Texas Gunrunners by Jon Sharpe

Author:Jon Sharpe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2011-02-02T00:00:00+00:00

“You awake, Fargo?” Alvie asked.

Fargo stirred on the straw mattress where he lay.

“I guess I am. Where are we?”

“The guardhouse,” Alvie said. He sat on the side of a bunk just like the one where Fargo lay. “How’re you feelin’?”

“I’ve felt better,” Fargo said.

He looked up at the light coming through the small barred window near the top of the wall beside his bunk.

“Daylight. I must have slept pretty good.”

“Must have. I didn’t hear you snore or anything. You even missed reveille.”

Fargo didn’t think that was any great loss. He considered sitting up. It didn’t seem like a good idea, but he gave it a try. It wasn’t as bad as he’d thought it might be, though it made his head throb and his shoulder twinge. His stomach felt as if he’d been kicked by a mule with a serious grudge against him.

“Those fellas didn’t give us a fair chance,” Alvie said. “If they had, we could’a whipped their asses for ’em like we did back at Rosita’s.”

Fargo wasn’t so sure of that. “Is there any water in here?”

“Just a slops bucket,” Alvie said. “You wouldn’t want to drink from that. Anyhow, you don’t need to. Reason I woke you up is that the captain here sends his apologies and wants us to have breakfast with him.”

“You must have been dreaming,” Fargo said.

“Nope. Soldier boy came in here while you were sleepin’ and told me so.”

“Why the welcome, then?”

“Can’t tell you anything about that. Maybe the captain can. All I know is, I’m glad to be gettin’ out of this place. I think I got fleas from this mattress. They don’t wash the blankets real regular, either.”

“Reckon there’s a place around here where we can wash up?”

“Now that hurts my feelin’s,” Alvie said. “Here I’ve already got myself cleaner’n a whistle, and you didn’t even notice it.”

“Sorry. Where’d you get a bath?”

“Didn’t say I got a bath. There’s a pump and a horse trough, though.”

“That’ll do,” Fargo said.

He steadied himself with both hands on the side of the bunk, took a breath, and stood up.

“That wasn’t so bad, now, was it?” Alvie said.

“Could be worse. Show me that pump and horse trough.”

“Let me look you over, first.”

Alvie stood up and stepped over to Fargo. He looked at the side of Fargo’s head and let out a low whistle.

“That’s some knot. Big as an apple. Skin’s not broke, though. That’s good.”

Fargo reached up and touched the spot on his head where he’d been hit. Alvie had exaggerated the size of the knot, but not by a lot. It was as big as a good-sized egg.

“You must have a damn hard head,” Alvie said.

“So I’ve been told. Let’s go get cleaned up.”

“You sure you can walk?”

“I’m sure,” Fargo said, though he wasn’t sure at all. But it turned out that he could.

Captain Salter had laid out a breakfast in his quarters. Scrambled eggs, ham, biscuits, gravy, and hot coffee. Fargo hadn’t eaten that well in a good while.

“I’m sorry about the reception we gave you two,” Salter said as Fargo and Alvie ate.

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