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The Jolly Executioner Bear Mace It started like any other. I used my spyglass I kept from my days in the cavalry to watch the coach roads on the Texas/Indian territory order. I spied a one horse wagon pullin! a man and a woman" the man ridin! shotgun. I #umped up and pulled my shootin! iron" also from my days in the Texas $avalry" and put one in the horse so they couldn!t run. I held on the man ridin! shotgun" told %em to keep his hands away from his weapon. I swear y all that!s holy I never meant to harm no ody. I #ust wanted what money they had& Just as I was a out to tell %em to throw his gun over the side" I see a oy #ump out the side of the cart and shout drop it mister& Then he pointed somethin! at me. I didn!t have time to think" I #ust shot. The woman #umped off the wagon to the oy. 'he kept hollerin! It was a toy& The man ridin! shotgun saw and got real upset. I told him not to do nothin! stupid. I shot him as he was fixin! to shoot me" I had to& I didn!t know what else to do" so I ran to my horse and took off. (a!ll know the rest. ))) *+rder&, The #udge anged his ga le. *I will have order&,. The crowd showed no sympathy to the confessed criminal" former hero or not. They audi ly shouted their curses at the man who had #ust confessed his guilt in front of -od and the whole frontier township. .ll #oined in angry hollering with the exception of the sullen woman who sat in the crowd" silently mourning the loss of her family. The congregation seemed o livious to the poor woman /uietly crying as she relives the death of her son and eloved hus and. *That!s enough& There will e order in this courtroom&, The crowd eventually simmered0 partly from the #udge!s order" and partly to hear his ruling. *'on", the #udge egan. *It truly pains me to see a man who once defended this great state in the 1ar of 2orthern .ggression" fall from grace in such a way as to ecome a highwayman. I don!t much care for why or how you got to this point. 1hat is important is that you killed two innocent people. 3ell" we!d hang you #ust for eing a highway ro er. It is this courts decision that we find you guilty of murder. (ou are to e hanged until dead. May -od have mercy on your soul., 1ith that" the #udge anged his ga le and the sheriff took the guilty man y the arm and lead him outside the courthouse" with two deputies following close ehind.

+nce outside" the 'heriff and his deputies lead the convicted man down the street toward the #ail. *Much o liged", the 'heriff egan. *'aved us the trou le of havin! to hunt you down y turnin! yourself in like that., *(eah", a deputy chimed in. *$ould!a let that fellar ridin! shotgun shoot ya. 'ave us the trou le of hangin! ya too., 3e and the other deputy shared a laugh. *.nyhow", the 'heriff spoke up again. *'eein! as you turned yourself in on a 'aturday mornin! and got convicted on a 'aturday night" and tomorrow4s the 5ord!s day..., the 'heriff paused and looked at the highwayman. *1hat do ya say we hang ya Monday6 7oes that fit your schedule6, The 'heriff paused again for a moment" efore erupting in a laughter he shared with the deputies. *1ell lookie here", a deputy said" *there!s the saloon., *Might see your hangman", the other deputy chimed in. *.int that your alls #o ", the highwayman asked. *2o sir", the 'heriff said. *1e are $hristians. 1e kill men the honora le way. 3e!s a $atholic., Before the 'heriff and his deputies had a chance to erupt in another fit of laughter" the saloon doors flung open as a tall" lanky man with right red hair was tossed out and hit the ground like a stone. *3ey&, the tall man stood up. *It!s only fair if he gets thrown out too& It doesn!t matter if he lost" he was still in the fight&, The man felt around his #acket and pants. *1here!s my flask&, .s if to answer his prayers" the flask came flying out the front door of the saloon and struck him on the forehead and nearly knocked him over. *Much o liged&, *'peak of the devil..., The 'heriff chuckled under his reath. *That there is your hangman. (ou!ll pro a ly meet him in the morning0 hungover of course., The 'heriff shoved the 3ighwayman. *$!mon" aint got all night., The highwayman laid on the cot in the cold cell0 alone" and sleepless. 3ours had passed and his eyes closed only to link. 3e remained unfa8ed as the sun had egun to rise. 3e stared at the cold stone ceiling. 3e was torn ack to reality as the front door to the #ail flung open with a slam.

