Robert Parker - Gunman's Rhapsody

“I meant Bill,” she said.

“Oh. Well, Bill’ll get over it, probably better than Wallace will.”

She shifted slightly against him as his hands continued to move over her.

“ Lot of people think you did it, Wyatt. Say Marshal Williams tipped you to the big payload. Even on the posse, people say you and Virgil were just leading them around in circles.”

“Josie, we wasn’t doing the tracking. Billy Breakenridge was doing it first. Then Frank Leslie come out. He was doing the tracking. None of us can track like Frank.”

“I… don’t… care,” she said, trying to keep her breathing steady, “if… you… did.”

“Well,” Wyatt said, “I didn’t.”

His hands moved firmly now, and she pressed against him, squirming a little.

“You… think… Johnny… might be… spreading rumors… because…?”

“Because of us?”

Her breathing was so heavy now that it was hard for her to speak, and when she did it sounded very much like gasping.

“Yes.”

“Could be,” Wyatt said, and she arched against him and her mouth covered his and they stopped talking.

CHRONICLE

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow dies… Jesse James dies… Ralph Waldo Emerson dies… Richard Wagner’s Parsifal is performed.

CHRISTIAN TEMPERANCE UNION

October 26-

At Waltham, in the Universalist Church, yesterday, was held a convention of The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union of Middlesex county. In the morning devotional exercises were engaged in, Mrs. E. T. Luce presiding. In the afternoon Mrs. Talbot of Malden was in the chair, and there was a general discussion of the temperance question. Mr. R. B. Johnson presided in the evening when Mrs. R. W. McLaughlin delivered an excellent temperance address. The gathering was a large one, most of the unions being represented.

THE HARVARD FOOTBALL ELEVEN

DEFEATS THE “TECHS”

October 26-

The Harvard eleven won its second victory from the Institute of Technology team, yesterday afternoon, on Holmes field, in the presence of a fair number of spectators.

AMERICAN MARINES AT ALEXANDRIA

London , October 25-

At a civic dinner here last night, Lord Charles Beresford, who commanded the gunboat Condor, which took part in the bombardment of Alexandria, in describing events occurring after the bombardment, characterized the American Marines at Alexandria as brave fellows. He said they rendered valuable assistance in saving many buildings during the conflagration.

REPORTS OF THE SUPERINTENDENT

OF THE YELLOWSTONE PARK

Washington , October 25-

P. H. Conger, superintendent of the Yellowstone National Park submitted his report to the Secretary of the Interior today. He says that hunting has been practically suspended, and deer and elk are no longer killed. He regards the salary paid assistant superintendents as too small. He suggests that the law dividing the responsibility of the government of the park between the War and Interior departments be changed so as to place the park under the interior department. The hotel built by Rufus Hatch & Co. is completed, and is represented as commodious and well kept.

NIHILISTIC STUDENTS ARRESTED

St. Petersburg , October 25-

Arrests of Nihilists continue daily. Today a number of students were arrested and upon the person of one of them was found a manifesto headed “Executive Committee to the Czar.” The document demands general amnesty for political offenders, entire freedom of the press and speech, and a parliament elected by the people. Unless these demands are complied with the writer threatens rebellion, vengeance upon the nobility and the death of the Czar.

MILWAUKEE BEER

From the celebrated Joseph Schlitz Brewing Company Milwaukee, Wis. for sale in half or quarter bottles or in bottles bearing my trade-mark and name.

Joseph Gahm

83 Commercial Street

MEN WITH A SWEET TOOTH

Said the young blonde in attendance at the candy counter in Macy’s: “Oh yes indeed, many gentlemen buy candy here and from the fact that they eat from the package, and tell us it is for themselves, I believe they have a sweet tooth and like candy as much as we girls.”

It was the beginning of June. Wyatt stood at an open window in the office of Earp/Winders Mining trying to find a breeze. Behind him with his shirtsleeves rolled and his collar unbuttoned Virgil sat at a rolltop desk with his feet up, occasionally wiping sweat off his face with a blue handkerchief. In the shade of the overhang downstairs in front of the Crystal Palace the temperature registered at 104.

“Hear Johnny’s been coming around after Josie,” Virgil said.

“Yeah. It’s her house. She’s told him she don’t want to see him, but he comes around some anyways.”

“Going to do anything about that?”

Wyatt smiled.

“Morgan maybe done it for me,” he said.

“Oh?”

A freight wagon pulled by six sweat-darkened mules labored past, heading east up Allen Street. There were three whiskey barrels standing upright and lashed side by side to the back of the driver’s seat.

“I was up in Tucson couple weeks back, with Winders, about that new shaft extension on the Mountain Maid. I knew Johnny’d been after Josie about letting him back in, so I asked Morgan to keep an eye on her. You know Morgan wants to be a tough nut like his brothers.”

Virgil smiled.

“He is a tough nut,” Virgil said.

“Like his brothers,” Wyatt said.

“ ’Cept maybe a little too quick sometimes,” Virgil said, “proving it.”

“Hell, Virg, you remember when you was his age.”

Virgil grinned again. “I was never his age. What’d he do?”

“Well, Josie told me that Morgan came by, said he was going to sort of sit around for a while, case Johnny showed up and bothered her. So she gave him some coffee and they sat in the living room and they talked. You know Morgan.”

“He could talk to a sage chicken,” Virgil said.

“Yep, and then sure enough, Johnny comes knocking at the door and Josie lets him in, and there’s Morg sitting there with his coffee. Well, Johnny says, ‘What the hell is he doing there?’ And Morgan says he’s keeping company with his brother’s girlfriend. And Johnny tells him to get out of his house, and Josie reminds him it ain’t Johnny’s house. It’s her house paid for by her father, and Johnny says it don’t give her the right to live in it and be a slut for the Earps. So Morgan knocks him down, and Johnny gets up, and Josie says Morgan was annoyed as hell. ‘I’m losing my goddamned punch,’ he says, and knocks Johnny down again, and this time Johnny stays down for a while, and when he gets up, sort of tottering, Morgan runs him out the front door.”

“Good, Johnny wasn’t packing,” Virgil said.

“Wouldn’t matter if he was,” Wyatt said. “He wouldn’t jerk on Morgan.”

“You never know,” Virgil said. “You never know how far you can push somebody.”

A single rider with a big hat and a checkered blue shirt rode a lathered chestnut horse up Fifth Street and turned the corner. He reined and got off the horse in front of the Oriental across Fifth Street from the Crystal Palace. He led the horse down to the watering trough in front of the Arcade and let him drink. Then he brought the chestnut back and tied him to the rack in front of the Oriental and went in.