Free Silver in the Blood by George G. Gilman Page A

it."
    "A greenhorn, but a good tracker. He'd catch up with you."
    "That right," the Zulu put in. "Then you be like the man in the mountains."
    "A messy bleeder?" Edge asked.
    "Bleeding awful," Anatali replied and smiled for the first time. He showed a lot of teeth when he smiled, dazzlingly white against his black skin.
    "That's all, Sue," Wilder said and the girt left the office, seeming relieved to be out of it. Wilder lifted the coffee pot. "How about it?"
    "When is it planned to leave?"
    "Sooner the better. Tomorrow morning?"
    "I'll sleep on it."
    Wilder grinned, sure they had a deal. "How do you like your coffee, Mr. Edge?"
    Edge locked eyes with Anatali who was still smiling at his British joke.
    "Like him," Edge said.  
    "Sorry?"
    "Pour it as it comes, Mr. Wilder," Edge replied, aware of the enormous power of the man who looked so stupid when he smiled. "Black and strong."
     

     

Chapter Seven
     
     
    THEY set out at ten o'clock the next morning, from a yard behind the Ritz Hotel. Each covered wagon was, driven by an old-timer. The silver bars were in the first, crated in six unmarked wooden boxes. Martha Wilder rode in the second one which was fitted out as a travelling boudoir complete with commode and bathtub. Edge and Anatali rode their horses. It was a bright, clear day, the air seeming to sparkle in the frosted sunlight that portended sub-zero temperatures amid the glistening snow-capped peaks that stretched across their route. Despite his tropical heritage, Anatali did not seem to feel the cold and the only addition to his inappropriate garb was a ridiculous black derby hat which nested at a jaunty angle amid his frizzy hair. Not so Edge, who had delayed the start of the journey long enough to visit two stores and spend some of his newly acquired wealth on a quilted parka jacket and a pair of fur-lined boots.  
    They left Virginia City clinging to its hillside and crossed the Washoe Valley on one of the half dozen stage trails heading west, Edge selecting the one which followed the route of the Virginia City-San Francisco telegraph line. He set a medium fast pace designed to cover the greatest possible amount of country in the shortest time without tiring the two-horse teams which hauled the wagons. At first the going was easy. And safe—because the valley was thick with optimistic prospectors working their claims, unwilling to admit the Comstock was a big company mining lode requiring heavy machinery and the most modem techniques to reach its rich veins through the soft, dangerous rock formations. No outlaw with an iota of commonsense would attempt a hold-up in broad daylight under such circumstances.
    But by late afternoon after a short stop to eat a meal cooked passably well by Martha Wilder, the valley and its scenes of hectic activity were a dim memory, no longer even in sight. The sun had disappeared behind cloud at midday and a heavy blanket of cumulonimbus was soon drawn completely across the dome of the sky, seeming almost to touch the razor-backed  ridge of the crest for which the wagons were heading. The wind had held off but the cold did not need it to make itself felt.
    Throughout the day Anatali had stayed close to Edge, riding to the left of the lead wagon when Edge was on the right, falling back when Edge did so, then appearing at the rear of Martha's wagon when he checked that. He spoke only when he had a question and Edge quickly tired of explaining that he was inspecting the wheels and springs for signs of weakness from the trip, or scanning the barren countryside on each side for plumes of smoke, campfire ashes or tracks that could betray strangers in the vicinity of the trail. But the Zulu was a zealous pupil who always politely thanked Edge for information and refused to acknowledge his reluctant tutor's impatience.
    "You know, feller," Edge said at length as they led the wagons into a pass, "you are beginning to be a pain in the ass. Your boss didn't say anything about me having to