Fan Fiction* FIFTY-FIVE YEARS OF LANCER: SEASON TWO - Episode Nine: A PERSON UNKOWN

 FIFTY-FIVE YEARS OF LANCER: SEASON TWO

 

Episode Nine: A PERSON UNKOWN

 

Well, after last week’s dud episode, I sure hope this week is gonna be a good one! I mean to say, who wants to see Jelly mauled by a cougar? Not me!!

 

I’ve hummed my way through the opening music…and now I see two riders riding into town at twilight.

 

Is it Scott and Johnny?

 

One of them is definitely Johnny, because I can see Barranca’s gorgeous mane.

 

Johnny’s with a Mexican friend and Johnny sounds pretty tired as they dismount. “I tell you, Man, I’ll flip you to see who puts the horses away. Call it.”

 

Johnny loses! “Yai, yai, I never win anything.” Johnny takes the horses, saying, “Have them put a couple of steaks on too, will you.”

 

“All right, Johnny.”

 

Manuelo, (and I’m calling him that because we never quite hear his name and his character and the actor didn’t even score a mention in the credits! An unknown Mexican!) has walked into the saloon.

 

Eww, Bruce Dern is there. He always plays a baddie. Right now he’s sitting on a chair, atop a table, reading to some other men—and not very well, I might add. He’s wearing a cap and a vest and sounding just as sly as ever.

 

Manny has to wind his way through all the men, to get to the bar. The man in the cap notices him and straight away starts making nasty comments about chilli beans. He tells Manny he’s in the wrong place. “The chilli bean place is across the street.”

 

Ooh, I wish Johnny had come in with him. I’d like to see how he takes on this lot!

 

Manny looks annoyed but turns to the bartender. “Two beers and a couple of beefsteaks please.”

 

“Aww, you hear that boys? A couple’a beef steaks? I guess our friend the chilli bean here’s gonna eat for two people. Ain’t that right?”

 

“Si, senor. I rode in with a friend. Johnny Lancer, from Morro Coyo.” He looks around. “The Lancer spread.”

 

There, that oughtta put them in their place.

 

“Ooh, the Lancer spread. That’s big stuff, ain’t it. You know, I always wondered something about the Lancer spread…they say that all they do out there is chase down rabbits and bay at the moon.”

 

Everyone laughs—except Manny. “Senor, you are drunk.”

 

“Excuse me? I didn’t understand that? Drunk?” There’s an even nastier edge to his voice now.

 

“We don’t want any trouble.”

 

“Don’t you speak American, boy? I couldn’t understand what you said. Jang!”

 

Jang flips Manny’s hat then takes his gun. They start throwing it around the place. Things aren’t looking good, here. Where’s Johnny?

 

“Now, if I’m drunk, you know what makes you, sonny boy, huh? That makes you a sawed-off little Mexican with a gun that’s waaay too big for him.”

 

It’s almost dark outside now. Johnny’s out there, attending to the horses, and he hears the laughter.  I think he has an inkling it’s not a nice kind of laughter. He starts walking towards the saloon.

 

Oh no! Two gun shots!!

 

And his friend stumbles through the doors, groaning and clutching his stomach. He has a knife in his hand.

 

Johnny rushes to him. “Manny…Man…”

 

Then they come out from the saloon…and Johnny rushes up to the man in the cap, who’s wiping his hands as if he’s getting rid of the grease.

 

And Johnny knows he did this. He charges up to the man, more furious than I’ve even seen him. “Why…why’d you kill him! Why?” Johnny’s grabbing him and punching him…then Jang tries to stop Johnny and Johnny punches him and goes back to choking the man who killed his friend.

 

“Shoot him…shoot him!!’ he calls out to Jang.

 

Jang fires once into the air…then, oh my gosh, he fires at Johnny!

 

Straightaway, Johnny clutches his leg and cries out…he stumbles…half hops across to Barranca. Using Barranca as a shield, he fires at the men outside the saloon, then manages to get on his horse and gallop out of town, in the dark.

