Gunman's Reckoning, page 79 by Max Brand
<< Return to Title Details & Download80
in a few bottles of wine, and he had dispensed cheap claret at two dollars a glass when the miners wished to celebrate a rare occasion. There were complaints, not of the taste, but of the lack of strength. So Milligan fortified his liquor with pure alcohol and after that the claret went like a sweet song in The Corner. Among other things, he sold mint juleps; and it was the memory of the big sign proclaiming this fact that furnished Donnegan with his idea.
He had George Washington Green put on his town clothes--a riding suit in which Godwin had had him dress for the sake of formal occasions. Resplendent in black boots, yellow riding breeches, and blue silk shirt, the big man came before Donnegan for instructions.
"Go down to Milligan's," said the master. "They don't allow colored people to enter the door, but you go to the door and start for the bar. They won't let you go very far. When they stop you, tell them you come from Donnegan and that you have to get me some mint for a julep. Insist. The bouncer will start to throw you out."
George showed his teeth.
"No fighting back. Don't lift your hand. When you find that you can't get in, come back here. Now, ride."
So George mounted the horse and went. Straight to Milligan's he rode and dismounted; and half of The Corner's scant daytime population came into the street to see the brilliant horseman pass.
Scar-faced Lewis met the big man at the door. And size meant little to Andy, except an easier target.
"Well, confound my soul," said Lewis, blocking the way. "A Negro in Milligan's? Get out!"
Big George did not move.
"I been sent, mister," he said mildly. "I been sent for enough mint to make a julep."
"You been sent to the wrong place," declared Andy, hitching at his cartridge belt. "Ain't you seen that sign?"
And he pointed to the one which eliminated colored patrons.
"Signs don't mean nothin' to my boss," said George.
"Who's he?"
"Donnegan."
"And who's Donnegan?