"Life is the cruelest kind of teacher. It gives us the test before finally presenting us with the lesson"

"Thank you, sir." Langly said that evening as the lawman slid a tray of food through the opening in the bars of Langly's cell.

"I've never had an inmate be so polite." the lawman said with amusement and Langly shrugged.

"I was raised to have respect." he replied. Though today had taught him a valuable lesson on who deserved his respect. The lawman walked away and Langly carried his tray of slop to the cot in the corner and sat down. The shock was wearing off and in its place was anger and fear. Anger that his uncle had left him that way and fear because he was now alone.

Three months he had to stay in this cell. That's what the lawman had told him anyhow. He knew he could get bailed out sooner but there was no way he was going to ask his mama or pa for that money. He didn't want them knowing he was in jail because that would kill his poor mama.

Langly took a bite of the sludgy looking stew and grimaced. He had a feeling he was going to be losing weight while he was locked up in here. He realized then that he hadn't said his prayer before taking a bite but frankly right now he didn't see that much to be thankful for. His leg still burnt like fire even though the doc had said it was just a graze and nothing to worry about.

Thinking of that made Langly remember the time he had shot Marston in the arm when his mama had been sick and Marston had come back after months of being gone. Langly had been scared to death that he'd killed the man but Marston had shrugged it off and acted as if it were nothing. If his pa could be that tough then so could Langly.

Langly stomached what he could of his horrible dinner and then sat the tray on the table and laid back on his cot with his hands folded behind his head. Maybe tomorrow he could get the lawman, Deputy Yawn, to give him some of his books out of his saddlebags to read and help pass the time. Langly chuckled at the mans name.... Yawn. Nothing like warning people about your personality flaws at the same time as you introduced yourself.

He heard the big door to the back of the jail open and then there was the deputy.

"I'm here for your plate kid and it's lights out." he said. "You know I could let you out of here sooner if you'd tell me who was robbing that bank and where I could find them." he added and Langly handed him the tray. Langly was more tempted to rat out his uncle than he had ever been tempted by anything in his life but he knew he couldn't. Langly was a better man than that.

"I already told you that I know nothing." he replied as he turned his back and walked back to his cot. The lawman sighed and shook his head.

"They left you for dead." he reminded him.

"I know that, sir, I don't need to be reminded." The deputy just ran his free hand over his wrinkled face and then walked away, turning off the lone kerosene lamp in the hallway. Langly lay there in the darkness and listened to the sound of the doors to the jail being locked and he could hear the deputy whistling as he walked away down the road.

Langly wasn't sure how long he lay there. It could have been minutes or it could have been hours. Betrayal was a painful pill to swallow, he decided. He had known that his uncle was a mean man when it came to most people but he had thought deep down that the man cared about him. He supposed that's what Jeremiah had meant when he'd said that Langly trusted too easily. He'd never make that mistake again, at least not where his backstabbing uncle was concerned.

Langly was beginning to drift off to sleep when he heard a hissing outside the barred window on the wall across his cell. He listened closely but didn't hear anything else so he just assumed it was nothing. He closed his eyes again and the again he heard the hissing.

He stood and walked cautiously to the window, nearly crying out with shock when Jeremiah's face suddenly popped up.

"You got a lot of nerve showing up here." Langly growled, realizing after the words were out of his mouth just how much he had sounded like his pa.

"Look I know you're angry." Jeremiah said as he held up his hands and Langly snorted.

"Angry? No I'm not angry." he replied calmly.

"Of course you are but let me explain...."

"Explain what? Explain exactly how you could turn your back on your own kin and take off running like a coward?" Langly hissed. "Or maybe explain how since I ain't really your kin you didn't see any problem with it?" He saw Jeremiah's golden eyes flash with temper but right now he was seeing his uncle in a whole new light than he had just days before.

"What did you expect me to do? Risk my neck just to save your neck?"

"Yes!" Langly exclaimed. "You saw me get shot and you took off anyway. It would have only taken you two seconds to let me jump on your horse!"

"I don't risk my neck for anybody so lets just end that argument right now. And as far as you getting shot, I knew it was just a graze and you'd be fine."

"Just leave, Jeremiah."

"Don't you mean, uncle Jeremiah?" Jeremiah asked with a grin that Langly knew was designed to ease his anger.

"No." Langly replied simply. Jeremiah sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Look, I'm here now." he stated. "And I have some dynamite so I'm ready to bust you out of here." Langly shook his head.

"No."

"What the hell you mean, no?" Jeremiah demanded wide-eyed. "You'd rather stay here in this cell?"

"Yes. The deputy said I have three months to serve and I'm going to serve it. I consider it a punishment for being stupid enough to come along with you for a bank robbery that I knew was a bad idea from the start. I should have trusted my instincts all along but instead I trusted you. I won't make that mistake again. I'll serve my time and leave when it's over. I won't escape and turn myself into a wanted man. I would never do that to my mama."

"You're a fool! Don't stay in here just because you're mad at me!" Jeremiah scolded and Langly shrugged.

"It has nothing to do with you; it has to do with me and the man I want to be. I don't want to be like you and I feel one hundred kinds of an idiot for thinking that I did," Langly rolled his eyes as he leaned his shoulder against the wall to take pressure off his burning leg. "Do you realize how much I looked up to you? I read that damn book you gave me that first Christmas one hundred times. I thought it was the greatest thing ever that you taught me to pretend I was rustling cattle to learn my numbers. I never understood why mama and pa would get so irritated with you."