 

“Come on. After him and kill him. Don’t stand there! Come on.”

 

Yikes! Kill Johnny?

 

.

 

Johnny has managed to get out of town but he’s struggling with the pain and the blood loss. He’s in a bad way—barely able to walk. Oh, gosh, my heart goes out to him!

 

(And getting shot in the leg is always my favourite injury for one of my heroes.)

 

Yikes, he’s at a water hole, or a lake, but they must be close by because he can hear the murderer and his friends, calling to each other. They’re close on his trail!

 

“Hey, boy! Come out, you hear me. You ain’t got a chance down there. You ain’t got the chance of a one-legged jackass. We’re gonna take you to a doctor. A medical man.”

 

And all the while Johnny’s hearing this, he has to shoo Barranca away, (again!!) and he lowers himself into the water, swimming across to the other side.

 

“You want us to come down there and get you out, boy!”

 

But Johnny keeps swimming. Of course he’s not going to trust a thing they say.

 

Johnny manages to make it to the other side but he’s having trouble getting up on the steep bank.  And then he looks up…

 

Eeek, there’s a rider, sitting on a horse, staring right at him.

 

Johnny must’ve thought this was the end. He can’t do a thing even if he wanted to—and he passes out!

 

.

 

Oh my gosh, it’s morning now and Johnny is lying on straw, in a barn. He’s been unconscious all that time!

 

And a girl—of course Johnny manages to find a girl to help him—just dumped a wet cloth on his face, then walked away again.

 

This must be who was on the horse—it wasn’t a man, at all.

 

Johnny slowly comes to. He blinks his eyes.

 

“It’s good to see you living again. Used up maybe a bucket of water on you. Found you last night at that cliff bottom. A big hole in your leg. Reasonable conclusion is, you’re either in trouble or you’re awful careless.”

 

She’s got his calf, draped over a bucket—which looks horribly uncomfortable—and she’s squeezing out water from her rags, over the wound. Johnny winces. This must be pretty painful.

 

“…I’m sorry to hide you out in the barn like this…but Mama can’t abide me bringing in my hurt pets.”

 

Well, at least she’s used to dealing with hurt pets, because she seems to be doing a good job on Johnny’s poor leg.

 

Johnny’s so confused by all this. “Who…?”

 

“Who…am I?”

 

“Yeah.” Oh gosh, he’s very ‘under the weather’ as my mum says.

 

“Lucrece Normile. That’s a classical name, Lucrece. Mama chose it ‘cause it’s elegant.”

 

“Oh.” I don’t think Johnny cares too much about her name right now. He rubs his eyes, looking like death warmed up. “Elegant huh? You know where my horse is?”

 

“It’s lost, I reckon.”

 

Not Barranca. Oh no!

 

She’s still working on his leg. “What happened to you?”

 

Ooh, I can see everything that happened has just hit Johnny. “I rode in with a friend, last night. Into town. And they killed him. Just like that.” Johnny snaps his fingers.

 

“Who?”

 

But Johnny gets up. “I gotta set things right.”

 

“I wouldn’t get up.”

 

And I think she’s right. He can barely do one step, let alone two, without groaning from the pain. He clutches his leg and lies back down on the straw.

 

“I told you not to get up.”

 

Yep, that was a bad move, Johnny.

 

“…You ain’t gonna be putting things right for a long time.”

 

Johnny reaches for the rags in the water now. It must have been helping his leg feel better.

 

Lucrece has gone back to her cages of critters. “Now, if you were to tell me what happened, well, my fiancé…well, he ain’t really my fiancé, sort of my near fiancé…he’s an important man around here. Mr Thomas Nevill. Maybe you heard about him.”

 

Ooh, Johnny looks up at her. “Yes, I heard of him.”

 

“Well, maybe he could put things right for you.”

 

Johnny leans back on his elbows and his voice is very definite. “No ma’am. Not in this world.”

