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He was watching them also although he wasn’t sure they knew it. He had already made a mental note of what they were carrying. Each of the two men wore a single six-shooter tied down tight and both had a full cartridge belt. The man on the left had a small knife tucked in his left boot. Jess had learned to notice such things quickly. The name of the saloon was Andy’s Saloon and there were at least a dozen men inside. Jess sized up the room quickly and calculated that there were about four men that he might have to deal with. Two of them were at the far right end of the bar, and two more sitting in a corner table with a bottle of whiskey and two glasses in front of them on the table. The place went silent for a moment when Jess walked in. He had already pulled the double-barrel 12-gauge out from its holster and had it in his left hand. He walked up to the left end of the bar, placed the shotgun on the bar, and ordered a beer. The chatter in the saloon slowly began to pick up again. He had the barrel of the shotgun pointed straight down the length of the bar towards the two men and he still had his left hand on it. He figured that if he needed to, he could use his left hand to trigger the double-barrel in their direction and still leave his right hand free to use his pistol on the two men at the table. The bartender, Andy, knew Jess and got him a glass of beer and placed it on the bar in front of Jess. Jess threw a dollar on the bar and Andy refused to take it.
“Beer’s on me, Jess. I used to serve your pa whenever he came in. He was a damn good man. He stood up for me one time when a couple of cowboys tried to give me a beatin’. I don’t forget things like that. I wasn’t here the day you shot Red, but I’m glad ya did it. I liked Sheriff Diggs. He was a fair man.”
“Thanks, Andy. I appreciate it, especially what you said about my pa. So, how much trouble do you think I’m really in here?”
Andy shook his head. “A whole lot more trouble than I’d care to be in. Old man Carter wants you dead real bad and the hired guns he’s got working for him want a piece of that reputation you seem to be building up so early in your life. I’d say that you’ve got at least six men in town right now who would plug you if they got the chance, and a couple of them are here right now, and at least eight or ten more out at Carter’s place that will eventually come for you. Hell, you give them half a chance and some of them would shoot you in the back when ya ain’t lookin’. If you’ve got a lick of sense in you, you’d get on your horse and ride out of town now while you’re still standing upright.”
“Can’t.”
“Why not?”
“My horse is tired.”
“Well, I’d shoot the damn horse and get me a new one,” replied Andy, a disgusted yet somewhat proud look on his face. “But since you’re stayin’, I’ll back ya with my double-barrel I keep down here under the bar. And if I can serve you a cup of coffee in the morning, I’ll consider you a lucky man.”
“Luck’s got nothing to do with it.” Jess leaned towards Andy and said in a real soft voice, “I’ll tell you what, Andy, I have the two at the end of the bar and the two over in the corner covered. If you need to use that double-barrel, cover anyone else in the place that has a mind to throw in, but I don’t think anyone else will.”
“You got it my friend.”
Jess sipped his beer and waited, knowing he wouldn’t have to wait very long. The two men at the bar were staring at him and they were talking quietly back and forth and laughing. Jess figured this was as good a time as any to get the show on the road and that’s exactly what this was going to be. He turned to the two men at the bar. They were both grungy looking men who looked like they had been on the trail for awhile, but neither of them looked to be real gunslingers. Jess still had the scattergun lying on the bar pointed in their direction and set for his left hand to grab it and