Cowboys

COMMOTION IN COOPERVILLE

Cooperville was a quiet town in New Mexico where people lived in peace with each other. Work was plentiful and no man had anything to complain about. The largest and richest ranch in the area belonged to David Stevenson. But he had worked hard for it and so had his wife Laura. Their daughter Claire had fled the ranch years ago for a life in the big city. Now she had written to them saying she was married and wanted to live on the ranch.

David said to his foreman Rusty Jones:“Claire and her husband arrive on the 2:00 p.m. train. You’re going to pick them up with the carriage.”

“Good Mr Stevenson”, Rusty calmed down.

He grabbed the carriage and left the yard. He didn’t feel like picking up Claire. He knew all too well what she was like when he refused to run off with her. She had fallen in love with him, but she didn’t hurt him. He loved his freedom too much to bond. He also had to take care of his younger brother Sammy, who also lived on the ranch and worked as a stable boy. Everyone on the ranch and in town liked him. Woe bet on the one who sat on Sammy or insulted him. Rusty was comfortable with it. David should have taken his foreman out of jail many times. Also, Rusty wasn’t averse to a sip in the saloon. In this he could sometimes keep size but usually not. His boss was aware of this. However, David had banned his staff from drinking alcohol during working hours. Unless it was a special occasion. Soon the foreman reached the city and drove past the saloon. He saw that Ansel Collins was alone. This opportunity to be the bartender Rusty did not take away this opportunity to get the bartender back on his toes. He stopped the carriage just outside the saloon.

Ansel, the bartender, was standing at the tap cabinet reading the newspaper. He wasn’t exactly mom’s prettiest to see. There was little hair on his head and a tanned face with two holes in it that had to be a bit of eye. He also had a seesaw nose and a sometimes too big mouth. Yet Ansel was one of the most colorful figures in Cooperville. Every night he had a portion of fresh jokes that sometimes couldn’t be at all. But that wasn’t supposed to depress the fun. How he got it was a mystery to all. Ansel would never reveal that secret of his life.

That afternoon, Rusty walked in and he stood in front of the bartender.

“Is it self-service or am I still being helped today?”, Rusty asked after a while.

Ansel was startled and said to the foreman, “Don’t ever do that to Rusty again. You almost gave me a fatal heart attack.”

Rusty started laughing and said, “I’m going to give you a heart attack? That’s a nice joke. You give us a heart attack every night. Give me a scotch..”

Ansel looked a little silly and poured a whiskey.

“Aren’t you a little early on the whiskey?”, Ansel asked after a while.

“Oh is this whiskey? I thought it was colored water”, said Rusty.

This answer angered the bartender.

He almost asked screaming, “You know I have the best whiskey in town. What are you whining about??”

“Ansel, don’t get so worked up. That’s bad for your heart. Don’t bite like that all the time. I’ll see you”, Rusty said grinning.

He left the saloon while he heard him say, “I’m not helping you here anymore!”

Rusty jumped into the carriage and drove towards the station. He knew how his boss thought about drinking during working hours, but this whisky was sorely needed for Rusty. He was sure Mr. Stevenson would understand.

To his relief, the train had not yet arrived. Rusty rolled a cigarette and lit it up. He was wondering which guy Claire Stevenson was married to. She was three months younger than Sammy who was five years a half with the foreman.

When the 2:00 p.m. train arrived and the passengers got off, Rusty recognized Claire right away. He walked up to her, but her husband stopped him..

“Miss Claire Stevenson? Your father asked me to pick you up.”, said Rusty.

“It’s Mrs. Watts-Stevenson. This is my husband Jason. He’ll carry the bags. You’re Rusty Jones, the foreman, aren’t you?”, Claire asked genteel.

“Yes, I am. The one and only. The carriage is already ready”, Rusty said on a piece.

They walked to the carriage. Rusty immediately noticed that Jason wasn’t used to the rough life in Cooperville.

When they drove to the ranch, Jason said to him, “Do you want to slow down a little bit because my wife and I aren’t used to this.”

“I’m sorry, but I borrowed this carriage until 2:30 and it’s already 2:20. My boss will be mad if I bring it back to his yard too late”, said Rusty.

He chased the horses for a while. He only did this to Jason off..

When they drove up the yard, Rusty stopped the horses with a huge dust cloud. Claire and Jason had to cough a lot.

The foreman looked at his pocket watch and said grinning, “Made it. It’s 2:29. Welcome to the Crinkly K. Ranch.”

Sammy joined them.

Claire said to him, “Are you still here? I’ll make sure you leave soon.”

“You shouldn’t talk to him like that. Sam, take the horses and spoil them”, said Rusty.

He gave the boy a wink.

While they were checking on him, Rusty said to Claire, “You used to play with him all the time.”

Claire turned red and said very offended, “That was then. I’m a lady now.”

Rusty went in and asked, “Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson, Claire is here with her husband. Mr. Stevenson, can I speak to you in your office??”

“Come with me Rusty”, said David.

That’s what the foreman did.

In his office, David asked, “What’s the problem?”

“The Watts couple. Sam came to get the horses and also the carriage. Claire fell right up against him. She said she’d make sure he left soon. She’s changed a lot”, told Rusty.

“Don’t worry. If we die, we’ll leave the ranch to you and Sammy. Tell your little brother he’s staying”, said David.

He noticed Rusty had been drinking.

“Have you been in the saloon?”, he asked.

“Yes, I just needed a drink. Almost Ansel would have been dead. He was claiming that I almost gave him a fatal heart attack by scaring him”, Rusty told with a grin on his face.

David started laughing and said, “It takes more than a heart attack to put Ansel in a coffin. It’s all right but don’t let it happen again.”

“What do you mean? Drinking or teasing Ansel?”, asked Rusty.

“I mean the drinking. Ansel asks himself to be teased”, was David’s answer.

Rusty promised. He went outside to the bead where the other hands were. As he watched, Sammy stood next to him.

He said, “Horses are done.”

“Good so Sam. Keep watching”, said Rusty.

He climbed the fence and so did Sammy.

“Beautiful horses”, said the boy.

“Yes, but that black stallion is hard to tame. Maybe Jason can do that”, said Rusty.

“Who’s Jason? Another new member of staff?”, asked Terry Rhoades, Rusty’s right-hand man and best friend.

“Claire’s hubby. A city cow”, explained the foreman.

Everyone started laughing. No one, however, knew how quickly the atmosphere at the ranch would change with the arrival of Claire and Jason Watts.

Meanwhile, Jason’s introduction to his in-laws didn’t go smoothly. David and his wife Laura were ranchers and couldn’t stand the way Jason and Claire spoke.

“You’ll be here for the time being, provided you can adapt. That also means being kind to the hands”, David finally said.

“Let Rusty apologize first. How he treated us here”, Claire said from the height.

“He just wanted to you off”, said Laura.

She knew what Rusty was like.

“I assume we have the most beautiful room in the house”, said Jason.

“Your room is ready. Walk with me”, said his mother-in-law.

Claire went outside and called for the corral, “Hey Sammy. Come here right away.”

Rusty and Sammy looked at each other and they went to the house.

“You have to bring our bags to our room. Immediately!”, Claire ordered against Sammy.

“He’s just does what I say. I arranged that with your parents, so you shouldn’t tell him what to do. Let your husband do that.”, Rusty said cool.

“I’ll make sure you both get fired soon.”, Claire said angry.

She went inside.

Sammy became very insecure but his brother said, “If you have to leave because of her, Terry and I will make sure everyone leaves here.”

Rusty knew he could say this because all of them would stand up for Sammy. It always was and would remain so.

Pretty soon after their arrival Jason and Claire went to terrorize the ranch and the staff. And not just the ranch. Cooperville had to take it out, too. This action was mainly aimed at Rusty and Sammy Jones. However, the brothers were not allowed to be small by the two city cows.

It started the first night before dinner. Claire saw the table set for six.

She asked her father, “Why is the table set for six? There’s only four of us.?”

“You know Rusty and Sammy always have dinner with us”, David said calm.

That was a setback for Claire and Jason.

“I already know how to get that foreman”, Claire said, and she whispered something in his ear.

Jason immediately agreed to that plan.

During the sacrament, Jason just kicked Rusty’s ankle. The foreman noticed who did it but didn’t say anything about it. He gave Sammy a quick wink and his little brother gave one back.

After dinner, Rusty struggled to get up.

“Can you walk Rusty?”, was Claire’s sanctimonious question.

“Rusty, is there something with your ankle again?”, Laura asked worried.

The foreman limped to the couch and said with a sore face, “Someone kicked me over dinner. And I know who did it.”

“Let’s see”, said Laura.

Rusty took off his boot and it turned out that his left ankle was severely sprained. Laura took care of it with ice.

“You’re moving back on crutches for now and supervising outside”, David said when he saw his foreman’s sore ankle.

At the ranch there were always a bunch of crutches present because Rusty had a weak left ankle.

Because the culprit was in the living room, Rusty couldn’t tell you everything he had on his liver, but Sammy was on to him. He went outside to warn Terry. He found the hand in the bunkhouse.

“Hi Sammy. Is there anything?”, Terry asked while he was playing cards with the other hands.

“Rusty said it’s time again”, said Sammy.

Terry looked up and said sighing, “That’s nice. So sir can’t walk again. Sorry gentlemen.”

He left his cards and went with the stable boy. Terry also knew Claire from the time she was younger.

In the living room, Terry saw what Jason had done.

“So you’re Jason Boy? I’m Terry Rhoades, deputy foreman”, said the hand with smiling eyes to Jason.

“To you, I’m Mr Watts”, Jason said seriously.

“I’m just talking to the rancher and his wife with Mr and Mrs”, said Terry.

This knocked Jason out of the field. Rusty looked grinning at Terry and Sammy. They had survived this blow, but many more would follow.

Every morning, Vera Johnson woke up sick.

When she was working one morning, she said, “Mrs Grant, I’m dizzy.”

The moment she passed out, she fainted. Dora went straight to Doc O’Brien’s practice.

“Doc, Vera fainted in the store. Come quickly”, Dora said to him.

“I’m going with you”, he said directly.

They ran to the fabric shop where Vera had regained a bit. As it happens, her boyfriend Rusty had just come in.

“Vera, What happened?”, he asked worried.

“I fainted. Where is Mrs Grant?”, Vera asked as she sat down.

She was holding on to her boyfriend.

“She’s getting Doc. You’re not okay”, said Rusty.

“I wake up sick every morning”, was the confession of Vera.

Then Doc and Dora came into the store.

“Why don’t you come to my practice”, said Doc.

Rusty helped her up, and Vera walked with her.

Soon Doc knew why Vera was so bad.

“Vera, you’re pregnant. I assume Rusty is the father?”, asked Doc.

Vera nodded and asked, “How long have I been pregnant?”

“More than three months. So you will get bigger soon”, was the answer.

Vera left the practice and saw Rusty waiting outside for her.

“Your boss gave you the rest of the day off. I’ve got time off, too. Let’s have a picnic?”, asked Rusty.

“Good. I’m really looking forward to that.”, said his girl.

Rusty had already counted on it and took her to a quiet spot by the water.

When they had eaten, Rusty was lying on his back against her.

“What was it like when Sam was born?”, Vera suddenly asked.

“I kind of liked it. Why?”, the foreman asked surprised.

“Well, Sam will soon have a nephew or niece. I’m expecting your baby. That’s why I’m nauseous in the morning and I fainted this morning. I’m more than three months pregnant”, Vera explained.

