Off To See The Wild West Show Part 2 Chapter 4 (1/5) By Frank Beill

(1/5), (2/5), (3/5), (4/5), (5/5). Part 1 Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20. Part 2 Prologue, Chapter 1, 2, 3, 4.

'There, there bai'n. It's o'right now. The bad man's gone away.' Sal walked up and down her bare living room, hugging her sobbing baby. 'Sorry, Sal. I shouldn't have done that.' 'Don't matter, Sammy.' She kissed the child's tearstained cheek. 'He deserves a good hidin'!' 'What was it all about? Sounded as though he was up to no good.' I put two large lumps of coal on a fire that was nearly dead again. 'Some people never change.'

'You've changed, Sammy.' The child was asleep with her head slumped on Sal's shoulder. 'I hope it's for the better.' 'Aye, you're a man now. You was a little lad when you left.'

'Yeh, I've been through a lot. Seen a lot of people ... a lot of places.' I tried to shrug off the real things, especially the painful things that I'd been through. I had survived which was more than I felt Sal and her child were doing. 'Tell me about 'em, Sammy ... an' tell me about you. Last night all I did was tell you 'bout our woes.' She sat down, still hugging the child who was now snoring. 'Did you ever find yer father?' I sighed and slumped back on to a chair.

'No. I asked every Red Indian I met for years and most of the cowboys. Searched the faces in the crowd of every show but there weren't many brown ones. In the end I accepted he must've drowned and I really am an orphan ... like you and George. Maybe it was easier to accept than having a father who didn't want me! Maybe I'd grown up. Mind I've kept company with men who were just as good as any real father could be.' There was a little ache when I said this last sentence. 'I'm happy for you, Sammy.' She gave a weak smile and continued rocking her sleeping baby.

'You still haven't told me what our friend, Snelgrove was after.' I wanted to change the subject and pressed her for an explanation of what I'd heard. 'Sounded like he was wanting his way with you.' 'He was wantin' more 'an that.' She looked down lovingly at the child and kissed her forehead. Her answer puzzled me. 'He's got a knockin' shop ... an' he's wantin' me to work in it!' 'Knocking shop?' I must have still looked puzzled.

'A brothel, Sammy. Wants me to be one of his whores!' The blue eyes flashed. It was like the old days. She was beautiful when she was angry. Why had it taken me so long to notice? Maybe I was a man now. I thumped the rough table, regretting not doing Edward Snelgrove permanent damage when the opportunity was there. 'Sittin' on a fortune,' he'd said and I knew whose fortune he intended it to be.

Continued... Next Page (2/5)

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