The door of the harness room stood
slightly ajar and Tex jerked it open and entered. Harness and saddles
littered the floor and depended from long wooden pegs set into the wall
while upon racks hung sweatpads and saddle blankets of every known kind
and description. Between the floor and the lower edge of the blankets
that occupied a rack at the farther side of the room a pair of black
leather shoes showed.
"Come on, Doc, let's go get a drink." The shoes remained motionless.
"Gosh! There's a rat over in under them blankets!" A forty-five
hammer was drawn back with a sharp click. The shoes left the floor
simultaneously and the head and shoulders of a man appeared above the
rack.
"Eh! Was someone calling me?"
"Yeh, I was speakin' of rats----"
"My hearing's getting bad. I was fishing around for my saddle blanket.
Those barn dogs never put anything where it belongs."
"That's right. I said let's go get a drink. C'n you hear that?" Tex
noted that the man's face was white and that he was eyeing him
intently, as he approached through the litter.
"Just had one, thanks. Was on my way down to the flats to see the fun,
and thought I'd see if my blanket had dried out all right."
"Yes? Didn't you hear me when I hollered at you in the saloon a minute
ago?"
"No.
Pages:
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78