Oakley Hall - Warlock

Blaisedell said he had warned the road agents they weren’t to come into Warlock any more, but he didn’t move on right away and it sounded to Foss as though he were willing to listen to reason. Gannon said, “Marshal, give me five minutes and I will go down there and—” He didn’t finish saying what he would do; he talked in fits and starts, and he looked like he was chewing on something that had got gummed in his mouth. A man had to feel sorry for him. Finally he said to the marshal how he might disarm them, but by then his voice had got so low you could hardly hear it.

Blaisedell asked him if he thought he could disarm them but John Gannon didn’t answer, and Morgan nudged the marshal with his elbow. Then Gannon looked about to say something more, but he never did, and the marshal and Morgan went on down Southend Street, past the old, bowed-out corral fence there. Morgan walked spread out from the marshal a little, so when they came up even with the corral gate he and the marshal were about ten feet apart; and Morgan went on a few steps after the marshal had turned toward the corral gate, so he was a little behind and maybe ten or fifteen feet beyond the marshal when the two of them stood facing into the Acme.

It was a little while yet before the shooting started.

V

( From the testimony of Clay Blaisedell and of Thomas Morgan. )

When Clay Blaisedell and Thomas Morgan faced the gate of the Acme Corral, halfway across the street from it, they both saw Luke Friendly first. He stood on the south side of the corral about twenty feet inside. There were three horses tied behind him, and the one nearest him had a rifle in the boot on the near side. Friendly was bent forward so he looked smaller than he really was, and had his hands held out at his waist for a fast draw. Crouched like that, with his hands like that, he looked to be backing away, though he didn’t move. He looked to both Blaisedell and Morgan as though he didn’t much want a fight, now that he had stopped to think about it.

Billy Gannon stood in the center and Pony Benner on the north side, close by the gate. Billy Gannon was wearing two guns, Benner one. They were both outlined against the wall of the Billiard Parlor at the back of the corral. Dust was blowing straight out of the corral in gusts of wind, but both Blaisedell and Morgan noticed that a door to the Billiard Parlor there stood a little way open.

Blaisedell considered Billy Gannon to be the leader, though Benner might be the more dangerous one. Friendly was not much to worry about unless he went for the rifle in the saddle boot. Blaisedell called to Billy Gannon by name and said, “You don’t have to fight me, Billy.”

Billy didn’t answer. They could hear Benner cursing to himself. Morgan saw Friendly look toward the door to the Billiard Parlor and he said to Blaisedell behind his hand, “I will hold on that door. Don’t you worry about it.”

Blaisedell tried to talk to Billy Gannon again. “You don’t have to fight me, Billy. You and your partners just mount up and ride out.”

Billy said, “Go for your guns, you son of a b—!”

Blaisedell started moving forward then. He still thought the road agents might be backed out. This time he spoke to Benner. “Don’t make us kill you, boys. Clear on out of here.”

Billy Gannon yelled at them again to go for their guns, but did not start to draw his own yet, and Blaisedell kept moving forward. He thought he might get close enough to buffalo the boy, and then the others might fold. He had seen they had no stomach for it.

Morgan saw the door of the Billiard Parlor flung open, and yelled to Blaisedell. Blaisedell had seen it too, and he stepped sideways as a man with a Winchester showed there. He didn’t know that it was Calhoun till later. The man let fly with the rifle and Morgan fired back, three times. Those were the only times that Morgan fired. The man yelled and fell sprawled out into the corral. Morgan swung around to cover Friendly, in case Friendly thought of going for the rifle in the boot, but he could see that Friendly had lost interest in the whole business.

When Calhoun had fired from the back, Benner had started for his Colt, and Blaisedell drew and fired. Pony went back hard with his hat rolling off, and didn’t move again. Billy Gannon had looked back over his shoulder and seemed to be trying to dodge when the rifle went off. It sounded to Blaisedell as though he yelled, “No! No!” and when Billy turned back to face him he thought that Billy was going to put his hands up. But then Billy changed his mind, or else it had been a trick, and made his move. Blaisedell called his name again, but Billy was too close to count on his missing, and Blaisedell fired just as Billy got his six-gun clear of the holster. Billy spun around and dropped his Colt. His right arm was hanging broken, but he grabbed for his left-hand Colt and got a shot off.

Morgan saw Blaisedell stumble back, and jumped forward to try to get out from behind Blaisedell for a shot at Billy. But then Blaisedell fired again and Billy went down.

Friendly came running and yelling toward them with his hands held up. He caught hold of Blaisedell, crying out that he hadn’t had anything to do with Calhoun being there and hadn’t wanted anything to do with any of it. He was crying like a baby. They had made him come, he said, and he hadn’t had anything to do with robbing the stage.

Blaisedell shook him off and said, “Get to shooting or get out of town!”

Friendly went running back toward the horses, still holding his hands up. Morgan thought he looked like he was going to dive into the horse trough. He could see that Blaisedell had been shot in the shoulder, but it looked no more than a crease. He saw Billy trying to get his six-shooter out, where he had fallen on top of it.

Blaisedell walked over to Billy and took the Colt away just as he pulled it free. Billy said to him, “I could have killed you if they hadn’t done that.” And he said, “I didn’t know they was going to do that. Oh, the dirty sons of b--es!”

Morgan went over to the man who had fallen out the door of the Billiard Parlor and turned him over. He called to Blaisedell that it was Calhoun. Calhoun was already dead, and so was Benner. Friendly took out on his horse and went down Southend Street at a run.

Men were starting to come into the corral now, and Blaisedell called to them to get the doctor.

VI

( From the testimony of Deputy Carl Schroeder. )

Deputy Schroeder was one of the first into the Acme Corral after the shooting stopped. He saw Luke Friendly light out on his horse as though the fiends were after him. Pony Benner was dead just inside the corral gate and Blaisedell was standing by Billy Gannon, who was still alive. Blaisedell handed Schroeder Billy’s Colt, and pointed out another where Billy had dropped it. Blaisedell had been creased on the right shoulder and it was bleeding some.

Billy Gannon was gasping and choking, and Johnny Gannon ran in and knelt beside him. Blaisedell moved off then. Morgan was over toward the back of the corral, where Calhoun was lying dead on a little adobe walkway outside the open side door of Sam Brown’s Billiard Parlor. There was a rifle beside Calhoun. He was shot three times, once through the throat and the other two not a finger apart on the left side of his chest.

Schroeder asked Morgan if Calhoun had tried to ambush them from there, and Morgan said he had, and pushed Calhoun back over on his face with his foot.

Some others came over to look at Calhoun and congratulate Morgan, who moved off. A good lot of others were standing around Blaisedell. Dr. Wagner had shown up and was bending down over Billy Gannon, but anybody could see there wasn’t anything to do.