Rusty sat down and started kissing her.

“You should know that I don’t want to marry you because of Sam. When Mom died, I promised her I’d put him first”, the foreman confessed after a while.

“I know that. As long as we’re happy, I don’t have to get married. Even though there’s a baby on the way. For my part, Sam’s moving in with us. Whether I cook and care for two or three people, I don’t care”, Vera said.

Rusty nodded. They decided not to tell anyone their secret for the time being. It would soon become known in the city that there would be a new resident.

One night in bed, Claire said, “I have an idea how to get Sammy out. You kill two chickens. I find out that when he feeds them and blame him for it. Dad will then fire him on the spot.”

“Good idea of yours. When Sammy leaves, that foreman leaves immediately”, said her husband.

They hated Rusty and Sammy as much as they hated the other way around.

When it was a little dark, Jason got out of bed and went to the kitchen. There he took a sharp meat knife from the drawer. With this, he went to the chicken run in a silent state and decapitated two chickens. They just kept walking like the famous headless chicken. After that, Jason was cleaning the knife and put it back in the drawer. When that happened, he snuck back into his bedroom where Claire was waiting for him.

“It happened to Sammy Jones’ career on this ranch. When your dad discovers the two decapitated chickens, it’s bye Sammy”, Jason said grinning.

Over breakfast, Rusty noticed that Jason and Claire were remarkably cheerful. But he didn’t want to arouse suspicion among the others. When they were done, Rusty and Sammy went to work.

“Sam, You feed the chickens first and then the other animals. I’m at the corral”, said the foreman outside.

Sammy nodded. He walked to the barn where the food was. He took the chicken feed and put it in a bowl. Then he went outside to the chicken run.

“Must I help you?”, Claire asked helpfully.

“No, I’m just doing it alone”, said Sammy.

She was already offended by this. Suddenly he saw the two dead chickens lying there. The blood had already flowed out onto the ground.

The boy threw the scale on the ground in terror and said, “The chickens are dead.”

“You killed two chickens. Coming along”, said Claire.

She grabbed him tightly, but Sammy pulled away and ran to the house. Claire fell to the ground. Meanwhile, Sammy had taken his saddlebags and left the house. Unnoticed he grabbed his saddle and put it on his horse. After the animal was saddled, Sammy took off and drove off quickly. No one would accuse him of killing animals. He was just driving around on his horse. His disappearance would be noticed soon enough.

After a while Claire recovered and screamed hysterically when she saw the dead chickens lying there.

The brothers’ employer joined in and he immediately asked, “Claire, is there something going on?”

“I got to the chickens and caught Sammy with the dead chickens. He immediately confessed that he did it. To blame Jason. Then he threw me to the ground and drove off moments later”, she said calmly.

Rusty didn’t trust the whole story and inspected the chickens.

“They were decapitated with a meat knife hours ago. Sam knows he can’t handle a meat knife, so he could never have done it. He slept through the night”, he said.

“How could you know that? Sammy’s guilty, and I’m going to go to the sheriff’s office and have that kid arrested”, said Claire.

“Sam sleeps in my room. When he wakes up in the middle of the night, something’s going on”, said the foreman.

“Sammy loves animals too much to kill them. He would never do such a thing”, said David.

Terry stood by and saw in Claire’s eyes that she was lying.

“He said it to me himself. I’m going to the sheriff’s office”, Claire said and she walked to the stable.

Rusty ran after her.

He held her and said a little irritated, “If you put Sam in jail, I’ll kill you. I know something about you that your parents don’t know. But I’m sure they’d like to know.”

“They’ll believe me before you do. I’m their daughter and you’re the foreman. Set me free”, said Claire.

“Dirty filthy rotten bitch”, Rusty bit at her.

He dropped her to the ground and walked away. She got up and walked to the stables. She saw that Rusty’s horse was saddled and thought: ‘I’ll get you, Jones. I’m just taking your horse.’ She took off and drove into town. It was a good thing Rusty didn’t see it or Claire would have been dead. No one should try to sit on rusty and/or Sammy’s possessions because then it was wrong. Rusty had a very irascible character. But most of the time, he managed to control himself.

“What do we do with the chickens? It’s a shame to throw them away”, David said when he was alone with Terry.

“We can roast them and eat them anyway”, the hand suggested.

The rancher looked at him and said, “We’re eating chicken tonight.”

Terry nodded contentedly.

Meanwhile, Claire rode Silver Star (Rusty’s horse) to Cooperville. However Silver Star was not used to the whip and at one point the animal stopped. He threw Claire off its back.

She screamed, “Rotten beast.”

Silver Star went back to the ranch where Rusty had just discovered the disappearance of his horse. He cursed inner mouths but then he saw his horse coming.

He grabbed the animal and asked, “Did that bitch steal you??”

Silver Star whined. Rusty brought him back to the stable.

A little later, Juan Gonzalez came to Rusty. Juan was a Mexican hand on the ranch.

“Juan, what can I do for you?”, the foreman asked in his best Spanish.

Juan’s English was not thunderous.

“Señor Rusty, I know why Sammy left. He told me he was leaving so he wouldn’t cause any more trouble”, Juan said quickly.

“Was that because of those two dead chickens?”, Rusty asked looking at him.

“Si. Señora Watts caught him there. The boy is innocent”, said the Mexican hand.

“Thank you Juan. I’ll tell Señor Stevenson”, said the foreman calm.

He went in and told David what Juan had told him and also that Claire had stolen his horse.

“You and Terry are going to find Sammy. Take a fresh horse”, said David.

“Shall I come along to look for him?”, Jason helpfully suggested.

Rusty’s eyes suddenly became bright and hard and his answer was, “No! It’s your fault Sam’s gone. If he’s dead, I’ll take you to court for murder. I’m leaving.”

With a hard blow, the foreman slammed the door shut. David looked at his son-in-law for a moment, but this one didn’t stir a fin. Jason played the innocence himself.

Soon Rusty and Terry had left the yard. Both were worried about Sammy even though he knew the area well.

After driving for a while, Terry said, “Maybe our great friend Ansel saw him. Ansel always knows everything first.”

There was a grin on Rusty’s face. Every opportunity to tease him, Rusty grabbed with both hands. Ansel could never give anything back because Rusty, Sammy and Terry were his best customers. Also when it comes to scrapping furniture. Moreover, they were the loudest trio in town. Terry noticed what Rusty was up to and went on to play the game. They put their horses in front of the saloon and took off. After they tied up the horses, they first went to all the places Sammy often came to.

In the fabric shop, Rusty stayed a little longer.

“May I help you Mr Jones?”, asked Vera.

“I’d like To see Miss Johnson. Have you seen Sam? I mean, he’s gone”, said Rusty.

“No, I haven’t seen him in a few days. Is there trouble again on the ranch?”, she asked very worried.

The foreman nodded and told what had happened.

“What a bitch Claire says. Are you going to have dinner with Sam?”, Vera asked shyly.

“Rusty, Ansel awaits us”, Terry said at the door.

Everyone laughed. Rusty said goodbye to his Vera with a kiss and nodded approvingly.

Outside, Rusty was grinning so much that Terry asked him.“Do you feel really good? I’ve never seen you like this.”

“I? I feel good. You’re whining. You look like Ansel”, Rusty reacted laughing.

“What an insult. Compare me to that grumble”, was Terry’s smiling answer.

Both cowboys walked towards the White Horses saloon which at that time was completely deserted. As usual, Ansel had nothing to do but read the newspaper de Cooperville Bode extensively on the tap cabinet. He did it at the same time every day. Rusty and Terry knew this and took advantage of it. This much to the annoyance of Ansel himself. Somehow, Ansel realized that his two big bullies, as he used to call Rusty and Terry, were getting there. He recognized Terry’s horse. He quickly cleaned up his newspaper. When Ansel saw Rusty and Terry coming in, he ducked away from his tap cabinet.

He sat down on the floor and prayed for the first time in his life, “Don’t let them find me. I will be forever grateful.”

Rusty looked around in amazement and asked at the bar, “I wonder what happened to that old senile Ansel? The bar is open but not a grumbler of a half mad man of an Ansel. Do you know where he is?”

“He was probably eaten by gnomes. It seems they’re quite fond of ugly bartenders selling colored water as the best whiskey in town”, Terry said sober.

Rusty pointed to the tap cabinet, and Terry understood the hint. They knew the bartender was hiding behind the tap cabinet.

Rusty said:“ I remember a riddle. You know what’s striking when you put a monkey next to Ansel?”

Terry didn’t look at him in an understanding way, but he did feel him coming.

“Well? Not much I think”, said Terry.

The foreman looked at him grinning and said, “Monkey beauty.”

Both began to laugh. Ansel heard this and became increasingly ferocious. In time, he couldn’t hold back, and he came up. His face was bright red.

Rusty said at the time, “Watch out for a bull. You’re an easy target now.”

“Shut up Jones. What can I do for you? Whisky is not there”, said the bartender evil.

“No, it’s colored water. Now seriously. Have you seen Sam? He left the ranch an hour or so ago with his saddlebags and his horse. He had a heated altercation with Claire Watts. It is very urgent Ansel”, Rusty said worried.

“No, I haven’t seen him in a few days. When I see him, I’ll let you know.”, said Ansel.

He also liked Rusty’s younger brother despite the squabbles.

“Okay. Bye dearest Ansel”, Terry said grinning.

“If you’re interested, I’m far from being senile. And I’m not ugly either.”, said Ansel.

“You’re the prince charming on the white horse. Or rather, the nightmare on the white horse”, Rusty said laughing.

They left the saloon laughing.

Ansel was angry and grumbled, “Today or tomorrow, I’m going to kill those two again. Rusty’s the first one to die.”

It was a good thing Rusty didn’t hear that remark. The foreman always had the last word. Ansel got very angry about this every time. This to the amusement of his customers.

Terry and Rusty suddenly found a trail that only Sammy could make, and they recognized it. They followed the trail. It was pretty easy to follow. Suddenly they saw the boy lying there. Rusty jumped off his horse and ran towards Sammy.

“Sam, what happened to you? Are you hurt?”, asked the foreman when he was with him.

Sammy said, “Fallen down. My leg hurts.”

He was very upset. Terry gave him the flask which was filled with water.

“Rusty, I’m going to get the wagon”, Terry said when Sammy had told us everything.

When Terry was gone, Sammy started sobbing in Rusty’s arms. He made him cry quietly.

“Is Mr. Stevenson mad at me?”, Sammy asked after a while.

“No, he was worried before because you disappeared so suddenly and so did I. You should never do this again. If anything, you’ll come to me, Terry or Mr. and/or Mrs. Stevenson from now on. Good Sam?”, asked Rusty as an older brother.

Sammy nodded.

“I thought I’d lost you forever”, said the foreman.

“I’m not going to be insulted by Claire”, Sammy replied fiercely.

“That’s how I hear it”, his brother said smiling.

“Jason and Claire want us gone. They say the ranch is theirs”, said Sammy.

Rusty would have noticed that, too. For a while, there was silence between the two brothers. The wait was for Terry’s return, the car and Doc. Rusty told me what they did to Ansel. That made his little brother a little less gloomy.

Terry drove back to the ranch in a rush. David was still outside and knew immediately that something was up.

“Mr Stevenson, I need the wagon. We found Sammy, but he hurt his leg. Rusty’s with him”, rattled the hand on one piece by.