 

I don’t know how Johnny knows the name of the man who killed his friend—but he clearly does! Maybe he’s seen Tom Nevill at a cattle auction or something?

 

And talk about awkward—Johnny’s saviour is in love with the man who killed his friend!

 

.

 

Tom Nevill is still out looking for Johnny. He’s been looking for him all night long. And now his father is in on the game.

 

Tom’s father says Johnny swam across the lake but Jang (and what sort of a name is that) says Johnny was too badly hurt to do that.

 

Nope, Mr Nevill said Johnny swam—and he’s right.

 

Yikes, Mr Nevill tells Jang, to keep searching—and if you find Johnny, then kill him.

 

At least Jang doesn’t seem to keen on this idea. Thanks Heavens! But he’s got his orders.

 

.

 

Mrs Normile is out feeding her chickens when Lucrece comes up to her.

 

“Honey, I do wish you’d wear a dress.”

 

Lucrece seems to like jeans and a shirt better than that—and she has very pretty hair but it seems to go everywhere.

 

“It’s hard to slop hogs in a dress, Mama.”

 

Yep, that makes sense.

 

Mrs Normile doesn’t like Lucrece being in there with her critters.

 

“Mama, can I ask  you something?”

 

“Now don’t tell me you took in some other new creature?”

 

“Well, it isn’t exactly a critter.”

 

Johnny is most definitely not a critter.

 

“…It’s hurt,” she goes on.

 

“That’s what you always tell me. Now Lucrece, I purely won’t have it.”

 

Hmm…I don’t think Johnny will get any help from the mother. And I’m worried about Lucrece!

 

Her mother wants Lucrece to turn it loose – but Lucrece says it’s not exactly the kind that she can.

 

Her mother wants to ‘bang a pan at it,’ until she sees someone arriving.

 

Ooh, her mother can see it’s the Nevills, and tells Lucrece to rush inside and put on a dress.

 

Hmm…they seem to have a very modern looking umbrella on their front porch. It’s a big, black nylon one, just like my daddy takes to work in case it rains.

 

Ooh, they’re found Barranca! At least he isn’t wandering around lost but I guess that’s what made them think Johnny had slipped into the water and swum across.

 

Mrs Normile is a fussy sort of woman. She’s annoying me already.

 

Oh my gosh, she doesn’t stop talking when they come in the door. Mr Nevill can hardly get a word in edgeways.

 

Mrs Normile tells a whole lot of lies about Lucrece playing the harp and cooking scones and shortbread, all day long. Nope, I think Lucrece is outside in the barn all day.

 

Mr Nevill cuts in on her talk and says, “Mrs Normile, have you got a gun?” Then he says, “We’re looking for a murderer.”

 

Ooh, that makes me mad. Johnny’s no murderer—your son is!

 

.

 

In the other room, Lucrece is talking to Tom. Tom’s lying as well, of course.

 

Lucrece asks, “He killed somebody?”

 

“Hmm mm.”

 

“Well, how come that’s trouble for you?”

 

That would be because he’s the one who killed Johnny’s friend!

 

Tom’s not doing too well at answering her questions. He’s just giving her some nonsense, or unable to answer at all when she asks why the sheriff can’t get him.

 

She looks a little guilty when Tom asks if she’d heard any noises around the farm last night.

 

.

 

Uh oh, this is bad for Johnny! He can see Mrs Normile and Mr Nevill, headed towards the barn. Where he’s hiding!

 

Johnny has grabbed a stick to help him walk but he can’t run out of there. The best he can do is bury himself in all that straw.

 

Nevill has his gun out, and he’s looking in every nook and cranny.

 

Now Lucrece has run in. “Mr Nevill, he wouldn’t be in here…I’ve been here since this morning, taking care of my critters.” And she’s not lying about that, is she.

 

“He coulda dodged in since.”

 

Aww, now he’s upturning all her cages. A family of raccoons just fell out.

