H
IS EYES ARE TWO THIN slits as he stares into the setting sun. Two long shadows are cast in the dust. He tilts his Stetson, but it does little good. In silence he leads the horse by cracked leather reins. The horse with its head low, limps beside her companion. Blood coats the hoof of the left foreleg. Flies buzz. The stable is one of the first buildings on the edge of town. The smell of fresh horse-dung fills him with hope—the place is clean. “Anyone here?” he calls out. “What?” comes the reply, from behind one of the stalls. An old boy with grey stubble steps into the sheltered yard, his cheek bulging with a wad of tobacco. “My horse needs help, there a Doc in town that can deal with this?” he asks, indicating the lame leg. “Cheaper an’ kinder to put a bullet in the creature than use that drunken butcher,” replies the stable owner, bending down to look at the injury. “I’m all out of bullets.” “I can spare one for a nickle.” The stable manager smiles and spits a long streak of juice into the corner. By the light of a lantern and with the help of the
chaw chewer, he washes the wound. Fortunately, no maggots have set in, although an unpleasant smell turns his stomach over. Taking the knife from its sheath on his left hip, he pops the back off the bullet. He bends the horse’s leg up and takes the weight as she leans against him. Carefully, he pours the powder into the raw hole, creating a thin dark layer. Her flank quickly becomes slick with sweat, as she starts to panic. “Easy girl,” he says, stroking her nose and looking her in the eye. “We’ve been through a lot you and me. This has to happen.” He looks at the old man to check if he’s ready. “Hold her steady.” They both press her body against the stable wall. “You’re not paying me enough for this.” “Just hold her.” He strikes the match on the woodwork and touches it to the gunpowder in one fluid movement. With a bright flash, and an almost silent fizz, the gunpowder catches alight and a second later has burnt itself out. In the time it takes the powder to do its magic, he’s released his hold on the leg and they’ve
