Free Slocum and the Glitter Girls at Gravel Gulch (9781101619513) by Jake Logan

Whit said, bewildered. Some of the smoke puffs were close together and some were spaced out from different buttes.
    “We’d better skedaddle,” Butterbean said. “I got to tell Canby about this.”
    “What do you make of it, Wil?” Whit asked.
    Butterbean picked up the handle of the cart and started walking at a brisk pace toward Deadfall.
    “Them Apaches are sure as hell aimin’ to do something that ain’t good,” Butterbean said.
    As Whit walked along beside Butterbean, he looked back at the smoke signals. There were several of them and they were far apart, rising from different bluffs.
    Then fear struck him. The Apaches were invisible, but he knew they were out there. And they were planning something. He was sure of that. Even in the rising heat of morning, he felt a cold chill steal over his body.
    He kept pace with Butterbean.
    And they were both in a hurry to get back into the sheltered valley, where they could feel safe.

11
    Slocum glanced at the left wall of the cabin.
    There, neatly stacked, were his saddlebags, bedroll, with the sawed-off shotgun butt showing in the folded material, and his rifle lying across.
    “While you were gone,” Laurie said, “I took the liberty of getting your rifle, bedroll, and saddlebags from the stable. I figured you might need them. Especially the bedroll.”
    “Why?” Slocum asked.
    “I don’t think you ought to stay in Deadfall until things quiet down,” she said.
    “Are they noisy?” Slocum asked as Wallace Hornaday stood there, trembling, in the center of the room. He looked lost and bewildered, Slocum thought.
    “Oh, there’ll be a ruckus once they find out you broke Wallace out of that jail.”
    “I was going to bunk at the hotel and ride out tomorrow morning.” Slocum looked almost as bewildered as Hornaday.
    “Johnny heard something back at the jail,” she said, “and when I walked into the livery, he was all gab about you and Beck being up to something. Then, he said he saw you push Beck into the jail and lead Wallace away after you put that shotgun and Beck’s pistol under the bench.”
    “He saw us?” Hornaday said. “He’ll tell Canby for sure.”
    “Yes, he will,” Laurie said. “You’d both better sit down and listen to what I have to say.”
    She waved Hornaday to the divan, and Slocum sat in the chair he had occupied earlier that morning.
    “I’m listening,” Slocum said.
    “I told Johnny not to say anything right away. He said he had to tell Canby about the jailbreak or Canby would have his hide.”
    “So he probably ran up the street to tell Canby what I did,” Slocum said.
    “No, I told him that Canby would find out when the men came to take Wallace to the gallows. I said he didn’t need to say anything. As a favor to me. You owe me a dollar, John. I gave a silver one to Johnny to make him hold his tongue.”
    “Boy, that was right smart of you, Laurie,” Hornaday said.
    Slocum dug a hand into his trouser pocket and withdrew a silver dollar. He flipped it to Laurie, who sat next to Hornaday on the divan.
    She caught it in midair and slid it into the pocket of her blouse. She smiled at Slocum.
    “Thank you,” she said.
    “What now?” Slocum asked.
    “I’ve got flour sacks filled with food for you, Wallace,” she said. “John and I are going to take you to a good hiding place at the other end of Gravel Gulch.”
    “A hideout?” Hornaday said.
    “You’ve got to lay low until all this blows over,” Lauriesaid. “You’ll be safe there, and Harve and I will bring you water and food.”
    “It’s not going to blow over,” Slocum said.
    Both Hornaday and Laurie stared at Slocum as if he’d just dropped a bomb in their laps.
    “What are you saying, John?” Laurie asked when she had regained her composure.
    “I mean, as long as Canby is running this town, Wallace here isn’t safe. He may not hang you, Wallace, but one of his men might shoot you in the back.”
    “Boy, you learn fast, don’t you, John?”