not to let them too near her nose. "So all I need to do is put these somewhere in my room, and that Fodor Glava person won't be able to enter?"
"That ain't his name," Cora said, "but yes. Again, I got no idea whether any of this truck will matter one whit to that squaw, but I wouldn't bet nothing on it. She didn't seem to have no issue with the crucifix or the rosary we had with us, so I reckon she ain't going to balk at a bit of garlic. Best we can hope for is that it will keep the other feller out of the way long enough for us to deal with the witch first."
"What's our plan for that?" Victoria asked.
Cora folded her arms across her chest. "Afraid it ain't got much past praying them Indian fellers that come in regular to the Print Shop know about squaw witches."
"And if they don't?"
"Well," Cora said, "she did light out right quick when I started shooting at her, so maybe that's all there is to it."
"But you missed," Victoria said.
"I know that. If I hadn't, we wouldn't be jawing about it right now."
Victoria flushed and looked down at the cloves in her hand. "What I meant to say was, what if she performs that hex again, the one where she stopped your gun from functioning?"
"Way I figure it, if she ain't keen on bullets, mayhap she won't be too keen on blessed steel, either. Swords don't got to fire, so there ain't no machinery to put a curse on. She's a witch, but I ain't seen nothing to make me think she's undead or a demon or anything of the sort. I reckon she'd bleed when stuck just like me or you."
"Somehow, I doubt it's that simple," Victoria said.
"Why's that?"
"Just a feeling I have." She felt awkward still holding the cloves and the vials, but she wasn't sure where to put them. After a moment's hesitation, she gingerly tucked the holy water into her bodice. The garlic she slipped under her gun belt. When she finished, she looked up to find the hunter's eyes still looking at her steadily, expecting an answer. "It just seems to me that a woman capable of changing into an animal would be more difficult to kill."
Cora shrugged. "Maybe so. I reckon them Indian boys will know for sure."
"When will you speak to them?"
"Tomorrow. They always show up mid-morning like clockwork. Can't get enough of my fire water."
The hunter grinned, and Victoria was struck by a sudden curiosity. "By 'fire water' you mean alcohol, correct?"
"Sure do," Cora replied. "What, you got another kind in mind?"
Victoria shook her head. The reasonable part of her mind told her to keep her mouth shut. She knew it would be unpleasant, that Cora would laugh at her when it was over, but a larger part had to know. "If it's not too much trouble," she began, "I would like to try some of it for myself."
A look of genuine surprise spread across Cora's face. "Come again?" she said, leaning forward.
"I would like to try some," Victoria said in a louder voice.
The hunter watched her for a moment, then shook her head. "Well, if you insist." Pushing the drawer shut, she took a look around the room before moving toward the door. She motioned for Victoria to go through. The young woman obeyed, and Cora shut the door behind them.
"What's your poison?" Cora asked over her shoulder as they made their way back toward the stairs.
"I'm not sure," Victoria replied. "I've sampled a few wines from my father's cellar, but I couldn't really tell you the difference between them. I do prefer reds to whites, however."
"Only thing I got is brown."
Victoria frowned. "Brown? I've never heard of a brown wine. Is it a vintage unique to America?"
Cora's laughter shook the walls. Several of the poker players looked up from their cards. "No, I reckon you got rotgut over yonder. Ain't a place in the world without its own version, or so I've found."
"Rotgut?"
"Whiskey," Cora said as they thumped down the stairs. "Stuff here's trained in from out East. Tennessee, to be particular. Them folk out there know how to brew a fine batch, let me tell you."
"You don't make your own, then?" Victoria asked.
Cora shook her head as she walked behind the bar. "Don't got the proper know-how or the proper set-up here. Besides, can't get no desert to grow enough grain to make it. We're lucky if