April Fools Gunfighter

From Town Bother To The Mughal’s Apprentice

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Confidence T. Brown lived in Reno Nevada. His father was the Mayor and their family had a lot of money, made from land sold for silver mining. Confidence’s mother had died giving birth to him. He had a much older sister who got married and left Reno in 1880. He didn’t work after finishing school and after most of his friends moved to California he didn’t have a lot to do. Confidence was sometimes called a spoiled brat. A talented person without a teacher often travels the wrong roads.

Confidence was very clever and a very good shot with a revolver. He practiced every day. He loved reading, especially stories about gunfighters.

But his second and most beloved hobby was playing pranks.

He started out going to Mr. Hardy’s general store to mix up the hard candies and switch the price signs. He later moved on to what some thought of as vandalism. Like moving things from one store front to another in the middle of the night. Or painting a mustache onto Mrs. Stephen’s ‘Beauty Shop’ lady sign. His father, Mayor Ronald Brown tried to influence Confidence into becoming an entertainer. He bought him books on card tricks, magic tricks and illusions.

Confidence spent many months entertaining the town of Reno with his tricks and illusions, but eventually turned back to his desire to pull nefarious pranks. When he switched four different men’s wallets from their breast pockets in a single day, getting Mr. Cooper into serious trouble with his wife due to the contents of Mr. Jennings’, the people of Reno petitioned Mayor Brown to stop Confidence. They even suggested he should leave town. And when it seemed Gerald Rosen might throw his hat in the ring for Mayor, Confidence was sat down and told he must no longer play pranks on Reno’s citizenry.

“Or what?” said Confidence.

“Or you may have to leave.” said Mayor Brown.

Confidence wasn’t a bad person and what later happened to him wasn’t all his fault. But it was for the better.

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