The Valerons: Winter Kill: A Western Adventure (The Valeron Western Adventure Series Book 9) by Terrell L. Bowers

Author:Terrell L. Bowers [Bowers , Terrell L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: DS Productions
Published: 2022-04-04T04:00:00+00:00

Gauge was sitting alone in the saloon, while Lazelle and Norris were playing checkers. Four of the others were at the only other table playing cards. The rest of the men were either at the cafe or still in bed. All except for Elko, who had been over at the livery.

Gauge had a bad feeling about the little burg. There was no action or excitement for the men, and they had spent the last couple weeks battling the cold or the boredom. He took a sip of his beer, but it didn't taste good so early in the day.

Elko entered the bar and took a moment to stand next to the pot-bellied stove in the center of the room. He warmed his hands, then turned his backside to the heater for a few moments, before he wandered over to take a seat next to Gauge. Lazelle ambled over to join them, waiting for his report.

'If we ever get out of these one-horse towns, I'm never going to play another game of checkers.' He stared at Elko. 'Give us some good news.'

'Wind is still blowing, though not so hard,' Elko replied. 'However, the sky is clear.'

'How about the animals?' Gauge asked him.

'They are fit, but need several days before we move on. The ice crust took a lot of hide off of their legs. The liveryman spent most of the night rubbing them down, treating the scrapes, and getting them warm and fed. With the barn door shut, the forge and his stove keep a decent temperature for the animals.'

Lazelle swore. 'Doesn't this trash heap of a town have enough horseflesh that we can trade mounts? We need to get moving.'

'There isn't but three horses at the stable, other than ours,' Elko informed him. 'The couple of ranches nearby are snowed in and barely scrape by. Probably not a dozen horses to be had within twenty miles.'

'We'll have to sit tight,' Gauge said.

Lazelle cursed under his breath. 'Fifty cents per animal a day, along with a rubdown at two-bits each. Now we're paying a dollar a day at the rooming house and about the same at the hotel for every man. Sonuvabuck! This being hole up is cutting a big slice out of our spending money.'

'What do you suggest, Laz?' Gauge snarled at him. 'You think we ought to do like you did at the trading post? Want to take over the town and kill everyone who lives here? Would that make you happy?'

'Them two might have gotten word to someone about us,' Lazelle defended his action. 'Dead men don't talk to anyone.'

'And we agreed there wouldn't be any killing unless it was absolutely necessary. It's bad enough that Braden's explosions killed and wounded several soldiers.'

'You gonna get a rich haul, you do what it takes, Gauge.' He narrowed his gaze. 'That's what you said about the risk before the robbery.'

'We get caught for robbery, we spend a couple years behind bars,' he argued back. 'Those men dying makes this a hanging offense.

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