“FELLAS BRINGING four thousand head a cattle into town tomorrow,” Virgil said.
Pike nodded. He was leaning his elbows on his big, elegant bar. The heel of one boot hooked over the brass rail. It wasn’t J.D. in the lookout chair today.
“Leave ’em at the station?” Pike said.
“Yep.”
“Pay off the drovers?” Pike said.
“Uh-huh.”
Pike looked over at the lookout.
“Looks like you and J.D. gonna be busy, Kirby.”
“Might be,” Kirby said.
Kirby was a big man with a thick, dark mustache and a bald head.
“Thought me ’n Everett would come by, let you know, see if you had a plan for dealing with any trouble might arise.”
“Kind of you,” Pike said. “You boys want a beer, or something with more muscle?”
“Beer’s good,” Virgil said.
“On the house,” Pike said, and nodded at one of the bartenders.
“Any plan?” Virgil said.
“I’m grateful for your concern, Virgil.”
“Well, there’s fifty-one of them and two of us, so I’m making a, whatcha call it, Everett, what we’re doing.”
“We’re making a tactical assessment,” I said.
Pike nodded.
“See who can protect themselves,” he said. “And who needs you two boys to do it.”
“There you have it,” Virgil said.
“ ’Course, there may not be any trouble,” Pike said.
“Maybe not,” Virgil said.
“Not a lot of cowboys gonna cross Virgil Cole,” Pike said.
Spec set beer on the bar in front of us.
“But I don’t want to take no chance that some drunken vaquero with cow shit on his heels comes in here and busts up my beautiful Palace.”
“Be a shame,” Virgil said.
“Well, we’ll have J.D. in the chair, and Kirby at the door. Spec here can do a little more than draw beer. I’ll be here. And some of my other associates’ll be draped around the room here, ready to, ah, intercede if the revelers get too lively.”
“Called away from their normal duties,” I said.
Pike grinned at me.
“Those are their normal duties,” he said.
“Left over from the old days,” I said.
“Some,” Pike said.
“Okay, Pike,” Virgil said. “You do what you need to do to protect yourself and your place.”
“Be my plan,” Pike said.
“And I’d appreciate it if you didn’t do more than you had to,” Virgil said.
“Don’t see no reason to,” Pike said.