Lifesaver [Engl.]

29. No Place for Two

Jake spent the whole day alone in the room. It was not until evening that he stepped out onto the balcony when he heard the noise from the hotel. Some sang indefinable songs or had heated discussions.
Jake let his gaze wander at dusk. He was a little surprised that the mongooses haven't shown up all day. He suspected that they were just waiting for a good opportunity or that they wanted to keep him safe until he left the town voluntarily. Jake sighed. He couldn't stay here forever. Especially not with this sheriff.
His gaze wandered back to the saloon. What if the next night was his last night? What if the mongooses tried again tonight? Jake sighed. If his life was going to end anytime soon, then at least he wanted to enjoy it. Maybe even for the last time.
On the spur of the moment, he left the mayor's room and crawled on the street. He looked around again in all directions, then he crawled over to the saloon.
Shortly before that he heard someone from the saloon scream: "Get out of here!"
In the next moment, the door flew open and Gordy stumbled outside, fell on the street and lay there half drunk.
Jake shook his head. If that were his town, he would have gotten rid of this drunk long ago. What a mess!
He looked through the window. Many townspeople had gathered in the hotel lobby. Jake was startled when he saw Rango standing at the bar talking to Buford, who served the hotel bar during the evening.
Jake hadn't really intended to go in with Rango. But he didn't want to go back to town hall either. Not before he'd had something strong to drink.
After waiting outside for a little while longer, Jake gave himself a jerk and crawled head first through the swinging doors.
Suddenly everything was quiet. Spoons and Elgin had broken off their discussion, Buford stopped cleaning the glass, the card players looked up from their game and Rango at the bar didn't know what to think of Jake's appearance.
Jake didn't mind. He was used to that. Without further hesitation, he crawled forward to the bar. Next to Rango, he curled up his body and looked at Buford invitingly.
"Like last time."
Buford understood. He reached under the counter and took out a bottle. After removing the stopper, he set the bottle down on the table.
Jake was getting uncomfortable with the silence.
"You don't need to observe a minute's silence about me," he said.
Immediately everyone tried to behave normally again. But the mood as before didn't want to set. The environment around Jake was frightening. It was amazing what an effect the rattlesnake caused with its presence alone.
Jake's eyes wandered to the side when he noticed the figure of Rango next to him, who looked at him in amazement. Jake rolled his eyes in annoyance.
"What is it, little man? Can't you stare elsewhere?"
"Oh, sorry. It's just ... nice that you come, too. "
Jake smiled coldly. "Don't talk nonsense. As if someone would like to have me next to them. The people here would rather stone me."
With these words he lifted the bottle with his body slings and took a long swig.
Rango wanted to ask something. But then he felt someone from behind who put a hand on his shoulder.
"Uh ... Sheriff?" Spoons asked. "You wanted to play a round of poker. Did you forget that? You owe us a rematch."
"Oh, okay. But I don't go higher than 100 glasses of water."
Rango despised games of chance, but since the suggestion was made to gamble for glasses of water rather than money, Rango hadn't minded.
There was an abundance of water now. Rango had forbidden to play poker with large amounts of money. At least if he played with. Otherwise, it would damage his reputation as a legal person. But maybe it was also because Rango didn't have many valuables that he could have gambled away for poker. And so far he had won a game like never before. But he enjoyed doing something "typical of the city".
So he left Jake at the bar and went over to one of the tables where Ambrose, Elgin, Elbows, Sergeant Truley and Spoons had already taken their seats.
As soon as Rango sat down next to Spoons, the gerbil gave him a light poke in the ribs. "Uh, sheriff? Do you think it's all right if he's here?" He nodded at Jake.
Rango shrugged. "As long as he doesn't cause trouble, I don't care."
Spoons had his doubts. "I do not know. Venomous snakes get nervous very quickly ..."
"Well," Ambrose began. He held the playing cards in his hand and distributed them to the other players. "First for three glasses."
Everyone put three chips on the table. Each chip represented a glass of water. That was better than stacking glasses on the table in case the bets got higher.
After Ambrose had dealt five cards to each of them, everybody picked up a pile and fanned it out.
