Utah Uproar by Jon Sharpe

Author:Jon Sharpe
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group

8

Desperate moments called for desperate deeds.

As the pale-hued men and women lifted him to heave him over the precipice, Skye Fargo clutched the arm of a woman on his left and the faded brown belt of a man on his right. The next instant he was thrown over the edge. He held on as the woman screamed in terror and the man cursed lustily. Both started to slide toward the brink but were grabbed by their friends, arresting their plunge. And also arresting Fargo’s. He dangled half over the cliff, but only for the few seconds it took for him to bunch his shoulder muscles, brace his legs, and hurl himself back up on top.

Confusion reigned among the Dirt Breathers. Many were holding onto the pair Fargo had grabbed. Before anyone could think to thwart him, Fargo had regained his footing and plowed into several Dirt Breathers on his left. Bowling them over, he took another long bound and was in the clear.

“Stop him, you idiots!” Sarah Arvin hollered.

It sent the whole menagerie howling after Fargo like so many rabid dogs. He reached the trees just a few steps ahead of them. Cloaked in ebony, he wove among the boles and brush with the skill of a black-tailed buck. A shot boomed, and a slug buzzed past. Fargo’s own rifle was being used against him. So was the Colt. It cracked twice, but the shots went wide.

Hurdling a log, Fargo swerved to the right just as the Henry boomed again. He had gained about ten yards, but it wasn’t enough. Barreling through a stand of saplings, he raced out the other side. Out of the night reared a thicket. Diving flat, he snaked into it and curled his legs to his chest.

Fargo had hardly frozen, when feet drummed in the darkness. Dirt Breathers raced past the thicket on either side. Some, though, slowed and probed the undergrowth. They communicated in grunts and other sounds more reminiscent of bears or buffalo than human beings.

A twig snapped within a few steps of where Fargo lay hidden. He glimpsed a pair of legs but dared not lift his head to see if the Dirt Breather was peering into the thicket. Any movement, however slight, might give him away.

There were more footsteps, and a dress swished loudly. “Spread out, damn you!” Sarah Arvin bawled. “He has to be around here somewhere!”

The Dirt Breathers began crisscrossing back and forth, covering every square foot of ground. Sooner or later it would dawn on one of them to check in the thicket. Fargo had hoped they would all keep on going, but it hadn’t worked out that way. He placed his hands flat, about to slide out and make another bid to escape.

Suddenly huge, hide-covered feet came around the thicket from the other side. Clarence grunted excitedly, and for a moment Fargo thought he had been discovered.

“Air Breathers? Coming up the mountain?” Sarah translated the grunts aloud. “How many?”

Clarence grunted three times.

“Why would they risk being in the woods at night? They know the dark is our element.

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