Longarm and the Ozark Angel by Tabor Evans

Author:Tabor Evans
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

The underbrush along both sides of the trail grew thicker and more tangled as Longarm and Roney Cahill rode east along the meandering path. A fella who got lost in there would have a real chore hacking his way back out, Longarm thought as he eyed the bushes and brambles. Pine trees towered above them, blocking the sun, creating a world that was permanently in shadow except for narrow rays of light that slanted down through small gaps in the roof of the forest. The trail twisted and turned, following the rugged terrain. The slopes were too steep for farming. It had been over an hour since Longarm had seen any cabins.

“Is this country good for anything?” he asked.

Cahill shrugged. “Not much. There’s been talk of companies comin’ in and cuttin’ down the trees for lumber, but there are too many places where loggin’ is easier. They may get to it sooner or later, but I don’t reckon it’ll be anytime soon. There’s plenty of game hereabouts, though. If a man’s a good shot with a rifle, he can put meat on the table for his family. And a stubborn woman can grow a few vegetables in small plots. But it’s rough country, that’s for sure. There are people up here, folks who want to live as far back in the mountains away from other people as they can get.”

“And Thaxton,” Longarm said.

“And Thaxton,” Cahill agreed. “He figures he’s safe up here, away from any deputies the law down in Fort Smith might send out.”

“Is he?” asked Longarm.

Cahill grinned. “Not many lawmen in these parts. When we started stickin’ up those stagecoaches, Jim and me figured it might bring the law down on us. So far, though, they’ve left us alone.”

Cahill didn’t know it, Longarm thought grimly, but that had changed.

“I’ve heard that Thaxton is wanted for a bunch of killin’s up in Kansas and Nebraska,” Cahill went on. “Arkansas might sent him back up there if they could catch him. The man who brought Thaxton in could write his own ticket with the law, I reckon.” Cahill gave a little shake of his head. “Of course, that’ll never happen. Nobody will have the chance to arrest Thaxton, because I intend to kill him.”

Longarm wondered if there was some way to prevent that. Ideally, he’d like to take Thaxton into custody, see him stand trial for the crimes he’d committed in Arkansas, then see him sent back to the other states where he was wanted to answer for those crimes, too. Chances were, Cahill was right and that would never happen. Justice might have to settle for a bullet in Deuce Thaxton’s heart.

Longarm and Cahill rounded a bend, and Cahill reined in sharply at the sight of several men on horseback sitting in the trail up ahead. Longarm jerked the bay’s reins, his other hand moving toward the butt of his Colt.

“No, it’s all right,” Cahill said with a quick gesture. “They’re friends of mine, the boys who ride with me and Jim.

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