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.His boots were of finelyworked leather that wouldn't last a day in the badlands.And his looks went with the clothes: his sleek blond hair was neatly cut, his brown eyes weren't bloodshot, and his smooth, pale skin was unmarred.The fellow had never had a cheek sliced up like Joss or had his nose broken like Ox.He'd sure never spent much time out under the summer sun or riding through winter blizzards.Mr.Parr drank deep and then said, "I'm hoping that your story to those men sprang from some real and urgent need."Shrugging, Joss worked to lower the level in his own shot glass."We're looking for work, me and Ox, yup.""I need a few men to help me pick up a parcel at the Spirit River Ranch, to the northwest of Abeque.My father-in-law is a great collector of fossils—"He paused politely to check for understanding, and Joss said, "Bones.""Yes, roughly.Some local ranch hands apparently found a skull and other bits of a creature never reported in the scholarly literature before, an entirely new kind of giant lizard.After viewing a sketch that made its way to Massachusetts, my father-in-law telegraphed and purchased the lot.Now he has sent me to escort the fossils back east.""It seems a fair bit of trouble for some bones.""There've been incidents of fossil poaching in the past, sometimes violent ones.Both amateur and professional.bone collectors can be very passionate, Mr.Lewis.As well, I've been here in New Mexico Territory less than a day and I can already tell that I'm the proverbial fish out of water.So I'd like to hire you and—your partner?—to escort me to the Spirit River Ranch and back."Joss raised his eyebrows."Are you always so quick to trust a stranger, Mr.Parr?"The fellow smiled.His teeth were handsome, too."A stranger who will go out of his way to help a damn-fool Easterner and then warn him against strangers?""I could be penning you for later.""Then at least you mean to wait, Mr.Lewis.Everyone else seems to want to butcher me right now before someone else can claim a chunk of the meat.But if it will make you feel better, I'll pay half your fee up front and half when we return to town with the bones."Joss grinned."A wise precaution, sir.All right, we'll talk to my partner.That'll give you both a chance to see each other before any gold changes hands.""You have a place to stay?""We're with Mrs.Hackler, over behind the general store.She takes in boarders.""You provide yet another example of my ignorance.I've been searching for a hotel without success.If you don't mind a pause at the station while I retrieve my suitcases?""Nope," Joss said, and then downed the last of his drink.Good liquor.Nice to think he might be able to afford another shot or two during the days before he and Ox found places on a new ranch.Then he got up and walked along with Parr down to the train station.He waited with interest to see if the man would expect Joss to haul his luggage, but Parr carried his own leather cases without complaint.This job really might work out.They talked a little as they went down Bacaville's main street, bustling with business from the timber mill and the railroad, and Joss somehow ended up taking one of the suitcases.Then he guided them onto the cross street where Mrs.Hackler made her home.There didn't seem to be a Mr.Hackler, but Mrs.Hackler took in boarders, as well as running a millinery shop and ladies' tailoring service from her front parlor, and she and her two daughters did fine.Joss and Ox had stayed with her once before, so they'd known enough to visit the bathhouse before they came over to ask for a room.Joss figured she'd purely love Mr.Parr.He was right.When Mr.Parr said, "I am terribly sorry to impose upon you without having notified you of my impending arrival," all in those soft-soap tones some men used on women, Mrs.Parr drew herself up like the Queen of England before she went all gracious.Then she called for both Alice and Sarah, not to mention Juanita the maid, to get the best room ready for the gentleman.Joss smiled as he sauntered up the stairs.Nice manners and nicer looks could get a fellow quite a ways with a lady.Although Ma had warned him to watch a man's eyes before he made his judgment.But Parr's eyes didn't seem bad, either, only kind of dreamy.Reaching their bedroom, Joss reached for the knob, which resisted a little.Frowning, Joss gave the knob a stronger twist, opened the door, and went in.He should have knocked first.Usually you went into a room and Ox would be reading.But not this time.The Bacaville newspaper was still folded up on the wickerwork chair seat by the window.Ox's big, worn pair of boots was set neatly on the plank floor nearby, next to the small rucksack holding both Joss's tools and Ox's books.Ox himself was sprawled out on one of the two beds, his legs slightly spread, his eyes closed, with one arm resting behind his head on the pillow.He wasn't napping, though.His other hand was busy down below, where he had his trousers undone.That massive hand stroked back and forth with brisk strength along a cock big enough not to be dwarfed by the paw that held it.Joss felt himself gape.For a moment all he could think was that the other hands at their first ranch together had been wrong, that Ox wasn't such a good nickname for his partner after all.But then Ox's lids opened at the sound of the door.He saw Joss, his blue eyes widened, and he shuddered.Joss slammed his own lids shut.Behind him, towards the stairs, there was a sound of chattering as the girls came up to get the Easterner's room ready.Most times, Joss had good reflexes.They'd failed him briefly, but now they went back to work.He stepped the rest of the way into the room, turned around, and quietly shut the door.And there he stood, eyes open again, examining the varnished pine planks.But now his mouth was working, too."Hell-fire.Sorry I came busting in on you, Ox.You need me to go back downstairs? I got this fellow penned up in the parlor who wants us to work for him, but I can keep him there until you're ready to talk [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]