Rio Loco by Robert J. Conley Page B

ain’t been around for a few days. Maybe he’s give it up.”
    â€œDon’t you believe that for a minute, Happy,” I said. “A man like Chugwater don’t quit. Not never. He won’t quit till Owl Shit’s hanged up or till him or me is dead. He lives by a code, and that code is don’t quit.”
    â€œBut we’ve killed a bunch a’ his men.”
    â€œAnd he promised his mama that he’d take care a’ his little brother,” I said, “and that’s another part a’ the code. Mind your mama. Respect your mama. And keep your word. That’s all a part a’ it. He’ll be back. Don’t you fret about that. He’ll be back, and he’ll be meaner than ever.”
    â€œYes, sir,” said Happy. “Well, I guess I had better get up on the roof and relieve Butcher.” He walked on out and left me and Bonnie there to pet on each other. Course, she had never quit petting on me while he was there talking to me. That woman didn’t have no sense a’ shame a’tall.
    I got to thinking about what I had tole Happy about Chugwater being devoted to his mama and to protecting his little brother. I wondered for a minute what I would do in his situation. I couldn’t hardly remember my mama nor any a’ my brothers. But what if, before I had run away from New York, what if my mama had made me to promise to take care a’ one a’ my brothers, or all a’ them? And what if, after that, my brother had wound up in jail charged with a killing? What the hell would I have did? I thunk about that for about a minute, and I concluded then that I would let the little shit hang, and I would let my mama curse me for it. I believe I could walk around and function just fine with a curse on my head.
    I realized right then that I was getting to kinda admire ole Chugwater, even though I would never have did what he was a-doing. He was standing up against all odds, meaning the law, for what he believed in. He was out to save his little brother, even though the little brother were a little snivelly shit-ass. He weren’t afraid a’ nothing, that Chugwater. Hell, I had me a mean-ass reputation, and he weren’t about to back down from me. And then there was ole Sly, the goddamn widdamaker. Sly had kilt no one knows how many men, and all in fair fights too. He was knowed and feared far and wide, and Chugwater was standing against both a’ us. You just had to admire that.
    At the same time that I was admiring the bastard, I was thinking about how it would feel to shoot the son of a bitch to death. Just then Icouldn’t think a’ nothing that would make me feel quite as good as killing ole Chugwater and then watching his little brother hang. I really had it in for the two a’ them. They had caused me a whole world a’ trouble, and then went and got me shot in the neck, and it was hurting me pretty damn bad, I can tell you. I didn’t let on to no one other than my Bonnie that I was hurting so bad, though. I only let on to her on account a’ she was taking so much pity on me and petting me up so much.
    â€œHow are you doing, Barjack?”
    I jerked my head up to see who it was had snuck in on me like that, and it hurt me when I did, but then I seen that it were ole Sly. “Goddamn it, Sly,” I said. “You surprised the hell outta me.”
    â€œSorry, pard,” he said.
    â€œOh, hell,” I said, “I’m a-doing all right, considering that I damn near got my head shot off. I’ll be up and at ’em again in no time.”
    â€œI’m glad to hear it,” he said.
    Just then the doc come in, and Sly excused hisself and went back out into the office. Whenever Doc come over to the cot, Bonnie struggled up to her feet and moved over to one side. Doc bent over me and pulled the bandage off a’ my neck, and I hollered when he done that. He poked around on it for a bit, and then