FAIR PLAY

Drena Hills

What lies behind us

And what lies before us

Are tiny matters compared with what lies within us.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

“I can do it Matt.”

The speaker was 12 years old and the fervor in his voice was urgent and hopeful as he gazed at the carnival game luring him to play. Failure, clearly was inconceivable.

Matt, who stood beside him, in every way the older brother, merely eyed the carnival game cynically.

“You only got money for one try Jimmy, don’t waste it lessin you are sure you can win.”

“But I can make that shot! Heck its just one tin can, I been shootin them off a fence since I was 8.”

Kid Curry felt a smile tugging at his lips at this declaration. He had found his attention drawn to the small drama unfolding before him admist the hubbub of the carnival surrounding them.

Heyes was late and he didn’t like to think what that meant and he welcomed the diversion the boy’s discussion of the shooting gallery was giving him.

“Look I just want to check it out before you go and lose all your money for nuthin,” Matt said putting a hand on his younger sibling’s shoulder. “Trust me.”

Kid laughed shaking his head at the memory the boy’s words brought back to him and suddenly it was a summer long past…

********************************

It was to be the last carnival of their childhood, but they weren’t to know that then. All ready the shadow of war hung over the proceedings. But if the magic was a bit dingier, the shouts of entertainment a bit more desperate it was lost on the two cousins eager to be let loose in the strange world the carnival presented with its games of chance and wild side show attractions.

“I can do it Han, I know I can. You said it yourself, I got a good eye,” young Jedediah Curry pleaded urgently to gain his cousin’s support. Things always seemed more possible when Hannibal was behind them.

“Maybe,” his older cousin said his eyes studying the carny game and ignoring the wonder and optimism in the younger boy’s blue eyes. “Remember what your Pa always says, things ain’t always what they seem.”

“It’s easy, just gotta throw that ball and knock over those milk urns,” Jed said and his cousin could hear the stubborn edge creeping into his voice.

“Then how come with all the people we seen walk up there, not one has got himself a prize?”

Jed squinted up at him clearly annoyed at this superior and quite logical statement.

“I don’t care, I got a nickel and I’m gonna try!”

And with that he marched past his cousin, pulling up his left suspender, which always worked loose and hung over his shoulder. It made him look younger and Heyes rolled his eyes knowing as much as he wanted to, he couldn’t abandon him. Sighing he watched him plonk down his nickel and didn’t miss how he snuck a look back to see if Heyes was watching.

Heyes was, but he had moved off to the side of the booth next to the carefully stacked milk cans. Something was wrong he could just sense it. He waited and watched as Jed threw. He really did have an eye, no matter what they were playing, he hit what ever he aimed at and the milk cans were no exception. Jed’s ball hit straight on. The collection of urns seemed to waver for a moment and then steadied themselves and remained standing. Jed’s disappointment reached him even without looking up. It was then he smelt it. Frowning he glanced over at the milk cans and when he saw the man’s back was turn with the next customer he ducked under the ribbon and confirmed his suspicions.

He found Jed sulking off by himself near the edge of the fair. His cousin looked up on his approach and returned his face to his hands.

“Go on and say it, I weren’t good enough.”

“Yea you were Jed, you just didn’t have a chance, them milk containers is all stuck down with molasses. You couldn’t have knocked them down if you had been standing next to them.”

“But that isn’t fair,” Jed said suddenly galvanized by the injustice.

“Not it ain’t,” Heyes agreed. “Let’s go get my Pa and yours, they’ll straighten this out, get your nickel back and the prize as well.”

Quickly the two ran off to find their fathers delighted to be the bearers of news of such an injustice and to have the chance to right it.

They knew just where to find the two men. The prizefight had been touted from one end of the county to the other. The purse was $25 and Jed’s dad was the favorite to win it.

“Pa!” Jed said running up just as his father was about to step into the makeshift ring.

“Not now Jed,” Heyes’s dad said catching him. “Your father has a fight to win.”

“But Pa this man is cheating people at one of the games.”

“Not now Hannibal,” Heyes’s father said turning to face the fight the boys instantly pushed back by the men shouting and crying support.

“They’ll help us after,” Hannibal said confidently to Jed. “That man ain’t going nowhere, we can wait.”

Finding a seat on a wall overlooking the crowd the boys turned their attention to the fight.

