Thorpe nodded. “I realize that. The livery stable it is then.” He looked at Lopez. “If there’s trouble, can we count on you and the townspeople to lend us a hand?”
Lopez grimaced uncomfortably. “Most of the folks around here are peace-lovin’ hombres, you know what I mean?”
“I know what you mean,” Thorpe said disgustedly. He studied Matt, Sam, and Everett. “It appears that we’re on our own until that train comes through.”
“Why should this be any different?” Matt asked.
Chapter 27
Maggie Winslow couldn’t breathe because her heart had crept right up into her throat and lodged there, choking her.
That was what it felt like anyway as she rode into Pancake Flats not long after dark.
Her face burned with shame because she had to ride astride, with her skirt pulled up over her calves. It had been bad enough when she was forced to ride like that in front of the leering outlaw called Jeffries, whom she hated because of the way his arm had pressed up against the underside of her breasts, and because of the vile things he had whispered in her ear when no one else could hear.
This was worse, though, because now decent people would witness her shame, instead of just a bunch of terrible outlaws. And of course she was worried about Ike and Caleb. Having to ride away and leave her husband and son in the clutches of those beasts was like having part of her soul ripped away.
But the only possible way to save them was to do what Garth told her, no matter how ashamed or frightened she was. She had been prepared to give her body to the outlaws if she had to. Surely she could act as a spy for them.
She spotted the closed-in wagon Garth had told her to look for. It was being pulled into what appeared to be a large livery barn. Two men shoved the doors shut behind it as Maggie reined the horse to a halt. She heard the solid
Maggie nudged her horse forward again. She headed for the railroad station at the far end of the street. Garth wanted to know when the next westbound train was due to arrive. Maggie figured that information would be chalked onto the board next to the ticket window. If not, she could ask the clerk.
Before she could reach the station, however, four men emerged from a building with a sign fastened to it that read simply SALOON, and began to cross the street in front of her. She pulled the horse to a stop to let them go by, but to her dismay, one of the men stopped, looked at her, and said with a big grin, “Hey, fellas, look what we got here.”
The other three men stopped as well to leer up at Maggie. From the way they swayed slightly, she knew they were all drunk, or at least had been drinking quite a bit. They wore big hats and range clothes, and each man had a holstered gun on his hip.
Cowboys from one of the nearby ranches, in town to blow off steam. That’s what they had to be. Maggie wished she hadn’t encountered them, but now that she had, all she could do was try to avoid trouble.
“Please let me pass,” she said. The way they were standing in the street, she couldn’t get around them very easily, and she wasn’t that good a rider. She was afraid that if she tried to rein the horse to the side, she might hit one of the cowboys.
“Aw, you don’t want to ride off just yet, sweetie,” the first cowboy said. “We just met.”
“We haven’t been introduced,” Maggie said in a brittle voice.
“That’s right, we haven’t. My name’s Dub. What’s yours?”
Maggie didn’t answer the question. Instead, she said, “Please, I have business to attend to.”
“You’re a workin’ girl, are you?” one of the other men asked with a leer.
“No, I—” Maggie began before she realized what he meant. When she did, she gasped and felt her face turning hot. “Of course not! I just need to go down to the railroad station—”
“You can’t be leavin’ already,” Dub said. “You just got here. I seen you ridin’ down the street.” He reached for the horse’s harness. “Why don’t you come on back into the saloon and have a drink with us? We’d sure admire to spend some time in your company, wouldn’t we, boys?”
“We sure would, Dub,” one of the other men said. Ugly grins were plastered on their faces.
“No!” Maggie said, pulling back on the reins. “Let me go!”
Dub’s face turned uglier. “You don’t want to be standoffish like that. Just be friendly to us, and we’ll let you go in a little while—”
“You’ll let her go now,” a new voice said.
They would need supplies if they were going to stay holed up in the livery barn until the trestle was repaired and the train could reach Pancake Flats. They still had some jerky left from the trip, but it wouldn’t last long. There was the matter of fresh water, too.
Matt had volunteered to slip out the back and fetch everything they needed while the other three stayed there to guard Joshua Shade. Thorpe had already unlocked the wagon to check on the prisoner, found him as loco and filled with hate as ever, and locked it up again.
“Are you sure you’ll be all right?” Sam asked before Matt left the barn. “I could come with you.”
Matt shook his head. “That would leave just the marshal and Everett here. I’ll be fine.”
Earlier, he had noticed a general store that appeared to be open despite the hour. Hoping that it still was, Matt circled the barn and came out onto the street. He glanced one way toward the general store, and was pleased to see that its windows were still lit up.
