“W
HAT’RE YOU SO SKITTISH about?” Will Fletcher studied Jasper Clintock. “Steady boy, you’re cooling down real nice.” Jasper kept his voice low as he wiped the frothy sweat from his horse with a wet rag. Will couldn’t help but notice a trickle of blood ooze down the back of Jasper’s hand. Just then a thundering of hooves broke open the quiet day. “It’s little Mary and Lacey, the Dalton twins. Why, the two of them put together—it’s hardly enough to make one whole girl,” Will said as a huge mule galloped past them, two girls glued to its bare back, their blonde hair flying, dresses hiked past their knees, bare feet pounding against the animal’s ribs. Mary had her head buried in her sister’s back, arms wrapped tight around a waist no wider than a fence post. Lacey clung to the mule’s stiff mane with both hands, leaning forward with her chin bouncing along the side of its neck. She pulled hard on the mane and rounded the mule toward the jail. “Whoa, Jack!” she called out. Will Fletcher took off running, his rifle held tight to his side. “Now what has Dunbar Dalton done?
Drinkin’ again, I bet. It’s bad enough he thinks his old mule talks to him and his rooster tells him when to plant corn.” Lacey pried her sister’s fingers from her waist. “Stay put, Mary. I got to talk to the sheriff.” Lacey slid down the side of the spent mule, tears streaming down her dirty face. She sucked at the dusty air, arms pumping at her sides as she ran up the steps of the boardwalk. She banged both fists on the jailhouse door. The sheriff poked his head out, his eyes taking in the scene before him, the tips of his handlebar moustache pointing toward the clear Sunday sky. “Lacey Dalton?” “Yes, sir.” “Why, what’s the matter, girl?” The sheriff knelt and gripped Lacey’s arms with his leathery hands. “Pa went to do the milking while Mary and me set the table for supper. Mama went to fetch Pa. After a while Pa came in. Mama didn’t come back, so I went to fetch her. I found her—sitting next to the water trough—soaking wet. I quick fetched Pa. He scooped up Mama, carried her in and put her on the bed. He
