The Floating Outfit 51 by J.T. Edson

Author:J.T. Edson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: texas, conartist, arizona rangers, piccadilly publishing, jt edson, the floating outfit, ole devil hardin, dusty fog, ebook westerns, westerns ebook
Publisher: Piccadilly

‘Take my advice, young man,’ General Handiman requested gravely, entering the treaty cabin with his aide-de-camp about half an hour after the shooting of Captain Massey. With the exception of the Texans and corpsman, he and the others who stayed behind had left to deal with the crowd attracted by the second gun shots. On returning, he found only Waco present. ‘Don’t ever let yourself be given an assignment like mine. I’ve just been lying fit to damn my immortal soul, supposedly explaining what happened in here.’

‘Well I’ll be switched!’ the blond youngster ejaculated. ‘And here’s me thinking only us hired hands needed to do things like that.’

‘How do you mean?’ Handiman inquired, looking at the now deserted stage.

‘You reminded me of something I was saying to Doc’s we rode in this afternoon,’ Waco replied. ‘Anyways, ole Chief Ten Bears’ll pull through. Them Volcanic bullets don’t have a whole heap of power and they hadn’t gone in deep enough to be dangerous’s long’s they was got out soon after. Getting hit unexpected by ’em caused him to fall backwards, so’s his head banged the wall and knocked him unconscious. Afore he was toted back to his bed ground, he told us’s he’s still wanting to sign the treaty.’

‘We have you and your friend to thank for that,’ the General claimed, noticing the youngster was no longer speaking and behaving in his previous arrogant cocksure manner. ‘And I’m going to write and tell Ole Devil so.’

‘Don’t do that, sir!’ Waco close to pleaded. ‘The rest of the boys’d rawhide me something mean happen you did.’

‘Very well,’ Handiman assented with a smile. ‘But I need to know how you arrived at your conclusions. I need all the facts for my confidential report, so my aide had better write everything down while it’s still fresh in your mind and I’ll be able to raise any points you don’t cover.’

‘Where’d you want me to start?’ the youngster asked.

‘From the shooting which wounded the Chief,’ the General replied.

‘Well, sir,’ Waco obliged. ‘I went out expecting to see a feller using a Winchester through the window. When he wasn’t there ’n’ I couldn’t see nor hear him lighting a shuck and there wasn’t even any empty shell cases lying around, I figured I must’ve just imagined hearing the lever clicking. Comes Doc saying neither bullet’d gone through Ten Bears, which they would’ve had even a carbine been used, I reckoned it must’ve been a revolver ’cepting there’d been eight shots and I couldn’t bring no eight-shooter to mind, nor one’s’d sound like a lever action when it was being fired. That ten-shooter came to mind, which started me thinking about Ole Devil’s gun collection ’n’ I remembered the Volcanics I’d seen ’n’ been let use.’

‘Why did you suspect Captain Massey?’ Handiman asked, the explanation having been brought to a temporary halt to allow his aide to write down in shorthand what had been said so far. ‘Did you remember seeing him near the window when the lights went out?’

‘No, sir,’ Waco denied.

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