The Edge of Hell

by William W. Johnstone

  At any rate, if it was Billy, he had a room in the hotel while Perley would be sleeping in the stable. If he was careful, there shouldn’t be any occasion for Billy to know he was even there unless he bumped into him in the dining room.

  “Well, I reckon I’d best get outta here and let you get back to work,” Perley announced.

  “Yeah, I guess I’d better, if I don’t wanna lose my job.”

  “That’s a fact,” he said, knowing she was joking. Her father owned the hotel, so he was not likely to fire her.

  “You gonna be back for breakfast?”

  “I ain’t sure. Depends on how early I get started in the mornin’.” Any other time, he wouldn’t have missed the opportunity to see her again.

  He paid for his supper, said good-bye, and hurried out the door, unaware that she stood watching him until he disappeared around the corner of the building. The only thing he was thinking at that point was that maybe he shouldn’t have left his packs unguarded in the stable for so long. Then he reassured himself that he had been right to not show any undue concern over the packs he had left in a corner of the stall. Besides, Robert Davis was the man responsible for watching the stable, and he was as trustworthy as you could ask for.

  As Perley had figured, his packs and possessions were undisturbed when he got to the stable and Robert Davis was still there to keep an eye on things. He said he had a few things he wanted to take care of before he retired to his room on the back of the barn.

  “I’ll not hold you up any longer,” Perley said.

  “Well, I reckon you can just make yourself at home,” Davis said. “I put fresh hay down in the other corner and you know where the water is. I’ll see you in the mornin’.”

  After Davis left for the night, Perley spent a little time making sure his horses were all right. Then he arranged the hay in the corner opposite his packs and spread his bedroll on top of it, making a soft, comfortable bed. He could hear the loud voices coming from the saloon fifty yards away, but they were not enough to delay his falling asleep almost immediately.