Chapter Twenty-SevenThe town was busier than usual. A train of settlers milled about outside one of the two merchant stores, filling up their wagons with a host of supplies. Children played on the street, indulging in a game of tag, squealing with excitement as they darted in and out between the wheels and the horses. Men strained to load the wagons with heavy bags of grain, flour and bales of hay, together with farm tools and several old muskets. They all stopped as Dodd came riding in, astride his horse with the mule plodding behind, not seeming to care for its own burden of two bodies draped over its back.
Silas came out of his office, answering the hectic yells from his deputy to raise himself. He stood in his long johns, strapping on his gun belt, and gaped as the gunfighter drew up
