Jethro "Black" Blackburn's Story

Jethro was sitting at his workbench in his shop, cleaning a Lemat revolver for a customer which had also asked him to engrave the barrel with "Boo".
"Maybe he thinks it´ll help him scare away some outlaws." He mumbled, smiling. Business was slow today and so far the only other customer he´d had was some drunken rancher asking if he had a gun that could shoot, and hit, five coyotes at the same time. Jethro simply said no and pointed him in the direction of the Silver spur, knowing that the man would soon forget about that idea and want another drink.

He considered closing early and heading down to the Silver spur for some drinks and maybe some rounds of poker, but then quickly came to his senses again, realizing that it wouldn't be good for business and probably wouldn't be that much fun either since the saloon would probably be pretty empty at this time of day.
There had been some commotion earlier that day, some outlaw riding by closely followed by the marshal. He had also heard some shoots being exchanged but nothing mayor. A part of him hoped that at least one of them had stopped shooting because their gun had broken down on them, then they'd have to get them fixed and he would have something to do! But that was a long shot and even if that where to happen they probably wouldn't come to get it fixed until tomorrow, and by then he´d have something else to do.. But look on it from the bright side, he thought to himself, as soon as you done you can spend the rest of the day relaxing!

So as soon as he had finished engraving "Boo the LeMat" he started picking out the things he´d need from one of the shelfs on the wall, he wanted to make sure that he didn't need to go back inside once he´d sat down and started reading. He hesitated a bit over whether he should bring a bottle of whiskey or not, the shop still being open and all, but decided that one glass wouldn't hurt . He then when´t outside, sat down and started reading, occasionally taking a sip from the glass and looking down the main street.

Jenny took cover when Kate shot, and hid there for the rest of the event.

Afterwards, she put her weapons away, and walked through the dusty streets. She heard footsteps behind her. The slurred sounds of a drunk man made her raise her eyebrows and turn to face him. "Jenn- Bonnie.. .Suck my.. Big.. Fat.."

Jenny didn't even have to think what he was going to say next, and slapped him. He grabbed her arms, and pushed down. Jenny had a small frame, and wouldn't be able to push him off if she tried. Within seconds, she was on the dusty, sandy floor, and the male was swinging his fists wildly at her face. She took around three our four punches before she lost her temper. She lifted her foot, and kicked him off. The two both stood up, and Jenny sneered. "My Ma' used to tell me I should never give the first punch.." She hissed, clenching her fist. "But I sure as hell will give the last punch, you damn fool." She grunted, her fist connecting with his cheek, and a loud crack emitting from it. The drunk reached for his pistol, but Jenny was too quick. She took one of hers out, and gave him a bullet in the chest.

"Now, Aint that a shame. I just let a drunk waste liquor. It aint even five yet, and we got drunks? Dang.." She muttered, walking towards the Blackburn Armory. She pulled up a seat from nearby, and sat next to Jethro. "I find it funny how you just watched me get attacked, and you just sit here drinkin?" She chuckled to herself.

"So, How's business, Black?"

The destination was a little south of stanleys point, but the ride was far from an easy and relaxing one. Especially for such a short one like Jan Hass, the horse more than once threatened to buck him off at high speeds into a trail of dust, and it didn't help that he was such that he was such a novice horse rider either. Each time he just barley clung to the saddle hoping for the worst of the wild to be over, as there were more than a few times he injured himself before falling of one of these infernal beasts. He should really invest in a passenger cart.

As he slowed to a trod not far from the mine he studied of the masses both mining and goldpaning surrounding what was left of river trying to strike it big. Most of the goldpanners were working alone, only able to provide a measly salary to hardly support themselves and their families. Most of the miners were all working together in a group, maybe around ten people. Jan prided himself for having one of the largest mining crew, at about twenty men all chipping away at the mine he personally called glücklich.

As he prodded by he was noticed by more than a few workers. Some glared at him, hoping that the simple act of hatred was enough to have him randomly combust in flames. Others were bold enough to throw raunchy, obscene insults and comments from far away for the purpose of being heard but not seen. It would be a understatement to say they hated him, but were also afraid of what he and his army of henchmen could do. Picking a fight with Hass could mean waking up in the middle of the desert with nothing but the shirt on your back if you were lucky. You don't want to know a about the people that weren't.

