The Stalking Death by William W. Johnstone

Author:William W. Johnstone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2018-01-30T05:00:00+00:00

Twin Peaks Ranch

Ben Turley was surprised to see six new men arrive at the ranch, and as the men moved into the bunkhouse, they began staking out bunks, tossing aside the packs and cloth sacks that indicated the bunks were already taken.

“Whoa, hold on there!” Turley called. “Those bunks are already taken, and we don’t have enough for all of you. A few of you men are going to have to throw out a bedroll on the floor,” Turley said. “I don’t know what you are doin’ here anyway. We ain’t got enough work for you.”

“We’ll keep the bunks we got,” one of the men said.

“What’s your name?” Turley demanded.

“The name is Shamrock.”

“Well, Mr. Shamrock, just so’s that you know, my name is Turley, ’n I’m the ranch foreman. So if you are goin’ to work here, you’ll do whatever I tell you to do.”

“You may be the foreman, but these here men work for me, ’n you ain’t got no say over me or them. So, it’s like I said, we’ll keep these here bunks,” Shamrock replied.

Turley strode purposely from the bunkhouse to the ranch office.

“Yes, Turley, what is it?” Houser asked, looking up from something he was writing.

“It’s about these new hands you have hired,” Turley said.

“What about them?”

“Well, they have moved into the bunkhouse and they are taking over the place, layin’ claim to bunks that some of the others already have. And to be honest with you, Mr. Houser, I don’ know why you hired ’em in the first place. I can’t see as we need any more riders.”

“Are you trying to tell me how to run my ranch, Turley?”

“What? No, sir, I ain’t tryin’ to do nothin’ like that. It’s just that, well, if them new hands is goin’ to be here, they need to know that I’m in charge.”

“You aren’t in charge of them,” Houser said.

“You mean they’re like Knox, Malcolm, and Dobbins?”

“In a manner of speaking, yes, that would be a good comparison.”

“So they’ll be working for Knox.”

“No, my brother will be in charge of Knox, Malcolm, and Dobbins, as well as the men who just arrived with him.”

“Your brother?”

“Mr. Shamrock is my brother. Incidentally, Mr. Turley, while you will continue to be in charge of the ranch hands, my brother will have superiority over you.”

“What? Mr. Houser, I can see maybe him bein’ in charge of all these new men, especially if they ain’t goin’ to be cowboys. But why are you puttin’ ’im in charge of me? You didn’t even put Knox in charge of me.”

“Are you troubled by that, Mr. Turley?”

Turley was quiet for a moment, before he answered. “No, sir, I reckon it don’t trouble me none.”

“Very good. Make some arrangement for the men who were displaced by the arrival of Mr. Shamrock and the others, would you?”

“Yes, sir, I will.

“Very good. Is there anything else?”

“No sir.”

* * *

Later that day Houser went into town, and when he stepped into Fiddler’s Green he saw Duff, Elmer, and Wang standing at the bar, talking with Biff Johnson.

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