'frontier justice' continued

the boy threw back his own drink in replication of the older man and then answered . "Well , the hell if i know !" the kid smirked , "maybe i was just yearning to see the world ."

the old man sucked his teeth in annoyance , the barkeep snorted and chuckled , the gambler shook his head exhaling sharply in disbelief. the watch chain man , his initial uneasiness dissipating ,shrugged dismissively at the "hayseed" , while the woman had to roll her eyes and smile at the fool-absurdity of the kid's reply.

the boy reached into his pocket retrieved a larger even heavier coin , amibly slapped it on the bar and requested , "barkeep give everybody a drink ."


while the proprietor poured ,the oldtimer seemed to have perked up at the sight , sound and aroma of 'refreshments' and now appeared wide awake .


"buyin all these drinks boy , you musta struck it rich -- not that i'm complainin' " ,probed the oldtimer.

"hell ,when it comes to a free whiskey his name might as well be priam " , snickered the gambler.

"pry-who?" asked the puzzled girl.

"priam , king of troy ? replied the paisley vest .

the saloongirl tilted her head slightly downwards looking directly at the gambler , widening her eyes as if asking for more .


"ulysses and the trojan horse ?" offered the gambler.


the girl shrugged.


"---old king priam didn't look no gift horse in the mouth --just like old foley here ain't NEVER gonna complain about a free drinka whiskey !" , jabbed the gambler in frustration.

"that's 'judge foley' to riff-raff like you... an better gimme my proper respects ,or i'll declare ya in contempt --fine ya for the meager contents of that piss poor moneybelt ah-yorn and then toss yore-ass in jail for vagrancy" , the oldman said gruffly to the gambler --then slightly turned his head and winked to the kid .

"yes your honor , my deepest most sincere apologies to your highly esteemed personage", snickered the gambler.

"so you really a judge ?" the kid asked , as the bartender returned to his station from the tables after distributing the kid's generosity among the grateful customers glasses .

.

"dammright i'ma judge", shot back the oldman. " boy , before you stands the honorable mac arthur t. foley acting 13th circuit court judge of the colorado territories--territories soon ta be the 38th glorious member in these united states " added the old man in part from patriotism and excitement at pending statehood , and also as if awaiting his deserved adulation as he partially raised himself from his usual slouch --standing almost a little taller than before .

"well hellsbells" the kid exclaimed his brow arched ,and then with his buckteeth grinning , "this muss be my lucky day" - a new plan beginning to solidify in his brain .

"bartender give this distinguished gentleman another whiskey --make it another double" , requested the kid , "and i'll have another m'self "

in less than a few moments an old satisfied "ahhhh" signaled the kid's latest donation of another coin for the saloonkeeper's apron --producing now a slight jingle when he walked to refill the circuit judge's fast emptying glass.

"boy you musta struck it rich some where " the old man insisted , his eyes visibly twinkling ,as again , he less-than-subtly probed .

"well sir" , grinned the kid coyly , "i ain't never seen no ocean , but you might can say my ship's about ta come in ."

"hell does zat mean ?" asked the oldman .

all eyes were curiously upon the kid as , still grinning warmly, he casually turned like a king of the barflies about to survey his kingdom .

the kid pretended as if to characteristically lean back --in a typical cowboy saloon relaxing pose and rest the heel of one boot on the bar's railing near the floor and prop his elbows upon the bar.

instead , slowly he tilted his hat far back on his head with one hand to distract attention while with the other hand rapidly pulling from its holster the fast-draw colt .