Challenge #04921-M172: Trouble in Them Hills

Them dang varmint demons -- Spare AMitA Prompt

Nate-Ray's old pickup made it to Winslow's Farm Supplies Warehouse and Car Repair. Right across from Rosie's Bar and Grill. Nate-Ray did pull up at the car repair side, chucking his keys to Sid, but then hustled his ass straight to the warehouse. That got a lot of attention, since Nate-Ray never did nothing more than a mosey anywhere.

Even Winslow got up from his napping chair instead of letting little Peggy see to it all.

"What's got your ass in a knot, youngin?" Winslow had to wonder. Nobody remembered the last time Nate-Ray ran anywhere. Not even Winslow, who remembered the last time gas was less than a dollar a gallon.

"Varmints," said Nate-Ray, who was never much for words. "Needs me a blunderbuss, 'bout forty pounds o' rock salt, anything with silver y'got... and I gotta stop off at Preacher's for some blessings."

"You'll need the powder as goes with th' gun," said Winslow. "You gotta get it back in good repair now. It were my gran'pappy's and it'll shoot any darn thing you can fit down the end of it."

"Why I want it," Nate-Ray found the rock salt sacks and went casting around for a trolley. "Got me some right nasty varmints."

"Yeah?" Which, Winslow knew, was the only way to get Nate-Ray really talking.

Trolley acquired, Nate-Ray loaded it up with sacks of rock salt. "You remember them teenagers as blew through? Got into the forest and vanished?"

"Yeah," said Winslow. "We found the van and a coupl'a campsites, but not anything of them. Was all a right mess, as I recall."

"They did something up in there," said Nate-Ray. "Things I reckon might'a et 'em."

"That right," said Winslow.

"Yup." Nate-Ray counted up the bags and added one more. "Lost three cows and two good gun-dogs to whatever the hell them meddlin' kids set loose." He stopped cold, staring at nothing for a real long time. "Hell. Hah. Hell might be just 'bout right."

Winslow rubbed at his left arm. "What're you sayin', Nate-Ray?"

"Reckon them kids stirred up some real hell," he said. "Where'd you say you hid that silver?"

"Got us some barrels of co-loid-al silver in th' back," said Peggy, who'd come to listen. "Some folks reckon it'd do the plants a wonder."

"Worth a shot, I guess," said Nate-Ray. "I'll take a couple. See if'n it works. Put it on my tab, eh? Got me a preacher man t' talk to 'bout a whole passel of abominations 'gainst th' good lord."

He left the trolley by the till, since his car was still getting fixed, and moseyed over to Rosie's to look for the preacher. Peggy and Winslow watched him go.

"Has Nate-Ray ever spun a tall tale?" Peggy wondered.

"Never in my long-legged life," said Winslow. "I'll fetch 'im the powder and the blunderbuss. You tally up th' rest. Reckon we should look into silver-dipped buckshot. Just in case."

[Photo by Renee Kiffin on Unsplash]

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