Man with the Gun Page #2

and this young man ain't a member

of the family yet,

but he's the next thing to it.

- Jeff Castle, who had the trouble today.

- Pleased to meet you.

What trouble? Jeff, you didn't tell...

Look, Holman tried to burn him out,

but I got an idea.

First, I have to sell it to the council

at the regular meeting Friday.

But if I can't swing it,

I'll pay you for your time.

- Clint Tollinger.

- That's my risk.

I always try to make sure

that a town needs doing,

and a town wants doing.

We need it, all right.

You figure you can tidy up a town

single-handed, Mr. Tollinger?

With a little luck, yeah.

He's been 100% lucky,

and when it adds up like that, it ain't luck.

Call it timing. I just work faster alone.

Well, then you're not a marshal.

- Or a sheriff.

- He's a town tamer.

The difference is there are no rules

on my end of the business.

Except maybe one,

never stay in one town too long.

Well, you can clean up

for the rest of the town.

I believe in doing my own fighting.

Look, that won't be necessary.

If Mr. Tollinger does the job,

it'll go fast like he says.

If you'll just hold up...

I'm not holding up for anybody!

Not for Holman or Sims or anybody.

How about thinking of Stella?

I am thinking of Stella.

It's our homesite, and I'm building on it,

so we'll have someplace to live

when we get married.

Mr. Tollinger, I must say

you don't look fierce enough

to fight everyone's battles.

I'm a peacemaker by profession,

Miss Atkins.

Let's get you some dinner.

You haven't met my wife yet.

Oh, Mary.

Saul?

You're late tonight.

Mary, this is Mr. Tollinger,

and he's hungry.

Oh, this way, Mr. Tollinger.

Those guns...

All that talk about fighting,

and what happened to you today.

I'm scared.

Honey, you can't keep on

turning the other cheek

with a cemetery as big as we've got.

But to pay someone to stand up

like a man for you...

You understand, don't you?

I don't know.

Look, it's like this.

I've got to do my own fighting,

to get into training to be head

of my family.

Don't I, now?

Good night, honey.

Good night.

Mmm.

The boy's gonna take some handling.

But I think he's...

Jeff!

Here he is.

- His left shoulder, it's bleeding!

Get Doc Hughes.

Well?

Town needs it.

They'll find out they want it in a hurry.

Fourteen killings

and 31 robberies in the past year,

most of them in or around the Palace.

That's how things have

quieted down for us.

Call that spade a spade, Saul.

You're talking Tollinger,

you're talking gun law.

What have we got now?

Only it's Holman's guns and Holman's law.

People are scared to build.

They're scared to farm.

They're even scared off the streets.

You know how I feel about young Castle

getting shot up, Saul,

but Tollinger?

I heard about a town

he cleaned up right smart,

only a lot of businesses closed down

till the smoke blew away,

and never did open up.

If my business closed down,

I wouldn't know the difference.

$500 is a lot of money

to pay for a cleanup job,

but it ain't too much to pay a tamer,

willing to take all the chances.

Arthur.

One gun against Holman's army?

They'll take him fast.

Then Dade'll work his grudge off

on the rest of us.

I say if Gold Street riffraff

want to kill each other off,

let them, and good riddance!

Things have quieted down lately for us,

till tonight.

Ten years ago, there were a dozen farms

and three mining operations in the valley.

Now there's just Dade Holman.

He's got the valley,

he's got us backed up here in town.

Now he's working on the town.

He already owns Gold Street.

What happens when he decides

to take over Sheridan Street?

He'll take it over.

Can anyone here deny that?

Unless...

Are you sure Clint Tollinger is available?

I'm sure.

Is Tollinger the cure for what's ailing us?

As a doctor, I've seen some cures

worse than the disease.

Believe me,

his medicine is hard to take,

and harder to keep down.

Come in.

There's a fire out in the prairie a ways.

It ain't grass neither.

It's young Jeff Castle's new house,

gone up in a puff of smoke.

Well, if that don't just about...

What are you gonna do about it?

Well, I...

I could deputize

every man jack of you

for a war on Holman,

just like young Castle had wanted.

All over a pile of lumber!

Is that what you want?

Hold it, Lee.

Gentlemen,

I'm putting the proposition to a vote,

namely, to employ Clint Tollinger

in the capacity of town tamer.

All in favor signify by saying, "Aye."

- Aye.

- Aye.

All opposed?

Motion is carried unanimous.

Gentlemen,

meet Clint Tollinger.

Mr. Tollinger,

I guess you wouldn't mind

a little friendly advice

from a member of the town council?

What I mean is,

we don't want you to go hog wild on this.

I mean, just take it a little easy.

Too much gun play is bad for business.

What you mean is

that target practice in the hallways

is against the house rules, eh?

Oh, I see, having your little joke, huh?

Oh, hello, Tollinger.

Just looking around a bit

before you start to work?

No, I'm ready.

Ever been in Sheridan before?

No, but all these towns look alike to me.

So do the people.

I'll bet you, you never seen one

look like Dade Holman before.

Lay odds you never

get a chance to see him.

Saul Atkins tells me you know the terms.

You'll draw up a contract in letter form.

There's a clause I'd like in that contract.

- Yeah?

- No interference.

I'll do the job my own way.

You'll deputize me, and that's all.

If I need your help, I'll let you know.

Well, the town council took you on.

I'm just a hired hand here myself.

You're on your own, Tollinger.

What's Holman's brand?

Lazy Tombstone.

Who ramrods for him?

Pinchot. Ed Pinchot. Know him?

Yeah, I've heard he's overdue.

He's wanted down in Texas

for murder and rustling,

and in Abilene, Kansas, for plain murder.

And there's Frenchy Lescaux.

When Dade opened the Palace,

he brung Lescaux

all the way up from New Orleans,

I believe it was, to run it for him.

Two of a kind.

Lescaux can kill plain or fancy,

but he's partial to a bowie knife.

Fact of the matter is,

last marshal died of a knife wound

he got over at the Palace,

checking up on a knife killing

there the night before.

- But Lescaux claimed...

- Fill me in on Holman.

No name calling,

just how does he operate?

Well, Dade's a fat man,

but don't let that fool you.

Never lifts a pudgy finger hisself.

Well, you take yesterday, for example.

Just a typical day in Dade's life.

He cut himself a piece out of a trail herd

that was passing through.

Then he roughed up the new mine

merchant's over at Benning Creek Way.

Then he tried to grab

young Jeff Castle's homesite,

and, I'm betting you,

he divvied up the gold dust

they took off that poor dead miner

over there at the Palace.

Nothing is too small or mean for Dade.

Nothing's so rich nor fancy, neither.

Grand piany from Italy,

yeah, fish eggs from Rooshy

and a brocade sofie from New York.

Did he bring in Nelly Bain?

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