The Ballad of Bad Dog Dawes and Ellen Hayes (M/F)
Posted: Sun Mar 07, 2021 4:09 pm
Benevolence, Texas. 1875
“WANTED! DEAD OR ALIVE!
BENJAMIN “BAD DOG” DAWES
FOR THE CRIMES OF MURDER, ROBBERY, KIDNAPPING, AND DEBAUCHERY
$2000 REWARD, CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS!”
So read the poster hanging on the Benevolence town noticeboard, greatly amusing Mr. Benjamin Dawes as he lit a match for his latest cigarette. He’d been laying low in this tiny mining town for three days, and despite his bounty poster having been hung there the entire time, not a soul had recognised him.
In his long, stylish black leather coat, his striking black cowboy hat, clean leather chaps, bright white shirt and shiny golden spurs, complete with a diamond-studded black belt on which he carried his mint-condition revolvers... Dawes wasn’t exactly trying to hide from anyone. Hell, he’d moseyed on up to the Sheriff just yesterday and complimented him on arresting a drunk in the local tavern. The big, boorish oaf had simply smiled and thanked him, completely unaware a notorious outlaw had free reign of his town.
Stroking his black stubble, Dawes’ devious dark eyes narrowed as he walked casually toward the First Bank of Benevolence. He’d been scoping the place since he’d arrived, and it was an easy target. Only a single guard, barely more than three or four customers at any given time, and best of all, on the opposite end of town from the Sheriffs office... Throwing away his cigarette after a few puffs, the outlaw prepared for his latest adventure.
(Meanwhile)
“Miss Ellen? We’ve been riding for some time, perhaps you’d wish to stop and stretch your legs?”
Miss Ellen Hayes, soon-to-be Mrs. Arnold Everett, was relieved to hear such news from her driver and manservant Mr. Hughes, a short, older gentleman with a well-tailored suit and spruce moustache. She had indeed been travelling in her coach for quite some time, and a chance to walk around a bit and take in some air was quite welcome.
“Why thank you kindly, Mr. Hughes. Though we really mustn’t stop for too long, we really must be in Houston before sundown or mother will be quite put out.” The redheaded, high-society beauty reached out her delicate gloved hand and carefully stepped down from her seat with Hughes’ help.
Looking around her through bright blue eyes, Ellen was intrigued and enthralled by the simple little town in which they’d stopped. It was so calm and peaceful here, nothing like the maddening hustle and bustle of New York from which she’d ventured. A single muddy road ran through the centre of town, with a single line of wooden buildings and businesses on either side. Behind the western row of shops were scattered several small houses, no doubt home to the miners and their families, and trailing off from these houses was the road to the mine itself across the nearby creek.
“Oh Mr. Hughes, is it not splendid here?” She sighed, lifting her bright blue corseted dress slightly so as not to ruin it with mud.
“Oh, well...” Mr. Hughes quickly glanced around, his face scrunched up in disapproval. “I suppose it has a certain, common charm. Though it barely holds a candle to New York, I say!”
Ellen couldn’t help but roll her eyes, Hughes was so typical of the people she surrounded herself with: So high and mighty, so stuck up, yet so devoid of any real meaning or purpose despite living the good life. It was a life she despised, and she was sure her contempt would only grow once she was married off to that heartless Texan oil baron Mr. Everett.
“I’ll see if I can’t find us a place to eat that’s not filled to the brim with drunken degenerates. If you could please wait here by the carriage, Miss Ellen?”
“Of course, Mr. Hughes, of course...”
Again, Ellen sighed, brushing away a lock of her striking red hair from her bright, blushed cheeks which had slipped beneath her large dress hat. The life of an aristocrat was not for her and she knew it, despite it being all she knew in her twenty years of life. She longed for a different life, one in which she would be treated not as a piece of property, but an equal.
All of a sudden, Ellen’s thoughts were interrupted by the sight of something in the corner of her eye, and as she turned around, she was startled. Almost immediately she found herself locking arms with a tall, rather rugged and yet quite-well dressed man in a long, dark coat.
“Oh! Dang, pardon me Miss, I didn’t see ya there.” The man apologised, his face quickly sparkling with a handsome smirk. Ellen looked up and took in his face as her soft hands rested on his firm, strong forearms...
