Alex, a sixteen-year-old boy, goes to work for a man named Fergus who comes to the town of Silverthorne and opens a tobacco shop and card parlor.  Alex runs errands for Fergus, fetching beer and sandwiches and delivering messages back and forth between Fergus and Evelyn Morrie, a young woman who comes to town and opens a book shop.  Before long, Alex discovers that Fergus and Miss Morrie both have an interest in Mudrick the barber, who has a shop across the street.  Mudrick’s wife is a seamstress, and the two of them keep close watch on a young woman and her two little girls.  The young woman is said to be the Mudricks’ daughter, but something seems strange in the town of Silverthorne.

“Strangers in Silverthorne” first appeared in Blue Horse Mesa: Western Stories (RR Productions, 2012).

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