Now Playing: Hellfire
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Episode Eleven concluded with:
The threesome became
quiet as they drew near Hellfire. Waves of heat zig-zagged crazily in front of
them like ghosts guarding a portal to the netherworld. Two of Beau’s henchmen,
both holding rifles, stepped off the boardwalk that fronted a small saloon. One
of them set down a bottle that they had been sharing. They stared at the strange
horsemen that approached.
“It’s that crazy preacherman, Lou.”
“Yeah, and he’s got that gambler fella with him, don’t know who the other
jasper is.” Both gunmen were tall, with large foreheads and deep set eyes. Not
surprising. Lou and Sherm Proctor were brothers who spent half of their lives
stealing and the other half in Hellfire.
Sherm carefully eyed the horsemen. “The third jasper is the man who outdrew
Lars Olsen last night. Watch him real careful. I’ll stand on their right side,
you take the left.”
Lou nodded as he raised his rifle and yelled, “Stop right there!”
Episode Twelve
“Howdy
gents!” Hosea sounded upbeat and confident. “I got me two prisoners that Mr.
Rawlins will wanna see.”
Sherm didn’t raise his rifle, but
there was suspicion in his voice. “Whadda you talkin’ ‘bout, preacher man?”
Hosea pointed his rifle at the two
riders in front of him. “I useta think these two were fine Christian gentlemen.
Then last night I caught ‘em stealin’ from the cash box at the Quick Dollar.
Guess I’ve been hangin’ out in bad company. I owe Mr. Rawlins an apology.”
Sherm’s suspicion diminished but it
was still there. “Nobody told me ‘bout money bein’ taken from the Quick
Dollar.”
Hosea shrugged his shoulders. “Well,
that’s what happened. Got the loot in my saddle bags. Come see.”
Both brothers lowered their rifles
and stepped toward Hosea’s saddle. Rance jumped Sherm while Stacey pounced on
Lou. Both outlaws were knocked unconscious. Their bodies were dragged behind
the saloon where they were bound and gagged.
Hosea looked down at the two
outlaws, both regaining consciousness but too weak to try to break out of the
ropes. “Let this be a lesson to both you gents. Lust for filthy lucre always
leads to a downfall.”
“We’ll have to end the sermon
there.” Dehner looked about and listened carefully. “We’ll move down the back
way to the Quick Dollar.”
As they made their way down the row
of wooden structures, Dehner tried to recall the exact set up of the town.
There were ten buildings. Four of them were saloons. There was a gun shop which
doubled as a general store and two Hotels which housed most of the town’s
population. One house stood at the end of the street: the private residence of
Beau Rawlins. There was a livery, and Hellfire boasted one restaurant, which
obviously did not do much of a lunch trade.
They stopped at the back door of the
Quick Dollar. Rance tried the door, which was locked. The detective pointed to
a nearby window. “Breaking the glass will probably make less noise than busting
down the door.”
Rance pulled his Colt as he moved
over to the target. “The latch is broken!” he said as he opened the window and
holstered his gun.
“Hallelujah!” Hosea declared in a
loud whisper. “That’s an answer to prayer!”
Stacey’s face crunched. “When did
you pray for a broken latch?”
“Well…what I meant was…”
“Never mind that!” Dehner anxiously
whispered. He was looking out at his companions after having crawled through
the window. “Get inside!”
Tomorrow: Episode Thirteen of Hellfire