*1ell shit., It was the hangman. *1here is it6, 3e looked in all of his drawers and elongings" ut found nothing. *.ha&, 3e made his way to the large coil of rope that laid hapha8ardly in the corner of the #ail" right in front of the cell" and picked up the coil. *This will do nicely., The highwayman looked forlornly at the man casually going a out his usiness of death. 3ow could he e so cruel6 7oes he not know I am right here6 *3mm6, The hangman looked at him" pu88led y the look on his face. *+h& (ou!ve no need to worry", he said reassuringly. 1ith one hand he reached into the pile of rope and pulled out a large ottle of whiskey. *I won!t e stretching your gi88ard with this ru ish rope. They don!t let me drink in here" and they are far too superstitious to touch the hangman4s rope to go looking through it. 3e tossed the pile ack down in the corner" uncorked the ottle" and took a large gulp. *+h" where are my manners6, The hangman went ack to his desk" opened the drawer and pulled out a rough pewter cup and offered it to the highwayman. 1hen he didn!t udge" he filled it with his whiskey and set it #ust inside the cell. 3e set the ottle #ust outside the cell and pulled up a chair right next to it and sat down. *'o" I hear you!re a war hero., The highwayman #ust ignored him with oppressive stoicism. The hangman #ust let out a loud sigh. *3ere!s the deal., he leaned forward and adopted a stern ut caring tone a father might have. *This is your last day to live. (ou may as well spend it talking to the last man on Earth who is going to show you any respect at all., The hangman laughed a little to himself. *(ou know" we have something in common", he said. The highwayman responded y staring at him in anticipation of another crude #oke everyone in this town seemed so fond of. *1e!re the most hated men in town&, Before he had a chance to laugh at his own #oke" he was interrupted y the highwayman. *3ave you no decency" sir6 I am to e hung. 'how some damned respect&, The executioner only laughed even harder. *1hat is so damned funny6, *In a days time" you will e #ust as dead if I talked to you like you were my own mother., *1ith that level of respect" I assume your pa wasn!t around. +therwise you would know to respect a man on the gallows or not., *Tell me something" highwayman", the hangman said with a smirk. *1hat6, *1ould it make you feel etter if I treated you like a deadman already..., 3e reached down and picked up the cup of whiskey the highwayman had yet to touch. *+r if you spent your last day on Earth eing treated like a man6, he offered him the cup again. The highwayman

sternly looked him in the eye. 3e gra ed the cup and downed the full drink in one gulp. *'low down" we got all day", the hangman said. *+r don!t. 1e are the only two men in town that really need a drink" after all., *2ot y choice., *+h really", the hangman responded with a half annoyed tone. *1ho are you to #udge me" hero6, The hangman took the highwayman!s cup and egan refilling it. *If not y choice" then whose fault is it you are here right now6 (ou act awful innocent for a man with a clearly guilty conscious., *1ho says I feel guilty", he asked while taking a sip of his whiskey. *7on!t give me that., The hangman shifted in his seat and took a sip from his ottle. *(ou may come off like a yokel" ut you aren!t stupid. (ou knew that %it was self defense from people defending themselves! defense wouldn!t work" and even the dullest of yokels knows they hang highway ro ers., *'o may e I did know. Thieves can have honor too., *1hat made them so different6, *3mm6, The highwayman looked up with a look of pu88lement. *(ou were a soldier once" and I!m sure you did your fair share of killing. 1here was your guilty conscience then6, *That was different., *3ow6, *7o I really have to explain how shootin! a man and his oy dead is different than fightin! in a war6, *.ren!t you still doing that anyway6, *2ow you!re goin! to have to explain that to me., *.ren!t all them men you killed sons of some ody6 I!m for certain that a few were hus ands and fathers., *2ow who!s ein! #udgmental6 .t the very least" the men I killed had a fightin! chance. (ou hang men that don!t even fight ack&, The highwayman was getting agitated and stood out of his chair somewhat lopsided" as he was ine riated. 3e egan pointing and shouting. *I killed men with honor. (ou know nothin! of honor. (ou #ust sit here drinkin! whiskey and waitin! on the 'heriff to tell you to hang some ody who can!t fight ack.,

*.re you glad you did it6, *3uh6, The highwayman!s anger was su set y confusion at the hangman!s /uestion. *.re you glad you killed all those men6, *$an!t say I lose much sleep over it., The highwayman sat down. *7o you want to know how I feel a out who I kill6, The executioner set his ottle down eside his chair and leaned forward. *I am damned glad I do it., The 3ighwayman looked at him like a mouse looks at a hungry cat. *7on!t you look at me like I!m some madman. There is more honor in what I do than you did. (ou may have killed men fighting for a cause they elieve in for a cause that you elieve in" ut do you even know who they were6 7o you ever think that each man you killed was a father or son never coming home to his family" or even care6 I kill men fit to die. I thank the 'heriff for letting me do his dirty work. 3e and this town may not respect me one single lick" ut they give me purpose., The executioner picked up his ottle and downed what was left. 3e felt a prod on his knee and saw that the highwayman was offering him his cup. *3ere", he said. *(ou need this more than me., They oth stared at each other with a pregnant silence. Then at once" they shared a hardy elly laugh" the first the highwayman had had in a while. *It seems we are oth dry", The executioner said with the ottle overturned. *I!ll go see what I can!t find efore it gets too dark. 'ometimes after services" the preaching man will leave his door unlocked and still have some wine and read left over., *7usk already6, *(essir" so much for this supposed to e longest day of your life., *.ren!t you $atholic6, *I!ll confess later., .fter they oth laughed again" the executioner stood up and stretched. *I!ll go see what I can find., 3e made his way to the door and had his hand on the handle efore he stopped and turned around. *(ou!ll have the decency of not telling the 'heriff I left" I aint supposed to leave you alone" won!t you6, *'ure" #ust hurry ack. I think I!m so erin! up.,

