Jurisdiction by Ralph Cotton

Author:Ralph Cotton
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

Chapter 12

As they headed away from Hubbler Wells, Earl Ganston had been riding behind Billy Odle. But to keep the Ranger from getting a shot at his back, Earl had dragged Billy around behind him before the horse had gone fifty yards. Halfway across the stretch of flatlands, Billy Odle said, “All we got to do is get to the hills. I’ll get us hidden where they’ll never find us.”

“Huh?” Earl Ganston looked over his shoulder at Billy in surprise. “Hey, kid, I don’t know what’s going on in that empty head of yours, but don’t make the mistake of thinking I won’t kill you if you try something—”

“I know, I know,” said Billy Odle, cutting him off. “You still don’t believe I’m on your side. But I wasn’t lying, mister. You’ve got to trust me! Willie John is hiding up there in the hills, and he’s needing help bad!”

“How do you know the posse ain’t there on him right now, boy?” asked Earl, starting to wonder if maybe the kid was his only key to getting out of this mess.

“It’s a secret hideout,” said Billy Odle. “Only Willie and me know about it. I took him there. I’ll take you there, too. But first I’ve got to get some haga creer for Willie’s wounds.”

“Some what?”

“Some haga creer,” Billy said, talking fast as the horse struggled on in the snow. “It’s a Mexican herb . . . Willie said he hated using it, but sometimes it’s the only thing that works.”

Earl let out a low, dark chuckle. “Hell, boy, you don’t have to tell me about haga creer—I speak the language. How do we get to this hideout you’re talking about?”

“Huh-uh,” said Billy. “I’ll show you but I won’t tell you.”

“Wise little peckerwood,” Earl growled, lashing the reins back and forth across the horse’s sides, pushing it hard. “If you think you’re going to be one of us, you best get to telling me how to get there. What if something happens to you? You plan on leaving me at that Ranger’s mercy? Now give me some directions, damn you!”

“All right, then,” said Billy Odle, “but promise you won’t double-cross me. Willie’s counting on me.”

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