Mystery Stranger - Redemption At Brimstone

By John J. Law

Jaime Clemente looked at the cards in his hands. Three tens and a pair of three's, it was a full house, and he was satisfied with what the fates had drawn for him. The beginnings of a smile began to form on Jaime's lips, but he resisted the urge to smile.

• Language: English
• Publisher: J.C. Hulsey Books
• Release date: Dec 9, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223129714

Book preview

CHAPTER ONE

Three Jacks.

Jaime Clemente looked at the cards in his hands. Three tens and a pair of three's, it was a full house, and he was satisfied with what the fates had drawn for him. The beginnings of a smile began to form on Jaime's lips, but he resisted the urge to smile.

Clemente was a Mexican ranch hand that worked in the area. Like the other local boys seated all around the table, Clemente went to the local saloon to play cards, get a drink or two and relax. If he were lucky, he could actually earn a little more than his meager salary at the tables. Looking at the cards in front of him now, it really looked as if he was finally getting lucky today.

His eyes scanned the other card players around him. Toby Mcflintlock tried hard to control himself, but it didn't take a genius to see that Toby had drawn another bad hand. Toby had always been terrible at concealing his emotions, and that made him an awful card player. Jesse Wincock was another story altogether. Wincock was something of an unpredictable element. Clemente had played numerous card games with Wincock to know that he could win, and he did win. On occasionally, that is. Granted, he often lost more than he won, but there were times that the youngster could pull off a surprise or two. 

Clemente eyed him carefully. This did not look like one of those surprising times. There was also a city slicker playing with them, but he had been losing money since they started playing. He didn't look like a threat, and that was not likely to change now. Everything was looking up for the hot-blooded Mexican. 

The only problem was the stranger that rode into town.

There was something about this stranger that sat beside the city slicker. No one knew him, as he had just rode into town. He had already won his fair share of games, and he had the chips to prove it. Still, he had kept pace with him this far, and now everything rode on this last hand. If he won this hand, he could get everything he lost, and make a lot of extra, as well. If he lost, he would be swept clean.

Clemente looked at the stranger, and there was not a hint of emotion in his face at all. There was no way to read him at all.

I'm done. Toby said.

Forget it. I'm not losing more money. Jesse said.

Me too. The city slicker said.

Everyone had folded except the stranger. Clemente studied the stranger carefully. He did not give any hint of emotion at all. There was nothing to read, but he did not fold. It could mean anything, and Clemente could not be sure.

The tension that hung over the table was clearly palpable now. Clemente was at a crossroads of some kind. He could easily fold now and break even. He had not lost enough to really make a difference. 

Folding would be the safe way out. It was the easy way out, but there would be nothing to gain in that. Nothing would have been won, and that was not acceptable for someone like Jaime Clemente. He may have been a simple stable hand, but he relished excitement. The thrill of doubling his meager salary was something that was simply hard to resist.

Clemente threw his cards down on the table.

I've got a full house. He said.

Clemente grinned, revealing stained and rotting teeth from too much smoking, and tobacco-chewing. It had to be the winning hand here. The stranger could simply not have a better hand. Clemente was counting on this.

The stranger smiled at him and flung his cards down on the table.

Full house of jacks. Read 'em and weep.

The sight of the cards face-down on the table struck Clemente worse than a sledgehammer to the gut. He could not believe that the stranger could have a better hand than he did. Clemente was clearly not thinking straight anymore, but this didn't matter. The only thing that mattered now was that he lost the hand. He lost everything and was cleaned out.

I'll be takin' all that now, thank you.

The stranger's remark was dripping with sarcasm, and it was not lost on Clemente. The words were like daggers that stung the Mexican stable hand's pride. Everything suddenly seemed to move slower than usual, as Clemente was completely blinded by his rage.

He saw the stranger stretch over to his side of the table, and collect his chips. He pulled all of Clemente's chips his way, and there was nothing left for Jaime. This was something he could not stand.

The stranger looked towards Clemente, nodded, and tipped his hat towards him.

Nice doin' business wit' ya.

The stranger's drawl and remark were simply adding insult to injury. This was too much for Clemente, and whatever patience he had simply evaporated.

You think you can cheat me, ese? You think you're big stuff, ese? Well, let me tell you now, you're nothing! I won't take this from you!

Cool your heels there, papi. I'm not here to start any trouble. I won the hand fair an' square.

Toby moved towards Jaime. 

Look Jaime. The stranger's right. It was just part of the game, an' I'm sorry, but you lost and he won. No need to start any kind of ruckus here.

The city slicker eyed them all, and he could see that the tension was rapidly ratcheting up. This wasn't how life was at all, in the big city. It just wasn't this way. There were rules back from where he came from. Lines that were drawn in the sand that could keep such tensions to a minimum. It was for that reason that he rode all the way here. He simply wanted to see how life was like, out in the countryside. Perhaps it was rougher, and more exciting. The city slicker eyed the Mexican and the stranger across from him, and he could see that this excitement was unfolding right before him. The city slicker didn't need to use the rest of his school-educated mind to guess that the situation was turning ugly, really quickly.

I better get a moving now. You gents can settle this matter any way you please.

Toby's right Jaime. The game's done, and the stranger won, fair and square.

The two stable hands were reasonable men, but Clemente was anything but.

Fair and square? Fair and square? There was nothing fair and square about what happened, amigos! This muchacho cheated me out of a month's wages!

Hey, take it easy there, Pedro! I didn't cheat you out of anything. Your friends are right. We played cards and you lost, fair and square!

Jaime glared at the stranger. He would not take any more of this abuse much further. He had simply reached the end of his rope with this man.

The name is Jaime, muchacho!

