A hush came over the saloon as Jebediah Hancock rose from his seat. He scowled at me across the card table. “You callin’ me a cheater, Sheriff?”
“Looks like.”
People scrambled away from nearby tables.
“Take it back.”
I smiled. “Nope.”
He went for his gun.
My hand flew faster.
Crouching over his dying body, I pulled a bloodstained ace from inside his shirt.
Between ragged gasps he asked, “How’d you… know?”
I glanced back to where his full house lay spread out on the green felt, and leaned in to whisper, “‘Cause those ain’t the cards I dealt you.”
Born in England, Jon Gibbs now lives in New Jersey, USA. An active member of both the Garden State Horror Writers and the Monmouth Creative Writing Group, he is the founder of the New Jersey Authors’ Network . He can usually be found hunched over the laptop in his kitchen. One day he hopes to figure out how to switch it on.
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48 Responses to “WILD WEST JUSTICE • by Jon Gibbs”
Comments
« THE ONLY THING LEFT TO DO • by J.P. Tioga | Home | WHEN THE MOON IS IN THE SEVENTH HOUSE • by Jeanne Holtzman »
July 13th, 2009 at 1:00 am
That raised a smile.
July 13th, 2009 at 2:13 am
I loved it!
July 13th, 2009 at 3:30 am
A great piece of flash fiction. The last line line was perfect. Well done, Jon.
July 13th, 2009 at 3:42 am
Sweet.
July 13th, 2009 at 4:50 am
Ha! Nice twist at the end. A matter of “takes one to know one.”
July 13th, 2009 at 4:51 am
Heh, that raised a smile.
July 13th, 2009 at 4:52 am
It’s inspiring to see what a few words can do. Good work!
July 13th, 2009 at 5:03 am
Wonderful!
July 13th, 2009 at 5:38 am
Terrific piece!
July 13th, 2009 at 5:54 am
5 stars from me. This is terrific. I had a huge smile after reading. Great way to pull a story together in so few words. Brilliant.
July 13th, 2009 at 5:58 am
Well that made me laugh. Nice twist to the story and done in 100 words. I love reading and writing drabbles. This one was very good.
Keep up the good work!!!!
July 13th, 2009 at 6:20 am
Not easy to pull off the 100 worders. Big congrats, Jon!
July 13th, 2009 at 6:24 am
Nice tight writing, Jon. And so good to see a fellow Jerseyan writer. Love your Web site and concept, but don’t know how I could do a book signing for an e-book.
July 13th, 2009 at 6:25 am
Concise and very well done. Excellent job, Jon.
Danielle
July 13th, 2009 at 6:27 am
Now that’s a whole lotta story in very few words. Nice job!
July 13th, 2009 at 6:29 am
Really good. It is not an easy task to pull a story off in so few words, but you’ve done a great job. Loved the ending. Incredibly clever. Liked this a lot.
July 13th, 2009 at 6:47 am
Ha! Nicely done. Not an easy task in so few words. (Great bio too if that counts–made me laugh and it’s my new image of you.)
July 13th, 2009 at 6:51 am
Quick and to the point, and packs an entertaining punch. Good one!
July 13th, 2009 at 6:53 am
Saw exactly the same punchline on an episode of “Only Fools and Horses” once, but that didn’t stop this making me laugh. Loved the setting too–really nice story.
July 13th, 2009 at 7:02 am
Great little story! Loved it
July 13th, 2009 at 7:07 am
Good one Jon!
July 13th, 2009 at 7:13 am
Nice Jon! Very cool, and top notch pacing.
July 13th, 2009 at 7:46 am
Great! Pieces that short are hard to write, and this one was very well done. Earns five aces!
July 13th, 2009 at 8:19 am
Fast and fierce–perfect Five!
July 13th, 2009 at 8:48 am
Sharp and sweet!
July 13th, 2009 at 9:30 am
Ha! Fabulous.
July 13th, 2009 at 10:19 am
Love that closing line! A bang-up job, Jon.
July 13th, 2009 at 11:22 am
Like most comments, you left me with a smile. Great job, 5 stars.
July 13th, 2009 at 11:26 am
Funny joke, but is it enough for a story? I hope it’s fiction.
July 13th, 2009 at 11:57 am
I meant “a fiction.”
July 13th, 2009 at 12:40 pm
Great job, well done.
July 13th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
It takes one to know one. 5 stars, Jon.
July 13th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
Very nicely done.
July 13th, 2009 at 2:03 pm
Yay Jon!
July 13th, 2009 at 2:10 pm
You seem to know when to hold ‘em, and you know when to fold ‘em. Great job! Do it again.
July 13th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Nice one, Jon!
July 13th, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Nice, Jon. Congrats.
July 13th, 2009 at 4:44 pm
Now that’s what I call a flash.
–John
July 13th, 2009 at 8:20 pm
So much drama in so few words! Good job!
July 14th, 2009 at 1:07 am
Loved it. Fast with a great ending.
July 14th, 2009 at 8:05 am
uhm. pointless.
July 14th, 2009 at 12:00 pm
I LOVED it! I want another one.
July 14th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
Wow, I don’t uaually like Westerns but that was a fast, fun story. Sometimes you need a quick happy oneshot like that.
July 14th, 2009 at 7:03 pm
Trite. Cliche. Sophomoric. Does this place publish anything of substance?
July 15th, 2009 at 3:27 am
Re: comment #44
Oh, Mom! You promised you wouldn’t comment, remember?
July 16th, 2009 at 6:23 am
Nicely done, Jon. To the point, with a clever, funny linen at the end.
July 16th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
Great Western flash.
July 23rd, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Just wanted to thank everyone who took the time to grade my story and/or leave a comment. I appreciate it. For those who didn’t like it, I’ll try harder next time