Gunfight at Last Hope Canyon by Harlan Finchley

Author:Harlan Finchley
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Culbin Press
Published: 2023-06-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Four days after leaving the depression Gideon and Dusty reached a dried-up bed of what they reckoned was one end of Last Hope Creek. They veered away from their southward trek to follow the dry wash and after another half-day they joined a thin stream of water.

With this discovery invigorating their hopes they pointedly crossed over to the other side of the water. Then they celebrated their success by gnawing through the last of their food.

Within another day they encountered landmarks that they remembered from their first journey to Last Hope Town. But it still took them another four days before they reached the area where they’d camped out for the night with Claybourne Fox and listened to his tales about the Sky Riders.

This meant they were less than a day away from Last Hope Town, but by now they were so weak from lack of food they were staggering and they had to stop and rest at least once every hour. Every time they got up to start walking again they did so with hunched-over shoulders and legs that barely supported them.

Their hope that they might come across someone who would take them on the rest of their journey had long since receded. Worse, the long journey had so numbed Gideon’s mind that he recalled with surprise that it had been two days since he had last quizzed Dusty about his dreams.

“Is life any better than this in the other place?” he said.

Dusty shuffled along for a minute before he registered that Gideon had spoken with a slow movement of the head toward him.

“It’s just as dreary,” Dusty said. “We’re just riding around, and I don’t like to ask questions in case it sounds odd to the others.”

“But it must be good to be somewhere where you can eat whenever you want to.”

“I made sure I ate when I was last there, but it didn’t help none when I woke up.” Dusty snorted a rueful laugh and then stomped to a halt. “Then again, I did learn something interesting last night. Whitman isn’t scouting around seeking out trouble like we used to do. We’re looking for Vernon.”

Gideon staggered on for a few paces and then stopped.

“I guess that make sense. Lloyd must be trying to make Vernon pay for ambushing him on Eagle Heights after he sabotaged the tower.”

“I assume so, and Whitman reckons we’re closing in on him.”

“Then make sure he suffers. Vernon didn’t kill Messina over there, but he could still be a danger to her.”

Dusty nodded and then resumed walking. This time the brief conversation appeared to have given him a sense of purpose as he raised his head, but after a few paces he stopped and pointed ahead at a sprawling line of buildings.

“Last Hope Town,” he said.

Gideon sighed and then they hurried along for another hundred paces. When the town didn’t get noticeably closer they accepted it was still several miles away and they returned to their usual trudging gait.

It was late in the afternoon when they reached the edge of town.

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