“Why... not to worry sir, I was in a daze, it was my fault entirely.” She chuckled in a shy manner. This man was one of the finest specimens of handsomeness she’d ever laid eyes on. From his piercing dark brown eyes to his powerful frame.
Mr. Dawes was equally in awe of what stood before him, though he did a better job of hiding it. He’d been with his fair share of women of leisure, but this, this was a bonafide lady he laid eyes on now, and by God she was beautiful. With her angelic blue eyes, fiery red hair and full, luscious lips, she could be mistaken for royalty.
“I hope I didn’t startle ya too bad ma’am.” The devilish outlaw smiled with his uncommon pearly whites.
“No, not at all sir. But I thank you for your concern.” The young heiress would hardly require makeup soon, so intense was her blushing. Especially when Benjamin gently took her hand and kissed it, not breaking eye contact for a second.
“I bid you a good day, Miss...?”
“Oh, Hayes, if you please, Miss Ellen Hayes. And you are, sir?”
“Well, Miss Hayes...”
Still smirking, Dawes motioned over his shoulder to the noticeboard, not a care in the world. “You can find my name over yonder, you have a nice day now, Ma’am.”
With a tip of his black hat and a cheeky wink, he continued walking towards the bank, his spurs clinking on the wooden boards as he went. Curious, and very intrigued, Ellen strode over to the noticeboard, and when she realised it was him on the wanted poster, her hand clamped over her lips in surprise... that man was an outlaw!
At that moment, a deep bellowing rang out across Benevolence:
“Bad Dog Dawes! This is Agent Thomas of the Pinkerton Detective Agency! We have you surrounded!”
Just then, half the men who had been standing around town, seemingly just minding their own business, sprang to attention and drew weapons from every conceivable place. Dammit, Dawes realised, it’s a goddamn trap!
Without thinking, Benjamin quickly looked around for something that could salvage his situation, and all that was close by was a big, fancy coach...
And a pretty young lady to take hostage.
Bolting over toward her, the outlaw clamped his big, strong hand over the delicate girl’s lips before she could even react, pulling her body close to his, her head falling back against his broad shoulders as her hat was knocked off.
“Mmmph?! Mmmmmph!!” Ellen squealed into the tall outlaws grip, unable to utter an intelligent word. By God, she thought, what is happening? Am I being kidnapped? Desperately she tried to call out for Mr. Hughes, but Dawes’ hold on her mouth was firm, and all she could manage was weak, muffled grunts. “Mmmph! Mmph mmph! Mmmmmph!!!”
Dawes drew one of his revolvers and rested it across Ellen’s blue-clad chest. She screamed and struggled in terror but was soon silenced when he cocked back the guns hammer, the chilling click scaring her stiff.
All around them, the huge posse of Pinkertons, bounty hunters and lawmen had all their guns trained on Benjamin Dawes, all just itching for the chance to put the notorious bandit down for good. Agent Thomas, in his smart grey suit and black bowler hat, stepped out into the road.
“You can’t get away this time, Dawes, it’s over! Your gang’s all dead or arrested, your family’s turned on you! Let the young lady go and just come in quietly, for God’s sake!”
Dawes worked his way over to the carriage, holding the distressed Miss Ellen close to him, the poor girl breathing heavily and loudly into his hand as her own hands stayed frozen at her sides. “Oh, I’d love to Agent Thomas, really I would...”
Glancing down, Dawes smiled as he saw the cigarette he’d thrown away had indeed done it’s job: lighting the fuse that led to a big bundle of dynamite just outside town...
“But what fun would that be?”
BOOM!!!!!
The resulting explosion rocked the whole town of Benevolence, scaring the hell out of the assembled lawmen, but as Dawes had intended, the blast was far enough away that nobody was hurt. Hurling the terrified Miss Hayes into her own carriage, Dawes quickly slammed the door, leaped into the driver’s seat and spurred the two coach horses into action.
“Shit! Shoot the bastard!” Agent Thomas roared at the dazed men all around him, whose guns erupted into a deafening chorus of shots. Several sprinted to their horses to give pursuit, but the town was in chaos, and many were nearly shot themselves.
“Yaahhh!!!” Dawes egged on the horses pulling the wagon, desperate to get away. Inside the coach, Ellen screamed and curled up into a ball, the gunshots rendering her powerless.
“Heellllp!!! Somebody please!!” The young bride-to-be screamed. But within a matter of minutes none could hear her but Dawes, who had shot the few men that had managed to successfully follow them out of town.
