The Evil Twin, Part I

I. It was in the frontier town of Simmons, in the year eighteen hundred ninety-one, that two twin brothers, the Malcomson twins, bought themselves a ranch that they hoped to run. They were identical by the looking, one was named Harmon, the other named Paul, though they were mistaken much for each other, there temperaments were not alike at all. Paul was wound tight, and could outwork a horse, he took to ranching and quickly gained skill, Harmon though was easily distracted, and found the hard work did not fit his bill. He’d work a few hours, then find excuses to ride his blue paint on into the town, he’d play cards and drink at Etherbee’s place, and with his girls was known to whore around. Paul grumbled much at such dissolute ways, but he could never throw out his own kin, he just worked the ranch, Harmon the fast life, before long the town called him the ‘evil’ twin. Now this might have been a bit of a stretch, since Harmon never sought to hurt people, when sober he was always so friendly, but when too far gone, a terror in full. One night, when drunk, he shot out a window, missed the folks inside only by God’s grace, another night he and friends took some horses and tumbled off when they started a race. He spent many nights in the town jailhouse sleeping off the wild nights that be had, people just shook their heads, then looked at Paul, and seemed shocked such a man’s kinfolks went bad. Despite all this hassle, Paul was much liked, he turned a profit his very first year, always came to town respectably dressed, was quite good-natured and spoke with good cheer. So much so that he caught the lovely eye of the young and much wanted Ella Smith, the single men of town let out a grown when Ella wore Pauls’ flowers on her wrist. They would go out riding in his surrey, it was a courtship her parents approved, by his second year there they were betrothed, she started planning the wedding, and her move. It was shortly after the two were wed that rustlers started dogging every ranch, word came of men sighted half a day out, the local cowmen now all saw they chance. Paul joined up with the big posse they formed, told Ella not to open for anyone, then with fifteen others, rode out to strike, the sheriff went to see justice was done. But when they didn’t know was the bandit chief was cruelly smart when it came to evil, with the ranchers gone, the women were helpless, and he intended to go have his fill… CONTINUES IN PART II.