The Crossed Guns

"I reckon nearly all young boys ...have had a fascination for guns, and I was no exception...the crossed guns on the west wall of Mr. Howard's parlor drew me like a magnet." That's how my grandfather started his favorite story. His pa, my great-grandfather, had been the marshal of a quiet little Ozark town that one day erupted in gunfire. As a 10-year-old, my grandfather witnessed the gun battle. (This fictionalized account is loosely based on the assassination of Jesse James.)