Western Omelette

It Can't ALL Be Bad Luck

The sheriff was happy for any excuse to be rid of the Santiagos, a charge of public nuisance wasn't worth the paperwork, but he made it a point to warn them about their activities and behaviour around the territory.

"I hope you boys are payin' attention."

"Si, si, attention." They hurried from the jail. "Queek!" Oscar urged his brothers across the street and through the alley.

"Conseguimos la yegua," Alesandro said, grabbing the reins of the mare, and trying to steady the skittish horse while Pedro climbed aboard.

"You can have de mare, jost hurry up!" Oscar was struggling to get a foot in the stirrup of the palomino stallion.

"Hey! Get away from them horses!" Egan shouted as the hotel door opened and he, Cody, and Alicia crowded onto the little porch.

"I deenk not, Greengo." Oscar drew his gun and waved it at the trio.

"Duh nan said bet off dose horses." Cody warned.

"¿Qué dijo?"

"He said, geddown, Chili Pepper." Egan fired a shot over Oscar's head.

The gunshot caused the mare to rear up, and Alesandro and Pedro were dumped unceremoniously into the dirt. Oscar, one foot still caught in the stirrup, was hopping around in a circle with the stallion, trying to get aim at Egan.

Cody jumped off the porch and began wrestling with Oscar, both men crashing to the ground and rolling away as the stallion danced dangerously around them, stepping on Cody's boot.

"Ny boop! Ny boop!"

"Ferget yer dang boot, Cody, grab the horses." Egan let go of Alicia for a moment to deal with the other two Mexicans. Her parasol opened suddenly in his face, and he toppled off the porch landing head first, out cold.

Out of the lane poured the sheriff, two deputies, Hoke, and Harold. From the back of the hotel, Edward appeared with a large double-barrelled shotgun, and behind him the cook brandishing his ladle.

"Awright! Awright! Drop them guns and reach for the sky." The sheriff grabbed Oscar by the collar and jerked him to his feet. "Can't leave you free for two minutes, can I, Santiago?"

"Theese greengos attacked us!" Oscar wailed.

"Horth thebes!" Cody roared. "Bay bere stealig our horthes." He scrambled in the dirt for his boot tip.

"They what?" Harold poked at Hoke.

"I think he called them horse thieves."

Egan groaned and sat up, clutching his head. Blinking, he saw Cody and the Mexicans with their hands up and he fired his gun. In the next few minutes, men were shouting, and more shots were fired. Edward released both barrels of the shotgun, and fell back through the hotel door onto the cook.

Oscar pulled free of the sheriff and ran at Egan, shouting a string of Spanish profanities. Hoke saw Cody going for his gun and made a running dive, carrying both men heavily to the ground, the silver tip of Cody's boot went spinning away in the shadows. Thankfully the two were separated by the deputies so they didn't have to fight anymore.

The sheriff was struggling with a frenetic Oscar, who was screaming at Alicia and cursing both she and her sombrilla, which once again had bloomed in his face, while wrestling with Egan

****

Remaining out of sight, Houseman watched with disgust, as his men, were marched off to jail, and he slipped away to refine his own plans. Another shadow drifted across the side of the hotel, disappearing into the night.