Sacketts.09.Sackett.1961 by Louis L'Amour

Author:Louis L'Amour [Louis L'Amour]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

XI

"There was a faint lemon color edging the gray of the clouds when trolled out of my blankets. Joe Rugger had teased the fire into flame and put water on for coffee. Sticking my feet into my boots, stomped them into place and slung my gun belt around my hips. Expecting trouble, that was all I had taken off, except for my vest. I put on my vest and tucked another gun behind toy belt and then walked out to the edge of the woods. Oh, sure, I had my hat on—first thing a cow-boy does when he crawls out of bed in the morning is to put his hat on.

Looked to me like somebody was leaving over yonder.

Ange was up, her hair combed as pretty as might be, and sunlight catching the gold of it through a rift in the clouds. She brought me a cup of coffee.

"I suppose you're satisfied with what you've done," she said. Thank you, ma'am. . . . Satisfied? Well, now. Takes a lot to satisfy a man, takes a lot to please him if he's any account. But what I did, I did well ... yes, ma'am, I'm pleased."

"I thought you were a good man."

"Glad to hear you say so. It's an appearance I favor. Not that I've ever been sure what it was made a good man. Mostly I'd say a good man is one you can rely on, one who does his job and stands by what he believes."

"Do you believe in killing people?"

"No, ma'am, not as a practice. Trouble is, if a body gets trouble out here he can't call the sheriff . . . there isn't any sheriff. He can't have his case judged by the law, because there aren't any judges. He can't appeal to anybody or anything except his own sense of what's just and right.

"There's folks around believe they can do anything they're big enough to do, no matter how it tromples on other folks' rights. That I don't favor.

"Some people you can arbitrate with . . . you can reason a thing out and settle it fair and square. There's others will understand nothing but force.

"Joe Rugger now, there's a good man. Cap Rountree is another. They are trying to build something. Those others, they figure to profit by what other people do, and I don't aim to stand by in silence."

"You have no authority for such actions."

"Yes, ma'am, I do. The ideas I have are principles that men have had for many a year. I've been reading about that. When a man enters into society —that's living with other folks—he agrees to abide by the rules of that society, and when he crosses those rules he becomes liable to judgment, and if he continues to cross them, then he becomes an outlaw.

In wild country like this a man has no appeal but to that consideration, and when he fights against force and brutality, he must use the weapons he has.

"Take Joe Rugger now. He rode in here with a lot of mighty mean, shiftless folks.

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