The Floating Outfit 32: The Law of the Gun (A Floating Outfit Western) by J. T. Edson

Author:J. T. Edson
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Piccadilly Publishing
Published: 2019-02-01T00:00:00+00:00

Nine – Jack City Speeds Its Departing Guests

While the people at the table became aware of Red Blaze’s sobriety, the bouncers failed to notice any change. So neither man took any special care, believing that they had only the usual half-drunk cowhand to handle. It proved to be a painful and disastrous mistake.

Big arms reached out to enfold Red from the rear and hold him until the second bouncer rendered him incapable of argument. Watching in the bar mirror’s reflection, Red saw his danger and handled it. Back drove his right elbow to smash with considerable force into the reaching man’s solar plexus. Letting out a strangled grunt of agony, the man made a hurried retreat. On the heels of dealing with his first assailant, Red pivoted and whipped a backhand swing around to take the second bouncer squarely on the nose. Such a blow was painful in the extreme and the man went staggering backwards, blood spurting from his pulped nasal organ.

Letting out a squeal of unladylike curses, Mame grabbed at the neck of one of the bottles. Red laid a hand in the center of her face as she started to rise and shoved hard. Curses became a wail of despair as the girl’s chair tipped over and deposited her, in a flurry of skirts and waving legs, on the floor.

Other members of the saloon staff started coming into the attack. The shell game operator grabbed at his jacket pocket, while some eight men swarmed forward. Ballinger acted almost without conscious thought. Out lashed his fist, colliding with the jaw of the shell game man before his fingers gripped the butt of the Derringer in his pocket, and shooting him to one side.

Once committed, Ballinger knew he must fight and also that bare hands could not offset the extra numbers of the opposition. Salvation loomed to one side and the detective took steps to obtain it. Jumping to where the swamper stood and stared, Ballinger snatched the brush from unresisting hands. A kick tore off the bristled headland left almost a facsimile of the thirty-six-inch long baton Ballinger had carried when a mounted policeman and still used when occasion demanded one’s extra length.

Holding his improvised baton, Ballinger swung to face his first attacker. Having bounded the bar in traditional manner, the bartender charged to the attack with bung-starter in hand. Knowing that such a weapon could cave in his head, Ballinger determined to keep its wielder at a distance. Throwing up the baton, the detective lunged one-handed almost as if handling an epee de combat. Unable to stop himself, the bartender rushed straight into the unyielding end of the baton. It caught him in the face with enough force to throw his coordination out of kilter. Ballinger gave the man no chance to recover. Taking hold of the baton with his other hand, he side-stepped the half-blinded bartender’s rush and brought off a butt stroke which crashed the end of the baton into the side of the man’s jaw.

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