The Seminole Tree

It was well past noon when Joel rode into Wilmington.  He took Blue Boy to the livery stable and told the stable hand to give him a good feed and rub down.  His father would pick him up the next time he was in town. Joel found himself wishing he could take Blue Boy along, but knew there would be times when he couldn’t be properly cared for. Realizing this Joel shouldered his pack which consisted of one blanket, a sewing kit, a frying pan, one change of clothes, a wooden plate and a few other necessities.  He figured by the time they stopped by the general store to buy supplies, his pack would weigh about thirty pounds, which he knew he could mange easily.  When he came into view of Long’s Tavern he could see a large crowd milling about.  Joel soon spied Ben in the crown, sought him out, and asked what was going on.   Ben replied that Mr. Long had been robbed and murdered by Billy Boyle and five other thugs.

“How do they know it was Billy?”

“Charley Love, a farmer, was delivering a side of beef to Long’s when he pulled up in back and heard loud voices.  Suspiciously, he peered through the window and could see Boyle and the others cursing and threatening Long.  Charlie said Boyle told Long they were leaving Wilmington, needed money for supplies, and knew Long had plenty of money and that he meant to have some of it.”

“How do you know all of this Ben?”

“I heard Love telling Constable Walters just how it all happened.”

“Go on, tell me more.”

“Well, Love says Mr. Long tells them he only has about twenty dollars, but that they are welcome to it.  That’s when Boyle tore loose to cussin’ again, kicked over a table then turned around and spit in Long’s face.”

“Then what happened?”

“Long hit him, knocked him clear ‘cross the room. Then grabbed Tom Straughn and put the squeeze on him.  One of the others hit Long with a chair but he didn’t pay attention to that, he just went ahead shaking ol’ Tom around like a rag doll. Billy regained some of his senses, jumped up pulled his knife and stabbed Long five times in the back!”

“Did they all get away?”

“Naw, ol’ Tom is still in there, and he ain’t goin’ nowhere except maybe to bust hell wide open.  Long had such a grip on Tom that he broke his neck.  We had to break one of his arms to get him loose.  Shore was a stinkin’ mess too.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“It seems Tom was scared so bad he crapped all over the place before he died.  Huh, serves him right for trying to take something that don’t belong to him.”

“How many of them are there now?”

“Five,” replied Ben.

“Do you know who they are?”

“Love says he recognized Billy, Tom and Ralph Burgen but don’t know who the other three are.”

Joel remembered the fight years ago when Billy and two other boys tried to rob him.  He had found out later on one of the boys was Ralph Burgen and considered himself fortunate that Ben came along just in time or he may have been seriously hurt.  Ben was a friend indeed and Joel told him so right there on the spot.  Ben just shrugged his massive shoulders and said, “Aw, I just figured I’d even up the odds a little.”