********************************

Heyes had moved quickly through the crowd. He was late and he knew Kid would be worrying. Arriving near the Shoot the Can game he looked around puzzled unable to see his cousin.

Frustrated he stepped into the shade of the tent across from the booth. He had chosen the booth on purpose. It was located at the far end of the fair so the shooting didn’t upset the more genteel customers and was therefore backed up among the storage tents and wagons. It was a perfect place to slip away and talk with the added benefit of having the gunfire cover their voices. Not to mention if one booth could keep his cousin’s attention it was that one.

“Now can I shoot?” Jimmy said exasperated.

“Looks fair enough,” Matt, said still doubtful having given the booth a cursory inspection

Heyes found himself glancing over against his will to study the game the boys were thinking of losing their money on and lose it they would he knew. The games were all rigged. He knew that from personal experience…

And he remembered a different summer.

*******************************

It had been their first job after running away from the home. Work had been scarce that hot summer and 25 cents a week plus one meal a day had seemed a good a deal as any. So they signed up as laborers on a carnival leaving Kansas, heading west..

Owner hadn’t wanted to take Jed, saying he was still a boy, but Heyes had argued him into accepting him and both had proved to be good workers. The work was hard, pounding tent stakes, moving equipment; they were at the bottom of the food chain and handed every dirty job that came up.

And yet they never complained. They were free, they were headed west and they were gonna make their fortunes. Yea, the ground was hard and sometimes the meal didn’t last all day when you were a growing boy, but they had hope. For the first time their futures were in their hands and they were gonna make something of the chance.

So when Heyes was suddenly picked to man a game booth he had turned to Jed confident and winked they were on their way. Booth workers had it easy. Got 50 cents a week and a tent to sleep in. Heyes would get the hang of the ropes and then talk them into letting Jed run a booth with him. Nothing was impossible.

As luck would have it, it was a shooting booth, couldn’t be easier than that. Let the cowboys take a shot at the ducks moving past and if they knocked one down, they got a prize. What could be simpler?

“Now you make sure you push them ducks down deep into these grooves, you got that boy?”

Heyes watched the man teaching him. Bill Snyder was a huge barrel shaped man with a large bulb nose red from drink and too many fights. It was clear he did not think much of the ‘boy’ the owner had moved up so quickly. Word had got round the owner, Mr. Ross, had said Heyes had a barker’s soul. Didn’t do well to have young upstarts not knowing their place.

“Remember boy anyone wins, it comes out of your pay,” Snyder said.

“But surely someone wins occasionally,” Heyes said innocently.

This caused Snyder to burst out laughing so hard, Heyes thought he was gonna fall over.

“You here that Miller, surely someone wins occasionally!” Snyder roared.

Miller, the gaunt skeleton who worked the game next to them merely shook his head mournfully.

“Not if you want to keep working boy,” he said.

“But that’s not fair…” Jed said later when he explained it to him as they both lay under the stars. Heyes had been offered his place in the tent, but turned it down until he could get Jed in there as well. Jed might get lonely out there without him, might need him and if he was honest the large carnival veterans made him a bit nervous to sleep around without his cousin at his back.

“Life ain’t fair Jed haven’t you figured that out yet?” Heyes said attempting to act like it didn’t bother him.

“People take a chance, they got a right to have a chance,” Jed said stubbornly. “Remember how we felt as kids that time? Remember how we felt when my Pa got suckered into that fight and the man turned out to be a professional?”

“Ringers are a way of life Jed, I learned that, that day, you should have too. Remember what that man said as we left? Life ain’t fair. Now go to sleep, I got a busy day tomorrow,” Heyes said rolling over so he wouldn’t have to look at Jed’s eyes.

“Still ain’t right Heyes,” he cousin said and that stubborn edge in his voice said this was not gonna be the end of it.

******************************

He got through the first day without mishap or his conscience fussing too much. For one thing most of the farmers couldn’t shoot a six gun to save their lives and the cowboys were usually too drunk to aim. In fact his greatest concern that first day was just not to get shot himself.

It was the second day it all went wrong.

Jed had the afternoon off and had come to watch him work. He had liked that, his cousin seeing him shouting out to the crowd, finding the right words to attract their attention and draw them over. For some reason it made being older a little easier when Jed was proud of him.

And then there they were. Two little boys, eagerly standing before him, their excitement burning in their eyes.

