Flames

Till sundown, last Sunday was just another day. Sitting quietly on the porch, I was rolling cigarettes when I heard what sounded like someone yelling in the distance. As it got louder I realized someone was riding in and calling my name. Then Cecile’s horse and buggy appeared.

‘Valance, you gotta help! Houston took me to see her new house this afternoon but instead of showing me around, like I expected, the poor girl cried her heart out. Things are a worse than we thought.’

‘Are you sure? 

‘As I live and breathe. Houston didn’t know Robert was in the house. We were talking about you when he busted in on us and threw me out. I’ve never seen a man so angry. And the screams after I left… well, it was awful. Valance, I’m scared.’ 

As fast as I could, I strapped on my gun and saddled my horse.

‘Head for town then hit the back road,’ Cecile yelled. ‘Four miles on you’ll come to a fork in the trail. Be sure to take the right fork. A little ways on you’ll see a new track. It twists and turns some, but it’ll lead you right to the house. I’ll be there just as quick as I can.’

Cecile was right; the track did twist and turn but my horse was all in by then and I had to leave him behind. Arriving on foot was no bad thing, since there was plenty of cover to sneak up close and get a bead on what I was letting myself in for. A man on the front porch was holding up a lamp; seemed he was looking out for someone.
  

The lamp swung my way as I strode out into the open. 

‘Keep coming Valance,’ the man hollered.

Then an upstairs window opened. ‘Don’t Levitt!’ Housty screamed. ‘Get back! He’ll kill you!’

I guess that stirred my blood some, ‘cause my stride got a little faster. 

‘That’s close enough!’ the man snapped, as I neared the porch steps. Though I slowed right down when I saw his raised gun, there were no surprises to the man himself. Robert looked pretty much as I’d imagined him, ‘cept for a mustache, maybe.

‘I’ve been expecting you Valance. Now that I’ve met you, I can’t say I’m impressed. What kind of fool walks into a trap with his gun holstered?’

A dumb one, I figured, as I tried inching forward.

‘Hold it! Come any closer and I’ll blow your head off.’ 

‘Step aside Mister; I’m only here to see Miss Houston.’

‘Haven’t you seen enough of her already? I know all about you and my fiancée, Valance. I even know when you last saw her. Yeah, she told me about your little reunion. Nobody keeps secrets from me. I always find out, one way or another. Now, ease your gun from you holster with your finger and thumb, and drop it on the ground… and do it nice and slow.’

Hell, I sure wished I’d done things different when my gun hit the grass.

‘You see this house? This was to be our home. Every cent I have, it’s all here, an investment in the wealth that would surely be mine once I’d married into a rich family. You do know Houston’s father is rich, don’t you? Sure you do. That’s why you sugared up to her and turned her against me. What do you suppose she thinks of her knight in shining armor now? If she’s still at the window, and I hope she is, she can watch you die.’ 

‘You’d shoot an unarmed man?’

‘It’ll give me great satisfaction.’

‘They’ll hang you for murder.’

‘On the contrary, I’ll have their deepest sympathy when I tell them I came home just in time to catch you running from a blazing house.’ 

Robert hurled the oil lamp into the house. Smashing in the hallway, it sent out a spray of flames. 

‘You shot at me; I fired back and killed you. Everyone will think you set the house on fire to cover your tracks after killing my fiancée in a jealous rage. And when I’m through crying at dear Houston’s funeral, her father will probably take me under his wing and treat me like the son he never had. I could get rich after all.’

‘Forget it, Valance,’ he said, when he saw my eyes dart to my gun. ‘Just look at the house and watch it burn. This is what you get for crossing me. And now you’re gonna pay.’ 

Seemed my time was up, till a shot rang out in the darkness. 

‘There’s one thing you overlooked, Robert… me!’ cried Cecile, as she came running.
I threw myself at Robert. His gun clattered across the porch. I hit him three, maybe four times before Cecile screamed in my ear. ‘Forget about him, go and get Houston!’

There was already a lot of thick smoke at the top of the staircase. I rushed along the landing, shouting Housty’s name. Seeing no sign of her in the first room I got to, I tried the next one. When I found it locked, I kicked the door down. Housty was over by the window. Unconscious, her face was bloodied and swollen. 

Cecile looked feared to death when I got Housty outside and carried her to the buggy. 

‘How is she?’

‘She’s alive, but we’d better get her to a doctor, fast.’ 

We were halfway down the track before we escaped the heat. No wonder, since the whole house was ablaze with flames dancing through the roof. As I looked back I noticed Cecile had a split lip.

‘He do that to you?’

‘Yup, before he got away.’

At the end of the track I told Cecile to stop while I got my horse.

‘Are you coming with us?’ she asked. 

‘Nope, this ain’t over yet.’ 

‘Then you’d better take this,’ said Cecile, handing me my gun.