Longarm and the Colorado gundown

_{“But this isn’t... this is ... but these are all lies ... all of it. Lies. This...this is terrible. Unconscionable. Disgusting. There isn’t a word of truth in it.”}

_{“Hush,” he told her.}

_{“Don’t tell me to hush.”}

_{“Fine. Miss Able, ma’am, with all due respect, ma’am, I do humbly request that you shut the hell up for a minute while I read this. All right?”}

_{She glowered at him, but was too busy reading and groaning to do anything more about it at the moment. Every once in a while she would sit up straighter in her chair and yip a little or maybe squirm.}

_{Longarm hurried through the article as well. And understood completely why she was so unhappy with what she was reading.}

_{Hell, the headlines had been enough. “Wild Indians Threaten Massacre. Government Unable to Control Ute Tribe. Second Meeker Uprising Likely. Expert Warns of Dangers.”}

_{“Shee-it!” Longarm said.}

_{The article beneath the bold headlines was even worse.}

_{According to the author of the fabrications—Longarm knew the statements to be fabrications; probably Aggie knew them to be fabrications; probably they were the only two}

_{people who would ever read this newspaper who would know that, though—the Ute nation was on the verge of a general breakout and bloodletting. And the band of Utes imprisoned at Snowshoe was the advance guard for the war parties that were said to be gathering throughout the mountains.}

_{Women, children, and all. Sure. You betcha. Anybody who would believe that crap, Longarm knew, didn’t know anything about Indians in general or the Ute tribe in particular.}

_{Unfortunately that category, those who knew next to nothing about Indians, included damned near everyone who lived around there.}

_{The warnings were attributed to a “highly placed source with the government.” Who didn’t have his name mentioned anywhere in print, Longarm noted. Convenient. For somebody.}

_{“Anyone who reads this will become hysterical when those people are released, Longarm,” Aggie said. “They are sure to. Why, they will believe they are on the verge of disaster, that all of us are to be slaughtered.”}

_{“That sure seems t’ be the idea,” Longarm agreed.}

_{“Whyever would some government spokesman say things like this?”}

_{“What gives you the idea that somebody official said any o’ this?”}

_{“Well... this, of course. Right here, as you can see for yourself.” She showed him her paper and tried to point to the offending paragraph.}

_{“I read that part a’ready, Aggie. What I’m saying is, I don’t reckon anybody official said anything like that.”}

_“But...”