Slowly the mine entrance turned from a speck on the horizon to a crowd of workers surrounding said mine entrance.Why weren't they working? It wasn't a holiday, where they can just sit around and relax. As a matter of fact, there was never a holiday at glücklich. It was Needless to say he was furious.

"Why... Are... You... Men... Not... working! This is no holiday!" Jan bellowed at the top of his lungs. The large group of workers all stood still, staring at the ground and kicking the dust with their boots. Several seconds later they realized that the question in fact, was not rhetorical, and pushed one of of the smallest workers (Danny) forward.

"Well...uhhh..." The young man managed. He was scared out of his mind and sweating like a pig, all while being stared daggers by a very angry Hass. Finally he mustered enough courage to explain the situation." Well Bill sabotaged the mine. He blew up the main tunnel, stole a lot of gold ..." He stopped to gulp "...and made off with the loot."

"What..." Jan muttered. Those simple words let the workers know they were in serious trouble.

~~~

Several minutes later Hass was tuckered out from screaming, kicking, spiting and screaming in German. But he also had a plan.

"This is what we're gonna do..." The miners perked up and shuffled at the sound of the first coherent words in the last half hour. "We are gonna going to go grab weapons for all of us from blackburn... then we're gonna find this diebischen Bastard." The workers all nodded in agreement to the plan, but most were just happy that Hass calmed down.

Boarding their horses, they speed of toward the town and the gunsmith faster than you could blink. It was a race against time for Hass, and a race for their lives for the miners. In a matter of minutes they arrived, kicking up a storm into shops and bystanders right down the middle of main street. Hopping off his horse, Hass speed onto the deck and barged into the store.

"Blackburn..." He weezed, tired from his journey. "I need guns, and lots of them!"

"This is more of a pesonal matter." He bluntly said, placing the rifle back in jennys arms and shooting her a stern glare."I think me and my men can handle and finance this on our own acord, thank you very much."

The last thing he needed at this point in time was Jenny butting her nose in on his own personal matters, and the fact was he was not just going after bill for his gold back. He was going to get revenge tonight. The bloody kind of revenge that involved someone getting killed for doing something very stupid, like blowing up a mine and stealing from their employer. If Jenny knew what he was going to do, she would try to stop him. Besides, law dogs goody-two-shoes like her and people like Jan never got along, so why even try. Plus, he always hated owing anyone anything.

"So Blackburn, you think you can whip up enough weaponry to arm all these men?" Hass said, gesturing to the mass of miners behind him.

Jethro was about halfway through his book when he heard a drunken mumbling followed by Jenny's voice: "My Ma' used to tell me I should never give the first punch... But I sure as hell will give the last punch, you damn fool." When he looked up the first thing he saw was Jenny punching the drunk so hard that Jethro almost expected the mans head to come of. The drunk reached for his gun but was dead before he reached it, Jethro was so chocked by how quickly that one insult had escalated that he didn't even notice that Jenny was now walking towards him and taking a seat next to him.
"I find it funny how you just watched me get attacked, and you just sit here drinkin?" She chuckled. He put down the book and stared at her. "Now what the hell was that for!" he exclaimed, pointing at the, now dead, drunk. "Attacked! Is that what you call being insulted?! I mean, i know you got an itch to use all that hardware your carrying around but you don´t have to go shoot the first drunken lowlife that throws a insult at you! He took a deep breath, trying to calm down.

He looked back at the street and noticed that Morgan was running towards the dead drunk, probably hoping that he was still alive and not beyond rescue.
"I´m reporting you to the Marshal, seeing as the Sheriff is nowhere to be found" he said looking back at Jenny, now a bit calmer. He stood up, looking around for the Marshal, not seeing him anywhere he turned to Morgan. "Hey Doc! Have you seen the Sentinel? I am pretty sure that he´d want to know bout this."
Jethro turned back to the table and finished his drink. "Damn, what next? Someone´s gonna rob the Silver spur in broad daylight?" He said to himself, but then realized that that wouldn't be too surprising, he sighed.

Not long after a large group of miners lead by Jan Hass came riding down the street, stopping outside his shop. Hass was furious and was speeding towards him, looking like he could kill a man. Which is probably why he was there, Jethro thought, to get weapons so he could kill someone.
"Blackburn... I need guns, and lots of them!" He said, exhausted from the ride.
