Read Online One Went to Denver and the Other Went Wrong (Code of the West) by Stephen Bly - Free Book Online Page A

Isn’t your first trip to town, is it?”
      “Nope.”
      “It will be crowded tonight.”
      “I’m goin’ to wait and go tomorrow.”
      “It will be crowded then too. Every rough character on the plains heads there to get .  . . eh, warm.”
      “I don’t aim to dance. I just need to ask a few questions.”
      “I doubt there’s anyone in the place that would give you an honest answer to any question,” Maurice informed him.
      “That’s why I’ll wait until tomorrow night. I’m still half froze. Besides, I don’t have any idea what kind of questions I need to ask.”
      After moving the brass bed again, locking the door, and placing his firearms nearby, Tap turned off the lamp and crawled under a stack of quilts.
      It took him close to an hour to finally get warm.
      It was even longer than that before he could get to sleep.
      Now, Lord, this is Tap, and to tell You the truth, things are gettin’ real confusin’. I mean, out at the ranch everything looks clear and simple. But here, it’s different. If I find Barranca, there’ll be a shootin’. If I kill him, there won’t be any way to prove that he’s the one that back-shot Billingsly. So that means Wade’s still goin’ to be hung, and I’m on the run out of Colorado.
      Shoot, maybe I’ll just tell Wade there’s nothin’ I can do and ride back to the ranch. Maybe Pepper’s right, Lord. The past is too messed up to try and straighten out. Maybe there’s a time to walk away from it.
      Tap rolled over in the dark room and let his hand drop to the floor. He could feel his Winchester. And his boots.
      Lord, You know I can’t do that. You been houndin’ me about Arizona. And now I can’t leave Wade in jail. He might not be a deacon in the church, but he’s my friend, and he’s been dealt a crooked hand. Help me figure this one out, Lord.
      What little sleep Tap could grab ended when the first ray of daylight filtered through the thin curtains of the barren room at the Drovers’.
      Within minutes he had dressed, grabbed his guns, and banged his boot heels down the hall. A blurry-eyed Maurice met him in the parlor.
      “Are you comin’ in or goin’ out?” he asked.
      Tap sighed and lifted his rifle from his shoulder. “I’m goin’ out, Maurice.”
      “Nothin’ in town open yet but the all-night saloons.”
      “I’m headin’ down to the jail to visit a friend.”
      “You comin’ back tonight?”
      “Yep.”
      “If I were you, I’d stay away from the Pearly Gate. It’s plumb cultus, if I do say so.”
      Tap broke into a wide grin. “You know, Maurice, you’ve warned me about that place so often I’ve just got to check it out. Couldn’t be any place north of Hades with that bad a reputation.
      “Who said it was north of Hades?”
      Tap didn’t bother wearing the store-bought suit this time. He entered the jail and asked a startled jailer if he could visit with Wade Eagleman.
      “At this time in the mornin’? Nobody allowed in until after 10:00 A.M. Mister, I ain’t even fed the prisoners breakfast. Is it daylight out there?”
      “It’s fast gettin’ that way.”
      “I guess you can wait out here. It’s better you came to see him today than a couple days from now.”
      “How’s that?” Tap asked.
      “The hangin’s goin’ to be the day after tomorrow.”
      “Hangin’? I thought the governor was reviewing the case.”
      “Don’t know nothin’ about that. But he’ll be hanging soon, that’s for sure. I’ll come get you when it’s visitin’ time.”
      “I’ll go to the livery and take care of my horse. Are you sure I can’t get in until 10:00?”
      “Yep.”
      Tap groomed Brownie, ate breakfast, and paced in front of the jail. Finally the jailor appeared at the door and signaled him in.
      “Just remember—”
      “Keep my hands away from the bars.”
      “And you can lay those weapons of yours right here on the table.”