 

Yikes!! Johnny’s boots are sticking out! Lucrece sees it but she asks, “Mr Nevill, did you see him kill that man? Tom?”

 

Tom sort of mumbles something about no, then says he was very nearby.

 

And now Nevill snr says to search the hay pile. Well, at least I know it’s hay and not straw now!

 

Tom starts sticking his boot in as Lucrece comes rushing forward, saying to wait a minute because she’s just worked it over. “There ain’t no way for a man to hide in there.”

 

Ow, now Tom is shoving the pitchfork into the hay, so that the prongs will find anything in there. I almost can’t bear to watch!

 

Even Mrs Normile is grimacing at this, before asking them to stay for tea.

 

Oh my gosh, thank heavens they leave the barn! Lucrece does a funny little curtsy and waves to them.

 

And that leaves her and Johnny alone in the barn again.

 

Johnny must’ve been almost suffocating under there! He’s spitting out hay as he comes up to breathe, with the help of Lucrece. Only she’s not looking at him too fondly, now.

 

“That was…close,” says Johnny, with the pitchfork only inches from his body.

 

“I saved your hide. Though I don’t know why I did it. Now get up and get out!!”

 

Oh, darn, she thinks Johnny really is a killer. How can she not look at his face and know that he isn’t!

 

Johnny’s surprised at this change of heart.

 

“Go on,” she almost yells at him.

 

.

 

Meantime, Mrs Normile is going on about dowries and marriage plans to Nevill. He’s not at all interested, of course.

 

Ooh…unless they surrender their farm. Then he’d let them marry.

 

And I don’t even believe that!

 

And then they hand Mrs Normile a Wanted Poster. $1000 reward, wanted for the Crime of Murder. A Person Unknown.

 

It goes onto say a whole lot of interesting facts about Johnny – not that I know where they got them. Did they just make them up?

 

It says Johnny is twenty, his height is five foot, ten inches, hair is brown and eyes are blue.

 

Yep, that all sounds about right!

 

And then they ride off, leading Barranca, who’s probably wondering where his master is!

 

.

 

Back in the barn, Johnny’s standing, but he’s in a heck of a lot of pain, as he holds onto the table with all her critters. He’s only taken one step before he’s clutching at his leg. He hears a noise and draw his gun, but it’s only Lucrece.

 

After trying another few steps, he realises it’s hopeless. “Ma’am, I can’t walk. You don’t happen to have a horse, do you?”

 

“We haven’t got a riding horse.”

 

Hmm…wasn’t she riding a horse when she found Johnny?

 

“…But I ain’t keeping no murderer here.”

 

Johnny’s picked up a pick axe and he slams it into the ground. “I didn’t murder him. I told you that.” He’s mad now, too! “You fiancé did it.”

 

“Tom wouldn’t. Maybe one of their hands did or something?”

Johnny’s using the handle as a cane to lean on so that he can try and hop around.

 

“They’re got a mean gang,” Lucrece adds…although it seems like she’s trying to convince herself.

 

“Never mind—he did it! Why do you think his old man is so worried?”

 

Johnny’s breathing hard with the effort of trying to hop and talk.

 

“You didn’t see it,” she snarls back at him. I guess she doesn’t want to believe Tom could do something that awful.

 

“No—but somebody saw it. And I’m gonna…make sure he gets hung.”

 

Ooh, this seems to be sinking into Lucrece’s head. “We’re engaged to be married.”

 

“Well, I’m sorry.” Johnny’s laugh isn’t a happy one. “For you.”

 

“Listen, you take a bargain. I’ll hide you out and I’ll get you well—and then you ride outta here. You just forget it and leave us alone.”

 

Johnny can’t believe what he’s hearing. “Boy, oh, boy, my friend gets killed and you’re asking me to forget it.”

 

“I could turn you over right now.” Ooh, she’s mad about all this. “I could just run back and get them.”

 

“Go on and do it—if you’re that sure.”

