When Clint reached him, the man looked as if he was going to cry, or faint.
“What’s your name?” Clint asked.
“Ha-Ha-Harley T-Trace.”
“You’ve been watching me since I got to town, Harley,” Clint said. “Why?”
“I—I—I was told to.”
“By who? Eric Locksley?”
“Oh, no, sir,” Trace said. “I’m, uh, workin’ for the sheriff.”
“And what does he want you to do?” Clint asked.
“J-Just keep an eye o-on you.”
“And the girl?”
“Y-Yeah.”
“Well,” Clint said, “I think you’re done for the day, Harley.”
“Um, the sheriff said—”
“Never mind what the sheriff said,” Clint cut him off. “You’re done.”
“B-But w-what—”
Trace had all the indications of being an alcoholic. Clint took some money from his pocket.
“Go and get yourself a drink or two,” Clint said, putting the coins in Harley’s pocket. “Then, in a little while, come to the doc’s. I’ll be back there again.”
“But—”
“The sheriff never has to know,” Clint said. “Go. Otherwise I’m going to have to hurt you. Wouldn’t you rather have a couple of drinks?”
“Well, yeah.”
“Then go,” Clint said. “I’ll see you later.”
Clint started back across the street.
“Mr. Adams?”
Clint turned.
“What?”
“You seen me right from the beginnin’?” Harley asked.
“Right from the start, Harley.”
“Jeez,” Harley said as the Gunsmith went back across the street. He swallowed hard as he realized the Gunsmith could have killed him anytime he wanted to.
* * *
“What was that about?” Amy asked.
“He’s been watching me since I got to town.”
“Harley? He’s usually only worried about his next drink.”
“Well, seems like the sheriff’s got him on a short leash while he’s watching me.”
“What did you do?”
“Gave him some money.”
“He’ll go get drunk,” she said. “He’ll be in a lot of trouble with the sheriff.”
“I told him I’d be at Doc’s later, and to meet me there,” Clint said. “The sheriff won’t hear from me that he went for a few drinks.”
“I hope he doesn’t hear it from anybody.”
“Let’s make this quick,” he said, “and nobody will have to get into trouble.”
“Okay,” she said. “This way.”
TWENTY-FOUR
The house was small, and musty from having been closed up for so long. Amy led Clint there as it was getting dark. Once there, she opened the door, and lit a lamp that was hanging on the wall.
“There’s not much here anymore,” she said. “A chair, a cot. There’s a stream out back where you can get fresh water. I think there’s still a bucket.”
Clint looked around. The house had only two rooms. There was an old stove against one wall.
“The stove might still work if you put some wood in it.”
“She won’t be here long enough to want to cook,” Clint said. “But this will do.”
“You want to bring her here tonight?” Amy asked.
“I’ll go back and see if she can walk,” he said. “If I need a buckboard, it’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”
“I have a buggy behind the café,” Amy said. “I can bring her here.”
“You’ve done enough—”
“Tonight’s the time to do this,” Amy said. “You made sure that Harley will be drunk. No one’s watching.”
“The danger—”
“We should stop arguing and go do it now, Clint.”
Clint stared at her, saw in her face that she would not be deterred.
“All right,” he said. “Let’s go.”
* * *
Clint went back to the doctor’s office while Amy went to fetch the buggy. Before he went inside, he looked around. No one was watching.
As soon as the doctor opened the door, he asked, “Where have you bee—”
“Can she walk?” Clint asked Mathis.
“I suppose so,” the doc said, “but she shouldn’t ride.”
“Amy’s bringing a buggy around,” Clint said. “I have a place to take Mary to keep her safe.”
“Where?”
“The less you know, the better.”
“I still have to treat her.”
“I’ll come and get you, and bring you to her,” Clint said. “For now, just help me get her down the stairs and into the buggy.”
* * *
With Clint on one side and Mathis on the other, they walked her down the stairs. She was wearing the dirty clothes she’d had on when Clint found her.
Amy was waiting with a buggy, as promised.
“Amy,” Mary said. “Why are you doin’ this?”
“I just want to help, Mary.”
Mary didn’t seem to know how to respond, but finally she just said, “Thanks.”
Clint and Doc lifted her onto the seat next to Amy.
“Take her out there,” Clint said. “I’ll be along.”
“We’ll be fine,” Amy said. She looked at Mary. “I brought you some clean clothes. And we can give you a bath.”
“Oh, I’d love a bath!” Mary said.
Amy looked at Clint.
“By the time you join us,” she said, “you won’t recognize her.”
“I’ll look forward to it.”
He slapped the horse on the rump and they rode into the darkness.
“Is she taking her to her old house, outside of town?” Doc asked.
Clint asked, “You know about that?”
“I do.”
“Well, hopefully the Locksleys won’t think of it.”
They went back up the stairs and into Doc’s place.
