the High Graders (1965) by L'amour Louis

Author:L'amour, Louis [Louis, L'amour,]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Published: 2010-12-12T06:26:30.156000+00:00

Chapter 11

Deliberately, Mike Shevlin offered n o comment on the happenings in Rafter, and Bur t Parry asked no questions. But Mike knew that th e town and all the country around must be talking wit h excitement about the killing of Eve Bancroft.

The killing of a girl in a western town was itsel f enough to start such talk, but Eve Bancroft was owne r of the Three Sevens. It was not the largest ranch i n that region, but it was one of the big ones.

As he worked, Mike Shevlin tried to find a way through this situation, but there seemed to be none.

He had attempted to stir up the hornet's nest, but the cattlemen and Ray Hollister ha d done more than he ever could have. Yet nothing in th e situation had changed.

A girl was dead. Ray Hollister wa s disgraced. Eve Bancroft had called upon hi m to back his words with action and he had welshed. He had hung back, and Eve had ridden to her death.

What they might have done had Hoyt not bee n there, Shevlin could not guess. Hoyt could sto p them, as he never could have stopped Eve, for to lif t his hand against a girl, a decent girl, wa s unthinkable to a man of Hoyt's stripe. And Be n Stowe, solid, unshaken, still sat his throne in th e center of the community.

Shevlin's thoughts returned to Gib Gentry.

Without a doubt, Gib had been riding to warn hi m when he was killed, and without a doubt he had bee n killed mistake for Shevlin. Somebody had bee n lying in wait, and by now that somebody knew he ha d killed the wrong man.

Each time Shevlin wheeled a load to the end of th e dump, he took his time to breathe in plenty of th e fresh air, and to look around. It was very quiet.

Parry had gone off again, and Mike was alone a t the claim, but there was work enough to keep him bus y until mid-afternoon, barring the unexpected.

He wondered what effect Eve's death would hav e on the people of Rafter. They were not all bad--i n fact, they were no worse than most people in mos t towns. Perhaps a few more had been willing to g o along than would usually be found, but there must have bee n some dissenting opinions, even though the people who hel d those opinions had kept still.

Such fear as he had seen in Rafter could no t continue very long. The people were wary, they doubted ever y stranger; they lived with the worry that at any momen t the house they had built would come tumblin g about their ears.

He was working close against the face of the drift , scraping up the last of the rock, when it cam e to him.

Lon Court ...

Of course. He had heard the name. Gentr y had scratched Lon C into the sand

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.