*Much o liged., Just as he started to open the door" he heard a knock on the other side of the door. *'hit& 'heriff., 3e /uickly looked around then tossed his empty ottle out the side window. *$oming&, 3e opened the door and let out a sigh of relief. *$an I help you ma!am6, *May I see him6, *7on!t see why not. $ould you a ysit while I uhh... go to church and pray6, the executioner scratched his head. *+f course. Take your time doing whatever you are actually doing., *Much o liged" ma!am., 1ith that" the executioner marched off into the night and the woman let herself in. 'he stepped in and" for a moment" looked around the room and shuddered at the state the executioner kept it. The thought of this eing the last place a man to e hung would sleep appalled her. 'he put the thought ehind her and sat in the chair in front of the highwayman4s cell which was previously occupied y the executioner. *3ello", she said after taking a deep reathe. *3ave we een ac/uainted6, *2ot exactly. 3ere" I made this for you., 'he stretched her arms out with a pie and fork in hand. *1hat!d you do this for", he asked while eagerly accepting the dish. *2o mans last meal should e cheap whiskey. (ou reek of it., *1ell didn!t you hear6, 3e spoke etween mouthfuls of rhu ar . *I!m a killer., *+h yes. I am very familiar. I was there., *.t the trial6, *(es" I was there too..., 'he paused and o served him shoveling the dessert into his maw. *'o why ake such a delicious pie for such a grave sinner6, *(ou are going to sit here and drink and eat the night away" and not even other giving me a good look in the eye6, The highwayman chuckled and turned his attention to her. *.ll right" ma!am., 3e looked at her closely and shook his head. *$an!t say I recall., The woman looked annoyed" then made an understanding sigh. *I suppose you didn!t get much a look" considering you had your eye on my hus and the whole time., .t first he was confused" ut the highwayman caught on. 3e looked up and tried to speak ut he was at a loss for words. *5et me speak", she said. *I had to wait a full day in the

desert with my dead family with nothing to do ut think. 2ow is my time to speak., 'he stood up and leaned against the cell ars. *I spent a full day y the side of my hus and and oy" doing nothing ut weeping and thinking of what I would do if I ever saw you again. If you hadn!t turned yourself in I may never have een found" I thank you for that. But that is not why I am here., 'he stepped ack from the cell. *I am here to show you mercy" and forgive you., The highwayman tried to speak up again" ut he could tell y the look on her face that she was not done speaking. *I am a $hristian woman" and I do elieve in forgiveness" when it is deserved. (ou could have left me in the desert to die and went on with your wretched life" ut you didn!t. (ou turned yourself in. I don!t elieve a wicked man could do that., 'he paused and watched as the highwayman!s eyes welled up with tears. *Thank you", he said. *That!s all I wanted to hear. I know I don!t deserve the kindness you have shown., *I wasn!t done., 3er calm" angelic demeanor was contrasted y the devilish grin growing across her face. *My hus and was a traveling physician. 3e was headed to the mission in Indian territory. 3e left ehind many medicines that" in the wrong dosage" would kill a man..., 'he watched as the look of confusion on his face transformed into terror. 3e threw the pie on the ground" then noticed he was having trou le keeping his eyes open" and fought to stay awake. *That won!t do you no good", she said. *(our heart is slowly stopping., 'he sat down and leaned forward. *I elieve in forgiveness" I really do. Justice is something I also elieve in. 5etting you get hung tomorrow y the town drunk #ust so he can feel good a out himself aint #ustice. (ou killed my family" ut confessed your sins. That!s at least worth a painless" if terrifying" death., 3e fell off of his cot and tried making himself vomit" ut it was no use. 3e curled into a all and started shivering. 'he egan laughing in an unusually #olly tone. *Tonight" I get #ustice" my family gets #ustice. Tonight I am the executioner.,