiku or some other poetic nonsense. “You don't really know if she really likes you or just playing around.”

“I learned to know the difference.”

“Right.”

“She is 18, right? Old enough to make her own decisions?”

“Well, yeah.”

“She is able to make her own choice?”

“Meaning?”

“You don't have her lined up to marry someone, do you?” Vic looked around the saloon, and subsequently the street outside. “Because the way I see it; there ain't too much else to pick from except for that bonehead that works at the general store.”

“He's closer to her age while you're--.”

Vic quickly cut him off. “HEY! I'm only 23, a 5-year difference; which ain't a whole lot in the grand scheme of things.”

Bill knew exactly where this was going.

“Is there anything wrong with her? You know...” Vic tapped his finger at the side of his head. “Like that bonehead at the general store?”

“Well, no, just that I let her hold onto her childhood for a bit. I don't think she even knows what to do with a man.”

“Oh, she knows,” Vic closed his eyes and began to remember a little kiss she gave him the night before. It wasn't a big one, but it was enough to say she knew what she was doing. “And what she doesn't know, she'll figure out.”

“But still--.”

It was at that moment they heard the shot ring out, Vic and Bill looked at one another as Clara came running into the saloon. “Make her stop!”

“Who? Make who stop?” Bill looked around for Mary as a second shot was fired. “You didn't leave Mary out in that shooting alone, did you?”

“Dad, Mary's the one she shot!”

Vic placed his hand on Clara's shoulder. “Do you know who did it?”

“Yeah,” Clara looked up at the woman who stood just inside the swinging doors at the saloon entrance, “Blackie Sage.”

“And you know her name,” Bill looked at his daughter, “how?”

“Her likeness is on one of the posters Vic keeps rolled up in that scroll case he has sitting right there.” Clara pointed to the scroll case on the edge of the bar.

“Poster, what kind of poster?” Bill was now worried as he watched Vic pull out the WANTED poster from the scroll case with Blackie Sage's image on it. “You're a god-damned bounty hunter!”

“Don't you think it's about time you go check on your other daughter?” Vic said with a scowl and his eyes narrowed into slits. “It's possible she could still be alive.”

“Who's going to deal with her?” Bill nodded towards Blackie who walked in and sat further down the bar casually ordered a drink like nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

“As you just aptly pointed out,” Vic pulled out his gun and made sure it was fully load, “I'm a god-damned bounty hunter!”

---

Bill quickly made his way out the swinging doors, he didn't have to guess where Mary was, he had seen her head down to the spring with his old panning equipment earlier that day. He found her with Bobby the kid from the General Store at her side.

“Some lady that I ain't ever seen before shot Mary for no reason at all!” Billy blurted out without taking a breath. “Will she be OK?”

Bill looked down at his daughter's body sprawled out on the ground. There was a lot of blood in her shoulder area. He saw something in her hand, a little tiny almost insignificant piece of gold no bigger than a pebble, his eyes moved to the pack horse that was tied up at the saloon with a pack of gold so heavy it weighed down on the horse's back. “Oh, there's a reason, but it doesn't mean it's legitimate.”

“I see.”

Bill ripped off the hem of Mary's dress, wet it in the water and pressed it against the gunshot wound. “Can you hold that there while I figure out how to get her to Doc Sterling's office?”

“Hey,” a man standing next Bill motioned towards a buggy wagon, “just put her in the buggy and I'll take it from here.”

“Doc,” Bill looked up at Doc Sterling. He had no time for small talk, he scooped Mary up and placed her inside the buggy.

“Please make her OK,” Bobby looked at the old doctor tearfully, “she's the only friend I've got!”

---

Clara's eyes narrowed as she stared at the woman who in reality didn't look like she was too much older than she was. Maybe if the circumstances were different, this encounter wouldn't have to be so harsh. She saw Vic's six-shooter sitting unstrapped in the holster, pulled it out and pulled the hammer back and aimed at Blackie. “You killed my sister!”

“So?” Blackie scoffed. “The little piece of shit tried to steal from me.”

The gun shook in Clara's hand. “She was just picking it up to look at it. You have no idea... hell, even I don't have any idea what she was going to do with it!”

Blackie looked at the gun that was shaking in Clara's hand so bad, she wouldn't be able to shoot her even if it were by accident. “Didn't anybody ever tell you to never point a gun at someone unless you intend to shoot them.”

Clara struggled to pull the trigger, and a shot was fired causing a bottle of whiskey to explode behind the bar. The kickback from the gun was so harsh, that it caused Clara to lose her balance and stagger backwards.

Vic had watched enough, while the moment was mildly entertaining, it was putting the girl in a dangerous situation. He put his hand on the gun so he could take it out of Clara's hand. “OK. Give me the gun before you shoot somebody you don't intend to!”

“But--.” Clara knew she wasn't going to win so she released her grip. “Fine.”

“OK.” Vic looked at Blackie, who couldn't help but laughing as she ordered another whiskey. “We can make this your last call.”

“Whatever,” Blackie downed the moonshine whiskey in one gulp. “What are you going to do, kill me in cold blood for killing that thieving little bitch?”

