48 Hours a Day

The sheriff arrived when he was having breakfast with Wendy. The white horse he rode on whinnied majestically, perfectly matching his uniform and the badge on his chest. He looked so good he had the female owner of the hotel stare at him twice.

“Would you like a cup of coffee, Sheriff?” Wendy asked.

“That would be perfect, dear madam.” The sheriff smiled and dismounted his horse, “I will escort you two out of the river valley, where you are most likely to encounter ambushes. You will be much safer when you get to the plains. From there, you are on your own. “

“What a sweet man.”

“If something bad happened to Matthew’s in my territory, then I’m not qualified to become a sheriff here?” The sheriff gave Zhang Heng a nod, handed the reins to the hotel’s handyman, and walked to the table. “It’s a shame you have to leave so soon. We should go on a hunting trip together after you find your father.”

“I like hunting. When I was a kid, I always followed my dad to the forest and watched him hunt for hares. However, he had never let me lay my hands on the gun,” Wendy said.

“He is right, but I think we can make an exception this time. There are lots of prey around here.” The sheriff blinked at Wendy.

“Are there wolves and bears too?!” Wendy asked excitedly.

“Haha, those are rare. Most have been killed by the Indians who lived nearby earlier.”

“It’s a pity. I haven’t seen a bear before.”

The sheriff took the cup of coffee handed to him personally by the female boss. “Thank you.”

“I don’t know, just want to see it.”

“There will be opportunities; there will always be opportunities.”

Thus, the three chatted while eating breakfast. The atmosphere was light and hearty—the sheriff was the kind of person who knew how to create the right atmosphere at the right time. In his own words, he was supposedly good at charming girls when he was young. That was why he knew the perfect conversation to be cozy up to a girl like Wendy. He even managed to convince Wendy that it would be better to join her on the quest to search for her father. She dismissed this idea, though. As she had said, her father had been missing for a while. She could not afford to wait any longer. “Sheriff, I think it’s time we depart from here.”

The sheriff then patted her head, “Oh, sorry. I’m getting old, and I’m getting chattier. I hope I didn’t bore you.”

“You are the funniest and heartiest person that I have ever met! It has been a great pleasure chatting with you, but I’m afraid I have more important matters to attend to.”

“Of course. I’m ready. We can set off now,” the sheriff said.

“That couldn’t be better.”

“I will be waiting for you outside.” The sheriff smiled at Wendy again, got up, and walked outside the door.

At the same time, Wendy had also finished her breakfast and was about to get up. But the next moment, something touched her thigh.

Wendy lowered her head and saw Zhang Heng handing something to her from under the table. She was taken aback.

“Take it. I hope we won’t get to use it later.” Wendy had a lot of questions to ask. However, when she took the thing from Zhang Heng, he had already stood up from where he sat and said to the sheriff, “Is that a Kentucky horse?”

“No, Snowflake is an Arabian horse,” the sheriff proudly replied. “It can run real fast, and there are hardly any horses in the plains that can catch up with it.”

“It seems I have much to study about horses,” Zhang Heng said. His body happened to block Wendy, who was behind the table, and she quickly hid the object in her clothes as soon as possible. Then the three of them got on their horses and walked out of Glen Town. The sheriff was still talking and laughing along the way, but Wendy’s mind seemed absent, thinking about the object Zhang Heng handed to her.

In an attempt to take her off the focal point of attention, Zhang Heng took over the conversation and started to chat with the sheriff. He took the opportunity to ask the sheriff about the culture around here, to which the sheriff also asked Zhang Heng to taste his chewing tobacco. Following his instruction, Zhang Heng first placed the shredded tobacco between his jaw and his teeth. After a few seconds, a pungent smell filled his mouth and pierced his throat. Although the shredded tobacco had been blended with spices, Zhang Heng still found it was hard to accept the peculiar taste.

It was said that chewing tobacco had become so popular in the United States because of the pioneering period. The wind and bumpy ride proved it difficult for cowboys to light up their cigarettes while they were on their horses, and they put tobacco in their mouths instead when they craved a smoke. If they spat from time to time, they could smoke while working, convenient and easy.

However, crewing tobacco directly would cause the mouth to stimulate more saliva than an ordinary cigarette. Besides, there were not a lot of places for smokers to spit in modern society. Hence, chewing tobacco gradually died off from the market.

Zhang Heng tasted it and spat out the tobacco.

“It’s a pity,” the sheriff said, “you speak English, and I heard that you have good marksmanship. If you want to make it in the wild West, you have to act more like a westerner.”

“I do still have a lot of things to learn.”

“Don’t worry. Take your time.” The sheriff patted on Zhang Heng’s shoulder as a sign of encouragement.

The three people then rode towards the entrance of the river valley. It had technically been a river valley tens of thousands of years ago. Now there was no water here, but the rock walls on both sides remained. It was indeed easy to set up an ambush at this place.

“Let’s go.” The sheriff took the lead and walked in the forefront position, followed by Wendy, and Zhang Heng.

As soon as the three of them walked far enough, the sheriff said to Wendy, “I have to apologize.”

“Apologize for what?”

“I lied to you before. I couldn’t leave you alone and allow you to follow a random stranger.” The sheriff pulled the reins, stopped the horse and turned around. “It’s simply too dangerous!” “You have attempted to stop me from finding my father again and again. Is it for my safety or to cover up the truth behind my father’s disappearance?” Wendy confronted him.

“Things... are always complicated.” The sheriff sighed, “Maybe I will explain to you again when I have the opportunity, but for now, you should say goodbye to Mr. Zhang. Then I’ll go home. I promise that I will help you find your father later. Although it’s always hard to wait, it is at times the most effective way to solve a problem.”

“Really, how are you going to send me home? With all due respect, sir, even if you are twenty years younger, you are no match for Mr. Zhang,” Wendy said.

“Maybe.” The sheriff did not argue with her, “Fortunately, I still have helpers.”

Two people with rifles appeared on both sides of the rock walls after he finished talking.

“It’s an honor to introduce you to the Deputy Sheriff of Glen Town, Joseph, and his brother, Jonathan.”