Edge: The Loner by George G. Gilman

Author:George G. Gilman [Gilman, George G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2011-11-21T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

EDGE had an uneventful journey across the remainder of the Plains land, pacing himself and his horse to achieve a fast rate without inviting fatigue. He was taking a southwestern route, slashing across the southeastern corner of the Colorado Territory, and in not many days the horizon ahead became a dark line between the sun-baked ground and the azure sky as the Front Rage of the southern Rockies emerged over the earth’s curvature. He rode from early morning till close to noon, rested in whatever shade was available while the sun arced over its peak, then moved on till nightfall.

He was in Indian country now. Cheyenne to the south, Pawnee to the north and Ute, Navaho and Apache ahead of him. White settlements were thin on the ground and those he saw he skirted. He decided he had taken his full share of unwanted trouble and the itch to find Forrest and the others was getting stronger. What Annie had told him about Jamie’s killers, their utter lack of remorse and confidence in their apparent immunity had caused Edge to re-assess his earlier line of thought. Now, although he was prepared to search for the rest of his life for vengeance, the earlier he reaped it the better.

But then fate took a hand again. It was afternoon and the ground he was riding along was on the rise. He was following a wagon route up through the foothills towards the mountains, staying on the trail because he knew it would take him though by the easiest route: had been blazed by settlers heading west for California. And he followed the track for another reason. It bore signs of a passage by a wagon train in the not too distant past. A wagon train meant people, but for the most part good, decent people unlikely to create trouble unless provoked. More important, it meant good food, well cooked by town-bred women: an attractive prospect for Edge’s appetite, jaded by underdone jack rabbit and coffee made insipid by the need to conserve his diminishing supply.

The first sign of trouble ahead was a column of black smoke some that rose above the crest of the hill, looking black and oily as it marred the clear blueness of the sky. The trail cut a course around the base of the hill, rising only gently so that heavily laden wagons could be hauled up with relative ease. But Edge chose to cut off the trail, heeling his horse up the side of the hill towards the smoke. He started at a gallop, but as the incline steepened the animal slowed and Edge had to adopt a zigzagged course, finally dismounted and led the animal by its bridle the final few yards to the crest.

On the other side the ground sloped away on a shallow incline and Edge looked down at the source of the smoke. A wagon lay on its side, terrified grays still trapped in its shafts as its canvas and timbers blazed.

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.