CHAPTER VIII: “THE GITTINEST SON-OF-A-GUN!”Cultus Collins might have spent weeks in Painted Valley and never learned much of the local gossip, but when Bad News Buker found out about Cultus knocking Butch Van Deen down and throwing Alden Marsh out of the War Dance Saloon, he immediately made it a point to seek out Cultus.
A stranger was meat and drink to Bad News. It meant an open and fertile field for Bad News to operate on, and he proceeded to regale Cultus with everything that had happened in Painted Valley during the past year. Time permitting, he would go back far beyond that. Cultus was a good listener, and the shady side of the sheriff’s office was a comfortable place to sit and listen to the local historian.
At times Buck Gillis would come from the office and look around the corn
