Lifesaver [Engl.]

21. A town and his killer

Beans watched how Doc disappeared into the saloon with Elgin and Spoons.
The whole city had gathered there by now. Even Miss Oats, who never actually went to the saloon, was there.
Doc sat down at the counter and Buford poured him a glass. Elgin sat down next to him and turned his face to the townspeople. Then he cleared his throat. "I think you all know why we are here."
"I have a clue," Waffles said. "But why exactly are we here?"
Buford drew on his cigarette. "You already know."
Waffles made big eyes. "Ah, now I know."
"Exactly," Elgin said and crossed his arms. "I think you haven't forgotten what happened in the morning."
Everyone nodded.
"He really attacked us," Miss Oats babbled hysterically, holding her Bible protectively in front of her body.
"It is sheer recklessness to keep him in town any longer," Ambrose said.
Spoons nodded. "He's not so wrong. If this snake stays here any longer, I'll have another heart attack at some point. "
Elbows giggled. "As if you needed that."
Elgin held up a hand. "The question is... the question is, what should we do. I think I speak for everyone here that Jake is a danger to all of us. "
Everyone nodded and talked wildly.
"If we're not careful, he'll eat one of us at some point," someone shouted.
"Do you remember the day when Jake killed our last sheriff?"
Miss Oats sighed. "God have mercy on his soul."
"I remember the day very well," Elgin muttered grimly.
"Oh yes," Furgus agreed. "This Amos was a nice guy, even if a bit reckless."
Everyone wailed.
"Quiet!" Elgin shouted, raising his hands. Slowly the voices fell silent and everyone looked at each other uncertainly.
"Well, it would be more sensible to sacrifice your life than one of ours," Elgin muttered softly.
Buford raised his eyebrows. "And what do you suggest?"
Everyone was silent. They all had the same thought, but did not dare utter it.
"Who knows how long we can keep him hidden," Furgus muttered.
Elbows scratched his chin questioningly. "You mean the strangers who were here yesterday?"
Furgus nodded. "Much would not have been missing and they would have beaten the information out of us."
Again there was a babble of voices.
"They didn't look nice," Waffles said.
Miss Oats shrieked. "But if they find out that we lied to them, they'll definitely attack us. Just think of the children."
"Oh, what can they do against us?" Waffles asked. "We're outnumbered."
Everyone gave him a reproachful look.
Waffles ducked his head. "All right. Keep talking. I said anything."
"We should also think of the children," Miss Oats interfered again. "Just think about it. The future of our city."
"So," someone called into the room. "Either the life of a killer or our life."
"I agree. Sooner or later they will discover it. The truth always comes out. "
"Well," Elgin started again. "What should we do?"
"The snake has to get out of town!" Somebody shouted.
"But how?"
"Chase away?"
"Shooting is always better!"
"He is still defenseless."
"What about Rango?"
Everyone fell silent and looked at Waffles. Reluctantly, Waffles went on. "He promised us that he would take responsibility. If we chase Jake out or kill him, what will he think about us?"
"And why is he still not back?" Someone asked.
All eyes went to Doc.
Doc shrugged. "I don't know where he's staying for so long. But I'm sure he'll have a good reason for it. After all, he set off straight away."
Elgin raised his eyebrows. "Doc? How high is the probability that the snake will survive?"
Doc scratched his head. "If he doesn't get the drug, the chances of survival are very poor. But the possibility that he will make it without the drug is also not unlikely. Rattlesnakes are very robust."
Miss Oats gave a startled cry. "What if something happened to the sheriff?"
Waffles was startled. "You mean he is ..."
All looked at each other in concern.
"Anyway, that would explain why he's not back yet."
"But suppose", Elbows muttered. "Just suppose Rango is really dead. Shall we hide Jake anyway?"
Elgin stood up. "We mustn't forget; which person we grant protection here. He's not one of us, he's a killer. Don't forget that. A killer has no right to protection."
"But isn't he a part of our city?"
Everyone turned around. Priscilla had sneaked into the saloon and was looking at her with her big eyes.
