Wyoming Whirlwind by Jon Sharpe

Author:Jon Sharpe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Children/Young Adult Trade
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2001-12-15T00:00:00+00:00

10

“Please, Skye, don’t argue. Paul explained why we have to do this.”

“It’s dangerous being away from the wagons,” Fargo told Melissa. She looked as if she was going to break into tears at any moment, but he was the only one who noticed. Paul and Compton rode ahead, chatting as if they didn’t have a care in the world. Fargo worried about how Compton’s men would repair the wagon and when they would be able to come along.

Now he had Melissa and Paul to worry about, too.

“He won’t think any less of you if you go back to the wagons,” Fargo said.

“We’re supposed to be his guides,” the pretty woman insisted. “If we deserted him again, he would think poorly of us.”

“And not pay you?” Fargo asked sharply.

“Yes,” she replied, equally sharp. “All Justin talks of is how you led him to the buffalo herd and how he bagged that damned woolly monster. Paul and I need his money, Skye.”

“I’m not trying to cut you out.” Fargo could not explain it any better than that. He had not even wanted to come along, but she had appealed to his sense of honor. After seeing how easy it was for her brother—and Compton—to get into trouble they never anticipated, Fargo had felt an obligation to both the woman and her wards. Fargo laughed ruefully. It was almost as if Melissa was Paul’s mother and had him tied to her apron strings. She was, without doubt, the one in that family who took charge.

That didn’t make Fargo any less inclined to help. She needed his assistance as much as Paul.

“Did you spot the riders again?” he asked suddenly. Melissa’s blue eyes went wide with shock. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out for a moment. Then she hastily shook her head.

She was lying, and he thought he knew why. The gunmen were the perfect reason to call off the expedition. Compton had no desire to tangle with them. He might enjoy the notion of seeing an “aboriginal” Sioux or shooting a buffalo, but even a rich man’s son from New York understood how desperate and dangerous a potential robber could be.

“You’re paid for the time you’re out here, aren’t you? The longer you and your brother keep Compton out West, the more money you stand to collect.”

“That’s part of it, Skye,” she said. She stared directly at him as she spoke, and he knew this would be the truth. “We make more, yes, but I am not the kind who cheats a customer. Justin is paying good money for this trip and the more we can deliver, the more generous he will be—and the better I will feel about what Paul and I have done for him.”

“It’s one thing to take pride in a job well done,” Fargo said, “but it’s another to get yourself killed doing it when it really doesn’t matter.”

“You think we’re out of our league leading this excursion. You’re not too far wrong in that, Skye, but we’ve done all right.

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