The Man Who Shot Boney Halan

“Jesse! Wake up! It’s already midday!” mom screamed

“How long have I slept today!? It’s already midday?!?”, I replied

“Yes it is, and your father is waiting for you outside, remember?”, mom replied

“You promised you’re going to collect some firewood from the old forest today, remember?”

“Aye, but can I at least eat before I go?”, I asked

“No! You woke up late, that’s what you get! Go now! And hurry!”, mom yelled

I quickly got out of bed and swiftly put all of my clothing on. I hurried to the horse and jumped on it. 

“What did you do son, woke up late again?”, dad asked

“Yes dad, but you promise we’ll be back soon, right?”

“Yes son, I promise. It won’t be a long one.”

It was Spring of 1882. Exactly March 15. The desert was at a perfect temperature for visitors. I was going with dad to collect some wood from the old forest.

We had arrived home from collecting the wood. It was rough work. We had to find a few good oaks, dad wanted to build a small workshop. He did not keep his promise! 

After we arrived, I ate a bit of lamb and hurried off to the sheriff’s office. Then, I noticed the sign. Boney Halan was wanted for $200,000, triple the amount from last weekend. I was elated! There was finally a bigger case in Proud Peaks!

A bit later, I was talking to the sheriff when Tom Valance came and grabbed me by the hand.

“Hurry up Jesse! We got to get to my house QUICK!”

“Fine, but why?”

“I’ll show you! Come now!”

We hurried to the house and arrived as soon as we left the sheriff’s office. Then, I understood why Tom wanted me to come there. He wanted to catch Boney Halan. He told me that he needed my help because I hang out at the sheriff’s all the time. I entered the house and he showed me his research.

“You know, Boney usually stays around Stiffridge.”

“Yes, Tom, I know, but it’s very far from Proud Peaks”

“Agreed Jesse, but who will eliminate Boney if not someone like me. He is just like me! Determined and fast at the gun.”

“I also agree with that Tom, but what exactly do you want me to do?”

“I want you Jesse to come with me to Stiffridge”

“What?! You want me, a 13-year-old boy, to go to Stiffridge and fight Boney Halan?!”

“Yes Jesse, but you cannot tell your parents! You cannot let them know that you are about to fight one of the greatest outlaws of our time.”

“Fine, I’ll come, but what should I tell mom and dad?”

“I’ll figure it out, Jesse. Go now, we leave tomorrow at noon!”

“Sure thing Tom, sure thing…”

It was morning again, time passed like fire in a ranch. I woke up early and left a note on my bed so that my parents assumed that I was at the sheriff’s and I was to stay the following week there. I fled to Tom’s house and we left the moment the turkey called.

There was a great landscape on the route, partly from the path being through the Great Plains, where everything is beautiful, including the tepees built by the Indians.

We stopped at a friend of Tom’s that was Indian and he served us some cooked buffalo. Needless to say, it was delicious, even with the armies killing so many.

Me and Tom then continued our journey, arriving on the second day after our departure. At the time, all that I could think of was how tall the outlaw canyons were.

We then headed towards the marshal's office, since Stiffridge was a fairly larger town than Proud Peaks. 

“Hey there marshal, may I get your name?” Tom asked,

“Might I ask exactly who you are?” the marshal asked,

“I’m Tom Valance, the fastest at gun, now who are you?”

“I’m Carter Willis, the marshal, nice to see you here, now may I ask why you are here?”

“Oh, we’re here to find out where Boney Halan is.”, Tom replied

“Well, he is currently up the hill in a camp with his men, Pancho saw him just out there a few hours ago” the marshal exclaimed,

“Hola Tom, yo soy Pancho” Pancho said,

“Hey Pancho, I’ve heard that you travel a lot, Jesse told me that he sees you from the sheriff’s window on the side path.” Tom replied

“Who’s Jesse?” the marshal asked,

“Ah, that’s me right here”, I said from the corner of the room,

“Sí señor, mi ruta se cruza con su ciudad (translation: Yes sir, my route intersects with your town)” Pancho said,

“Sure, Pancho, sure, now we’re going to settle in a hotel and gather men, come on Jesse, let’s find a place”

“Bye Pancho, bye Carter!” I said,

“Goodbye kid, goodbye Tom”, the marshal and Pancho saluted.

We headed towards the nearest hotel, called Rose’s Hotel and Saloon. It was owned by a woman in her 30s, named Rose Harper. She took care of us and showed us to our room, which thankfully had a bunk bed.

At the saloon, me and Tom went around asking people if they would like to participate in killing Boney Halan. Everyone said no but seven. 

Then, all nine of us went to the gun store to get some guns.

“Hey, welcome to the gun store, what do you want now?” asked the gun seller,

“Hey, we’re here to pick up some guns, we’re all going to kill Boney Halan tonight.” Tom replied,

“In case you want to know our names, I’m Tom, this is Jesse and here are the men that we’ve recruited:, Jake, Dewey, Mally, Miles, Caesar, Butch and Richard.”

“Ok, I’m guessing eight rifles and one revolver” the gun seller said,

“You’re actually correct pal, how much will that be?” Tom asked,

“That’ll be exactly 140 dollars” the seller exclaimed,

“Perfect, we had 150, so we’ll tip you 10 dollars for guessing” Tom said,

“Thanks!” the shopkeeper said,

We hurried towards the mountain as the sun was already setting.

“Tom, what if we don’t make it out alive?” I asked,

“Well one thing’s for sure, we’re going to kill that sucker!” Tom replied with a large smile,

“Ok Tom, but can you let me shoot Boney Valance?”

“Sure thing kid, aim well and you’ve killed him”

The camp was easy to see, since the men lit up a fireplace. All nine of us sat in a bush and watched attentively. It was easy to see that they were only 5. Boney was dressed up well, with a leather jacket and a nice belt. He had his revolver on his belt, I’m guessing he knew someone would try to kill him around these times.

The men were headed to their respective sleeping sacks, when Richard fired his rifle by accident. This caused all 5 men to start shooting towards us and, as a result, shot Dewey and Jake dead.

“You pig! You could have gotten all of us killed!” Tom shouted at Richard whilst he was hiding from the gunshots,

“It was by accident, I swear Tom!” Richard exclaimed,

“Fine Richard, I believe you, but stop being so clumsy!” Tom replied

I suddenly saw that the other four men started to shoot Boney and his men and, as a result, killed four of them, but Boney was still alive.

I then flashbacked to the moment I asked Tom if I could shoot Boney Halan.

“Aim well and you’ve killed him” I said

“Aim well and you’ve killed him” I cried

“Aim well and you’ve killed him” I shouted

I then quickly loaded the gun and pulled the trigger.

--Plot is set to 12 hours later--

“Well Jesse, we have got to head back to Proud Peaks, it was fun around here.” Tom exclaimed,

“I definitely agree, Tom, but how are we getting back? Our horse was stolen during the night!” I said,

“We’ll just take a coach. Rose told me there was one towards Courtalley, she said the stagecoach stops at Proud Peaks, that’s where we can get off. Let’s hurry now, we don’t want to miss the coach!” Tom explained,

“Sure thing Tom, now where’s that coach?” I asked,

We were at the coach line when a man walked out of a nearby saloon. He introduced himself as Kinkley, the coach driver.

“Hop on now, Jesse, we ain’t got time!” Kinkley exclaimed,

“Sure thing, but do you mind if I open the window after I sit down on the couch?” I asked,

“Not at all Jesse!” Kinkley replied,

“Nothing’s too good for the man who shot Boney Halan!”