“Take the wagon with two fresh horses. Laura’s going to fix the couch for Sammy”, said his employer.

That happened, and moments later, Terry drove to Cooperville to pick up Doc. He stopped for practice and jumped off the wagon.

He went in and said, “Doc, Are you busy at the moment? Sammy’s injured.”

“I’ll be right there”, said Doc.

Along the way, the hand informed Doc. When they were with the brothers, Sammy was a little more excited.

“Let me take care of your leg. Can I just Rusty?”, asked Doc.

“Of course Doc”, Rusty said some confused.

He stood with Terry at a distance and said, “Sam told me Jason and Claire want us gone. If they thought it was that easy, they could expect something. I’m going to confront them with this tonight over dinner.”

Terry looked at him and said slowly, “That could mean your resignation..”

“I don’t care. But if I get fired, Sam’s going to come with me!”, Rusty said fiercely.

“So, that’s done. You’re going to need a few days of rest. Rusty, Terry”, Doc said at that time.

When Sammy was on the car, Rusty asked, “Is he also in a state of shock??”

“Just a few abrasions. He needs a few days of bed rest. I’ll check it out in a few days”, said Doc.

They drove back to town where they delivered Doc to his practice and proceeded to the ranch. That’s what David and Laura were waiting for. Sammy had become a little gloomier again. But that was unnecessary. Terry stopped the car at the door.

“Come along Sam”, Rusty said while he dismounted off his horse.

Slowly Sammy climbed off and leaning on Rusty, the boy came in.

“Just put him on the couch”, said Laura caring.

“Let’s just. After this, you’re going to rest in bed. Doc’s command”, Rusty said a little parentful.

“Good”, was his reaction.

David came in and said, “Welcome home, Sammy. You don’t have to work until you’re better. Rusty will feed the animals. In your place.”

Rusty looked a little indignant at his boss but didn’t say anything.

He saw Sammy wanted to sleep, so he said, “Come Sam. Your bed is waiting for you upstairs.”

Sammy got up and leaned on his brother, he went to their bedroom.

In bed he asked, “What’s going to happen to us now?”

“We’ll just stay here. Don’t worry about it. Try to get some sleep”, said his brother.

Sammy had fallen into a deep sleep.

Rusty early in the living room, “There are rumors that the Watts couple owns this ranch? Mr. Stevenson, is that true?”

“No way. Claire and Jason have absolutely no right to this ranch”, said the owner of the Crinkly K. Ranch.

Rusty knew enough now.

It was initially an ordinary Saturday night. David had released the Jones and Terry Rhoades brothers for their weekly night out at the saloon. There were always three of them. Often it was just to tease Ansel. He was the ugly bartender of the White Horses Saloon. He also owned it. Everyone could get him on the shelf, but only Rusty kept Ansel on the shelf. This was what the bartender got mad about every time.

That night it was nice and busy in the saloon. The Jones and Terry brothers weren’t there yet. That worked out well for Ansel. He had just started his joke.

With this he had a lot of success until a voice from the outside said very cool, “That’s a good old joke.”

Everyone laughed and Ansel knew immediately who was coming. ‘Don’t let it be true’, went through his mind. But it was true. Rusty, Sammy and Terry walked through the brown folding doors.

“Rusty Jones, You keep your head shut from now on!”, Ansel said directly to the foreman.

He looked stunned and said, “I haven’t said anything yet.”

“That’s why”, said the bartender.

“How am I supposed to drink?”, asked Rusty.

Ansel walked away angry. Rusty and Sammy stood at the bar to talk and drink. Rusty always spoke more than Sammy because Sammy said little to nothing when there were a lot of people around. Sammy was a little shy and therefore easily vulnerable. But no one in Cooperville was bothered by him. Until Jason Watts came with his wife.

In the middle of the evening, Rusty asked his younger brother, "You want something in that glass of yours?”

The boy nodded.

“Order it. Ansel, this is where a customer wants to order something”, Rusty called out to the bartender.

Ansel came slowly and asked, “What is the creature?"

“Twice the same”, Sammy said slowly.

“Twice the same thing is coming”, said the bartender.

Unnoticed, he kept an eye on Rusty. He couldn’t trust the foreman of the Crinkly K. Ranch at all.

“Give me a scotch first”, heard the couple suddenly say.

The brothers looked at each other and understood who had come in. The words came from Jason Watts.

“First help this boy”, said Ansel.

“No, first me”, said Jason.

Ansel didn’t care.

“Here’s your drink. Rusty Jones, I hope you keep your mouth shut for now”, said Ansel.

“How am I supposed to drink?”, asked Rusty.

Ansel gave him a very angry look. Rusty smiled as he paid.

After a while, Jason came to them. Terry saw what was going to happen and also walked to the bar.

Jason said to Sammy, “Are you allowed to be here in the saloon? No, huh? You’re too young, so get out of here!”

“Go away yourself you”, said Sammy.

“You heard him, Watts. So salted up”, said Rusty.

Terry looked from one to the other.

“I’m talking to him. Not with you”, said Jason angry.

He then punched Sammy in the face for no reason. All of a sudden it was dead quiet in the saloon. You could hear a pin drop. Everyone was watching Rusty and Jason. Rusty put his glass on the bar and grabbed Jason by the collar.

“Apologize to Sam”, he said furiously.

“Never! Set me free”, said Jason anxiously.

The foreman lashed out and knocked Jason out of the saloon.

“That’ll teach you how to hit my little brother”, Rusty said fierce.

Terry, meanwhile, had taken care of the stable boy who was visibly upset.

“Rusty’s going to take care of him. He always does”, Terry said to Sammy.

“He has to because Rusty has all the money on him”, said Sammy.

Together they watched Jason get his hands on. Jason got up and walked up to Rusty. But the ‘flight’ had already weakened him somewhat and he fell down on a poker table. The table broke through the middle and Jason fell to the ground. At that point, Sheriff Hank Larson happened to be passing by. He went in to take a look..

“Everything’s fine here Ansel?”, he asked.

“You’re just late, Sheriff. That rookie was bothering Sammy. He started”, said Ansel.

Hank looked at Jason and asked, “Who knocked him out?”

“I did that sheriff. I did it to protect Sam”, was Rusty’s confession.

“You gave him a nice final blow. My congratulations”, Hank said admiringly.

All the bystanders laughed. Hank picked up Jason and dragged him to the cell where Jason was supposed to spend the night. Rusty had dealt Jason such a hard blow that he wouldn’t wake up until the next morning.

Rusty asked Ansel, “Do you have a bottle of sarsaprilla for me?”

“Have you changed your faith Mr Jones? Here’s your bottle”, Ansel said, and he gave him the bottle.

“Then you’ll turn in your grave”, was the foreman’s reaction.

He took Sammy outside with the bottle of sarsaprilla. On the sidewalk in front of the saloon, they sat down.

“I hate them. They have to go.”, Sammy said something upset.

“Everyone wants them gone”, Rusty said as he opened the bottle.

“No one’s ever hit me. Not even Mom.”, said Sammy.

“I’ll make sure nothing like this ever happens again. Here, take a sip of sarsaprilla to soothe”, said Rusty.

He gave the bottle to his little brother. Sammy took a big sip and then felt much better. They took turns drinking from the bottle.

When the bottle was empty Rusty said, “Come on, Sam. Then we’re going to bully Ansel.”

Sammy nodded at him with a grin. They got up and walked into the saloon.

“I thought you two were going to stay away”, the bartender said to them.

“Would we help you go bankrupt Mr Ansel?”, Rusty asked with a nod to his little brother. “You’d dare. Stop sucking. I’m not going to fall for your jokes anymore, Rusty Jones. Are you going to order or do I have to hear any more crap from you?”, Ansel asked grumpy.

“Twice the same and then we’re really going to leave you”, said Rusty.

“The sooner the better. Your comments drive my customers away”, Ansel said as he prepared their order.

“Which customers?”, Sammy asked because the saloon was completely empty with the brothers, Terry and Ansel.

“Very nice Sammy. I can tell who your brother is”, Ansel responded offended.

Both brothers laughed at the comment that angered the bartender.

Terry stood by and asked, “He’s afraid he won’t make it to his old age. Mr. Ansel is such a pretty ugly man. Don’t you think?”

“Are you going to start also? I really don’t understand how Rusty Jones got foreman here. He doesn’t have a lot of brains”, was the desperate attempt of Ansel to save his face.

Rusty took a sip of whiskey and then said, “Ansel, Where I have my brain, all you have is sawdust. That’s well known. Come on, Sam. Drink your glass. Then Ansel can sleep peacefully again and dream about us.”

Ansel was deeply offended and left them. On his face was cow letters reading thunder and lightning. Terry couldn’t stop laughing.

They saw Sammy was tired so Rusty said, “We’re going home.”

They left the saloon and looked for their horses. They did that pretty quickly and they headed for the ranch.

When they were almost at the ranch, Sammy asked, “Rusty, The boss won’t be mad at you?”

“Because I hit his son-in-law? I don’t think so. I did it for you. Maybe he’ll thank me for it. Claire won’t be happy about it”, Rusty said with a laugh.

It was obvious he had poured in a little too much booze.

“Claire will be able to kill you on the spot”, was Terry’s answer.

He didn’t like Claire either. She may have been his boss’s only daughter, but Terry had no respect for her at all. None of the hands at the Crinkly K Ranch had that for Claire and Jason.

At the ranch, Claire asked, “Father and mother, I demand that the foreman and the stable boy go to sleep in the sleeping house from now on. They’re on the staff anyway?”

“You have nothing to demand here. Rusty and Sammy have been sleeping here since they got here. You used to have no objection to it”, said David.

“So Jason and I have to live here with a foreman who drinks too much and a stable boy who’s not quite there?”, asked his daughter to be offended.

“Indeed. We know Rusty often drinks too much. But he works for it. Sammy’s a nice guy. Otherwise, you’ll leave”, Laura said calmly.

“This is also our house”, was Claire’s argument.

Then they heard a loud laugh. That laughter came from Rusty, Sammy and Terry. It sounded all over the yard.

“Rusty must be as drunk as a monkey again. I wouldn’t be surprised.”, said Claire.

Terry opened the front door and said, “Rusty and Sammy, I think it’s better if you guys stop laughing.”

They did, but it took them a lot of effort.

Claire asked immediately, “Where’s Jason?”

“In the lick”, said Rusty.

“You’re lying. My husband would never get there”, was Claire’s fierce answer.

Terry told me what happened in the saloon.

“Jason had started fighting. He provoked it”, said Rusty.

“You and that retarded little brother of yours got fired right away”, Claire said fierce.

“Claire, go to bed”, David said in a nutshell.

She did.

“Do we have to leave?”, Sammy asked not being at ease.

“No. Who else has to feed and care for the animals when you’re not there?”, asked David.

“Jason. No, don’t do that. Otherwise, they die spontaneously”, Rusty said laughing.

“Mr. Rusty Jones, I think you could look up your bed, too”, Laura also said with a laugh.

“If I can still find it. Come on, Sam. Bedtime”, said the foreman very noisy.

Smiling, they went to their bedrooms. Terry began to realize that the ranch would be in danger if Jason and Claire stayed any longer. However, the deputy foreman remained silent about this suspicion towards his employer. He left the house and went to his sleeping place.

It was Saturday night. For the cowboys, that meant drinking and playing poker in the saloon. Rusty Jones and Terry Rhoades also did the same. For them, all that mattered was to get Ansel on the shelf and let him sit there until after closing time. Not only Rusty and Terry were there, but also Jason Watts.

