Sacketts 12 - The Lonely Men by Louis L'amour

Author:Louis L'amour [L'amour, Louis]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2011-07-19T16:45:06+00:00

"How you figure to pay me?"

"I will give you one hundred dollars now, and the other hundred will be left at

the Wells-Fargo office to be delivered to you by my order."

"Won't folks wonder why you're payin' me money?"

"No. You will be rounding up and breaking four horses for me, to be delivered in

El Paso. The money would be in payment for that."

Grimly, he stared at her. The derringer was still in her hand, and now he knew

she would shoot if need be. Not that there would be any cause for it, but this

was a dangerous woman.

"Supposin' I was to take your hundred dollars an' ride off?" he suggested.

She smiled. "Hadden, my father and I were in the land grant wars in New Mexico.

We had occasion to hire men who could use their guns. I have told you there are

plenty of men along the border who would kill for fifty dollars. If you took my

money without trying to make good on it, I would hire four separate killers and

send them out with good rifles to get you — and they would, Hadden."

He chuckled. "I just wondered. All right, ma'am, I'll take the hundred. I been

figurin' on killin' Sackett, an' this here will pay expenses while I do it."

She rode back to town with Hadden trailing behind, and at the livery stable,

before witnesses, she said, "I do not like the sorrel, Hadden, but I do want

four horses delivered to me in El Paso. I will pay you one hundred dollars now,

the other hundred to be paid by Wells Fargo on my authorization when the horses

are delivered."

Arch Hadden stabled his horses and went outside. He rolled another smoke, lit

the cigarette, and drew deeply. This was money he was going to enjoy earning. He

looked around and saw Wolf approaching. "Wolf, we got us a job," he said. "We

got us a good job."

Chapter 11

We passed a quiet night. Until the last of the twilight was gone I could still

hear the quail. These were the Mexican blue quail that run along the ground more

than they fly, oft times thirty or forty of them in a covey. Around a small

fire, we talked it over. We had invaded Apache country and taken prisoners from

them, so they would be on our trail, they would never let up. The horses needed

rest. The deserted ranch had water and plenty of good grass, and there was a

good field of fire. We decided to stay put, and that was all right with me. I'd

seen no such beautiful place in all my life, and I said as much to Dorset.

"It is beautiful," she agreed, "and peaceful. I wonder they ever left ... the

people who lived here."

"Apaches. They devastated this whole stretch of country. Folks tried again and

again to build homes here, but they couldn't make it.

"When we leave here," I went on, "we're going to have to run. It is going to be

pure hell betwixt here and the border towns."

"Why did she do it, Tell?" Dorset asked suddenly. "Why did she want you killed?"

"I don't know that she did.

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