this is a place of dead roads rod riding yanks and peat men and cat burglars black bindle stiffs and hobo jungles here is salt chunk mary the fence in her red brick house down by the tracks in portobello idaho mary keeps an iron pot of pork and beans always on the fire you eat first and talk business later watches and rings slap down on the kitchen table she names a price she doesn t name another mary can say no quicker than any women i ever knew and none of her no s ever meant yes she kept the money in a cookie jar but nobody though about that her cold grey eyes would have seen a thought and maybe something goes wrong on the next day john law just happens by or a citizen comes up with a load of double zero buckshot in your soft and tenders like mr hart kim has a dark side to his character unlike mr hart kim is not afraid to hear the word death or take his bloody chances in a shoot out saturday maybe somebody from across the river comes in the uncle tesla s saloon lookin for trouble he won t have to look far the short barrel double action 44 tonight kim decides as soon as kim walks through the swinging door he knows this is it two men at the bar by the door one is tall and thin with a dead sour wooden face the other tall and fattish and loose lipped with lead grey eyes loose lipped smile showing his awful yellow teeth now i don t like drinkin in the same room with a fairy do you clem can t says i do cash yeah they want to bat it around a while but kim doesn t are you gentlemen referring to me kim s hand sweeps down to his belt and up smooth and casual like he was giving clem his visiting card as clem clears his holster with a 45 kim shoots him in the stomach clem doubles forward and his false teeth fly out his 45 ploughs a hole in the floor kim pivots and shoots cash in the hollow of the throat the bullet goes through and spatters the wall with slivers of white bone cash buckles and his 45 chunks back in the holster clem is weaving around tryin to re cock his 45 with numb fingers taking his time kim shoots him in the forehead both assholes are dead before they hit the floor as kim looks down at the two bodies crumpled there spilling blood and brains on the floor he experiences a rush of pure joy two enemies will never bother him again two lousy sons of bitches melded into error and gun smoke like a prisoner who s killed his guards he steps lightly though an open door