Off To See The Wild West Show Part 1, Chapter 16 (1/3) By Frank Beill 1886: Hull, Yorkshire

(1/3), (2/3), (3/3). Part 1 Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Part 2 Prologue, Chapter 1, 2, 3.

It took only three days for timidity to turn into brutality and two little girls were directing it towards the latest addition to their family. Two small bodies were jumping on my bunk and I was still in it. If I hadn't been so exhausted I might have enjoyed the experience. 'Ger off!' I yelled. They didn't know the words but they understood the meaning. Two frightened rabbits leapt off the bunk and scurried to hide behind their father who was sitting bare chested among his bedding and smoking a cigarette. Their rapid escape to his protection made him laugh.

This was the first time I'd seen Dog That Stands unclothed or any grown man come to that. Nakedness was sinfulness. This had been drummed into me in the orphanage - unless it was bath time, of course. He was truly magnificent. Like so many of his brethren he was a natural athlete, not an ounce of fat clung to his muscular frame. However, his torso bore many scars from achieving Lakota manhood: some were from the slash of blade or claw but there were also the corkscrew twists left behind by the impact of bullets. A much lesser man would have died from these wounds. I felt proud to have this man want me to be his son and that I could call him father.

Laughing Waters climbed up and sat beside me. She took more care in positioning herself than our sisters. 'I am glad you have joined our family.' She smiled. 'Before you came they jumped on me!' I was unresponsive. 'Are you sick, my brother?' She put a cool hand on my forehead. There was concern in her dark eyes. 'No,' I mumbled. 'Just tired.' I raised myself onto my elbows and told her about the events in the early hours of the morning.

'It is good that the white men think you are one of us.' She nodded in agreement with herself. 'You can move around more freely.' 'As long as I say nowt!' My words brought back her smile.

Dog That Stands decided it was time for my holiday to end. I had to earn my keep, like any other Lakota. To start I needed to make the acquaintance of some important members of the tribe: the ponies, which were penned above us on the open deck. They weren't used to stables or any kind of indoors. There had been problems trying to get them below decks on the outward voyage. Laughing Waters said the Persian Monarch was a much more comfortable vessel for both people and animals than 'The State of Nebraska'. This was the ship that brought them to England. When I thought of the cabin we all shared, I shuddered to think what conditions were like on their first journey.

When I discovered the nature of the work to be done I was thankful we were out in the open and it was open, wide open with no sign of land in any direction. My sister thought it hilarious to see me running from one side of the ship to another trying to spot a shoreline somewhere. I'd no comprehension of how big an ocean could be or that we would be out of sight of any land for several days. Our main task was cleaning up the mess created by the ponies. Fortunately, Laughing Waters advised me on the correct way to approach a pony and avoid the bruises and broken bones that could result from the swift hoofs of a surprised animal. The correct way to throw a bucket of manure over the side of a ship was another skill I learned quickly. What a waste. I thought of all the rhubarb it could have fertilised. It was hard, smelly work but it was also great fun to do it with her. How George would have loved every moment.

Continued... Next Page (2/3)

Fiction - Complicity Part 2 By Nick Quantrill
	Complicity is the new crime-fiction novella set in Hull featuring Detective Sergeant Coleman and Detective Constable Maynard. The thisisull.com serialisation is accompanied by the stunning black and white photography of Roland Standaert, which illustrates the story and takes a unique look at the city. Complicity and other stories are available for free. Read more...

Fiction - Welcome To Hellville - Part 15 By Rich Mills
	They always cut it close but their timing was always impeccable, arriving at the house right on schedule. Schedule was a bad choice of word as they'd never been organised enough to have a schedule, let alone keep to one. Chaos was their maxim really. Everyone else thought that their apparent external serenity was one of infinite calm. However, this was Read more...

Fiction - Kat Out of the Bag Chapter Twelve By Steve Rudd
	Dinner-time came and went, and on us four hardy men trekked. I hadn't been feeling too well for the past couple of days, so I hadn't been eating all that much. The reason I was probably feeling so down and out was no doubt due to the lack of food that I'd consumed, so it was bit of a Catch-22 situation all round. Read more...

Fiction - Two Extracts from The Shintae - a Novel by Brian R Hill
	The Shintae is a new fantasy novel by Yorkshire writer Brian Hill. The novel is due to be published by Publish America sometime around the Christmas period but is currently available online at www.amazon.com , www.publishamerica.com , www.barnesandnoble.com and www.whsmith.com. The ISBN number is 1-4137-8322-4. For more information Read more...

