across the bottom of the mirror.
“Why don’t you serve food?” Jana asked.
“We just never have.”
“Well, you should. Can you tell me where I can go to get a bite of lunch?”
“The Sheridan House has a restaurant. It’s that big building on the corner of Main and Fifth.”
“Thank you, Mr. McGowan. You’ve been most helpful.”
“It’s Tom.”
Jana smiled. He was her landlord, at least for the time being, so there was no harm in being nice to him.
Tom watched the pretty young woman leave, hardly able to believe that he had offered to let her and her sister stay for $5 a week. The usual rate was $2.50 a night, or $12.50 if you stayed all week.
He had just let this woman stay in his hotel for practically free because he thought that an attractive young woman would bring customers to his saloon if he could convince her to be friendly to some of the men. Nothing untoward, not every man was looking for a woman to bed. Some just wanted a woman to talk to. But quite obviously he had misjudged the situation. They were sisters, but they didn’t have the same last name. One of the women must be married, and this one said she was waiting for a man.
Well, at least he would have the pleasure of seeing her, and even speaking to her on occasion, over the next week.
The Sheridan House, where Tom had directed Jana, was also a hotel, and the huge, three-story brick building covered an entire block. An elegant, columned porch was in front. Jana stepped inside and bought a copy of the Bismarck Tribune before going into the dining room. She decided that reading the local paper would be the quickest way of learning more about the town, and perhaps there would be advertisements for openings.
Just inside the dining room, a slate board listed the lunch specials, and she had a hard time deciding if she wanted an elk steak, antelope stew, or fricasseed prairie chicken. She finally chose the prairie chicken since all the meat was new to her and perhaps the sauce that smothered the chicken would make it more to her liking.
The dining room was quite crowded, but she saw an empty table right in the middle of theroom and moved to it. A waiter approached as soon as she sat down, and Jana ordered the prairie chicken. As she waited for her food, she began reading the newspaper.
She saw in the paper that tomorrow, Tuesday, November 7, was Election Day. When she was in Chicago, with its half million people, she had heard no mention of an upcoming election, but here in a town of less than three thousand people, it seemed to be the topic of conversation at every table within Jana’s earshot.
When Drew Malone entered the Sheridan House, he was greeted by a waiter, who escorted him to the table already occupied by his partner, Frank Allen. Frank looked up from his paper.
“Have you decided how you’re going to vote?” Drew asked as he pulled out a chair and sat down across from his partner.
“Not yet, but if we’re to believe the colonel, we shouldn’t vote for the Republicans or the Democrats. Have you read his editorial today?”
“I haven’t seen it yet. Is it bad?”
“Bad? Well, yes, it is bad. But it’s also truthful. Lounsberry put in print what we’ve all known for years. Both Richards and Griffin are pretty smart. They are business partners, but one runs as a Republican and one runs as a Democrat. That way no matter who wins, their gambling outfit won’t be touched.”
“Well, it’s got to stop. I’ll bet this Citizens’ Ticket Clement is pushing wins the whole shebang.”
“If it does, it’ll go a long way toward cleaningup the politics and . . .” Frank stopped in midsentence, then leaned closer to Drew. “Well, I’ll be damned. Guess who just walked in.”
“Colonel Lounsberry?”
“No, it’s the good justice of the peace himself, Mr. Richards in person. Let’s just watch and see whose votes he buys today.”
A rotund, swarthy man stopped for a moment just inside the door, looking around
“Why don’t you serve food?” Jana asked.
“We just never have.”
“Well, you should. Can you tell me where I can go to get a bite of lunch?”
“The Sheridan House has a restaurant. It’s that big building on the corner of Main and Fifth.”
“Thank you, Mr. McGowan. You’ve been most helpful.”
“It’s Tom.”
Jana smiled. He was her landlord, at least for the time being, so there was no harm in being nice to him.
Tom watched the pretty young woman leave, hardly able to believe that he had offered to let her and her sister stay for $5 a week. The usual rate was $2.50 a night, or $12.50 if you stayed all week.
He had just let this woman stay in his hotel for practically free because he thought that an attractive young woman would bring customers to his saloon if he could convince her to be friendly to some of the men. Nothing untoward, not every man was looking for a woman to bed. Some just wanted a woman to talk to. But quite obviously he had misjudged the situation. They were sisters, but they didn’t have the same last name. One of the women must be married, and this one said she was waiting for a man.
Well, at least he would have the pleasure of seeing her, and even speaking to her on occasion, over the next week.
The Sheridan House, where Tom had directed Jana, was also a hotel, and the huge, three-story brick building covered an entire block. An elegant, columned porch was in front. Jana stepped inside and bought a copy of the Bismarck Tribune before going into the dining room. She decided that reading the local paper would be the quickest way of learning more about the town, and perhaps there would be advertisements for openings.
Just inside the dining room, a slate board listed the lunch specials, and she had a hard time deciding if she wanted an elk steak, antelope stew, or fricasseed prairie chicken. She finally chose the prairie chicken since all the meat was new to her and perhaps the sauce that smothered the chicken would make it more to her liking.
The dining room was quite crowded, but she saw an empty table right in the middle of theroom and moved to it. A waiter approached as soon as she sat down, and Jana ordered the prairie chicken. As she waited for her food, she began reading the newspaper.
She saw in the paper that tomorrow, Tuesday, November 7, was Election Day. When she was in Chicago, with its half million people, she had heard no mention of an upcoming election, but here in a town of less than three thousand people, it seemed to be the topic of conversation at every table within Jana’s earshot.
When Drew Malone entered the Sheridan House, he was greeted by a waiter, who escorted him to the table already occupied by his partner, Frank Allen. Frank looked up from his paper.
“Have you decided how you’re going to vote?” Drew asked as he pulled out a chair and sat down across from his partner.
“Not yet, but if we’re to believe the colonel, we shouldn’t vote for the Republicans or the Democrats. Have you read his editorial today?”
“I haven’t seen it yet. Is it bad?”
“Bad? Well, yes, it is bad. But it’s also truthful. Lounsberry put in print what we’ve all known for years. Both Richards and Griffin are pretty smart. They are business partners, but one runs as a Republican and one runs as a Democrat. That way no matter who wins, their gambling outfit won’t be touched.”
“Well, it’s got to stop. I’ll bet this Citizens’ Ticket Clement is pushing wins the whole shebang.”
“If it does, it’ll go a long way toward cleaningup the politics and . . .” Frank stopped in midsentence, then leaned closer to Drew. “Well, I’ll be damned. Guess who just walked in.”
“Colonel Lounsberry?”
“No, it’s the good justice of the peace himself, Mr. Richards in person. Let’s just watch and see whose votes he buys today.”
A rotund, swarthy man stopped for a moment just inside the door, looking around
Similar Books
