Only the Stubborn Survive by R. W. Stone

Author:R. W. Stone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Blackstone Publishing
Published: 2021-04-07T16:14:50+00:00

Chapter Eleven

It had been raining three days straight when Major John B. Jones arrived at the camp B again. He called Red and Thornton over to his tent after he was settled in and had received an update on goings-on in the area from Captain Barnes.

“Come on in,” the Ranger commander said as the two men removed their rain slickers. “And don’t shake those overcoats out in here. Leave them over by the entry.” Jones waited as they shook the rain off. “Take a seat,” he told them once they were ready. “Now, Red, I want to tell you that I’ve spoken with Captain Barnes, and he tells me you’re a real asset to the battalion. I was pleased to hear that. And in light of what he’s told me, I’m sending you out on a job with Thornton. Orders from Austin.”

Red smiled, happy to spend some time with Al again and not just riding between the camps. But Thornton got a sour look on his face and groaned under his breath.

“Major, whenever you tell me you’ve got a job for me, I feel saddle sores starting to form.”

The officer pulled a cigar out from a small wooden box on his desk and struck a match. After a few puffs, he nodded. “Well, Al, you’re right. Plenty of riding is involved. But when isn’t it in this work.”

“Never, sir.”

“This job involves transporting a prisoner,” the major informed them. “You know most of the men are out scouting. So I need you two to do it. You’ll pick him up, and then he’ll be sent down to Houston to stand trial for murder and a number of train and stage robberies.”

“And just where is this fellow now?” Al Thornton asked.

“He’s at Fort . . .”

But Thornton didn’t let him finish. “On the Brazos? That trip will take us right smack into the Injuns. That’s a long trip . . . two, three weeks.”

“Stop complaining, Al,” Red said. “The trip will do you good. Help you work off some of that extra waist padding you’re carrying.” In reality it would have been hard to find a single ounce of fat on Ranger Al Thornton.

“Major, this young wiseass here may not finish the trip. I might just shoot him myself,” Al said sarcastically.

“You could try,” Red said. “Major, who exactly is this hombre we’re to bring back?”

Jones shuffled through some papers before he answered. When he found the one he was looking for, he glanced up at the two men while he read. ‘‘Frank Lannigan. Believed to be in his early to mid-thirties, brown hair. Wanted for a series of stage robberies and . . .”

“Lannigan?” Al interrupted Jones. “Isn’t he the one who killed that woman down around Houston?”

“Same one. Seems he robbed a stagecoach as it was pulling into town . . . which was pretty brazen. Something happened to his horse. The mayor’s wife was leaving town in a buckboard, and she was alone. Lannigan jumped into her vehicle and used her as cover to get away.

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.