times, according to Everett Day, but the local lawman hadnât said anything about trouble in this direction, other than the fact that Galena City was supposed to be a pretty wild place.
Which meant it might make a good headquarters for a bunch like Malloryâs, reflected Longarm. Some of these boomtowns came and went so fast that no real law ever had a chance to be established. There might not be any badge-toters in Galena City to represent a threat to Mallory, not even a vigilante group.
But he was getting ahead of himself, he supposed. Since it was impossible to eat an apple more than one bite at a time, heâd just have to wait until he reached Galena City to find out what the situation was there.
Thick gray clouds scudded through the sky above Longarm, and sometimes he had trouble determining where the clouds began and the craggy mountain peaks ended. The ride took several hours, and it was well past noon by the time he came in sight of Galena City. His stomach was rumbling from hunger, but he decided it would be better to wait and get something to eat in the settlement. Ironically, considering what he had been told about the place, the first thing he saw was the spire of a church steeple. So there was a little bit of heaven to be found here, to go along with all the hell.
The town was built at the end of a valley that opened up to east and west at its northern tip, so it was laid out in the shape of a large T. The road Longarm was on turned into the main north-south street, which he saw from a sign tacked onto a post as he was entering the settlement was called Greenwood Avenue. The church was at the southern end of this street, on the right, and as Longarm rode past, he saw that the building was rather dilapidated. It might still be in use, or it might be just a vestige of the townâs Mormon origins. Longarm couldnât tell.
The rest of Galena City was bustling, though. Many of the buildings were new, and even the older ones had fresh coats of paint. New boards had replaced older, rotted ones in the sidewalks in front of the buildings. Several wagons were parked along both sides of the street, and horses were tied up at most of the hitch racks. People hurried along the boardwalks and went in and out of stores, and none of them paid much attention at all to the tall stranger riding down Greenwood Avenue. Longarm figured that the sight of a newcomer was nothing unusual to them. Folks came and went all the time in a boomtown.
He saw several general mercantiles, a hardware store, the stagecoach station, a saddle shop, a gunsmith and a blacksmith, an apothecary, even a newspaper office where the Galena City Bugle was published. But he didnât see a marshalâs office or a jail, which confirmed his guess that this incarnation of Galena City was too new to have any real law and order. The citizens here would have to solve their own problems as they arose.
Though most of the people he saw were roughly dressed men, there were a few females on the boardwalks, too, and he could tell from their dark, sober dresses and coats and bonnets that they were respectable women, probably the wives and daughters of mine superintendents or owners. If he had been married, thought Longarm, he wouldnât have brought his wife to a place like this. But since it was pretty damned unlikely he would ever settle down and get hitched, he supposed he didnât have any right to make a judgment like that. Heâd had enough experience with women to know that it was pretty near impossible to say no to them once they had their mind made up.
Amelia Loftus, for example.
Longarmâs mouth tightened at that thought. He looked more closely at the men he was passing on the street. He had only a rough description of Ben Mallory, and almost any of the men he saw in Galena City could have been the outlaw leader.
When he drew even with the newspaper office, Longarm veered his horse to the side of the street and reined to a
Which meant it might make a good headquarters for a bunch like Malloryâs, reflected Longarm. Some of these boomtowns came and went so fast that no real law ever had a chance to be established. There might not be any badge-toters in Galena City to represent a threat to Mallory, not even a vigilante group.
But he was getting ahead of himself, he supposed. Since it was impossible to eat an apple more than one bite at a time, heâd just have to wait until he reached Galena City to find out what the situation was there.
Thick gray clouds scudded through the sky above Longarm, and sometimes he had trouble determining where the clouds began and the craggy mountain peaks ended. The ride took several hours, and it was well past noon by the time he came in sight of Galena City. His stomach was rumbling from hunger, but he decided it would be better to wait and get something to eat in the settlement. Ironically, considering what he had been told about the place, the first thing he saw was the spire of a church steeple. So there was a little bit of heaven to be found here, to go along with all the hell.
The town was built at the end of a valley that opened up to east and west at its northern tip, so it was laid out in the shape of a large T. The road Longarm was on turned into the main north-south street, which he saw from a sign tacked onto a post as he was entering the settlement was called Greenwood Avenue. The church was at the southern end of this street, on the right, and as Longarm rode past, he saw that the building was rather dilapidated. It might still be in use, or it might be just a vestige of the townâs Mormon origins. Longarm couldnât tell.
The rest of Galena City was bustling, though. Many of the buildings were new, and even the older ones had fresh coats of paint. New boards had replaced older, rotted ones in the sidewalks in front of the buildings. Several wagons were parked along both sides of the street, and horses were tied up at most of the hitch racks. People hurried along the boardwalks and went in and out of stores, and none of them paid much attention at all to the tall stranger riding down Greenwood Avenue. Longarm figured that the sight of a newcomer was nothing unusual to them. Folks came and went all the time in a boomtown.
He saw several general mercantiles, a hardware store, the stagecoach station, a saddle shop, a gunsmith and a blacksmith, an apothecary, even a newspaper office where the Galena City Bugle was published. But he didnât see a marshalâs office or a jail, which confirmed his guess that this incarnation of Galena City was too new to have any real law and order. The citizens here would have to solve their own problems as they arose.
Though most of the people he saw were roughly dressed men, there were a few females on the boardwalks, too, and he could tell from their dark, sober dresses and coats and bonnets that they were respectable women, probably the wives and daughters of mine superintendents or owners. If he had been married, thought Longarm, he wouldnât have brought his wife to a place like this. But since it was pretty damned unlikely he would ever settle down and get hitched, he supposed he didnât have any right to make a judgment like that. Heâd had enough experience with women to know that it was pretty near impossible to say no to them once they had their mind made up.
Amelia Loftus, for example.
Longarmâs mouth tightened at that thought. He looked more closely at the men he was passing on the street. He had only a rough description of Ben Mallory, and almost any of the men he saw in Galena City could have been the outlaw leader.
When he drew even with the newspaper office, Longarm veered his horse to the side of the street and reined to a
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