Blood on the Divide by William W. Johnstone

Author:William W. Johnstone [Johnstone, William W.]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2016-04-20T04:00:00+00:00

BOOK TWO

There is no arguing with Johnson: for if his pistol misses fire, he knocks you down with the butt of it.

Oliver Goldsmith

ONE

“Preacher ain’t fightin’ fair,” Valiant Pardee said.

Malachi looked at his brother and shook his still-aching head. He used to think there might be some hope left for Valiant. But no more. “How much did you boys salvage?”

“Not near ’bout enough,” Henry Pardee grumbled. He wore a bloody bandage around his head where a panicked horse had run over him.

“We lost eight or ten horses,” Kenrick told his brother. “But then, we lost eight or ten men, too, so that all evens out. We got enough supplies to go on... if you want to go on.”

“Damn right I want to go on!” Malachi snapped. “Way I see it, we ain’t got no choice in the matter. None a-tall. We can’t let this story get out. We wouldn’t have no respect from nobody if it do.”

“Running Man picked up Preacher’s trail,” Clifford said, wearing a pair of pants he had taken from the supplies of the dead men. They were too short and made him look about as stupid as Ansel was. “He said Preacher was a-layin’ over yonder in them rocks just a-watchin’ us all the time.” He pointed.

“That sounds about right,” Malachi said sourly. “Preacher had him a good laugh, too, I reckon. On us. Well, from now on we don’t fall for no more of Preacher’s tricks. We got to sit down and work us out a plan.”

“I been thinkin’ some on that, Malachi,” Ansel said, wiping the slobber from his lips and chin.

“Lord help us all,” Kenrick muttered.

“I can’t hardly wait to hear this,” Malachi replied in a whisper. “All right, Ansel, let’s hear it.”

“Let’s make Preacher come to us ’stead of us al’ays a-goin’ to him.”

The gang members all exchanged glances. Malachi was silent for a moment, then said, “You be right, Ansel. That there is a good scheme. You done come up with a right good plan.” He was forgetting that Preacher came to them in the first place, with disastrous results for the gang.

“How does we do that?” Clifford asked Ansel.

“Don’t strain his brain too hard,” Malachi said quickly. He glanced at Ansel. “You done good, Ansel. Real good. Now go somewheres and rest for a time.”

“How does we do it?” Kenrick asked his big brother after Ansel had danced away. His performance posed absolutely no threat to any ballet dancer in the world.

“I don’t know,” Malachi admitted. “I got to ruminate on that for a spell. Go on and leave me be for a time.” Truth was, Malachi desperately wanted to just give it up and get the hell gone from this part of the world. More and more he was getting the feeling he had just about played out his string and what little was left on the spool was being controlled by that damn Preacher.

He looked around the ruined camp and at what was left of his gang. He shook his head.

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