Brand McAllister (A Rem McAllister Western) by Matt Chisholm

Author:Matt Chisholm [Chisholm, Matt]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: action hero, American History, Best western ebook, Peter Watts, Piccadilly cowboys, Piccadilly Publishing, The Wild West, Western series, Westerns
Publisher: Piccadilly
Published: 2023-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Fifteen

HE SLEPT UNTIL daybreak and was surprised to find that Hershel was still alive. In fact, sleeping peacefully, his breathing steady. My God, McAllister thought, the man must be made of iron. He checked on the horse and found that it had not strayed far. He brought it back nearer camp and took a look at the jerky he had soaked. It looked awful, but he woke Hershel and fed some of it to him. The wounded man took it with some relish. They didn’t talk much. Hershel was so weak that he could scarcely sit up to eat and even the effort of putting food into his mouth was almost too much for him. McAllister was driven to say, almost against his will: ‘Hershel, I have to give it to you—you have guts.’

‘That’s necessary in my profession,’ the Jew said.

‘Just what is your profession?’

Hershel looked surprised. ‘You mean you don’t know.’

‘I don’t know.’

‘Yet you carry a warrant for me.’

McAllister was unusually embarrassed.

‘We’ll talk about that later,’ he said.

‘When we reach the doctor’s we’ll talk about a lot. You may not know it, but you’re in this right up to your neck. Let me warn you. Watch your step like you never watched it before. Don Martin wants you dead. He tried to do it legally and failed. Next time, he’ll try the other way. My people saved your life because only you knew where I was. But you stand in danger from them too. You came into Mexico at the wrong time.’

‘Now you tell me. Just who are your people, Hershel?’

The Jew smiled.

‘I have no doubt you will learn that too. That’s when your life will be in danger. I owe you that much information. Maybe I gave you too much already.’

‘I wouldn’t say you were encouraging me to take you on to this doctor.’

Hershel smiled.

‘You don’t know yourself, McAllister.’

Getting Hershel into the saddle proved to be a painful process for the wounded man.

‘How far is it?’ McAllister demanded.

‘An hour’s ride.’

‘The horse is rested. I’ll ride too.’

They headed south-east. The country rose and became greener. There was not much water on the surface, but there were signs that there was some beneath it. Finally, they came up into sparse timber. Hershel, who had been leaning back against McAllister for support, now straightened himself up and became more alert. McAllister reckoned he was on the lookout for trouble.

They nearly rode into it when they hit a broad hillside trail and were pushing along it at a trot. Over Hershel’s shoulder, McAllister spotted the two horsemen far ahead of them and coming in their direction. They pulled off the trail and hid, waiting for the two riders to pass them. They proved to be two rurales. They passed at a trot and Hershel said: ‘They have come from the doctor’s house. All the time they go there. They suspect, but they do not know and the doctor is a very respected man. Me, they would kill on sight. But the doctor is another matter.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.