\u201cYou\u2019re not going to eat me Mr. Wolf,” shouted the wounded man into the darkness of the cold desert night while grimacing in pain and clutching his side. \u201cNot as long as I\u2019ve got this here gun pointed at you.\u201d The man held his gun before him and waved it from side to side he was shaking so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The man had previously passed out and had fallen off his horse from the loss of blood. His horse had run off. His partner in crime, unable to catch it after a feeble attempt to do so, had come over to him, stopped the bleeding, made him as comfortable as he possibly could, setting him upright against a boulder, and covered him with a blanket to ward off the night chill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m going off to find your horse or steal one somewhere for you,\u201d he told his wounded partner. \u201cYou hold tight, I’ll be back soon.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOkay,\u201d said the wounded man and his partner left.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That\u2019s when the wolf picked up the blood scent and followed his nose to the wounded man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wounded man saw the wolf glaring at him from the darkness, his devilish eyes glowing like two red hot burning embers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDon\u2019t even think about it Mr. Wolf. My partner will be back any minute now with a horse for me. He won\u2019t desert me. I got the loot remember, my insurance policy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wounded man had the loot alright. He had made sure of that. After his partner had patched him up he grabbed it and clutched it to his chest threatening to shoot his partner if he didn\u2019t go get him his horse. Told him that when he got back with one he\u2019d do the right thing, split the money with him, and then they\u2019d go their separate ways. But now he was not sure that he could go his separate way at all. He was too weak, had lost too much blood, was in excruciating pain, had passed out momentarily a couple of times, and was becoming delusional. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou’re wrong,\u201d came a voice out of the darkness. \u201cYou don\u2019t have the loot any more. I got it. I took it when you passed out a while ago. Your partner\u2019s gonna kill you when he gets back and you can\u2019t come up with the money. He\u2019ll think you\u2019ve hid it on him. That you\u2019ve double crossed him. Then what you going to do? Answer me that will ya?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The wounded man stretched out and reached over to where he had put the two money bags. They weren\u2019t there. Then he heard the wolf growl again. Then he heard his partner.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho\u2019s that you\u2019re talking to Charlie?\u201d asked his partner as he rode up with a horse in tow. A horse that wasn\u2019t Charlie\u2019s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m talking to that wolf out there Ed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell tell him goodbye then,\u201d replied Ed, taken back some by that answer. \u201cI got ya a horse. Some poor cowboy out there looking for strays is on foot now. So get the money. I\u2019ll help you up and we\u2019ll get out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s gone Ed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cGone? What do you mean it\u2019s gone?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI mean like it\u2019s not here. It\u2019s disappeared. It\u2019s gone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOh I suppose the wolf took it huh? Don\u2019t you dare double cross me Charlie. Where\u2019d you stash the loot?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cRight here next to me,\u201d said Charlie pointing to the spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ed went over to Charlie to see for himself. The money bags weren\u2019t there. Then he noticed that Charlie was wincing in pain and had begun bleeding again having opened his wounds when he reached over for the two money bags.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Suddenly one of the stolen money bags was thrown at them from somewhere out in the darkness and plopped at Ed\u2019s feet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cShoot him Ed. Shoot Charlie and I\u2019ll throw you the other one,\u201d a voice growled, \u201cand then you leave. That\u2019s the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ed grabbed the bag and dove for cover dragging Charlie with him. Charlie screaming the whole time in pain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat your talking wolf Charlie? I don\u2019t think so.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Charlie didn’t answer. He had passed out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWho are you? Ed hollered back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m the wolf your partner was talking about. You want the rest of the money or not?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI told you Ed. I told you there was a wolf out there,\u201d said Charlie coming to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cJesus Christ Charlie you\u2019re crazy. You ain\u2019t thinking right. Ya lost too much blood. You\u2019re light headed, delusional, imagining things. That ain\u2019t no wolf out there I tell ya. It\u2019s a man.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere is too a wolf out there. I saw him.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell ya want to make a deal or not?\u201d shouted the unknown voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLet me get this straight,\u201d said Ed, \u201cYou want me to shoot my partner here and then you\u2019ll throw me the other money bag and I leave so that way you can eat my partner. That it Mr. Wolf? I don\u2019t think so. You want me to shoot my partner. Then you shoot me and get all the money. That\u2019s it, isn’t it?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo I\u2019m a wolf and I haven\u2019t eaten in days,\u201d the voice growled. \u201cYou killing your partner means I don\u2019t have to take the risk of getting shot when I attack him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHear that Ed?\u201d shrieked Charlie. \u201cI tell ya there\u2019s some kind of talking demonic wolf creature out there somewhere. Out there looking for a meal, me. You gotta get me out of here now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Jesus Christ thought Ed. Now I got me a demented as well as wounded partner to take care of. This ain\u2019t working out. Maybe I should shoot him, take my chances, grab the loot, and run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell deal or no deal,\u201d growled the voice again only louder this time. \u201cMy patience and stomach is starting to wear thin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo can do,\u201d replied Ed. Charlie still had his gun in his hand and he deemed it in his best interests to say no deal or Charlie would shoot him before he could draw his gun and shoot Charlie.