Part 16

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3Gun woke, reaching for his gun. The noise in the hall stopped for a minute then there were footsteps again. He slipped out of bed and went to the door, listening, then jerked it open and aimed his gun in the direction of the noise. The familiar face gave him a toothy smile and held up both hands in surrender. 3Gun lowered his gun and gave a disgusted sigh. Tiddly Winks was trying to get to a room at the end of the hall but in a pair of new boots he was wearing, that proved difficult.

He apologized and said he was staying the night because Clara and Rachel were too spooked after coming through Destiny to go any further. He went on to tell 3Gun what happened while they sat in Tiddly's room, over a bottle of 3Gun's precious vodka. 3Gun helped him out of his new boots and poured the drinks. According to Tiddly, something very big and very dangerous was taking place when he came through. There was a lot of fire in the hills but only in one spot and real scary screaming echoed all down through the canyons.

He hinted a dry throat and smiled as his glass was topped up. His two horses had bolted and had barely been able to control them until they were right at the edge of Oh Aces, and then they were so lathered they nearly collapsed. Something had changed in Destiny and Tiddly was not interested in finding out what. 3Gun took his bottle and returned to his own room. He sat on the edge of his bed and thought about Tiddly's story. Something about it made him uncomfortable but at the same time a little excited and he felt his body jerk as he flashed on the lock box in his room in Busted Gulch.

It was still very early in the morning and from his window he could see the hint of sun creeping over the Parallel Mountains. There was also a strange glow high on one part that seemed to shimmer with different colours then it disappeared. He shivered again and drained the last of the vodka before laying back down to await the morning. He would be heading back to the Gulch with a feeling of relief now that the Cadmus Croc era was over. He hoped the others would feel the same. 3Gun stared at the stained ceiling, muttering a little prayer for CrazyGoose and for Lean . . . wherever she was.

He would also have another look in that lock box.

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