07-13-2013, 05:37 PM
"If your horses have been left as long as the house, I reckon they're wearing someone else's brands by now, ma'am." Silas eyed the ruins of the house, which could only be identified as such with a generous eye and plenty of imagination. Still, he could see how its isolation from town could be useful for certain professions.
"We're fixin' up the Pearson place on th' other side of town... gonna put in new windows and wallpaper and whatnot. You can have the old things, if you don't mind secondhand. I'll tell Hank and Luke to be careful takin' things out." He doubted she did mind secondhand, especially not secondhand from the richest house in town. If she did, then she was a fool, and he could probably give them away to someone else. The garrulous Mr. Lodge at the general store had mentioned a widow woman who did cooking out of her old neglected house at the edge of town. Perhaps they could bargain with this Mrs. Hawthorne to fix up that house in exchange for their meals and laundry.
Luke, of course, would argue for fixing up the saloon girl's house in exchange for favors, but he and Hank would have no problem out-voting their tow-headed companion. "And if I see any horses running wild with your brand, I'll bring them around."
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