The Jensens of Colorado by William W. Johnstone

Author:William W. Johnstone [Johnstone, William W.; Johnstone, J.A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pinnacle Books
Published: 2022-12-07T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 39

Denny swayed in the saddle and clutched the horn to keep from falling. The buckskin was stumbling with exhaustion but somehow managed to keep going. With the moon fairly high in the sky and the position of the stars, she could tell that the time was long after midnight.

She had been riding for hours, and both she and her mount were exhausted. She reined in, knowing the buckskin had to rest for a few minutes. Otherwise the horse would collapse and she would be left afoot.

At first Denny thought it was just the frenzied pounding of her heart she heard. Then she knew better. She lifted her head and listened.

Hoofbeats. They were less than half a mile behind her, she estimated. She had heard them before during this long night, whenever she stopped to let the buckskin blow, and gradually they had come closer and closer.

Creighton and the other outlaws had almost closed up the gap, she thought. She groaned, unable to hold it in. “I’m sorry,” she said to the buckskin, who stood with head down and foam-covered sides heaving. “I know you’ve given me everything you have, but I have to ask for a little more.” She lifted the reins. “We have to go.”

A gentle prod of her heels against the horse’s flanks started the buckskin moving again. It tried to break into a run, couldn’t do it, and settled down to a lope. That wasn’t enough, Denny thought bleakly, but any more would likely burst the animal’s gallant heart.

Maybe it would be enough, she thought. The range around her was familiar. The ranch house was less than a mile away. She patted the buckskin’s shoulder and muttered, “Just a little while longer. Just a little while . . .”

She had ridden just a couple hundred more yards when riders surged around a bend in the trail behind her. They must have spotted her in the moonlight. She heard shouts and looked back, saw them charging ahead and gaining on her.

“Whatever you’ve got left,” she told the buckskin, “we need it now!”

The horse stretched its legs and broke into a gallop.

At least the outlaws didn’t open fire on her. They must have known they were close to the ranch and didn’t want to alert anyone that trouble was coming. They would stand a better chance of winning the battle if they took the Sugarloaf’s defenders by surprise. The numbers would be about even, Denny knew, so the element of surprise might be enough to swing the victory to the owlhoot side.

She couldn’t allow that. As she leaned forward in the saddle and urged the buckskin on, she reached down and drew the holstered Colt. As soon as she came in sight of the ranch headquarters, she would start firing warning shots into the air.

Horse and rider swept around another bend. Up ahead, the ranch house and the other buildings lay dark and quiet in the moonlight. Denny sobbed in relief, pointed the revolver at the sky, and pulled the trigger.

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