contrary politician. But he had to try.
He walked down the middle of the street toward the mayor’s office shaking his head and grumbling to himself. His anger at the idea of Bart Havens coming into Apache Springs seemed to heighten his awareness of several pairs of eyes watching him carefully from different locationsalong the boardwalk. One man was sitting in a chair leaning back against the whipsaw-sided meat market. Another sat with his elbows on his knees on the steps to the hotel. Yet another eyed him over the batwing doors of the saloon with a beer in his hand. Each looked to be studying the sheriff as he strode down the dusty street, likely sizing him up for any sign of a telltale habit, a move that might give a hint of hesitation, any awkwardness that might translate into an advantage for one who sought to take his life.
A gunslinger who wished to stay alive couldn’t take any chances on not knowing his opponent right down to the size of boot he wore.
Chapter 16
“S heriff Burke, what’s on your mind?” Mayor Orwell Plume said, looking as if the sheriff’s entrance had interrupted a nap.
“There’s trouble comin’ and its name is Bart Havens. That’s what’s on my mind. And it’s weighin’ heavy.”
“This something you can prove, or are you just being overly concerned? I assume you’re referring to the fellow I’ve been told is planning to bring some competition to that stuffy banker, Givins? Just found out myself a week or so ago. But it doesn’t seem to be anything worth getting in a lather over.”
“You may not know his history. I have considerable experience with that rattler, and I’ve seen what his kind of business brings with it.”
“As long as he operates within the law, there isn’t much you or anybody else can do about it, is there?”
“Listen to me, Mayor, this man is the dirtiest kind of lowdown skunk. He’ll cheat the socks off decent folks and laugh while he’s doin’ it. I’ve seen the kind of underhanded tricks he uses. I’m warnin’ you, he’s not here for the goodof Apache Springs. He’s here to line his pockets by the most devious means possible. That’s all.”
“Well, until he
does
step outside the law, we’ll just have to sit back and watch the town grow. You might even benefit yourself.”
“How do you figure, Mayor?”
“If the town gets big enough, we might be needin’ a deputy U.S. marshal, instead of just a sheriff. You given any thought to the possibility of moving up?”
“When you see how quickly Havens can deplete a town’s resources, you’ll change your opinion soon enough. Gettin’ your own marshal will be the
last
thing on your mind.”
“You’re a pessimist, Sheriff. You need to stop lookin’ at every rock like there’s a scorpion under it.”
“Mayor, I know this man, and I assure you he’s every bit as dangerous as any scorpion.”
“What’d he do to get you so riled?” The mayor scowled at Cotton’s continued insistence that Havens was certain to be bad for the town. “It sounds personal.”
“For starters, he tried to have me killed back in Texas. When that didn’t work, he tried to convince the town council I was bad for business. Fortunately, they saw him for what he was and they ran him out of town on a rail. Cost him most of his fortune, a mostly stolen fortune, I might add.”
“So, if he’s broke, how can he be settin’ up a new bank here?”
“That’s just what I aim to find out. And that’s not all. I have a hunch he was behind that fellow who took shots at Jack and me.”
“Sounds like you can’t prove it, though,” Plume said with a smirk.
Fuming, Cotton spun around and stormed out of the mayor’s office before he was tempted to take a swing at the pompous jackass.
“Jack, I believe the town is slowly becoming infected with the gunslinger disease.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen ’em, too. So far, I count five; mostly they’re just hanging around and watching. Getting the lay of the
He walked down the middle of the street toward the mayor’s office shaking his head and grumbling to himself. His anger at the idea of Bart Havens coming into Apache Springs seemed to heighten his awareness of several pairs of eyes watching him carefully from different locationsalong the boardwalk. One man was sitting in a chair leaning back against the whipsaw-sided meat market. Another sat with his elbows on his knees on the steps to the hotel. Yet another eyed him over the batwing doors of the saloon with a beer in his hand. Each looked to be studying the sheriff as he strode down the dusty street, likely sizing him up for any sign of a telltale habit, a move that might give a hint of hesitation, any awkwardness that might translate into an advantage for one who sought to take his life.
A gunslinger who wished to stay alive couldn’t take any chances on not knowing his opponent right down to the size of boot he wore.
Chapter 16
“S heriff Burke, what’s on your mind?” Mayor Orwell Plume said, looking as if the sheriff’s entrance had interrupted a nap.
“There’s trouble comin’ and its name is Bart Havens. That’s what’s on my mind. And it’s weighin’ heavy.”
“This something you can prove, or are you just being overly concerned? I assume you’re referring to the fellow I’ve been told is planning to bring some competition to that stuffy banker, Givins? Just found out myself a week or so ago. But it doesn’t seem to be anything worth getting in a lather over.”
“You may not know his history. I have considerable experience with that rattler, and I’ve seen what his kind of business brings with it.”
“As long as he operates within the law, there isn’t much you or anybody else can do about it, is there?”
“Listen to me, Mayor, this man is the dirtiest kind of lowdown skunk. He’ll cheat the socks off decent folks and laugh while he’s doin’ it. I’ve seen the kind of underhanded tricks he uses. I’m warnin’ you, he’s not here for the goodof Apache Springs. He’s here to line his pockets by the most devious means possible. That’s all.”
“Well, until he
does
step outside the law, we’ll just have to sit back and watch the town grow. You might even benefit yourself.”
“How do you figure, Mayor?”
“If the town gets big enough, we might be needin’ a deputy U.S. marshal, instead of just a sheriff. You given any thought to the possibility of moving up?”
“When you see how quickly Havens can deplete a town’s resources, you’ll change your opinion soon enough. Gettin’ your own marshal will be the
last
thing on your mind.”
“You’re a pessimist, Sheriff. You need to stop lookin’ at every rock like there’s a scorpion under it.”
“Mayor, I know this man, and I assure you he’s every bit as dangerous as any scorpion.”
“What’d he do to get you so riled?” The mayor scowled at Cotton’s continued insistence that Havens was certain to be bad for the town. “It sounds personal.”
“For starters, he tried to have me killed back in Texas. When that didn’t work, he tried to convince the town council I was bad for business. Fortunately, they saw him for what he was and they ran him out of town on a rail. Cost him most of his fortune, a mostly stolen fortune, I might add.”
“So, if he’s broke, how can he be settin’ up a new bank here?”
“That’s just what I aim to find out. And that’s not all. I have a hunch he was behind that fellow who took shots at Jack and me.”
“Sounds like you can’t prove it, though,” Plume said with a smirk.
Fuming, Cotton spun around and stormed out of the mayor’s office before he was tempted to take a swing at the pompous jackass.
“Jack, I believe the town is slowly becoming infected with the gunslinger disease.”
“Yeah, I’ve seen ’em, too. So far, I count five; mostly they’re just hanging around and watching. Getting the lay of the
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