Dalton's Vengeance by Ed Law

Author:Ed Law
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Culbin Press
Published: 2024-04-08T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Nine

The sun was descending beyond the far hills when Dalton caught his first sight of Frank. He was confidently leading the riders who had tried to capture him two days ago, showing no concern that he might be riding into a trap.

Victor had situated his captives beside the bridge so that Frank would have to come into the center of the camp to claim them. Although they hadn’t been tied up or secured, several men were guarding them and their only escape route was the unpromising chasm of the gulch.

The workers had retreated to the tents where Dalton presumed that an ambush was being planned. What form it would take he didn’t know. Frank rode slowly on until he drew to a halt forty yards from the gathering, this being far enough away to beat a retreat but close enough to talk.

“Are you ready to talk business?” he hollered.

“It’s too late for that,” Victor shouted back. “There’s nothing to protect now but a heap of broken wood.”

Frank raised himself in the saddle and when that failed to give him a clear view of the debris, he and the rest moved closer. The men halted ten yards on.

Frank smirked. “You seem to have had some trouble there, but with my help you should get that mess cleared away quickly and get back on schedule.”

“What kind of help would that be?”

Frank narrowed his eyes. “The kind that avoids that happening again.”

Victor nodded as if he were mulling over the offer, giving Seth the opportunity to sidle closer to Dalton.

“It seems you got it wrong,” he said from the corner of his mouth. “Frank’s not concerned about what we did.”

With a mocking sideways movement Seth moved away from Dalton showing that he was getting out of Frank’s line of fire.

“He hasn’t seen all the damage yet,” Dalton said, making Seth’s confident grin waver.

Their conversation made Victor gesture at a man to his left. That man slowly moved away to carry out whatever order he’d been given.

“I’m not paying you nothing, Frank,” Victor said. “The only person paying anything is you for destroying my bridge.”

Frank snarled, but even though he hadn’t shown any sign of having noticed him Dalton found it impossible to keep quiet.

“And you’ll pay for killing Loren Steele and Sheriff Blake, and for burning down my home,” he shouted.

Frank turned to him, his eyes narrowing, showing that he hadn’t spotted him before. He gestured to two men to seize him.

“We’ll take this man off your hands,” he said.

“You won’t,” Victor said. “Now that I know the truth, you’re doing nothing with him.”

Frank ignored him and with the other two men he moved on. He rode for ten yards, but then he came to a sudden halt as he got a full view of the gulch and the devastation there. He raised his eyebrows and tipped back his hat.

He turned to Seth, who gulped. Then, with Thomas and Caleb, Seth shuffled backward for an uncertain pace. Victor caught the rising tension and behind his back he gestured.

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