Shot to Hell by William W. Johnstone

Author:William W. Johnstone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Published: 2019-12-08T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

“That was one of the liveliest Sunday mornings we’ve ever had around here,” Ralph Wheeler declared when he returned to the hotel dining room where his wife waited for him. He was one of the five men who responded to Possum’s call for volunteers to rush to the relief of the two under siege in the jailhouse. It was obvious to those still in the dining room that the mayor was feeling his manhood after his part in the rout of the five outlaws. “I reckon I won’t have any more use for this right now,” he said to Emma as he returned her shotgun. “I thank you for the use of your weapon.” He had borrowed it when Possum and Rooster were asking for help. He and Cora had just come from church to eat dinner in the hotel, and he wasn’t wearing a weapon. “I never fired it, didn’t have to,” he said. He was distracted momentarily when Perley walked in the dining room. “Perley,” he called out. “Everything all right down at the jail?”

“Yep, everything’s all right,” Perley answered, thinking it an odd question, since Wheeler just came from the jail a few minutes before him. He soon realized that the mayor was still on a high after the newly conceived vigilance committee had responded to save the jail. He wanted to warn him that a man like Ned Stark was not easily defeated and might be determined to seek his own vengeance after today. But he decided to wait and let him enjoy his victory for a little while. His thoughts were immediately steered to another subject by a question from Rachael Parker.

“You never got to eat your dinner, did you?”

“No, ma’am, I didn’t,” he answered. “And I reckon I’m too late to get it now.”

“Maybe not,” she said. “Bess put a plate in the oven to save for you, while the oven was cooling. You can thank Alice for that. It was her idea. I hope it hasn’t dried out by now.”

“Doesn’t matter if it has,” Perley assured her. “I surely appreciate it, and I’ll thank her for thinkin’ of me. Nothin’ cranks up your appetite like sittin’ in a little room while a gang of maniacs try to shoot it to pieces. If you don’t mind, I’ll just go in the kitchen to eat it.” The dining room was beginning to become crowded with folks anxious over the first response by the vigilantes. He was happy to join Bess, who was sitting at the kitchen table, having a cup of coffee after cleaning up the dinner dishes.

* * *

At the hideout that Stark called his ranch, there was a definitely different aftermath of the failed jailbreak attempt. Junior Humphrey and Jack Sledge were trying to ease the discomfort of their two wounded partners while Stark fumed over the disastrous raid. Duncan was losing a lot of blood as the unlucky recipient of Sheriff Mason’s lucky shot when they were riding away. The shot

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