“My brother wants to try mister!” the younger one said pointing out his older sibling. “Were gonna win that big purple vase for our mom. She’s been sick and it’s her birthday. She had to leave that pretty stuff behind when we come out here and she’s gonna like that real bad. I’m gonna pick the flowers and Davy’s gonna win the vase.”

The words tumbled out and with each new bit of information Heyes felt his stomach tighten.

“Ah look fellas you ever shoot a gun before?” Heyes said softly trying to discourage them from losing their one chance at his booth.

“Oh yea all the time, ain’t got no Pa, had to learn.”

Heyes rolled his eyes; it could not get any worse.

He looked up and met his cousin’s eyes, yes it could.

“You gonna take these young men’s money Heyes?” Snyder said suddenly beside him.

Heyes swallowed. Everyone was looking at him, everyone was expecting something and he couldn’t please them all. It wasn’t fair, he was just 15.

“Sure,” Heyes said taking the nickel. “Good luck boys.”

He turned away and didn’t even look at Jed.

The boy took his time. He knew what he was doing and he was confident. The bullet bounced right off the duck, which never had a chance of falling.

The silence that followed this revelation seemed to even blot out the incessant whirl of the carnival hurdy gurdy.

“But I hit it,” the boy said looking for a moment like he was going to cry.

“It’s all right Davy,” his brother said. “You done your best.” And the look he gave Heyes was angry and hurt. “Some things just ain’t fair.

“Hold up there fellas.”

Heyes looked up surprised. It was Jed suddenly looking older than 13, pulling off his right glove.

“You mind if I have a try? My nickel, your gun, I win, you get the prize.”

‘Why you wanna do something like that?” Davy said unable to hope, but it was dawning in his eyes just the same.

“Let’s just say I need the practice.”

“You can’t do this,” Heyes snarled at his cousin. “They will fire you for sure for trying.”

“One nickel,” Jed said placing the coin down and slowly fastening the holster on. It was made for a bigger man and took the last notch to fit him. And then to Heyes’s surprise he tied the holster down.

“And what makes you think you can do it? Jed its rigged, I know you been practicing, but even you…”

In all the times after he would see his cousin draw a gun, that one moment was the one that stayed the clearest in his mind.

The way the gun seemed to leap into his hand. The quick and calculated way he drove the one bullet up to loosen the moving object and the second to immediately cause it to tip over with a speed so fast even Heyes wasn’t sure if he had fired once or twice.

Then the way he twirled back the gun into his holster. The people murmuring, asking who that kid was. It was beginning of something frightening and amazing. It was beginning of a legend.

“I reckon we’ll take the vase,” Jed said pulling his glove back on.

“He can’t,” Snyder roared.

“Yea he can,” Heyes said quietly handing the object to the two excited boys and pulling off the apron. And then with a easy come, easy go sigh, he smiled at his cousin and said firmly. “Won it fair and square.”

*************************

Kid watched frustrated. He knew the dodge, he knew the two kids didn’t have a chance. His fingers itched and he went as far as to unfasten his gun. It would be a tricky shot, but he could make it from there, give the boys a chance.

He sighed and refastened his gun. Heyes would kill him. He was supposed to be laying low until they sprung the sting on Grace and got the reward money back. It wouldn’t due for him to draw attention accidentally to himself and ruin everything.

He forced himself to watch as the young boy took aim and fired. He knew from watching that the barrel of the gun was just slightly off center to keep anyone from hitting the target. Of course the boy didn’t know that…

He heard the second bullet as the child fired. To everyone else it was lost in the bedlam of the fairground. But not to Kid.

A smile began to crease his face as he saw the barker staring in amazement and the two boys jumping up and down.

Shaking his head he walked over to the shadows.

The ones across from the booth, the ones where he would have stood to make the shot..

“Heyes.”

Heyes turned and for a moment looked both 12 and guilty.

“Been looking for you,” he said gruffly. “Got a nice secluded place we can talk.”

“Oh I’m glad what with all that talk about not drawing attention to ourselves and all.”

“Yea,” Heyes nodded still not meeting his eyes.

“Oh and Heyes? Not bad shooting,” Kid grinned starting to laugh.

“Friend of mine showed me how,” Heyes said and then finally looked up and let a small smile part way escape. “Only fair I show him I was paying attention at what he taught me.”