In the saloon, Jason stood at the bar completely ruining the atmosphere. Rusty and Terry had already said a few times. Ansel also began to annoy the city cow as Jason was called in the manner.

He turned to Rusty and said whispering, “Can’t you bully him away? That’s how I lose money. The atmosphere doesn’t get any better.”

The foreman looked at the bartender, started smiling and said, “I thought you’d never ask me.”

Ansel’s face was immediately put back on thunder and lightning by this remark. Rusty gave Terry a wink and went to Jason.

He rolled a cigarette and asked, “Do you have a light for me??”

“No, I don’t smoke. Leave me alone”, said Jason.

“I was just asking if you had a light for me. That’s all. Can’t I ask Mr. Watts??”, was the reaction of Rusty.

He lit his cigarette and took a puff.

After a while, he said, “Ansel, a double whisky.”

Ansel saw what he wanted to do and played along.

He said begging, “No, Rusty, you’ve had enough. Get out and take that drinking buddy of yours.”

“I’m not his drinking buddy. He works for me”, said Jason.

“You know Claire doesn’t want you to drink like a heretic. So the saloon out”, said the foreman.

He dragged Jason out. That’s when Jason pulled away and he hit Rusty pretty hard. The poker table fell over. But Rusty didn’t take this and beat Jason to the other side of the saloon. Again, some glassware and furniture were destroyed. When there was nothing left to destroy, Jason Rusty hit his head with a table leg, causing the foreman to lose consciousness. Terry ran to get Doc. Then the sheriff just happened to pass by.

He asked the bartender, “Ansel, Are you going to renovate the building?”

All the bystanders laughed except Ansel himself.

“Are you related to Rusty Jones?”, he asked enraged.

“No, why?”, asked the sheriff.

“I was about to believe it. That city cow started and knocked Jones out. Arrest him. I’ll send him the bill”, said Ansel.

“Come with me, Watts. You’re about to become a regular resident of the prison. Let me know when the reopening of the White Horses is”, said the sheriff.

That was yet another humiliation for Ansel, but at least his customers could laugh about it.

“The tent is closed”, said Ansel.

Everyone left the saloon while Doc and Terry came back. Doc saw Rusty lying there and knelt down on him. He had an open head wound.

“Help me take him to my house”, Doc said to Terry.

Luckily, Rusty wasn’t that heavy. In a bed, Doc was better able to examine the foreman.

“How’s he doing, Doc?”, Terry asked worried.

“He took quite a hit. I’ll keep him here until he’s better”, answered Doc.

Terry went back to the ranch, worried what to say. Claire was going to scream hysterically as usual. He was most worried about Sammy. They had never been apart until that night. Terry felt responsible for him now.

Meanwhile, everyone at the ranch wondered where Rusty and Terry were staying. “I’m sure Jason behaved nicely. Rusty’s better to take an example from him than the other way around. Take that from me”, said Claire.

Then they heard a horse coming.

“There’ll be my Jason”, Claire called after which she rescued out.

“I’m glad you gave me such a big extended greeting, Claire. Your husband is visiting the sheriff again and won’t be coming home anytime soon”, Terry said grinning.

“You’re lying, you son of a bitch”, she said fiercely.

Terry dismounted.

Claire tried to hit him, but the deputy foreman grabbed her by the wrists and said, “Maybe Jason boy will let you beat him, but I won’t. Annoying spoiled bitch.”

He let her go, causing her to fall to the ground. Terry went in and closed the front door.

“Terry, where is Rusty?”, Laura asked worried.

“Jason and Rusty rebuilt the White Horses. All night, Jason was screwing things up. Ansel asked Rusty if he wanted to work him out. He took that a little too literally and after a fierce fight Jason knocked him down with a table leg. Doc’s taking care of him. Your son-in-law is in jail. Larson asked Ansel if he was going to grow his saloon. He didn’t really appreciate that. Is it okay if I sleep with Sammy tonight?”, asked Terry.

“That’s okay. You tell him?”, asked David.

Terry was going to do it right away.

Sammy said gently, “I want them gone.”

“All of us. Don’t worry because Rusty and I will make sure they don’t get you out. I’ll sleep with you while your brother’s gone”, said Terry.

That was reassuring for the younger Jones. They soon went to sleep. Claire had come back in by now and decided it was really war.

In the cell said Jason:“ Rusty started fighting. He was drunk. I really don’t understand why my father-in-law was able to handle an alcohol-addicted foreman.”

“Sleep Watts! As for Rusty and his drinking, that’s a matter between him and Mr. Stevenson”, the sheriff said annoyed by his prisoner.

Jason immediately remained silent and went to sleep.

The next morning, Ansel was busy early. Not only did he have to clean up the havoc of the previous evening in his saloon, but also report that the White Horses were closed for the time being. He put up a big sign that read:

DUE TO RENOVATION CLOSE TO FURTHER NOTICE! Ansel thought for a moment and decided to defend himself against Rusty Jones’ remark. Who did Rusty think he was the bartender at Cooperville? The village idiot? Okay, he wasn’t exactly the most beautiful man in the world, but he was allowed to be there by himself. With Rusty out, he got his much-needed rest. At least that’s what he thought. But while he was cleaning up, Deputy Sheriff Cody Walker was watching. He heard Ansel grumble at the havoc.

Suddenly Cody said, “Ansel You’ll never enjoy your old age. You’re always out of your mind. Be glad you have something to do now.”

“Will you start again, Walker? Rather help”, Ansel said angry.

“I already have a job. I don’t want to work for an old, senile grumpy ass from a bartender like you”, said Cody.

“Then if you don’t have anything better to do”, he bit the deputy.

Cody kept going laughing. Everyone in the city knew Ansel as the eternal grumble butt, but in the evening he was laughable. But rusty always made that go away. Even though the foreman hadn’t said a word. His gaze was enough to get the bartender on the shelf. This always worked on the laughing muscles of his clients. Yet Ansel knew every news first. Often much earlier than the sheriff or the city gossip star Mrs Sheila Clark.

Rusty woke up but didn’t know where he was. He blinked his eyes a few times and looked around. He felt like there was a lot of work going on in his upstairs room. That’s how bad his head hurt. The foreman couldn’t remember how he got it. Suddenly the door opened and Mrs. Molly Willis, Doc’s wife, came in.

“Hello Rusty. How does the patient feel?”, she asked.

He asked with a sheepish laugh, “My head hurts. Where am I? How the hell did I get here?”

“Last night, Jason Watts beat you up. Terry Rhoades and my husband brought you here. You took a big hit to the head. My husband will keep you here until you’re healed”, said the doctor’s wife.

The foreman nodded and fell asleep again.

By sleeping and resting a lot, Rusty recovered faster than expected. He was better physically but his pride was pretty bad.

It was tradition in Cooperville that a play was performed on the longest day of the year, June 21. Almost every city dweller went there. Posters had been in the city weeks in advance.

One afternoon, Vera and Sammy were in town looking at one of those posters.

“I’d like to, but Rusty won’t”, the stable boy suddenly said.

“That’s just the way he is. But Mr. and Mrs. Stevenson might go. If you ask if you can come, they’ll be okay with that”, Vera said calm.

“Would you think?”, Sammy asked incredulously.

Vera nodded and said, “Come. Then I’ll make tea..”

Together they went to her house. Vera was very fond of Sammy’s brother, Rusty, and she loved both brothers. She was expecting Rusty’s child, but she also knew he would never marry her because of Sammy. Vera would have accepted that. Both brothers loved her but also their freedom.

That night Rusty asked over for dinner, “You must be going to that play, mustn’t you?”

“Indeed. Did you want to come?” , David asked teasing.

“I’d like to take his place”, Sammy said at once.

Everyone looked at him and Claire said hatefully, “That’s not for you. You don’t understand.”

Rusty forgot who he was for a moment and asked fiercely, “Today or tomorrow, I’m going to kick your ass if you keep this up. You’re not going to get us out of here and get your hands on the ranch. Damn bitch! Why didn’t you stay away??”

He got up from the table and went outside.

“What a brutality. Who does he think he is?”, Claire asked from the heights.

Her parents didn’t say anything, but they started to notice that Claire wanted to finish the service at the ranch. Sammy looked at Jason and couldn’t get anything down his throat. Jason tried to get the meat off Sammy’s plate, but the stable boy hit him hard.

“Jason, don’t touch it. You’ve had your share. Otherwise, you’d go away”, Laura said at that moment.

This made the atmosphere even worse than it already was.

Laura took Sammy to the kitchen and said, “You can come with us to that play. Here’s dessert and go eat it outside with your brother.”

“Good Mrs Stevenson”, Sammy said and he took the pudding outside..

Rusty was still sulking about Claire’s comment about his little brother. He would never apologize. Especially not to dark city cows like her. Suddenly he saw Sammy coming with dessert and his mood was getting better.

Sammy said, “Here’s our dessert. I wasn’t hungry when you left the table. Mrs. Stevenson gave me this for us..”

He sat down next to Rusty and they ate the pudding together.

“They’re taking me to that play. Would Vera make me something beautiful to wear?”, asked the youngest Jones brother when they had finished eating.

“I’m sure she does. Where have you been this afternoon? You didn’t bully poor Ansel?”, Rusty asked curiously.

“I’ll leave that to you. I went to Vera’s. She asked me to come by weeks ago. Mr. Stevenson released me this afternoon”, Sammy said calm.

“I’ll give you everything, little brother of mine”, Rusty said grinning.

Sammy shrugged but said nothing.

After the scene at the table, Claire and Jason avoided the Jones brothers like the plague. At Rusty’s request, Vera made a neat suit for her brother-in-law. Sammy didn’t dare ask her, so Rusty had to do it for him. Which the foreman gladly did.

For several weeks it remained quiet at the ranch. There was a very intense tension surrounding the ranch as the date of June 21 approached.

When it was the day of the annual play, the tension quickly rose to the top. Terry got into a fight with Jason before breakfast for nothing in fact.

Jason said to him, “I want you to saddle a horse for me.”

“Forget it. You’re fine, aren’t you? Or does Claire not want to know how you get your hands dirty?”, Terry asked sarcastically.

“Would you mind taking a look after your words? You’re just a servant here anyway”, said Jason.

He punched the deputy foreman in the face. But Terry grabbed him and dragged him to the water trough.

“Now apologize to me or I’ll shove your head under until you do it”, Terry said furiously.

But Jason didn’t.

So Terry kept him underwater until Rusty showed up and asked Jason, “Claire may not wash you anymore?”

He said to Terry, “Terry, Don’t leave him in the water too long. Otherwise, the drinking water will become so polluted.”

The foreman gave him a wink. Terry threw the city cow to the ground and kicked him again.

“Rusty, this could be another fun day at the farm. Just wait and see what the next few hours will bring us”, said Terry who usually expressed himself a little poetically.

“Shut up, Rhoades. I’ll send you to the White Horses if you don’t get your breakfast in soon. Then you can keep Ansel busy with your poems”, the foreman said laughing.

“Ansel is as romantic as a cactus in the desert”, reacted Terry reacted also laughing.

“A cactus has more spines than Ansel hairs on its head”, laughed Rusty.

“We have to remember that for the next time we run into Ansel. That’s going to be another hoot”, said Terry.

They kept laughing so much that they completely forgot about breakfast. Jason got up and sunded revenge. He’d take that as soon as his in-laws were gone. He knew his wife would agree to it.