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf you shoot him,\u201d replied the wolf voice, \u201cthen you got two horses. You\u2019ll have no trouble at all making it to the border then.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCharlie, who in the hell is that guy out there and why in the hell didn\u2019t he just shoot you, take the money and run before I got here? Or for that matter why in the hell didn\u2019t he shoot me when I got here. What\u2019s going on here Charlie? You got you a new partner out there and the two of you are up to something aren\u2019t you.\u201d Ed\u2019s suspicious mind raced trying to figure out just what in the hell was going on and then he suddenly realized he shouldn\u2019t have said that because Charlie had his gun pointed at him now. Then his hand dropped to the ground. Charlie was too weak to keep it raised for even a few seconds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI told you it’s a wolf. A wolf wanting to eat me. A wolf Ed. A demented wolf I tell ya,\u201d he mumbled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCut the crap Charlie. You ain\u2019t fooling me with that crazy man act. What plan have you and your partner out there cooked up?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI ain\u2019t got no plan. I ain\u2019t got no partner other than you Ed. Help me up on the horse please and let\u2019s get out of here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ed noticed that Charlie, try as he may, couldn\u2019t stop the bleeding now, and probably would bleed out and die shortly. Just as well for then he could fire off a shot, tell whoever it was out there that he shot him, get the money, and run. Or he could leave Charlie now here alive next time he passed out and take off with one sack, his share, after all he was an honest thief. Or he could do the right thing and put Charlie on the horse, let him take his one sack, and each go their separate ways. But if he shot Charlie, per this wolfman\u2019s request, he\u2019d have all the money and two horses. If he could trust him that is. But then again why shouldn\u2019t he trust him. After all, he had already thrown him the one sack when he could have run off with both. And furthermore he had passed up the chance to plug him when he arrived. None of this made sense except unless of course it was a wolf looking for a meal but a talking talking wolf didn\u2019t make no sense at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ed had never shot anyone before in his life. In fact in all his robberies of banks, trains, stagecoaches, etc. he had never even fired his pistol and he got to thinking. He hardly knew Charlie. He had only known him a couple of months before they pulled this heist and he\u2019d never pulled a job with him anywhere before. Ed was sure now that the guy out there had to be Charlie\u2019s partner and they planned to do him in and he had to come up with a plan of his own now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell what’s it gonna be?\u201d came the voice from the darkness again. \u201cYou want all the money or not?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou throw me the other sack and I leave unharmed. Is that the deal?\u201d repeated Ed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou got it. That\u2019s the deal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There is no honor among thieves. Charlie mustered up enough strength somehow and shot Ed in the back the second Ed turned his back on him. Unlike Ed, Charlie had shot men before and that\u2019s how he got himself wounded here by the return fire of the bank teller he killed during the robbery. But before he died Ed too mustered up enough strength, spun around, and shot Charlie dead. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
After a few minutes of eternal silence on the part of Ed and Charlie, a figure emerged out from under the darkness of an overhanging rock. No it wasn\u2019t a wolf who had picked up the blood scent of Charlie. It was that cowboy out there somewhere without a horse who had seen Charlie\u2019s campfire. He had stopped some distance from it at first to check it out. To find out if it was friend or foe and when he saw the wounded Charlie and the two money bags at his side, he had his answer, bank robber. But he didn\u2019t see any horses anywhere. So he reasoned that the person who had held him up and stolen his horse and his gun too had to be this man\u2019s partner. That\u2019s why took his horse. Took it for his wounded partner here and when he came in with his horse, his theory was confirmed. That\u2019s when he came up with a plan. And he did.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His plan was crass and simple. Get the one partner to think the other partner was crazy with his talking to a wolf bit so he\u2019d kill him rather than deal with him. Then he\u2019d take his chances, sneak up and clobber the remaining partner from behind with a rock, get his horse and gun back, and get the hell out of there. A simple but brilliant, in a tooth sucking sort of way plan, for he was but a simple tooth sucking sort of cowboy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He didn\u2019t light out for the border with the money. No, instead he loaded the two bodies on one horse, himself and the money bags on the other, rode to town, and collected the reward. It was a good deal for him, the wolfman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
And as to the wolf, that in fact was out there, it was a good deal for him too. He ate well that night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019re not going to eat me Mr. Wolf,” shouted the wounded man into the darkness of the cold desert night while grimacing in pain and clutching his side. \u201cNot as long as I\u2019ve got this here gun pointed at you.\u201d The man held his gun before him and waved it from side to side … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":919,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fiction"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/marc-olivier-jodoin-tauPAnOIGvE-unsplash.jpg?fit=640%2C699&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=889"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":920,"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889\/revisions\/920"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/919"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/underwoodpress.com\/truechili\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Bryan Grafton is a retired attorney who started writing for something to do in his rusting years.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"