The sun shone down bright.
It was dusty and dry.
The town was too quiet
And no one knew why.
They sat, leaned and stood.
Each watched with keen eyes
For something to happen;
Some trouble to arise.
The leader in black,
Cheroot in his hand,
He sat and he waited
For a ruckus unplanned.
All was too calm.
It did not fit.
Chris did not like it,
Not one little bit.
He signaled the tracker
With nary a word.
Just a look and a nod
That could not be heard.
The tracker, he shifted
From railing to post
And searched the street
For man, beast or ghost.
He looked left and then right,
Searched from rooftop to gutter.
This feeling was like
Lickin’ a knife with no butter.
A star and a bowler
The young sheriff wore.
His eyes suddenly drawn
To Mrs. Potter’s store.
“Look there”, he said.
“Just look at that.
It looks like Bob Spikes
In his big sissy hat!”
The ladies man looked up
And smiled very smugly.
Bob was filthy and bald,
And Buck hated ugly.
He grinned his sly grin
And winked his rogue wink.
He called Spikes a coward
And backed away from his stink.
The gambler brushed lint
From his lavish red coat.
He narrowed his eyes
And then cleared his throat.
“What is your business?”
He drawled with a dimple.
“Abscond and be gone!
It is really quite simple.”
“What do you want?”
The large preacher stood.
“You are not welcome.
Your kind is no good.”
Then Top Hat Bob,
As he was well known,
Waved to the seven
And said with a moan.
“I need a doctor.
I tell you the truth.
It hurts so bad.
Please pull my tooth!”
They all turned to Nathan
With a smirk and a smile.
The healer did not enjoy
Treating someone so vile.
“Watch out”, said Vin.
“For a fate worse than death.
Good ole Bob
Has dead animal breath.”
The pretty barmaid
Pulled the string from her hair.
“Here, use this,” said Inez.
“For this unpleasant affair.”
The healer, he smiled
And took the silken thread.
He threw one end to Bob
And chuckled as he said.
“Tie this to your tooth
And I will pull it out.
Please have no fear.
Do not have any doubt.”
“I have done this before.
I have done this well.
And from this far away
I will not smell your smell.”
Bob took the string.
He tied a small noose
And hoped that the doc
Could pull his tooth loose.
Nathan, he tugged
And pulled with his might.
The tooth did not budge.
This could take all night.
One by one they all came,
To help their kind friend.
The seven lined up,
Josiah at the end.
They yanked and they yanked
With all of their weight.
They tugged and they heaved,
All six behind Nate.
It happened quite suddenly.
There was no time to beware.
There was a small ‘pop’.
And the tooth sailed in the air.
The lawmen went sprawling
In one dusty heap.
Ezra was livid.
His clothes were not cheap.
Bob tumbled back,
His balance thrown off.
The Marshal plunged into
The nearest horse trough.
Grinning quite broadly,
Spikes said with relief,
“Thank you so much,
I can now eat corned beef.”
He skipped down the street
And into the bar.
The town’s people gaped
At this site, so bizarre.
The seven returned
To their original places.
They stood, sat and leaned
With expressionless faces.
The sun shone down bright.
It was dusty and dry.
The town was too quiet
And no one knew why.
