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A Hot Summer Nite at the Graves

Created on: 01/11/19 10:45 AM Views: 1348 Replies: 1
A Hot Summer Nite at the Graves
Posted Friday, January 11, 2019 10:45 AM

 

It was a hot muggy evening, and the Colonel was pulling a fresh plug of twist to chaw as he sipped his bourbon from the coffee mug.  The rocking chair creaked as he leaned back and wiped the sweat off his brow.  He heard the wagon coming down the road, then saw the dust rising up as it turned down toward the house.  reaching down, he touched the double barreled shotgun leaning against the rail beside him.  The damn fools are coming he thought, well its a lot hotter where they're going, so come and get it boys!

They were really firing each other up, railing about the Colonel and how sorry he was gonna be for pistol whippin their brother Clyde and throwing him in jail the night before.  As they pulled the wagon up to the hitch rail, the dust caught up with them in a cloud, and they looked about to get their bearings.

Lute jumped down on the far side of the wagon and grabbed the reins to tie up.  Jesse jumped down, looked up on the porch and yelled "The son of a bitch is waiting for us Lute."  He grabbed at the pistol in the front of his jeans.  The Colonel pulled the first cock on the shot gun and knocked Jesse back against the wagon, cut almost in half by the buckshot!  Lute came aroung the mule with his gun drawn, and the Colonel pulled the secound cock.  The buckshot took Lute full in the face, his head exploding in a cloud of blood, bone, and brains!

The Colone sat and broke the smoking shotgun down, and re-loaded.  leaning the gun back against the rail, he waited for the real trouble to start.  Dovie came through the door with a drawn 45, flour on her face where where she had pushed her hair back while fixing biscuits for dinner.  "Mel, what in the hell are you doing out here?'  She looked out at the front gate and saw the wagon, mule and the two men on the ground.  "Did you even look to see where the youngin's were before you started this?"  "Now Dovie, these boys were in a hurry to see hell, I couldn't stop them.  Now go put the gun away and get supper finished.  Send Leo and Ray out here to help me load the wagon.  I'll have to haul them into Porter in the morning.

Colonel Melton Graves the town marshall of Porter, Indian Territory in 1906 was my Grandpaw.  He grew cotton, peaches, cattle, and headstones.  As town marshall he was the law, starting a family tradition that continues today--

 
Edited 02/16/20 05:34 PM
RE: A Hot Summer Nite at the Graves
Posted Friday, January 11, 2019 10:07 PM

Rex, I liked your tale of the coming of age of Tulsa's Arkansas Rver bottom; Your descriptions paint the picture, not only in vivid color, but wide-screen Cinemascope! I had relatives that farmed around Haskel, circa 1900 and upward. probably knew your grandpaw! Luther and Jessie, a lesson too late for the learnin'; don't mess with the marshall!