Adam Steele 10 The Losers by George G. Gilman

Author:George G. Gilman [Gilman, George G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

‘That her foot being under mine wasn’t an accident.’

‘Why d’you figure that way, partner?’ Eldon wanted to know.

‘Her being a whore,’ the Virginian drawled. ‘Stands to reason she’s full of tricks.’

CHAPTER SIX

STEELE was still made to feel a stranger in Strikerville as the tent town returned to its normal nightly routine after the killing and the fire. But he had earned a degree of acceptance from the fight inside the saloon and his actions afterwards. As the less pleasure-bent miners returned to their tents and the others switched their custom to the Mother Lode, a storekeeper opened up his tented premises and sold the Virginian the makings of a meager meal for a high price. Eldon had faded away into the crowd, but Steele was given directions to the old-timer’s tent. It was across the broad street from that shared by the surly Luke and his partner. On this side of town, far away from the rowdy noisiness of the surviving Strikerville saloon, most of the miners had bedded down. Fires had burned low, lamps were out, and snores sounded from behind fastened tent flaps. Eldon was not home and Steele guessed he was in the Mother Lode, drinking through the four dollars there had been no time to spend in the Star. After unsaddling his horse, the Virginian took the gelding to a rope corral on the western fringe of town. There was water and feed there, but nobody to demand payment. Back at the tent, he lit a fire and cooked a stew of jerked beef and dried vegetables. The flames around the pot burned blue in the frosty mountain air. He had finished eating and was drinking coffee when Eldon came staggering along the street. The old timer’s gait indicated that, at a dollar a drink, his skinful had cost more than he had been given by Steele,

‘You feeling good, partner?’ Steele asked coldly.

The old man had lost his bearings on the trip from the Mother Lode. He must have seen the only fire burning in this part of town. But he wasn’t aware it was in front of his tent until Steele spoke. He halted, gulped, tried a grin and decided against it. He approached slowly, making a great effort to hold himself erect. ‘Guess you ain’t, youngster?’

He sat down on the other side of the fire, extending his palms towards the warmth.

‘I’ve had better nights in better places. How did you get to free-loading in a town like this?’ Eldon could not hold the steady gaze across the dancing flames. He stared into the heart of the fire. ‘Some folks are interested in you. Got a whole mess of free drinks outta ’em before they found out I didn’t know nothin’ about you.’

‘What folks, Festus?’

‘Storekeepers and bartenders and saloon owners and whores. Not my kinda folks. Miners don’t give a shit about you, youngster. You can’t harm them none. But all ’em other folks, they got reason to fear a company man. Only here makin’ money ‘cause the company lets ’em.

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