Scareship_Issue8

“Mad Gilly & the Were-Bear” copyright © 2012 by Ralph Sevush.
Prologue
T
his here is the story of one Gilmore Gammesson, known as
Mad Gilly Games… gambler, drunkard, killer and king,
without peer in his time, who reckoned he could live
forever. Now you might have already heard this yarn of the most
famous son of Rockton, Colorado, but you likely didn’t hear it the
way I tell it.
Sure, it’s got yer gunfights and injun raids, miners and
mountain men, a corrupt sheriff and a greedy tycoon, a pretty
young thing and an old whore with a heart of gold, and, o’ course,
a handsome gun-slinging hero. And it’s got t’other parts, too, but if
you squint real hard, you can skip right past the demons, dragons
and wizards—even the were-bear—if’n you’ve a mind to. You
won’t hardly notice them a’tall, most likely. But those parts of the
story need atellin’, too, even though they oft get left out by the
pale, chinless ninnies hereabouts what ain’t got the stomach for
such notions.
Now don’t git me wrong. It’s not like I put much stock in such
foolishness… after all, who could believe such things? I jes’ think
you should hear the whole caboodle and then you can make up
your own mind about it, one way or t’other. Besides, even if you
don’t entertain such notions, you jes’ might find that such notions
may entertain you.
So, this is the story… complete and unabridged, as best as I
can remember it, and nearly true… or near enough.
But first, let ole Uncle Tim here take a swig from this jug o’
Mountain’s Blood to whet mah whistle… ah, that’s better. Now
where were we?
* * *
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