• Choose a category
• All
• Classic-Fiction

He was certain he’d be called to testify and was anxious, couldn’t wait. He told his dad he intended to look directly at Frank Miller as he described the cold-blooded killing. Virgil advised him not to say any more than he had to. Carlos said he wondered if he should mention the ice cream on Frank Miller’s mustache.

“Why would you want to?” Virgil said.

“Show I didn’t miss anything.”

“You know how many times the other night you told me about the ice cream on his mustache?” Virgil said. “I’m thinking three or four times.”

“You had to see it. Here’s this Frank Miller everybody’s scared of, doesn’t know enough to wipe his mouth.”

“I’d forget that,” Virgil said. “He shot a lawman in cold blood. That’s all you need to remember about him.”

A month passed and then another, Carlos becoming fidgety. Virgil found out why it was taking so long, came home to Narcissa putting supper on the table, Carlos sitting there, and told them the delay was caused by other counties wanting to get their hands on Frank Miller. So the matter was given to a district court judge to rule on, each county laying out its case, sounding like they’d make a show out of trying him. “His Honor got our prosecutor to offer Frank Miller a deal. Plead guilty to murder in the second degree, the motive self-defense as the victim was armed, and give him ten to fifty years. That would be the end of it, no trial needed. In other words,” Virgil said, “your Frank Miller will get sent to McAlester and be out in five years.”

“There was nothing self-defense about it,” Carlos said. “Junior wasn’t even looking at him when he got shot.” Carlos sounding like he was in pain.

“You don’t know the system,” Virgil said. “The deal worked ’cause Junior’s Creek, or else Cherokee. He was a white man Frank Miller’d be doing twenty-five to life.”

Another event of note took place that same year, 1921, toward the end of October and late in the afternoon, dusk settling in the orchards. Carlos shot and killed a cattle thief by the name of Wally Tarwater.

Virgil’s first thought: It was on account of Frank Miller. The boy was ready this time and from now on would always be ready.

He phoned the undertaker, who came with sheriff’s people, and pretty soon two deputy U.S. marshals arrived, Virgil knowing them as serious lawmen in their dark suits and the way they cocked their soft felt hats down on their eyes. The marshals took over, the one who turned out to be the talker saying this Wally Tarwater—now lying in the hearse—was wanted on federal charges of running off livestock and crossing state lines to sell to meat packers. He said to Carlos to go on and tell in his own words what happened.

Virgil saw Carlos start to grin just a little, about to make some remark like, “You want it in my own words?” and cut him off quick with, “Don’t tell no more’n you have to. These people want to get home to their families.”

Well, it began with Narcissa saying she felt like a rabbit stew, or squirrel if that’s all was out there. “I thought it was too late in the day,” Carlos said, “but took a twenty-gauge and went out in the orchard. The pecans had been harvested, most of ’em, so you could see through the trees good.”

“Get to it,” Virgil said. “You see this fella out in the pasture driving off your cows.”

“On a cutting horse,” Carlos said. “You could tell this cowboy knew how to work beef. I got closer and watched him, admiring the way he bunched the animals without wearing himself out. I went back to the house and exchanged the twenty-gauge for a Winchester, then went to the barn and saddled up. She’s right over there, the clay-bank? The sorrel’s his.”

The marshal, the one who talked, said, “You went back to get a rifle but don’t know yet who he is?”

“I knew it wasn’t a friend stealing my cows. He’s driving them down towards the Deep Fork bottom where a road comes in there. I nudge Suzie out among the cows still grazing, got close enough to call to him, ‘Can I help you?’ ” Carlos started to smile. “He says, ‘Thanks for offering but I’m done here.’ I told him he sure was and to get down from