"Well your not getting any, and before you start yellin´ at me I´m gonna tell you why. First of all i don´t have enough to arm all of those boys you got there, and secondly I got a gut fellin´that your not going hunting game with twenty men on horseback, unless you hunt men for sport which i hardly think is legal, Mr. Hass."
He stared Hass in the eyes and made it clear that he wouldn't budge.

"We... I mean Mr. Blackburn..." Hass tried to calm himself down and smooth over his attitude. He had to convince him to give him some weapons, or this will get a lot more difficult.

"Don't be so irrational. I may not seam of the purest desires, but I speak the truth when I say that I have nothing but the best intentions. I mean, the man I'm huntin, hes dangerous. So far he stole both horses and a large sum of gold, also blowing up my mine in the process. He could have killed someone! Now I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for my rudeness, and help me out in my dire situation." He could see himself spreading a lot more butter on this guy later on.

Morgan remained squatting in the dust, looking at the dead man. This was exactly what Splitcreek didn't need- loose cannons, shootings in the street...who knew what was was next? Heaving a sigh, Morgan got to his feet and dusted off his hands, his eyes on the useless medical bag lying in the dirt. Used to be all he did was treat the cut and bloodied hands of hard-working miners, or visit some poor lunger suffering from tuberculosis. These days he was digging the bullets out of men's backs!

Now he had to hunt down this fool's family and make sure someone gave the man a proper funeral over in Splitcreek Graveyard. In fact, he'd better get the corpse off the street fast, or some thieving bandit would steal the money right out of the man's pockets. He knelt again to get a hold of the body, his head snapping up as he heard Bell calling from across the street. He seemed awful pleased with himself, not the least bit concerned to see a bloody body lying in road, and Morgan watched him go with a grunt of disgust. The sooner that snake left town, the better.

The voice of Blackburn was next to reach his ears, and he turned towards the gunsmith, giving a helpless shrug. "Saw him about a half hour ago, chasing after some bloody outlaw. You can try the sheriff's office- matter of fact I'm headed there myself. Need to see if anybody knows who this here fella is...well, was."

He shot Jenny a look, but she was too busy pleading her case to Jethro, who had his hands full with a rowdy group of miners who'd ridden in the course of Morgan's failed rescue attempt. He looked around him, taking in the aggravated yells of Hass's miners and the general chaos of a town in trouble. Come to think of it, he might be heading back to the Silver Spur after all.

But first...he turned his attention back to the corpse, grabbing under the man's arms and hauling him across the road. The body was deadweight, and dragging him was an effort, but it was only just across the road, and Morgan got him into the office easily enough. With no place else to put him, he lifted him onto the table he'd used to treat Bell not fifteen minutes before. He sure hoped somebody could come get the corpse soon, because in this heat the body'd be rotting in no time, and the stench of decay was definitely bad for business.

Heading back out into town, Morgan headed down the road to the sheriff's office, hoping he wouldn't encounter any more trouble along the way.

It seamed like Jethro had made his point, Hass was now calming down and trying to convince him that that he had a good reason to be hunting a man.
"Don't be so irrational. I may not seam of the purest desires, but I speak the truth when I say that I have nothing but the best intentions. I mean, the man I'm huntin, hes dangerous. So far he stole both horses and a large sum of gold, also blowing up my mine in the process. He could have killed someone! Now I hope you can find it in your heart to forgive me for my rudeness, and help me out in my dire situation."
Although he seemed to be telling the truth, Jethro didn't trust the man and wasn't going to help him arm a angry mob of miners just like that. He sat down in his chair again.
"Now thats some story Mr Hass, but how do i know you tellin the truth? And even if you are, I can´t help you arm a large, angry mob of miners with a good conscience without the Sheriff or at least the Marshals approval."

Jenny, who had tried getting in on Hass´s manhunt climbed down from her horse and sat down beside him.
"If i didn't shoot the rascal there and then, I'd either be dead or raped. You won't turn me in, Black. Please, Jethro. I can't go to jail. Who'll take care of the drunks and rapists? The lawmen and marshal aint doin' nothin' about it. And the sheriff doesn't do anythin'.. I'm a vigilante, Jeth." She said with sad eyes, but Jethro saw right through her act.
"Your not follin me with those puppy eyes Bonnie. Now I´never said I was turnin you in, that´s the lawmen´s job, but i´am going to tell my side of the story to the Marshal when he gets here." "Now you two just calm down, take a seat and wait for the Marshal to get here, Okay?" He said looking at both Hass and Jenny, but then turned back to Jenny. "And you know, sayin that you had to shoot him dead is horse crap. We both know that you could have held him at gunpoint or at the very least shot him in the foot, hell with you aim you probably could have shot the gun right out of his hands from that distance." He said with disappointed and tired sigh.
