Adam Steele 34 The Runaway by George G. Gilman

Author:George G. Gilman [Gilman, George g.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

When he closed the door, he was again conscious of enmity being tacitly directed toward him from the darkness beyond the open threshold of the saloon. And the same irritating itch between the shoulder blades made itself felt for several stretched seconds as he went up the street — an awareness and a sensation that remained strong enough to squeeze beads of the sweat of tension from his pores and caused him to maintain a more tight than usual grip on the rifle canted to his shoulder until he started across the fifty feet wide gap that divided the civilian community from the army post. When both sentries shifted their carbines to the aim and froze. But the Virginian with the sun-ravaged, heavily bristled and sweat-beaded face did not himself become immobile until one of the uniformed men snarled:

`Hold it, mister.'

There was perhaps one second of tense silence before the other cavalryman demanded: 'State your business at Fort Curry!'

Steele had the saddlebags draped over the crook of the elbow of his right arm and was holding the straps of the army issue canteens in his right hand. Now he raised that hand and moved it slightly so that the canteens swung from side to side.

`Met Captain Duff's patrol at the old church up on the main trail, feller. Was a little short on water. The captain had Sergeant Santori loan us his near filled canteens. The sergeant asked me to return the canteens to the fort.'

The Virginian had suppressed the impulse to shout back at the highly placed sentries at the same level they had barked their orders: and as he made his even voiced response he felt the tension drain out of him. At the same time was sardonically aware of the discomfiture of the two soldiers who had over-reacted to his approach.

`So why the hell didn't you — ' the first of them to snap an order snarled.

`He just did tell us, Trooper!' the higher ranked cavalryman growled. And then, to Steele commanded: 'Cross to the gate and throw the canteens up here, mister.'

The Virginian complied with this, the canteens were caught at the first toss and he paused with his head tilted back to ask: `You fellers are a little edgy, aren't you?'

`On your way, mister!' the junior man snarled softly.

`Our job is to keep the Apaches from running wild,' the other Fort Curry cavalryman augmented. 'Trouble between civilians that has nothing to do with the Apaches is not the concern of the military. Do like the trooper told you.'

`Thanks for nothing.'

`They're in Melvin Ivers' saloon. Two of them.' Not loud enough to carry beyond Steele.

`Like I said, feller, thanks for nothing,' Steele drawled to the higher ranking man as he turned and started back across the open length of street between the fort and the civilian community.

`So up your ass, mister!' the trooper snarled.

`Tell you something, Rosen?'

`Yeah, Sergeant?'

`Why I'm a sergeant and maybe will go higher and you're the lowest of the frigging low and won't ever get off the frigging bottom?'

`Sergeant?'

`Because you're frigging stupid is why.

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