TO BE CONTINUED...
“WANTED! DEAD OR ALIVE!
BENJAMIN “BAD DOG” DAWES
FOR THE CRIMES OF MURDER, ROBBERY, KIDNAPPING, AND DEBAUCHERY
$2000 REWARD, CONSIDERED ARMED AND DANGEROUS!”
So read the poster hanging on the Benevolence town noticeboard, greatly amusing Mr. Benjamin Dawes as he lit a match for his latest cigarette. He’d been laying low in this tiny mining town for three days, and despite his bounty poster having been hung there the entire time, not a soul had recognised him.
In his long, stylish black leather coat, his striking black cowboy hat, clean leather chaps, bright white shirt and shiny golden spurs, complete with a diamond-studded black belt on which he carried his mint-condition revolvers... Dawes wasn’t exactly trying to hide from anyone. Hell, he’d moseyed on up to the Sheriff just yesterday and complimented him on arresting a drunk in the local tavern. The big, boorish oaf had simply smiled and thanked him, completely unaware a notorious outlaw had free reign of his town.
Stroking his black stubble, Dawes’ devious dark eyes narrowed as he walked casually toward the First Bank of Benevolence. He’d been scoping the place since he’d arrived, and it was an easy target. Only a single guard, barely more than three or four customers at any given time, and best of all, on the opposite end of town from the Sheriffs office... Throwing away his cigarette after a few puffs, the outlaw prepared for his latest adventure.
(Meanwhile)
“Miss Ellen? We’ve been riding for some time, perhaps you’d wish to stop and stretch your legs?”
Miss Ellen Hayes, soon-to-be Mrs. Arnold Everett, was relieved to hear such news from her driver and manservant Mr. Hughes, a short, older gentleman with a well-tailored suit and spruce moustache. She had indeed been travelling in her coach for quite some time, and a chance to walk around a bit and take in some air was quite welcome.
“Why thank you kindly, Mr. Hughes. Though we really mustn’t stop for too long, we really must be in Houston before sundown or mother will be quite put out.” The redheaded, high-society beauty reached out her delicate gloved hand and carefully stepped down from her seat with Hughes’ help.
Looking around her through bright blue eyes, Ellen was intrigued and enthralled by the simple little town in which they’d stopped. It was so calm and peaceful here, nothing like the maddening hustle and bustle of New York from which she’d ventured. A single muddy road ran through the centre of town, with a single line of wooden buildings and businesses on either side. Behind the western row of shops were scattered several small houses, no doubt home to the miners and their families, and trailing off from these houses was the road to the mine itself across the nearby creek.
“Oh Mr. Hughes, is it not splendid here?” She sighed, lifting her bright blue corseted dress slightly so as not to ruin it with mud.
“Oh, well...” Mr. Hughes quickly glanced around, his face scrunched up in disapproval. “I suppose it has a certain, common charm. Though it barely holds a candle to New York, I say!”
Ellen couldn’t help but roll her eyes, Hughes was so typical of the people she surrounded herself with: So high and mighty, so stuck up, yet so devoid of any real meaning or purpose despite living the good life. It was a life she despised, and she was sure her contempt would only grow once she was married off to that heartless Texan oil baron Mr. Everett.
“I’ll see if I can’t find us a place to eat that’s not filled to the brim with drunken degenerates. If you could please wait here by the carriage, Miss Ellen?”
“Of course, Mr. Hughes, of course...”
Again, Ellen sighed, brushing away a lock of her striking red hair from her bright, blushed cheeks which had slipped beneath her large dress hat. The life of an aristocrat was not for her and she knew it, despite it being all she knew in her twenty years of life. She longed for a different life, one in which she would be treated not as a piece of property, but an equal.
All of a sudden, Ellen’s thoughts were interrupted by the sight of something in the corner of her eye, and as she turned around, she was startled. Almost immediately she found herself locking arms with a tall, rather rugged and yet quite-well dressed man in a long, dark coat.
“Oh! Dang, pardon me Miss, I didn’t see ya there.” The man apologised, his face quickly sparkling with a handsome smirk. Ellen looked up and took in his face as her soft hands rested on his firm, strong forearms...
“Why... not to worry sir, I was in a daze, it was my fault entirely.” She chuckled in a shy manner. This man was one of the finest specimens of handsomeness she’d ever laid eyes on. From his piercing dark brown eyes to his powerful frame.