Now he just had to hope that Morgan would get back with the Marshal would get there soon so they could have this sorted out and he could go drink away todays events at the Silver spur, or possibly another saloon depending on how the deal with Jan Hass went.

Alex smashed into Kate like a cannonball, knocking her from her newly stolen horse's saddle into the dirt path. She tried to grab her distant revolver, but did so in vain. Alex kicked it away to make it even harder for her to grab it and shoot him. He kneed her in the stomach, hopefully winding her so she couldn't thrash about any more. While she was pinned down, Alex pulled a coil of rope from his duster coat with which he bound Kate's hands and feet.
"Not so tough now, are you?" Alex chuckled before lighting yet another cigarette and proceeding to smoke it, "You're coming with me back to Splitcreek, I hope you don't mind spending a few years in the cells."
With that, Alex hoisted her up onto the back of Gale, mounted him, then slowly rode back to Splitcreek, making sure not to let Kate fall off Gale's rump.

Upon arriving back at Splitcreek, an appalling scene presented itself to Alex. Doc was dragging a dead man into his office, Jenny was looking like she had just seen a ghost and was pleading with Jethro and Hass was present and backed by a group of miners. Alex dismounted Gale, spat his cigarette into the dirt, ground it up and then walked over to the scene. These were truly dark days for Splitcreek.
"Alright then, what's happened?" Alex sighed, "I want to know exactly what happened, if any of you lie I'll make sure you're given a harsh punishment."

"I was robbed! The dieb blew up my mine and stole my gold! Clearly illegal! And Jethro here thinks its not right to go get justice!" The reappearance of the deputy has got Jan all rowled up again. There was nothing that could stop him from going after Bill, he knew that. But these guy could severely hinder his progress. Bill could be in another state by the time he could convince Jethro to give him he weapons.

Calming himself again, he decided it would be best if he could prove that he was wronged. Then the deputy couldn't deny him the right to go get justice if he had proof.

"Now I know that you don't exactly trust me. I know that. But for gods sakes I have proof! Just ride to my mine to me and I'll show that he blew it to bits and stole all the gold!" Slowly he gestured to the door with a steady hand.

"so, shall we Alex?"

Bonnie watched the scene unfold from the sheriffs doorway, she had no idea where Alex was and with him being the only person who could reassemble a lawman in this town, chaos could quickly follow this situation. Staring down the street, the blonde smiled upon seeing the man in question re-enter the town,squinting in the bright sun she was able to make out a figure bound over the rump of his horse, as they got closer Bonnie could see that it was in fact a woman. A feeling of relief washed over her as Alex dismounted his horse and stalked into the blacksmiths, hopefully he would be able to defuse the situation, surely this town had seen enough death for one day.

Leaving the relative safety of the sheriffs office, Bonnie stopped dead when she saw the prisoner was no longer bound on the marshals horse, she looked around frantically but the girl was nowhere to be seen "damn" she cussed lightly. Looking towards the group of rattled miners the blonde bit her lip, she didn't particularly fancy walking through the middle of that group but the marshal had to know about his prisoner.

Pushing her way through the crowd she ignored the leers and grabs, dirty ole miners never did have any manners, scowling she swatted hands away from her body before breaking through and stepped up onto the boardwalk and through into the building. Taking in the scene she saw Jethro sat listening to the situation, Jan Hass looking as if he was about to explode with anger and Jenny looking a little bit scared.

"Excuse me, Marshal?" her soft southern voice called out apprehensively, she knew for sure she was interrupting something but she figured Alex would like to know that his prisoner was no longer there.

Jethro had been sitting quietly in his chair and thinking through what had happened while Jenny and Hass had both been trying to tell their story's to the Marshal and when they where done he looked to Alex.
"She´s tellin the truth, Sentinel. Although i don´t think killing him was necessary, it all happened very quickly and she probably just acted on instinct when she shot him." He sighed. "Look, I´m not tellin you to let her of the hook completely, but I don´t think puttin her behind bars for any longer than a day is necessary."
He was still somewhat angry over what she had done but he realized that it wasn't something she should spend any longer that one or two days in jail for.