"You should be in bed by now," Miss Oats chided her.
But nobody paid any attention to her.
"How did you get this nonsense?" Elgin asked gloomily.
Priscilla shrugged. "It was just an idea."
"Kid stuff," Elgin grumbled.
"But she's right," Doc said. "After all, Rango put him under his protection and is therefore also a part of the city. And if something is under the protection of the judiciary..."
"You can't call Rango the judiciary," Elgin interrupted. "He's just a village sheriff."
"Now please stop!" Spoons whined. "My head is already spinning from your talk!"
"Exactly," Ambrose said. "Let's re-establish the facts. Rango wanted to take responsibility. Alone. We're just not supposed to say Jake is here. We promised him that. But ... we didn't promise him, to help Jake active. That we had already saved him from heat death was help enough. "
"But now we have to protect him from the hunters," Priscilla said.
"Why should we do this?" Sergeant Truly asked. "Why should we help a killer? It just doesn't get in my head."
"In any case, he didn't deserve it," Miss Oats said firmly. "After all, he always threatened us back then. When he left town, he always demanded a sacrifice. And up until now those had always been our sheriffs."
There was a silence.
"Why don't we just put a quick end to it all?" Ambrose asked casually. "We give him the bullet and we say it was an accident."
Approval came from all sides.
"Remember, he's still incapacitated. If he does recover, then we cannot stop him as soon as he is strong enough again and can threaten us again."
"Well, I say kill," answered another. "One rattlesnake fewer in the world doesn't matter. People always say that. Most of them would give a damn about the life of a rattlesnake. Just think about the rattlesnake roundups."
"Then we agree finally," Elgin said.
"YES! Away with the snake! As long as there is still the opportunity. "
"Moment!"
Everyone turned around. They froze when they saw Beans standing in the doorway. The desert lizard stared furiously at the townspeople. "How dare you make a decision behind my back. I have the main responsibility."
"I thought Rango was primarily responsible," Waffles said with confusion.
Bean snorted. "As long as he's not here, he trusts me to take care of Jake for that long."
"But he didn't come," Elgin said. "By the way, what does it matter if the snake is dead? It's only for the best of us all."
Beans ran up to him and glared at him. "Do you think Rango is a liar?!"
Buford took his cigarette out of his mouth. "Who said in the past that Jake was his brother?"
Beans bit his lip. "Okay, he used to cheat a lot. But that's not to say he's run away or dead."
"We didn't say that either," Doc tried to reassure her.
"That's right," Furgus said. "But what if something happened to him on the way?"
"He's not dead!" Beans said in a firm voice. "And as long as he's not here, nobody will touch Jake."
"Why are you talking like that?" Ambrose asked. "Actually, you should have the most reason to hate Jake, right?"
Beans sighed, but kept the angry expression on her face. "Alright. I hate him. But Rango asked me to do it and I am not willing to abuse his trust."
"We can understand you Beans," Furgus said. "The way you always look at the sheriff."
Beans went up. "What am I doing?!"
Furgus backed away. "Nothing at all. You just always seem a little nervous when you face him ... I mean, as the sheriff's best friend, of course you don't want to disappoint him."
Beans got a red head. "Are you all totally crazy? I like him, but if you think I'm doing him a favor out of blind friendship, then you're all totally up ... "
Beans froze.
"Shall we carry her out?" Waffles asked.
"So that she'll jump at us afterwards?" Elgin asked. "Forget it."
Suddenly, Beans jerked. "... the wrong way. And if you think I would let your stupid arguments get me down here, then only over my dead body!"
"And how many bodies has Jake taken so far?" Elgin cut in again. "His aggressive behavior this lunchtime wasn't harmless."
Beans snorted. "Oh, you know Jake. He just wanted to swagger."
Furgus scratched his head. "Beans. Maybe you're right But how long will he be able to hold back himself? We just don't know how we can all endure this any longer. And the whole thing with these strangers at that. Do you want to be responsible for one of us dying? "
Beans looked at him in disbelief.
Miss Oats sighed. "We're all scared."
