After barging out the door I saw a body laying out in the street at the intersection. There were a couple of men standing over it, and others were beginning to congregate. I rushed down, wanting to get there before too many people showed up interfering with evidence there might be.
I slowed down just before I reached the body and saw that the two men stooped down were the two that just left Foster’s store. Quickly I pulled my pistol. “All right, gents, slow and easy stand and keep your hands away from your guns.”
They glanced at me in surprise, but they complied. One of them, the one who wanted the cigars stated, “This wasn’t our doing!”
Walking up to him, I put the barrel of my pistol just below his ear. “Easy now, hand me your pistol.”
He was trembling as he slowly reached and then handed me his gun. I stepped back a couple of paces then checked the pistol over. It hadn’t been fired. Thrusting it in my waistband, I went to the man called “Red.” He glared at me as if daring me to take his gun from him.
“We can do this the easy way or I can lay you out in the street,” I warned him. “Easy, does it.”
Still glaring he complied. His gun hadn’t been fired yet. I still did not trust him, so I emptied the bullets out of his gun and handed it back, then did the same with the other gun.
I looked at the first man. “Did you see what happened?”
Shaking his head, he answered. “No, we had just turned down the street toward the seegar shop when we heard the shots. When we turned this man was lyin’ in the street.”
The crowd gathered closer. Dead bodies might repulse people, but most often their curiosity takes over and they at least want a peek at the blood and gore.
Foster and Darnelle, by that time, had walked up. Darnelle whispered, “That looks like Mr. Winfield,” then grabbed hold of her uncle. “She looked at me, “Why would anyone want to kill him?”
I started to answer, when Red, asked, “Can we go now?”
Nodding, they left and I turned back to Darnelle. “Do you know his first name and anything else about him?”
By this time, she had gained control of herself and released Wilson. “I think it was Bert,” she paused lifting a hand to her mouth. “He came in perhaps once a month. He had a small ranch to the south, just over the ridge.”
“Wilson, do you recognize him?” I questioned.
“I don’t know him by name; Darnelle deals with most of the customers, but I do remember seeing him in the store.”
Looking around, my eyes sought out two men. “You two, carry him on down to Parkers.” They grabbed him by the shoulders to drag him off. “Don’t you be going through his pockets! Tell Parker I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
“Why, Miles?” Darnelle spoke again. “Why would God allow this to happen? I know he has a wife and some children.”
Turning toward her, I took her by the arm to lead her from the scene. “I don’t rightly know,” I replied. “This is not of His doin’, but man has chosen to run with the devil and things like this are the results of that choice. Why God allowed this to happen to Mr. Winfield, I don’t have an answer, but bad things happen to God-fearin’, good people.”
I handed her over to Wilson and they started back to the store. Since the body had been drug off the crowd was moving away going about whatever business they had before the shooting. I started toward Parker’s place when stumbling across the street staggered Skinny Green.
“Marshal Forrest,” he slurred. “I saw it happen.”
“Skinny, it’s still early and you’re already drunk!”
He belched and gave a small smile. “But I did see it. A man from up the street shot him, then got on his horse and tore off to the north.” He stumbled and fell against me. “Honest, Marshal.”
The word of a drunk, but he might have seen something. Hurrying off I went to Star who I had saddled and had outside the diner. Molly was standing outside the doorway. I waved at her, “I’ll be back.”
It was impossible to find a set of tracks as this road was well-traveled with horses and wagons. I rode hard for close to thirty minutes. I was hoping I might have caught up with the man, if there was one. Slowing Star to a trot, I looked at the hills to my left, when I heard a shot. I was falling off…
Month: September 2019
Echoes From the Campfire
Sometimes you have to get through today the best you can and trust tomorrow to the Lord.”
–Elmer Kelton (Badger Boy)
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”
–Proverbs 3:5-6 (NKJV)
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Again, I will say we don’t thank the Lord enough. We need to praise Him more: for who He is, for what He has done, and for what He is going to do. We could get into a discussion about what praise is, but I like the simple words of G.S. Bowes. He said that praise is, “The rent we owe God. And the larger the farm, the greater the rent should be.”