For the rest of the day, Terry stayed smiling every time he saw Jason. This led to a huge argument between the Watts couple and the hands.

Rusty said to David and Laura in the office, “I don’t want to say much, but today or tomorrow, a battle breaks out here. And the cause this time is not the staff. Your daughter and son-in-law are to blame.”

“I have to admit, the atmosphere here at the ranch has changed a lot since they arrived. But she’s my only daughter, so try to take that into account. I’ll talk to them myself. Rusty, I know it sounds very alluring, but don’t cause any trouble”, the rancher said to his foreman.

Rusty nodded and left the office silently. He knew that today was a holiday, but there was no festive mood on the ranch at all. The foreman grabbed his horse and drove towards Cooperville. He didn’t stop until Vera Johnson’s house. Rusty took off and tied up Silver Star. Then he knocked on the door. Vera answered up and was very surprised and surprised to see her friend.

“Can we talk? It’s so much fun at the ranch now”, said Rusty.

“Of course. Come in”, Vera said calm.

In the living room, Rusty told me everything that happened that day. His voice betrayed how much he felt responsible for the goings-on on the ranch.

“Rusty, it’s not because of you that things are going badly at the Crinkly K. Ranch. If Jason and Claire had never gotten there, it would have been very different. Don’t worry. Sam, the baby and I need you. I’ll make us coffee. Do they know you’re gone?”, asked Vera.

Rusty shook from no. He was always so loud but there was no notice of that now. Vera found him since Jason beat him up in the White Horses so changed that sometimes she didn’t know him again. Rusty drank his coffee and then went back to the ranch where he had already been missed. Terry and Sammy knew that their jobs and place of residence were clearly in danger. If Claire and Jason were given a free rein, the ranch would be over.

In their bedroom Sammy asked Rusty, “Watch out for that bitch tonight. Would they strike when her parents are gone??”

“That’s possible, but they can’t get us. You behave nicely on your night out. I’m counting on you”, Rusty said calmly.

Sammy nodded. The foreman didn’t know what he was going to experience that night.

When both his employers and brother left, Rusty remained alert. He promised his boss he’d stay up until they got home. This didn’t sun Claire at all, so she had to come up with a plan. That’s what happened.

“Rusty, do you fancy a drink?”, Claire asked when they were in the living room together.

Rusty looked up from the book he was reading and was looking at this question from her.

“No, not for a while. And especially not yours”, he said cold.

“My parents are crazy for taking Sammy to that play. He doesn’t understand it”, was the next comment of Claire.

“He wanted to. You’ve become such an insufferable nest in the big city. It’s better for everyone if you disappear with that wimp of a husband of yours”, the foreman said fiercely.

“I’ve become a lady of state, and you’re way below my position. I don’t know what a chick like Vera sees in you”, Claire said laughing.

Rusty put the book next to him on the couch and got up. With two steps, he was with her.

He grabbed her and said, “Vera has someone you’ll never get anyway, and that’s the undersigned.”

Suddenly Claire started kissing him passionately. Rusty resisted and that’s when Jason came in. He saw what happened.

“You bastard. Keep your paws off my wife!”, he screamed.

He ran to Rusty and yanked Claire away from him. Rusty took a punch and fell backwards. But he got up and punched Jason in the living room. A little furniture was already killed in this. Rusty gave Jason a big beating. Suddenly Jason saw an opportunity to sell the foreman such a hard blow that he ended up against the bench and lost consciousness.

“So, there’s one! We’ll put some empty whiskey bottles on him and I’ll pour some down his throat. As soon as your parents come back, you tell him I caught him with you and beat me up”, said Jason.

“Dad hates it when you’re on his liquor supply without his permission. Now he’s definitely getting fired, and so is his little brother. Go to sleep. They’re coming soon”, Claire said quickly.

Jason did what he planned and Claire then took off the lights and started sobbing on the stairs.

Meanwhile, the annual play had ended in the city. Sammy was just talking to Vera.

“Tell Rusty about the dinner. I think your boss wants to leave. Bye Sam”, she said.

Sammy looked at her in amazement and said, “Only Rusty calls me Sam. Good bye Vera.”

He went to see David and Laura waiting by their carriage.

“Come on Sammy, let’s go home”, said David said to his stable boy.

“Alright Mr Stevenson”, was the answer.

They got in the carriage and drove to the Crinkly K. Ranch. However, no one could have guessed what had happened in the living room.

When the Stevenson couple and Sammy drove into the yard in the carriage, everything was dark.

“strange. Rusty promised to leave all the lights on until we got home”, said David.

He helped Laura and Sammy out of the carriage. José went to put the horses and the carriage in the stables. David, Laura and Sammy received a strange greeting when they entered the living room. Laura put the light on and apart from the havoc in the living room they saw and heard Claire crying and the foreman was seemingly unseeded.

David cursed out loud and asked, “What the hell happened here??”

“Rusty tried to assault me after he’d been drinking like a heretic. Jason tried to stop him. A brawl ensued. Hence the mess. He’s got to go” , Claire said upset.

Sammy walked up to his brother and glanced at him.

“He’s not drunk, he’s hurt”, he commented.

“Have one of the hands get Doc”, said Laura.

David went outside and he said to Terry, “Get Doc. Rusty’s hurt. There’s a rush.”

Terry left right away. His employer went back inside.

“Sam, Are you here with me? In our bedroom, I tell you everything. My hand hurts so much”, said Rusty who had regained consciousness.

“Just lie down, boy. Terry’s already getting Doc”, said Laura.

She doped his wounds with water. Sammy looked at Claire dirty while she was dirty but didn’t say anything. Then Jason came down and he started comforting his wife.

David said to him, “What do you think happened? Claire’s lying and Rusty won’t say anything yet.”

“I was outside when I heard Claire scream. So I went in and he almost assaulted her. We started fighting. But I knocked him out pretty bad. I did it to protect my wife. You can understand that, can’t you?”, asked Jason.

“I can understand that a little bit. But Rusty wasn’t drunk and would never sexually assault a person”, said David.

“He almost did that to me. Dad, can’t you fire him?”, Claire asked sobbing.

“You started. You wanted to get me drunk”, said Rusty.

“You’re lying. I was just trying to stop you”, Claire said toxic.

“You’re such a liar”, Sammy said from the bottom of his heart.

Rusty pulled out his gun and said as he pointed the gun at Jason, “One more move to Sam and you’ll be sleeping in a coffin from now on. So you still haven’t learned your lesson. In the city, you’re going to have a fight with words, but here with the bullet.”

“Look, now he’s threatening me with the bullet. Your foreman and his little brother have to go. And immediately”, Jason said evil to his father-in-law.

David looked at them and said, “You provoked it yourself. You’re leaving here tomorrow. Unless you both apologize to Rusty and Sammy..”

To keep the sweet peace, they apologized. Rusty and Sammy accepted, but they still remained suspicious of them.

Moments later, Terry arrived with Doc. When she entered the house they saw the havoc.

“Doc, Sorry about the mess. The patient is here”, said David.

“Don’t tell me anything, and I won’t know anything. Let me see”, said Doc.

He walked up to Rusty who was still against the bench.

“My right hand hurts”, said the foreman with a sore face.

Doc examined the sore hand and said, “That may be true because it’s broken. I want to take you to my practice so I can put it in plaster.”

“Good. Rusty, take Sammy and stay in town. Let’s send the bill here”, said Laura.

“Come on, Sam. Help your old brother up”, said Rusty.

Sammy did. The brothers no longer looked at the Watts couple, but neither did the other way around. Doc took the couple into town.

On the way, Rusty asked, “How was the play?”

“How boring”, said Sammy.

“I also performed a play myself”, Rusty said with a laugh despite the intense pain. “Vera asked about you. She wants dinner with us Vera asked about you. She wants dinner with us”, said Sammy.

Now the foreman became shy and red. He didn’t know where to look.

Doc heard that and said, “Rusty, you’re not going to refuse that, are you? The whole town knows how you and Vera feel about each other.”

“Doc!”, Rusty said, and he got even more shy..

Doc and Sammy weren’t used to this. Normally he had a big mouth but now the foreman didn’t know how to say a single word.

Doc put Rusty’s hand and wrist in plaster. “So young man. Poker won’t be possible for you anytime soon. Get out of here”, He told Rusty and Sammy.

They left the practice. At the Winston Hotel, they went in.

“Rusty en Sammy Jones, What can it be?”, asked the clerk.

“A double room and the bill please send to the Crinkly K. Ranch”, said Rusty.

At the same time, he was watching his little brother. Sammy hadn’t been to this hotel that often. The Winston Hotel was the best and most decent hotel in the city and therefore the most expensive.

“Sign here”, said the clerk.

Rusty signed and got the key.

In their hotel room, Sammy sitting on the bed asked his brother in a worried voice:“Rusty?”

“Yes, what’s wrong, Sam?”, asked Rusty who was lying.

“When we left, Vera Sam said to me. But only you call me that, and Mom did, too”, Sammy said surprised.

Rusty got up and looked at him. “I can tell you. Vera is pregnant with my child. I want her to live on the ranch. But not as long as that couple is still there. The reason she calls you Sam is because she sees you as her brother-in-law. Do you understand?”, asked the foreman.

“Not really. You mean you’re not taking care of me anymore?”, asked Sammy.

“I’ll always take care of you. Vera can’t stop that, and she won’t. She’s going to take care of you, too”, Rusty reassured his little brother.

He noticed Sammy was tired and said, “We’re going to sleep until they wake us downstairs for breakfast.”

Sammy agreed. Pretty soon it was dead quiet in the hotel room where the Jones brothers were sleeping.

At the ranch, David said to his daughter and son-in-law, “Tomorrow after breakfast, you’ll clean up the living room. It’s your fault my foreman is hurt.”

“Dad, he started. Really”, claimed Claire.

David said, “Rusty never just starts fighting. So there must have been some things between him and you. I’m not going to make any more words out of it now. Good night.”

Claire and Jason realized they’d lost this time, too.

In their bedroom, Jason said, laughing mean, “We need to take a tougher stand against Jones. Otherwise, our plan will be completely in the soup.”

It had been quiet in Cooperville for a while. Rusty couldn’t use his hand optimally, but it didn’t matter to him. From the north side a carriage came along.

Rusty and Terry were just loading up the new stash for the Crinkly K. Ranch when the man asked them, “Do you happen to know how to get to the Crinkly K. Ranch??”

“We work there. If you have a little patience, we can guide you there”, said Rusty.

“Deal. I’m John Stevenson. That’s my wife Emma and our daughter Amy”, said the man.

“I’m Rusty Jones and that’s Terry Rhoades. I’m the foreman at the ranch. Is David your brother?”, asked Rusty.

“Yes, we came to scare Claire and Jason away”, explained John.

He noticed that the foreman looked at Amy a lot.

“Has she always been so shy?”, asked Rusty.

“Yes, she’s very shy and doesn’t say much. Why?”, asked Emma.

“My younger brother Sam is like that. Maybe I can introduce them to each other”, said Rusty.

“We can go Mr Jones”, Terry called as always.

“Good Mr Rhoades”, Rusty said, after which they climbed onto the car.

John and Emma had once had a ranch in Nevada, but David and Laura had written to them about the problems at their ranch.

At the ranch, the other Stevensons were welcomed with open arms by David and Laura. Rusty introduced his little brother to Amy. The two immediately loved each other. John and Emma had no objection to their friendship, and neither did Rusty.

