Excerpt from Chapter 12, The Upamona Gold Claim Wrangle, my second novel:

     The fire in the stove was nothing but ashes when old man Sanglant was aroused from his slumber by a loud banging on his front door followed by someone yelling.
     "You in the there, Mr. Sanglant? I'm here to get my buggy! It's Bishop Priest!"
     "Hold on there, Bishop. I'll be right out. Just got to get my trousers on and some boots. Hold on!"
     He sat on the bed for a minute, trying to wake up. He felt the bump on the back of his head and on his back below the shoulders and reached for his pants. "I'm a little stiff and sore this morning after that tumble," he mumbled to himself. He pulled on his boots and stomped to the door.
     "Morning to you, Bishop," said Sanglant. "I had a late night and woke up with a big knot on my head and a sore back. How are you this morning? Can I get you a cup of coffee? I need something like that to help me get awake. Come in a minute."
     He hadn't noticed, nor did the Bishop, that he was walking upright, as he turned around and went toward the stove.
     "I don't care for any coffe, but I'll visit with you while you drink some," said the Bishop following Sanglant. "Is Slim around this morning? I'd like to ask him a couple questions about yesterday."
     "Nope, he ain't . Not here and I don't know where he went. He didn't have nothing to do with shooting Mr. Toller, though. He told me it was Graves that done it. That Graves and Fish are no-goods. Don't know why Slim hired them in the first place," Sanglant said, taking a seat by the kitchen table after starting a fire in the stove to heat up his coffee.
     "It just occurred to me Mr. Sanglant. Stand up, will you, and let me get a good look at you." 
     Sanglant stood up as requested like anybody would.
     "What's going on here, Sanglant? You're not all bent over like before. You just been acting like that for some reason?"
     "My God, Bishop! You're right, and I didn't even notice it. Just seemed like the normal thing I do every day. This is a miracle, Bishop. Let me walk around a bit to make sure I'm actually standing up straight. By God, this is something, ain't it? I can stand straight. It must've been that tumble from the wagon. Woops. Bishop, I didn't mean to take the Lord's name in vain, I didn't. But, by God, this is a miracle, ain't it? I can just see me now. I don't have to look at all those damn rocks and dirt anymore. I can parley with the horses face to face now. By God. Oops. Sorry, Bishop. That just slipped out."
      "You better sit down before you break your back again and tell me, where's my buggy that you stole last night? You're a lucky man, Sanglant. Yessir, a lucky man, I say, and if God wasn't my witness, you'd be in a heap of trouble. But, I know that you didn't do it with any bad intentions with all the excitement going on at the store, and we both have just witnessd the Lord's work in standing you up straight again, so I ain't going to do anything about it as long as my horse and new buggy is still in good condition. If you'll just tell me where you hid it, I'll get it and be on my way. And I'll expect you in church Sunday to thank the Lord for his blessings."

Copyrighted material.

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