Desert Duel by Jon Sharpe

Author:Jon Sharpe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

17

It was dark when Fargo reached the Oasis. He stopped after descending the last hill and scanned the empty fields. All appeared quiet. He gigged the Ovaro and presently drew rein at the stable. A stoop-shouldered Chinese man in pigtails came out to take the reins. “I take off saddle. I feed horse,” he said.

Fargo shucked the Henry and untied his bedroll. With the bedroll over his shoulder, he made for the bunkhouse. He was almost there when the door opened and light from within revealed him to the man who was emerging.

“Well, look who it is,” Krast said with transparent dislike. “The boss has been looking for you.”

“What for?” Fargo asked.

“How the hell would I know? He sent word that when you showed up, you were to report to him.” Krast walked off toward the cookhouse.

Fargo wheeled and made for the mansion. Taking no chances, he had his left thumb on the Henry’s hammer. His right thumb was hooked in his gun belt inches from the Colt. If he was walking into an ambush, if Cain had somehow found out about Hank and Cavendish, he would go down fighting.

The Chinese butler answered Fargo’s knock. “Follow please,” he said, and padded down the hall to an oak door. Opening it, he stepped aside. “Please be so kind as to wait here.” He closed the door after him.

It was the parlor. Fargo sat in a settee and rested the Henry across his legs. The ticking of a clock on the mantel was the only sound. He was kept waiting for over five minutes.

The person who entered was not the person he was expecting.

May Ling seemed as surprised to see him as Fargo was to see her. “Oh!” she said, her hand rising to her throat. “I was unaware we had company.”

“I’m waiting for Cain,” Fargo explained, rising.

“Shouldn’t that be Mr. Cain to you?” May Ling said archly. “He told me he was going to the stable. He should be back shortly.”

Here was Fargo’s chance to tell her why he was there. But he was unsure if he could trust her. He sat back down.

May Ling turned to go but changed her mind. “I am curious. Your name is Bridger, is it not?”

“That should be Mr. Bridger.” Fargo gave her a dose of her own arrogant medicine.

“Why has my husband taken such an interest in you?” May Ling asked. “What about you is so special?”

“Why do you call him your husband when the two of you are not married?” Fargo rejoined. “What makes you think he cares for you?”

Indignation brought a flush to May Ling’s exquisite features. “How dare you! When my husband gets back, I will tell him how rude you have been.”

“Do you ever miss your family?”

May Ling’s flush darkened. “Again you overstep yourself. What do you know of my life?”

Fargo took a gamble. “Only that your father misses you. He told me so himself in San Francisco.”

Incredulous, May Ling came toward him but stopped midway. “You know my father? How can that be?”

“I met Shen a while back,” Fargo hedged.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.