"The Devil's Pay"
Pittsburgh, Mid-December, 1862
Scalphunter, wounded in the left thigh by the crazy Confederates and racked with fever, makes his way through the streets hoping to find some sort of help. Three Neer-do-wells (How do you do well? Neer!) observe his compromised state and figure him for easy pickings. They follow him as he staggers into an alley way and smite him with a blackjack, knocking him to the ground. As the first of the ruffians approaches to search the body for loot, all he obtains is a warrior's knife between his ribs as Scalphunter lunges upwards with the weapon.
Scalphunter makes his way to his feet and engages in battle against the three men when suddenly a shot pierces the day and the first ruffians right arm. A red-haired woman leans out of a window, smoking pistol in hand and in her best Scottish accent warns them all to leave of she'll ventilate them to nobody's liking. As they leave Scalphunter collapses and she rushes downstairs and into the alley.
Some time later, Scalphunter vaguely awakens to find himself on a cot in her home, a local doctor assessing his wound and it is not good news. The bullet has brought with it infection and it must be removed. Candace states that she has every confidence in the doctor, along with her four siblings, but when the physician produces his scalpel, Scalphunter grabs his arm and tells him not to cut. Even though he is weak with fever, Scalphunter's grip on the doctor's arm cannot be broken. Candace comes over to him and gently reassures Scalphunter that Dr. MacGregor is skilled and Scalphunter must be brave and trust them. Finally Scalphunter relents and gives permission with a silent nod.
During the surgery, held under lamplight, and with Candace holding him down, Scalphunter's screams echo throughout the neighborhood. An unknown time later, he awakens to a small girl asking if he is hungry. She slides a chair over to the pot-bellied stove and takes down a large pot of soup, serving it up for the warrior. As the Kiowa brave and the small girl talk, he learns that there is hardly enough food for the family and at night Candace cries well into the night. Scalphunter asks where the others are and she says they are at the factory, they left hours before dawn. Scalphunter starts to stand and she says he has to stay in bed, but Scalphunter pays her no heed and gets out of bed, only to collapse in pain.
Much later he awakens to Candace gently telling him that he almost undid the the good work of the doctor and he has to stay in bed for now. She gets the others fed and into bed and Scalphunter watches her intently, her gentleness and her strength. Her compassion in taking care of others and her bravery in facing adversity and as he lies there, she takes a moment and stares into his eyes and then she decides to take care of ALL of his needs!!!!
The next few days eventually finds Scalphunter on his feet and walking with the family. They walk through the town and he sees the filthy smoke pouring out of the factories, a stark contrast to the December snow that tries to blanket everything in white. Scalphunter says that he wishes to repay her for her kindness but Candace says she has not asked for anything, he cannot repay something that is not owed. Her life has been incredibly lonely but now that she has found Ke-Woh-No-Tey, she is no longer and that is all the payment she could ever expect. They embrace and kiss and the Kiowa brave allows a smile to come across his face.
Less than a week later, Scalphunter catches up to Candace as she and the others head to work. He states that he wanting to work to repay her family for the food he has eaten and he joins them in lining up for the entrance to the foundry. Candace introduces him to Mr. Tyson who agrees to hire him at the rate of five cents a day (or about $1.60 in 2025).
Scalphunter starts working and sees men maimed with splashing molten steel, almost crushed by falling equipment and through all of that, there is no concern amongst the factory owners, for labor is cheap and life is cheaper. After a ten minute lunch break they are all back to work and after several more hours, Scalphunter witnesses Candace stumble and accidentally splash a bucket of water on Mr. Tyson.
Tyson reacts with a slur and the back of his hand and Scalphunter reacts as a true man should, grabbing a rope and climbing up to the catwalk where the altercation is taking place. Tyson produces a blackjack and Scalphunter grabs him and throws him over the railing to his death on the concrete floor below. Several workers are ordered to bring Scalphunter down. As they climd the ladders, Scalphunter grabs Candace and begs her to leave with him, they will run far from this evil and live free.
She says that she can't, her siblings will starve and Scalphunter asks if the war is being fought to free the slaves why are they still treating people as if they will forever be enslaved to the factory? She says that he doesn't understand and he agrees. By that time the workers have gotten up to their level and Scalphunter leaps into them like a caged animal, finally grabbing a rope and swinging to safety, knocking the factory owner to the floor before he dashes out the exit and into the city streets.
Tears fill his eyes as he thinks not of what he has lost but how is also abandoning those he has come to cherish. Finally, he stands atop a nearby hill, overlooking the smoke and terror of the town and the factories below.
Statistics for this issue
Men Killed by Scalphunter - Just one, Mr. Tyson whose skull was crushed in the fall
Running Total - 126
Compared to Jonah Hex - 27th appearance and Scalphunter has 126 vs Jonah's 111 (in WWT #37)
Scalps Taken - 0
Running Total - 20
Injuries - Show in the calf.
Timeline - This issue covers a few weeks.
I enjoyed this one quite a bit given that Scalphunter was depicted as having actual fear knowing what a surgeon could possibly do to a man (probably from having seen the butchers on the battlefield hospitals) as well as the love and compassion that he displayed towards Candace (and not just for the, eh-hem, OBVIOUS reasons). Man's inhumanity to man was on full display, a stark contrast to the grace and generosity of Candace and her siblings. The cover was top notch with the colors knocking it out of the park.
Ads in this issue were:
Wonder Woman and Twinkies catch The Borrower
An in house ad for a digest for Top 10 Stories of 1979 (with Jonah and Scalphunter on the cover) known as Best of DC Blue Ribbon Digest #5 with the story Minister of the Lord from Jonah Hex #25
Next Issue: Gerry Conway pays homage to John Huston as we all go on a treasure hunt.
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