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160 lines
4.3 KiB
Text
160 lines
4.3 KiB
Text
.LP
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.ce
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.ps 16
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.CW
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OLD MOLD
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.R
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.ps 8
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.CW
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tags: 1861, haus_mold
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.R
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.PP
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.ps 10
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By the winter of 1861 I hadn't seen another human being in six
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years. My gun had rusted, but that didn't much matter as for the
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majority of my time on the mountain I had been completely snowed in.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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My graph hadn't perturbed itself in months. I thought it might have
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simply shut itself down, protesting inactivity. I couldn't muster the
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interest to scan its core for flaws. I considered cannibalizing it for
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parts.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I melted some snow from the window and sloshed the water around in
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my mouth. Brine. I spit it out on the wood floor. Opened the cabinets
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for no real reason; there was no food left.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I contemplated trying to dig myself out.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I got my legs attached and unlocked the front door. A flat wall of
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beige snow, suspended where the sunshine should have been.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Voices, from behind the wall.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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My first thoughts ran to annoyance. I hoped they would move on.
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Anyone up here at this time of year could only be seeking after help.
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Two voices meant they would be unlikely to take no for an answer from
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a lone hermit such as myself.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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A gloved hand poked through the snow, groping around as if to stave
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off asphyxiation.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I prepared myself for unwanted conversation.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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The strangers were polite. Dug out the front step. Offered me
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provisions when they noticed I didn't even have a stove for cooking. I
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distracted them with talk of the astronomical data I had been
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collecting. The younger fellow was able to follow along to some
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extent, but both seemed lacking in the fundamentals so I let the
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subject drop.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I do not recall now which of them first broached the topic of their
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extra horse, but they talked me into stepping out front to inspect its
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injury.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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The reader will have seen this coming. I was several paces into the
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front snow drift when I heard the door lock behind me.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Their provisions were still loaded onto their horses.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Their mistake.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I ran some calculations in my head and decided that the horses
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could probably make it into town. It did take the better part of the
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day to make the journey.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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Everything had changed. The general store had expanded to include a
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bar and eatery. The grand hotel was now a school house. Inside the old
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court building, the whores were now wearing shoes. No one seemed to
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recognize me.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I bartered the two oldest horses for a new rifle, a flint and a
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sewing needle. I wouldn't need food. I made love to a whore in order
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to blend in with the other drifters; it was frowned upon by the
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constabulary to leave town without first engaging the local labor
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pool. Civilization and tradition had conspired to keep me within city
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limits until after dark.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I fell asleep without replacing my eye patch.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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When I woke up, it was gone.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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.I
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"'Haus Mold,'"
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.R
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laughed the hotel manager, reading from my card.
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"Your name's a joke, right?"
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"It's an Indian name," I said.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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My bad eye focused on him and I assumed he must have caught a
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glimpse of the internal mechanism because he started when it whirred
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to life.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Right. You're an injun." He gestured sarcastically as if he were
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jerking off.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I glanced over at his daughter. The whore I had bedded. He noticed
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this and his voice trailed off.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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As my boots hit the dirt outside the hotel, the snow was just
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starting to pick up. The first big storms up the mountain would have
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rolled in the night before. The pass would be buried until spring.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I made a backup of myself and dropped it in the mail to New York.
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Just in case.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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As I approached my horse, a shot rang out. Its echo clashed against
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the wooden slats of the general store, the school and the casino. My
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horse tipped over like a grandfather clock, brains pushing out of its
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impacted eye socket. I noted that we had both contrived to lose the
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same eye.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I turned and raised my new rifle, returned fire. It was no surprise
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to me who I'd killed.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Fair fight!" some idiot exclaimed.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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"Squash it," I barked. "Increase the peace."
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.PP
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.ps 10
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I rode west. Once out of town, I removed my clothing and walked
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beside my horse.
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.PP
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.ps 10
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The snow eventually gave way to desert.
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