Death Song by Richard Dawes

Author:Richard Dawes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: murder, gang, cowboy, outlaw, bandit, gunfight, tucson, cowboys and outlaws, accused of murder, battle to the death, death song, richard dawes, tucson kid westerns
Publisher: Melange Books, LLC

Chapter Seven

As Tucson walked down the street toward the stable with the stallion following close on his heels, a woman’s voice hissed at him from the shadows beside an adobe hut. “Señor Tucson...!”

In a blur of motion, Tucson spun around, his Colt leaping into his hand, and came to rest facing the speaker with his gun level and the hammer at full cock.

The muffled figure threw up her hands in alarm. “Don’t shoot, Señor Tucson. It is me, Maria!”

“Show yourself...” Tucson commanded.

The old woman shuffled into the dim light of the street. Her eyes gleamed fearfully from her wrinkled face; the rest of her was shrouded in a long dark shawl pulled over her head.

Tucson scanned the darkness behind her then glanced back over his shoulder and along the street. Satisfied that it wasn’t an ambush, he un-cocked his Colt and lowered it, but didn’t re-holster it. “What do you want, old woman?”

Maria bowed repeatedly as she approached him. “Good Señor...” she wailed in a high-pitched voice. “The whole village thanks you for what you have done for us.”

“I’m not looking for your thanks,” Tucson retorted, “especially not at this time of night. Shouting at me on a dark street could get you killed.”

“I am so sorry, Señor Tucson, but I had to see you!”

Uncomfortable with conducting a conversation in the middle of the road, Tucson slid his gun back into its holster then motioned for Maria to come with him back into the shadows beside the hut. “What’s the matter, old woman? Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“It is Rosita, Señor...”

A chill crawled down Tucson’s spine. “What about Rosita?”

“She has been taken by some of Don Alessandro Vargas’ vaqueros.”

“What...?” Tucson grabbed the old woman’s emaciated shoulder. “What do you mean, ‘taken?’”

Maria cried out in pain. “Ayii, Señor, ayii! Your fingers are iron spikes. You are breaking my arm!”

Tucson released her and let out a long ragged breath. “I’m sorry, old woman,” he said, forcing himself to calm down. “Now tell me exactly what happened.”

“Earlier today, Rosita went out to the farm of old Jose Torres,” Maria said, massaging her shoulder. “His farm is about three miles east of here. She knew that he could use some of the gold you gave her.”

“Yes, yes, get to it!”

“On her way back, a band of Don Alessandro’s vaquero’s saw Rosita and stopped her.”

“Then what happened?”

“They were playing with her, Señor, tossing her from one man to another, when the coins you gave her fell out of her skirt and landed in the dust.”

Tucson groaned. “And then...?”

“When the vaqueros saw the gold, they accused Rosita of being a thief because no peon would ever have that much dinero. When she refused to tell them how she got the gold, they took her with them up to the Vargas hacienda.” Maria paused, staring up at Tucson with frightened eyes. “They said that they would beat the information out of her.”

“When did this happen?”

“Just before sundown, Señor...”

“Why am I only hearing about this now?” Tucson demanded furiously.

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.