Free Quiet Town by J. T. Edson Page A

Tejanoes smoke the leavings of the trail herds.”
    “Sure,” Happy answered with a grin at the girl, knowing he had gained her respect. “Those Johnny Rebs allus do some fool—ow!” The words were stopped by her stepping forward and kicking him hard across the leg. “What did you do that for, boss lady—ow!”
    Roxie stepped back again from giving the second kick. “First time was for insulting us noble Confederates. The second was for calling me a lady.”
    “Sure Happy,” Dusty agreed. “There ain’t no ladies’ ever comes from Arkansas.”
    “How about Annie Breen?” she asked, mentioning the heroine of a folk ballad.
    “Way the Kid sings it she came from ole Kentucky,” Mark put in.
    The tension was gone now, the men relaxed. Happy smiling as he watched the girl. Dusty and Mark rolled smokes and got them going although the smoke did not appear to hurt Roxie’s eyes any more. Happy broke the silence. “Was I staying on here I’d need a riding chore.”
    “Could maybe take on another deputy,” Dusty suggested, winking at Mark.
    “And maybe you couldn’t!” Roxie was bristling like an alley cat faced with a dog. “Happy don’t want to associate too close with you Texas hellers. Besides,” her face was flushed. “He don’t want no deputy’s chore when he can work for me.”
    “That’s right,” Happy agreed. “I’ll take on with you, boss lady. If only to save you from these Texans.”
    “One thing, Happy,” Dusty remarked, holding out his hand. “You’re still Happy Day to us and the rest of the town. It might be better that way, folks wouldn’t take kindly to having a Calhoun around.”
    “Yeah,” Roxie gave her agreement. “What with one thing and another they’d be some riled I reckon. Specially with the way the gang’s been hitting at the miners and the freight outfits. Come on down to the office, Happy. I can fix you up in with the other boys.”
    “Reckon we’d best start in to earning our pay, too,” Dusty told Mark. “Let’s go out.”
    They were making for the door when the Ysabel Kid, Doc and Rusty came in with a couple of prisoners. The men were pushed into the cells without ceremony and the Ysabel Kid told Dusty why they were being incarcerated. The men had been rolling a drunk and the Ysabel Kid left it to Rusty and Doc to take them. The Kid was quite satisfied with what he had seen and told Dusty about it.
    “They’re all right. Handled as neat as I’ve seen. Got their guns on those pair of rollers, leaned ‘em against the wall and searched them. Give ‘em a couple of days or so and they’ll be set to work themselves.”
    Doc and Rusty returned from the cells after bedding down their prisoners and settling them in the cells. They looked at Dusty and he grinned as Rusty went to sit down at the desk.
    “Mark, you and Rusty take a walk around the back, out towards Chinese Street. Lon, stay on as jailer and I’ll take Doc.”
    The walk around the town was without event until they were walking back towards the town centre. Doc and Dusty came along the sidewalk, stopping to glance at the poster in front of the Beaumain Theatre. Then from across the square, at Bearcat Annie’s they heard two shots, one light and the other heavy, the lighter coming first. A window broke on the first floor of the saloon as a bullet broke through it.
    “Let’s go!” Dusty snapped.
    They crossed the street and pushed open the batwings, entering the saloon. All attention was shared between the two young Texans and Bearcat Annie who lounged by the bar. She came forward as Dusty and Doc crossed the room.
    “Something for you?” she asked.
    “Those shots up the stairs, ma’am. What happened?”
    She smiled mockingly, jerking her hand towards the stairs leading to the first floor. A big, heavily built bouncer stood blocking the way up, another at the top, both looking down.
    “Why don’t you go and see?” Bearcat Annie asked.
    oooOooo
    * Doc’s connection with Brambile is