Free High Gun at Surlock (2006) by Terrell L Bowers Page B

of busted springs.’
    ‘I’m sorry about the delay,’ Huxton sympathized.
    ‘Just see to it some of that red ink starts to disappear ,’ she warned. ‘I’m serious about cutting off funding and writing this off as a bad investment.’
    ‘Don’t worry, Alma.’ Huxton displayed his best smile. ‘You’ll soon see the returns I promised.’
    She didn’t speak again. Jeff received the mail sack from the store clerk and placed it under the driver’s seat. Then he took up the reins and got the team under way.
    Huxton waited at the walk until the stage was well down the street before he was able to take a normal breath.
    ‘Talk about a walking heart attack,’ Strap said, having come to stand at his side. ‘Your brother must be one tough son to handle her.’
    ‘Yeah,’ Huxton grunted, thinking David had probably learned to master a mere two words since his marriage to Alma – yes, dear !
    ‘What’s the plan, boss?’ Strap asked. ‘The boys want to get even for that little stunt what got them strapped over the back of their horses.’
    ‘It’s a dire situation, Strap, but we’ll hold off doing anything until after the dance. I have one card left to play. If it gets trumped, then we’ll do this the hard way.’
    ‘Whatever you say, Mr Huxton. You got anything for the new driver? He sure ain’t been getting enough work to earn his keep lately.’
    ‘I’ve been holding him back to drive the new stage. He’s the kind of man I want on that run.’
    ‘So we wait,’ Strap said.
    Huxton gave a nod. ‘For the present. If my plan doesn’t work out at the dance, we’ll open the gate and run the Yates operation out of business.’
    ‘You only have to give the word, boss.’
    Huxton didn’t speak to him again. He needed to get his best suit cleaned and have his boots polished. He would speak to Jessie. If she refused to see the logic in his offer it would be too bad … for her and her brothers.
     
    With the town torn between support for the two freighting outfits the dance was a carefully planned affair. In order to mix the single folks and cross theline between each faction the mayor had thought up an idea to promote mingling.
    ‘Gather round, all you single gents!’ he called out, bringing a silence to the crowd. ‘It’s time we raised some money for our new school,’ with a smirk, ‘and you unattached men can best afford to chip in.’
    Almost everyone had shown up for the festivities. Kyler wandered over to where he could see and hear what the game was about. The mayor pointed to the nearby wall.
    ‘If you look here you will see we’ve got a number of different-colored ribbons spaced along the wall of the barn, one for each of the single girls here tonight. Then he smiled. ‘I’m going to auction off a matching ribbon for each of those on the wall.’
    ‘Why would we want to buy a ribbon?’ one man asked.
    ‘The girls are standing outside, behind the side door,’ the mayor explained. ‘Each of them has a ribbon pinned to her dress. You bid on the ribbon of your choice and you purchase the first and last dance with the girl who holds that ribbon.’
    ‘How do I know who is holding which ribbon?’ another fellow enquired.
    ‘You aren’t supposed to know which girl belongs to which ribbon,’ the mayor answered. ‘That’s the whole idea.’
    There came mumbling and talking between some of the men. The mayor let them discuss it for a moment before raising his hands for silence.
    ‘I don’t have to remind you fellows – those who can count, anyway,’ he added with a grin. ‘But wehave only eleven single girls here tonight, between the ages of seventeen and twenty-three. And there are …’ he looked out over the group of eligible men and gave a negative shake of his head, ‘well, not near enough girls to go round,’ he finished. ‘That’s why we are having this here auction.’
    Kyler looked at the row of ribbons. There were a number of plain-colored ribbons and several with