Beans looked at the ground. Her discharged anger was gone. But should she really leave Jake to the townspeople?
"And what did we do for Rango?" Priscilla asked.
Everyone turned to her. "When did we return the favor from Rango? When? Rango did so much for us. And what did we give him for it? When did we do something for him?"
Everyone was silent.
Priscilla had tears in her eyes. "He risks his life for us every day. Every day, every hour, every second. And? Has he ever complained about it? Though he could die any second? And what are we doing if we have to risk our lives for him for a brief moment? He sacrifices himself for us every day, constantly doing routines even though they would be boring, just because he wants to protect us. He would never want to put us in danger. Whenever we asked him something, he never hesitated to do it for us. But if he ever has a request to us, what do we do?"
There was a silence.
Priscilla lowered her gaze "What did we do for him except of saying" Thank you "?"
Spoons took off his hat in dismay. "He always gave me hope. In times of need he has always brought light into the darkness. No matter how hopeless the situation was. And I never did anything for him."
Elgin snorted. "You played the sheriff for him yesterday."
"Yes, yes," Spoons lamented. "But anyone could have done that. But not everyone can give someone a meaning in life again and give hope."
Spoons buried his face in his hands.
Beans took her chance. "Have you noticed that Rango usually has the biggest reason to kill Jake? Jake had not only humiliated him in the past, he had almost killed him. And you stand here and complain if he just sniffs at you once? In contrast to Rango. Rango could have killed him anytime, but he didn't. And why not? Because he's not someone like you. He doesn't think about revenge. Even though Jake killed our last sheriff. And something like that usually belongs to be avenged. And the very person who chased him out of town, of all people, he helps. And while he's doing all the work, you are crouching around and wanting to stab him in the back? He could have just run away when he was evicted. But he came back. And why? To save us. He wasn't thinking of himself, but of us. He thought of others. He came back to save us. We owe it to him that we have water again."
Gordy stared sadly into his whiskey bottle.
The saloon lady Melonee sighed. "He's always been a bit strange. But he has a heart of gold."
Waffles looked up. "Hey, my mum gave me such a piece of jewelry once. My dad then traded it for a box of beets."
Elgin sat up. "You forget again, this is Rattlesnake Jake. Remember. Wherever he appears, someone always has to die. "
Beans raised her hand. "Not if we all stick together. Then nothing can happen to us."
"Who guarantees that Jake won't kill any of us?" Spoons asked.
Beans raised her eyebrows. "He'll promise us."
Ambrose wrinkled his beak. "A criminal's promise is worthless. The guiding principle for criminals is: Promises are there to be broken."
Beans took a deep breath. "Jake trusts us not to betray him. If he is already doing that, then we have to trust that he will not harm us."
"That's a too big risk!" Elbows said.
Beans turned to him. "We'll have to take the risk... Rango promised Jake. Do you want to be responsible for breaking his promise? If we don't pull ourselves together, then we're putting ourselves in danger. Rango risks so much for us. Can't we risk something for him, too? We should support him a little at least."
Elgin looked at her carefully. "And what exactly do you mean by that?"
"Jake is ill. Rango promised to help him. So now we have to help him while he's not here."
"We're supposed to help a killer?" Miss Oats asked and stunned.
Skeptical looks came from all sides.
"Rango has always done everything by himself up to now," Priscilla said again. "Now we have to stick together. Together we can survive. Even with a rattlesnake. Let's trust him. For Rango."
It was quiet. Elgin growled softly. "Now we're back to the beginning ... Okay, let's vote. Who will vote for the snake to stay here?"
Beams and Priscilla held up their hands immediately. After some hesitation also Spoons and Waffles.
Doc cleared his throat. He had raised his hand, too.
"And who will vote for the snake to get out of town?"
Nobody answered.
"Who abstains?"
Everyone else raised their hands.
Beans was relieved. "I think the result is clear."
Buford took his cigarette out of his mouth. "Well, we agree with each other. But on one condition. Should he only become brutal once, we will shoot him in self-defense."
Beans's face darkened. "He won't hurt us. He'll promise."