On the Frontier, a lone gunman will make his stand

Prissy practically swooned, but the villagers who were gathering began to chuckle. "Yer dead meat, stranger." said one "Dont ya know how One Eyed Pete came to rule this town? We usta be a real law-abidin' town, and prosperous too, with a grizzled old sherriff and a gang of fifty cowpokes protectin' us day and night. Then One Eyed Pete rode up, all by his lonesome, to face the sharriff an' his men. Oh, it was a right fearful gunbattle I tell ya, lasted mosta whole day, an by the end of it the ol' sherriff and all fifty o' his men were blown to smithereens by that mangy bastid's shotgun. There aint a man, or an army alive that kin take on im, he's a demon from Hell I tells ya. If ya got a ouncea smarts in that skull o' yers ye'll run back the way ya came an' forget all about this town."

"I can't do that." Fred said grimly.

Trailed by a crowd of slack-jawed gawkers Fred strutted over to the old sherriff's house. It was in a state of disrepair, not having been used by anyone in years. The skeleton of the latest sherriff still sat behind the desk, his ribcage blown open by a shotgun blast. Fred took the badge and sherriff's hat off the skeleton, dusted them off and put them on himself. He also found a loaded shotgun and a bottle of whisky, and as some villagers took the skeleton away Fred sat in his place and propped his feet up on the desk.

1. One Eyed Pete arrived at the appointed time the next day, and the entire town turned out to watch the fight.
2. But later that night, One Eyed Pete was done bit by a rattlesnake in an odd stroke of divine justice, and Fred ruled over a peaceful town.

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