RANGO // OӘͶAЯ - Another Outlaw Story [Engl.]

51. New Ways

"Are you sure you know where to hammer, Pappy?" Ezekiel asked, who was worriedly holding a nail that Balthazar was pounding on with the hammer.
"Of course I know," Balthazar said. "I just follow my ears."
"Ouch!"
Ezekiel waved his hand, his face contorted with pain.
"And I'm hearing that I hit the wrong point," Balthazar added jokingly.
Jake had ordered them to repair the bank that they had demolished with their robbery. Mr. Parsons, who was just about to get the chaos in the bank counter in order, looked up in surprise when a figure stepped through the door.
"Mr. Merrimack!" the bank assistant shouted happily. "You are back! Where have you been?"
The squirrel rubbed his head when he saw all the damage in the bank.
"That was a crazy story," he muttered. "I calmly wanted to check the bank statements again when I was attacked and kidnapped..."

But not only in the bank, also in the town was cleaned up. Meanwhile, Meggy had freed herself from her pajamas and squeezed herself back into her dress. Thoughtfully, she looked at the hustle and bustle.
"By the way, what about our house?" she asked.
Stump ducked his head. "Uh, that's currently being renovated, honey."
The mayor, Jake, Coral, Priscilla, Bill and Rice stood a little further afar, exchanging a word here and there.
Finally, Bill turned directly to Rice. "And what are you doing now?"
Rice frowned. "Well, Doc is treating my father's shoulder right now." She paused for a moment. "What will happen afterwards... I don't know."
Bill leaned forward to her. "Don't you want to stay here?"
"Out of the question!" a rough voice intervened suddenly.
Rice jumped up immediately. "Oh, hello dad..."
Joel wore his arm in a sling and looked down almost angrily at the pair of lizards. "You're coming home with me!"
Rice grimaced. "And then start the same game all over again?"
Joel gritted his teeth. "Daughter. I just want the best for you. The town is nothing for you."
He passed her and was about to move away when his daughter held him back. "No, I will not come with you."
The old lizard stopped dead in his tracks and looked at his daughter in disbelief. "What?"
Rice rolled her eyes. "Dad! How long do you want to force me to live such a life? I have to meet people! This boy was the first half stranger who I saw in so many years."
Joel let out an angry growl. "He's the stupidest idiot I've ever seen!"
She gave her father a stern look. "Hey! Maybe he'll even become mayor one day."
"Anyway," Joel cut her off. "You're coming home now!"
But Rice shook her head.
The old lizard was annoyed that he didn't have his rifle right now.
At that moment, Beans appeared. She carried a backpack on her shoulders.
"Beans," her father said in relief. "At least you're sensible. Let's go home."
But to his surprise, she also declined. "No, I'll never set foot there again. - Not even in this town."
Her father's mouth stayed open. But this announcement also aroused amazement at Rice.
"You don't want to stay here?" her sister asked.
Beans shook her head. "I don't want to think about my mother any longer. I just have to get away from here."
The sisters looked at each other for a while. Then Rice walked up to her and gave her a warm hug. "Then take good care of yourself," she said finally.
Joel stood by, completely perplexed. "But... but... who will take over my ranch then?"
"I can do that," Chorizo suddenly offered.
All eyes wandered to him. But Joel was anything but enthusiastic.
"Him? That is out of the question at all!"
"What else can you do, dad?" Rice intervened. "The pipes are damaged anyway. Even you can't do anything."
"Joel," John intervened now. "I know it hasn't been easy for you, but wouldn't it be best if we buried the hatchet?"
For a moment, Joel stood impassively on the sidewalk. Then he just raised his head. "I'll have to think again about that."
John smiled slightly. "How about a drink?"
"Well," Rice said. "I think they'll get along somehow."
"Hopefully you're right about that," Bill agreed and put his arm over her shoulders.
Rice turned back to her sister. "But how do you get away from here now?"
Beans thought about it. "Oh, I think I already know who could help me with this."

