Landain

♠ Showdowns & Saddles ♠

Posted the Collab. I may post again in response to Kelewen's post.

♠ Showdowns & Saddles ♠

_{Collaboration with @EvilEdd1984}

Finney was impressed with Billy’s bible quotation. “I wish I could do that. I am still reading the bible. I mean we hear scripture in church every week, but I certainly don’t have it memorized.”

“I have read the bible at least six times, my young friend,” Billy responded.

“Mr. Sergio,” Phineas asked the man while he read the bible. “Are you still interested in teaching me to fight?”

Sergio put down his bible when he heard a voice addressing him; turning his head towards the direction of the voice. "Nice to see you here; I think we can get a few lessons in during the trip" Putting away his bible and motioning the man over with his hand. He was sure he could teach Finney the basics; enough to defend himself with a gun or in hand to hand combat. But since Finney seemed a bit green behind the ears; he would have to give him a very condensed lesson.

"No problem Mr. Sergio," responded Phineas O'Connell. "Please call me, Finney...A little hand to hand stuff would be great." Finney stood up to follow Sergio Westwood.

Standing up and looking out of the window; the train had not started moving yet which would be the perfect time to practice a little. Walking over to where Finney was standing in the middle of the aisle. "First I'm gonna teach ya how to counter a punch," getting into position putting his hands and asking Finney to slowly punch him.

Finney faced off to Sergio. Since he was right-handed, he stood so his left foot was slightly forward. "Like this Mr. Sergio?" Then he slowly jabbed with his left toward Sergio's face.

Before Finney knew it, he had his hand behind his back; with his arm being twisted the other way. "That is one way to reverse a punch; now try it on me." He let go of Finney's arm. Returning to his original position; throwing a slow straight punch at Finney.

Finney had been taken by surprised the first time Sergio did the maneuver. He really didn't feel comfortable replicating it. He tried and failed. "Maybe you could show it to me slowly?"

Sergio was smiling and nodding his head, performing the maneuver once again slowly. In hopes that Finney would catch on and could replicate it. "Now see if you can do it."

"Ok, Ok, Mister Sergio. I think I got it." Finney took his time, blocking and catching the punch, then twisting the arm in a controlling manner using counter joint techniques which placed a sufficient amount of torque on the arm to force the attacker to spin about, placing the arm behind the man's back. Finney was quite pleased with himself. Billy smiled, giving applause and shouting, "Way to go, Finney!"

"Very good. You’re getting the hang of it. Now I'm gonna teach ya how to counter a hook. So I want you to give me a left or right hook," he said readying himself for the punch.

Finney didn't know how to throw a hook. He knew it was a punch from the side, so his was delinquent of any skill or technique. It could have been parried by a 9-year old. He threw in a muffled *grunt* in his effort, as weak as it might be.

Sergio saw the weak punch coming towards him; he blocked the punch with his palm. Quickly moving his hand to the side and throwing a slow punch towards Finney where his liver was. "So now try it on me" Sergio waited for Finney to punch him once again so he could show him the maneuver.

Finney understood what he had done wrong. In fact, the motion appeared similar to his mother stirring a stew, but with an empty closed fist instead of a hand wrapped about a wooden spoon. This time, Finney rotated his body into the hook so it moved a bit faster toward his pugilist instructor. "How's that?"

"You’re doing a damn good job. Now I wanna teach you something my pappy taught me," Sergio said, telling Finney to give him an uppercut.

Seeing as how he had no idea what an uppercut was or how to throw one, he guessed. 'It sounds like I punch upward,' Finney thought to himself. Since Sergio wasn't going to teach him how to throw the punch, he would try to figure it out himself. Finney leaned slightly to the right, dropped his fist to his waist and struggled to punch upwards in a direction that would have his fist pass just in front of his face.

Sergio quickly blocked the punch, moving his arm to the side while showing he could knee him in the testicles. "Okay now give it a try; and I'll teach you some good punches," waiting for Finney to get ready and then slowly giving Finney an uppercut to try and counter.

Finney saw the punch coming. It was slow enough so he could easily prepare himself for the punch. He blocked it, controlled the offending arm, then pulled his knee up into Sergio's groin. "Thank you, Sergio. This is all very useful and helpful information. Something I could have used before I walked into the saloon in Sweetwater."

