Lane noticed the coach.
He started to imagine his banishment from town.
The Montana mountains were vast, its sharp edges cut into the rocks. Nearby was the town of Ohio. He gripped the lasso in his right hand; he hit the dusty road in anger.
Then, after the dust settled, he saw Anna shouting for Gilles to stop.
***
Lane walked towards them.
His spurs clicked along his boots; his eyes focused on the rich ladies. Gilles, who wore a tan shirt, brown trousers, the collars flapping in the warm, seventy degree weather, shifted uneasily. He gripped onto the reigns of the horses, vowing to arrive at the homestead alive, rather than alive.
Anna screamed.
"Ma'am, excuse me. But this stretch of road is full of rogues, highway men, and bank robbers. And drifters like me".
"Go away!".
Lane aimed his pistol at her.
"The Sheriff is the law in Montana. But my laws are my own. You can leave now, or later. The coach won't travel up the mountains".
"Mother, arrest this outlaw!".
Lane laughed.
"Ma'am, you're under my arrest. Everyone shall be beholden to me. Five hundred gold coins are owed for my home to be repaired, plus another five hundred for the horses to feed".
"This is outrageous!", Margaret Deans shouted.
"Ma'am, the Sheriff owes me. Pay me my price, or both of you will not be home".
"Anna, tell Gilles the coach is under attack...".
Lane aimed his pistol at them.
"Pay up, now!".
Anna held onto her own pistol.
She aimed it at Lane's chest.
"Sir, name your price".
"Ma'am, I...One thousand...".
"No, lower. Five hundred gold coins, or you'll end up dead in the Montana dust".
"I agree to the ladies' terms".
Anna smiled, and lowered her gun at the drifter.
***
TO BE CONTINUED...
Page 5.
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The Westerner
AdventureThe Westerner is rated 15+ for some violence, sex references, adult themes. Montana, 1862 In the 19th Century, where cowboys live on the harsh lands, Lane James, a twenty-five year old drifter, faces an uncertain future, where murderers, convicts, a...
