As I came through the doors, my eyes swept the room, Sam was setting at the same corner table that Brie and I sat at for lunch yesterday. He seen me, his eyes had a surprised look. I ignored him and went to the bar. Bayard said, “What’ll be.”
“Just a cup of coffee, Brie is making breakfast for me.” As he went to get it, I turned my back to the bar, looking at Sam, I said, “Howdy Sam, what brings you to Coolidge?”
“I didn’t know for sure, till you walked in. That’s a mighty shinny badge you have on there.”
“Yep, it sure is. If you didn’t know why you came here, what ill wind blew you here?”
“This letter, with money in it.” He held the letter up with his left hand. “It just says that the Wise River Mine is having some varmint problems. I just bet that varmint is you?”
“Could be Sam. But I don’t take too kindly at being called a varmint.”
“Whoa, there Trego. I’m not after you, yet. Cause that cash was just a teaser, the deal ain’t been cinched yet. The letter also said something about riding shotgun on a silver shipment. You might not even be the burr under their saddle.”
“Am I the burr under your saddle Sam?”
“Nope, not yet. But I’ll tell you when you are.” He said, as he tossed some money on the table and hitched up his pants, careful not to get his hand near his gun. He walked to the door and started to go out. He stopped, turning he said, “someone stole my horse.”
“Nope, they didn’t. You’ll find it at the livery, you owe me two bucks. You know Sam, I just can’t abide a man who looks after his own welfare; before taking care of his horse, how did you live so long doing that?”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well Sam, you know if your horse gives out on you in the middle of the desert or even when being chased by a posse, you’re in deep shit. Hell, even a greenhorn knows that.” His face was turning red, “take it easy Sam, remember, you haven’t been paid yet.”
Bayard broke the tension, “Here’s your coffee Trego.” I didn’t turn around, “Thanks Bayard.” I said. Sam was losing some of his steam, he turned and went out, slamming the door behind him.
“That was about the smoothest job of needling that I have ever seen done.” Bayard said. “It looked like he was going to draw on you.”
“Yep, I thought he might also. Sort of wished he would of, I don’t like postponing the inventible.” I said, as I sipped at my coffee.
“How come you always talk so fancy, some of the words you use, I’ve never heard of before.”
“My Dad was pretty strict, I guess he figured if it was worth saying, it was worth saying well. Of course sometimes I fall back on the colloquial.” I said as I finished my coffee and tossed him a dime.
I was debating which door to go out, the front or the side, wondering if he was going to try and dry gulch me. Knowing how devious his thinking might be, I decided to go out the front door, figuring he would be looking for me to go out the side door.
I was right, he wasn’t watching the front door. I peeked around the edge of the building, he was watching the side door. He didn’t see me. I stepped back, should I confront him? I peeked back around the corner of the building. He was gone. Damn, I should of braced him. He was sure enough a bad man, but he was a coward. And they were the worst kind.
“You took your time, where have you been?” Brie said, as I came into the kitchen.
“Oh, I didn’t like seeing that horse suffer, so I took it to the livery. Sam wasn’t the least bit appreciative.”
“I don’t imagine that he was, you did it just to piss him off, didn’t you?”
“No, not entirely, but some, yeah.”
“Why are you doing this. Are just trying to make him mad?”
“Yeah, I guess I am. You see when someone loses their temper, they lose their reasoning. I need any edge that I can engender.”
“Why, your faster than he is, aren’t you?”
“Maybe, but he’s a back shooting coward, I need him so mad he can’t see straight. I need him to draw on me, face to face.”
Brie stood there with the hotcake spatula in her hand, thinking. “Honey, let’s just leave, let’s go somewhere else.”
“Huh! What are you talking about? Running away? We can’t do that, this town is depending on us. Yes, that’s right us. You and me. We’re a team.” I said.
“I know that, it’s just that I’m scared for you. You said that we were a team? Do you mean that?”
“Of course I do.”
“Did you know that I can shoot? My Dad taught me, both with a revolver and a long gun. I just have to brush up a little. In fact I have my own pistol and holster, I never showed it to you. Would you take me out of town so I can practice?”
I sat there thinking, me and my big mouth, what if something happened to her, I would never forgive myself. “Alright, but let’s keep it a secret, I don’t want anyone to know that you can shoot.”
“Good we can saddle one of the mares for me this afternoon, if that’s alright?”
I didn’t see anymore of Sam Benbow the rest of the morning. He was probably holed up with that bunch at the Wise River Mine. I figured they would lay low for awhile. They had the funeral coming up, plus getting that silver shipment out of town. I had that creepy feeling in the middle of my back.
Her gun was a .41 caliber Navy. Well oiled and kept. You could see that it had plenty of usage. Brie was wearing her pants, she strapped the gun belt and holster on and twirled the gun on her finger and put it smoothly in the holster. I looked at her; she hadn’t told me her whole story.
“Put on your long coat, I don’t want anyone seeing you with that pistol.”
We rode out of town right after lunch; we used the reason of going to visit the Specter ranch. Everyone was looking curiously at us. Why wouldn’t they, this was the first time that we left town since I got here. Jake was running ahead of us. Happy to be going somewhere. Tied to my saddle horn was a sack of empty tomato tins, to use as targets.
We stopped far enough away from town so no one could hear our shots. I went out about fifty yards and lined up six cans about ten feet apart.
We dropped reigned our horses. I told Jake to keep an eye on the mare. She might spook at the noise. I knew Jim wouldn’t.
“Alright Honey, see if you can hit those cans.” Brie held her Navy loosely in her right hand, then she shot once. It hit close to the first can on the left. The can flew, not because she hit it, but the dirt did. She sat herself again. The second can was a direct hit, she did the same with the remaining four. You could see her confidence building at each shot.
She reloaded. I went and sat more cans up. I came back. “That was some good shooting sweetheart.
