Webfoot
by
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I had gone hunting with my pistol... Otis Bingam and another loafer from town came calling, catching Ma by surprise. The other man was holding Ma while Otis was slapping her demanding where Pa had hid the payroll money.
Pa came in from the trap line to see Otis hitting Ma. Pa dropped everything he had in his hands and in a wild rage charged Otis Bingam. When Otis turned and saw Pa running toward him he let go of Ma, pulled his pistol and shot Pa right in the chest, killing him on the spot.
Ma ran to where Pa fell and threw herself on his body trying to revive him with no success.
Otis came over and pulled Ma up by her hair and said, “If you don’t tell me where the money is hidden I’ll do the same for you and that rag tail girl of yours. Now where is it?”
That’s when I showed up, taking it all in with one horrible look. I yelled, “Let her go!”
Otis turned on me like a wounded cougar. He kinda sneered and said, “Well, now we got ‘em all.” He cast Ma aside and started for me. He wasn’t counting on that pistol I had and when he saw it he just snickered and said, “You ain’t got what it takes to shoot a man.”
I slid that pistol out quick and smooth and had it pointed at Otis’s belt buckle when Pa’s words came back to me. “Never point at anything you don’t want to kill.”
Right then I wanted to kill Otis Bingam. So I just let it bang! A look of astonishment swept across Otis’s face. He held out one hand like it could stop the bullets and reached for his own gun with the other. He never got it out of the holster. I just walked in on him, firing with every step till the gun clicked on an empty chamber.
The man who had accompanied Otis out to our cabin broke and ran. We heard him splashing through the swamp going farther and farther away.
Ma looked at me and said, “He will tell the story his way and they’ll come looking for you now. We can’t stay her anymore.”
Ma and Rachel took the big boat and headed for Mr. Gibson’s farm. She knew there was no way for me to remain free on dry land. My only chance was the swamp. She knew I could take care of myself and remain somewhat safe as long as I didn’t come out and fight shy of people.
It was with tear-filled eyes we hugged each other goodbye. Here in the space of a few hours I had lost my whole family. Pa was dead and my mother and sister were going where I couldn’t follow.
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About the Book
Pa came in from the trap line to see Otis hitting Ma. Pa dropped everything he had in his hands and in a wild rage charged Otis Bingam. When Otis turned and saw Pa running toward him, he let go of Ma, pulled his pistol, and shot Pa right in the chest, killing him on the spot.
Ma ran to where Pa fell and threw herself on his body, trying to revive him with no success.
Otis came over and pulled Ma up by her hair and said, “If you don’t tell me where the money is hidden, I’ll do the same for you and that rag-tail girl of yours. Now where is it?”
That’s when I showed up, taking it all in with one horrible look. I yelled, “Let her go!”
Otis turned on me like a wounded cougar. He kinda sneered and said, “Well now we got ‘em all.” He cast Ma aside and started for me. He wasn’t counting on that pistol I had, and when he saw it, he just snickered and said, “You ain’t got what it takes to shoot a man.”
I slid that pistol out quick and smooth and had it pointed at Otis’s belt buckle when Pa’s words came back to me. “Never point at anything you don’t want to kill.”
About the Author
Tom McKinney, a retired welder, lives in northwest Louisiana with his wife and is an avid sportsman. He writes about the swamps and bayous of long ago, drawing from old stories about a past way of life that relatives have passed down for generations.