Mr. Dawes was equally in awe of what stood before him, though he did a better job of hiding it. He’d been with his fair share of women of leisure, but this, this was a bonafide lady he laid eyes on now, and by God she was beautiful. With her angelic blue eyes, fiery red hair and full, luscious lips, she could be mistaken for royalty.
“I hope I didn’t startle ya too bad ma’am.” The devilish outlaw smiled with his uncommon pearly whites.
“No, not at all sir. But I thank you for your concern.” The young heiress would hardly require makeup soon, so intense was her blushing. Especially when Benjamin gently took her hand and kissed it, not breaking eye contact for a second.
“I bid you a good day, Miss...?”
“Oh, Hayes, if you please, Miss Ellen Hayes. And you are, sir?”
“Well, Miss Hayes...”
Still smirking, Dawes motioned over his shoulder to the noticeboard, not a care in the world. “You can find my name over yonder, you have a nice day now, Ma’am.”
With a tip of his black hat and a cheeky wink, he continued walking towards the bank, his spurs clinking on the wooden boards as he went. Curious, and very intrigued, Ellen strode over to the noticeboard, and when she realised it was him on the wanted poster, her hand clamped over her lips in surprise... that man was an outlaw!
At that moment, a deep bellowing rang out across Benevolence:
“Bad Dog Dawes! This is Agent Thomas of the Pinkerton Detective Agency! We have you surrounded!”
Just then, half the men who had been standing around town, seemingly just minding their own business, sprang to attention and drew weapons from every conceivable place. Dammit, Dawes realised, it’s a goddamn trap!
Without thinking, Benjamin quickly looked around for something that could salvage his situation, and all that was close by was a big, fancy coach...
And a pretty young lady to take hostage.
Bolting over toward her, the outlaw clamped his big, strong hand over the delicate girl’s lips before she could even react, pulling her body close to his, her head falling back against his broad shoulders as her hat was knocked off.
“Mmmph?! Mmmmmph!!” Ellen squealed into the tall outlaws grip, unable to utter an intelligent word. By God, she thought, what is happening? Am I being kidnapped? Desperately she tried to call out for Mr. Hughes, but Dawes’ hold on her mouth was firm, and all she could manage was weak, muffled grunts. “Mmmph! Mmph mmph! Mmmmmph!!!”
Dawes drew one of his revolvers and rested it across Ellen’s blue-clad chest. She screamed and struggled in terror but was soon silenced when he cocked back the guns hammer, the chilling click scaring her stiff.
All around them, the huge posse of Pinkertons, bounty hunters and lawmen had all their guns trained on Benjamin Dawes, all just itching for the chance to put the notorious bandit down for good. Agent Thomas, in his smart grey suit and black bowler hat, stepped out into the road.
“You can’t get away this time, Dawes, it’s over! Your gang’s all dead or arrested, your family’s turned on you! Let the young lady go and just come in quietly, for God’s sake!”
Dawes worked his way over to the carriage, holding the distressed Miss Ellen close to him, the poor girl breathing heavily and loudly into his hand as her own hands stayed frozen at her sides. “Oh, I’d love to Agent Thomas, really I would...”
Glancing down, Dawes smiled as he saw the cigarette he’d thrown away had indeed done it’s job: lighting the fuse that led to a big bundle of dynamite just outside town...
“But what fun would that be?”
BOOM!!!!!
The resulting explosion rocked the whole town of Benevolence, scaring the hell out of the assembled lawmen, but as Dawes had intended, the blast was far enough away that nobody was hurt. Hurling the terrified Miss Hayes into her own carriage, Dawes quickly slammed the door, leaped into the driver’s seat and spurred the two coach horses into action.
“Shit! Shoot the bastard!” Agent Thomas roared at the dazed men all around him, whose guns erupted into a deafening chorus of shots. Several sprinted to their horses to give pursuit, but the town was in chaos, and many were nearly shot themselves.
“Yaahhh!!!” Dawes egged on the horses pulling the wagon, desperate to get away. Inside the coach, Ellen screamed and curled up into a ball, the gunshots rendering her powerless.
“Heellllp!!! Somebody please!!” The young bride-to-be screamed. But within a matter of minutes none could hear her but Dawes, who had shot the few men that had managed to successfully follow them out of town.
TO BE CONTINUED...