I ducked back when she was finally out of view.“Dammit.” I whispered again.I could afford two thousand dollars, but what next? I had to get away b...fore the kid learned anything about me! I had no doubt I would be paying her regularly to keep quiet if she ever learned my name and what I did for a living!Once she returned with a towel, I would make a break for it. I had a key hidden in a magnetic case under the rear fender of my car. If I could lose the kid, I would be home free! She was built. Dove seemed to translate for him, and Sue turned to follow. She waved back at Dove as they left.They got back on their horses, and headed to the blacksmith's forge. Once there, they dismounted again and Jake went to talk with the blacksmith while Sue held the horses."I talked with your wife last time I was in town," Jake told him."Ya, I remember you," said the smith. "You wanted some leatherwork making." That's right, though mainly alterations," Jake replied."I get her," and the smith wandered. This story might seem odd to some people, but it was a very unexpected awakening for me. My next-door neighbor is an eighty-seven-year-old widow, "Little Lois" (which is what we call her). She is very self-sufficient; her only real problem is that she does not hear very well anymore. I normally stop by once a day to check on her, even though I know her routine perfectly. I can usually see what she's doing, and everything she does, at exactly the same time every day.I noticed one day that she. “Evenin’.” The large shadow spoke softly into the sniper’s ear. “E_, e_, e_, evening.” The sniper stuttered back. “What you have just heard,” the shadow whispered hoarsely, “was the sound of a piece of pyrites being placed against the steel wheel that provides the ignition for a wheel-lock pistol – possibly the most complicated fire-arm available in the world today. “The problem with a wheel-lock is that the firing mechanism is not as reliable as it could be. Now I could pull the trigger and.