Vorpwhistle calls up an impressive thunderstorm in order to charge up his EKG, and everyone and everything gets soaked to the bone. No one is actually hit by lighting, though the professor's charging kite is destroyed. After everything dries out, he spends some time designing a weapon using the motor from the spirit saw which flings dynamite (in gravel-filled sacks) by whipping it around on the end of a rope. Tobey even goes back to the village and buys two horns off one of their cows for the machine (springy horn being necessary for the trigger mechanism). Strangely, this machine turns out to be a key actor in what is to come.
A couple days later, a group of men - about sixty - arrives at the village, and the posse, on a bluff above the town, is sure it's the banditos. As it turns out, it's the French Foreign Legion, with about fifteen prisoner as well who might be banditos. They also have a small field artillery piece. The posse is nonplussed, but sends Elder Tanner (disguised as a local) down to the town to listen to the commander harangue the townsfolk. It turns out he intends to punish them for aiding banditos, by taking for France their food, their liquor, and their women. This last is too much for Joseph, and back up the bluff he goes, to order the attack.
Before the legion can even react, the commander and two others have been killed by Tobey and Robert's rifles. The legionnaires take cover and move the field gun into position behind a low wall so they can shell the bluff. With Tobey and Robert sniping at anyone who sticks out, including the gun crew, there follows a short artillery duel between the gun and Vorpwhistle's device (aided by Cady's magic).
The first shots go wide - the Legion shoots long, and Vorpwhistle's shot curves into the steeple of the village church, blowing it to smithereens and sending the bell through someone's house. The legionnaires keep servicing their gun despite heavy losses from Robert and Tobey (Tobey's gun suffers a malfunction midway through, but she has another). Unfortunately, Vorpwhistle's device has a much shorter reload time. He places another charge into a nearby building, and the third charge hits dead center and destroys the gun carriage (though not the gun itself) silencing it. The Legion has lost perhaps 15 men killed or seriously wounded.
At this point a long quiet ensues, as the legionnaires remain under cover. They infiltrate some people closer to the bluff through the town (discovered later by the posse) and wait for darkness. The prisoners hole up in the remains of the church. Just before dusk Tobey and Cady are sent incognito to scout the town. Unfortunately, the spell works too well, and the confused posse forgets that Tobey exists, leading to Tobey and Cady not coordinating.
About ten legionnaires are in forward positions in the town, Tobey discovers, with the rest holed up across the main plaza from the bluff behind buildings. After quickly dispatching (beheading, actually) two of these guards, Tobey is sneaking looking for others when she kicks the bucket. Well, sticks her foot in one, anyway, making a loud noise and alerting everyone.
The guards rush for her and the men across the plaza also open fire. They wound her several times but are unable to kill her, and she refuses to die. She also refuses to get up, flinging her machete from the prone position using her hair tentacle. Heads roll as Tobey's evil blade whips through the air.
Elder Tanner, armored in righteousness, comes down the bluff, followed by Vorpwhistle, while Robert flanks. Many bullets bounce off Tanner, who even glows for a while. Cady pops out of hiding as well to help defend Tobey, but is cut down by gunfire. Joseph rushes to her, bullets still bouncing off him, while Vorpwhistle begins to shoot lighting at the soldiers emplaced across the plaza.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" - Joseph
Joseph's cry is possibly heard in Texas. It rattles the legionnaires for a moment, and causes Robert to spring into action, leaving his sniping position and running to Cady's body. Meanwhile, Joseph begins to mow down anyone he can see with his pistol, and lighting continues to shoot from Dr. Vorpwhistle. The legionnaires finally break and retreat (their losses now at around 30 killed and wounded), though not before putting Tobey down with a shot to the heart.
Robert, meanwhile, rips a hole to the spirit world, drops all of his metal equipment, and takes Cady's body through with him. There, he is able to repair her broken body with a gift from Buffalo, as well as call her spirit back (it hadn't gotten far, since she had been dead for perhaps a minute when he got to her). Cady is returned to the real world, though Robert stays behind for a consultation with Eagle.
Vorpwhistle, also being helpful, retrieves the bits of Tobey's heart, washes them, and sticks them back in her chest.
GM: The run is so named because the posse's plans don't go right, the Legion's plans don't go right, and the banditos who are prisoners can confidently be said to have suffered a failed plan as well.