the legend continues.....

i recieved this in an email from someone special who took the time to write his version of the legend of two knives katie. i guess he was tired of waiting for my version! this made me hoot out loud the first time i read it. the second time, i cried. no one ever wrote a story for me before, and kindness from surprising places brings me up short.

thanks, cowboy.

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The air was cold and crisp that day. The sun hung low in the sky. Not that it could be seen at all. The sky was overcast a dark gray. Night was on its way.The wind whistled as it blew around everything in creation. Snow was everywhere; on the ground, in the sky. It was blowing around from every direction.

Two riders were cutting slowly through the howling wind. The sounds of the horses hooves slowly chopping into the dirt could clearly be heard. So too was the sound of the steam exiting their nostrils. The leather creaked under the riders.

The riders had the collars up on their dusters and their heads tucked as low in them as possible. The duster collars touched the bottoms of their hats. The wind was bitterly cold and one had best keep it off their skin as much as possible.

There was nary a soul on the street as they rode into town. Had it not been for the for the good repair of the buildings this could have just as easily been a ghost town, but it wasn't a ghost town.

As the snow let up, they pulled up at the stable near the edge of town.The riders dismounted and tied the horses to the hitching post. The older rider took off his gloves and cupped his hands together. He blew some warm air into them, rubbed them together and moved his fingers. Then, he put his gloves back on.

The younger cowboy said, "There's nobody out".
"Nope" replied the older one.
"Must be the snow and the cold."
"Must be" the older man paused. "You check the gear. I'm gonna see if anybody's in the stable."

The older rider went into the stable and was back out in a minute. He looked at the younger fellow, "There's nobody around, but there's plenty of room. We best get the horses in and off load the gear".

As they untied the horses and started into the stable, they noticed a woman enter a building across the street.

Once in the stable they began to unload their gear from the horses.The younger man looked at the older and asked, "Who was that in the mukluks?"
"That'd be Two Knives Katie".
"What's she do?"
"I hear tell she she used to be a nurse. These days, she spins yarn, dyes wool, takes trips, plays the guitar,... and she's a gear whore".

As they continue off-loading their gear, the younger fellow said, "Well, we all like a lot of gear." "Yep" says the older fellow, "I reckon there's a little gear whore in all of us".

As time passed, they got the horses unloaded and put away.The older man went to the stable door. It creaked as he opened it. He looked back at the younger man and said, "Snow's stopped. The horses are okay. We'd best go get some food in us."
He stepped out of the building. The younger man followed.
Their boot steps echoed on the boardwalk.
The older man pulled out a small cigar and lit it.
They continued to walk.
Then the young man said, "So why do they call that woman 'Two Knives' Katie?"

The older fellow stopped in his tracks.
He looked down, tightened his lips, and shook his head.
He took a puff off his cigar and turned to squarely face the younger man.
He exhaled the smoke from his cigar with a low sigh.
His face became very serious as he looked the younger man in the eye.
"Boy", he paused and shook his head slightly and said, "You don't want to know".


~The End~

note: my friend retains full rights to his work; i get to play myself in the movie :-)