“There’s been a man watching us since we arrived,” Clint told him.
“What? Who?”
“Harley Trace.”
The doctor looked relieved.
“For a minute you scared me,” he said.
“Why aren’t you scared?”
“Harley’s a drunk.”
“I figured that, so I gave him some money. But he’ll be back here soon.”
“Why is he watching us?”
“He says the sheriff told him to.”
“That’s bad,” Doc said. “If the sheriff has been watching us, it’s for Locksley.”
“Well,” Clint said, “maybe he has him watching me, not you. We’ll find out when I leave here.”
“Where are you going?” the doc asked.
“I’ll stay with Mary at Amy’s house.”
“I’ll come out there to treat her,” Doc said, “and make sure I’m not followed.”
“Okay,” Clint said. “Trace might be back here any minute.”
“I doubt it,” Doc said. “He’s probably crawled into a bottle.”
“I didn’t give him that much money,” Clint said. “A couple of drinks at best.”
“He’ll get somebody else to buy him a drink,” Doc said.
“Just in case,” Clint said, “I’ll get out of here now.”
“Go,” Doc said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Clint nodded, said, “Thanks, Doc.”
He left, went down the stairs, and stopped. He looked around, didn’t see Trace or anyone else. Instead of walking on the street, he melted into the darkness of the alley, walked throug
h to the other side, leading Eclipse. He used back streets to get to the end of town, then walked to Amy’s house.
When he got there, he saw the light from the lamp inside. They were going to have to cover the windows to block that light, but the house would do.
For a while.
TWENTY-FIVE
“You came too soon,” Amy said. “We’re still getting her cleaned up.”
She backed away to let him enter.
“She’s in the other room.”
“I want to cover the windows, so nobody will see the lights.”
“I think I have some old blankets,” she said. “You can tear them apart to use as shades. Wait here.”
She went into the other room, opening the door to enter. Clint caught a glimpse of a naked Mary, washing herself with a bucket of water. It was just a quick glimpse, but he saw a full, round breast and a dark pubic bush before Amy closed the door.
Amy came back out, carrying some blankets.
“I hope this will be enough,” she said. “If not, I can come back with more tomorrow.”
“I’ll cover the front windows,” Clint said. “We won’t have to cover the back if we keep the door closed.”
“Okay.”
“When I’m done with this, I’m going to see to my horse,” Clint said. He felt bad that Eclipse had not been unsaddled and properly brushed and fed.
“By the time you finish all that, she’ll be ready to be seen,” Amy said.
Clint nodded. As she went back into the room, he began tearing the blankets.
* * *
When the sheriff walked into the saloon and saw Harley Trace at the bar, he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Jesus,” he said.
Trace was leaning on the bar, clearly drunk. He was begging the bartender for another drink.
“Come on, Ernie,” he said. “One more.”
“You’ve had your drinks, Harley,” Ernie said. “Your money’s gone.”
The sheriff approached and clapped his hand on Harley’s left shoulder.
“Ow!” The drunk turned and his eyes widened when he saw the lawman. “Sheriff. Buy me a drink—”
“Are you crazy?” Sheriff Crabtree said. He dragged Harley outside, then let him go. The man staggered.
“What the hell are you doing in the saloon? I told you to watch Adams.”
“B-But . . . he gave me some money.”
“He did, huh? And where is he?”
“He’s—he’s at Doc’s.”
“Let’s go and see, Harley,” Crabtree said. “You better hope he is there.”
“How about one more drink before he go—”
“Come on!” Crabtree grabbed Harley and pushed him ahead of him.
* * *
“Hello, Sheriff,” Doc Mathis said.
“Doc. Can we come in?”
“Sure.” Mathis backed away from the door to let Crabtree and Harley enter.
“Doc, is Clint Adams here?”
“He was.”
“And the Connelly girl?”
“She was here, too.”
“Where are they now?”
“Gone.”
“Gone where?”
Doc shrugged. “Adams said you wanted him and the girl gone, so they left.”
“Left town?”
“I don’t know, Sheriff. All I know is that they’re not here.”
“Mind if I have a look?”
“Go ahead.”
“Give Harley a seat, Doc.”
“Here.” The doc pulled a chair over for Harley to sit in.
“How about a drink, Doc?” Harley asked.
“Sorry, Harley,” Mathis said. “You’ve had enough.”
The sheriff looked in the other rooms. The beds were made, as if they hadn’t been used in some time. Nobody was around. He came back out.
“This is no good, Doc,” he said. “Locksley’s not gonna like it.”
“I thought he wanted them gone.”
“He wanted them kept track of, until they did leave,” Crabtree said.
“I wanna drink!” Harley whined.
“You’re in a lot of trouble, Harley,” Crabtree said.
“I ain’t a deputy, Sheriff,” Harley said. “Ya shouldn’ta made me watch.”