Sammy made Amy less shy, and she started talking more. Vera was also busy with Amy and they became best friends. Of course, Claire and Jason were not happy with the arrival of John Stevenson and his family. They decided to take care of Amy and Sammy.

It was on a quiet afternoon when Jason was alone at the ranch with Amy.

“I’m going to have you”, Jason said with a mean smile around his mouth.

He grabbed her and took her to the stables. Of course Amy resisted, but it didn’t help. In the stables, the door was closed by Jason. Then he raped the girl. He beat her to the blue. But Amy bit off by hitting back and suddenly she saw an opportunity to give him a karate kick in his noble parts. Jason screamed it out in pain and left Amy alone. Jason left Amy outside and went into town. He stopped for the White Horses Saloon. Ansel saw him coming and made him a special drink. In the whisky, the bartender threw a large scoop of sleeping powder.

“It is very nicely decorated here”, said Jason as he threw in his drink.

‘You’re an even bigger slime ball than Rusty and Terry put together, thought Ansel. So he said it, but that remark Jason off. Soon the visitor fell into a very deep sleep. Ansel picked him up and put the clean sleeper on the street. That’s when Laura and Emma just came by.

“Afternoon ladies”, Ansel greeted laughing.

“Afternoon Ansel. You must have the warmest greetings from Rusty, Terry and Sammy”, Laura said also laughing.

Ansel looked up and said heavily offended, “Sammy still let me accept it, but not those two bullies! Tell them that!”

He went back inside.

Laura explained to Emma, “You should never mention the names of Rusty and Terry in his presence because then Ansel jumps out of his skin. Those two always bully him. Rusty’s the only one who can keep him on the closet..”

At the ranch, John and David came home. They saw Amy crying and they ran towards her.

“Honey, what happened to you? Who did this?”, John asked his daughter.

Amy said hesitating, “Jason did this. He raped me but I gave him a big kick in his chimes.”

“I should have known. I bet Jason rusty and/or Sammy will blame it. That’s happened every time since they came. Now they’re getting out”, David said angry.

But Claire and Jason were gone. No one had seen them leave the ranch.

“Sammy must be in the barn or stable because he’s there a lot”, said David.

But Sammy disappeared without a trace.

That afternoon, Claire lured Sammy away from the ranch.

She said to him, “Sammy, We’re going for a ride together.”

“But Rusty said……..”, Sammy started Sammy but Claire interrupted him with, “ I have nothing to do with Rusty. Get in.”

Sammy did it with distrust. Claire drove off the ranch at great speed. They went to an old abandoned cabin, 7.5 miles from crinkly K. Ranch. That’s where Claire stopped the carriage.

“Now you’re going in, you son of a bitch”, she said.

She also pointed a pistol at Sammy. He went inside and Claire followed him.

She said, “You can wait a long time for your brother to arrive. He won’t find you alive anymore.”

Moments later, she went back home after tying Sammy up tightly. Claire was clearly in a good mood. As soon as Rusty found out Sammy was gone, he’d leave, too. That way Claire and Jason could take over the ranch. Unfortunately, Joe Parker and Rusty saw her coming.

“What’s that chick doing here if I may ask?”, asked Joe.

Rusty felt unrest on the way and said, “She did something with Sam. Joe, I’ll see you soon.”

He turned his horse and gave it the tracks. He stopped Claire a little later.

“Where are you from? Those horses look heated”, said the foreman.

Then he saw Sammy’s hat and he jumped on the carriage. He took the reins and threw her out of the carriage.

“What the hell did you do to Sam? Where is he?”, Rusty asked furiously.

“Nothing. I just went for a drive. Sammy’s at the ranch.”, Claire screamed.

“You’re lying. Where is he? If you don’t say anything, I’ll leave you here for the coyotes”, threatened Rusty.

He almost tried to hit her.

“He’s in an abandoned cabin three miles from here”, confessed Claire.

Rusty grabbed Sammy’s hat and brought an extra horse. After this he gave the other horses the tracks. He took off on his horse and took the second horse.

“Rusty, don’t leave me here. I told you where he is, didn’t I?”, asked Claire.

“You did, but I lied”, Rusty said grinning.

He rushed to the abandoned cabin. Full of anxiety, he reached the cabin. The foreman jumped off his horse and ran inside. In one corner, he saw his little brother.

“Sam, is everything good?”, Rusty asked as he untied him.

“She lured me along, but I didn’t want to. Are you mad at me?”, Sammy asked, in turn.

“How can I be mad at you? You’re my little brother. Besides, this isn’t your fault. I’m just mad at that bitch. You can walk?”, asked Rusty.

Sammy nodded and asked, “Let’s go back to the ranch?”

“We’re going to the herd. Here’s your hat. It’s time you learned to drive cattle”, said Rusty and he put the black hat on Sammy’s head.

On the way to the herd, Sammy asked, “Rusty, can you teach me how to shoot??”

“I teach you how to shoot? I’d love to. I was going to do it anyway. Promise me you’ll only use the weapon in an emergency”, Rusty said serious.

“I promise”, Sammy said seriously, too.

Rusty knew that if Sammy promised something, he’d stick to it.

They drove to the herd where most of the servants were.

“What’s Sammy doing here?”, Joe asked Rusty.

“Claire lured him away from the ranch. In an abandoned cabin, she had tied him up and left him behind. That’s why she was in such a hurry. I’ll watch Sam”, Rusty explained.

“A good solution must be made quickly, otherwise there will soon be a bloodbath. I love this life too much to die”, said Joe.

The foreman agreed. But a solution wasn’t found so quickly.

Suddenly Rusty said, “Strike.”

“Strike?”, Terry asked amazed.

“We’re going on strike until those city cows are gone”, explained the foreman.

However, the other men did not agree.

“Good. You guys take a look at it. Come on, Sam.”, said Rusty and her left the herd.

His little brother followed him.

Back at the ranch, the foreman heard what Jason had done to Amy. John told Rusty how and what had happened. “I’ll tell Sam.”, promised the foreman what he did right away.

When Rusty told Sammy what Jason had done to Amy, he got mad. The foreman had the greatest difficulty keeping his little brother in check.

“He has to stay away from her. He’s got Claire anyway?”, Sammy asked when he calmed down a little bit.

“Yes. But since you’re dating Amy, he wants to accuse you and/or me of that. I’m sure John will believe us. We’ll get through”, Rusty replied calmly.

One morning, Rusty went into his boss’s office.

David looked up and asked, “Rusty , What can I do for you?”

“Mr. Stevenson, I have a request. As you know, I’m having dinner with Miss Johnson tonight. But I’m having a hard time getting to Silver Star. That’s why I’d like to ask you if I can borrow the carriage?”, the foreman asked a little clumsy.

David smiled and said, “Take it with you. I know how you and Vera treat each other. Tell her she can move in here. The garden shed is then for Jason and Claire.”

Rusty didn’t know what to say and left the office.

Jason saw him coming and asked, “Shouldn’t you be going to work? That’s what you were hired to do, weren’t you?”

“I work for your in-laws, not you. You stay away from Sam and Amy. Otherwise, you’ll be living something”, Rusty bit him.

Jason laughed very falsely and said, “There’s nothing that little brother and girl can do to me. I’ll make sure they leave.”

“Then all the staff leaves. Your sweet little lady used to play with Sam every day”, said Rusty.

“Claire says not”, claimed Jason.

Rusty walked out. He didn’t feel like fighting. There were already plenty of difficulties on and around the ranch.

While she was preparing the meal, Vera felt something moving inside of her. Her hand slipped unnoticed to her belly.

She said to her baby, “I can feel your kicking.”

It made her happy. All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door. She quickly walked to the door, straightened her dress and opened the door.

“Hello, Rusty. Come in”, she said with a smile.

“Hello, Vera. You look good”, the foreman said as he took off his hat. “I feel good, too. I’m glad you’re here”, Vera said quickly.

She walked to the kitchen where the food was almost ready.

When the meal was halfway through Rusty asked, “Vera, what’s up?”

“We need to talk about our future. We have to make plans soon because it’s nice to see that I’m pregnant”, Vera said slowly.

“I know. You can come live on the ranch. We’re fixing up the garden shed. That’s going to be the house for those city cows. Do you mind if Sam moves in with us? I’d rather not leave him alone. Soon the city will talk about us”, said Rusty.

“They already are doing that. Don’t let Ansel hear it” said Vera.

Rusty shrugged and said, “I can get him right on the closet.”

“Who doesn’t?”, asked his girlfriend to smile.

Rusty nodded.

“I’m not going to get between you and Sammy, am I?”, Vera asked after a while.

“No. He thinks so, but I’m going to have to talk to him a lot. And so do you”, said Rusty.

“I’ve never had a brother. So now I have one”, said Vera.

Vera stopped working at Dora Grant’s store.

Dora asked, “You’re going to come by the store, right? Even if the baby is born?”

“Of course Mrs. Grant. I’m just going to live at the Crinkly K. Ranch with Rusty and Sammy. Rusty doesn’t want me to live alone any longer now that the baby’s coming in a few weeks”, said Vera.

She was clearly heavily pregnant but unmarried. That’s when Sheila Clark entered the store.

She saw Vera and instantly said she was in a decent tone, “You and that foreman make the city a great disgrace. To have a child you have to be married!”

“You’re married, but you don’t have kids. What Rusty and I do are our business”, said Vera who hadn’t fallen on her mouth.

“What a brutality. Claire Watts is just a lady. You can learn a lot from her”, said Sheila.

“She’ll terrorize the ranch and the city”, reacted Dora.

Sheila paused and left the store. It was true that Sheila was out everywhere she went, she was the meddler and the know-it-all. But when she was contradicted, the poop tower fell through the basket.

Vera hung out with Amy a lot. Vera was heavily pregnant, which led to a lot of bullying from Claire. But she was always falling apart.

It was during a coffee morning at the ranch.

“How long do you have to?”, Emma suddenly asked.

“It could come at any moment. I feel like I’m never going to lose it. It kicks all day long”, said Vera.

“As long as you keep your kid away from us. I would never want to have a child with Rusty anyway”, said Claire.

“You and Jason can’t even come near us. So what are you whining about? I love Rusty and he loves me”, Vera reacted fiercely.

As a result, Claire was deeply offended. Vera didn’t care.

A little later Vera and Amy walked to the kitchen.

“What does Rusty think of me?”, Amy suddenly asked.

“He really likes you. Claire can take another example from you, he finds”, answered Vera.

That afternoon, Vera rested all afternoon. At least that was the intention. But by mid-afternoon, the expectant mother had severe abdominal pain.

“It’s not going to start anyway, is it?”, she said to herself.

But it had started and how! Vera got up and walked slowly down where the women were. At the stairs Vera got a violent contraction and she shrank in pain.

“The baby is going to come and fast too”, she said after the pain.

She got up and went to her room supported by Amy. Laura went to warn the rest.

Vera was in bed with severe contractions and Amy was sitting with her.

“You want me to stay with you during childbirth?”, Amy suddenly asked.

“Yes, I don’t know when Rusty’s coming, but I do know that the baby won’t be long in coming”, answered Vera.

She looked at her big belly and sighed deeply. As she helped Vera give birth, Amy began to long for a baby of her Sammy. Her sister-in-law noticed.

“Why don’t you just seduce Sam? I did the same with Rusty, and now I’m lying here with a big belly in bed”, said Vera.