 

Lucrece can’t hold Johnny’s gaze. “Tom wouldn’t kill a man. He isn’t like that. He’s everything that any girl could ever want.”

 

If that’s the case, us girls oughtta have our heads read.

 

Johnny shakes his head. What can he say to convince this girl when she’s so set on it. “Well, he’s got nothin to worry about, does he? But I’ll tell you, I’m gonna stick around here,” and he points at the ground, “I’m gonna stick around here or somewhere and I’m gonna make sure I get even with him.” And even as he makes that promise, he knows he’s in trouble, and he knows what he’s about to say, isn’t likely to be accepted. “Only thing is, I’m gonna need your help.”

 

“I got no reason to help you,” she snarls.

 

Darn, she sounds like she loathes Johnny now! But then, I guess she does if he’s threatening to have her fiancé hung!

 

“That’s right. You got no reason at all.”

 

That breath he lets go kind of shudders with all the pent up emotion and pain he’s in right now.

 

Lucrece isn’t looking at him. “What do you want me to do?”

 

Wow!! And then she looks at Johnny.

 

Well, it would be darn hard to resist Johnny at the best of times, but even harder when he’s so set on finding the killer for his friend. All that honest emotion just about shines out of him.

 

And I think Lucrece can see that.

 

.

 

Meanwhile, in town, they’re putting up Wanted Posters everywhere…but the sheriff doesn’t look all that happy about it as he passes Mr Nevill.

 

He walks into his office—and out hobbles Johnny, from the back, holding a gun.

 

“Sheriff.”

 

The sheriff turns around and it almost looks like he’s going for his gun but he’s taken it off. Johnny holds his higher. I’ve gotta say, he’s not looking too steady, though, using the handle as a cane again.

 

“Sheriff, close the door and close the shade.”

 

The sheriff does what he’s told.

 

“Who are you?”

 

For his answer, Johnny holds up one of the Wanted Posters. The sheriff’s eyes are real big now.

 

“I would like some advice.”

 

“Advice? You get a horse and ride five hundred miles.”

 

That don’t satisfy Johnny!

 

“You listen to me; Tom Nevill killed my friend, in front of a half dozen witnesses and I find myself being charged with it.” And he throws the poster away like he’s disgusted with it. Which he is. “I’d like to know why.”

 

“Why, that’s easy. The half dozen witnesses work for Nevill. They swore that you did it.”

 

Johnny takes this in. “And what about you?”

 

Oh gosh, I’m hoping the sheriff can help. Johnny needs a friend right now!

 

“I didn’t see it happen. I’ve got nothing to do with it.”

 

Oh, of all the gutless…

 

“You had nothing to do with it? You put out a reward for my neck and you got nothin’ to do with it!!”

 

“Those are Nevill’s notices and those are Nevill’s rewards. And it’s Nevill’s money and it’s his people and it’s his town.” The sheriff’s spitting out his words now. He takes off his hat and slaps it down.

 

Ooh, that look on Johnny’s face tells him he won’t get any help here.

 

The sheriff won’t look at Johnny. “A man does the best he can.”

 

Johnny hobbles away from him and the sheriff says, “Ain’t it enough I ain’t tried to take you?”

 

Johnny’s gone around to the sheriff’s desk draw. He gets out a set of keys, then shoves his gun into his gun belt. “Come on, over here.”

 

The sheriff is looking worried now. “Back up against this post.” Johnny’s putting handcuffs on the sheriff as he stands in front of the pole, with his hands behind him.

 

“Listen, you wanted some advice. I’ll give you some advice. Your one chance is to get away. And if Nevill doesn’t come after you, and you don’t try anything against him, it’ll all blow away. You’ll see—it’ll all blow away.”

 

“A friend of mine was killed,” Johnny reminds him, standing in front of him now.

 

“Oh well, he wasn’t nothin’ but just a—.”

 

Ooh, I think he was gonna say ‘chilli bean’ or Mexican, until he looked at Johnny and realised he was part Mexican, too! I think even less of this sheriff, now, than I did already!

