Terrence McManus

Westward Bound

The cowboy crossed the room and walked out the swinging doors of the OK Saloon. The warm sun cast a shadow on his dusty chaps and his spurs quieted down. Black Bart stood in the middle of the road with a determined look of vengeance. This was it. It was now or never. Tex saw his life pass before his eyes. He remembered his mother, and could almost smell warm bread coming from the stove as he sat by the window waiting for father to come in from the range. He remembered Mae, how beautiful she was, and the gentle sound of her voice as they made love. And there was his brother Jed, a poor mountaineer who barely kept his family fed, then one day he was shooting at some food, and up from the ground came a bubbling crude, oil that is, Texas tea…. well, you know the rest of that story. Black Bart yelled, "lets get it on", "it's starting to rain". Rain, that was an understatement, a sudden cloud burst, a gust of wind, and an out of control flash flood raged thru Main Street. Black Bart was swept away. Close call thought Jed. Time to head west. The sun cast a shadow on his dusty chaps.