“Oh well, why not?”, Amy in turn asked.

“Where are Rusty and Doc? It hurts so much. I feel it coming”, Vera said gasping.

“They’re on their way”, Amy said calmly.

Vera then felt push urge to rise and said, “Amy, You’re going to have to help me.”

Amy took away the blankets and sheets and helped her sister-in-law as best she could. Vera took a breath and started pressing.

After pushing a few times, Vera said, “Amy, I feel the head coming.”

“It’s almost there. Just a little more pressing”, said Amy.

Vera took a deep breath again and started pushing again. With a loud scream, she gave birth to her baby.

“Vera, Congratulations on the birth of your son”, Amy said as she picked up the baby.

The baby was placed with his mother and she began to cry with happiness.

Shortly after giving birth, the door opened and the baby’s father came in.

“Rusty, I’m sorry, but your son didn’t want to stay indoors anymore.”, said Vera.

Rusty sat down with his girlfriend and kissed her. He got their son in his arms.

“We call him Adam. Would you and Vera take care of him when we’re gone?, Rusty asked after a while.

“Love to”, said Amy.

She took over Adam and put him in the crib. The baby fell asleep. Amy left the young parents alone and went downstairs.

Rusty said earnestly, “As soon as you’ve recovered from childbirth, I want you to leave here with Amy and Adam. It’s for your own safety. As soon as it’s all over, I’ll write to you that you can come back.”

“I understand. We’ll go to my parents’ house. I’m sure they’d like to see Adam too”, Vera replied.

Rusty was reassured.

In order to get their hands on the ranch, Jason and Claire decided to completely reverse their strategy. They changed their behavior, and Rusty and Terry thought that was suspicious. However, they didn’t show anything.

Rusty couldn’t handle Vera and Adam’s departure, even though he knew it was temporary. His surroundings noticed that every day. Even Sammy didn’t know his brother back.

One night Sammy asked Laura in the kitchen, “Does Rusty stay that way?”

“No one knows. But it really can’t go on like this anymore”, Laura said worried.

David also had that opinion about his foreman. The work he was supposed to do just stayed there, but the whiskey didn’t. Rusty left the ranch one day and drove to Cooperville. His employer didn’t know this. He and his wife watched with empty eyes as Rusty neglected his work.

“If he continues like this, I’ll be forced to fire him. He might take Sammy, but he’ll have to. This situation really can’t go on any longer. Tell him I want to talk to him now”, David said to his wife.

Laura went looking for him, but Rusty could not be found in any of the ranch’s locations.

Sammy was there, but he said, “Rusty’s gone, but I don’t know where he is.”

Terry stood by and Laura could see from his eyes that he knew where the foreman was.

“He went to the saloon. He asked me not to say anything”, confessed Terry.

Sammy looked at the servant and said evil, “You dirty traitor!”

The next minute he grabbed his horse and drove to Cooperville to warn his brother.

Rusty was in the White Horses saloon drinking heavily. Ansel didn’t say anything, but he realized the foreman was already far away. When Sammy rushed into the saloon, he ran over the bartender. Ansel fell to the ground and cursed out loud. That’s exactly when the vicar came along.

This one looked in and said, “Ansel, no one in your saloon has ever said that kind of language.”

This comment drew bad blood from the bartender.

Meanwhile Sammy said to Rusty, “They’re going to fire us. Terry told Mrs Stevenson where you were.”

“Oh? So they don’t need us at the ranch anymore. Come on, Sam. We’ll pick up our stuff and get out of here”, said Rusty who was sober right away.

The brothers left the saloon.

They arrived at the yard in a hurry. Rusty jumped off his horse and went straight into his employer’s office.

David looked up and asked the foreman, “Why aren’t you in your post? I’m starting to notice that the booze is more important to you than your work here. We all work hard except you. Do I get an explanation for this?”

Rusty, in turn, asked, “Are Sam and I fired by you.?”

“You do, but Sammy doesn’t. Get your stuff and get out of here. I don’t want to see you anymore”, David said calmly.

“Sam’s taking my side anyway, so he’s fired, too”, Rusty said furiously.

He left the office and went to help his little brother pack.

“Sam, We’re going somewhere else. They don’t need us anymore, and neither do we”, said Rusty.

“I’m staying here for now. Why don’t you go find a place to live?”, Sammy asked then.

Rusty liked that idea better. Moments later, Rusty left the ranch alone and moved into the Winston Hotel.

With Rusty gone, Jason was given more room to work out his plan. However, this plan was not benign as would later become apparent.

Rusty was in the saloon drowning his problems. Ansel saw the former foreman sitting with a bottle of pure whisky from the tap cupboard. He walked up to him and sat down at his table. “When did the problems at the Crinkly K. Ranch begin?”, asked Ansel.

“That was the day a Claire Watts bitch came with her husband. Why? You’re not going to tell me they had anything to do with it?”, Rusty asked restless.

“It is striking that both Doc and the sheriff often have to come to the ranch. Larson told me that yesterday. He thinks it’s very suspicious. Claire did try to scare Sammy away anyway, didn’t she?”, was Ansel’s question.

“You should have been a minister, Ansel. But now that you put it this way, I think you’re right”, said Rusty.

“You know why I could never be a vicar?”, asked Ansel.

“Well?”, Rusty asked him looking at him.

“I’d never be able to tell my dirty jokes”, replied the bartender in the hope that the former foreman had no response to it.

“You could have put them in the church magazine. But I’m going to confront Claire and Jason about this fact. They like me raw and so do I”, said Rusty.

De mood of Ansel had once again reached its familiar low point. Rusty got up and left the saloon.

Ansel screamed at him, “Thank you for ruining my day!”

He said grumbling to himself, “You help them out of the pit and what do you get in return? Nothing! They’re going to throw you in that pit.”

Rusty rushed to the ranch where he was no longer allowed to come. He didn’t care at the time because lives were at stake. Including his little brother’s.

At the ranch, he stopped his horse. He took off and saw Jason standing there.

He walked up to him and asked. “Hello Jason. How do you do?”

Jason looked strange but didn’t respond to it.

“You know what they say in town? They say you and your wife took over this ranch”, said Rusty.

“That’s what you’re saying. But who believes you?”, asked Jason.

Rusty thought it was very suspicious that it was so quiet on the ranch.

“I’m here to pick up my stuff. I assume they’re still here?”, asked the former foreman.

Jason didn’t say anything so Rusty wanted to go in but he was stopped by Jason. A fight ensued. The noise brought David, Claire and Terry to them and they were taken apart.

“He started”, Jason said furious.

Claire said, “As always.”

Rusty saw how red Claire became because of his presence and he almost attacked her. “Rusty, You’re coming to my office now”, David just said.

The former foreman got up from the ground and wiped the sand off his clothes. After this, he went with the rancher. Jason grabbed his gun and pointed it at Terry. The servant tried to take it away, but Jason knocked him out. With a bullet, he tried to kill him, but Sammy knocked the gun out of his hand. Jason quickly took Sammy’s. Through the shot, David and Rusty ran outside to see what was happening. Rusty wanted to shoot, but Jason had Sammy at gunpoint.

“Drop your weapon, Jones. I’m in charge here now”, Jason said to Rusty.

Sammy punched Jason in the stomach. Then Jason shot his father-in-law. Rusty and Sammy dropped to the ground. Moments later, Terry regained his knowledge. Now they were really in deep trouble.

At the ranch house, Jason said to his mother-in-law, “Rusty did something to you. Because he killed your husband.”

Laura looked at him for a moment and then went outside. That’s where she saw David. Right away, she knew Jason had done it.

“Sammy, go report this to the sheriff”, she just said.

The stable boy got up and left. Rusty told me what happened in the yard.

“I want you to stay, Rusty. You’re the only one who can control order. You’re the foreman now”, Laura said to him.

He liked that. They were going to take the damage.

Now that Rusty was foreman again, he thought he could be the boss. However, this was not the case. Most of the staff were gone and those who were still there didn’t listen to him. This was Claire. She had fired them up against brothers Jones and Terry.

Rusty noticed that the men stopped listening to him. As a result, he wondered if he should not look more carefully at another job. But on the other hand, there was also his responsibility to Sammy.

One night in a saloon, Rusty heard of the gold rush that prevailed in the west. Some had already found capital within weeks and were financially in.

A man said to Rusty, “It’s hard but rewarding work. If you want, you can leave tonight. I think you’re pretty excited to go.”

“Somewhere, yes. But I also have to take care of my brother. It’s hard for me to leave him here. It is impossible to take it with you”, said Rusty.

“Why? That’s quite possible.”, said the prospector.

“I’ll talk to my brother about it”, replied the foreman.

He walked out to think quietly. Rusty preferred to run off like a thief in the night. He knew his days at the ranch were numbered. He didn’t really care what happened to the ranch anymore. Then Sammy came to him.

He asked:“ I saw you talking to that prospector. Let’s find gold?”

“Maybe it is. If the situation at the ranch doesn’t change, we’re leaving. But I sincerely hope that something will change soon at the ranch”, said Rusty.

“Let those two go”, said Sammy.

Just as they were about to leave, the deputy came to them.

“Rusty, Sammy, there are problems at the ranch”, said Cody.

“You’re not telling me anything new, Cody”, reacted Rusty.

“Well, I do now. There’s been a real massacre at the ranch. It seems no one survived”, told Cody.

The foreman cursed and they took their horses. They drove quickly to the Crinkly K. Ranch. That’s where everything was found dark. Rusty put on the light and saw a real massacre. His sobriety was immediately present again. Cody’s stomach started to turn around even though he was used to a lot. That’s why he went to the dorm. There, too, he found nothing but corpses.

Cody drove back into town to get the sheriff. He made it to the way out, but he didn’t make it back.

The deputy asked his boss, “Rick, Except for the Jones brothers everyone was murdered. Can you come?”

“I come at once”, said de sheriff.

They drove to the ranch in haste. A rock suddenly caused a significant explosion that killed the sheriff and the deputy. The explosion gave a bright light in the dark night.

When, after a while, no authority holder showed up, Rusty began to worry deeply. As a precaution, he took off all the lights. After a while, he saw his little brother coming.

“Sam, Where’s Cody with the sheriff?”, asked Rusty.

“Both dead in an explosion. Rusty, I’m scared. Where’s Terry?”, Sammy asked in turn.

“I don’t know”, replied the foreman.

He realized that everything had now come down on their shoulders..

The brothers decided to bury the bodies on a bare part of the ranch. Jason and Claire’s lacked any trace.

By morning, Terry was returning. His mouth fell open in amazement when he heard what had happened last night.

“Miss Laura went to Taos on business. She wouldn’t say why. What do we do now?”, he asked Rusty.

“I don’t know. It’s such a mess now that I really don’t remember. Sam’s asleep now, so leave him alone”, responded the foreman who could no longer keep his eyes open from fatigue. “Why don’t you go to sleep for a few hours? I’ll keep watch”, said Terry.

Rusty did, falling asleep in the living room. Terry was very much hoping that more things wouldn’t go wrong at the ranch.

One day, a stranger arrived in Cooperville by stagecoach. He was the first to go to the White Horses saloon. The saloon was empty at the time.

Ansel was reading the newspaper intently when the marshal said to him after a while, “I assume if it’s self-service or you’re holding a slow action.”

Ansel was startled and immediately out of his mood.

He asked, “Can I help you marshal??”

“Like a whisky”, said the man.

Sighing, Ansel grabbed the bottle of whisky and a glass.

