Llano River by Elmer Kelton

Author:Elmer Kelton [Kelton, Elmer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
Published: 2017-09-04T00:00:00+00:00

IX

AS THEY TOPPED THE HILL, SON TITUS LOOKED BACK over his shoulder at Runaway below. “I wasn’t finished down there.”

“Yes, you was,” Dundee said.

That was the last Son Titus spoke for many miles. He rode along with his head down, sleeping on horseback. It suited Dundee all right, for so long as Son was asleep he wasn’t belly-aching.

I ought to charge old John Titus double for this job, he thought. Hunting cowthieves is what I hired for. I didn’t come here to wetnurse a chuckleheaded button.

But now and again he would glance at the relaxed face of Son Titus and feel something vaguely akin to liking. Son could have stood there and let Karnes shoot him, but he hadn’t. He had pitched in. Maybe it wasn’t because he felt any desire to help Dundee; maybe he just wanted the excitement. No matter; if it hadn’t been for Son Titus, Dundee knew he’d probably be the cause of somebody having to do a job of digging in the rocky ground that was Runaway’s Boothill.

Son Titus stirred finally. He blinked, shut his eyes a while, blinked some more and came awake. His face twisted as he worked up spittle and tried to clear his mouth of a bad taste. “How far we come?”

“A ways. You ought to swear off of whisky.”

“Truth is, she done most of the drinking. I didn’t really drink much. Just a few little snorts.”

Dundee had sort of guessed that.

Son said: “I figured a girl like her would hear lots of things. Figured if she got to drinking it’d loosen her tongue up, and then maybe I’d find out something.”

“Did it work thataway?”

“Some. Mostly it made her affectionate. Of course, there wasn’t nothing wrong with that, neither.”

“What did you find out, when she wasn’t being affectionate?”

“Found out a little about you, Dundee. Found out they’re scared of you in Runaway.”

“Did that convince you I ain’t no cowthief?”

“Why else you reckon I’d’ve bothered to holler at you when that feller was fixing to let air through your brisket?”

“I sort of wondered.”

“Well, it wasn’t on account of your good looks and disposition.”

At length they came to a creek, its clear water gurgling over the big polished stones that lay in its shallow bed. Son Titus licked his lips. “Last night I wouldn’t of give you a nickel for all the water in Kingdom Come. Now it’s worth ten dollars a gallon. I’m going to step down and drink up about a hundred dollars worth.”

Son dropped on his belly and stretched out over the creek’s bank, cupping the palm of his right hand to bring water up so he didn’t have to dip his face under. He drank long and thirstily, pausing only to catch his breath.

“Ain’t you afraid that stuff’ll rust your gut?” Dundee asked.

“Not with the coating I put on it last night.”

Dundee watered the horses. Son Titus finally seemed satisfied. He pushed to his feet, wiping his sleeve across his mouth. “Nectar of the gods. You ought to try it, Dundee.

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