| abstract
| - Marko the Manhunter was the most feared bounty hunter in the Old West and no outlaw had ever escaped from him. He always tried to capture his quarries alive, never killing a man unless he had to, and was seemingly always one step ahead of his opponent's, able to guess their next move and set-up traps to capture them. It was said that he once captured an entire gang of cattle rustlers single-handedly. Marko claimed that he was driven by the desire for justice, but like all bounty hunters it appeared to be more for the money than anything else. Marko eventually set his sights on claiming the $500 reward for the capture of the Rawhide Kid and set out on his trail. The Kid, meanwhile, not knowing that danger was coming for him had tried to establish a normal life for himself as John Clay, his birth name. He was tired of living the life of an outlaw and got himself a job laying railway tracks, hoping to vanish into obscurity. But it was not to be, however, as a large bully on the worksite made the Kid draw on him, and he was forced to reveal his true identity. Marko happaned upon the scene at the same time and tried to bring the Kid in. The Kid rode off on Nightwind, eluding capture though Marko chased him into the hillside in hot pursuit. He had also set several traps for the Kid in the chance that he might have escaped him. Sure enough, the Kid rounded a bend in the road and had to dodge what he thought was another rider on the trail coming straight towards him. He fell to the ground as a result, then he discovered that the rider was in actuality his own reflection on a mirror. As he got closer to investigate, he stepped into another trap and was lifted high into the air and his foot was caught in a rope. Marko arrived on the scene and cut the Kid down, ready to bring him in. At that very moment, however, a cougar leapt at the men from overhead. While Marko was able to shoot the cougar dead, its body knocked the two men over the hillside. When the Kid came to he had lost his memory due to a blow to the head during the fall. He climbed up the hillside, mounted Nightwind and headed to town to try and remember who he was. Marko, in the meantime, also awoke and resumed his chase of the Kid, thinking having tried to escape again. The two men met in town the next day, with the Rawhide Kid still having no memory. Marko decided that the only way to keep the Kid from escaping was to shoot him and demanded that the Kid draw, not understanding that the Kid had no recollection of what was going on. The Kid begged for Marko not to hurt him, until Nightwind knocked him to the ground, sensing something was wrong with his master. This jolt restored the Kid's memory and he was able to outdraw Marko, winning his freedom, as Marko said continue after him would be "against the rules of the game."
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