Jaime threw all of his strength into a single blow. The punch landed squarely on the stranger's cheek. He definitely felt it, as his face recoiled from the impact. The punch had a lot more power in it than the stranger expected, and he was knocked back into the chair. He fell onto the chair and the wooden floor of the saloon. The chair was caught in the middle of the man's falling body, and the floor. It was instantly smashed.

The stranger looked up. His vision blurred considerably, and he could see two versions of Jaime standing over him. They mixed together with images of Toby and Jesse, trying to hold Jaime back, to no avail.

Oh come on, Jaime! Now you gone and done it! Jesse said.

Both stable hands knew that Jaime had a temper, especially when it came to losing at cards. They both just never really won enough games to trigger it.

Take it easy already Jaime!

Jaime did not listen to neither man. Instead, he merely escalated the situation by pulling something that was concealed on his back the entire time. Jaime pulled out a rusty pistol and pointed it at the fallen stranger. The city slicker saw Jaime's gun before it came into full view, and immediately began to run the opposite direction.

A gun! He's got a gun!

No! Don't do it, Jaime! Toby said.

I'll kill this muchacho!

The stranger met Jaime's eyes. They were blazing with anger, and all reason had left them completely.

Listen here, Jaime. That's your name, right? You don't wanna be doing this, believe me. Don't try me!

He tried to slowly get up, as Jaime's gun remained firmly pointed at him. His hands did not waver, as he kept the gun in the stranger's sight.

You think you're so good at cards, muchacho? I'll kill you!

Jaime! Put the damn gun down already! Toby said.

His voice was desperate now, and it was more of a plea than a demand. 

Listen to them boys, Jaime! They're a lot smarter than you now! The stranger said.

He had managed to get up on his feet. His body was sore from the landing, but that was the least of his worries.

For a moment, the look in Jaime's eyes softened. Reason seemed to be returning to him, and he began to ponder if this was really what he should be doing. The stranger saw the change coming over Jaime, as well. He slowly lowered his head, as well as the gun. Both stable hands heaved a sigh of relief.

Thank goodness. Look, I'll just be getting my money and I'll be leaving. We can simply forget about all of this unpleasantness from there. The stranger said.

It was the wrong thing to say.

You're not getting my money, muchacho!

Jaime fired his gun. The stranger caught the slight twitch of Jaime's hand as it squeezed the trigger. His hardened instincts and experience allowed him to catch a glimpse of the moment and act accordingly. If he were not as experienced as he was, he would have been a dead man.

The bullet exited the gun's rusty chamber. Its path was straight and true. The stranger twisted his body away instinctively, as he saw Jaime pull the trigger. Unfortunately, no man was quick enough to dodge a bullet.

The bullet struck the stranger's shoulder. He immediately felt something hot bear down on his skin. It felt as if he were being branded like cattle, only from the inside. The stranger cried out in pain. He was in a lot of pain, but he could still act.

The same instincts that had allowed him to spot Jaime's slight change in movement, again allowed the stranger to fight through the pain, and act. This wasn't the first time that he had gotten himself shot, and he was familiar with the pain. It was never pleasant, and he simply had to power through it with willpower.

The stranger pulled out his own revolver and fired three shots at Jaime. All three of them found their way into Jaime's chest. The two stable hands and the city slicker watched in horror, as Jaime slumped on the floor. He was dead before he hit the ground.

Jaime lay on the saloon's floor, and the three men along with the other people inside all eyed the stranger. He felt their eyes of judgment upon him, and he simply had to defend his case.

He shot first! Y'all saw how it came down! I was just going to collect my winnings! I didn't want no trouble!

It was Toby who spoke for everyone inside. They all seemed paralyzed with shock to even speak.

We saw everything mister. Ain't no one going to turn you in to the sheriff.

The stranger paused at the young stable hand's words. They were not what he expected.

You're not?

Toby shook his head. No way, stranger. Ain't no one going to do that, but you have to run now. Get out of town.

The stranger didn't understand what the stable hand was trying to say. One moment, he said that they would not turn him over to a sheriff, and now, he was asking him to run with all urgency. Something didn't seem right about all of this. He just couldn't figure out what it was.

What do you mean?

A storm's coming after you stranger. Now, ride on out of here, while you still can.

The stranger could see that Toby and Jesse were not joking. They were dead serious with their eyes and he knew that he had to get out of that saloon. He had to get out of that small town before whatever storm, he mentioned would come after him.

The stranger did not say a word and left the saloon. Before he left them, something compelled him to take the three Jacks that were on the table. He didn't know why he did it, but something compelled him to do so, anyway. The three cards would serve as some kind of grim reminder of what happened here.

CHAPTER TWO

The Mysterious Stranger.

The light of the early morning dawn streamed through Daisy's window. Judging by how bright it was, she had probably not overslept. Daisy was relieved for this. If she overslept, her father would have a fit, and she didn't like that at all.

Daisy! Go ride around the ranch. Check the barbed wire if they're all still in place!

Daisy immediately recognized the voice from below as her father's. Hank Fairbourne had a loud and booming voice than never seemed to change through the years. Even when he was much younger, Hank sounded like a hungry grizzly. Time and age did not diminish this voice, or his intimidating presence.

I know, Pa. I'm way ahead of you.

When you get down here, fix me some coffee too, while you're at it.

Daisy frowned as she hopped out of the bed. There was no need for Hank to order Daisy around like that. She already knew his morning routine by heart. There was no way that she would dare to even miss making his cup of coffee. For Daisy, Hank's ordering her around was merely his way of asserting any kind of authority around the house. She quietly bore with her father's attitude. After all, he wasn't really hard to get along with, and perhaps he needed this sense of authority especially since his health was failing him. It must have been tough for Hank to feel age and deteriorating health take its toll. Daisy felt sorry for her father, and she always silently said a prayer for him, herself and their