Vengeance - One Way Or Another

By John J. Law

The undertaker was a tall and strangely enough, handsome fellow. He was surprisingly young. I expected someone who dabbled in such work to be much older and more seasoned in appearance.
Still, he spoke with the same nonchalance towards death that most men of his trade speak with.
Men like this undertaker were almost like death's messengers on this Earth. They worked to usher in new souls for the afterlife, but they did not revel in what they did. They simply did what they had to do.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.C. Hulsey Books
• Release date: Dec 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223214366

Book preview

ONE

A Trip to Bristlebone.

I'll never forget the day I came to town to claim my father. It is a memory that has been etched into my consciousness for as long as I shall live. I can't forget that day, even if I tried.

I had heard about what had happened through a telegram. He had been shot dead by Angus McKeever, one of his associates. Daddy went out to town and purchased some horses from Sid Glaston, who was a friend of McKeever's. After the successful purchase, they had a drink and a game of cards. It was here where Daddy met his untimely demise. I heard they had a disagreement of some sort in the game, and McKeever shot him down in the saloon, and ran off with the horses as well. It was late at night, and no one even bothered to chase McKeever down for what he done. Daddy was left bleeding and dying in his seat at the card table. I was stricken with grief when I read what had happened, but I also wasn't really surprised. I knew that daddy's drinking and gambling ways would catch up to him, one way or the other.

As soon as I had heard of what happened to Daddy, I took the first train to Bristlebone with our ranch hand, Phineas. Phineas is a colored man who had grown old in our employment. Despite Daddy's penchant for gambling and drinking, he never mistreated or harmed old Phineas. Perhaps that was why Phineas grew so old in our employment. Despite all his shortcomings, Father was not really a bad man, and Phineas and I both knew it. If only mother had not passed on so soon from tuberculosis, then Eunice soon after, perhaps daddy would not have fallen so easily to the temptations of gambling and the bottle. Two tragedies, one after the other, had taken their toll on the man, and even if I did not agree with his vices, I guess I could not really judge him for acting as such.

We arrived in Bristlebone in no time at all. These trains are a marvel of modern civilization. Lotsa good folks are saying that they're ushering in a whole new era for the country, and it's mighty hard to argue the point. I still can't believe that something so huge and massive can travel so fast and take in so many people all at once. However, my admiration of modern society's innovations had to take a back seat for the grim business of seeing to Daddy's remains.

Is this your father?

The undertaker was a tall and strangely enough, handsome fellow. He was surprisingly young. I expected someone who dabbled in such work to be much older and more seasoned in appearance. Still, he spoke with the same nonchalance towards death that most men of his trade speak with. I had already dealt with men like him far too often