Spots 
Dawn over the canyon rim paints peak and bluff in raw scarlet and silver. Joe Breedlove rolls a paper cigarette and admires the landscape, offering a poetic reflection on the morning light. Beside him sits Indigo Bowers, a battle-scarred wanderer who sees only heat, dust, and corrosive alkali. Their arrival overlooks Big Elk, where Joe has unfinished business.
Part 1
Indigo Bowers carries a history written in gunfights and an inability to dodge a quarrel. Joe Breedlove balances his hot-tempered companion with silver hair, blue eyes, and an easygoing philosophy. They met a month prior when Joe helped Indigo escape a posse, followed by Indigo returning the favor. Despite Indigo's reluctance to revisit Big Elk, Joe insists on completing his task.
Part 2
Indigo reveals his knack for causing trouble in every municipality he visits. Having already been run out of four consecutive towns, he refuses to set foot in Big Elk again. Joe decides they will part ways for two days while he finishes his business alone. They agree to rendezvous at the ridge after Indigo finds a meal.
Part 3
Indigo drifts into the nearby settlement of Jingle Bell at dusk, immediately mapping its alleys and porches for tactical escape routes. Inside a local eating house, he orders ham and eggs while enduring the dark stares of suspicious patrons. He reminds himself of Joe's advice to keep the peace. Yet the cold stares follow him out to the sidewalk toward the saloon.
Part 4
Outside the saloon, townsmen flank Indigo while a bearded figure named Gabe Wales demands his origins at gunpoint. Indigo responds with sharp insults, mocking the size of their town as a shrivelled up gopher hole. He warns the gathered crowd that poking at a stranger is like handling volatile explosives. His defiance only deepens the town's suspicion that he spies for Big Elk.
Part 5
The standoff shifts when a bystander recognizes Indigo as the man who demolished the Gloria saloon in Big Elk three years earlier. The hostility instantly vanishes, replaced by enthusiastic handshakes and fraternal backslaps from the Jingle Bell crowd. In their eyes, anyone who inflicted property damage on their arch-rival city is an honored ally. Indigo's quick anger melts under the unexpected hospitality.
Part 6
Just as the locals invite Indigo to drink at the Geyser saloon, gunshots shatter the evening quiet. A mounted raiding party sweeps down the main street, shooting out windows and assaulting the hostelry. The Jingle Bell cohort rushes out to defend their drinking establishment. Indigo finds himself drawn straight into another wild municipal skirmish.
Part 7
Indigo assesses the chaotic street fight in front of the Geyser saloon with tactical insight. Spotting four confused Jingle Bell defenders, he leads them up a wooden porch pillar to gain command of the thoroughfare. From this elevated platform, their concentrated volley catches the Big Elk raiders off guard. The disoriented raiders retreat into the dark night, leaving the saloon damaged.
Part 8
Inside the wrecked Geyser saloon, Indigo surveys the shattered mirrors and broken bar top with a heavy conscience. The townsmen capture a wounded Big Elk raider and lock him in the cooler. Indigo learns that this violent feud between Jingle Bell and Big Elk has raged continuously for decades. The discovery forces him to ponder how deep the animosity runs.
Part 9
Gabe Wales rushes into the saloon waving two pistols and bellowing for an immediate strike against Big Elk. Indigo calmly shuts him down, calling out his late arrival and lack of true nerve. He warns the crowd that Big Elk will certainly return tomorrow to rescue their captured comrade. The townsmen fall silent, accepting Indigo's unassailable authority.
Part 10
Indigo rallies fifteen Jingle Bell volunteers to ride out and establish a strict deadline across the prairie. He insists on dragging a reluctant Gabe Wales along to face the upcoming fight. The party rides twelve miles through scorching heat and arroyos toward Big Elk. Indigo scouts the bluffs, waiting for the inevitable counter-attack.
Part 11
Mounted Big Elk partisans appear on the horizon, charging toward the defensive trench. Indigo orders his men to lay down low shots in the dirt ahead of the charging horses rather than aiming to kill. The spray of gravel provokes hesitation, forcing the invaders to halt their charge and dive into a neighboring depression for cover.