“Let’s go,” Crabtree said. He pulled Harley out of the chair and pushed him to the door. “This ain’t over, Doc.”
“It’s over for me,” Mathis said. “I treated the girl and she’s gone.”
“We’ll see, Doc,” Crabtree said. “We’ll see.”
TWENTY-SIX
Clint finished rubbing Eclipse down with a cloth he made from a blanket. He didn’t have any feed for the animal, but he walked down to the brook and found some fresh grass.
“Best I can do for now, big boy,” he said. He left Eclipse behind the house and went back inside, with his saddlebags and rifle. Amy and Mary were still in the other room.
He walked to the stove, wondering if he’d be able to use it to make some coffee. He was about to go out and get some wood when the door opened and Amy stepped out.
“Okay,” she said, “she’s all cleaned up, and wearing one of my dresses.”
Mary came out, and Clint was stunned. The dress was blue, made her eyes even bluer. Her hair was clean and brushed, hanging down past her shoulders. Her age had been hard to determine when she was grimy, but now she looked about twenty-five.
“Wow,” he said. “What a difference. You’re beautiful.”
“Thank you.”
“Being clean works wonders for a girl’s looks,” Amy said.
“That and a dress,” Mary said. “Thank you so much, Amy . . . for everything.”
“Don’t mention it,” Amy said. “I better get going. I have to get the buggy back to the stable and take care of the horse. Then I need to get some sleep so I can open early tomorrow.”
“I appreciate everything, Amy,” Clint said.
“Walk me to the buggy, Clint,” Amy suggested.
“Okay.” To Mary he said, “I’ll be right back.”
He and Amy left the house and walked to the buggy.
“She’s real fragile right now, Clint,” Amy said. “You better take it easy with her.”
“I have been.”
“I think you can get a fire going in that stove and make some coffee.”
“I can do that, but I don’t want any smoke coming from the chimney. I’ll figure something out.”
He helped Amy up into her seat, and she picked up her reins.
“I’ll be at the café if you need me,” she said.
“I won’t want to wake you,” he said. “I’m sure we’ll be okay.”
“I’ll stop by tomorrow,” she said, and shook the reins at her horse. As she rode away, Clint went back to the house.
Mary was peering into the stove.
“Coffee sound good, but what about the smoke coming from the chimney?”
“We can risk it tonight,” he said, “but not during the day. I’ll go and get some wood.”
“Good,” she said. “Maybe the stove will also warm it up in here.”
It wasn’t that cold, so maybe she was feeling it for a different reason.
He went out and came back with an armful of kindling.
When he got the fire going, he went out again for water, and put the pot on the stove to boil.
There were two chairs, so they pulled them over by the stove and sat down.
“How are you feeling?” he asked.
“I have a headache, otherwise I’m okay,” she said.
“We’ll find out from Doc when you can ride, and get you out of here,” Clint said.
/> “Then I’ll be back where I started,” she said, “on a horse with no money, and no place to go.”
“Not quite,” he said. “We’ll get you a good horse and a good saddle, and we’ll figure out a place for you to go.”
“Why are you being so helpful?”
“Well, I’m the one who put you in danger again by bringing you back to this town.”
“Yeah, but you also saved my life by not leaving me out there.”
“I just want to help you get away from here,” Clint said, “then you can be on your own.”
“You think they’ll let me leave again?”
“Why not? All they want is for you to go away.”
“Actually,” she said, “I think Angela wanted me dead. It was Eric who chased me out of town.”
“I’ll just try to keep them both away from you.”
“This is my own fault,” she said. “I should have left town on my own a long time ago. I was just so . . . caught up in . . . everything.”
“A powerful, rich man who’s interested in you, I guess that’s pretty hard to walk away from.”
“Not if you have self-respect,” she said. “I guess I didn’t have any.”
“You can get some,” Clint said. “Leave here, get yourself set up in a new town, with a new life.”
“You make it sound so easy.”
“It can be,” Clint said. “But it all starts with getting you away from here.”
“Well, I’m all for that.” Mary looked around at the windows, which were covered with bits of blankets. “Are there any blankets left?”
“There’s one I didn’t cut up,” he said. “I thought you might need it.”
He crossed the room, got the blanket, and brought it back to her. He wrapped her in it, and she held it closed with her hands.
“Thank you.” They stayed that way for a few seconds, looking into each other’s eyes.
“Coffee smells ready,” he said, standing up. “I’ll get it.”
He poured the coffee into two cups he got from his saddlebags and handed her one.
“Ooh, that feels good on my hands,” she said, cradling the mug.
He sat back down in his chair next to her, holding his own mug.
“What are you going to do now?” she asked.
“Get some sleep,” he said.
“Where?”
“Well, I thought here. You can sleep in that room, and I’ll sleep in here.”
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