"Milo Talon" - читать интересную книгу автора (L'Amour Louis)

I'd taken a man's money and I
15
milo talon11
meant to do the job he paid me for, but there were questions for which I needed answers.
It was not unlikely that in this country, which some considered wild, that such a
man as Jefferson Henry might have a bodyguard. If he was truly looking for land he
would need someone who knew the country. More than likely the man in the car was
a railroad detective, but that was not necessarily so. Nor was there any reason I
should have been informed of his presence. Nobody had said we were alone nor was
Jefferson Henry making a secret of his search.
To find a girl missing for twelve years might sound impossible in such an area of
fluctuating populations. First, I must find a point of departure.
Her father was supposed to be dead, but was he? And what had become of the mother?
If I knew something of her I might find a lead. If her husband did die, might she
not return to relatives? Or to some familiar place?
The west might seem a place to lose oneself but actually such was not the case. People
rarely traveled alone, and travelers must deal with others for shelter, for food,
clothing, or transportation. People talked, and destinations were commonly discussed
in the search for information about conditions, trails, waterholes.
The Pinkertons were shrewd operatives accustomed to inquiries, and some of their
operatives had come from the west, but did they know the country and its people as
I did?
The ranching couple left the restaurant, and then the drummer arose, tried to catch
the girl's eye and failed, then walked out.
Suddenly, turning toward me ever so slightly, the girl spoke, very softly. "Sir?
Please, will you help me?"
"What can I do?"
The railroad men were leaving and one of them lingered, glancing my way. He hesitated,
then walked out. Something in that glance and the hesitation fixed my attention.
He acted as if he wished to speak to me.
Why?
"My supper, sir. I am very sorry but I cannot pay for it. I was very hungry."
16
12Louis l'amour
"It would be my pleasure."
Her situation disturbed me. The west was a hard place for a woman alone and without
funds. After a moment I asked, "You are passing through?"
"I was, sir, but I have no more money. I must find work."
"Here?" There was nothing in such a place for a decent girl. There were not sixty
people in the town.
"I-I had to get away. I just bought a ticket as far as I could go. I thought surely-"
Being a fool with money would be no fresh experience. Despite the fact she was overdressed
for the town, there was a freshness and innocence about her. She had all the skittishness
of a deserted fawn who doesn't know whether to run or stay. And there was something
about her that I immediately liked. That she was pretty undoubtedly helped, but there
was a firmness about her chin that I admired.
"Have you no family?"
This time I believe she lied. "No, sir."
"I am going to give you some money. You might find a job in Denver, in Santa Fe,
or some larger town. There is nothing here-" An idea came to me as I spoke.