"Two down and two more to go. It appears my hypothesis may well prove to be
correct." Ezra Standish glanced up at the two new arrivals who had just
entered the saloon. Idly flipping over another card, he smiled in
satisfaction when it proved to be the Ace of Spades.
"What are you talking about?" JD demanded. He always figured the gambler
talked in riddles and used them 25 cent words to confuse people on purpose.
All the better to con them with.
"Our two fellow cohorts, Mr. Tanner and Mr. Larabee, are about to grace us
with their presence. That is two." Ezra nodded at the taciturn pair who'd
just sat down across from him, to the left of JD.
"Hi Chris. Vin." JD frowned at the gambler, still feeling slightly
bewildered. "You said something about two more. I don't see two more." He
turned around to stare at the batwing doors.
"They should be arriving momentarily, JD." Ezra assured the young man.
"Who?" Everyone at the table wanted to know. Chris and Vin were already
easing their weapons into their hands, while Josiah flexed his fingers in
anticipation of trouble. JD just sat there, trying to figure out what the
heck a hypothesis was and if it was something he needed to worry about.
"I would think the answer is patently obvious. Look around the table. Who
is missing?" Ezra spoke in the overly patient tones one uses when talking to
those considered not quite bright.
"Nathan." Josiah volunteered. "He's visiting with Rain."
"And Buck. He's with, well I aint exactly sure of her name. But she's the
one with that green dress. The one that shows most of her..." JD trailed
off, a red flush staining his cheeks as the other men smiled knowingly.
"That would be Miss Esther." Ezra remarked. "And her dress is indeed a
revealing sort of ensemble. To the delight of many a patron in this fair
establishment."
"What's a hy-poth-e-sis and what do Buck and Nate have to do with it?" JD
was glad it was Vin asking and not him. Let someone else look dumb for a
change.
"I shall reveal all to you in good time. But let's wait for Mr. Wilmington
and Mr. Jackson to join us first. I loathe having to repeat myself."
"Except when you're saying ante up. Or full house. Or, my pot gentlemen."
Josiah's voice was dry.
"Well, I stand corrected. Some things do bear repeating, my friend."
Ezra's smile of amusement changed to one of satisfaction as the batwing doors
swung open and Nathan and Buck walked in, faces looking lower than a snake's
belly.
"How did you know?" Chris stared suspiciously at the gambler, after twisting
around in his seat to see what Ezra was smiling at.
"Nathan wasn't supposed to be back for another two days. And I didn't expect
to see Buck til it was his turn to ride patrol." JD wasn't as suspicious as
Chris. He just sounded curious.
"Elementary, my dear fellows. A simple matter of observing a certain pattern
that has repeated itself continuously over a period of years now."
"Nathan. I thought we'd have to ride out to the village and drag you away
from the arms of your beautiful woman. Anything wrong?" Josiah slid the
bottle of whiskey down the table to the healer who'd seated himself to the
left of the gambler while Buck sat on JD's right.
"I never knew Rain could be so damn unreasonable about things. I always
thought she had a good head on her shoulders, but now she's talking all this
crazy talk about being too young to get tied down and maybe we should see
other people." Nathan shook his head, perplexed.
"Sometimes women can get a mite skittish for no reason. You just gotta wait
it out." Josiah nodded his head sagely after offering this bit of wisdom.
Nathan didn't seem to be particularly comforted. He kept muttering under his
breath while Buck began his own litany of complaint against the fairer sex.
"Must be something in the air, Nathan. Cause the sweetest little filly this
side of the Mississippi just decided she wants to become a nun. Had herself
a vision right in the middle of some good old Buck style loving." Buck
sounded torn between anger and disbelief.
"Told you that animal maggotism thing was all in your head." JD snickered.
"Is that so, JD? I aint seen Casey around lately. You two lovebirds didn't
have a fight now, did you?" Buck asked a bit snidely.
"No. We've just both been busy, that's all." JD suddenly appeared to find
the tablecloth fascinating.
"And the widow Josiah was courting turned out to have a husband who was very
much alive and well. Isn't that correct?" Ezra turned to the larger man.