He poured the whiskey while he asked, “You’re new here?”

“Yes. I just arrived. You know Rusty and/or Sam Jones, don’t you? I’m their father”, said the marshal.

Ansel nearly suffered a fatal heart attack at the scene upon hearing Rusty Jones’ name.

He said a little angry, “Please don’t have another Jones in town. Rusty’s bad enough.”

The stranger, Peter Jones, looked at the bartender in amazement and noticed that Rusty had a very notorious reputation.

“Where do they live?”, he asked.

“At the Crinkly K. Ranch. Tell him right away that he’s no longer welcome in this saloon, and neither is that servant and friend of his. I mean Terry Rhoades”, Ansel called out angry.

Peter didn’t understand much more, but it would soon become clear to him. He left the saloon and walked to the stable.

“Can I buy a horse?”, asked Peter.

“Yes. Come with me, Marshal. Are you the new authority here?”, asked Will, the owner of the only stable in town.

“Yes. But first I have to go to the Crinkly K. Ranch. Do you know how to get there?”, asked Peter.

While Will explained how the marshal got there, Peter paid for the horse.

Rusty and Sammy didn’t know their father was back. They last saw him ten years ago. That was at their mother’s funeral. Rusty was 12 and his little brother was not even 7. Peter had left them in the city because he couldn’t take care of them. Now he was back and worried for their reaction. Soon Peter reached the ranch. The deaths of David, John and Emma Stevenson had left the estate quite neglected. Somehow Rusty and Terry made sure everything went through. Jason and Claire lived in the garden shed, but they still interfered with the ranch.

The foreman looked at the visitor with his eyes closed and said to himself, “It’s not going to be fucking true. That seems to be my old man.”

Rusty did get worried but stayed calm as he often was. Especially in emergencies.

Peter drove up to him and asked, “Are you the boss here??”

“Yes. You’re Peter Jones from Taos, New Mexico?”, Rusty asked to be sure of his case.

Peter nodded.

“Welcome, Dad. If you come to give us backup, please. Otherwise, you’d go away right now”, replied the foreman.

“I’m here for you and Sam, too”, said Peter.

“You’d better, too”, said Rusty.

Peter went down and together they walked to the stables.

“Adam is my six-month-old son and Amy is Sam’s girl. But they’re gone, and so is Vera. She’s your other daughter-in-law. Everyone from the Stevensons except Miss Laura is dead. She runs the ranch with our help. There’s your other son. Sam, come here”, Rusty called out to his little brother.

Sammy came and looked at Peter in amazement.

“Sam, I’m your father”, said Peter.

Rusty said, “You’ve been gone too long.”

Sammy walked away without saying another word. Rusty looked shyly at his boots and couldn’t put out a word.

Peter didn’t understand and asked, “Rusty, has your brother’s always been like this?”

“No! So much has happened here over the past year that I can barely grasp it myself. The blame lies with those two city cows, Jason and Claire Watts. They killed our boss, his brother and sister-in-law. Jason raped Amy for no reason. I can go on for hours, but we can’t get the evidence done before trial”, Rusty said a little infuriating.

“That’s one of the main reasons I came. I’m a marshal now, and Cooperville is part of my district. When Larson and Walker were killed in that explosion, Laura called me in. I do want you to keep this to yourself for now. First, Sam has to trust me. Jason Watts is an outlaw in disguise. He is wanted in many states”, said Peter.

Rusty was surprised to say nothing but decided to help Peter as best he could. Terry also decided to cooperate. If only to bully Ansel more.

Peter began to notice that his presence in Cooperville caused friction between him and Sammy. Sammy saw him as an intruder, which Rusty could understand a little bit. He got along better with his father.

One afternoon Peter came by again. Sammy was outside. Sammy saw his father coming and walked up to him.

Peter, meanwhile, had swindled and said surprised to his youngest son, “Sam, we need to talk seriously. I’m your father.”

The boy immediately asked him, “When are Rusty and I born?”

Peter took him for a walk and said, “Rusty was born on February 15, 1848, and you were born on June 15, 1853.”

Sammy said, “Only you, Mom and we know that.”

Now the boy didn’t understand at all.

“I didn’t mean to confuse you. Do you believe me now?”, Peter asked calmly.

Sammy nodded.

Peter soon realized that his eldest son was very good friends with full whisky bottles. He hardly drank any liquor. Sammy wasn’t exactly a drinker either. After Rusty was fired from the Crinkly K. Ranch for excessive drinking, he often lived in the saloons of the city. Every night, the marshal had to pull him out of a saloon. One day Peter was tired of it.

He asked Rusty, “You stop drinking right now. There’s no reason to drink as much as you do?”

“It’s my life. Besides, what do I care? You take care of Sam now”, said Rusty.

Peter decided to put his son under lock and key. That night Sammy came to see his father at work.

“Pa, where’s Rusty? In the saloon definitely again?”, asked Sammy.

“He’s under lock and key and he’s going to stay there for a while”, answered the marshal.

“Why?”, asked Sammy.

He couldn’t understand what was going on with his brother.

“Sam, Rusty has a serious alcohol problem. He doesn’t want to see him go the wrong way. Do you understand?” asked Peter.

Sammy nodded and said, “Let him go, then. Jason and Claire Watts are back on the booze. They helped him get back to drinking. Rusty knows that, too.”

De marshal said:“ So it’s their fault Rusty got fired? You’re leaving there, too. And today.”

He got up and walked to the cell where Rusty was lying.

“Stand on Rusty Jones. I appoint you deputy marshal of Cooperville”, said Peter.

Rusty sat down and let the news get to him first. Peter opened the cell and let his son out. Rusty accepted his new job and stayed behind while Peter and Sammy went to the ranch to pick up Sammy’s stuff. The ranch was completely abandoned and severely neglected. There were no more servants after the violent massacre on 25 December. Jason was now in control with his lovely wife Claire.

Rusty was sitting at his desk sobering up when Claire walked in. For a moment he was surprised but a second later he had already come up with a ruse.

“Ah, the woman of my dreams. I’ve been waiting years for you”, Rusty said, grinning at her. “Really? You’re more of a man than Jason”, Claire reacted flattered.

“Come with me. I’ve reserved a special place for you”, answered the deputy.

As naïve as she was, Claire followed him.

“Close your eyes. I’ll lead you”, he suddenly said.

Claire closed her eyes and Rusty grabbed her hand. He led her to a cell. He put her down and left prison. Then he locked the door.

He said grinning, “Mrs Watts, Open your eyes.”

Claire did that and, to her dismay, saw that she had been arrested.

“You dirty bastard!”, she yelled at Rusty.

The deputy responded with the comment, “That’s not how you talk to a deputy marshal.”

“Jason’s going to get you. You can count on that” she said furiously.

“I don’t think so. Dad’s arresting him. I know you were after Amy to have my son”, said Rusty.

“I can take better care of him than Sammy’s girl”, Claire replied.

“Vera wanted Amy to take care of Adam when she was gone”, The deputy said, and he left the cells.

In the office, he sat down and he turned a cigarette. Sammy didn’t say anything after Peter and Sammy left. Peter and Sammy were walking outside when Jason drove by. Sammy almost got hit and fell to the ground. Peter turned around and pulled out his revolver. There was a horrible scream when Jason was dragged by his horse and ended up in his end. Peter knelt down at Sammy’s and noticed he wasn’t hurt. Dora came in and saw what had happened. She looked at the marshal and his look said enough.

Rusty thought about everything that had happened. Maybe it was him, but since Jason and Claire’s arrival, the city had completely changed. He took himself for Adam to give the best of the best. If he had to, he left Cooperville to join Vera and Adam.

In the office, Rusty was waiting for them to return. From their faces he saw that something had happened to Sammy.

“Rusty, Make some coffee. Then I’ll take Sam outside for a walk”, said Peter.

Rusty deliberately made slow coffee so Peter had more time for Sammy.

“Dad, I want Claire dead, too. If she hadn’t come, I’d still have Amy and Rusty Vera”, Sammy said upset.

His eyes burst with tears and he slowly began to cry in his father’s arms. After a while, the boy calmed down and they went back inside.

Peter brought Claire the news of her husband’s passing. As a result, she suffered such a huge tantrum that she fell to her death on her bed.

It wasn’t until half-time had returned to Cooperville that Rusty and Sammy learned how it all worked out.

Peter asked them at the Crinkly K. Ranch, “Laura’s my sister. When my lovely wife and your mother died, I thought it best to leave you here. I didn’t want anyone to know about it. Do you understand now?”

He looked at his sons seriously. Sammy shook no and Rusty showed he didn’t understand much about it either.

Laura said for clarification, “David saw that you did care about the ranch and Claire didn’t. That’s why he decided to give you the ranch after we died. It was very difficult to keep this a secret.”

“So that’s why we did sleep in the house and the other servants didn’t?”, Rusty asked, who started to get it first.

She nodded. Sammy looked from one to the other but didn’t say a word. Peter took him outside.

He said to his youngest son, “Everything’s fine now. If you want you can stay with me but you can also stay here.”

“I don’t know yet. What does Rusty do?”, asked Sammy.

“I don’t know. But if he chooses the ranch, I’ll have to find a new deputy”, said Peter.

Sammy nodded and said, “Rusty never left me alone.”

“You’ve got us now, too. Laura’s going to want to take care of you, too. But if you want to live with me, I’m fine with it, too”, answered Peter.

Sammy looked out in front of him without saying anything. He had to process everything himself in peace. Rusty was thinking of the same problem. On the one hand he loved the ranch but on the other hand the job of deputy was also very attractive.

Eventually he said to Laura and Peter, “If Sam agrees, we’re going to work for our dad the marshal.”

“All right, Rusty. I do think 1 person won’t be happy about it”, reacted Sammy.

“And who is that?”, Peter wanted to know.

Rusty replied with a laugh, “Our great friend Ansel Collins!”

“And your friends can definitely come back now and I finally want to see and hold my grandson”, said Peter.

Rusty wrote as he promised Vera that she could come back to him.

The stagecoach stopped in the street. As first a young mother with a baby of about 7 months old got out. They were being followed by a young lady.

“Amy, we are home again”, said the oldest woman.

“Finally”, answered Amy.

Then they saw 2 very familiar cowboys.

“Rusty!”, called Vera.

She almost ran to him. Rusty took her and their son into his arms. Sammy recognized Amy and ran to her.

“Sam, what am I glad to see you”, she said smiling.

Sammy kissed her loving full and his brother did that too.

“Kissing strange ladies on the street. Do I pay you so well for that?”, they heard a voice asking then.

The brothers laughed and knew enough.

“Dad, may I introduce you to our partners? That’s my Vera with our son Adam and the other lady is Amy, Sam’s girlfriend. Ladies, your father-in-law”, said Rusty.

Hands were shaken and Peter got his grandson in his arms.

“We take you to our home”, said Peter.

Sammy grabbed a carriage and helped Amy and Vera in it and they drove home. Rusty arranged for the ladies’ luggage. Peter took his grandson to his workplace.

A bit later on Peter and Adam came home too and now everyone had really come home.

When Peter was holding his grandson he said, “Just wait a while and there will be walking around more grandchildren of mine.”

“And as soon as they are old enough to be allowed into the White Horses saloon they will pester Ansel more than their fathers did”, said Laura.

By the very hard hand of the Jones clan the crime stayed away from Cooperville. Hereby the town became very livable and got quite soon extension.