The two sparred, punching the air and pretending to punch one another for several more minutes. Finney felt a bit more confident with the skills. He was quite appreciative of Mr. Westwood’s efforts.

The train had apparently prepared for movement. William, The conductor, who was smiling earlier began moving through the car to tell folks to take their seats. He saw the two men standing in the center aisle, giving off the appearance of fist fighting. “Hey! You two! Settle yer differences and have a seat!”

Sergio and Finney took that as their cue to return to their seats. They exchanged a smile as they sat down, “Seriously, thank you very much, Mr. Sergio. I really appreciate your instruction. I should practice again later.”

♠ Showdowns & Saddles ♠

EvilEdd and I are in the middle of a collab.

♠ Showdowns & Saddles ♠

Billy and/or Finney could probably arrange transport for the horses. (Though Grainger has not covered that expense)

@Kelewen

They stashed them in the stable in Sweetwater.

♠ Showdowns & Saddles ♠

“Hey Kid!” Billy called to Phineas. The young man turned towards him. He stuck out his hand, “my name is Billy.”

“Phineas O’Connell at your service, sir,” Finney responded. “But most call me Finney.” The 21-year old responded to the larger black man.

“Why don’t you stay with me. We can board the train together.”

“Sure, no problem. I have a horse I need to stable.”

“Me too,” Billy responded, retrieving his pistol from the bartender. Finney did the same. The two left the saloon to unhitch their horses.

“That’s a beautiful Mustang you got there, Billy. How long have you been riding her?”

“About a year and a half. I like your Morgan. How long have you had him?”

“Truth be told, Billy, I’ve only been in Texas for about a week. I bought Josiah when I arrived in Pecos. I rode a train across the country. I came here from a small town north of Boston, Massachusetts called Gloucester (pr.: Gloster). It’s a fishing village. My pa is the town’s doctor. I did get an education at Amherst and came here because I want to be a writer. I believe it is best to write about what you know, and I want to write about the west. What better way to get to know the west than to come to Texas?”

“You might be right ‘bout that, Finney,” Billy chuckled. “Juss hope you don’ git yer fool head shot off learnin’ ‘bout the west…Ha ha ha ha!” Billy found the idea ridiculous. He was in the desert of Texas because he had no real choice. If it wasn’t in Texas it might have been the mountains of Colorado Territory or Indian country.

“What about you, where you from?” Billy asked his new partner.

“My daddy has a farm in Illinois. I worked the farm all my life until I was old enough to leave. I joined the army and rode with the Buffalo soldiers. I left the army a few years ago and have been picking up odd jobs like this one as I move around. It’s been an interesting life so far.” Billy tried not to boast about his experiences. To him, they were just facts. They were who he was.

The two men arrived at the stable and paid a small fee to store the horses in town then headed to the train station. “You know I just left this station before I walked into the saloon, ate a meal and played that card game.”

Finney carried his Colt SAA Peacemaker in his holster, spare bullets in their slots around the belt and a box in a pocket. The knife was strapped on the other side of his holster. He carried his writing supplies in a small satchel slung over his left side so he could write when he needed. He also had a few pieces of dried beef and some vegetables in pockets. In his left breast pocket he carried his copy of the bible.

Billy slung the Henry rifle over his shoulder with his Colt SAA on his hip. The Bowie knife was in a sheath on his left hip. He carried a few fruits and vegetables in a satchel slung by his side He carried spare ammo in boxes in the satchel as well as those attached to his holster and on the sling of the rifle.

When they arrived at the train, they found the Odessa train and the others from the saloon assigned to their task. Both young men identified themselves to Dan who ushered them to the passenger car where Sergio and Mistihkoman were sitting. The two took seats across from Sergio. Both noticed the bible he was reading. Finney fondled the small bible in his pocket, considered pulling it out to read and declined. Billy on the other hand uttered the following, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven and whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.” Billy didn’t carry a bible. He memorized it.

♠ Showdowns & Saddles ♠

Any room on that train for horses? I know both Billy and Finney have horses.

♠ Showdowns & Saddles ♠

Billy looked at the money and said, "Six dollars? I thought we was getting thirty?" He looked at the cash, then up at Grainger, "...a piece."

Is what Billy might have said, .... no. He wouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth like that. "I'll take it!"

---

By all means, skip ahead. We'll let the disgruntled Taylor and Finney have it out later in the story. A little sub plot we can weave into the story.

