Free A Rocky Mountain Christmas by William W. Johnstone Page A

Pueblo.
    Pueblo—December 19
    Jenny McCoy entered the train station at seven o’clock in the evening and bought a ticket on the Red Cliff Special, due to leave at nine. The judge had given her one week to settle her affairs and leave town, but it had taken her only three days.
    That didn’t leave time for Adele to write to her brother and receive a reply, so she wrote a personal and impassioned letter she gave to Jenny.
    “Show my brother this letter. He’s a good man with a good heart. When he reads this he and his wife will take you in, and if he can’t find work for you in his own store, I’ve no doubt that he will help you find employment.”
    “Thank you, Adele. I don’t know what I would have done in this town if it hadn’t been for you. I don’t know how I would have made a living.”
    “It is I who should thank you. You were a wonderful and classy addition to my business. I’m just sorry things turned out as they did. The judge had no right to order you out of town.”
    “I have made some good friends here, you especially, and I’m sorry to leave them.”
    “Someday you may come back, and when you do, remember that I will always count you as a dear friend.” Adele hugged Jenny and left the station.
    With Adele’s letter secure in her purse, Jenny bought a newspaper, then settled in a seat near one of the roaring potbellied stoves and began to read the Pueblo Chieftain .

    Another Cold Wave
    M OUNTAIN T OWNS R EPORT C ONTINUAL S NOWFALL
    Reports from the mountains show a snowstorm has been in progress several days, thus far without serious or unusual results. The storm is most severe in Eagle County, where snow is several feet deep and drifting. So far all passes are still open for trains.
    At nine o’clock of the morning, the temperature was two below zero and growing colder. Those who watch the weather say Christmas Day will be very cold. That Christmas will be white is surely to be a joy to the children of the city, who will hope to see “Santa Claus” and his sleigh.

    Michael Santelli to Pass Through Pueblo
    O UTLAW I S O N H IS W AY T O B E H ANGED
    Michael Santelli, the notorious gunfighter who is said to have killed seventeen men, met his match when he was confronted by Deputy Sheriff Ben Mason and well-known Western figure Matt Jensen in the town of Kiowa. Santelli was tried for the murders of George and Elaine Rafferty while robbing Rafferty’s Grocery in Red Cliff. Convicted of the crime, he is being transported to Red Cliff, where he will be hanged. He is expected to pass through Pueblo, where he will be put on the train to Red Cliff.
    Deputy Sheriff Braxton Proxmire, who will escort the prisoner, says that he does not expect any trouble.

    Senator Daniels to Visit Red Cliff
    W ILL S PEAK A T R EPUBLICAN C HRISTMAS E VE D INNER
    Senator Daniels has made no statement as to whether or not he will run for governor of Colorado in 1894. He has, however, been a frequent speaker at political gatherings such as the Republican Christmas-Eve dinner being held in Red Cliff on the 24th, thus giving rise to speculation of his future plans.
    Senator Daniels is known to be a vocal opponent of the procedure of paying coal miners in “company script” that can only be redeemed in company stores. He has proposed a bill in the state legislature which would prohibit that practice. He has also proposed that mine owners be responsible for building shoring and other such means of ensuring miners’ safety. As it now stands, all safety improvements are paid for by the miners themselves.

    For the Late Christmas Shopper
    Men, you can do NO BETTER for your wives than to buy them a new hat for Christmas . . .
     
    at F ULLERS M ILLINERY .

     
     
     
    All the latest fashions available!
     
    She will be pleased.

C HAPTER N INE
    As Jenny continued to read the paper she heard a few gasps and comments from others in the waiting room and, looking up, she saw Deputy Sheriff Proxmire coming into the depot with two