William Johnstone: Triumph of the Mountain Man

“No, Nate, I didn’t bring a wagon along. Say, do you happen to have any of that sulphur elixir?”

Nate Barber nodded. “Just happens I do, now that I bought out old Doc Phillips’s stock from the apothecary shop. How many bottles?”

Smoke chuckled. “Ike’s got six youngsters out there. Might as well make it two bottles.”

“Sure thing.”

The merchant produced the corked, seamless glass bottles and wrapped each in paper. Smoke noticed that the packaging material appeared to be printed pages. “Advertising your place now, Nate?”

Nate glanced down, then smiled as he cut his eyes to Smoke. “Nope. Discarded catalogues. Some folks find ’em a bother and toss ’em away.”

Smoke nodded his understanding, paid for his purchase and took his mail and the medicine along. Outside, he stowed it all in his saddlebags, swung into the saddle, and directed Cougar toward his next stop. Monte Carson would no doubt be downing his twelfth cup of coffee about now.

“Smoke! How’er you doin’?” Monte Carson bellowed as Smoke entered the office portion of the jail. Smoke and the sheriff had been friends for many long years, ever since the time when Smoke foreswore the dangerous life of a gunfighter-for-hire and stood back-to-back with Monte to rid the streets of Big Rock of some mighty nasty gunhawks and saddle trash. They had done a fair job of cleaning up all of Routt County for that matter. Smoke Jensen wore a badge for the first time in his life then, and had done so often since. Not that Smoke had been an outlaw in the truest sense of the word. He had never stolen anything, nor had he taken money for killing a man. Yet, it was always a close thing for a gunfighter to prove self-defense in a shoot-out. Being fully and permanently on the side of the law had a good feeling. Smoke had Monte to thank for that.

He poured coffee for himself and used the toe of one boot to hook a captain’s chair over by a rung. Seated, he faced Monte. “Well, Monte, I came in on the mail run.”

“You expectin’ somethin’ important?”

“No, but it appears I got it anyway.” He went on to tell Monte about the letter from Don Diego Alvarado.

“Why don’t you open it up and find out what it is?” Monte asked. “Might be an invite to the wedding of one of his sons.”

Smoke shook his head. “I doubt that. Last I heard, Alejandro was already married. Xavier is down in Mexico at some seminary, studying to become a priest. Pablo would be a mere boy in his teens. Lupe could be only eight or so, and Miguel was born not three years ago.”

Always curious, Monte prompted his friend. “So? Open the dang thing up and get a look.”

“I will. But, being it’s near noon, I thought you’d like to join me for a schooner or two of beer and some of Hank’s free lunch over at the Bright Lights.”

Monte grinned and, coming to his boots, nodded his head in eagerness. “You buyin’?”

“Of course. Although I wouldn’t want it to be considered bribing an officer of the law. I don’t want to be a guest of the county for even half an hour.”

Monte reached for a drawer. “Well, then, hang a deputy’s badge on yer vest and we’ll call it a treat among brother lawmen. You know I’ll bend heaven and earth to get a free beer.”

They laughed together as they left the office. It was a short enough walk, only across the street, Smoke left Cougar tied off in front of the jail. The bar of the Bright Lights was crowded when they entered, so they took a table near the back of the room. The resinous odor of fresh sawdust perfumed the saloon. Smoke and Monte ordered beer and then built sandwiches of thick-sliced country ham, Swiss cheese, and boiled buffalo tongue, all on home-baked bread. They added fat dill pickles and hard-boiled eggs to their plates and carried them to where they would sit.

After taking a bite and chewing thoroughly, Smoke asked Monte about the town. The lawman responded eagerly.

“Let me tell you about these two drifters who tried to rob Nate’s general mercantile,” Monte began around a bite of his huge sandwich. “This happened about a week ago. They went in with bandannas pulled up over their noses and six-guns out. Well, Nate had no mind to try to stop them. One of the saddle trash growled at him about giving up all the money. Nate did, and put it in a paper bag, like they asked. The one who took the bag must have had a sweet tooth, ’cause right then he spied a jar of rock candy on the counter. Like a kid who only gets to town once in six months, he set the bag full of money aside and made for that jar. He stuffed his shirt pockets full of candy, and the ones in his vest, too. Then he grabbed up the cash and started to back out the door with his partner.

“What he didn’t know,” Monte went on, fighting back laughter, “is that he set that paper sack on top of the pickle barrel. It was a new, unopened one, but the lid had sprung. The bottom of the bag got soaked, and the weight of the money caused it to fall through. Coins went ever which a way. Right then, Nate grabbed up his shotgun while the robbers gaped at the fluttering bills that still fell from the sack. He had ’em disarmed and hands in the air when a passerby saw what was happenin’ and came over to get me.”

Smoke joined Monte’s chuckles. “They don’t make desperados like they used to. That all the excitement you’ve had?”

“Nope. Mrs. Granger had another baby, her eighth. Her husband swore he thought they were both too old for that to happen. A boy. That makes five boys and three girls.”

“And all living?” Smoke inquired.

“Yep. By some miracle. Oh, yeah, how’d you fare out at the Sugarloaf in that thunderstorm middle of last week?”

“Not bad. Barely a shower there.”

Monte frowned. “Might lot more around here. A regular goose-drownder. The Elk River went over its banks all along the valley. We had tree trunks and driftwood floating down Tom Longley Street for two days.”

Smoke bit, chewed, and swallowed before remarking, “I thought it looked a mite damp along there.”

“‘Damp’ don’t get it by about three feet, Smoke. Had some of the merchants writin’ to the governor to ask for help in cleanup and repair. Hell, any fool knows the government ain’t got any money. Only that they take from the people in taxes.”

Smoke nodded agreement. “And I remember the time when a decent man wouldn’t ask for a handout when he could make do for himself.”

Monte put on a poker face. “But I reckon times they are a-changin’. It’s gettin’ too civilized around here.”

Smoke slapped a big palm on one thigh. “Don’t get me started on that. Any other urgent news?”

“Only that my chief deputy, Sam Barnes, was sparking the young widow Phillips last Sunday at the church box supper social.”

“You mean the pretty young thing that some gossips are saying put old Doc Phillips in an early grave?”

“The same. A man’s shy some gravy for his grits when he brings one home that’s not half his age. Mind, I don’t know about their home life and have no desire to speculate. She’s a looker, though.”

“That she is, Monte.” In silence, they returned to their food.

* * *

Ace Banning paused to extinguish a quirley before he entered the bank in Big Rock. Few people remained in the lobby this close to noon. The bank would close in five minutes, according to the oak-cased wall clock that hung on the far wall. He waited behind a weighty dowager at one teller cage, and when his turn came, he asked for change for a twenty-dollar gold double-eagle. All the while, his eyes shifted, taking note of the layout of the establishment. Would they shut the vault at noon? He doubted it. There were two armed guards. That made Ace think of his friends waiting outside.