The Lawman

Chapter Nine

True to his word, Jose returned with more men with guns, but as Decker counted, he saw that they were going to come up some short.

Outside the saloon, with the men standing in the street waiting for instructions, he spoke to Jose.

“Jose, how many men would you say Gilberto has?”

Jose rubbed his jaw and said, “Twenty-five, señor, perhaps more.”

“How many more?”

“No more than thirty.”

“We have fifteen,” Decker said, looking at the men in the street.

Jose’s face fell.

“We cannot do it, señor?”

The worried look on his face was so pathetic that Decker reached out and patted the man on the shoulder reassuringly.

“Oh, we’ll do it, Jose. We just have to figure out the right way.”

“You will figure that out, señor, will you not?” Jose asked with a big smile.

“I’m sure going to give it a try, Jose,” Decker said. “We’ll give it one helluva try.”

Sometime later, Decker, Jose and three other men arrived at the cantina with saws and hammers in their hands.

“What are you going to do?” Paco asked, eyeing them with great concern.

“We are going to make some small adjustments to your establishment, Paco,” Decker said.

The men walked past him and went up the steps to the second floor.

“What do you mean, adjustments?”

“Nothing that will damage your cantina, Paco—at least, nothing that can’t be fixed later,” Decker said, trying to soothe the man.

Juanita came out from the kitchen and moved behind the bar, next to her father.

“Is everything ready in the kitchen, Juanita?” Decker asked.

“Everything is ready, señor Decker.”

“Aiee, I do not like this,” Paco said, putting his head in his hands.

“Please, Papa,” she said, “señor Decker knows what he is doing.”

“Perhaps,” Paco said, “but I do not think I know what I am doing.”

“You’re pouring drinks, Paco, like always,” Decker said, “just pouring drinks.”