 

“Are you fixin’ just to leave me here?”

 

Johnny has some string  in his hands.

 

“…Suppose I holler for somebody.”

 

“They’ll find you, lookin’ just as useless as you are.” And Johnny shoves something in his mouth. “You’d better hold onto that.”

 

Ooh, and I just got a flash of his silver ring on his left hand.

 

Johnny’s now taken the other end of the string and put it all the way across the room, on a bureau. “Figure you can chew your way to freedom, in just about half an hour.”

 

The key must be on the other end.

 

Yep, the sheriff looks darn useless, trying to chew his way to freedom!

 

Johnny goes out and leaves him—having got no help at all!

 

.

 

Lucrece has a big wagon. She drives it through town, then Johnny comes up as she passes by. “Did you get any help from the sheriff?”

 

“Nope, keep going.” And Johnny has to climb in.

 

Yikes, Nevill is in town with Jang, planning on how to find Johnny and the wagon goes right on by.

 

.

 

Oh darn, what will Johnny do now? He went to all that trouble of seeing the sheriff, with his leg so sore—for nothing.

 

They’re back at the barn now. Johnny’s struggling to even make it through the door. He hasn’t got the pickaxe handle and he’s having to hop from the door to the table, trying to hold onto something for support. “I don’t feel good,” he manages to get out. It looks like he’s about to throw up…and I feel  real bad for him now, because that’s an awful feeling.

 

“You’d better lean on me,” says Lucrece, taking his arm and putting it over her shoulder.

 

“Aw…I think…ahh,” and he passes out, landing right on all that soft hay.

 

And what does Lucrece do? She kisses him, of course—just as Mrs Normile walks into the barn!! Eeek!!

 

She tuts, then says, “Child, I don’t think I believe you’ve been all together straight and above board with your mother.”

 

But what will she do? Will she turn Johnny in for the thousand dollars?

 

.

 

In the saloon, Jang is telling Nevill that Johnny isn’t in the brush and maybe he crawled off and died. Nevill wants them to now search out beyond Normile’s.

 

Jang isn’t all that happy about going out again but he does what he’s told.

 

Uh oh, here’s trouble; Mrs Normile has just come into the saloon. Is she going to tell Tom’s father she’s found Johnny?

 

Ooh, she’s rambling on about ‘the two young people’ and the reward for that ‘murdered gentleman.’

 

“Do you know where he is?”

 

She doesn’t come right out and say she knows where Johnny is because she’s trying to figure out what she can get for that information—but Nevill is a nasty fellow, and he tells her he won’t give her any reward money if she finds the wanted man. All he wants is her farm.

 

Then he storms off.

 

The bartender comes up now. “Miz Normile, that fellow you was talking about…well, there’s some folks that feel maybe he didn’t do it. And if he didn’t do it—.”

 

“Then he should have explained it to the people, then.”

 

“Well now, look, he just ain’t nobody. I know they put it on the report that he was person unknown, but he ain’t. He’s Johnny Lancer. Murdoch Lancer’s son.”

 

Yay, bless the bartender for telling the truth! At least there’s one honest man in his town, who’s not happy about what he’s seeing!

 

Mrs Normile is thunderstruck. “Murdoch Lancer’s son?”

 

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

“You mean…? You mean the one that owns all that land?”

 

“Yes, ma’am.”

 

“My, my, my, my.”

 

Ooh, will this be good news for Johnny? I hope so!!

 

“My gracious, my.”

 

.

 

Ooh, it’s Lancer!!

 

Have Murdoch and Scott been worrying about Johnny and wondering where he is?

 

Well, that’s a surprise. It’s Mrs Normile, come to visit. But something tells me she’s up to no good.

 

She knocks on the door – and Murdoch himself answers.

 

“Oh, would you kindly announce me to Murdoch Lancer?”

 

“Well, yes, ma’am. Whom shall I say is calling?”

 

“Well, I’m Mrs Lorette…um…just tell him a lady visitor.”

