“Yep, they were here late yesterday evenin’,” Peavy said. “Are you a lawman?”

“Nope, I’m just tryin’ to catch up with ’em. Did you see which way they went when they left here?”

“I’m pretty sure they crossed the river and stayed on the trail to the Missouri River,” Peavy answered.

“Like I said, I ain’t been over this way before. Where does that trail strike the Missouri?”

“Wolf Creek,” Peavy answered. “You goin’ after ’em right away, or are you gonna stay with us awhile?”

“Well, I know where Wolf Creek is,” Hawk said, then answered his question. “I think I’ll camp here tonight. I rode my horse pretty hard today, so I’ll let him rest up for tomorrow. If you’ve got any oats, or other grain, I’d like to buy some from you.” He nodded toward the barroom side of the building. “I might like a drink of likker, but I’d better have some supper before I take a drink on my empty stomach.”

“We can fix you up with both of those,” Peavy was quick to reply. “My wife, Louella, has a big pot of beef stew on the stove and fifty cents will buy you a plate of it and a cup of coffee to wash it down.”

“That sounds to my likin’,” Hawk said. “It’ll give me a little break from deer meat and bacon.”

“Good,” Peavy said. “Set yourself down at one of the tables over yonder and I’ll tell Louella to get you some supper.”

Hawk walked over to one of the empty tables next to the one where two men were playing checkers, and pulled a chair back. He returned the friendly nod from one of the two men before taking off his hat and hanging it on the back of an empty chair before sitting down. In a few minutes, a tall, bony woman with flaming red hair came from the kitchen with a cup of coffee for him. “You want bread?” she asked, her face expressionless. When Hawk said that he did, she turned around and went back to the kitchen. After a few more minutes, she returned with a bowl of stew with two biscuits sitting on top and placed the bowl on the table. She paused for a second as if to see if he had any comments or questions. Then, without a word, she turned around and went back to the kitchen.

He had finished almost all of the bowl of stew when the man who had nodded to him looked at him and grinned. “Ol’ Red’s a pretty good cook, ain’t she?”

“I’d have to say so,” Hawk replied. “Course, I ain’t an expert on anything but the beef stew.” He gave the gray-haired little man a friendly smile, then went back to work on the stew.