THE BAR-20 TRILOGY--Complete Western Series: Bar-20 + Bar-20 Days + the Bar-20 Three: Wild Adventures of Cassidy and His Gang of Friends by Clarence Mulford

Author:Clarence Mulford [Mulford, Clarence]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9788026875178
Publisher: e-artnow
Published: 2017-03-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter XVIII.

Harlan Strikes

Table of Contents

Joe Barr laughingly replied to Johnny Nelson’s growled remarks about the condition of things in general and tried to soothe him, but Johnny was unsoothable.

“An’ I’ve been telling him right along that he’s got the best of it,” complained Jackson in a weary voice. “Got a measly hole through his shoulder—good Lord! if it had gone a little lower!” he finished with a show of exasperation.

“An’ ain’t I been telling you all along that it ain’t the measly hole in my shoulder that’s got me on the prod?” retorted Johnny, with more earnestness than politeness. “But why couldn’t I go with my friends after Jerry an’ get shot later if I had to get it at all? Look what I’m missing, roped an’ throwed in this cussed ten-by-ten shack while they’re having a little excitement.”

“Yo’re missing some blamed nasty weather, Kid,” replied the marshal. “You ain’t got no kick coming at all. Why, I got soaked clean through just going down to the Oasis.”

“Well, I’m kicking, just the same,” snapped Johnny. “An’ furthermore, I don’t see nobody big enough to stop me, neither—did you all get that?”

The rear door opened and Fred Neal looked in. “Hey, Barr; come out an’ gimme a hand in the corral. Busted my cinch all to pieces half a mile out—an’ how the devil it ever busted like that is—” the door slammed shut and softened his monologue.

“Would you listen to that!” snorted Barr in an injured tone. “Didn’t I go an’ tell him near a month ago that his cussed cinch wouldn’t hold no better’n a piece of wet paper?” His complaint added materially to the atmosphere of sullen discontent pervading the room. “An’ now I gotter go out in this rain an’—” the slam of the door surpassed anything yet attempted in that line of endeavor. Jackson grabbed a can of corn as it jarred off the shelf behind him and directed a pleasing phrase after the peevish Barr.

“Say, won’t somebody please smile?” gravely asked Edwards. “I never saw such a happy, cheerful bunch before.”

“I might smile if I wasn’t so blamed hungry,” retorted Johnny. “Doesn’t anybody ever eat in this town?” he asked in great sarcasm. “Mebby a good feed won’t do me no good, but I’m going to fill myself regardless. An’ after that, if the grub don’t shock me to death, I’m shore going to trim somebody at Ol’ Sledge—for two bits a hand.”

“If I could play you enough hands at that price I could sell out an’ live high without working,” grinned Jackson, preparing to give the reckless invalid all he could eat. “That’s purty high, Kid; but I just feel real devilish, an’ I’m coming in.”

“An’ I’ll go over to my shack, get some money, an’ bust the pair of you,” laughed Edwards, again buttoning his coat and going towards the door. “Holy Cats! A log must ‘a’ got jammed in the sluice-gate up there,” he muttered, scowling at the black sky. “It’s coming down harder’n ever, but here goes,” and he stepped quickly into the storm.

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.