"Don't make me hurt you, Brother Standish." Josiah didn't like to talk about
that particular subject.
"And of course, Mr. Tanner is still nursing a broken heart over that other
unfortunately married woman." Ezra ignored the threatening glare from the
tracker.
"You got a point, Ezra?" Chris growled. He didn't like being reminded of
that wagon train any more than Vin did.
"How is Mrs. Travis?" The gambler shot a look in the direction of the
gunslinger. "Oh, that's right. You wouldn't know because the two of you are
barely speaking to one another after that unfortunate incident with..."
"Don't say it!" came a chorus of voices. And Ezra prudently refrained from
finishing this particular sentence.
"Seems to me that you're forgettin' someone?" Vin pushed his hat back
slightly as he stared at the gambler.
"Yeah." Buck caught on swiftly. "I remember a little gal by the name of Li
Pong."
"I hadn't forgotten, I just didn't feel it was relevant. We have quite
enough cases in point already." Ezra replied somewhat stiffly. Ok. So he
was still a bit sensitive about certain matters as well. Was that a crime?
"And what exactly is your point?" Chris asked, his tone bordering on the
dangerous. Patience was not a virtue in his book. It was just a way of
wasting time when you could be doing other things.
The seven of us. Here. Together." Ezra sounded a bit depressed. His glow
of satisfaction at being right had vanished as he thought about exactly what
being right entailed. The other six men frowned, feeling rather offended.
"Yeah. So? We're together all the time. Fact is, we spend a helluva lot of
time in the saloon here, drinking and... Oh." Buck trailed off as he began
to realize where Ezra was going with this.
"Aint nothin' wrong with spendin' time with your friends, Ezra. Besides,
it's part of the job." Vin pointed out a trifle defensively.
"Yeah. I mean, what else are we supposed to do?" JD demanded.
"Perhaps join the Texas Rangers? Or finish rebuilding the church? Get
married? Go to San Franciso and open up the country's most lucrative saloon?
Clear your name? Track down a killer? Study medicine?" As Ezra went down
the list, each of his six companions frowned, flushed and opened his mouth to
protest in turn.
"But we can still do those things." JD was the first to say something.
"Uh huh. How long have we all been together now?" Ezra leaned back in his
chair and folded his arms.
"About three years near as I can tell." Buck said after counting on his
fingers a couple of times.
"And in three years, not one of us has been able to maintain a relationship
with a woman or find a better, or at least more lucrative, career. And none
of us are deceased, despite having been in situations where the odds were
astronomical. We have a group name and our very own table in the saloon.
Are we seeing a pattern here yet?"
"So you're saying...?"
"That we're doomed to be here, together..."
"Doing the same damn thing..."
"For the same amount of pay..."
"With no little woman ever waiting for us at home...
"Til the end of time."
"Yes."
There was a moment of complete silence.
"Are the women still lively in Tascosa, Vin?" Chris asked casually. He very
carefully did not look at anyone as he spoke.
"Last I heard." Vin didn't look either.
"The Texas Rangers are lookin' for some new blood, JD." Buck attempted a
smile.
"Yeah. Maybe I should go on down there and see." JD spoke without
enthusiasm.
"The church could use a little attention." Josiah admitted.
"I always meant to check into schooling." Nathan didn't sound as happy at
the prospect as he should have.
Another moment of silence reigned as the seven men sat glumly around the
table.
"I know something that needs doing right now." Josiah was the first to rouse
himself.
"What?" Six pairs of eyes stared hopefully in his direction.
"This." Josiah held up the bottle of whiskey. It was still half full.
"Yep."
"Can't let such a superior libation go to waste."
"Tomorrow's soon enough to get started on our new lives."
"Amen, Josiah."
"Might as well get us another bottle. This one aint gonna last long."
"I'll take a glass of that."
The seven men brightened considerably as they sipped their whiskey and
settled into their familiar, comfortable pattern. They'd do all that other
stuff tomorrow. Bright and early. First thing. Yep.
The End
