My Outlaw (Arthur Morgan)

Gun Practice

Since Sean came back to us safely, I haven't had to worry myself sick every day and toss all night. I haven't had nightmares and I have never felt as refreshed and relaxed as I did then.

I decided that I was going to learn how to properly use weapons. I would like to go with the guys when they rob trains and such, instead of staying at camp, bored and worrying about everyone.

It was around noon when I decided to approach Charles. He was standing guard.

"Hello, Charles," I said.

"Hello, Riley," He said back.

"I was wonderin' if yeh would help me with somethin'?" I asked.

"What do you need help with?" He asked.

"I wan' to learn how to use weapons," I stated. "I wan' to be able to hunt and defend myself."

"I suppose I don't see any harm in that," he said. "We can start when I'm off guard duty."

"Thanks," I said and smiled. I headed back up to the camp and ate a bowl of stew while I waited. I was looking around when I caught sight of a strange woman lurking around. I decided to go tell Miss Grimshaw.

"Excuse me, ma'am," I said. She smiled and said, "hello, dear. What can I help you with?"

"There is a woman here I do not recognize," I said. "I thought I'd let yeh know."

I pointed in the young woman's direction. Miss Grimshaw made a face of disgust. "That is Mary Née Gillis. Well, that was her name. She got married. Her and Arthur used to be sweet on each other and Arthur wanted to marry her, but he was not good enough for her family. I never liked her. Excuse me," she explained and then excused herself. She walked straight over to Mary and said, "what are you doing here?"

Mary looked shocked. "Oh, I um...I was leaving this letter for Arthur. Could you make sure he gets it?"

Miss Grimshaw snatched the letter from her hand and said, "get out of here."

She rushed out of there. I watched after her to make sure she left. I couldn't help but feel a little jealous of her. She looked like she had money. She had beautiful clothes on, she was well groomed, and she had a nice horse. She could have even had Arthur.

I noticed Charles was walking back, so I started toward him. He grabbed a bowl of stew and we headed out.

We rode out to the heartlands where no one would hear and get suspicious of the gunshots.

"Alright, I've brought some bottles along for you to shoot at," Charles said. "When you are comfortable enough, we can head out and start shooting animals."

"Sounds good," I said.

He set each bottle on the rocks and came back to me. "We will start with a cattleman revolver." He handed me his revolver and stepped behind me. He let me shoot without giving me any tips to see how I'd do. I shot and hit 2 out of 5 bottles.

"Not terrible, but you have shot a gun before," he said. "I thought you'd have been able to get at least 3."

"I only shot when I had to," I said. "That's why I wanted help."

"Just curious, why didn't you ask Arthur to help you?" He asked. "You two have been getting pretty close lately."

"I don't want him to see how lousy of a shot I am," I said, my face red. "I would rather show off my shooting skills after I learn them."

He chuckled. He placed a few more bottles on the rocks. "I know you can aim pretty well. When you are about to shoot, let out your breath and hold while you pull the trigger. Your hands will feel steadier. You'll be surprised by how much of a difference it will make."

I aimed at the bottles. I took a breath and released, pulling the trigger. I hit the first bottle. I repeated until all 5 bottles were broken.

"Great! That was much better," he said. "Keep practicing everyday and you'll be a great shot in no time.

He placed 5 more targets on the rocks and we repeated the same process with several different guns. Then, he showed me how to shoot a bow.

"Well, Riley," Charles said. "The sun is getting low. I think that is enough for today. Let's head back to camp and next time, we can head out and hunt some animals."

"Actually, I was thinkin' maybe I'd ask Arthur to teach me how to hunt," I said. "No offense."

"None taken, I understand," he said. "Alright then, let's head back to camp."