Western Tangle

Western Tangle

Suzanne Marsh

The cloud of dust rose into a whirling dervish as Billy Bonny loped into the town of Las Vegas, New Mexico; he required a place to hide out, and Las Vegas was always welcoming. Hiding from Pat Garret seemed to Billy foolish, they were friends, surely Garret would not shoot him. Billy strode toward the Ace Saloon when he noticed a very pretty girl dressed in a pale blue gingham dress. He decided to make a point of finding out who she was. He watched as she entered the Sheriff’s office. He hoped she was not the sheriff’s wife. Billy wanted to settle down, but his outlaw ways prevented romance. He thought of the dark-haired, dark-eyed beauty, Paulita Maxwell, Pete Maxwell’s sister, his current girlfriend. He stood at the saloon door watching as the girl in the pale blue gingham emerged from the sheriff’s office.

The bartender told Billy that there was a barn dance later that evening. Billy rented a room in the hotel for the night. He unpacked his saddlebags; he had one change of clothes; he unbuckled his guns. Billy often went to Las Vegas, which was great for hiding out. He looked out the window of the room; there was quite a lot of activity going on in the street. A shootout, the sheriff was outgunned, three against one. Billy decided to even the odds. He shot two of the men from the window he had been watching out of; ‘now the odds were better for the sheriff.’

The barn dance began shortly before seven o’clock in the evening; Billy was hoping the young woman in the blue gingham dress would be at the dance. The music began when Billy spotted her; he strode over to her and asked her to dance. She smiled prettily, her azure blue eyes flirting happily, as she gazed into his clear blue eyes. As they danced, he asked her name:

“My name is Lucy Blackwell, and yours?”

“Name’s William Bonny”

Lucy knew the name, but could this young man dancing with her be Billy Bonny, aka Billy the Kid? She contemplated telling her dad who he was, then dismissed the idea as quickly as it had come to her. After the first square dance, Billy asked her if she would care for some punch; he was thirsty from dancing. The next dance was a waltz. Billy was awkward, but he tried.

Cal Steadman watched closely. Lucy was his girlfriend, why was she dancing with that guy? He sauntered over and tapped Billy on the shoulder:

“Mind if I cut in?” Billy politely informed him that he was dancing with her, and she could choose after they finished the dance. Cal did not like the response; he pulled his six-shooter, but before he could get it out of the holster, Billy shot the gun out of his hand. Lucy stared in disbelief at Billy as if he were some sort of disease:

“I am sorry, Miss Lucy, but he would have killed me; I just was quicker on the draw. His hand

will heal, good as new.”

Lucy liked the young man; he was honest, she wanted to get to know him better, and he could be her way out of Las Vegas. She hated it here, under her father’s care; she was not allowed to go to dances; she had snuck out her bedroom window. She wanted to have a good time, to dance, to meet people. Being locked up in her father’s home was not her idea of a good time. She hoped he would not realize she was not in her bed.

Sheriff John Blackwell stalked into the barn dance when he saw Lucy:

“LUCY, go home, all that is here are saddletramps and fools.”

Lucy was so embarrassed, her face turned bright red:

“Pa, can’t I stay for a little while? All I was doing was dancing.”

“No, Lucy, go home now. Cal, what happened here?”

Cal informed the sheriff he had accidentally discharged his weapon, glanced at Billy as if to say:

“We will meet again. Lucy is my girl.”

Billy, being Billy, decided he was going to ask Lucy to go for a buggy ride; it did not make any difference to Billy that Cal had the same idea. Lucy told Billy she would love to go for a buggy ride. He told her he would rent a buggy and they would go for a long ride. She was pleasant company for him.

The following morning, the sheriff was out patrolling, and Lucy slipped out the back door of the house. Billy had the horse and buggy waiting. He clucked his tongue a few times, and the horse began to pull the buggy. They sat silently for the short distance out of town. Billy had lunch made for the two of them in a picnic hamper. Lucy thought he was wonderful. Billy was falling in love with Lucy, and he knew he would have to tell her the truth about himself, but he did not want to ruin this moment. He kissed her gently.

He never gave Paulita Maxwell a thought; Lucy was all he would ever need or want. Pat Garret knew Billy was hiding out in Las Vegas; he had ridden her from Lincoln. Billy was still wanted for murder. Billy and Pat were still friends; Pat determined that he would bring Billy in. He would wait until Billy returned to Fort Sumner. Pat knew that Billy was in love with Paulita Maxwell, but what he did not know was that Paulita was pregnant and was waiting for Billy to return to tell him. Her brother Pete was not happy about the situation.

Billy brought Lucy home. He was going be leave Las Vegas later that night. Lucy asked him why he had to leave. Billy could feel tears welling in his eyes:

“Lucy, I ain’t no good for you. Do you have any idea who I really am?”

Lucy just stared:

“No, who are you?”

“My name is Henry McCarty, I am also known as William Bonny or Billy the Kid. Pat Garret

once told me I smell like death, maybe I do. I can’t take the chance of your getting hurt.

Remember, Lucy, I do love you.”

Billy mounted his horse and rode toward Fort Sumner with Pat Garret in pursuit. Billy thought of the warmth of Paulita; it would be good to see her. He loved her, but not in the same way that he loved Lucy. He could not rationalize how he felt.

A week later, Billy lay dead in Pete Maxwell’s room. Pat Garret shot him in the back. The story, however, does not end here.