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There were friends of Will's inSt. Louis . They had stayed at the Southern
Hotel, and Will had been accorded the best treatment that hostelry had to
offer, but he could not walk into that lobby looking as he did now. He might
write to the ranch for money, but the postal service was uncertain, and it
might be weeks before anybody from the ranch went into town, or toFortGriffin
.
Before, even during periods of separation, Will had always been not too far
away, and Val had always known there was somebody, somewhere, who cared. Now
there was nobody.
That night he slept on a bale of cotton under the overhang of a warehouse. He
put a newspaper under his coat for protection against the cold, huddled in a
ball, and shivered the whole night through. Several times he awoke, turned
over, and fought to get back to sleep again. Always there were places where
the cold reached him.
At last he got up and walked down to the edge of the wharf. The river was
running through the piles, sucking around them. Further up a river boat was
tied, lights showing, but the lights were obscured by the falling rain.
It was still dark; he was hungry, and his eyes heavy with weariness. After a
while he walked back to his cotton bale, tucked the newspaper more firmly into
place, and went back to sleep.
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He awoke in the cold gray of dawn. The rain had stopped, but the clouds hung
low. The river rolled by, and he sat staring at it, wondering which way to
turn.
An old man, puffing on a meerschaum pipe, was plodding along the dock,
carrying a lunch box. He glanced at Val over his steel-rimmed spectacles.
"Mornin', son," he said. "You're up mighty early."
Val grinned at him. Hungry, stiff, and cold, he still felt a streak of
whimsy. "Mister," he said seriously, "you have just walked into my bedroom
unannounced. I did not wish to be disturbed."
The old man chuckled. "Well, now that you're disturbed youmight's well come
along and have some coffee."
Val dropped off the bale. "That's the best invitation I've had for a whole
day. In fact, it's the best invitation I've had in several days."
They walked along to an old steamer that lay alongside the dock, and the old
man led the way over thegangplank, and along the deck to the cabin. He
unlocked the padlock and they went inside.
"Sit down, boy. I'll rustle around and make some coffee." He set the lunch
box on the table. "Ain't seen you around before, have I?"
"No, sir.I'm hunting work."
"What's your line?"
"Well, I've never worked much. I've punched cows a little, and I've hunted
buffalo. But I'm strong I can do anything."
"That's like saying you can do nothing. Folks who do the hirin' want
carpenters and such-like. You got to have a trade, son. Ain't there anything
special you can do?"
"Nothing that I want to do."
"What's that mean?"
"I can deal cards, and shoot a gun."
The old man eyed him over his glasses."Hmm.You a gambler, son?"
"No, sir.My uncle was, and he taught me. He said it was self-defense, like
boxing. Only he didn't want me to be a gambler."
"Smart man.What do you aim to do, son? I mean, a man ought to be going
somewhere. You're young, boy, but you'd best be thinking of where you're going
to be at my age. When I was a boy I drifted, too. Always aimed to settle down
and make something of myself, but somehow that was always going to be next
year so here I am."
He had bacon frying, and the coffee water was boiling. "I bring my lunch,
most times. I can stand my own cooking just so long,then I have to go out and
buy something somebody else has fixed."
"You're not married?"
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"Was ... one time.Fine woman.Had a son, too."
"What happened to him?"
"Went west ... never seen hide nor hair of him since. He was a good boy." The
old man paused."Can't complain.I done the same thing as a boy. Went west with
a keel boat and spent my years trapping fur."
He glanced at Val. "You ever see the Tetons, son?Or the Big Horns?Or theWind
RiverMountains ? That's country, son! That'sreal country!"
"I've seen them."
The old man put slices of the bacon on a plate, and then poured coffee. Got
some bread from a bread box, "It ain't much, son, but you fall to."
Val took off his coat and sat down at the table. "You don't need a deck hand,
do you? I'll work cheap."
The old man chuckled, with dry humor. "Son, I'm lucky to feed myself. Ain't
had a job of towing to do in five months now, and only a little work then.
There was a mite of salvage I was countin' on, but there wasn't much in the
cargo ... only flour. And water-soaked flour won't do anybody any good."
Val put down his coffee cup. "Where was it sunk?"
"Bend of the river maybe thirty mile downstream. She hit a snag and tore the
bottom out. It ain't in deep water. A body can land on theTexas ."
"You want to try for it? I could help. I'm a good swimmer and diver."
"No use. That flour's ruined."
"Not necessarily. I saw some sacks of flour out west that had been in the
water, and only the flour on the outside was ruined. It soaked up water and
turned hard as plaster."
"This flour was in barrels."
"All thebetter. You want to try for it?"
"That water's almighty cold this time of year." The old man hesitated, but
Val could see that he was turning it over in his mind.
"We'd better keep it under our hats," he said finally. "That cargo is worth
something, and there's some might want to take it from us."
"Do you have a gun?" Val asked.
"An old shotgun, that's all."
They talked it over, and Val went out on deck with the old man to examine the
gear. It was in good shape, and the steam winch was usable. The steamer had
operated on theMissouri River and on some of its branches. It had been used to
push flatboats up the river and log rafts down the river, and to tow disabled
steamers. It was a real workhorse of the river.
"The water's muddy," the old man said. "You'll have to locate a hatch, and if
one ain't open, you'll have to open it."
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"I'll make out."
Val had never done anything of this sort, but he was right in saying he was a
strong swimmer and a good diver, and he had read stories of salvage; and inSan
Francisco he had heard talk in the hotel lobbies about such things. There is
no better place than a hotel lobby in a boom town for picking up information [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

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