Boys Will Be Boys

This is something I made for school, but I'll share it with you guys.

Boys Will Be Boys

Spring, 1872

Smoke was still puffing from Billy Creamer’s revolver as he stared at the staggering boy. Willie Washum looked down, he could see through the moonlight the blood coloring his shirt. The two other boys, James Aborr and Daniel McMillan, looked on in stunned silence. These boys were young, the oldest no more than nineteen.

“Your father should have given in,” said Billy Creamer to Willie. “My father offered you a large sum of money for that land.”

Thomas Creamer was the local big businessman. He had offered Willie’s father upwards of thirty thousand dollars, among other things, for the land his hotel sat upon. But Willie’s father, John Washum, refused to sell out. After a series of ongoing arguments and blackmail on Thomas Creamer’s part, the Creamers had resorted to acts of violence. Willie had been beat before by Thomas’ son, and there had even been an attempt on John Washum’s life. His hotel was nearly burned to the ground as well, but the Washums couldn't prove it was the Creamers.

Willie had fallen to his knees, clutching his chest. It was hard to breath. The bullet had pierced his right lung, and it was filling with blood.

“My father will never give in,” he wheezed. “We own that land fair and square. And by God I’d rather burn it to the ground than see it in your hands.”

With this Willie whipped out his own pistol and shot Billy Creamer three times. Billy fell to the sand beside the river without a sound. Willie too fell to the sand, letting out his last breath with a praire. James and Daniel didn't know what to do. They had just witnessed two murders and they could not go to the authorities for fear of being convicted.

“What are we going to do Jimmy?”

“Well, we’ll have to throw them in the river.”

“But, Jimmy, t’ain’t right.”

“You wanna be put in prison? If we take this to the police we will be suspects for sure.”

Daniel finally gave in and helped James haul the bodies of Billy and Will into the river. They watched them float down the San Lorenzo until they rounded a bend and were out of sight.

Their bodies were found two weeks later, warped by the water. There was no investigation, and no autopsy. The news was put into the Santa Cruz Sentinel as a tragic drowning. A month later, Thomas Creamer owned the land of the Washum hotel, it is a mystery how he ascertained it, but no one asked any questions. The Sentinel had a column talking about the new Creamer hotel being built, across from the Big Tree House Hotel in Felton.

Daniel McMillan and James Aborr never again spoke of what they saw that night. Not ever.