ArtsAutosBooksBusinessEducationEntertainmentFamilyFashionFoodGamesGenderHealthHolidaysHomeHubPagesPersonal FinancePetsPoliticsReligionSportsTechnologyTravel

Cole Hornback - "My sworn duties" Chapter 4

Updated on August 2, 2013

My sworn in duties

Chapter Four

Lying on a small cot in the back of the jailhouse, a place I recently took on as my second home and being the new deputy and all, I assumed the duty as the nightshift guard. I was there to keep an eye on the jail, and in case anyone should happen to need the law in the middle of the night. It was only a couple of hours since our little conversation in the saloon had taken place. Skinner had a small apartment above the diner, which was just across the street from the jailhouse. I heard some voices and then some commotion down the street. I quickly arose, got dressed, grabbed my holster and loaded a rifle. I could see flames flaring high above the roof tops down the street, as I stepped off of the wooden porch attached to the Jailhouse. I started to pick up my pace, when I heard Skinner hollering at me. He motioned for me as he was sitting in a rocker outside the Diner. I could not fully understand why he was not more geared up and eager to see what was burning. He told me, it was my home that was my burnin…but he had seen traps like such done by the Sioux. It was a diversion tactic to get a sneak attack on those who would blindly run into it. He had two pistols on his side, and a shot gun loaded and ready. We circled our way around through a back alley, and then behind a small woods at the end of town. Sure enough, my home was engulfed with flames, and off behind a cluster of trees and bushes in my side yard was those three cow hands that worked for Harlan. They were kneeling down and had their pistols drawn. It was just as Skinner had claimed. It was an ambush waiting to happen. We walked up quietly behind them until we were about twenty paces away. Skinner yelled for them to turn around, and do it slowly. One of them decided to do things his way and spun around quickly with his firearm drawn. Skinner dropped him with one shot, the other two dove behind the trees and began to shoot. I had the same feeling rushing through my body as it did when Jim Spencer was attacking my sister. I drew a bead with my rifle and opened fired six rounds as fast as I could pump the chamber. I could hear return fire, and the whistling of lead zooming past my head. Skinner grabbed me and pulled me aside. I was certain I had hit one of them, but the third one was trying to make his way to a small shed just outside my house. He warned me again, to be patient, keep my wits, and not overreact.

Without a warning, there was a loud blast coming from behind me, ol Skinner was doubled over and bleedin. He had taken one in the gut. I turned and Harlan and his boys was riding full speed on the horses, firing everything they had. How everything managed to miss me again, is a miracle. I grabbed Skinner and drug him behind an old log beside the roadway. I grabbed his shot gun, turned and blasted two shots, and managed to get both the Spencer boys. They went flying off of the back of their horses no more than a few feet from me. Harlan by this time had passed me by, was leaping off his horse and went behind the shed where the last cow hand was hiding; I could see them moving back towards town.

Skinner was cussin mad and spittin up blood. I hovered over him, not knowing exactly what to do next. He said to not worry about him, he had worse injuries than this, fighting Indians, and being in the Army for twenty years…”If you think some two bit cow poke is going to do me in, then you need more skoolin!”. I reloaded his shot gun and handed it to him, and told him I was going after the Doc. He grabbed me sternly and told me to stay put, until they made their next move. I knew Skinner was hit bad, and didn’t have much time and to sit and wait was not an option as far as I was concerned. I had already lost my Ma, possibly my Pa, and I was dang sure I was not ready to lose him. I told him, I was eager to comply, my sworn duty as a deputy, just as he had promised old Harlan at the Saloon earlier that evening. And that is exactly what I was fixin to do.


working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)