Slocum and the Glitter Girls at Gravel Gulch (9781101619513) by Jake Logan Page B

Hornaday out of town on foot.”
    “His saddlebags and rifles ain’t in the livery,” Earl said. “His saddle and bridle are there.”
    “I’m damned tired of hearing where Slocum and Hornaday ain’t,” Orson said. “Find them.”
    “You want ’em alive, or do we shoot them?” Hack asked.
    “Shoot ’em if you have to, but if you can wrestle ’em down and hog-tie ’em, I’d like to see their necks stretched on the gallows,” Orson said.
    The four gunmen left the room, leaving only Steve Beck and Johnny Crowell still there.
    “Johnny,” Orson said, “go on back to your job at the livery.”
    “Sure, boss,” Johnny said and walked quickly out the door.
    “Steve, I got a little job for you,” Orson said.
    “Yes, sir.”
    “I want you to find Ruben Machado for me. You know where he lives?”
    “Sure do, Orson,” Beck said.
    “Tell him to hightail it over here quick as possible. You got that?”
    Beck rose from his seat and donned his hat.
    “I’ll get him here, Orson.”
    “Then you better buy another lock for that jail. With your own money.”
    “Yes, sir, I’ll do that, too.”
    “Get a good one this time,” Orson said.
    Beck left the hotel room and Orson rose from his chair and walked to the window. He paced back and forth, glancing at the face of a butte some distance away.
    Less than a half hour later, there was a knock at his door.
    “Come in,” he said, and turned to walk back to his chair.
    He stood behind the big chair as the door opened and Ruben Machado walked in, his stubble-flocked face shadowed by the brim of his dark hat.
    Orson sat down.
    “Come on in, Ruben,” he said.
    Ruben took off his hat and walked over to where Orson sat.
    “You ready, Ruben?” Orson said.
    “I am ready,” Ruben said, half bowing to emphasize his obedience to Canby.
    “Tomorrow, you and Paco haul that wagon out to Sunrise Mesa. You know where it is?”
    “I do,” Ruben said.
    “When you deliver the guns, you tell Chief Blue Wolf to wait for my order.”
    “Your order?” Ruben said.
    “He will know what I mean, Ruben. You just tell him that.”
    “What do we do after we deliver the guns to Blue Wolf?” Ruben asked.
    “You and Paco come back here, drive the wagon to the middle of Gravel Gulch, and leave it there. Then, you boys put up the draft horses, saddle up, and hightail it for Tucson.”
    “Yes,” Ruben said.
    “I will meet you there in a few days with more money. Got that?”
    “Yes, Paco and I will do what you say, Orson,” Ruben said.
    “On your way out, stop by Mr. Jennings’s office and tell him I want to see him right away.”
    “Tomorrow, we go,” Ruben said.
    “Perfect, Ruben.
Vaya con Dios
.”
    Ruben bowed, put his hat back on, and hurried from the room.
    Orson listened for his footsteps out in the hall. Matt Jennings was his accountant and had an office on the mezzanine of the hotel.
    Orson waited for him, a fresh cigar in his mouth. He reached for a match on a nearby end table and picked up the box.
    By the time he’d trimmed the end of the cigar and lit it, Jennings came through the door.
    Jennings never knocked when Orson sent for him. He carried a ledger in one hand and a pencil and tablet in the other.
    “Sit down, Matt,” Orson said. “At the table there.”
    “You’re in a bright mood, Orson,” Jennings said.
    “I got my reasons,” Orson said.
    Jennings sat down at the round table inset with various wood designs. He set down the ledger and opened the tablet. He positioned the pencil over the tablet and seemed prepared to write.
    “I see you brought the books, Matt,” Orson said.
    “Yes. In case you wanted to go over the figures.”
    Jennings did not smile. He was all business.
    “And how are we doing?” Orson asked.
    “Very well, Orson,” Jennings said. “And if you take over that mine once owned by Devlin and Hornaday, I expect you’ll do even better. The assay was quite favorable.”
    “I know,” Orson said. “Richest mine so far. But