The Justice of Company Z by J T Edson

Author:J T Edson [Edson, J T]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Piccadilly Publishing
Published: 2019-04-01T07:00:00+00:00

Ten – The Gentleman’s Telling the Truth

Looking around quickly as he heard the menacing words and the young woman’s reply, Reece Mervyn lost all his feelings of licentious anticipation!

Having succeeded in crossing the parking lot of the Palace Hotel so quietly that his presence had remained undetected until it was announced, the cause of the change in the attorney’s attitude was already passing in front of the Packard Single-Eight convertible coupe. Even without the substance of the question he had asked, his physical appearance was every bit as threatening as the words had sounded. Furthermore, the response from the blonde and her all too obvious fear suggested there could be grave cause for concern over his arrival.

Standing some three or four inches over six foot in height, despite being built on massive lines, the newcomer conveyed an impression of unhealthy corpulence rather than hard-fleshed fitness. Well-worn and far from clean, his clothing implied that he might be a cowhand. However, the material of his grubby gray flannel shirt was stretched tight and his bulging paunch hung over the waist band of his patched Levi pants in a way which indicated he was little used to strenuous activity. Furthermore, he was bare-headed and his shaggy, coarse-looking brown hair was far longer than considered acceptable by members of that hard-riding fraternity. Nor was the kind of bushy and unkempt beard he sported any more favored by them. [50] Apart from concealing enough of it to prevent his exact age and looks from being determined, beyond a general implication that he was not old, the untidy hirsute appendage did nothing to improve his sweat-dappled and scowling face. The most prominent feature of it was a large and bulbous nose reddened by either the sun or, Prohibition notwithstanding, frequent consumption of copious quantities of hard liquor. Covered by black leather riding gloves, which were the newest items of his attire, his big hands dangled loosely by his sides. Rather than walking in an agile or sprightly fashion, he shambled as cumbersomely as a grizzly bear on its hind legs.

If the newcomer’s demeanor was any guide, he was in no better mood than a male member of the species, Ursus Horribilis, when freshly emerged from a winter’s hibernation. For all that, although Mervyn was momentarily far too disconcerted to give the matter any attention, it was surprising that one who appeared so ungainly could have approached without his footsteps being overheard.

In exculpation, however, the attorney had been far too engrossed in the conversation with the curvaceous blonde and too busy contemplating the possibilities it suggested to have paid any attention to what was going on around him.

‘Well, you god-damned, fancy-dressed, city slicker!’ the bulky man rumbled, in a Texas drawl with much the same kind of intonation actors frequently employed when portraying the role of a dull-witted country bumpkin, as he came to a halt just beyond reaching distance. His blue eyes were fixed on Mervyn’s face and he never so much as glanced at the young woman.

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