Lincoln's Lawman #2 Slaves of the Six-Gun: An action adventure adult western by Van Dorn A.M

Author:Van Dorn, A.M.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cedar Ledge Publishing
Published: 2019-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 24

THE COLORADO RIVER

What a difference a few minutes made, Riker thought with relief as he sat on the bench seat next to the girl whose name, he had learned was Laurel Standish. He was watching as a ship’s officer made ready to receive them. Earlier, with a strong wind blowing down the Colorado and her brother Tim at the tiller, they had made good time. More than once, they had to maneuver sharply to avoid trees that had been swept into the river by the landslide far upriver the previous night, but for the most part, the pursuit couldn’t have gone any better. That was until they had managed to draw up within shouting distance to the stern.

Riker had stood up, keeping wary of the sail’s boom and cupped his hands around his mouth so he could be heard over the trifecta of the wind, the river, and the throbbing of the hulking paddlewheel that churned the Colorado into a froth. The target of his shouts was a grizzled-looking sailor that had noticed them coming up behind the ship. Gripping the railing that lined the champagne glass stern of the Queen.

“Stop the ship!”

The old sailor’s face had reddened, and he returned a shout of his own. “Keep clear, you sea cow’s ass! The Queen might not be a sternwheeler, but you’re courtin’ danger anyhow!”

If he wasn’t out to bring down a man who had worked diligently to ruin a sweet woman’s life and leave her penniless, Riker might have been amused. He’d been called many a name and had his parentage questioned a time or two, but that was the first time he’d had that insult hurled his way. Pushing that aside, it was time to put his badge to work on the mariner to see if that would get him results. He was just reaching for it when Tim Standish cried out.

“Marshal Riker! You’ve got to get down now!”

Riker didn’t hesitate. During the pursuit down the river, he’d learned that the pair of siblings indeed knew their way around a boat. It seemed their father made regular runs with his little sailboat, ferrying goods from his large trading post to different smaller trading posts and mercantiles up and down the river with items they did not have, netting him a cut of their profits. The Standish teens crewed for him on these trips. Currently, their parents had gone in two Conestogas to Fort Riley to stock up on more supplies for their trips supplying the river settlements, leaving their children with the boat and free time. They knew how to sail, and they knew the river, so when they told him to do something, he listened.

Dropping down onto the seat, Tim had adjusted the rudder, and the small boom swung through where he had been standing, and the sailboat began tacking away from the large riverboat. Looking forward as the boom passed over his head, Riker had seen why. Dead ahead was a massive tree the Queen was

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