Sundance 14 by John Benteen

Author:John Benteen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: the old west, gunmen, the wild west, john benteen, jim sundance, us frontier fiction, best western novel, western novel ebook, western novel online, westernms
Publisher: Piccadilly Publishing

Chapter Six

Though fairly sure there would be no need for the outriders, still he felt that they owed the passengers that much protection. Meanwhile, with Eagle trotting alongside, he himself rode shotgun up on the seat beside the driver, Yance on guard facing their back trail from the rear of the coach’s top, laden now with baggage. He made sure the vehicle stopped at every place where they had left presents for the Apaches.

All along the line, they had been collected, were gone, including the dried fish. At one place he found evidence that the fish had been eaten immediately: a few bones among some moccasin tracks. That evoked from him a cold grin and a sentence muttered instinctively in Northern Cheyenne dialect. More certain than ever now that there would be no Apache trouble on this trip, he nevertheless scouted ahead on Eagle every time they approached a spot that might offer any danger. There were still the Cables to consider, although he figured that Ash and Mort would be in no mood to tackle Yance, himself, and four good, well-armed outriders after last night.

It had not been the Cables who had come looking for them last night at the Rawlings office, but the town marshal and a pair of deputies. He and Yance knew each other well, and there was no threat in the lawman’s voice when he said, “All right. Judge Holman wants the facts on those killin’s. Folks heard you admit to ’em, and that hatchet pretty well cinches this half-breed was in it—up to his eyeballs. Figured you wouldn’t wanta delay your stage pullin’ out tomorrow, so we’ll have the hearin’ now. We already got those two Cable jokers in custody to hear their side of the story.”

The judge was a plump man in his shirtsleeves and bedroom slippers, the hearing held in the living room of his house. The Cables were there, grim-faced and waiting, under a deputy’s gun. “Now, Yance,” the judge said, “suppose you tell us what this is all about.”

Rawlings told the story, denying Sundance no credit, his whole attitude toward the half-breed changed now. Holman listened carefully, turned to the Cables. “All right. What have you two gentlemen to say to that?”

“Hell, your honor,” Ash grated, “they weren’t our men. They just throwed in with us on the trip to Lordsburg for mutual protection against the Apaches. What they did is no business of Mort’s and me. If they had some kinda grudge against Rawlings and Sundance, that was their affair. Me and Mort, we were killin’ a bottle in the Lordsburg Waterhole whilst the shootin’ was goin’ on—and plenty of witnesses to prove it.”

“Plenty to prove you braced Rawlings and this Sundance, too, first, with those four men backing you,” Holman said coldly.

“We had a little fun with ’em, yeah,” Mort put in. “I’ll admit we got no love for Rawlin’s or anybody connected with Tulso Dart, but we never once drawed a weapon, and nobody can say we did!”

Holman was silent for a moment, looking from Yance to the Cables, then back at Yance again.

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