An old west tale... in space.

4

“You know I don’t got much, right sheriff?”

“I know, Bob,” the Sheriff nodded. He poured himself and the girl some hot Janbone tea, gestured towards her and waited.

Janet didn’t respond.

The Sheriff sighed and waved Bob Flagstaff on. “Go on.”

“It’s not just the Lord that takes it though. No sir. I have a vice, a great big terrible one. Forgive me, Lord.”

“Yes, Bob,” the Sheriff turned and half grinned out of Flagstaff and his daughter’s general field of vision and back at the Dark Man in the shadows. “I am very aware of your late nights.”

“Yes, sir, and it ain’t nothing I’m too proud of neither. No sir, I ain’t. And I prays to the Lord to help me with my vice, sir. I do this on a nightly basis, yes I do.”

Flagstaff stopped and peered around the room, swallowing, perhaps waiting for someone to congratulate him for the praying. When no one did, he coughed and cast his eyes downward.

“Wells, I went to Mister Montero for some money so’s I can give it to Lazlo’s since the old man wasn’t lettin’ me into the place untils I settled my debts with him.”

“My daughter here,” he nodded at Janet, her face averted, her hair covering her left cheek. “God bless her, sir, God bless her, she was only trying to help her useless deadbeat of a dad, took me there and forced me to try to settles with Mister Montero once it was his turn to get his loan back.”

“Sweet, sweet angel, she don’t know the way o’ the world, sir. She don’t know the way of men like Montero. She thought he’d deal. Mister Montero, he don’t deal, when he heard I couldn’t pay him yet, he—he—did this…”

He reached up and pulled back the hair Janet had combed carefully over her cheek. A jagged cruel scar ran from ear to lip, ruining her delicate beauty.

The Sheriff turned again towards the Dark Man.

He saw a flash in the usually stoic face, a flash that told him all he needed to know.

He turned back to Flagstaff. This one wouldn’t cost much at all.