Here it is! My First Fiction Story...

This was my very first story, at least as far as I can remember and what I have been able to find! I was twelve years old when I wrote it and an avid reader of Zane Gray and other classic western writers. It is exactly as I wrote it with the exception of my fixing some of the punctuation and a few spellings so that it is easier to read. No quite worthy of the pages of Ranch Romances, a pulp magazine I was soon reading, but I aspired in that direction!

I am not embarrassed to share although obviously this is a far cry from my adult writing. I think it does show a trace of an innate gift for telling a story although the plot is a bit far fetched and full of holes! Still, there is action, drama and romance. Those elements have followed as my skill and craft developed. For a bit of my mature tales you can visit my 'writer's blog':  www.deirdredares.blogspot.com.

But here you have the debut.  Remember as you read that the writer was only twelve years old so temper your judgment!

                                                         The Law of the Frontier

A slim girl in a blue calico dress was walking down a small canyon in Arizona. Her long blonde curls hung down partly over her blue eyes and a bit of sweat dripped down her face. At the sound of hoof beats behind her, she climbed the bank and looked up the canyon. She obviously recognized either the horse or the rider for she scrambled back down to meet them.

“Howdy there, Miss Sally,” greeted the brown haired, blue eyed cowboy. “What are you doing way out here?”

“Well, Jimmy, I was riding Beanie and when I got off I dropped the reins like I do with Lady. I forgot he isn’t trained yet to stand ground tied so off he went leaving me to walk home. Lucky you came by!”

“I reckon Canyon King can carry double,” Jimmy said as he stopped to let Sally get on behind him. Soon they came to the –M- (Bar M Bar) ranch house.

“See you later,” Sally called as she jumped down.  She had no idea how long that would be.

“Hello, Mama,” she called as she entered the big adobe house.

“Oh, are you back so soon?”

“Yes, Mama,” Sally replied as she sat down to explain what had happened.

A few minutes later, a horse stopped by the front door.  A tall old cowboy strode in. “Jed Stone’s gang is on the rampage again. You ladies better pack up and head to Bear Creek. Where’s Ted?”

“Daddy is at the barn, Tex,” Sally said.

Then she and her mother got the big wagon and loaded it. Then they headed for Bear Creek where there was an old stone cabin built like a fortress. They got there all right. As they stopped the team they were startled by a loud, rough voice.

“Get you hands up and step down real slow.”

Sally and her mother obeyed, shocked that an outlaw had beat them to their hiding place. They soon realized they were captives of Jed Stone’s gang. They were held prisoner for a  full week. Upon their release, they promptly headed back for the ranch headquarters.

 Things looked pretty messed up. Some of the cowboys were sitting on the bunkhouse steps, Tex, Montana, Tuffy, Slim, Big Jack, Pete and Little Joe.

“Ma’am, Miss Sally, we have some bad news for you ladies,” Slim began.

Tuffy took up the tale. “The Boss is dead He was killed by two of Jed’s bullets. We buried him good with a big granite slab and all of us boys carved on it."

“Thank you so much", Sally said. She could see her mother was too overcome to speak. She was silent for a minute and then she started to give orders. Things began to happen.

About  a week later Sally and her mother were left alone with Tuffy as a guard. About five that evening a group of masked riders came riding up. Sally hurried to help Tuffy bar the door and close the heavy shutters. The outlaws banged and yelled. Then they began to pound of the door.

“The door can’t hold much longer,” Tuffy whispered.  Then they heard more horses approaching. A fierce gun battle followed. Then there was silence.
Finally they heard a voice shouting “Everything is okay.”

Tuffy cautiously opened the door. Seeing that all was safe, he stepped out. Sally peeked out and saw Jimmy. She hurried to him, crying, “Are you hurt?”

“No,” he assured. “But what should we do with these two hombres?”

“Let the Mexican go but I know the other and I know what to do with him! That lousy varmint killed my dad and a lot of others, too.”

Sally turned to Jimmy. “Give me your gun, Jimmy.”

She aimed carefully and then with her eyes shut, she pulled the trigger. Jed Stone fell, kicked once and then lay still.

Sally turned to Jimmy then. “I-I-d-don’t k-know w-wh-why I d-d-did that,”  she sobbed.

Jimmy took her in his arms and held her tight. He let her cry awhile and then he said softly, “Sally, stop crying. You did right and avenged your father. Now I need to ask you something.”

She lifted her head from his shoulder before he spoke.

“I think you and your mother need somebody to take care of you and the ranch. Do you think you could help that happen by becoming Mrs. Jim Carter?”

“Oh, Jimmy darling, would I?” She whispered the words and followed them with a silence that meant more than words. After awhile she drew away and looked up at him. “I think The Boss, Dad, would have wanted things to work this way.”

Then they walked hand in hand into the house just as the full moon rose.  

 !