The Turbulent Trail by Mike Thompson

Author:Mike Thompson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Gale, Cengage Learning
Published: 2016-08-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

Sheriff Baca closed the door of the jail, stood in front of the tall drunken cowboy and smiled up at him. “Señor, I do not like problems in my town. You are a problem.” The stock of the shotgun was a blur as it came up to smash into the side of the man’s face. Totally unprepared, the drunk slammed backward and slid down the cell-block door. Blood ran from his nose and a deep cut on the side of his face, as he lay unconscious on the floor.

Deegan braced himself.

Sheriff Baca pulled a hanky from his pocket, wiped the blood from the stock of his shotgun and stood it in a rack beside the door. “I have been watching him for two days now. He is a troublemaker. He started fights in other bars in my town. Today was his last day to cause fights. I do not like a man who gets mean when he gets drunk. What about you, señor?”

“Uh, no, I don’t like a mean drunk,” Deegan answered.

“You have the face of a fighter, señor. Are you a mean drunk? A bar fighter?”

“No, Sheriff, I was just having a beer before I headed north. Matter of fact that was the first drink I’ve had in over a year. I stopped to buy some new boots and a few supplies I needed,” Deegan explained, pointing at his new boots. “He started it and I’s doing everything I could to avoid a fight. Ask the bartender.”

“Do you like what I did to him?” Baca asked, motioning to the man lying with his face in a growing pool of blood.

Deegan shook his head.

“What is your name, señor?”

“De . . . Devries. Devries. Martin Devries.”

The sheriff nodded. “Have you ever been in prison, Señor Devries?”

Deegan shook his head. “No, Sheriff, I never been in prison.”

The sheriff studied him through narrowed eyes. “How did your face get so beaten, Señor Devries?”

“I was a boxer in the army.”

The sheriff nodded. “I see. Did you win your fights, señor?”

“At first, Sheriff,” Deegan answered, with a slight smile.

“Why do you smile at that?”

“They just kept matching me up with faster and tougher fighters,” Deegan answered truthfully. “They kept getting younger and faster and I just kept getting older.”

“And slower?” Baca said. “Why haven’t you had a drink in over a year?”

Deegan looked carefully at the sheriff. He’s trying to trap you. Be careful how you answer him.

“I am waiting for an answer, señor.”

Deegan nodded. “I got out of the army and went into the mountains to look for gold. I was drinking too much in the army anyway.”

“That was the answer to my next question. What do you do for a living? Now I know you are a prospector.”

Deegan nodded.

“You do not mind if I look through your bag, do you Señor . . . I am sorry, I do not remember your name.”

“Devries. Martin Devries. No, go ahead, I got nothing to hide.”

Sheriff Baca dumped the contents of Deegan’s bag on the floor, knelt and quickly sorted through it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.