Dodge City by Matt Braun

Author:Matt Braun
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: St. Martin's Publishing Group
Published: 2006-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

SEVENTEEN

Fourth of July was one of the major holidays of the year. Otherwise known as Independence Day, the date the Declaration of Independence was adopted in 1776, the event was celebrated by towns throughout Kansas. There was a shared sense of patriotism in the air.

The day was sweltering, heat waves rising off the plains in the distance. The sun was lodged like a brass ball in the cloudless sky, searing everything in a noonday blaze. A warm southerly breeze brought the rank scent of cow dung from the holding grounds across the river.

On the South Side, the saloons were open and horses stood hipshot at the hitch racks. Texans looked upon themselves as sons of the Confederacy, and Fourth of July was something of a dubious holiday. Yet any celebration was an excuse to drink, and as the sun reached its zenith the saloons were full. Piano players, in deference to Texans, occasionally belted out “Dixie.”

The uptown celebration was planned for one o’clock on the plaza. Farmers and ranchers from the courtryside were on hand, and Front Street was already crowded with buckboards and wagons. Even though it was a national holiday, shops and stores were open to accommodate the throngs of people. A parade was scheduled, followed by speeches from dignitaries, and the boardwalks were jammed with spectators. A spirit of jubilee prevailed along the plaza.

Gryden and Belle emerged from the Dodge House. He was attired in a navy suit with a red foulard tie, and she wore a royal blue gown and carried a silk parasol. She snapped the parasol open to shield her from the sun as they stepped off the hotel veranda. Her mouth dimpled in a playful smile.

“Aren’t we the spiffy pair?” she said. “Yankee Doodle Dandy had nothing on us.”

“Former Confederate that I am,” Gryden replied satirically, “I should be on the South Side celebrating with the Texans. I feel a bit of the turncoat.”

“Who do you think you’re kidding, sugar? You’re so patriotic you could be wrapped in the flag.”

“Yes, but I’m still a Rebel at heart.”

“I hope you won’t mention it in your speech. The voters of Ford County are true-blue Yankee.”

“I almost wish I hadn’t agreed to run. I’m not liar enough to be a politician.”

“Just tell the truth,” Belle said happily. “They’ll be floored by an honest candidate.”

“Wouldn’t that be a novelty?”

Only a week ago the Democrats had offered Gryden the nomination for county attorney. Flattered, he nonetheless thought defending criminals was far more entertaining, and lucrative, than prosecuting them. He proposed instead that Col. Thomas Jones stand for the position; he noted that Jones was a man of impeccable character and unimpeachable credentials. But the Democratic caucus argued that Gryden’s experience as a defense attorney made him the perfect choice for prosecutor; he had insights into the criminal mind that few possessed. Even more, they urged, he was the one Democrat who could defeat Mike Sutton.

Gryden was only partly persuaded by their arguments. What finally pushed him off the fence was his intense personal dislike of Sutton.

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