I went immediately to the telegraph office to send a message to Gilford Covney letting him know that if Lucas doesn’t show up I would not be on the train to Denver on Sunday. Then I went over to a storeroom that Charlie was using for his office.
“Charlie, I’m goin’ to start ridin’ on the north edge of town to the west,” I told him.
“Good,” he replied. “I’ll check through the town, then move to the south and work west as well. We’ll find him, Miles, don’t fret.”
I nodded then walked up to the cabin to get Star. It had been a while since I worked him. Glancing around I saw that he wasn’t in the pasture, so I went on up to the stable. What I saw stopped me in my tracks and I just stood there with my hands on my hips.
“Lucas!” I exclaimed. “Your sister is worried sick over you! Why are you up here?”
He was currying Two-Bits and stopped to look at me. “What do you mean, Senor Miles? I have a job to do.”
Walking up to him, I looked him over and saw that he had a bruise on the side of his face. I reached out to touch it, and he balked and moved his face away from my touch.
“How did you get this?” I questioned.
He stuttered a little then said, “I fell.”
“Well, if you can’t be honest with your boss and friend, then you’re fired. Get your stuff and don’t come around my horses again,” I snapped.
It shook him up and I thought he was going to cry. I didn’t have time to play games with him; I needed answers.
Sobbing, he went to gather his few materials that he worked the horses with. I yelled at him, “Lucas! Tell me what happened!”
“I can’t,” he said trying to hold back the tears. “They said…”
“What? What did they say? Who?” I prodded.
“The men…”
“What men? Tell me Lucas so I can help you.”
“They said they would kill Marta. I can’t tell you,” he stammered trying to gain control of his emotions.
“How did you get the bruise?” I asked pushing him for information. “The truth now.”
“One of the men hit me. They wanted to know if I knew where you were…where Mr. Douster was,” he calmly answered now back in control. Then he added, “I’m sorry,” wiped his nose, “I’m not a cry-baby, but I have to take care of Marta.”
Putting my hands on his shoulders I said, “We’ll all take care of Marta. Come with me and we’ll see if Molly has some pie in the diner.”
“I’m hired back,” he said hopefully.
“We’ll talk about it over pie.”
Charlie was in the diner as Lucas and I arrived. There were a couple of miners sitting at a table, otherwise the diner was empty. I told Lucas to have a seat while I went to get Marta and Molly and Lucas’ pie.
“You go sit yourself down,” ordered Molly. “I’ll bring the pie.”
I poured coffee, then sat down along with Marta. Presently Molly came out with three pieces of butterscotch pie. Lucas exclaimed, “Butterscotch, my favorite.”
Nudging him on the shoulder, I declared, “One of mine too.”
Molly then took a seat and I began to tell them what Lucas had shared with me. He would add to it from time to time, and when Charlie asked if anyone had mentioned any names, he blurted that one man called the well-dressed man, Merker.
“Do they want me out of the way, or do they want to know where I’m going?” I asked.
“Seems to me,” ventured Charlie, “they want the whereabouts of Douster.”
Molly put her hand on mine. “Miles, I think you should go to Denver.”
Charlie then piped in, “Yeah, sorta let it be known that you’re leaving. Maybe not saying it, but implying that you’re going to see Douster. We’ll take care of Marta,” he said winking at Lucas.
“I’ve already talked with Grizz. He’ll be here Sunday and will stay at the diner. We’ll be all right,” said Molly.
When Sunday arrived I had Star boarded on the train and I went to kiss Molly goodbye. There were two passenger cars and I watched carefully the passengers who boarded. There were two men I had not seen before and that caused me to start pondering.
“See you in a week,” I hollered as the train let out a loud sound and the train started moving…