Rango frowned. He didn't exactly have good playing cards. He was startled when he remembered the most important rule in poker: Never show what cards you really have through facial expressions. Bluff or best put on your poker face.
Poker face. Poker face. Rango tried to look as serious as possible. Put on a poker face. Put on a poker face.
Elgin started the round. Although he wasn't lucky either. He turned in two cards and bought two new ones.
Spoons was next. "I'll increase to five glasses."
All eyes fell on Rango.
"I'll raise to seven glasses."
His teammates raised their eyebrows and tried to read from his eyes whether he was just bluffing or not. But this time Rango managed the poker face very well for once.
It was Sergent Truley's turn. "I'll increase ten glasses."
"I increase to fifteen glasses," Ambrose said at once.
Elgin put the cards down. "I pass."
Spoons put down his cards, too. "Me too."
Rango felt queasy. Poker face. Poker face. No one can read my poker face ...
Rango was startled when he saw Jake behind him. Jake had noticed the card game and looked over Rango's shoulder.
Poker face. Poker face, thought Rango. Don't let your face tell you what cards I have.
Luckily Jake didn't make a face. Even his eyes seemed to be frozen.
"I increased it to twenty glasses," Rango said.
The chameleon let out a sigh of relief when Ambrose frowned, apparently not quite sure of his victory.
"I'll raise to forty glasses."
Rango winced. Did the owl really have such good cards? If Rango were a human, he would be sweating now.
"Increase to sixty glasses."
"I quit," Sergent Turley said. "The stake is too high for me."
Now there were only Ambrose and Rango left.
"Well, Sheriff?" Ambrose asked.
Poker face. "Increase to eighty glasses."
Ambrose raised his eyebrows. "100 glasses."
Rango swallowed. "120."
Spoons, Elgin, and Sergent Truley glanced at each other questioningly. It wasn't about money, but obviously the two were so in the wagering fever now; that they didn't even know what they were saying anymore.
With 200 glasses, neither of them had more to offer.
"Okay," Rango said after reaching an agreement with Ambrose. "Cards on the table."
Elgin, Spoons and Sergent Truley had their mouths open. The result was clear.
You couldn't even have made a street out of Rango's cards. But Ambrose was clearly the winner. Four aces and one other card.
Rango sighed. "Lost again. I was so close. But for a brief moment you really believed I had good cards. Admit it."
Jake turned away. Poker wasn't for him. Maybe because he had no hands either. As he did so, his eye brushed Ambrose's shirt sleeve. Jake stopped.
"YOU!" He yelled.
Everyone in the room looked at Jake as startled as if he had just said the word "death".
Jake circled the table and looked threateningly at Ambrose.
"Hands on the table!" He ordered.
Ambrose hesitated.
"Immediately!"
The owl put its hands on the table surface obediently. Jake thrust his cannon forward and twisted his feathered wrists. A playing card peeked out of the owl's sleeve. Aces! Three aces!
Rango jumped up from the chair. "Ambrose! I've told you a hundred times! You know what that means, don't you?"
Ambrose looked down. "Yes, I know..."
"Then we'll get it over with quickly," Jake interrupted, pointing his cannon at the owl.
"Hey, hey!"
Rango stormed forward and was able to stop Jake from shooting at the last second.
"Hey!" Jake asked angrily. "He cheated! He has to be punished for that!"
"Strictly speaking, it wasn't a real poker game. We only played for water," Rango said. "He used to like to cheat. I have once sentenced him to four weeks' arrest for that. Since then, he has not cheated in real poker. But when we don't play for money, he cheats off and on. He's a very bad loser. If we catch him doing it, he'll always have to pay for the drinks. Ambrose. I think you'll have to pay again today."
Jake was still offended and looked darkly at Rango. "But the law says you go to jail for cheating. Usually such people are even shot immediately."
Rango rolled his eyes. "Jake. It wasn't really cardsharing. Well, he cheated. But there had been no stakes in money. It was just a prank."
Jake raised his eyebrows. "Oh, that's how you look at things. Just like you played a prank on me in the past?"
Rango looked up. "How so?"
Jake's face darkened. "Our duel. Did you forget that? But I didn't laugh at this prank."
Rango raised his eyebrows. "That was a fight, not a prank."
