The Clay Gang Chronicles: Part 4: The Quick and the Badly Wounded

Ron Fargo – Rich – A (wise beyond his) 19 years old scout
Clay White – Dave – A well dressed gambler, coward turned psychopath, recovering from a serious gutshot
Jack White – Paul – Albino gunfighter from Mississippi
Bull Baxtor – Matt – Big, mean and bad blacksmith, hailing from Texas
Bill Peckerwood – Stu – An inexperienced, eager, but grim-faced gunfighter

Our story continues with our (semi) heroes on the run from the law, US marshals, bounty hunters and bereaved relatives of the Coteridge and Daniels families. They have just successfully defended a train from some mysterious hijackers/robbers, with only minimal civilian casualties.

The rest of the journey is uneventful, but when it pulls into Clinton the gang are greeted by what appears to be a massive, rather rowdy, party, and unfortunately they seem to be the star guests. They are more used to a reception being screams or challenges to a gunfight, so the cheers that follow the announcement that the “Clay Gang” are in town are rather surprising and somewhat unnerving. Someone shouts “Look, its ‘Dead Eye’ Ron!”, while a quieter voice says “I heard he was called ‘Bushwacker Ron’.”

Denby Douglas, the representative of the Pacific Railroad Corporation who has hired our unpredictable heroes explains the deal. “Well boys, you see I don’t normally hire crazed murderers and robbers to guard my trains, but it was just too good an opportunity what with you needing to escape from the Law and this here town of Clinton needing some celebrity gunslingers to join their competition.” He introduces them to the ‘Mayor’ or Clinton, Harvey Clinton.
“Hi there boys and welcome to my little competition that’s set to put Clinton on the map. You boys are the star attraction of the day!” Clay asks for some clarification on the ‘competition’ they are being entered into. It turns out to be a gunfighting competition, with each gunfighter having to have a fight per day, with the first gunslinger shot in each fight being out, with the other progressing to the next round. The prize for the winner is a cool $100! Lethal shots are to be avoided if possible, but accidents do happen!

To the dubious delight of our heroes, their competitors in the first round are waiting for them outside the Saloon. Ron is up first and finds himself facing a negro gunslinger, something pretty uncommon. Harvey starts to build up the crowd….. “Well here we go ladies and gentlemen, clear some space for the first fight of the evening. Its ‘Deadeye’ Ron Fargo versus Blacky over here. Place your last bets now before we see some action!”.

Men rush to place their final bets and our heroes get in on the action, with Clay getting good odds thanks to his excellent gambling skills.

“Okay boys, take your positions 20 strides apart. On the count of 3, draw your guns and shoot. First one shot is out of the competition! 1….2….3!”. Blacky is looking very nervous, while Ron looks cool. Ron pulls his revolver with lightening speed and shoots Blacky in the gut before he has got his gun fully out of his holster! The crowd goes wild! “Thank you very much everyone, its like I always say, ya can’t go far wrong with Ron Fargo!” Ron crows.

Next up is Bill Peckerwood Baxter, facing a Chinaman. The Chinaman looks inscrutable, while Bill just looks and sounds mean. At the count of 3 both men draw their guns fast and shoot, but Bill is fastest, hitting the Chinaman in the left arm. Unfortunately the Chinaman’s shot is good and hits Bill in the centre of the chest and he goes down. The doctor is called over. Bill is badly wounded, but through to the next round.

Clay steps up for the next fight against an English Gent. Clay berates the man with a bombardment of slanderous insults, and he looks quite offended. The fight is over quickly when Clay pulls his gun in a flash and shoots the gent in the belly before he has even managed to pull his shooting iron. While the crowd chant “Clay White! Clay White!”, Clay walks over and apologies to the gent for his pre-fight insults and offers to buy him a drink.

Jack White stands ready for the next fight, but his opponent is nowhere to be found. Harvey is cursing, “Where is that goddamn waste of space? Get him out of the saloon!” At this a shambling figure comes staggering out of the saloon doors. Jack fixes him with an evil glare, while the drunk gunslinger fixes something just over Jack’s left shoulder with a red-eyed squint. “3-2-1!” shouts Harvey and both men pull their guns with stunning speed, but while Jack’s shot hits the drunk in the left leg, his shot goes wildly into the air and Jack is through to the next round.

