Ralph Compton Phantom Hill by Ralph Compton

Author:Ralph Compton
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2016-01-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 20

When Poppy reached the Flats late that afternoon, Pete Sinclair was standing in the doorway of the adobe building, wearing an abandoned serape he’d found. His hair was tossed, his beard in tangles, and traces of dried blood remained on his boots.

“You, senor, are a pathetic sight,” Poppy said as he dismounted.

Sinclair spat into the dirt. “I’m ready to be gettin’ home.”

“Well, that ain’t happenin’ soon. I’ve come to deliver a message from your papa,” Poppy said as he began gathering wood for a fire. “You are not to return.”

Pete cursed. “I’ll not have hired help tellin’ me what I’m to do.”

“Ain’t me telling. It’s Mr. Sinclair’s decision. I’m just the messenger.”

As he began building a fire, he told Pete of the arrival of men at the Bend and the likelihood they’d soon attempt to retrieve the stolen cattle. “They got some plan, which I believe will be carried out soon. We’re preparin’ for a fight.”

“More’s the reason I need to get back.”

“Ain’t the men who come for the cattle that should concern you. Jennings ain’t happy with what occurred in town. He’ll be looking for you, most likely to see you dead. For that reason, your papa says you’re to leave as quickly as possible. Ride to the south, he says, and hide until matters are settled.”

“Jennings has no call to think it was me in the livery. Wasn’t nobody else around ’cept that Mexican who interfered and pulled me away.”

Poppy rose, walked to his horse, and took Pete’s hat from the saddle horn. “Wasn’t Armando who made Jennings aware it was you who gave the beating to the young man.” He handed Pete his hat. “This was found there.”

Pete took the hat and threw it to the ground. “Where is it I’m supposed to go?”

Poppy placed the pouch of money and the bag of ammunition on the ground next to him. “Senor,” he said, “I don’t care.”

• • •

Giles Weatherby couldn’t shake the feeling that he was responsible for what had happened to Ira. Troubling thoughts raced through his mind when he was awake and visited his dreams whenever he managed to sleep. I should not have left Dalton alone at the livery. If I had returned in time . . . What if he dies?

He was sitting on the steps of Doc Matthews’s house when Jennings and Bagbee approached.

“How’s he doin’?” Jennings said.

“Doc says no better, no worse. He ain’t opened his eyes yet.”

“I’ll go in and sit with him for a bit,” Coy said, “but first, we got something we need to speak with you about.”

Bagbee outlined the plan they had discussed the previous evening, saying that his men were already making preparations for the ride to the Bend. “We’ll be headin’ out well before sunup.”

Coy explained the need to have the townspeople prepared in the event of problems in Phantom Hill.

“My druthers would be to ride with you boys,” Weatherby said, reaching to touch the stock of his shotgun. “It’d do me good to look into Lester’s eyes when he learns somebody’s stood up to him and that cowardly son of his.

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.