Dalton and the Ruby Lady by Ed Law

Author:Ed Law
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Culbin Press
Published: 2024-01-22T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Dalton shook his head at Misty. Then, as she’d been right that he wouldn’t harm her, he hurried away down the deck. Below him Henderson and Carey were turning around and Melville was moving out of his sight.

He skirted along beside the rail while searching for Westbrook. He couldn’t locate him, so he assumed he had retreated with his men into the dining room. He got proof of this when he stopped.

Melville was standing to one side of the long open doorway, while Henderson and Carey had set off for the other side. They had yet to reach a safe position when someone from within the dining room fired.

Both men ducked down and scrambled along, reaching the side of the doorway without further gunfire. Then all three men gestured at each other as they planned their next move. They had hoped that Melville would be able to subdue Westbrook before he realized something was wrong.

As they had now lost the element of surprise, the three men shrugged before Melville raised his head to find Dalton was above him. Dalton pointed at the nearest ladder and gestured indicating he’d come down to their level, track around the main deck and head along the passageway to the galley.

Melville nodded and tried to convey his plan to Henderson and Carey. Misty and Sumner hadn’t moved since alerting Westbrook, so Dalton clambered down to the main deck and hurried to the passageway.

He ran along it until he reached the galley where he stopped and moved on more cautiously. Nobody was visible in the dining room, so he carried on to the end of the passageway, finding that the women were huddled together in the corner.

He edged forward slowly until the rest of the room became visible. Westbrook was at the side of the doorway where Melville was and Judson was on the other side. Rowland had turned away from the door showing he feared an attack from another direction.

Dalton moved back, but he wasn’t quick enough as one of the women uttered a low squeal while turning his way. Then shadows moved within the dining room as Rowland headed toward him.

Dalton winced and jerked forward with his gun thrust out. He sighted Rowland and fired, but his shot flew wide and in response lead tore out from several directions as Judson and Westbrook joined Rowland in taking shots at him.

Bullets clattered into the bulkhead on the opposite side of the passageway with some of the lead catching the corner of the wall beside Dalton. Clearly everyone now knew he was there and worse, they continued to pepper the passageway with gunfire, presumably hoping that a ricochet would catch him.

Dalton tried again to edge forward and return fire, but another burst of gunfire forced him back. With repeated gunfire rattling away in the dining room, he reckoned he had no choice but to retreat.

He backed away down the passageway until he reached the galley. Without delay he slipped inside, and he was thankful he

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