The Case of the Deadly Desperados Read Online Free PDF

had warned me about Virginia City. I had not been here two minutes & had already met a pistol-packing Soiled Dove & heard of drunken murder in the streets.
    She said, “This piece may look small, but it has a few surprises.” She replaced the Deringer & said, “Carson mills silver under trees some where.”
    I said, “Beg pardon?”
    We were walking north now, with the mountain on our left. Belle Donne said, “When I first moved here three months ago, I devised a clever way to learn the names of the streets. All the streets named after letters run north to south and they are flat as pancakes. It is the crossroads that give you trouble. They are real steep and their names are not as easy to remember as ABC. So I made up a sentence using the first letters of each: Carson Mills Silver Under Trees Some Where. That stands for Carson Street, Mill Street, Sutton, Union, Taylor, Smith and Washington.”
    I said, “Carson Mills Silver Under Trees Some Where. That is clever. What is that street up ahead?”
    Belle said, “That is Mill Street. We will turn up it & then double back to my place on D Street. My crib is not far as the crow flies, but as you see, Chinatown and the steepness of the cliff and the lumberyard along with the tailings of the mines and so forth means there are no cross streets here.”
    She was right. I could see the next street up above us, but no easy way of getting there.
    â€œWhat are you doing here in Virginia, P.K.?” said Belle Donne as we walked along.
    I felt dizzy, so I took a breath & said, “Some desperados disguised as Indians just murdered my foster parents. They are after me. I only escaped because I am dressed like an Indian, too. I do not think they were expecting that.”
    â€œOh.” She pressed her fingers to the base of her throat & stopped walking. “Why did they kill your foster parents? And why are they after you?”
    We had stopped outside a laundry. The sign had some Chinese writing & below it: HONG WO, WASHER. There was a boy about my age or a little older standing in the front yard. He had his back to us & he was pegging up sheets. He wore a faded blue collarless shirt & loose blue trousers & a dusty black skullcap. He had a long black pigtail.
    Belle looked at me & I looked at her.
    I said, “I am not sure if I can trust you. The stagecoach let us off on C Street and you live on D Street, so why are you down here on F Street? I reckon you followed me.”
    Belle laughed. “The reason I came down here was to pick up some washing from Mr. Yup, but it was not quite ready. Then I saw you about to taste that poisonous water and thought it was my Christian duty to help.” She smiled and fanned herself. “So tell me why those men are after you.”
    Her smile was so pretty that I reckoned it was Expression No. 1: a Genuine Smile.
    â€œI think they want this,” I said. I pulled out my medicine bag & took out the Letter & handed it to her.
    She took it & opened it but frowned when she saw it. “Do I look like a schoolmarm?”
    I thought of Miss Marlowe in Dayton, who always wears dark colors with long sleeves and a buttoned-up neck. “No, ma’am,” I said. “You do not look like a schoolmarm.”
    She sighed deeply and rolled her eyes. “I cannot read fancy writing like that. Please read it to me.”
    I read it to her.
    â€œWhy, P.K.,” said Belle Donne when I finished, “I believe that Letter is a kind of Last Will & Testament. I have never heard of Pleasant Town or Sun Peak but it might refer to land hereabouts, because it names the Divide.”
    â€œWhat is the Divide?” I asked.
    Belle pointed with her fan. “It is that there hump in the mountainside we just came over, that had our horses straining so. It lies between Virginia and Gold Hill.”
    I said, “Do you think I could get money for this Letter?” I noticed that the Chinese boy had