Arizona blue - gunfighter, in - "the baby-snatcher" (#34)
Arizona Blue—Gunfighter, in:
“The Baby-snatcher” (#34)
(Galveston, Texas, 1882)) Heading towards Yellowstone)) He came down the street escorted, hands tied to each other. The delegation that followed him consisted of two deputies, one sheriff and the mayor, in addition to the culprit of course, Ned Mace (he snatched babies from their cribs, in stores, whenever he had a chance: sold them and bribed all and everyone who wished to stop him).
The winds were heavy in Galveston that summer, the ocean seemed to have produced waves as high as houses, and the winds seeped through the streets. Ned Mace, obeyed every word the Sheriff said, as if he was a toy, but that was not Ned's nature of course. During this journey, which consisted of walking several hundred feet in the twilight, to a stagecoach, that would take him to a prison the ropes were not once removed.
One of the two deputies, by the name of Allison, had to urinate, and asked the others to halt, and he ran in an alley to do his thing, during this time, the culprit complained of his wrists were swelling to a point it was unbearable. The sheriff took a look, ever so attentive it seemed, then the deputy examined the rope closer together with the Sheriff, it was over-tightened, but the duty said, “So what, this isn't a beauty contest…so they're red and swollen…!” and the Sheriff left it alone. Then suddenly a bullet hit the shoulder of the sheriff, he fell back, and a great array of bullets came—one after the other—at the rest of the entourage, the conclusion was: all but the sheriff and Ned were dead, and the shooter, the deputy, took off like a bee after honey, and so did Ned Mace. The sheriff stood up looked about and yelled for help, as if he was feeble with his wound, which was a very light wound indeed, just scratching the flesh.
It would seem to an onlooker, accuracy and speed helped this escape, thus it was planned, but who saw it? Who witnessed it, it was twilight, and no one could say for sure, and so the sheriff of course knew this, and it would remain a mystery for which the slayers were, but one could say it was the deputy, not even the town drunk could have seen this.
There were many side streets, dark and dingy around that area of twon, and the one the deputy ran down, was next to a hotel, and in the morning, Arizona Blue, walked out of the front door of the hotel, he was on his way to Yellowstone, stopped for a moment to rest up. Now in the bar he saw the sheriff, quietly he walked up to him, asked how he was, the sheriff knew who Blue, was, and simple said, “A bit of trouble last night!” And perhaps the sheriff should not have, for Blue responded, “I know, I saw it all!” The sheriff took a swallow of his beer, “All you say…? too bad the deputy got away and Ned!”
So, said Blue, “The deputy was the bad guy?”
“Of course, he even shot me here in the shoulder!” Then the sheriff pointed to his shoulder.
Said Blue, “I killed the Deputy.” And the sheriff become lost for words, and just at that time, “Ned Mace came down the street, his horse aimlessly crisscrossing main street, his body was like a sack of potatoes laying over the saddle, tied to the horse, the town folks all ran to Ned, looked at the sheriff. The barkeeper overheard the conversation. And Blue went on to Yellowstone.
6-6-2007 (EP/Lima, Peru)
