Slocum 394 : Slocum and the Fool's Errand (9781101545980)
Page 18
Slocum looked down as Jack removed the box from the dirt.
Jack’s hands trembled as he tugged at the lid.
The wind blew as if Diamondback himself were there for the show.
The box opened with a grating metallic squeal and inside, in crumpled bills of various denominations, was what looked to be about two hundred and fifty dollars.
“This has gotta be a mistake,” Jack said as he scooped out the cash and counted it up. “There’s less than three hundred dollars here!”
“What else did your uncle do?”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean he couldn’t have made a living just by taking a little percentage of the money he was hiding. There couldn’t have even been many of those jobs in the course of a year.”
When Jack turned the box over and shook it, a few bits of rock fell out that might have been gold. If so, that could add about twenty more dollars to the total.
“Tell you what,” Slocum said. “Keep your percentage. I’ll just take my fee.”
“But . . .” Jack sputtered. “There was supposed to be . . . I thought . . .”
“You think this is enough to split among the rest of your family?”
“It’s barely enough to pay for the expense of getting here!”
Slocum helped Jack collect his inheritance and rode with him to a hotel in the nearest town. There was always the possibility that Jack was tricking him into leaving with a minimum for payment, but he doubted that was the case. If Jack was good enough to fake what looked to be heartbroken tears at the corners of his eyes, he would have already made a fortune as an actor. As it was, he was just a poor fool with dashed hopes.
They parted ways after sharing a meal at a local steak house. The last time Slocum saw Diamondback Halsey’s nephew, Jack was setting out to find Imala with hat in hand and a hundred and fourteen dollars in his pockets.
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SLOCUM AND THE TRAIL TO YELLOWSTONE
395th novel in the exciting SLOCUM series from Jove
Coming in January!