Sawbones by William W. Johnstone

Author:William W. Johnstone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington
Published: 2018-07-29T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 17

“Why can’t we move on?” Samuel Knight put the question to Milo Hannigan and did not try to sugarcoat the tone. “Robbing the trading post didn’t get us anything worth mentioning, and three men died.”

“Wasn’t anybody who mattered,” Johnny Nott said. He cleaned his fingernails with a large knife and never bothered looking in Knight’s direction. “Not all of us are squeamish about folks dyin’.”

“I saw more die than you’ll ever kill,” Knight snapped. “Too many of them died under my knife. It wasn’t possible to save all of them. Or even many of them.”

“The difference, Doc, is that you didn’t put ’em on your table ’fore you killed them. Yankees did. Me, I make sure it’s my lead in their black hearts. There wasn’t a one of the men at the trading post what wasn’t a Yankee. You’re not tellin’ me to save a Yankee, any Yankee. Ever. Not a one of ’em is worth savin’.”

“We didn’t have a quarrel with them, and they didn’t owe us a cent.”

“They were Northerners,” Nott said, flicking dirt from the knife tip and swinging around to squint hard at Knight. “You sound like you’re turnin’ soft on them, Knight. You don’t care to kill Yankees anymore?”

“I took a vow to save lives, not take them. And we’re not at war. They won, Nott. The Federals won, in spite of anything we did then or can do now.”

“And you’re fine with what they’re doin’? You’re fine with that carpetbagger in bed with your wife and the two of ’em—” Nott went for his six-shooter as he saw Knight’s reaction. He was too slow by half.

Knight’s revolver was already coming up fast, his thumb on the hammer.

“Wait, Doc.” Ben Lunsford grabbed Knight’s arm and held on to keep the six-gun from rising to center on Johnny Nott’s chest. “You don’t want to do this. We’re all friends here, partners. If there’s one thing them Yankees would want, it’s for us to be fightin’ amongst ourselves.”

Knight pulled free and slammed his pistol back into the holster. Without a word, he walked away. Behind him he heard the low murmur as Nott protested being thrown down on like that when he didn’t expect it. Knight and Nott had never gotten along, but now he had created a real enemy. Watching his back became a priority anytime he and Nott were together, and maybe especially when Nott was out of sight.

“I saw what you did, Dr. Knight. You’ve got a fast hand. About the fastest I’ve seen.”

“Other than your own, Alton?”

“There’s no call for us to brag on ourselves. We’re both mighty quick with a gun.”

Knight spun on the dandy and shoved his face within inches. “Why are you here, Alton? I patched you up, and your arm and side are all healed. You attached yourself to Hannigan like a horsefly to a rump.”

“That’s mighty graphic. I can see it now, only instead of one of those black horseflies, it’s a fly with my face buzzing around before coming down to suck some blood.

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