Tobias Crowe

Chapter 20

Cletis Winder had tended bar in a number of rough frontier saloons before settling in Nugget and The Grubstake Hotel. The position was given to him when the man he was assisting was shot by an unknown stranger who, after terrorizing the saloon's occupants with the killing, asked for a bottle and told everyone to calm down. The man who shot him was Garth Bodine, whom Cletis soon learned, was the boss of the town of Nugget, his employer and the owner of the Grubstake, among other assets.

It became apparent to him after a while that he was more than the bartender, he was one of Bodine's gun hands when necessary, and with not a little pride he took to the job with a swagger and a superior air. Bodine recognized a toady when he saw one and used Cletis' opinion of himself to his advantage. It was only after Cletis had seen Bodine's treatment of the women working in the saloon that he began to put a small distance between his bar duties and his duties as a flunky.

When Bodine ran down the stairs and out of the saloon, yelling at him to clean up the mess upstairs, Cletis felt a sinking in his stomach, knowing that his boss had been with Tillie. He ran up the stairs and stopped in front of the door, listening. No sound came from inside and he placed a tentative hand on the knob and gave it a turn, pushing the door in as he did.

"Tillie?" He called softly. He could barely make out the features of the room; the curtains had been pulled closed leaving it in complete darkness. He called again, stepping carefully inside.

"Help me, Cletis." The voice was muffled and weak and he turned toward the sound, feeling his way in the gloom. On the dresser his hands located the oil lamp and he groped around for a match and lit the wick. The room wavered as the flame began and as it grew stronger, Cletis located Tillie on the floor beside her bed.

"My God, Tillie, what did he do?" He knelt down and lifted her head and cradled it on his leg.

"You have to- you have to warn her..."

"What? What did you say? Warn who?" He bent his head closer and groaned slightly at the split in her lip and the swelling around her eye. Cletis wriggled uncomfortably as he held her, his eyes darting from her savaged face to her naked chest covered in small cuts.

"High- Hightower. He's going to go after- warn her, Cletis."

"You hang on. Tillie, I'll get the doc." Over her protests, he made her as comfortable as possible and fled the room, shouting for the doctor before he even hit the ground floor.

Tobias helped Hastings gather his tack together and finish stashing the things he'd gathered for his trip to Nevada, in the saddlebags.

"So you got what you came for?" Hastings asked in surprise.

"Not yet, but I wanted to settle up and get ready to travel."

"Think you might have to go fast?" The question was asked with a dash of humour.

"Not that fast. Just like to be ready is all. What do I owe you for the extras?"

"Considering you saved my life, I'd like to call it square."

"Nope, no deal. You did the work, you deserve the money."

"In that case it's the grand sum of ten dollars and I ain't negotiatin'."

Tobias chuckled and dug out his money pouch. "That'll just about do my savings 'til I get the money from Bodine."

Hastings paused as he accepted the cash. "You ain't got it yet?"

"I think you would have heard. I'm an escaped fugitive from his jail don't forget."

"Seems odd you're walkin' around town then."