After that, she went back to her little yard where her children were quietly playing with the ball again.
We stood together in the street. I noticed a lot of people smiled at us, and several nodded in approval. I had the feeling Casey was not well liked, and I wondered if it might have been a kindness to the town to have run him out. The man lounging had disappeared, but I still had the feeling I was going to see him again.
Jake tilted his head towards the docks, and when we had cleared the last of the shops, he showed us the three gold coins and two silver coins he had managed to get out of the Melter for his jewelry. Julia laughed and brought out the payment from Charlie, and we all looked at the new wealth we had managed to accumulate within a very short amount of time.
“ Dang, ” Jake said, looking over the money. “Anything we need before we shove off and head for home? Anything? House, car, boat?”
We all laughed, but the reality was we had enough money for a car or a boat. After the world came to an end, the new Congress decided to use precious metals for currency. They established the rate of exchange and made sure everyone followed by example. The money was copper, silver, and gold. All paper money was completely worthless. Our dads had insisted, saying this was one lesson from the past we were going to learn. Twenty copper coins equaled a silver coin, and twenty silvers equaled a gold coin . Once it was announced that we were going back to a gold standard, there was a rush to procure old jewelry, watches, and rings. After the initial rush died down, people let the marketplace dictate prices, and they were off.
It worked out well, since there was no arguing that there was plenty to go around. Jewelry stores that had survived the zombies were suddenly very popular and most within the vicinity of any town were looted, and quickly.
We pocketed our wealth and made our way back to our boat. We expected the trip to be very uneventful, but it wasn’t going to start out that way. Standing by our docked canoe was a large man flanked by two others. All three were armed with firearms, something unusual in the settled areas. There wasn’t any law against them, people just left them behind, most of the time.
I expected serious trouble and was calculating how I could throw my hawk faster than any of the men could draw their weapons when the man in front spoke.
“Are you three leaving Leport ?” He wasn’t much for conversation, and I felt an immediate bond with the man.
“Who wants to know?” Jake asked, looking the men over.
“Name’s Lane Tucker. I’m the law.” The answer was short and to the point. I liked that, and my instincts were telling me good things about this guy.
“Have we done something wrong?” Jake asked, more polite this time. Dad had always brought us up to respect the law. You didn’t have to respect the man representing it, but you had to respect the law itself.
“No, I just wanted to thank you for dealing with that bully Casey. He’s always pushing the boundaries, but never fully crosses them.” Lane looked over our shoulders at the town. “ Yet, ” he added.
“Tucker, we don’t want trouble, but twice today we’ve had run ins when before we would have to go looking for trouble ourselves. What’s going on around here?” I asked.
Lane threw me a look that was part approval, and part admiration. “You’ve hit on something. There’s something going on, and we can’t quite get a handle on it. People have gone missing, a new element is in town, and most it is all bad. I feel like half the time I’m chasing ghosts.” He looked out over the river. “Sometimes I wish the zombies would come back. At least then people would have an enemy with a face, not just something hidden under the surface.”
Jake surprised me with his next statement. “Tough luck, Tucker. But if you need any help,
We stood together in the street. I noticed a lot of people smiled at us, and several nodded in approval. I had the feeling Casey was not well liked, and I wondered if it might have been a kindness to the town to have run him out. The man lounging had disappeared, but I still had the feeling I was going to see him again.
Jake tilted his head towards the docks, and when we had cleared the last of the shops, he showed us the three gold coins and two silver coins he had managed to get out of the Melter for his jewelry. Julia laughed and brought out the payment from Charlie, and we all looked at the new wealth we had managed to accumulate within a very short amount of time.
“ Dang, ” Jake said, looking over the money. “Anything we need before we shove off and head for home? Anything? House, car, boat?”
We all laughed, but the reality was we had enough money for a car or a boat. After the world came to an end, the new Congress decided to use precious metals for currency. They established the rate of exchange and made sure everyone followed by example. The money was copper, silver, and gold. All paper money was completely worthless. Our dads had insisted, saying this was one lesson from the past we were going to learn. Twenty copper coins equaled a silver coin, and twenty silvers equaled a gold coin . Once it was announced that we were going back to a gold standard, there was a rush to procure old jewelry, watches, and rings. After the initial rush died down, people let the marketplace dictate prices, and they were off.
It worked out well, since there was no arguing that there was plenty to go around. Jewelry stores that had survived the zombies were suddenly very popular and most within the vicinity of any town were looted, and quickly.
We pocketed our wealth and made our way back to our boat. We expected the trip to be very uneventful, but it wasn’t going to start out that way. Standing by our docked canoe was a large man flanked by two others. All three were armed with firearms, something unusual in the settled areas. There wasn’t any law against them, people just left them behind, most of the time.
I expected serious trouble and was calculating how I could throw my hawk faster than any of the men could draw their weapons when the man in front spoke.
“Are you three leaving Leport ?” He wasn’t much for conversation, and I felt an immediate bond with the man.
“Who wants to know?” Jake asked, looking the men over.
“Name’s Lane Tucker. I’m the law.” The answer was short and to the point. I liked that, and my instincts were telling me good things about this guy.
“Have we done something wrong?” Jake asked, more polite this time. Dad had always brought us up to respect the law. You didn’t have to respect the man representing it, but you had to respect the law itself.
“No, I just wanted to thank you for dealing with that bully Casey. He’s always pushing the boundaries, but never fully crosses them.” Lane looked over our shoulders at the town. “ Yet, ” he added.
“Tucker, we don’t want trouble, but twice today we’ve had run ins when before we would have to go looking for trouble ourselves. What’s going on around here?” I asked.
Lane threw me a look that was part approval, and part admiration. “You’ve hit on something. There’s something going on, and we can’t quite get a handle on it. People have gone missing, a new element is in town, and most it is all bad. I feel like half the time I’m chasing ghosts.” He looked out over the river. “Sometimes I wish the zombies would come back. At least then people would have an enemy with a face, not just something hidden under the surface.”
Jake surprised me with his next statement. “Tough luck, Tucker. But if you need any help,
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