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Episode Sixteen concluded with:
Cissy took a step closer to her father. Her
entire body began to shake uncontrollably. The girl suddenly broke into tears,
dropping the gun to the floor.
Dencel pushed the gun away with his foot as he
slammed a fist into his daughter’s jaw. The blow sent Cissy into a fast twirl.
She tried to stay on her feet but collapsed to the floor.
A look of grotesque amusement appeared on
Dencel’s face as he looked down at his daughter.“I guess that kick to the head
I gave your boyfriend didn’t do much good. Maybe I can kick some sense into
you. It might take a few, but you ain’t gonna be doin’ no more talkin’ about
killin’ your pa.”
Episode Seventeen
Rance
Dehner rushed into the barn and tackled Dencel Runyan. Both men hit the floor.
The saddle bags and sack fell from Runyan’s shoulder but he still had the Henry.
He gripped it with both hands and used it as a club, bringing it down on
Rance’s neck. Dehner delivered a hard punch to Runyan’s throat, causing him to
gasp for breath as he dropped the rifle and pushed Rance off.
Dencel
grabbed the Henry and ran outside the barn. Dehner sprinted after him. When
Dencel turned to fire the rifle, Rance was directly behind him and assaulted
the large man with a whirlwind of punches. The Henry dropped to the ground, but
Dehner deliberately didn’t try to knock his opponent down. That would end the
fight. Having witnessed what he had done to Cissy, Dehner wanted to inflict as
much punishment on Dencel Runyan as he could.
***
Cissy
staggered to her feet and looked out the barn door. Her father and the
detective were still fighting, but the outcome wasn’t in doubt. She hastily
turned toward Ricky, who was on his feet but, like her, none too steady.
Ricky
spoke in a loud whisper. “Bring me the saddle bags and the gun.”
Before
carrying out the instructions, Cissy took another glance out the door. Her pa
was on the ground. The Rance fellow was shouting at him to get up and fight
some more. The girl smiled broadly. Pa didn’t seem to care much for the notion.
The
girl’s playful thoughts quickly vanished. Both she and Ricky were in no shape
to resist the law. The detective was pretty much in charge. But maybe that
wasn’t such a bad thing.
Cissy
weaved a bit as she picked up the saddle bags and the Derringer and carried
them to Ricky Cates. “That man who beat up on pa, he’s the detective I told you
about. We can’t get away from him, we’re both too hurt.”
The
man she loved didn’t seem to be paying much attention to Cissy. He grabbed the
saddle bags and gun from her and immediately looked inside the bags.
“Ricky,
surrender to the law. You never took too much money from the banks and you
never hurt anyone. Not serious. Everyone knows you’re a wonderful man. You’ll
only have to do a little jail time, a couple of years. I’ll wait for you…”
The
Robin Hood of the Range smirked and tossed the saddle bags over his shoulder.
“Why, that’s right sweet of you, girl. Before I turn myself in, why don’t you
give me one more kiss. Something to remember you by while I’m sittin’ in a cold
cell.”
The
moment they kissed, Cissy knew something was wrong. As soon as their lips
parted, Ricky grabbed her by the hair as her pa had often done, held her
against his chest and placed the Derringer at the side of her head.
“Ricky,
please, you’re…”
“Shut
up and move. We’re goin’ outside. If you try to get away, I’ll kill you.”
Ricky
shouted as he paraded with Cissy toward the open barn door. “Mr. Detective, I
know you’re out there. You’d better be in plain view when I reach the doorway
or Miss Cissy gets a bullet in her head. You hear me?!”
Monday: Chapter
Eighteen, the conclusion of The Robin Hood of the Range