Preacher's Pursuit. William W. Johnstone

plumb out of his head if he ain’t careful.”

      “Well, the offer stands, if you’re so inclined. Deborah and Jerome and I would be glad to have you as our guest.”

      Preacher took another drink from the jug and wiped the back of his other hand across his mouth. “I’m obliged, Corliss. I truly am. But I reckon I’d have a hard time goin’ to sleep without the stars up yonder lookin’ down at me.” He pulled in his legs and stood up, moving with the easy grace of a big cat. “Fact is, I’m a mite tired, so I think I’ll go on and find a place to lay my head.”

      He said his good nights and walked out of the trading post, dangling the jug from his left hand. The thumb of his right hand was hooked behind his belt, not far from the butt of one of his pistols. The weapon was in easy reach if he needed it, and it was loaded and charged again. He had taken the powder horns and shot pouches off the two men he had killed that morning. They wouldn’t be needing ’em again.

      Torches burned at the watchtowers and at intervals along the walls, casting their glow over the area outside the stockade. The gates were still open, but a couple of armed guards stood just outside them keeping watch. Preacher paused on the porch to look out at the night. Dog lay on the porch a few feet away. He raised his head and pricked his ears forward as Preacher stood there.

      The valley was peaceful. Lights burned in the windows of some of the cabins in the settlement, and silvery moon glow washed over the grass. At moments such as this, it was hard to believe so many dangers lurked in the darkness.

      But hostile Indians could be watching the settlement at this very moment. So could lawless white men, for that matter. Bandits weren’t common on the frontier, but they weren’t unheard of either. Storms could be brewing…natural or man-made. A fella never knew.

      Preacher gave a little shake of his head. It wasn’t like him to mope around like this. He had left his belongings on the porch, wrapped up in his bedroll. He picked them up now, growled, “Come on, Dog,” and stepped down from the porch. The big cur rose and padded after him.

      He had already put Horse away in the paddock adjacent to the stockade after dickering with Jerome over the load of pelts and the two horses. They had come to an agreement without much trouble. Preacher knew he could have gotten more for the furs in St. Louis…but that would have meant going to St. Louis. The Harts paid him enough to take care of his simple needs.

      He planned to walk out into the trees that came right up to the edge of the settlement in places and find a good spot to spend the night. As he left the stockade, he nodded to the guards and said, “Might as well close ’em up for the night, boys. I don’t think anybody else is leavin’.”

      “All right, Preacher,” one of the men said. They knew his reputation. If he offered an opinion about anything, nine times out of ten it could be taken as the gospel. The guard went on. “I’m sort of surprised that you’re not staying inside the walls tonight.”

      “Why’s that?”

      The man shuffled his feet a little uncomfortably. “Well, I mean, since those fellas tried to kill you and all…not that I think you’d worry about that even for a second, Preacher…!”

      The mountain man chuckled. “Forget it, son. I ain’t offended. But I ain’t worried neither.”

      To tell the truth, if there was somebody else out there in the night looking to kill him, he almost hoped they’d go ahead and do their damnedest. That beat waiting around. He’d take his chances against almost anybody, especially with Dog around to warn him and pitch in if need be.

      And if somebody did come after him, maybe this time he’d be able to grab them and make them tell him what in blazes was going on. He had learned a few tricks from the Blackfoot about the best ways to make a fella talk…

      Despite the fact that Preacher was halfway hoping his enemies would come after him again, the night passed quietly and peacefully. He slept lightly, as always, resting but ready to come fully awake at an instant’s notice. His soogans protected him against the nighttime chill, which was year-round at these elevations.

      The next morning, he returned to the trading post to pick up Horse, and as he led the stallion out of the paddock, Jake came up to him and asked, “Are you gonna take me with you this time, Preacher?” The youngster asked him that same question almost every time he paid a visit to the trading post. “I could be a big help to you.”

      “Well, I dunno, Jake. You’re a mighty big help to your ma and pa, I expect.”

      “Corliss and Deborah ain’t really my ma and pa. But I reckon you’d know that.”

      Preacher nodded. “’Deed I do. But they been takin’ care of you like you’re their own young’un, and I reckon you sort of owe them for that. And with Deborah bein’ in a family way, they’re gonna need even more help around here.”

      “Yeah, but Preacher…” An anguished expression appeared on the boy’s round face. “They say there’s gonna be a teacher on the next wagon train headin’ this way. There’s gonna be a school here. You just can’t leave me to face that!”

      Preacher sympathized; he truly did. He had never had much education himself before he left the family farm and headed West when he was about Jake’s age. He had learned to read, some on his own, some with the help of other mountain men who’d had some book learning. He could cipher some, too. A fella had to be able to do that if he wasn’t going to be taken advantage of by the fur traders.

      But the thought of sitting in a building and letting some soft-handed gent try to pound facts into his head while life was going on outside…well, that was just horrifying.

      There was nothing he could do, though, except slowly shake his head. “I’m sorry, Jake,” he said. “Maybe one o’ these days, but not yet.”

      “Damn it, I was afraid that was what you were gonna say! Am I gonna have to run off again?”

      Preacher knew how badly that would upset Corliss, Deborah, and Jerome, who looked on the youngster as a member of the family. He gave Jake a hard stare and said, “If you do, I’ll have to find you and tan your hide good, boy. That what you want?”

      Jake swallowed. He knew that there was nowhere he could go in the mountains where Preacher couldn’t find him. “All right,” he said, not bothering to hide the reluctance in his voice. “I guess I can give it a try, Preacher. But only if you promise me that one o’ these days I’ll be your partner.”

      Preacher hesitated. He wasn’t the sort of man who gave his word lightly. At the same time, he couldn’t really see himself taking some green kid under his wing and trying to teach the sprout how to take care of himself. Jake had him over a damn barrel, he thought.

      “All right,” he finally said. “But I decide when you’re ready to go with me. Deal?”

      Jake held up a pudgy hand. “Deal.”

      Preacher shook with the boy and then handed him the packhorse’s reins. “Here, hold these while I mount up.” He swung up onto Horse’s back and took the reins from Jake. He had already said his good-byes to the Harts, and to Pete Carey and Bouchard and Jock as well. He lifted a hand in farewell as he said, “Be seein’ you,” and nudged Horse into a trot that carried him through the open gates of the stockade.

      He looked back once and saw Jake standing there just outside the walls, watching him ride away.

      Preacher left the settlement behind him and worked his way up toward the pass. He was going back to the same area where he had been when the attempt on his life was made. He had traps there that still needed tending to, and he sure wasn’t going to let what happened scare him off.

      When he reached the pass, he paused to look down into the valley at the settlement. Even though he didn’t like the idea of civilization encroaching on the mountains, he had to admit to himself that he had grown fond of some of those folks down there. Corliss was a bit of a wastrel at times, Deborah could be a mite