Wanted: A Western Story Collection by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Solstice Publishing
Published: 2016-04-15T07:00:00+00:00

Chapter eight

Over the next few days, the Roddys moved into the house on the McBee property. Gabriel and Buster moved their sheep onto the land, which took them two days since they had to go around the south side of town to avoid Malvern and the other ranchers’ lands. Jess hired four men to string up the fencing that separated the old McBee spread from Malvern’s. He spent most of his days riding around the property and checking on the men working. They were finishing up with the last two rolls when he approached them. One of the men was the clerk who had sold him the fencing.

“We just ran out of the stuff, Mr. Williams,” said the clerk. “I can order some more, but it’ll take a week to get here. I have some single wire rolls I can put up if you’d like, but some of the cattle will just duck under it.”

“That’s okay. This is good enough for my purposes,” Jess said.

“You mean you don’t want me to order some more?”

“No, this will do just fine.” The clerk looked up and down the fence line and calculated that they hadn’t quite strung a mile of it.

“But, those cattle will just walk the fence until they come to the end and cross over,” he said as he made a slightly confused face.

“I know, but it does send a message, don’t you think?” The clerk looked up and down the fence again and smiled.

“Oh, I get it,” he chuckled. “So, do you want me to say I ordered more fencing if anyone asks me?”

“That’s exactly what I’d like you to say.”

“Okay then, I’ll not order the other two miles of fencing you ordered,” he said, chuckling to himself. “I like the way you think, Mr. Williams. I really do.”

The clerk rounded up the men and they headed back to town in the wagon they had used to haul the materials. Jess turned in the saddle and estimated around two hundred head of Malvern’s cattle on his side of the fence.

“I guess I should pay Mr. Malvern a visit and tell him to move his cattle off my land,” he said to himself as he rode to one end of the fence line and headed to Malvern’s place.

Before he got to the house, he saw two riders heading straight for him. He reined up his horses, pulled his large-bore ten-gauge out of his back sling and waited. One of the two men was Shade Reid. As soon as they saw the large-bore, they slowed their horses down to a walk.

“I have to admit, you’ve got gumption coming out here after killing Blair and Engall,” Reid said as he shook his head.

“Your boss shouldn’t have sent those two looking for me,” replied Jess.

“Mr. Malvern is so mad he won’t even speak with you, so you’re wasting your time,” Reid said as he shifted in the saddle.

“The way I see things, if he thought he had the right to send two men to kill me, I’ve got the right to speak with him.

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