Fiction - Zero and the Neighbours Part 1 - Demo version 0.1 By Joe Hakim
	Frank was one of the regulars. From the first day I started dealing poker on the tables, Frank was there. To look at, he was your typical moody old man - old in the Father Christmas sense - white hair, a huge white beard and a round gut that hung out of his shirt and over his belt. You could imagine him sat in a grotto in the bottom of Princes Quay with some mewling Read more...

Fiction - Just like Eddie by Bob Spence
	I don't know exactly when I got into it but there you are. Like most lads, I suppose it was the thought of being Bristol's answer to Elvis that was some kind of inspiration. Yes that was always there in the back of my mind, but the accent never sounded quite right to be fair. Anyway. The South Deans Village Youth Club was a right place back then and we used Read more...

Fiction - Off To See The Wild West Show Part 15 (1886: Hull, Yorkshire) By Frank Beill
	An echoing boom was coming from down deep in the bowels of the ship. Something somewhere was being repaired. The cabin was too warm and I couldn't get to sleep. I took a look through what had become my personal window on the world: the porthole above my bunk. The lights of a town twinkled like pale stars on the shimmering mirror of the narrow waters Read more...

Fiction - The Wall by Darren Sant
	Sometimes your best is just not enough. Panic stricken and panting I arrive. There it is, a fucking huge wall. An obstacle blocking my progress. A visible representation of all that I can't achieve. Nervously I look behind me. I lash out at it, kicking and punching but to no avail. It is rock solid. I jump but find it too high. I take a running jump Read more...

Fiction - Divine by Blair Ashworth
	"Mein Führer? Mein Führer?" The old man in the long grey coat was bent over the body slumped in the chair. "Give it a few more seconds, Henry," said the doctor. "Do you speak any German? It might lessen the shock." No, Henry didn't speak any German and he didn't much care about any shocks he might deliver. Behind the heavy oak chair, Read more...

Fiction - Scissors, Paper, Stone! By Bob Spence
	The Lord Nelson was your typical run-down seventies pub. The decor was in disarray, with half a mind to venerate the Royal Navy's biggest hero or to catch the eye of the potential clientele with the latest fashion. In this manner it achieved neither. Mickey was the prototype glass collector for every Read more...

Fiction - Drowning, Swimming By Joe Hakim
	Keith sat and stared at his wife, who was holding his daughter and staring at the 28" Philips Widescreen TV situated in the corner of his house, on his laminate floor, flanked at either side by his Sony sound system and his X-Box. He was sweating and his head was throbbing - the general effects of the weekend Read more...

Fiction - Any Instructions? By Denis Price
	It wasn't the first time he'd missed the bus. From the Mess to the monitoring hangar was only a quarter of a mile walk, something he relished during the central European summer as the airbase had been carved out of heavily wooded countryside teeming with wildlife. Read more...

Fiction - Second Chances by Nick Quantrill
	Available now, Second Chances is a crime fiction novella set in Hull that is already attracting praise from readers. Influenced by crime fiction heavyweights Ian Rankin and Hull's Robert Edric, Second Chances is set to be a great success. For a taster, see the extract reproduced below, only available Read more...

Fiction - Invasion By Bob Spence
	Moody just couldn't stop scratching. His shirt was far too stiff at the edge of the collar and the coarse material was driving him to distraction. You could also say that Moody was distracted anyway. He was waiting for a letter from his fiancee and there was none. Read more...

Fiction - The Death and Birth and Death of a Legend By Bob Spence
	Goober liked to be busy. Some people could handle doing nothing, not Goober Walton. Running the tidy but ancient gasoline concession suited. Suited well. It was orderly and everything clearly had its place. Some would say it looked almost military in its order and for that it Read more...

Fiction - Feller's in Cut By Maurice Fairfield
	Well that's her gone. You don't remember me do you? I'll have a pint while you're thinking about it. It's me Jack, Harry Fergus's son. Here for the funeral. Thought I'd see her get put under. Not sure why. It's always a laugh though, watching a parson doing a Read more...

Fiction - Firm but Fair By Mark Pollard
	Cry-Baby Jim Breaks. He pioneered it, they say. And the hushed, almost ecclesiastical tones of Ken Walton had heralded it's entry into Saturday afternoon folklore: the bright lights of Blackpool and Great Yarmouth, down to the lesser reputes of Ilfracombe and Skegness had all borne witness Read more...

Fiction - Puzzles By Denis Price
	I've got a really nice room, when the door's closed I feel ever so safe and warm. It's quiet as well, just the swish of the wind in the trees outside. I like the trees; they hide the big tall fence. My watchers say the fence is there to keep me safe, and that's their job too, they're always there Read more...