The Town Council Meeting Read Online Free Page A

it a day?” Clint asked.
    â€œHell no,” Chambers said. “Deal ‘em.”
    The judge looked up at the sheriff.
    â€œWhat now?”
    â€œI got my deputies.”
    â€œGood.”
    â€œI got three,” Yatesman said. “You wanna know who they are?”
    â€œNo, I don’t wanna know who they are,” the judge said. “Just make sure they keep the Bar K boys out of here.”
    â€œOut of the saloon, completely?” Yatesman asked.
    â€œThat’s what I said. What did you think you were hirin’ them for?”
    â€œWell . . . to keep the peace. Keep them from shooting at Adams.”
    â€œAnd you can do that by keepin’ them the hell out of here,” the judge said. “You understand that?”
    â€œYes, sir.”
    â€œGood.”
    â€œI’ll position them in the front and the back of the building.”
    â€œHow you deploy them is up to you, Sheriff,” the judge said.
    Yatesman looked at Clint, who gave him no sympathy. He was still trying to figure a way out of the situation. He considered sneaking out the back, retrieving Eclipse from the livery, and getting out of town, but by doing that he could end up being a wanted man. The unfairness of the situation kept growing.
    â€œOne thing, Sheriff,” Clint said.
    â€œWhat’s that?”
    â€œMy horse,” Clint said. “He’s in the livery. If anything happens to him, I’m not going to be happy.”
    â€œYour horse?” Yatesman said. “I can’t have a man watching your horse.”
    â€œPut the animal somewhere safe,” the judge said.
    â€œJudge,” the sheriff said, “if this man is guilty of murder—”
    â€œYou don’t have any evidence of that, yet, do you?” the judge asked, cutting him off.
    â€œNo, I don’t.”
    â€œWell then, don’t talk to me about it until you do. Now get out, you’re interrupting our meeting.”
    â€œCome on, Judge, this ain’t a real meeting—”
    â€œWere you here when I banged my gavel?”
    â€œWell, yeah, but—”
    â€œAnd do you see a majority of the town council seated at this table?”
    â€œYeah . . .”
    â€œAnd ain’t we been discussing town business, gents?” the judge asked.
    â€œOh yeah,” Lawson said, “we been discussing whether or not we should replace our sheriff.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œSo far,” the judge said, “I’m against it.”
    â€œJudge—”
    â€œBut you never know, Pete,” the judge said, gathering up his cards, “you just never know.”

SEVEN
    The game continued, with all the players seemingly unconcerned about what was happening outside. In fact, Clint was very interested in just how effective the sheriff and his drafted deputies were going to be in keeping the Bar K boys out of the saloon. If twenty men came in with their guns blazing, he was just one of the people who was going to end up dead.
    Business was picking up in the saloon, and the poker game was starting to attract some attention. Also, the saloon girls who worked the floor had started working to sell drinks. The place was filling up with the people, and gunfire would mean panic and death.
    â€œAdams?” the judge said. “The play is to you, son. You with us?”
    â€œI am, Judge,” Clint said. “I call.”
    At the bar two men started arguing. Nobody knew what they were arguing about—least of all them—because they were so drunk they weren’t making any sense.
    â€œThose two idiots are gonna start shootin’ at each other soon,” Ben Lawson said. “Where the hell’s the law when you need him?”
    â€œI think our good sheriff is pretty occupied at the moment, Ben,” Patton said.
    â€œWell, somebody ought to do somethin’,” Chambers said. “Those two idiots have taken their guns out.”
    â€œFor