The Floating Outfit Book 26 by J.T. Edson

Author:J.T. Edson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: waco, the old west, piccadilly publishing, the wild west, jt edson, the floating outfit, dusty fog, american frontier life, westerns ebook, lawmen and outlaws in the old west
Publisher: Piccadilly

Chapter Ten – You’re Not What I’d Call Welcome

Dusty confirmed the Kid’s summing-up of Waco’s actions when told on Wednesday morning and praised the youngster for the shrewd manner in which he had handled a tricky situation. So for the first time Waco felt himself capable of holding down his full end of the office’s work.

While the youngster was learning fast and gaining confidence with each day, he had yet to come into conflict with the commission of a crime. Due to Dusty’s policy of having a ‘welcome committee’ awaiting the arrival of every train and stagecoach, weeding out undesirables, the word went out that Mulrooney was bad medicine for petty criminals. None of the paying visitors who went broke regarded it as a fault of the town, for they received fairer treatment than in other such places along the railroad.

One of the girls employed in Lily Gouch’s house stole a client’s wallet during the transaction of business. However Lily, realizing that she might never find another town which allowed her to operate without paying substantial bribes to various civic authorities, acted fast. In addition to returning the wallet, contents intact, to its owner, she gave the thief a beating calculated to make her fight shy of the touch of leather between her fingers for life. The other girls took the hint and there were no further incidents of that nature in the house.

Under the peaceful air of Wednesday morning, the town seethed with excitement. The feud between the Fair Lady and Buffalo saloons grew hotter, causing considerable interest among citizens and visitors alike. While the game of strip-poker had put the Fair Lady ahead, nobody expected Buffalo Kate to stand back and accept defeat mildly. Nor did she. When the Buffalo opened for business on Wednesday, the girls wore dresses cut considerably shorter than accepted as usual, even in saloons. Naturally such an attraction hauled in trade and the town waited eagerly to see how Freddie planned to top it.

“Did Babsy tell you anything, boy?” asked the Ysabel Kid as he stood with Waco and Frank Derringer watching the noon train pull in to the depot on Thursday. “I’d sure admire to lay a bet on it with Mark—if I could be sure of winning.”

“She never told me a thing,” the youngster grinned. “Like I told Mark, when he asked so he could bet against you.”

“Damned if the office’s not crawling with sharps,” Derringer commented, then nodded towards the train. “Here they come.”

“You’re bossing this drive,” the Kid answered. “Point her the way you want to go.”

In addition to being the office’s gambling authority, Derringer possessed another asset. Traveling around in search of high-stake games of chance, he had come to know many of the assorted petty criminals Dusty wished to deny access to Mulrooney. So the gambler always attended the arrival of trains or stagecoaches and put his knowledge to good use.

Slowly the train ground to a halt, its driver timing things so that the passenger cars stopped in front of where the deputies stood.

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