Let’s finish looking at Psalm 30 (HCSB) today, and see if we can glean something from it that will enrich our lives.
8 – Lord, I called to You; I sought favor from my Lord:
9 – “What gain is there in my death, if I go down to the Pit? Will the dust praise You? Will it proclaim Your truth?
10 – Lord, listen and be gracious to me; Lord, be my helper.”
11 – You turned my lament into dancing; You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,
12 – so that I can sing to You and not be silent. Lord my God, I will praise You forever.
David is not challenging God in verse 9. He is simply stating that when he dies he will no longer be able to lift his voice in praise. His life will be gone; it is now, while he is still living that he can praise the Lord. While we are still living we should be praising God, for when death and darkness come there is no praise.
“Walk in the light, and e’en the tomb
No fearful shade shall wear.
Glory shall chase away its gloom,
For Christ hath conquered there.”
–Bernard Barton
Oh, but you say, in heaven we shall praise Him. Yes, that is true, but why wait until after you are placed in the tomb? We are to know our purpose now, and therefore, by knowing it we should be glorifying God in it. We should be glorifying/praising/giving thanks in all situations.
Again, in this psalm we recognize the importance of lifestyle. A lifestyle of praise is true worship. How you live reflects how you see God. I truly believe that we praise God now for His blessing, but when we get to heaven most of our praise will be in recognition of who He is and it will be that of thankfulness. David realized that for he said he would “praise God forever.”
Maybe our prayer could be that given by George O. Wood, “There is no pit, Lord, so deep that Your arm can’t reach me. You are gripping me strongly today, and I thank You that You will not let go. I know You will pull me all the way up and out, that the length of joy You give will more than compensate for any temporary season of sorrow.”
Coffee Percs
There was a pot of stew and he ate hungrily, then ate from a stack of tortillas. Then he sat down, looking at the moonlight’s refection on the dark water, listening to the night sounds and drinking coffee.”
–Louis L’Amour (The Burning Hills)
Whatcha lookin’ up in the sky for, Pard? It ain’t gonna rain, though we surely need it. I don’t reckon yur listenin’ for those heavenly hoofbeats either. Just waitin’ for me to open the door an’ invite yuh in; well, if that’s all, get yurself in here. The pot’s on the stove; I’ll get the cups.
I been ponderin’, and after readin’ what that ol’ hombre L’Amour wrote I’m sure I’m right. I don’t think, no, I’m positively positive that we don’t thank the Lord enough. We don’t tell Him that we appreciate all that we have, and how grateful we are for His keepin’ and guidin’ us. Why, just look at that cup in yur hand. Be thankful for it, and be thankful that yuh can hold it. Jist think, it yuh couldn’t hold it, or if yuh didn’t have it, how would yuh be drinkin’ yur coffee?
And there’s another thing–how thankful for yuh for the pot in which it was brewed, and for the coffee itself. Ahhh, jist yuh take a sip now.
Now, I know that we don’t have to be sittin’ ’round thankin’ the Lord about every little thing, but sometimes, it might jist do us a world of good if we would. Remember that ol’ song we sang so much in church, “Count your blessin’s name them one by one…”? Here’s what I’m tellin’ yuh, Pard. Take time an’ thank the good Lord for all His blessin’s to yuh.
We need to be thankin’ and a fightin’… fightin’ the good fight. Thank the Lord for the opportunity He gave yuh to be fightin’ the fight of faith. Whooee, now there’s somethin’ to be ponderin’!
We’ll be headin’ on up to that eastern state of Maryland next week. Plan on stoppin’ at a roundup in Louisiana if’n things goes as planned. Now, you take seriously what I was a sayin’. Thank the Lord that yuh remembered to tighten yur cinch; thank the Lord He put a cinch on that saddle or else yuh would be findin’ yurself layin’ on the ground somewhere.
