BooksBarbecue
Back Montana Territory
Chapters (25)
  1. Also by
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright Page
  4. Dedication
  5. CHAPTER 1
  6. CHAPTER 2
  7. CHAPTER 3
  8. CHAPTER 4
  9. CHAPTER 5
  10. CHAPTER 6
  11. CHAPTER 7
  12. CHAPTER 8
  13. CHAPTER 9
  14. CHAPTER 10
  15. CHAPTER 11
  16. CHAPTER 12
  17. CHAPTER 13
  18. CHAPTER 14
  19. CHAPTER 15
  20. CHAPTER 16
  21. CHAPTER 17
  22. CHAPTER 18
  23. CHAPTER 19
  24. CHAPTER 20
  25. Teaser chapter

“Reckon you’d better. Those boys will be back here lookin’ for whiskey and supper.”

CHAPTER 9

CHAPTER 9

Although carrying a heavier load than usual, Rascal was willing and gave no sign of fatigue. It was not the first time on this patrol that Hawk wished he had his packhorse. Whether the horse was weary or not, Hawk was glad to see the trees that bordered the Sun River, because he was tired of riding. Then it occurred to him that he had eaten nothing all day, even though Rascal was carrying a bundle of deer meat. As Hawk neared what appeared to be a bend in the river, he caught sight of the trading post. It was time to be cautious again. He had not been this far up the Sun River before, so he had no knowledge of Alvin Peavy, or his trading post, other than the fact that Davey Crabb traded his pelts there. From what he could see from the trail, the store appeared to be fairly busy. There were three horses tied at a hitching rail out front and a wagon parked beside the porch, but there would have been more horses if he had caught up with Booth. Maybe, he thought, Peavy must sell a little whiskey along with his other goods.

He was a little anxious to find out if Booth had actually come this way, afraid that he might have spent half a day on a blind chase. He shrugged, remembering what Crabb had said, that he knew which trail Booth took, but he didn’t know where he was heading. “Wonder if they sell supper,” he said to Rascal. “Don’t worry, I’m gonna let you take a long rest. I’ll buy you some grain, if they’ve got any.” He nudged the buckskin gently with his heels and rode down the path to the store.

* * *

“Howdy do, stranger,” Alvin Peavy greeted him cordially when he walked in the store. “Don’t believe you’ve stopped in before.”

“Reckon not,” Hawk replied while Peavy looked him up and down. “First time I’ve been this far up the Sun.”

“Well, you’ve come to the right place to get whatever you’re lookin’ for,” Peavy boasted. “If you’re needin’ supplies, I’ve got a good stock of most everyday needs. If you’re lookin’ to wet your whistle, the bar’s on the other side of the store.”

“I can see that,” Hawk said, and he glanced toward the other side of the big room where there were customers sitting at a couple of the four small tables. “Looks like you do a pretty good business here. I expect you mighta seen a party of four fellers come this way in the last day or two, one of ’em sportin’ a fancy mustache with the ends curled up,” he said, thinking back on Donald Lewis’s description of David Booth.