"And just so you know i´m leaving it up to you whether I should arm Mr Hass´s little mob over there or not." He nodded towards the large group of miners that where still standing outside his shop. "Because I´m not going to sell them any weapons unless you think that they arn´t gonna go breakin the law."
He stood up and turned to go inside and fetch the bottle of whiskey that he had left on a table next to the open door, asking the others: "Any of you who want a drink?" as he did so.
He kept his voice down as he said it to make sure that none of the miners heard him because he feared that if they found out that he had whiskey they would all come begging for a glass, they didn't look like they could afford any for them selfs and Jethro didn't have nearly enough for even half of them.
He stood in the doorway looking at the others waiting for a response..

(Alex "The Sentinel" Johnstone played by GM Luv-is-a-Bug)

Alex looked from one face to the other, doing his best to keep his cool. Jenny had her big puppy dog eyes turned on him, and here was Hass looking mad enough to swallow a horn toad backwards. Jethro, ever reasonable, sat quietly by, his eyes fixed on the marshal. The Sentinel passed a hand over his tired face, trying to remember the day when the quiet little mining town had gone to hell. When had shootings and robbery become the norm? And where were his deputies- the squeaky clean young men marching around, ready to risk their lives for glory or honor, or whatever it was that brought people out West these days? Nowhere. It was just him and the sheriff, and they couldn't save the town between the two of them. It was all he could do to clean up the messes he stumbled upon, never mind being able to prevent them.

And now this. He took a long breath, thoughtfully resettling his Stetson on his head before beginning his speech. He started with Jenny, sighing as he turned to her pleading face. "Now Jenny, I know you're looking to help, but it ain't no use to nobody for you to go shooting people in the street. If you have a problem, you're to report it to me or the sheriff, understand? I realize you're sorry, but it ain't proper for me to let you walk on this one. I'm afraid you're gonna have to come down to the jail with me."

"And as for you," he said, turning his attention to Hass, "there's no way I can authorize that kind of action; I don't care what he's done. You're entitled to justice, Hass, and the town'll be sure you get it, but it won't be with a man-hunt across the state. Soon as I get Jenny and that bandit I dragged in to jail, I'll ride out myself. As for the guns...well, that's up to Blackburn. It's his business, and his decision. But if I hear you've been hunting this fellow, you'll be sorry. You're not the only one with friends in high places. And another thing-"

He started to remind Hass of the last time he'd messed with Splitcreek's law, but the soft, sweet voice of Bonnie reached his ears. He turned to the school teacher, his face going red as she informed him of Kate's escape. "Aw hell," he muttered, turning on his heel and stalking back towards his mount. "Looks like I'll be heading out sooner than planned, Hass!" he called over his shoulder, his annoyance evident.

Swinging into Gale's saddle, he spurred the horse forward and headed out of town, the tail of his duster flapping behind him. It seemed the fun was only just beginning.

Jethro stood in the doorway, looking at his empty whiskey glass thinking about what the Marshall had said, that it was his decision whether Hass would get his guns or not. He looked up at the miners, if he didn't arm the men Hass would probably send them out in the desert after the man with nothing but knifes and rocks, he thought.
"Damn it." he mumbled and walked back outside, putting down his glass on the table. "Hass, could you come with me?" He walked inside his shop and stepped behind the counter, opening a storage cabinet behind it and taking out three Winchester repeaters and putting them on the counter. They where all very worn and one even had a big chunk of wood missing from the stock that had been repaired by the previous owner with a small strip of metal that had been crudely bolted over the gap.

"Now, I still won´t arm all of your men but I can sell you these. They are, as you can see, in a pretty bad condition and won´t shoot straight but I don´t think that will be a problem since I doubt that your miners out there can hit anything anyway." He picked up a cigar from one of the drawers on the counter and lit it.
"I also want you to know that if I find out that you went out there on that man hunt of yours even though the Marshall told you not to, I will be taking these back and you won´t be getting your money back." He paused to make sure the German took him seriously.
"Speaking of money, I´ll sell ya these for.. hmm, should we say fifty dollars?" He took the cigar out of his mouth.
"That is, if you still want em´."