Bull Baxter is next and looking like the heartless monster he surely is. Facing him is an equally mean looking injun brave. Bull panders racist jokes to the crowd and ignores the injun, who pulls out a vicious looking hunting knife and hurls it into the ground between Bull’s feet. Bull reaches down, pulls the knife and sticks it in his belt. “Nice knife, thanks.”
“3-2-1” yells Harvey and both men draw and fire in a flash. Bull is unharmed, but the Injun is staring in horror at the space where his right hand used to be, where only bloody fragments remain. Bull is through to the next round, but the crowd don’t cheer, they just stare in silence.

Finally, Denby’s lead gunslinger, Shelby Martin, steps up to face Blacky’s brother in a fight. Both men draw and fire and are both hit in the leg. Shelby is judged to have fired first and goes through to the second round, as the joint favourite with the mysterious “Poncho man”.

“Okay everyone, that’s it for today. The next round starts tomorrow at high noon. But for now the saloon is open!” yells Harvey above the cheering and celebratory shooting of everyone who bet on Shelby. Our heroes head into the saloon for food and drink. Clay takes on The Gambler (another competitor) at poker and fleeces him nicely. Jack gets himself laid, although he avoids chatting up the ‘Hard Ass Woman’ that he sees in the saloon. Ron makes his excuses and heads of to find the negro he shot. He finds an unhappy family, both the sons having been shot in the first round. He agrees to pay an excessive price for the doctor’s services, but in exchange he manages to get hold of some mysterious herbs that he hopes to use to spike Shelby’s food or drink and so take him out of the competition….

The next day noon comes far too quickly for some. And the first showdown of the day is between Ron and a cowboy. Ron fumbles his draw, while the cowboy gets a shot off that flies over Ron’s shoulder. Ron makes no mistake with his second chance and shoots the cowboy in the left arm.

Wounded Bill is facing “El Bastardo” the Mexican. El Bastardo looks very mean and Bill is shaken. Both men draw, but Bill’s hand slips on his gun. El Bastardo makes no mistake and shoots Bill in his leg. Bill is out of the competition, and while injured, he is alive.

Clay faces The Dwarf. He’s tiny man with a small gun. The Dwarf delights in tumbles and tricks before the fight, but then looks visibly nervous when he turns and sees Clay’s unblinking stare fixed on him. Both draw and Clay is first, but his shot flies over The Dwarf’s head, while the little fellow makes no mistake and hits Clay in the shoulder. Clay is out and the crowd grown – a number of them had their money on him to win.

Next up The Kid faces The Old Geezer. The Old Geezer does the business and goes through to the next round.

Jack now strolls out of the crowd to see his opponent. It’s the Hard Ass Woman from last night. She looks particularly put out that he didn’t make a move on her last night, but when it comes to the draw, Jack pulls his gun with stunning speed and shoots her in the stomach without flinching.

Poncho Man now draws against the Has Been Gunfighter. Both men draw with amazing speed, but Poncho is slightly faster. He hits the Has Been in the left arm, but is himself hit in the left leg, and is knocked over by the blast. The doctor is called and Poncho limps off, grim-faced.

Bull now stands against The Gambler. He shoots fast and the gambler goes down, hit in the chest.

Shelby now strides out against the Scarred Man. Shelby looks like a good nights rest has served him well and with a draw so fast men later swore the gun just flew into his hand, he blasts the Scarred Man in the chest.

The second round is over and only 8 gunslingers remain. “The next round is at 4pm folks!” yells Harvey, “Let the drinking commence!” Notably, none of the gunslingers take the opportunity to drink. It’s a serious business now. 4pm soon comes.

Ron is drawn against El Bastardo. But this time the evil Mexican bandito fumbles his draw and Ron nonchalantly shoots him in the side.

The Dwarf is against the Old Geezer, both surprise winners in the last round. The Dwarf looks more comfortable this time, while the Old Geezer seems to be in a daze. The count of 3 is done and The Dwarf shoots first, hitting the poor old fella in the abdomen. He collapses to the ground and is carried off. The Dwarf leaps and cavorts about to the delight of the crowd.

Jack now faces the disturbing Poncho Man. Both look each other coolly in the eye. “3-2-1!” yells Harvey and the Poncho Man is a blur as he pulls his gun and shoots Jack in the right arm, making his gun go flying into the crowd.

Bull, growling obscenities at Shelby is rather unnerved when Shelby reveals he is wearing both of his twin revolvers. “For you, Baxter, I’m using both guns.” The crowd goes silent at this deadly threat. “3-2-1!” yells Harvey, and both men move with astonishing speed. Bull’s shot goes into the ground behind Shelby, Shelby’s first shot goes high, but his other gun hits Bull in the right leg and Bull is out.

