The Tragedy of Reginald King, Part Ii
II.
Now Reg was good at pressing flesh,
always had a gift for the gab,
in twenty minutes the locals
treated him like the best friend they had.
He bought some drinks, but not too much,
did not want to raise suspicion,
lawmen could smell loot being spent,
and he had no love for prison.
He learned who might be hiring,
though few shops were looking in town,
but ranches needed cowpunchers,
there were mighty herds on these grounds.
He thanked men for their sound advice,
working cattle might be a start,
but as he left, he remembered
a mystery close to his head.
Like any orphan anywhere
he wondered who his folks might be,
since he’d grown up two towns over
he might just have a chance to see
If they were still around these parts,
if they were someone he could find,
so he sought out the town’s lawyer
to share what was the on his mind.
The attorney was name Tyree,
a short, mousy man, bookish type,
he asked, “What can I do for your?”
So Reg sat and explained his plight.
“And now you want to hire me
to dig into your missing past?”
Reg said, “Yes sir, I don’t read much,
but I hear lawyers are god at that.”
The lawyer just gave a soft grin,
he really did feel for the man,
to not know who your people were…
to have no support, and no plan.
Levi took out some cash and said,
“Now this is most of what I’ve got,”
that was a lie, but he must hide
his windfall, that just was his lot.
Tyree said, “I will find them, son,
thought it might take me a few weeks,
I’m the only lawyer in town,
so my days can be quite busy.”
Levi said, “I will be around,
I hope to settle in this place,
northern Arizona is nice,
it looks like there’s plenty of space.”
He tipped his hat to the lawyer,
then made his way back to his mount,
he wouldn’t spend more money yet,
so he headed outside of town.
He’d find a place to camp out here,
that’s what most saddle bums would do,
it wouldn’t raise any alarms
from other people’s points-of-view.
Besides, the night sky here was vast,
and no rain cloud blocked out the stars,
staring up at that great unknown
was not without its subtle charms.
But as he sought a place to stop
he came on an adobe house,
and saw a woman struggling,
firewood scattered on the ground.
An idea crept into his thoughts,
maybe he could still find a bed,
even if in the barn out back,
so he leapt down and to her sped.
CONTINUES IN PART III.
Copyright © David Welch | Year Posted 2023
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