How a Twin Finally Gets Revenge on His Troublesome Brother

Randolph had noticed a cemetery a few miles outside Galveston as his train approached the town. Passing the burial grounds he'd observed a canvas tent erected for a funeral. it must be taking place in the next day or so, he thought.

Now he removed his clothes, trading them with those on his brother's lifeless body. He noticed a trunk in the corner of the hotel room. Opening it, he found only a few clothes.

Randolph searched the hotel room and put the rest of Luther's personal belongings in the trunk. There wasn't much, a worn pair of boots, a map or two. Luther must have traveled light coming to Galveston.

Under a nightshirt, Randolph found a poster, the kind you seldom saw in Virginia. It read:  'Wanted Dead or Alive.' The included sketch resembled his brother and him when they were younger.

The man on the poster had a different name but it was definitely Luther. He was wanted for bank robbery, fraud and murdering a bank guard in Kansas. The reward was $1,000.

Randolph shivered. He had pointed a gun at a killer. Except for his being Luther's brother and Luther's bad heart, his brother might have added another murder to his crimes. His.

Randolph rested until the middle of the night. By that time the hotel had become still and quiet.

He put his brother's body in the trunk and closed it. A yawning bellhop  summoned by an equally bleary-eyed night manager loaded the trunk on his cart and took it downstairs while Randolph paid for the room with a wad of bills he'd found in his brother's coat.

The same rental carriage and horse were made available for him.  Later, if any of Luther's acquaintances inquired for him, the hotel would have a record of his leaving.  

As the horse's hooves clumped down the street the rows of gas lights revealed no residents, just shuttered businesses and darkened homes. Randolph felt like he was one of the few people conscious in a slumbering world.

It wasn't hard to find the cemetery once he reached the railroad station and located the street he'd seen from the train. It ran parallel to the  tracks, taking him eventually to the burial ground he'd passed last night..

Reaching the cemetery Randolph could see, by the light of an almost full moon, preparations had been made for a funeral, probably that  day. 

Inside the tent someone had arranged two or three rows of chairs, no doubt for the deceased's family and friends. Nearby a grave had been dug. The grave digger had obviously been in a hurry since he'd left behind his shovel.

Removing his brother's clothing, Randolph folded them neatly and left them on the seat of the carriage. He tossed the shovel into the hole then opened Luther's trunk and slid his brother's body into the grave.

Prepared with matches in case the night skies became cloudy, Randolph climbed down into the grave. He eased dirt around the body and was able to cover it with the soil. Then he climbed out of the grave.

Tomorrow the casket of the deceased would be lowered and the grave closed. No one would ever realize the grave held more than one corpse.

Dressed in Luther's clothes again, Randolph rode back to the city. In front of the railroad station, he paid for the horse and carriage.

Going inside, he also made a point of talking to other people waiting for trains. Someone would remember seeing Luther.

At daybreak the ticket counter opened and he bought a ticket and was able to board a train that would carry him on the first leg of his journey home.

As he rode he thought over the events of the last few hours.  He might have wanted his twin dead but he now doubted he would have been able to go through with it. Probably, if anyone had died in Luther's hotel room, it would not have been Luther.

The fact remained, Luther died of natural causes.

As Randolph relaxed in his seat on the train, an older lady asked if he minded if she sat beside him. He smiled and nodded his approval.

She didn't bother him and said very little, just sat there and knitted. It was a sweater for her grandson, she told him. They rode along in companionly silence for the most part.

Somehow the lady reminded him of his mother's mother.. He remembered his Granny for her spicy gingerbread and for her sharp wit. She didn't like dishonesty in any shape or form and was full of interesting sayings. Her favorite expressions included one about a person getting his 'just desserts.'

As a small boy, one of his favorite pastimes was hanging around the kitchen when Granny was baking. Sometimes she would even let him lick the bowl when she was finished making a cake.

The first time he heard her use the expression 'getting his just desserts,' she was talking to another adult who stepped into her kitchen. Randolph mistakedly thought Granny was referring to desserts like her wonderful pies and cakes. He asked her if he could have his 'just desserts.'

She laughed and gave him a big hug before explaining. The expression referred to a person getting what he deserved because of the way he'd lived his life.

Somehow that old expression seemed to fit what had happened.

Randolph hoped there would be an attractive tombstone over the grave Luther would share. Of course the name on the stone would be for someone else. But you can't have everything your way. Can you?