The Last Buckaroo by J. R. Wright Page B

again.

 
     
     
     
    CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN
    With
mixed emotions, Katie walked the few blocks to the tavern.  Entering she
discovered the place packed to the walls with people.  As she worked her way to
the bar she noticed some of the customers were female, a rarity for this
place.  The automobile could be the reason for that  —  city
folks getting out to the country.  Knowing not what else to do with herself she
stepped behind the bar to give Wanda a hand.  There was an abundance of dirty
glasses so she went right to work washing them up.
    “ Oh,
God, thank you, ” Wanda came up to her and said.  “ So
your man was found not guilty.  I ’ ll
bet you ’ re
feeling super about that. ”
    “ Well,
yes, I am.  But I don ’ t know where you got
the notion Yancey was my man.  He ’ s
just a good friend, Wanda. ”
    “ That ’ s
not what I heard. ”
    “ Well,
you don ’ t
see him here anywhere, do you? ” Katie said, disappointedly.
    “ Where
is he then? ”
    “ Rode
out, I guess.  I suppose he got a horse somewhere. ”
    “ Well,
that ’ s
a bummer, ” Wanda
said and went back to serving customers.
    An
hour later, Ralph Longley appeared before Katie at the bar.  He handed her an
envelope.  “ Yancey asked me to deliver that … it ’ s
money for the lawyer.  I have Helmer ’ s
suit over at the hotel. ”
    Katie
opened the envelope to see if there was a letter  —  no
such luck.  “ Where is he, Ralph? ”
    “ Rode
north, is all I know.  I sold him my old gelding.  I ’ m
thinking of buying a car anyway. ”
    “ He
didn ’ t
happen to say when he ’ d be back? ”
    “ No,
but he left some of his things in the tack room.  I suppose he ’ ll
be back for that someday …   Oh, he did say he put an extra twenty
dollars in the envelope  —  for
you. ”
    “ He
must have drawn his money from the bank? ”
    “ Now
you ’ d
have to ask his banker that.  All I know is he had a big wad on him.  I saw it
when he paid me the fifty dollars for old Barney. ”
    Katie
spotted Woody Clampett by the door, towering over the group of people that
surrounded him.  It seemed he was a popular man in town now.  She shouted “ Woody! ” and waved him over.
    “ Thanks ,
Ralph, ” she said, even though
there wasn ’ t much gratefulness in her heart at
the moment.  “ Can I get you a beer? ”
    “ May
as well.  I don ’ t expect there ’ ll
be any new customers, now that the trial is over. ”
    She
drew Ralph the beer, sat it before him, then saw Woody had almost made it to
her.  “ I
see you have a following already, ” she said and handed
over the envelope.
    “ Yes,
Katie.  It seems that way, doesn ’ t
it? ”  
He pulled the money from the envelope and quickly counted it.  “ You ’ ve
made a mistake … there ’ s
twenty extra here. ”
    “ Keep
it … you earned it. ”
    “ Oh,
I couldn ’ t. 
It ’ s
me who should be paying you, ” he said.  “ Without
your help, Katie, I doubt we would have won. ”   He shoved four ten
dollar bills into her hand and closed her fingers around it.
    “ Knowing
you, Woody, I ’ m sure you would have found a way, ” Katie said and
laughed.  No doubt the man was a mind reader the way he manipulated Kermit
Striker … either that or a good guesser.  “ Thank
you, ” she said and put the
money in a small invisible pocket in the dress, at the waistline.
    “ Now,
I need to talk to you about working for me full time, ” he said, displaying a
hopeful grin.   “ Of
course it would mean you ’ d need to move to
Terryville. ”
    “ Oh,
that does sound exciting, Woody, but I couldn ’ t. 
Thank you anyway.  I don ’ t want to leave here
just yet.  Besides, I ’ d miss the tavern. ”
    “ Well,
if you change your mind …”
    “ I
won ’ t, ” Katie responded
quickly.  She wanted to be here if Yancey ever returned, although she cautioned
herself about getting her hopes up.  “ Let
me buy you a whiskey. ”
    “