Читать книгу Buffalo Bill, Peacemaker; Or, On a Troublesome Trail онлайн

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“All right, neighbor,” said the preoccupied Charlie, turning from the counter with the package in one hand and the dice box in the other.

There were half a dozen pairs of saddlebags hanging from nails on the wall. Charlie was the custodian of those bags, and was supposed to know to whom each pair belonged.

He dropped the package under a flap of one of the bags and then turned and went on with his gambling.

Benner, Phelps and one or two more cattlemen came out of the dining room a few minutes later, closely followed by Wild Bill, Nomad, Cayuse and the sky pilot.

“Oh, Lige,” called the clerk, “there was a feller in here, a spell ago, with a package done up in a piece o’ newspaper. He said it was ter go in yore saddlebags, so I slipped it in.”

“Much obliged, Charlie,” answered Benner.

It was casual talk, and was overheard casually by the pards and the parson.

An hour later, when Nomad, Wild Bill, Cayuse and Jordan were riding at a leisurely clip for the Brazos, keeping a sharp lookout for hostile cowboys, the Laramie man reached into his warbag for a pouch of tobacco. His groping hand encountered something which he could not remember having placed in the bag.