The sun was already leaning towards the horizon. Out of the town, a figure was busy with a roadrunner. He checked the saddle again. But when he wanted to swing on the mount, someone tore his shirt suddenly.
"Hey!"
The chameleon turned around indignantly. He paused in amazement when he saw Beans's stern face.
"You didn't steal that, did you?!" she inquired.
The chameleon raised his head. "Just a souvenir from the clan brothers."
"And you just want to run away like that?" Beans asked pointedly.
"What did you think?" Rango said bitterly.
He was about to swing his leg over the roadrunner again when she grabbed him by the collar again. "Hey, if you don't apologize, I won't come with you either!"
Rango froze. "You want to come with me?"
Beans lifted her chin. "I just need someone to show me outside. I just can't stand it any longer here."
The chameleon frowned, then he grinned. "Was that now an offer for someone to accompany you?"
He winced when she gave him a hard push. "First you apologize!"
Annoyed, the chameleon rubbed his shoulder. "Yeah, okay, sorry. - Okay, we can go."
Beans rolled her eyes. "But not an apology to me only!"
Rango looked at her in surprise. "To whom else?"
The girl put her hands on her hips. "You know exactly to whom."

"Adios, Sheriff!" Balthazar waved as he left with his prairie dogs and the rabbit clan that had been abducted. "It was nice to have done business with you."
"Hopefully the last one too," Ezekiel said as he climbed up onto the hawk's back.
Pappy laughed. "Well, I think we'll keep this cute little bird."
The hawk sighed deeply, but obeyed when Balthazar pulled the reins and gave the signal to take off.
Sheriff Jake watched them from a distance and they said goodbye.
And no sooner had the swirled dust of the taking off hawk settled, Jake felt immediately that he was not left alone.
When he turned around, he knew why.
He wasn't far from him.
The two dissimilar reptiles looked at each other.
Finally, the chameleon looked down.
"I don't want to say too many words," he began.
He looked up briefly. Jake was still standing and looking down at him. Then he nodded. He understood everything completely. Even Rango.
The chameleon tilted the brim of his hat with his fingers and Jake returned the gesture with a slight tilt of his body.
Then the gunslinger turned and walked away. Jake followed him with his glance and saw the chameleon walk past Beans.
"That's what you call an apology?" the girl asked indignantly.
Rango raised his head. "Girls don't understand anything about man's things..."
She punched him hard in the ribs.
"Ouch! Hey, does it always work like that now?"
Beans walked past him, his head held high. "Well, I've packed everything anyway."
Rango's eyes fell out of his head when he saw the cart harnessed with a peccary, which was loaded with lots of luggage.
"You want to take all of this with you?" He exclaimed, aghast. "That's a whole household!"
"Either all of that, or not at all," she gave him the choice.
Sighing, the chameleon turned to his roadrunner. "I see it will be a nice trip."
Jake's glance was distracted when he saw the caravan of Indians who were also preparing to leave the country and returning home. In the end, the rattlesnake spotted a white shape. Quickly, he left his position and slid to the end of the caravan.
When Coral saw him, she stopped.
"Good evening, Sheriff Jake," she greeted him politely.
"You're crawling away?" Jake asked immediately.
Coral nodded. "Yes, we will move back home with the tribe."
"Don't you like it here?" Jake asked.
Coral looked at him in surprise. "Well, now after the water is back and the Jenkins brothers can't bother us anymore..."
She looked at the rattlesnake. Jake looked like he was about to say goodbye, but then someone nudged him from the side. Jake looked at Priscilla in surprise, who had given him a push.
"Now tell her," the Aye-Aye girl urged him, annoyed.
Jake cleared his throat for help. "Well, I... I think I'll stay here for a while," he started out of necessity. "And, out there, you can't disguise yourself so well. There could be falcons again..."
Priscilla shook her head disapprovingly. Even the owls, who had lined up a few meters away from them, wondered when they could finally play the final melody of the romance.
Finally, Señor Flan couldn't stand it any longer and threw Lupe's violin stick at the back of the head of the snake. Jake was so startled that he stumbled forward and accidentally hit Coral nose to nose.
As if frozen, the two snakes met each other's eyes.
Then Coral laughed and pulled his head back from his face.
"I would like to stay here."
Jake raised his head. "Really?"
She snuggled up against him and the rattlesnake stiffened. "If you ask me like that."
"Hey, what about me?" Priscilla asked.
Coral glanced at Jake. Finally, Jake nodded and they agreed. Together they watch how the Indians gradually disappeared behind the horizon.
While Lupe was picking up his violin stick, Señor Flan called for the evening quartet.
"It took a long time," he muttered.
Then everyone tuned his instrument briefly and Señor Flan began to sing:
"And so the snake completes his journey from humble beginnings to the legend we sing of today. And although he is certain to die, perhaps from a household accident, which account for 65% of all unnatural deaths, the people of the village will honour his memory even as they abandon their dignity..."
A little further away from the snake couple, another couple moved into the sunset, albeit a little arguing. And if anyone asked what had become of Rango and Beans, the most of the people just replied: ask her sister.