Echoes From the Campfire
Meanness can buck me off, but only death can keep me from crawlin’ back up in the saddle.”
–Stephen Bly (The Long Trail Home)
“Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble.”
–2 Peter 1:10 (NKJV)
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I can remember it well; I was walking not far behind him when all of a sudden the colleague went face-forward. He fell flat on flat on his face. Fortunately, no bones were broken, but blood was coming from his mouth and nose. We have all taken tumbles and sometimes have fallen smack-dab on our face or the reverse. There was no real reason I could see that he should fall, then I found out that he had an old injury that caused his knees to give out.
What is it that makes a person stumble? I mean to flat out fall down. It may be that they do not pay attention, it may be from a previous injury, it may even be that someone else caused it. We read in Ezekiel that “idols set up in the heart” causes men to stumble (14:3) There may be a combination of things; things of which we should be aware of but didn’t pay attention to. A few weeks back, if you recall, I mentioned that I fell. I had been working, sawing some wood and was overheated–didn’t pay attention or follow the proper procedure of keeping hydrated. I got up too quickly–didn’t take it slow and easy. I didn’t look down and my boot caught the edge of the patio stone–didn’t pick up my feet, the dummy. Plus the fact that it was very hot. You add these all together and you have a cause to fall.
I have known people to fall off roofs, to fall off ladders, stools, and chairs. Most of these incidents/accidents most likely could have been avoided by taking better precaution. Let me relate something that happened to me. I was painting the underside of an eave on the church roof. The ladder was almost straight up. As I climbed I thought what happens if this ladder falls? I had a plan. Maybe I shouldn’t have thought about it, but the ladder fell, with me riding it down. I flung the paint can out in the street, and thought to myself that I had to place my hands between the steps on the ladder and not underneath (amazing what a person can think of in less than a second). No damage to me, some paint on the carpet in front of the church and a big splash out in the middle of the street. Hmmm, since then I have been cautious of heights.
How many have slipped? I can remember slipping many times on the icy sidewalks and streets during a cold spell when I was a kid. Sometimes it was from horseplay, sometimes it just happened. The worse slip I can recall, was the time I had just cleaned up the garage and cleaned the floor with bleach. I forgot that bleach is slick. I came back in the garage, not thinking, and all of a sudden my feet went up in the air. I remember trying to catch myself, (too bad someone didn’t have a video), but there I went – SPLAT! I wasn’t hurt, thank the Lord, but it could have been very dangerous. Sin is like that, one slip can spell disaster–remember Achan.
Then there are the times we stumble. Have you noticed that we rarely stumble going uphill? I recall two occasions when I stumbled, hit the ground, and continued to roll. Once was when I was jogging down a mountain path. Again, not paying close attention by foot caught a rock or root and there I went, on down the path and over the side. Again nothing serious, just some scrapes and scratches. The other time was in elementary school and for some reason I missed the step or slipped on a step and went down a dozen or so steps. In these cases one can’t stop themselves as momentum builds up. Sin is the same way, if we stumble, often the momentum carries us down further and further.
Now, stop and ponder–how do these relate to my spiritual walk? Do we not pay attention to things and become nonchalant and lackadaisical? Do we not pick up our feet and begin to shuffle in our walk with the Lord? Have we become careless in what we are doing, in our walk, in our spiritual exercises? Did we fall because we did not take proper precaution? Maybe the fall came about because we did something wrong. There was a time I was riding my bike down a hill holding a sack of groceries. Something, I don’t recall what, made me grab the brake. It was a three-speed with hand brakes. The brake I gripped was the front brake and over the handlebars I flew, groceries and all and skidded down the road a few yards. Lesson learned: hold the sack in the other arm.
Falls, slips, tumbles, and stumbles are bound to happen. We need to be in the Word of God to help us; that became the conclusion of the writer of Psalm 119, “Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble.” (14 NKJV) Be alert, be aware, be cautious, be knowledgeable be in the Word of God and let Jesus help you up. Now, get back up, dust yourself off, and get going–again!