Finding the corral empty and the doors locked, he went to the small house behind the stable where Smiley lived, but he found no one at home. Knowing where to look next, he went to the saloon and found the little man seated at a table with two other men. “Hey, I thought you was gone,” Smiley called out when Cam walked in the door. “I was,” Cam said. “I’m back now. I need to leave my horses at your place.” “All right. Sit down and have a drink with us. We’ll go over to the stable directly.” “Thanks just the same, but I’m in a hurry,” Cam insisted. “If you just let me in, I’ll take care of ’em and lock up when I’m done.” The grim look in his eye conveyed an urgency that Smiley couldn’t miss. “All right,” he said. “I was about ready to go home, anyway.” He got up from the table, paused to tip his glass back to make sure he had gotten every drop, then followed Cam out the door after a quick good night to his two drinking companions.
