Nevada Nights by Georgina Gentry

Author:Georgina Gentry [None]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Zebra Books
Published: 2014-08-26T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter Sixteen

“Hurry up, kid, can’t you hear him coming in?”

Dallas paused as she saddled the palomino horse, listened. Away in the distance, she heard the drumming of hooves as the Pony Express rider galloped toward Williams’ station. Quickly, she finished, nodded to the bearded Oscar Williams as she led the horse outside.

Quint had ridden out a couple of hours before on his search for the Medicine Hat stallion, and Dallas was resigned to spending a couple of dull days disguised as a boy and working around the station.

She touched her pants pocket to make sure she still had the pearl earrings. The breeze blew against her face as the rider galloped toward them. He was only a tiny dot on the horizon, but the rhythmic pounding of the horse’s hooves could be heard a long way in the desert.

The palomino she held by the bridle nickered and stamped, obviously realizing that it was about to start its run. Williams’ station was a trading place and a minor relay post for a rider to get a fresh horse and gallop on.

The others came out of the adobe building to watch the transfer as the rider galloped closer. Dallas frowned now as she saw that the boy coming in was hunched low over his saddle horn, clinging to the horse’s neck. “There’s something wrong!”

She ran out to meet the weary dun gelding as it stumbled into camp, stood trembling and lathered. The rider lay on the horse’s neck, his fingers clenched in the gelding’s mane to keep from falling off. “Somebody give me a hand! He’s hurt!”

Yancy ran out and helped Dallas unclench the rider’s hands, let the lad slide off the horse into his arms. “Boy, what happened?”

The broken shaft of an arrow protruded from the rider’s shoulder. “Finally managed to outrun them . . . they ran off.” He gasped. “Injuns . . .”

Oscar cursed as he knelt. “Dammit, it’s been too quiet to last! Pit River or Paiutes?”

Dallas wiped the sweat from the boy’s face and held a canteen to his lips. “Can’t you see he’s hurt too bad to answer questions? We’ve got to get him inside!”

The Williams brothers lifted the boy and carried him into the station, Dallas and Yancy trailing along behind.

Yancy drawled, “Damned shame! If the service is disrupted, the government isn’t gonna be able to keep up communication with the West.”

Why does he look so smug, so pleased? Dallas wondered. What has he been up to in the few days he’s been out here? Her speculation was interrupted by Dave Williams. “Dal, boy, the mail has to go and there’s no relay rider here.”

She froze. “A war party on the loose and you want me to take that mail out?”

Yancy laughed cynically “Kid, that’s what they pay you for!”

“Yancy’s right, boy,” Oscar said. “Even if any of us was willin’, we’re too heavy and don’t ride that well. It’s up to you to get that mail on to the next station!” He reached for a bottle of whiskey, took a big swig before handing the bottle to the wounded rider.

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