By the Neck by William W. Johnstone

Author:William W. Johnstone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Published: 2020-12-11T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

The walk out to the cabin was a quiet one. Pops led Cap and Chauncey lugged an unlit lantern. Pops had tried to converse with the mayor, and asked him all manner of questions about the girl and how he found her, but Chauncey kept his mouth closed.

Halfway there, the mayor said, “Are you planning on staying in Boar Gulch, Mister . . .”

Pops didn’t reply at once, but puffed his pipe for a few more steps. Then he said, “Way I look at it, Mister Mayor, a man has to be somewhere in life, doing something useful each and every day. I am in Boar Gulch right at this time and I believe I am being of use, at least to Rollie. That’s enough for now. We none of us knows what waking up tomorrow will bring us, now do we?”

It was Chauncey’s turn to be silent. He’d be damned if he was going to respond to an impertinent former slave. Some whites he knew would do that, but not him. They continued threading their way through the trees and reached the cabin ten minutes later.

Pops tied Cap to a close tree and saw the pail set by the cabin. “Did she have to haul her water far, living here?”

“No farther than most,” said Chauncey, as if defending the practice.

Pops thumbed the crude wooden lift latch and pushed open the door. He peeked in, then opened it wider and peered into the darkened little cabin. “Bring that lantern over here, will you, Mayor?”

Chauncey hesitated. He didn’t like the idea of this man telling him what to do. But this situation was different, so he decided he’d let it slide this one time. He puffed up his chest, jutted his bottom jaw, and held up the lantern out of reach.

Pops looked at him, then at the lantern, and made the extra step toward it. “Obliged, Mayor.” He lit it, then looked at Chauncey. “Let’s get something straight betwixt us, Mayor. You called on me. I didn’t stumble on this little mess you made.”

Chauncey began to speak, but Pops held up a hand. “No, I ain’t through. I’d much rather be back at The Last Drop playing poker. I had a hand going that you wouldn’t believe. Expect I could have won Nosey’s trousers this time”—he smiled and shook his head—“but I’m here instead. So a little more help and a little less baby play would be much appreciated.”

Chauncey felt his face redden. He gritted his teeth but didn’t speak. Pops was right, of course. He had gone to the bar looking for help. But that didn’t mean he had to like the situation. It would go quicker if he made the best of it.

Pops lit the lantern and nudged the door open as wide as it would go. He took a breath and walked in. “Come on, Mayor,” he said, waiting inside.

Chauncey followed. He looked over Pops’ shoulder and there was Delia as he’d left her—sprawled on her back, her head bent at that bad angle as if she were trying to bite her own shoulder.

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.