 

“A lady visitor?”

 

Murdoch is being very polite but I’m sure he’s wondering why this woman has turned up on his doorstep at night!

 

“From a considerable distance,” she adds.

 

“Well, how do you do, ma’am. I’m Murdoch Lancer.”

 

“Oh, Mr Lancer, how gauche of me. Though I must say I wasn’t expecting such a young and altogether handsome man.”

 

Meanwhile, Scott has come up behind her and he’s holding back a smile at this description of his father. Murdoch looks like he doesn’t know what to say, for the moment. But he pulls himself together and says, “This is my son, Scott.”

 

“Oh…Oh…I declare, you’re even a finer looking boy than your unfortunate brother.”

 

Ooh, the smile drops off Scott’s face now. He glances at Murdoch, then says, “Unfortunate brother?”

 

Yes, that’s bad enough—but what about Scott being finer looking! Hee, I bet all the Scott gals will cheer about that!

 

“Oh well, not completely unfortunate. I mean, I know we can work things out.”

 

“Work things out?”

 

Murdoch’s mind is probably racing with all these hints and suggestions.

 

“Oh, my goodness, here I’ve started negotiating even before we’re properly acquainted. Oh, Mr Lancer, you must feel I have no manners whatever.”

 

It’s fun watching Scott’s face throughout all this. He went from pleasantly smiling to looking quite worried.

 

“Won’t you step inside,” offers Murdoch.

 

“Oh, yes. Why, thank you sir.”

 

Murdoch and Scott exchange looks, as if to say, ‘what trouble has Johnny got himself into now?’

 

.

 

Lucrece is creeping around outside…which is odd.

 

Oh, she has a picnic basket and she’s tapping on the trapdoor of…a cellar maybe?

 

Johnny climbs out. He’s looking a lot better than before.

 

“Here, I’m bringing you some biscuits.”

 

“Yeah?” Johnny looks pleased at the idea.

 

“I hope they ain’t too hard.”

 

“You made these?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Uh oh, and they make a cracking sound as Johnny bites into them. He starts laughing but he keeps chewing. (Have I told you I love it when he chews!) “That’s okay, I’m not too hungry, anyway.”

 

“I had a mountain cat that wouldn’t eat once. He was just a little one. I found him all mauled up in a trap. I had to talk to him, you know, kind of gentle him down. Afore’d eat, he’d just kind of lay there and I talked to him and talked to him and after a while, I got to say things to him I never said to anybody.”

 

Johnny’s so sweet. He’s listening and taking in all she’s saying.

 

“Does that sound dumb,” she asks.

 

“No, that’s not dumb. I had a pinto one time I used to talk to. Long time ago, you know, when I was just getting around from town to town. I’d be riding along, around midnight, somewhere, and I’d get to ramblin’ on and on and on. Oh wow, about…so many things, you know.”

 

Oh gosh, we’re learning so much about Johnny’s life this season.

 

“Do you still do that?”

 

“No. I don’t have to much anymore—I’m not alone.”

 

Aww, it kinda chokes me up when he says that. Johnny knows he’s so blessed now.

 

He swings out of the…I think it must be some kind of well or something? “I got a family and everything, you know.” He slips off and tries standing. “I got a brother…” He tries taking a few steps and he has to breathe through the pain a little.

 

“You’d better get off that leg.”

 

“No, it’s feeling pretty good.”

 

“No, it ain’t never gonna heal if…if you don’t get off of it.”

 

Johnny bends down and rubs it.

 

“Mama will be back in the morning and she can make us something really good to eat. And I’ll bring you out blankets and pillows and you’ll…you’ll just have everything you need.”

 

Lucrece has definitely decided to believe Johnny now. I think him going to the sheriff proved that he wasn’t the killer.

 

“Lucrece, sometimes I get the feeling that you’re thinking I’m one of your stray animals. Now, is that right?”

 

She’s looking right into his eyes, now.

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