Part 12
Indigo ducks heavy incoming fire and crawls along a winding arroyo to cut off a flanking shooter. After losing part of his hat brim to precise marksmanship, he corners his opponent behind a cluster of boulders. To his astonishment, the gun barrel pointed at his face belongs to his own partner, Joe Breedlove. Both opposing forces simultaneously break off and retreat in confusion.
Part 13
Joe Breedlove lowers his gun, his flinty fighting face softening into a wry, familiar smile. Indigo defends his actions defensively, insisting he only came out to teach Big Elk a lesson in manners. Joe points out the irony of Indigo starting a massive battle after promising to stay out of trouble. Over brown paper cigarettes, the two partners assess the absurdity of their duel.
Part 14
Joe explains that the original feud began thirty years ago when Big Elk stole the county seat from Jingle Bell. He reveals that the conflict is kept alive by two cattle rustlers, Sweeny in Big Elk and Gabe Wales in Jingle Bell. By stirring constant town hatred, these criminals create safe havens from law enforcement in each rival jurisdiction.
Part 15
Joe reports that Sweeny was arrested in Trent County and confessed, naming Gabe Wales as his co-conspirator. With the criminal plot exposed, Joe envisions a grand peace banquet where both towns can bury the hatchet. Indigo remains deeply skeptical, predicting that forced harmony will only invite fresh disaster.
Part 16
Indigo returns to Jingle Bell at sunset, finding Gabe Wales locked in jail for cattle rustling. The local townsfolk begin discussing their long-standing enemies with uncharacteristic generosity and restraint. Though many admit Big Elk stole the county seat, sentiment shifts toward letting old grudges die. Indigo watches the sudden wave of civic idealism with lingering doubt.
Part 17
Joe Breedlove arrives in Jingle Bell with a Big Elk delegation to formally propose a joint reconciliation dinner. After drinking together to ease tension, both towns debate every condition of the banquet. They agree to hold the event at Three Pines ranch, located mid-way between towns, with exactly fifteen representative delegates per side.
Part 18
Delegations gather at Three Pines ranch under strict agreements to surrender all firearms outside the door. Distrust lingers as extra guests are quietly smuggled inside to even up unseen numbers. Joe Breedlove stands to deliver a warm opening speech, calling on Jingle Bell's Phil Layton to offer peace remarks.
Part 19
Phil Layton rises reluctantly, delivering a speech that quickly turns into accusations regarding thirty-year-old grievances. A Big Elk delegate mutters a disdainful insult, prompting Layton to accuse them of caching hidden gunmen behind the corrals. Joe's attempts to restore calm are swept away as old bitter rivalries flare back to life.
Part 20
Arguments erupt across the banquet table as Layton and Big Elk partisans exchange insults about stolen county seats and local crookedness. Chairs fly backward as delegates stand up to shout down their rivals. Indigo crouches beneath the table, bracing for the inevitable violence he foresaw from the beginning.
Part 21
Thirty men heave the long banquet table over, smashing dishes and knocking kerosene lamps to the floor. Flames flash across the dark room as hidden handguns bark in the shadows. The entire gathering stampedes for the exit simultaneously, jamming the doorway before fleeing into the night in opposite directions.
Part 22
After the dust clears, Indigo and Joe emerge from beneath the wreckage of chairs to smoke quietly. Joe mournfully concludes that human nature remains stubbornly unchangeable despite grand peace plans. Agreeing that it is time to move on before further trouble brews, the two partners mount their horses and ride off into the peaceful starlit prairie.
Part 23
Originally published in May 1928 in Short Stories magazine, Ernest Haycox's tale captures the satirical absurdity of frontier feuds and municipal vanity. The story highlights how minor rivalries are inflated by self-serving scoundrels until common sense intervenes. Preserved in public domain archives, it stands as an enduring snapshot of Western storytelling.
Part 24
Discover how local rivalries, manipulative scoundrels, and misguided peace efforts collide in a witty Western tale.