♠ Showdowns & Saddles ♠

Billy had actually come to Sweetwater looking for work. He was ready to accept the job but wondered how much it paid. He’d done harder jobs for less work in the past and was convinced this Mr. Grainger would pay a higher rate than that. Before he had a chance to ask that all important question, someone else did?

“How much does the job pay?” Finney asked the question. He didn’t care what it paid. He still had some money left over from what his father gave him. He knew the other folks in the group would be interested. He told himself, he asked the question for them. Finney tried to write a description of Mr. Grainger in his notebook. The man had a robust build, possibly a ruddy complexion from excessive alcohol, his guess. Finney knew he would go. He couldn’t pass this opportunity up. This could be the makings of his first western pulp fiction. He would eventually well known across the country as an author.

♠ Showdowns & Saddles ♠

Sergio spoke to Finney, “You're not bad at using your fist; where did you learn how to fight?”

Finney looked at this man with eyes very wide; frankly taken aback by the comment, knowing the truth. He looked back at the end of the bar where he hid during the fight and then at the tables where Billy, Mistihkoman and Taylor had fought with the thugs. He then looked up at this strange man, “Pardon me, sir. I honestly do not know what you are talking about. I threw exactly zero punches during that fight. Maybe you are talking about the colored soldier, the Cree man or the former confederate? I hid behind the bar over there and then clocked Mr. Logan over the head with a bottle when he staggered into my way.” Finney smiled at the man, “but thanks anyway. I was thinking of asking one of them how to fight. I really have no experience with that.”

Finney followed the taller thin man up the stairs to meet Mr. Granger. He figured since he did contribute to the fight, albeit in a very small way, he would see what the man wanted or had to offer if the case may be. Besides, it was all good material for his book.

Finney found it amusing, when the cree man dragged Mr. Logan up the stairs. He heard the man say, "We still need to do something about this poh'ki at some time." to which Finney quickly wrote this line down in his notebook. “Mr Mistihkoman? What is a poh’ki?”

---

Billy Kingsley overheard the stranger who had been playing pool compliment Finney on the punches he threw. Like Finney, this really threw the African soldier for a loop. He saw the Cree man throw punches and the Confederate throw punches and he himself threw several punches, but not the frightened young man from Boston. Billy wasn’t sure who the stranger was talking about, but both him and Finney knew it wasn’t Finney.

Billy watched Misty Koman drag Mr. Logan up the stairs, “would you like some help with that?” but he suspected the Cree man did not hear him. He followed the group upstairs to take a seat and see what Mr. Gainger had to offer.

When he arrived upstairs, the 6’2” black man wearing cavalry trousers stuck out his hand to the man he would eventually know as Sergio, “Hello stranger, my name is William Kingsley, but most folk call me Billy.”

@EvilEdd1984

Battle of the Nations

“Light fortifications, like a split rail fence to the fronts and hastily constructed abatis along the flanks to deny enemy penetrations to the rear, might be worthwhile. It is not what I initially thought of when you suggested trenches.” Duke Friedrich allowed the Gauldic Major some for that. He assumed it was a language confusion.

Friedrich motioned Hauptmann Jodel to follow them as they left the tent. Time to do a little reconnaissance. As the Halldoran officers followed the rest, the Duke leaned into the younger officer and whispered, “It appears the Gauldic Major forgets that the Halldorans once fought alongside Francisco before the alliance between our nations dissolved.” Hauptmann Jodel nodded to his Brigadier as they caught up.

They could see the sparse formation of Halldorian line infantry forming a picket line about two hundred meters below the crest of the ridge line. The picket were there to act as advance warning in case the Gauldic infantry initiated an advance while they slept. Most were aware of Francisco’s tactics. Gauldic Light infantry formed a similar line on the other side of the Blue Valley. Both sides stood on high ground, but their side did not matter. The Alliance of Drusmane and Halldor existed merely to act as a delaying force. If Marion did not want to press the attack, then their mission was a success. The Halldoran-Drusmane alliance would have worked. But Duke Friedrich suspected that was not the case today. He was ready for a pitched battle.

“There is room to construct abatis on the flanks to channel their cavalry to the center. Split rail fences and slight redoubts in front of the infantry formations would offer some protection.” Duke Friedrich consented to the others. He looked at Major Mackeralini, “May apologies, sir. I was confused when you suggested the word trenches.”