Free Outlaw Pass (9781101544785) by Charles G. West

lookin’ to trade these two extra saddles and pick up a packsaddle and some supplies. I left most of mine by a badger hole between here and Virginia City.”
    â€œTalk to Mr. Thompson when he comes in in the mornin’,” Wilber said. “He might be interested in tradin’ with you.”
    â€œI’ll do that,” Adam said. “This one stays with me.” He threw his saddle in a corner of the stall, and left the other two near the door where they could be easily seen. “I’ve got a couple of rifles and two handguns here that I’d also like to trade.” When his horses were taken care of, he went to meet Mutt and Bonnie.
    Idaho Territory until a short time before then, Bannack was now part of Montana. Gold was discovered along Grasshopper Creek in ’62 and the rush was on for the next couple of years. The town had even been the capital of Montana briefly in ’64, before it was moved to Virginia City when the gold began to peter out and folks moved on to new strikes in Alder Gulch. As Adam walked up the street, he could read the unmistakable signs of a dying town in the dark storefronts he passed, many of them empty. The throbbing pulse of the saloons was the only indication that life was still vigorous in the failing town, and he walked past two of them before reaching the door of the Miner’s Friend, where he found Mutt just coming from the stage office.
    â€œI give ’em my report ’bout the holdup,” Mutt volunteered as he stepped up on the narrow boardwalk. “Broadus Sims is the station manager here for A. J. Oliver. He said to tell you thanks for protectin’ the stage. He wanted to come with me and buy you a drink, but I told him it would probably not be a good idea to make a fuss over you. Too many men around here are in with that sorry bunch of road agents. No use causin’ you more trouble.”
    â€œI’m glad you talked him out of it,” Adam said. “I expect he’ll report the incident to the sheriff, or is that your job?”
    â€œNeither,” Mutt replied. “It wouldn’t do no good to tell the sheriff about it. Hell, he’s Plummer’s man, same as the outlaws he’s supposed to be catchin’. I expect he’ll be sore as hell when he finds out the stage got through with all the money on board.” He went on to remind him, “There ain’t no real law and order in this town or Virginia City. Henry Plummer was the sheriff here before he got hisself appointed deputy marshal over in Virginia City. The sheriff here now is Albert Ainsworth, just one of his men, and there’s a lot of honest folk hereabouts that’s pretty sure Plummer’s behind every robbery and murder that happens on these mountain trails between the towns. Course there ain’t no way to prove it, and every time somebody questions it, they likely show up dead or missin’.”
    â€œMy God, man!” Adam exclaimed, even though it was not the first time he had heard it. Once again, he found he had to ask, “Why don’t the people elect their own sheriff, somebody who will do something to stop the murders?”
    â€œThe outlaws outnumber the honest folk,” Mutt explained. “You might as well paint a target on the back of anybody you name sheriff, ’cause he won’t last out the day.” He paused to look right and left of him before continuing. With his voice almost in a whisper, he said, “A bunch of the miners and store owners has got together to put a stop to the lawlessness—vigilantes, like I told you. They’ve already strung up six of the ones that have been identified. I expect they’d be interested in talkin’ to you.” He paused to see Adam’s reaction.
    â€œMe?” Adam responded. “What for?”
    â€œAfter the way you handled that rifle when they tried to rob us, there ain’t no doubt in my mind that they could sure use