the Quick and the Dead (1983) by L'amour Louis

Author:L'amour, Louis [L'amour, Louis]
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 2010-12-12T06:25:57.093000+00:00

Chapter XI

For a moment, neither moved. He squatted on his heels, she standing beside the fire, coffee-pot in hand. A shot?

Well, why not? They were not alone in the world, no matter how much it seemed so. There were sure to be prospectors, hunters, trappers, Indians....

"Maybe we do have neighbors," he said striving to keep his tone casual.

How far would the sound of a shot carry? In this clear air, perhaps as much as a mile, or even further. Yet whoever fired that shot was not far off, certainly within two miles. And that would imply they might have a neighbor.

Or that the Doc Shabbitt outfit had caught up with them.

"Somebody hunting meat," Duncan added. "Only one shot ... and at this hour. I'd say somebody killed a deer or an elk."

Tom caught three good-sized trout that evening, but they kept their fire small, cooked and ate the trout fresh from the stream, and by daylight Duncan started to examine the house. While he checked it over to see what needed to be done, Susanna went through their supplies. Their gifts to the Indians had cut sharply into their small hoard.

Only a few pounds of flour remained, and only three cupfuls of sugar. There was a slab of bacon, some dried apples, and the condiments. Fortunately there was a good supply of coffee and several pounds of tea scarcely touched.

Duncan listened while she told him and nodded. "All right, we will have to take it easy. Tom's fish supplied our supper, and we've enough venison left for breakfast. Tomorrow I'll go hunting."

That day they cleaned and mopped the cabin, wiping down the ceiling and walls, cleaning the cobwebs from the corners of the loft. There had never been glass in the windows, just strips of canvas tied over them to let light in and keep the rain out. The cabin had two rooms, a bedroom and a combination living room and kitchen. There was a lean-to where wood had been stored.

"That's your job, Tom," Duncan told him. "You can fill it up."

Tom looked at it, appalled. "Pa! That'll take days!"

"It will take days, perhaps weeks, but if we stay here it must be filled. Keep a corner for kindling, pitch-pine, and fine stuff to start fires."

The following day, several miles to the south, Duncan killed a deer, skinned it out and brought the hide and the best cuts of meat back to the cabin, and Susanna found the first of the strawberries. They were small but of excellent flavor.

Yet the sound of that one shot disturbed them. Duncan McKaskel knew they would have no rest until it was discovered who had fired that shot, and why.

On the morning of the third day he saddled the blaze-faced sorrel with the three white stockings. "Stay close," he said, "and keep the shotgun at hand. I will be gone several hours, but will definitely be back before dark. If I see any game I'll try to bring back some meat."

They watched him ride away into the aspens.

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.