Chapter 7 #2
“What are you talking about?” Michael asked, acting confused. “So far your town is lovely. We live in a small town in Texas, and this is very reminiscent of home. And your beer is excellent. We might need to negotiate a trade deal of some sort with Cherryville.” He smiled warmly.
“That’s real kind of you to say, and we’re always interested in trade,” Sylvester said. “But like I said, we’ve had some trouble.”
“Who hasn’t?” Kyle said, going with his gut feeling that Sylvester was dying to talk about this trouble. Why else would he mention it so eagerly?
So, moving closer to Sylvester, Kyle spoke in a confidential tone. “We’ve had bandit trouble back home,” he said soberly.
“A lot of it,” Michael said, following Kyle’s lead.
“You don’t say?” Sylvester asked, eyebrows rising. “Strange coincidence. We’ve asked Sheriff Wilkes to call in the sheriff from Grunnersberg and maybe the one from Alberton too. But even a marshal or two would do.”
“Has he?” Kyle asked.
Sylvester sighed. “There’s a little problem,” he said, pulling out one of the other chairs and taking a seat.
“You see, these bandits make sure there’s always some of them in or around our town.
They can come riding down the street any time, and if they see a whole lot of lawmen at the sheriff’s office …
” He held up his hands in a telling gesture.
“Trouble,” Kyle said with a nod.
“Big trouble,” Sylvester said.
“Surely, your sheriff has some plan to get rid of them?” Michael asked.
Sylvester shook his head. “He said that the leader of these bandits told him they would be leaving soon again, and they wouldn’t come back.”
“What?” Michael asked. “Why?”
Sylvester shrugged. “I don’t know. It doesn’t make any sense to me either, and we’re not supposed to talk about it.
But I figure since folks are allowed to come and go, you know, we could get word out and maybe get some help.
I don’t trust those men. I think they’re talking a load of nonsense.
They’re not going to just leave. Not after we’ve seen them all. ”
Kyle’s stomach dropped as understanding dawned on him. The bandits would leave Cherryville when they were done, but there wouldn’t be a person left alive in the town.
“Sylvester, you should keep your mouth shut,” an old man said. He was sitting at a table two tables to Kyle’s left. He looked stern, as did his companion, who was another old man with a mass of curly white hair.
“You keep talking like that, those bandits are going to come back here and shoot you and all of us.” He thumped his hand angrily on the table.
“Oh, please,” Sylvester said, turning and glaring at the old men.
“If you keep sticking your head in the sand, nothing here will change. We’ll all be murdered in our beds, and there won’t be a soul left in our town to talk about it.
Only the crows will know what happened here.
Maybe you all are okay with that, but not me. ”
“You tell him, Sylvester,” another man with salt-and-pepper hair agreed. “Those ruffians aren’t here for fun. They’re not good people, and they will not be leaving us without making sure we don’t talk to anyone. We need help.”
“We sure do,” Sylvester said.
Just then the door to the saloon swung open, and a tall, burly man with short-cropped blond hair stepped in. He was flanked by two others, and from the pistols strapped to both hips, Kyle judged that they were trouble.
“You’re awfully chatty today, Sylvester,” the blond man said. He took a step closer. There was mud on his boots, and he tracked it across the floor without a thought. “What you talking about?”
“The outrageous price of eggs nowadays,” Sylvester said without missing a beat.
“And these nice gentlemen you have here visiting your establishment are interested in the price of eggs?” the man asked, smiling without a hint of friendliness.
“Yes. It so happens we are.” Michael took a sip of his beer and leaned back casually in his seat. “But I don’t see how our conversation with the owner of this establishment has anything to do with you, friend.”
A challenge. Kyle wondered what Michael was up to. This wasn’t smart. It definitely wasn’t lying low, and it was surreptitiously finding out what was going on, which was Michael’s idea in the first place.
“That so?” the man asked, chuckling. “Well, if it isn’t a straight shooter. I like me a straight shooter, don’t I, boys?”
The men flanking him nodded and chuckled. Kyle slipped those two into the not-too-bright category of men. There was nothing going on behind their eyes besides malice.
“Sure do,” one said, and Kyle noticed he was missing two front teeth. Must have been knocked out in a fight or something. He looked the type.
“They’re some folks passing through, Joel,” Sylvester said. “That’s all. They’re having a meal and then they’ll be on their way. Isn’t that right, fellas?”
Kyle nodded. “Oh yes,” he said. “We have an appointment in Alberton tomorrow morning, and frankly, if we miss it …” he chuckled. “Well, I wouldn’t want to be the reason for that, if you take my meaning.”
Joel seemed to consider his words and nodded. “Well, we wouldn’t want you to miss your appointment,” he said. “So, best you finish up and get on your horse.”
“Will do,” Kyle said, smiling, and added, “Sorry for the bother.”
“No bother,” Joel said. “I like a man who knows to keep his nose out of other people’s business.”
Michael was about to say something, and Kyle kicked him under the table. Michael’s eyes went wide and then he shifted and picked up his spoon. “If you’ll excuse us, our food is getting cold.”
“Right you are,” Joel said. He turned to Sylvester. “Look at the state of this place! It’s a disgrace. You’d better clean it up.” And he dragged the owner of the saloon from his chair. Sylvester stumbled and fell face-first into the mud that Joel and his henchmen had tracked in.
Everything inside Kyle wanted to rise up and beat Joel and his two friends until they were sorry. However, that wouldn’t help Alice and her sister. That wouldn’t do anything but get him and Michael in trouble. And that also wouldn’t help Sylvester. It might even make things worse for the bartender.
“We’re going to have to fix this,” Michael said under his breath so that only Kyle could hear.
Kyle nodded. “Oh yeah. And soon.”