Wildcat Kitty and The Cyclone Kid and
The River Pirates
The Mississippi Belle’s paddle wheel whirled steadily, spewing water behind the large craft and shoving the bulky vessel forward on the waters. Moonlight shimmered off the surface of the great Mississippi River. Light streamed from the windows of the riverboat and the strains of lively music drifted out upon the waters.
As the mighty craft sailed into a narrow stretch, watchful eyes peered out from the river banks. They watched as the hulking shape of the riverboat glided through rougher water.
Big Mike McGurk and his river pirates stole silently out of the darkness of trees and made their way to a waiting log raft that had been moored along the bank.
As the big Mississippi Belle approached, McGurk and his five henchmen piled onto the raft and using long poles they shoved the makeshift vehicle off the bank and out into the waters toward the Belle.
Upon reaching the riverboat, McGurk and three men climbed silently up its side while two men stayed below to keep the raft in position for a getaway.
In a matter of minutes McGurk and his men burst into the ship’s lounge. The room was filled with people dining, drinking and gambling.
“Don’t anyone move,” McGurk bellowed as he made his entrance. A pistol was in each hand and he was brandishing them menacingly about. “This is a stick up.”
His men were beside him, guns out.
“Not today,” a deep voice behind them warned.
McGurk and his men spun around on their feet in surprise.
Before them stood five stalwart figures: Three old men a boy and a girl. They all had guns out and aimed at the river pirates. They were The Wildcat Gang. Wildcat Kitty and The Cyclone Kid stood in the middle of the group.
Before McGurk and his men could bring their pistols up to bear on the interlopers, The Wildcats let loose with their weapons. Lead pellets smashed guns in the outlaws’ hands and the broken pieces of metal dropped to the floor.
Wildcat Kitty stepped out of the way as her male companions darted forward, attacking the pirates bodily; picking them up, carrying them out on the deck and hurling them over the rail onto the raft below. The raft feeling the sudden weight slipped, tipping everyone overboard into the water.
The Mississippi Belle moved on down the river while the bad guys struggled to stay afloat.
Once again Wildcat Kitty, The Cyclone Kid and The Wildcat Gang had meted out justice and saved the day.
“Oh. Isn’t there anything they can’t do?’ Little Cathy said, closing the dime novel.
“Do you really think any of that is true?” Her brother Jimmy said, taking the book from his sister’s little hands and looking at the cover. He smoothed the crinkled cover out and unfolded the dog-eared right corner.
“Who cares?” Cathy said. “These stories sure are fun to read.”
She looked out the window that filled the peak of the barn and saw their grandfather puttering in the front lawn. She grabbed the book back from Jimmy and said.
“We’d better put this back in the trunk and go down stairs before Grampa knows we’ve been up here in the loft.”
She put the book back into the old trunk with the ornate lettering on its side and closed the lid. These stories could wait for another rainy day.
****
Chapter Seven