"Because they're uptight jackasses." Jeremiah grumbled and Langly shook his head.

"No, it's because they're good people and you are nothing but a lying, worthless coward who doesn't care about anyone but himself. You're a whore mongering drunkard that just so happens to be handy with a deck of cards. You have zero redeeming qualities and in the end you're going to find that you are completely alone because of the way you've treated those who cared about you."

"Are you done yet?" Jeremiah growled and Langly nodded.

"Yeah, I believe I am." he replied as he turned his back. He heard his uncle clear his throat and tap his hand against the bars several times.

"I ain't no damn coward and I ain't a drunkard." he finally replied and Langly laughed humorlessly.

"Maybe I should thank you."

"Why?"

"For teaching me what kind of man I don't want to be. My pa was right about you and I guess I needed to grow up a little to realize that. But you abandoning me certainly got that job done in a hurry."

"And you thought I was worthless!" Jeremiah said with a laugh, clearly trying to be clever. This simply increased Langly's temper and contempt but he didn't turn to look at the man.

"I think you're pathetic. I used to think I could count on you because it seemed like you and Duke always showed up when we needed you but it wasn't ever because of you was it? It was because Duke wanted to come and you just kind of tagged along? You don't have a single decent bone in your body."

"Look, I know you're angry but you'll get over it. When do you get out of here?"

"July twenty-eighth is what the deputy said." Langly replied quietly.

"I'll be here, you'll see. I'll be right here on July twenty-eighth and we'll ride out of here together. I'd take you tonight if you'd let me but you won't so we'll plan on meeting back up at the end of July."

"I won't hold my breath." Langly muttered and Jeremiah sighed.

"I'll be here, kid."

888

"Time for you to check out." Deputy Yawn said one bright, hot morning three months later. Langly did one last pull up on the iron bars above his head and then dropped to the ground. He'd taken to grabbing the bars and pulling his chin up over them over and over to help burn off energy during the last few months. He had noticed that this had caused his arms to grow larger and fill out his shirts a bit better. His chest was broader as well and he knew he was finally growing out of his boyish body and becoming a man.

He'd learned some lessons over the last few months and he'd finally managed to grow some stubble on his jaw. Even his voice was deeper now than it had been.

"Thank you, Deputy." Langly said as the lawman opened the cell door and held out Langly's gun belt and revolver.

"You are just about the nicest prisoner I've ever had, kid, and jail was good to you, I must say."

"It was all of your wife's home cooking." Langly agreed. After coming in to see her husband one day, Deputy Yawns' wife had taken a liking to Langly who reminded her of her son that had left home not long ago. She had insisted on bringing him real food and she had even given him books to read and paper to write letters home on. He had made up stories to explain where he was since he didn't want his family worrying about him being in jail. All in all jail hadn't been that bad.

"She'll be sad to see you go." Deputy Yawn replied. "You're welcome to come back anytime to visit just so long as you leave the bank alone." Langly laughed.

"I'm pretty sure I'm done with banks." he agreed.

"Your horse and saddlebags are over at the livery. He's been taken good care of while you've been in here.... My wife has made sure he's gotten a few extra apples and carrots."

"He could probably use some exercise the same as I could then. Thanks for being so good to me Deputy and if I stand outside any more banks while they're getting robbed and end up being arrested for it, I'll be sure to request your jail."

"I didn't have a choice but to arrest you, Langly." Deputy Yawn replied regretfully and Langly nodded.

"I know ya didn't." He made his way out of the jail and squinted at the sudden light blinding his eyes. He took in a deep breath of the fresh air and stretched his arms high above his head. Three months he'd been in that cell. Three months without the feel of the sun or the breeze on his skin.

He was smiling as he made his way to the livery and checked on his gelding first thing. Marston had given him this horse and he was happy to see that the beast was just fine, a little fatter than when Langly had last seen him, but perfectly content.

Langly got his saddlebags from the stable hand and walked down to the mercantile. He needed some new clothes, since his were too tight around the arms, shoulders and chest.

Getting the clothes didn't take long and he walked back outside and looked up and down the street. He knew who he was hoping he would see but deep down he knew he was just wasting his time. Jeremiah wasn't here. His horse hadn't been at the livery and it wasn't hitched at the hotel, the brothel or the saloon. Should he give the man a chance to show up or just take off?

A big part of him wanted to take off but another part was still afraid to go wandering around alone and wanted to believe that his uncle cared about him and would come. Was he kidding himself? Probably, but he was willing to believe it at least for now. He'd give Jeremiah until morning to show up before deciding where to go.

888

Langly's heart was broke as he saddled up his horse the next morning. Jeremiah wasn't here, not that he had really thought he would be. Langly didn't know where he was going to go. He wasn't really ready to go home, at least not yet.

He took a deep breath as he got atop his horse. He thought about where he was and realized that he wasn't too far away from Harper Louisiana; the town he had grown up in. It would only take a week or so to get there and he could visit with folks he hadn't seen in a long time. He could see the old homestead and think about all the things that had happened there before making his way back up to the Dakotas.

Feeling better for having some sort of plan but still nervous as hell to be alone, Langly set off toward the east, knowing that he would never again be able to look at his uncle the same way he had as a child.