Outlaw Pass (9781101544785) Read Free Page A

His partner, Jim, was a study in contrast. He was short and stocky, his face reflecting a sense of constant worry. He walked with a slight limp, the result of having been born with one leg considerably shorter than the other, according to him. Before the evening was over, Adam invited them to unsaddle their horses and ride on in to Virginia City with him in the morning.
    The conversation eventually got around to the many rumors of gangs of road agents that preyed upon the trails between the gold fields and Salt Lake City, and the lack of law enforcement to protect stagecoaches and freighters. “Bannack, Virginia City, and all the other little towns along those gulches are wide open for outlaws,” Rob said. “And since you say you ain’t ever been to any of them places, you’d best beware of who you talk to, especially if you’re carryin’ any money on you.”
    â€œWell, I reckon I don’t have anythin’ to worry about,” Adam lied, “’cause I’m dead broke. But I ’preciate the warnin’. Like I said, I’m just lookin’ for my brother, and as soon as I find him, the outlaws are welcome to Alder Gulch and Daylight Gulch, too.”
    â€œStill ain’t a bad idea to sleep with your six-shooter handy, though,” Rob said, and that’s what all three did when it was time to turn in.
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    The night passed without incident and Adam, long accustomed to short nights working with cattle, was out of his blanket and reviving the fire before his two visitors were awake. “Damn, Adam,” Rob commented upon awakening to the aroma of fresh coffee, “I might trade ol’ Highsmith in for you.”
    Sitting up then and scratching his head vigorously, Jim replied. “Hell, I’m the one that shot us a deer. You’d starve to death if I left the huntin’ up to you.”
    Adam had to laugh. They were a pair, all right. He was going to miss them. On his own, he would already have been in the saddle, but he waited for his new acquaintances, who were evidently not endowed with his workmanlike urgency to get started. Since it was no more than a half day’s ride to Virginia City, however, that estimate confirmed by Rob and Jim the night before, he figured he could afford to dawdle a bit on the trail. Once they were on the way, he learned that they were as familiar with the territory as they had claimed, for they left the main road and led him on a less-traveled trail over the hills that shaved a good two miles off the trip.
    â€œWell, there she is,” Rob announced when they topped a high hill after leaving the game trail where it again intercepted the road. Below them were the buildings of Virginia City, structures of all kinds: log stores, some with board facades, tents, brush wickiups. There were even some houses that had incorporated stone, evidently quarried from the hills surrounding the gulch. And there was new construction still going on, on every vacant piece of ground, which was in extremely short supply. The timber on the surrounding hills had all been clear-cut to provide lumber for the saloons, hotels, and bawdy houses. Adam was amazed. He had heard of the population explosion that had taken place along the approximate fifteen miles of the gulch, but nothing he had heard could have prepared him for the scene below him. The gulch was like an open anthill, with thousands of people working away at their claims. Some labored with picks and shovels, digging for bedrock, while others wheeled loads of dirt to sluice boxes. The narrow street was jammed with sixteen-, even twenty-horse bull trains, pulling as many as four wagons hitched together. They were competing with mule trains and packhorses to navigate the muddy streets.
    The thought struck Adam that there couldn’t possibly be enough gold in the gulch to accommodate all these people. Watching his reaction to the chaotic scene below them, Rob guessed what he might be