"Not a fair fight," Jake growled. "You knew very well that I was afraid of hawks."
"Yes. But that was self-defense."
Jake snorted contemptuously.
"You always have an excuse ready. Sometimes it's a mystery to me how a character like you got promoted to a sheriff."
Rango didn't want to take that.
"Tell me if you're in a bad mood, go somewhere else."
"With pleasure, Sheriff. You can twist and wriggle the law as you want."
Rango jumped up. "That is not true! I'm as law abiding as can be."
"Then why don't you arrest me?"
Rango paused.
"You see. You don't even stick to that. Can't even be law-abiding and arrest a killer. What do you think where you are? In a movie?"
"Don't you tell me how to behave. It's still my town."
Jake's face darkened. "No, you are wrong. It's my town."
Rango's eyes narrowed. "Another mistake, it's my town."
Jake rattled his rattle menacingly. "Don't carry it too far, Sheriff!"
It was quiet. Only now, Jake noticed how everyone was staring at him. No one moved for a few seconds. Finally, the rattlesnake moved again and turned to the door.
But before he left the room he turned around again. "Buford. The bill to my room." Then he slipped quickly through the door to the street. There he crawled a few meters further, stopped and stared angrily into the night.
"Jake, what's wrong with you?" Rango asked, who was running towards him from the hotel.
Jake snorted contemptuously and slowly crept on. "Leave me alone!"
But Rango was not so easy to get rid of and walked next to him.
"Jake. Don't be upset now. We only had a minor difference of opinion. That's not a shame."
"Nor was it a shame when you embarrassed me in front of the whole town?"
"That's yesterday's news, or how do you say here, yesterday's sand..."
"Save your stupid comments! It is natural that sheriffs and gunslingers cannot get along."
Rango took off his hat respectfully. "Okay. I'm sorry for what I have done. But you know, unusual times require unusual measures. Or do you think I enjoy scaring or even killing someone?"
Jake stopped. His gaze slowly wandered to Rango, who looked up at him conciliatory. "If I were really like that, I would not have helped you."
Jake narrowed his eyes. Rango might be right, but Jake had to be clear about where his place was. And for him it was logical that it would be best if they stayed what they were. Rivals.
"Listen," Jake began. "I'm thankful for your help, but that doesn't change the situation. Not even for me. There is no place for both of us in this city. I have my life and you have yours. And in my life, I don't owe anyone any obedience. Even if someone helps me. I'm not ungrateful, but that doesn't mean that I have to change."
Rango didn't respond to this argument.
"If you want to live in this town, then you have to stick to certain rules."
Jake raised his head defiantly. "I always make the rules myself."
"Oh. Then you can see where that can lead."
Jake snorted contemptuously. "What do you mean with that?"
Rango put his hat back on. "If someone just kills and murders, then they shouldn't be surprised if you are hunted for that."
"In this case things are different," Jake countered. "This is not about any revenge, but the revenge of the mayor. You worked against him, too. Or do you think that you will be spared from his revenge? "
"Maybe you just imagined it all."
Jake froze. Rango turned pale. Only now he realized what he had said. Jake raised angrily. "Are you saying I'm lying?!"
Rango backed away. "No, no, ... that is ... I don't know. It's the mongooses told me last night they weren't going to work for anyone."
Jake rattled his rattle menacingly.
"Does that mean you believe these devilish fur-wearers more than me?!"
Rango was frightened. Jake had a fire in his eyes, as if they were glowing with anger.
"Do you think I'm crazy?" Jake yelled at him. "I SAW HIM! HELL AGAIN!"
Rango covered his ears. Jake had yelled at him so loudly like never before.
In the next moment, Rango felt a hard blow and flew several meters through the air. He landed hard on the ground and stayed there.
Jake approached menacingly.
Rango got up with a groan. "Don't do that again!"
"Shut up!" Jake snapped at him. "I've put up with everything so far, but now I've had enough of you!"
Rango stared at him in disbelief. Was Jake completely insane now?
"If you think I'm crazy," Jake snapped. "Then keep out of my sight forever!"
With that, Jake turned away and stormed into the town hall.
Rango stared after him. He cursed and held his head. "Damn!"