Six-Gun Law by James Reasoner

Author:James Reasoner
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gale, Cengage Learning
Published: 2019-02-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 2

This was his day for running into strangers, Cole thought as he went back down the steps to the street, because he had never seen this man before, either.

The man was a medium-sized, gray-haired, clean-shaven gent in a worn black suit, collarless white shirt, and gray, round-crowned hat. Judging by the direction he was coming from, he had been inside that wagon while the bullets were flying around. Some of the shots had to have struck the vehicle, but the thick sideboards must have stopped the bullets.

The man stuck out a hand as he came up to Cole. “God surely guided your aim just now, my friend, because you saved us from certain death with your accurate shooting. Such a shame that a man had to die in order to prevent greater slaughter. My name is Woodson, Marshal, Franklin Woodson. You can call me Brother Woodson.”

The man had a bigger voice and a more powerful grip than Cole would have expected from someone of his size. “I hope you’ll forgive me, Mr. Woodson,” he said, “but I already have a brother of my own, although I haven’t seen him in a good number of years.”

“All men are brothers in the eyes of the Lord, are they not?”

“Uh, I reckon.” Cole cocked his head a little to the side. “Did you say ‘us’ a minute ago when you were talking about me saving you?”

“That’s right.” Woodson waved a hand toward the wagon. “Me and the rest of my family.” He turned his head toward the vehicle and made a summoning gesture.

The first person to emerge from the wagon was a woman in a dark blue dress and sun bonnet. She started to climb down, but a boy followed her and jumped down from the other side of the seat, then hurried around in front of the team of mules to help her. More of a young man, really, Cole noted, since he appeared to be sixteen or seventeen, mostly grown.

One more person got out of the wagon, a girl about the same age as the boy. Cole expected to see a family resemblance between them as they approached, figuring they were brother and sister, maybe even twins.

Instead, the boy was as dark as the girl was fair, and much leaner, to boot. They looked nothing alike. The boy was the odd one out, since the girl definitely took after Franklin Woodson and the woman, who Cole supposed was Woodson’s wife.

Woodson confirmed that by saying, “This is my wife, Phillippa, Marshal.”

Cole nodded to the woman and started to raise his hand as if to touch the brim of his hat before he remembered he wasn’t wearing one.

“Ma’am,” he said politely. “I’m pleased to meet you. My name is Cole Tyler. That big fella up on the porch is my deputy, Clancy Madigan, and the young lady there is Miss Durand, who owns the store.”

A few strands of graying brown hair strayed from under Mrs. Woodson’s bonnet. She might have been an attractive woman at some time; now she was pleasant-looking but definitely careworn.

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