Back to part one of the Western Adventure
“It’ll be best if you leave before sundown, stranger.”
That sent shivers down my spine.
I said something like, “Somethings not right with this town. Those were boards over the windows, not shutters. They are protecting themselves from something.”
He glanced at the screen, the first time I had seen it in this movie. He nodded, too. He turned to the Sheriff and said, “I was hoping to get some provisions and sleep in a bed for the first time in weeks.” I saw the look on the Sheriffs face harden further, but our Main continued with, “If I just stay in the Hotel… After sundown, will that work? I don’t think I can get my money back from this guy.” He made a motion with his thumb behind him, the clerk who had appeared looking slightly guilty.
The Sheriff made a grimace and slowly nodded. “Keep the windows covered.”
O.k.. I was now in familiar territory. This could be bandits at night. This could be the ‘Boss’ keeping people in check. This could be-
He turned to the screen and shrugged before going out into the bright mid-day light.
I giggled so hard at that.
Typical scene of Him sidling up to the bar in the Saloon across from the hotel. Ordered a whisky and went to a table in a corner. This is why I had bought the whisky. As he took his first swig, I had some from my coffee cup. And started coughing. I could not breathe. My eyes were shut and I put the cup down hard on the table. I tried to breathe, but I just coughed.
When I opened my eyes, He was staring at the screen, the shot glass poised for another sip. I covered my mouth as the coughing was lessening, but not going away. His look was of concern, though there was a twinkle as he kept looking at the screen.
In a low voice, he started talking, saying, “I don’t trust the water in towns like this. Most of the territory, actually. It is safer to drink the whiskey, even watered down like this is. Kills off anything that could be living in it.” He looked around a little and then back to the screen. “The trick to this is to breathe in before you take a shot. That way you breathe out as you swallow and it doesn’t get into your lungs.” He did as he described, and a little cough came out. “Though it really works only if they don’t serve you kerosene.”
I laughed and he smiled.
The camera followed him through town, looks from the residents getting even more obvious. He bought some stuff from the store, gave the tailor a vest for repair. Really mundane things, but showed how a town like that worked, and the suspicion most of them had of a stranger. I liked that he took his horse to a stable to be taken care of, too. And a good number of shots of his butt.
Part Three of our Slow Western