"The Further Adventures Of The Sideways Gang"

(chapter five)

After 2 or 3 days in Great Falls we decided to abandon our waiting game and follow Gracie's hunch that told her somehow that at least Dino and Desi are this moment in the country around

It is a good 3 day ride in which nothing much happened until we rode into Heart Butte. Our gal 'The Gun' was only about 17 miles off in her hunch.

Henry Littleman was in fact in Heart Butte for the last 4 days. In Heart Butte there isn't much but a saloon/restaurant/rooming house, if you could stand the bugs. The little man was of course up to his usual braggadocio right in the middle of his description of how he bitchslapped Gracie The Gun for impudence back in Kevin. His eyes were red from drinking and face pale from the constant running off at the mouth. We did not enter with a whimper but a roar. When Henry saw the six of us he turned a deeper shade of white and struggled to keep his voice from betraying his fear. One glance at his weasel chin is all it took to know he knew he was busted. Kid Curry being our nomination to add to the confusion the little man surely felt inside. The Kid grinned and said "don't let me interrupt your conversation" , turning for a change a tad bit red Henry began talking again being careful to not say anything else incriminating. At the end of the nine foot bar sat an old timer known locally as Bum Jackson. Mr. Jackson was a tall, grey beard of a half breed from the Piegan family of the Blackfeet tribe. He made the observation that our nemesis had quickly changed the subject. Instead of returning to talking about Gracie he now made use of a well known bridge near East Glacier which is about one third of a mile long and bridged the Two Medicine river over three hundred feet below. Many a drunken daredevil had tried to walk the rail of the bridge holding a glass of beer in each hand. Nobody knew of any living soul that had successfully made the dangerous trek. Nobody that is but Henry Littleman who bragged that he had accomplished this feet 3 times. Now we had a wonderful plan providing at least one of us had the stones to attempt the near impossible walk. Gracie The Gun accompanied by The Big Galoot and her husband, Judge Jury sauntered "drunkenly" up to the bar and made their dare nominating me and the Judge to take him on in a winner take all wager. We soon had $120.00 which Bum Jackson was given to hold.

The next morning we rode the twelve miles to the Two Medicine bridge. Dispatching Dino, Desi, Chuck, and Gracie to watch from a ledge some fifty feet below in case aid was needed at that level. Henry tried to plead illness from a monster hangover in order to get out of his role. His previous evenings bragging left little wiggle room for him. The Judge and I took up our positions on the north and south sides of the bridge and waited for the beer. Refusing to look down I started my terrible walk. I admit to shaking like a leaf the whole time but I managed to get through the ordeal without dirtying my pants. Judge Jury finished about the same time and we both looked to Henry and his unnamed as yet partner in lies.

Suddenly a great racket arose from the ledge below. Upon looking down we saw Chuck and Dino grappling right at the very edge of the ravine.

more later

* I am changing names of certain people in

what was formerly 'Kicking Dragon Butt'

I am doing this because I am sick of getting

mental revenge for a small mistake on someone

else's part.

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