I've never told this story before, but just the same I'm telling you now. I was a boy of 8 in 1885 and lived in a small western town. The town was peaceful except for one man: Sliver Pete.
Sliver Pete was the meanest, ugliest hombre anyone knew. He carried a Colt .45, cheated at cards, killed anyone who challenged him, and even murdered sheriffs who tried to arrest him. The terrified townspeople offered a $20,000 reward to anyone who could run him out of town or kill him. Many tried, but all ended up in the cemetery.
One windy day, a stagecoach arrived with an unusual passenger. A tall, gaunt man dressed like a preacher stepped out. He called himself Preacher Dan and said he was raising money to build a church—by playing cards. That afternoon, he joined a card game with Sliver Pete.
As the game progressed, Preacher Dan asked to see Sliver Pete's gun. To everyone's surprise, Sliver Pete handed it over. The preacher examined it, but then "accidentally" dropped it. He quickly picked it up, wiped it off, and returned it.
The stakes grew higher, and Sliver Pete seemed to be winning everything. Just as he was about to claim the final pot, Preacher Dan calmly accused him of cheating. Enraged, Sliver Pete challenged him to a duel in the street.
A crowd gathered as the two men faced each other. Sliver Pete fired first, and Preacher Dan fell. But then, impossibly, the preacher stood up again. Sliver Pete shot him again... and again. Each time, Preacher Dan rose back to his feet. After the sixth shot, a white dove flew from beneath the preacher's body into the sky.
Terrified, believing he had killed a messenger of God, Sliver Pete dropped his gun and fled town forever. The grateful townspeople gave Preacher Dan the reward. He took only half, leaving the rest for the town church, and then departed.
Only I, the boy who watered the horses, knew the secret. On that windy day, I had glimpsed the writing on the preacher's trunk: "Dan the Magnificent. Magician's Illusions Great and Small." He wasn't a preacher, but a magician. He had switched Sliver Pete's real bullets for blanks when he dropped the gun. The dove was just for show. He used psychology and illusion to rid our town of a monster and was paid handsomely for his service.
Some say an angel came to our town that day. In a way, perhaps one did.