United States or Fiji ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Do I take you along there ain’t goin’ to be no trailin’, none ’tall—do they want Don Cazar to keep on breathing regular. Git them hands up, high!" With all the force he could summon Drew kicked at Johnny’s crouching body. Shannon cried out—there was a shot. Then Johnny cried again, this time with a choke cutting off the word as he arched convulsively against the boulder.
"At least you talk about it enough." He sounded irritated. "Looky here, Drew, if that’s the way you really feel, why don’t you go? I’m sayin’ you don’t feel that way, not by a long sight." What if Drew answered with the exact truth, that he did not know how he felt? Nye came in, trailed by three of the other Rennie riders. "Johnny’s got him a hoss-size headache an’ maybe so a pair of burnt ears.
Maybe he thought he could run down Kitchell all by hisself. Which is jus’ about as straight thinkin’ as kickin’ a loaded polecat on th’ tail end. But Johnny’s always been like that. Do it now, think ’bout it later. Got him into more scrapes ’n I can count me on both hands. Hope th’ Old Man gives it to him this time, hot an’ heavy, both barrels plumb center!"
"Iffen Kirby here hadn’t been to hand, Johnny would have skinned th’ Trinfan kid with his quirt—jus’ ’cause he dropped his purse outside th’ Jacks an’ th’ kid followed him to give it back. Johnny’s meaner than a drunk Injun these days. That’s Bible-swear truth, Rennie." "To lose a war makes a man bitter," Don Cazar said slowly. "Johnny was far too young when he ran away to join Howard.
Johnny had slipped his cable; no more Johnny in the market; and the administration racket clean played out. Next thing, word came to Randall the priest was praying upon Johnny’s grave. Papa was pretty full, and got a club, and lit out straight for the place, and there was Galoshes on his knees, and a lot of natives looking on.
Drew could give no sane reason for his conviction that it had been Johnny’s fingers which had looted the pocket of papers and stuffed leaves and grass in their place. "You’ll have to do better than that, kid!" Spath laughed. "You must have known Shannon was gone, too. By the time he’s back from Mexico he won’t need to prove that’s a lie."
Old Man is always on lookout for a good rider. Soon as we see how Johnny’s doin’, we’ll head south. I already sent Greyfeather back to tell the Old Man th’ kid’s hurt an’ up here. Reese, what’d you think ’bout Bayliss? That he’ll try to take over runnin’ the town?" "Might just," the gambler replied. "Could he do it?" "I hardly think so. What he’s really out for is Hunt’s hide.
An’ seem’ as how they was only one company hereabouts—Howard’s Rangers—they didn’t try. That’s when Johnny Shannon had his big bust-up with his pa an’—" "His father!" Drew could not help that exclamation. "Wal, Don Cazar ain’t Johnny’s real pa, o’ course. But he shore thinks th’ world an’ all of Johnny, raising him up from a li’l cub.
In the half light the arrow projecting from between his shoulder blades stood out with unnatural clarity. Arrow? Drew’s wits worked slowly. The arrow must have come from one of the Pimas—Rennie had been covered, after all. So he had not believed too much in Johnny’s promises.... "You there, kid?" Someone came through the rock gap. "Hey—he’s here all right, but he’s hurt!"
"But ... Long Canyon ..." There was a shade of puzzlement in his voice. "All right, carry on, Crow. I’ll try to get back to the Stronghold before you pull south—if Johnny’s all right. Maybe I can bring him back with me." The grulla made what was close to a standing leap into a gallop and Rennie flashed along the line of wagons in the opposite direction toward Tubacca.
Word Of The Day