“I'm not stupid,” Vic read the situation going outside in the street, a lynch mob was forming. “Now, the way I see it, we can do this my way or we can do it their way. Their way seems to be hanging you from that oak tree behind the church. Trouble is, sometimes hanging somebody isn't always a clean job. I've witnessed hangings, and sometimes a person can hang there alive by the neck for a while before their neck finally gives way and snaps.”

Blackie gulped. “What's your way?”

“Fair duel out there in the street. “I win; I collect a bounty on you. You win--.”

“They hang you anyway,” Clara smiled, “over an open grave so that all they have to do is cut the rope, let you drop into the grave and throw dirt over you!”

“OK, you're beginning to scare me!” Vic teased Clara, then turned to Blackie. “But she does have a point. You win that duel, there's no telling what this town will do to you!”

“I could try to escape.” Blackie smirked.

“You could try,” Clara looked around the room, she noticed a couple of guns pointing at Blackie, “but I wouldn't recommend it!”

“Either way, I die, all over a $20.00 gold pebble.”

“It's not about the gold pebble,” Clara countered, “it's about you killing my kid sister over a mere $20.00 gold pebble!”

---

Bobby sat on the uncomfortable bench in the doctor's office with Bill sitting next to him.

“Listen, this may take a while before we know for sure if Mary's going to be OK. Why don't you go home to your parents, so they don't start worrying about you?” Bill suggested.

“I don't have no parents. Not anymore. My ma died when I was a baby, and my Pa tried to get a job at the mine, and they shot and killed him for trespassing.”

“I see. Where do you sleep at night?”

“They let me sleep in a back room at the General Store. But it sometimes gets cold back there, especially at night and there are mice that come in after the grain.”

“Maybe I can make arrangements for you to stay at my place.” Bill looked up to see the doctor standing there. “How is she?”

“It's hard to tell,” Doctor Sterling said, “I got both bullets out, but she lost a lot of blood and she's still unconscious. It may be a couple of days until she recovers; if she recovers.”

“Please God, let Mary recover. Please God!” Bobby prayed. “Or at least have them capture the woman who shot her and killed my Pa!”

Bill realized that there was a commotion outside as Vic and Blackie were lining up for a dual. “I think they already have!”

Bobby raced out the door. “She's the one who killed my Pa simply for trying to get a job at the mine!”

“I killed a lot of Pas kid,” Blackie barked just to hear the mob murmur, “you need to be more specific!”

Vic and Blackie stood back-to-back as the bartender went over the rules. “Any firearm is allowed,” the bartender looked down at the sawed-off shotgun that Vic was concealing under his jacket. “I'll count out 10 paces, at that time you immediately turn and fire. Whatever happens after that is on you.”

“Remember, if you win, this crowd's going to be none to happy.” Vic said lowly.

“And if you shoot me with that,” Blackie knew that Vic was attempting to hide from her, “it would be murder!”

“Not if I let you shoot first!”

“Wait--. What?”

“Are the two of you ready?” the bartender asked.

“Let's just get this over with,” Blackie groaned.

The bartender started counting to 10, at each count each took a step.

At 10, Blackie turned and fired a shot and watched as Vic dove to the ground. The bullet flew over his head. He rolled towards her and came up with the shotgun, immediately firing as he did. The last thing she saw was the spray of 27 steel pellets that came racing towards her.

Vic coolly turned towards the sheriff and lit a cigar. “I believe I have a bounty to collect on.”

The sheriff looked at the wanted poster that came from Clara. “I guess you do, and a rather large one at that. Very large.”

---

The sun was beginning to set, and Vic was ready to ride off into the sunset, Clara stood there blocking the horse, as if she could. “Please don't go.”

“You can come with me if you want. It's your decision to make, no mine and not your father's.”

“He's a bounty hunter,” Bill reminded Clara.

Vic tapped at his billfold. “A bounty hunter who just collected a rather substantial reward, looking for a place to settle down.”

An idea came into Clara's head. “The town could use someone like you. Clean up that mine make it so people from the town could find descent work.”

“Could do that,” Vic looked at the mountain, “may take some legal gameplay though.”

“It can be done,” Clara said.

“And it will,” said, “but I would need someplace permanent to stay.”

“I'm sure we can work something out here,” Clara looked at her father, “right?”

“Of course.”

“So, how's little Mary?”

“The doctor wants to keep her in the office overnight where he can keep an eye on her. But he says she'll pull through in a couple of days.” Bill explained.

“Good,” Vic pulled out his scroll case, “is there a place where I can properly discard these Wanted posters, seein' I won't be needing them anymore? By the way, do you have a permanent preacher around, or is it one of those circuit preacher deals?”

“Circuit, why?” Bill knew he didn't need to ask why but still did.

“Because, if Clara wants, we can go and begin talking with him about us getting married when he arrives.”

Clara looked up at Vic and smiled.

“Now wait just a gosh darned minute...” Bill scoffed knowing this was an argument he wasn't even supposed to win.