He only shook his head in mock disappointment and disgust as Alex rode of after the escaped bandit. In truth he was actually dieing from laughter on the inside and choking back a grin from ear to ear, needless to say not very well. Not only did that täuschen let the thief get away, but he forgot to put jenny in jail! He couldn't even manage one prisoner, let alone catch one with a ten mile head start! He was definitely out of his league at splitcreek.

Turning his attention to Blackburn, he watched intently as the blacksmith tried to strike up a deal.

"Damn it." he groaned, waddling back outside and placed his glass firmly on a table. "Hass, could you come with me?" He stumbled back inside the shop and sidestepped behind the counter, swinging open a storage cabinet behind it. Slowly he brandished three Winchester repeaters and put them on the counter. They where beaten and broken and one even had half the goddamn stock missing.

"Now, I still won´t arm all of your men but I can sell you these. They are, as you can see, in a pretty bad condition and won´t shoot straight but I don´t think that will be a problem since I doubt that your miners out there can hit anything anyway." He fingered a cigar a big fat cigar and lit it with a grimy old match.
"I also want you to know that if I find out that you went out there on that man hunt of yours even though the Marshall told you not to, I will be taking these back and you won´t be getting your money back." He paused for effect, surely to make a point of not performing said manhunt. Fat chance.
"Speaking of money, I´ll sell ya these for.. hmm, should we say fifty dollars?" He took the cigar out of his mouth.
"That is, if you still want em´."

"What... is this?" He said eyeing the terrible deal that lay in front of him on the counter. He knew that he didn't have the best guns and couldn't arm all the miners, but this was one of the worst offers he ever seen, and hes seen some bad deals.

Simply taking a deep breath, he wandered outside to the crowd of confused miners. He was trying to hide his obvious rage, needless to say he wasn't doing a very good job. He had other plans already in his mind on how to get weapons to hunt bill, but that didn't stop him from being enraged by such a letdown. No matter. He would find other gunsmiths to sell him guns. Blackburn just slowed him down.

Deep in thought, he didn't see the figures in the distance speeding toward him...

Jethro smiled as Hass turned around and stormed out of his shop and as soon as he knew that the angry little German couldn't hear him he started to chuckle as he turned around to put the broken rifles back in their cabinet. "I knew these would come in handy." He mumbled with a smile and proceeded with locking it and the other cabinets behind the counter.
With Hass finally dealt with and the whole situation seemingly over he could finally relax, close for the night and head for the saloon, where he would unavoidably see Hass again. The thought made his smile even larger and he started to whistle while he was cleaning up and putting away all his tools. There was something with seeing (and making) the German angry that he found funny and it didn't help Hass that getting him pissed seemed to be one of the most effective ways of getting him to leave his store.
Jethro was locking away his tools when he heard gunshots further up the main street. "Shit. I´m not getting involved this time." He muttered to himself and continued with locking up the tools and the back door, he grabbed his hat and made a quick look around the shop to make sure he hadn't forgotten anything before looking out the window to make sure the coast was clear.
He stepped outside, locking the door behind him and started walking up the main street towards the Silver spur, still whistling.

Just as Hasses feet touched the ground outside the rundown blacksmithing store, three distant figures speed into town dragging some pour soul through the sand and dirt. Now usually such a thing would never daunt nor shake hass on normal circumstances, if you could call it that. But this was far from the normal happenings in splitcreek. For it was none other than bill on the passenger side of the rope.

The men on horses came speeding through main street, firing off their guns and shaking the town to its very core. The men appeared to be a rowdy bunch, with little disregard for human life.

As they reached the large group of miners, one of them beckoned "‘We gut' a message to Mista' Hass!'' before cutting bill loose and leaving him prone in the dust. Both the miners and everyone else anywhere near blackburns store stared as the band of roughriders fired off several more shots before dashing down the last stretch of road and then breaking off in different directions.

Hass rushed as his legs could carry him toward the supposed dead man lying in the sand. It was bill alright. Except for the eyes, or the lack of eyes. He was also beaten up pretty bad. Serves him right.

"Wheres my gold you bastard!" Hass growled, flipping him over and patting him down. But he couldn't find anything. No gold more importantly. hass searched this way and that, even the sand surrounding him searching for a clue. Then something caught his eye; A letter. Ripping it off bills shirt and tearing it open, he was not pleased with the contents to say the least. The note read:

"To Mr. Jan Hass