“Okay folks, the semi final and final are tomorrow, for now its time for gamblin’, whorin’ and drinkin’!” shouts Harvey.

That night, amid the chaos of hundreds of men gone wild, Ron makes his way to the train under cover of night. He aims to spike Shelby’s food or water supply with the mysterious herbs he has obtained. Unfortunately Ron doesn’t have a very good grasp of mechanics and accidentally puts the herbs into the steam engine’s water tank. Shelby won’t be affected by them, but who knows what the effect on the train will be???

The next day, the bodies of the hopelessly drunken, injured and unconscious are cleared from the street and a huge crowd gathers to watch the end of the competition.

First up is Ron Fargo against The Dwarf. Both are crowd favourites now and there are shouts and support for both men. Then gradually silence descends and a palpable tension is felt. Harvey steps forward, “Its our first semi-final. Good luck to both. Three….Two…ONE!”
Both men snatch at their guns, but neither gets a clean hold. Ron then fires, but misses, The Dwarf aims and shoots Ron in the left leg. The Dwarf is through to the Final!

“Congratulations Stumpy! Now for the next semi-final. It’s the mysterious poncho-wearing bounty hunter against local favourite Shelby Martin. Time to make those final bets folks. No disrespect to Stumpy, but this could be the final right here. (there is a flurry of last minute bets). So, on to the shootin’! Three….Two….ONE!”

Both gunslingers’ hands seem to flicker to their holsters and produce revolvers with unbelievable speed. Shelby is hit in the right thigh and knocked over, with his shot going just over the bounty hunters head. Poncho Man is in the final!

“That was amazing folks. We have a short break now before the final. Get your drinks ready, your cigars bought and place your bets on your favourite!”

THE FINAL
The mysterious, no name, hard-faced, poncho-wearing bounty hunter faces the outsider half-man known locally as Stumpy. Its not a final many would have predicted, least of all The Dwarf himself.
Both men look strangely nervous. The pressure is considerable. The Dwarf doesn’t engage in his trademark tumbling, while Poncho Man looks more thoughtful than usual. Perhaps he is internally adjusting his targeting to account for his opponent’s size.

Harvey lets the silence be his build-up. The crowd stand ready. The gunslingers begin to sweat. “THREE……TWO…….ONE….!” whispers Harvey and both men, seemingly caught by surprise, snatch at their guns without the skill they have shown so far. Then Poncho Man’s huge gun blazes and the final is over. The crowd turn as one to look at the dwarf and with dawning horror see that his left arm has been blown completely off. The Dwarf faints away. Its not the end that the crowd wanted, but after a couple more seconds they go crazy, blasting their guns in the air and Poncho Man is carried through the streets, while a huge rabble surround the betting booths. Jack White is among them, picking up $32 in winnings.

It’s later in the day and our heroes are relaxing in the saloon. The danger is gone and they can enjoy their last few hours of protection from the Law before they have to start running again. Jack goes to the door of the saloon for a bit of fresh air and is surprised to see three young men stood outside in a line. “Hey – you’re Jack White! You killed our brother! Get Clay White out here and we will kill you both!”
“Aw, not again,” sighs Clay, “Okay guys, lets do it.” Clay, Ron and Bull join Jack outside and line up against the youngsters. Bill chooses not to join them as he wasn’t involved in the previous murderous episode.
Clay: “Come on kids, I don’t want to kill you. Be sensible and get out of here now.”
“No sir, we aim to kill you dead for killing our brother Jesper Daniels! Now draw!”

There is a flurry of movement and gunshots. Jack hits Hank Daniels in the chest, Clay hits Charles Daniels in the gut and Ron shoots James Daniels in the belly. The youngsters shots go wild, but Charles gets off a lucky shot which catches Clay in the left arm. In return, Bull shoots him in the chest, but he doesn’t go down. Jack shoots Hank again. This time through the heart and Hank falls down dead. Ron fires again at James, hits him in the chest and he slumps backwards, unconscious.
Charles Daniels shakily stands alone, he raises his gun, but in a flurry of gunfire is hit in the chest twice and in the gut again. He falls to the floor, beyond any medical help.
The Clay Gang stride back into the saloon. James Daniels is left on the street, unconscious, but alive…….