It has come to my notice that I am in possession of a quite large amount of gold.
You see I am the kind of man who can't walk into a town and exchange an amount as large as this.
But I won't give it back for free. Like yourself I'm a businessman and I hope we can make some kind of deal.
I am in need of a few easy to get items for a man like yourself. But hard to get for someone like me.
What I need is the following:

15 bottles of whiskey or anything with the same sting.
3 kegs of beer.
Ammunition for colt six-shooters and Winchester rifles.
3 cartons of cigarettes

Your former worker has informed me that you are good for it. Don't try to bargain with me.
You'll come alone to Buzzard's Bluff, real charming place I hear with the goods I asked for.
My men will wait for you there and when they can verify that you ain't trying to cheat us
they will reveal the location of your gold. If they die, I will know and we will hunt your German
ass down and hang you from your balls, excuse my language .

Regards R.J Bell"

"That... That bastard!" He screamed. It was needless to say he was not having good luck today. First, bill blew up his mine and stole his gold. Then, Jethro refuses to sell him weapons. Now, this. It was getting hard to cope these days.

"Wheres! My! Gold!" He was now resorting to shaking and beating the near dead man in attempts to interrogate him while every one watched. To bad bill was not capable of coherent language, much to Hasses chagrin. So He settled to sitting in the dust repeating the same phrase into the palm of his hands.

"Wheres my gold, wheres my gold, wheres my gold..."

Jethro came to a sudden halt when he saw the dying man outside The Silver spur and immediately stopped whistling, his smile and good mood disappearing in an instance. "So that was what all the commotion was about" he mumbled to himself and started walking again. As he approached the scene he stopped to look at the dying man and sighed, he looked at Morgan but realized that he had nothing to say that could make the situation better, so he went into the saloon and took a seat at the bar.

He took a deep breath from his cigar which was now nothing but a small stump of what it had been and ordered a glass of bourbon. He had planed on playing some dice that evening but after the days events he didn't feel like it anymore and he doubted that anyone else did either.
He took a sip from his drink, staring into nothing and thinking about what was happening to the once quiet little town he used to know and love.

Jethro finished his drink and asked for a refill, and while the bartender filled his glass he turned to look over his shoulder and out the window. Morgan was still tending to the dying, if not already dead, man and had now been joined by the sheriff, who seemed to be talking to someone. He couldn't see who it was from where he was sitting but seeing as Morgan wasn't taking he guessed that Kain was talking to Hass.
Before he turned back to his drink he looked to see if there where any games of poker or dice going on and noticed a group of people playing poker in one of the more dimly lit corners of the saloon, he didn't recognize any of them and wasn't in the mood of playing anyways so he decided not to join them.

He tried to smalltalk a bit with the bartender but it didn't last long, the bartender seemed more interested in some of the new customers that needed to be served.
Jethro didn't mind that the man had other things to attend to and took his glass and took a seat at one of the tables by the windows, looking out at the main street and sipping on his drink.

Jethro looked up into the sky, there wasn't a single cloud in the sky and it was as hot as the forge he used to work when he was a young apprentice back east.
He hoped for would rain, mostly because it would take the edge of the heat but also because he wanted it to wash away the blood on the street and the memory's of yesterday.
He had woken up in his bed with all the lights still burning and soon found out that he had not only forgotten to put out the lights but also to buy groceries, leaving him with nothing to eat for breakfast and forcing him to go out into the burning morning sun to buy something to eat.

He was now out back behind his shop, helping unloading a carriage of ammunition, parts, a couple of handguns as well as some other supplies. It was a small shipment and didn't take long to offload, when they where done he gave the young delivery men a small tip and said goodbye. He then carried the boxes one by one into a small storage in the back of his store and when he was finished he locked the back door behind him, and started work on a rifle that needed repair.
After a while a rancher walked in, bought some ammunitions and left him a revolver that needed repair.Many men would probably find the task of repeatedly repairing weapon after weapon tedious and boring but Jethro quite liked it, it made him relax and took his mind of the troubles outside his shop.
When he had finished the rifle he marked it with a piece of paper on a string with the owners name on it and put it away, he then started the process again on the next one.