[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
There was Macy, however, and Bob Early. And there was Dolan and his men,
perhaps a few others. His spirits sagged as he realized how few they were. Yet
it had been always so. The many are afraid to act, hoping for the best until
it is too late.
A dozen men sat at the table when he entered. Briefly, he explained. Macy
leaned on the table, looking around at the faces of the others. "What did I
tell you?Carson first, now Carpenter. Nobody is safe."
"We don't know what happened." Woolrich owned the Emporium. "We don't know
Carpenter was run down a-purpose. We only got a hysterical woman's word for
it."
Happy Jack Harrow of the Pinenut Saloon agreed. "My sentiments. Tetlow's
bringing prosperity. My take's doubled since he came. This here's hard
country. If a man ain't fit, he can't last."
"Who are we to fight a rancher's battles?" Savory agreed. "There's always
been range wars. Far as that goes, what d'you suppose they'd do to the town if
we started something? They'd wipe us out."
"So you'll stand by and see men murdered, robbed of their homes, and women
driven into the desert?" Macy was disgusted. "Now we know the brand you wear,
anyway."
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"Easy with that, Sheriff." Savory's face was angry. "Because you're the law
doesn't give you license to make free with your tongue. A bullet'll stop you
soon as any man."
"Forget that," Early broke in. "Let's not fight among ourselves." He looked
around. "I take it then that you're not in favor of taking action?"
"That's right," Savory said. Woolrich,Harrow , and a half dozen others nodded
agreement.
Early turned to Macy. "Well, Leal, that shakes out the deck a little but the
right cards can still win. I want you to deputize me."
"And me," Doc Blaine replied shortly.
A big man with a shock of black curly hair stepped up from the back of the
room. His face was heavy-jawed and sullen. "I want you make me ziss deputy,
too."
Pierre Ernleven was rarely seen away from his kitchen. He liked nothing so
much as preparing food and seeing it eaten, and he took no part in the affairs
of Horsehead. If he did not like a man's conversation or his attitude he would
refuse to serve him. He was not above throwing a man bodily from the premises.
"Thanks,Pierre ," Macy said. "There's no man I'd sooner have."
Ernleven looked around, his eyes bitter with contempt. "The rest of you don't
come to my dining room. That goes for you,Harrow . Stay out."
Harrowgot up, flushed and angry. "Cut your throats if you want. You don't
know where your bread is buttered."
"That's probably right, Jack." Early spoke quietly. "We're thinking about a
little word that has meant an awful lot to this country. A word called
Justice. We're thinking of a country where there will be no feudal power,
where no one man can control the destinies of others. It was little men who
built this country, and little men who have been its backbone. You should read
Jefferson,Harrow . Had you lived in '76 you'd have been a Tory."
"You call me a traitor?"Harrow 's face went white.
"Examine your conduct," Early replied, "then judge for yourself. As for me,"
he got to his feet, "myWinchester needs oiling. Call on me, Leal, when you're
ready." He turned away, then glanced back. "See you later,gentlemen !"
Harrowglared around him, then stamped out and slammed the door. Woolrich
walked after him. He was gloomy. His wife would give him the devil for this.
She thought anything Bob Early did was all right.
Macy smiled with wry humor. "There it is, Doctor. If you ever wanted a lost
cause, you've got it."
Blainerefused to admit it. "The cause of right is never lost, Leal. I've
often thought the biggest damned fool in the world could go down in history as
a great man if he would just consistently vote for the greatest good of the
greatest number.
"Take Andy Johnson. They hated him, called him a little man, reviled him,
tried to impeach him to get the presidency in the hands of a man they could
control. He voted as he believed right and acted as he believed. Now the
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reaction is setting in and most people believe he was right. This is a good
cause, not a lost one."
"What about Dolan?"
"He's a seasoned fighter who'll take no back talk from any man. Also,"Blaine
smiled, "Dolan's Irish and the Irish have an inborn resentment against power
and privilege. They imbibe it with their mother's milk."
They were silent, thenBlaine looked up. "Who is this man Trent?"
Leal Macy hesitated. This question he had known would come. "I think," he
said quietly, "thatTrent is probably the fastest man with a gun in the West. I
thinkTrent is Kilkenny."
"Kilkenny?"Blainewas shocked.
"I'm sure of it."
"Kilkenny ..." Blame muttered. "Kilkenny ... here!"
Chapter 5
DEE HAVALIK HAD his order. They were to hunt down and kill Lance Kilkenny.
Macy's identification ofTrent had swept the town. The dramatic scene when he
challenged Tetlow and manhandled three of Tetlow's tough riders took on a new
glow.
Dee Havalik heard the name with satisfaction. His gun speed was his great
pride, and to hear another man named as fast aroused irritation in him. Small,
slender-boned and pinched of face, he was a man compact of nervous energy and
drive. Far from pleasant at any time, with a gun in his hand he became ice
cold and passionless.
By choice three of those riding with him were the men Kilkenny had whipped in
the street, and there were four others. One of these was an Apache trailer.
Within a few hours after they took the trail Kilkenny was aware of it. He
studied them through his carefully shielded field glass. The make-up of the
crew was evidence of its intention. The saddle packs and pack horses meant it
was a hunt to the death. The issue was clearcut now. They must die or he
would.
At once he struck north into the wildest and loneliest country. If they
wanted a hunt, he would give it to them. This was the life he knew best, and
there was no trick of white man or savage that he did not know. He rode north
and the sun blazed down from a hot and copper sky. He struck out across the
sage brush levels where no cattle grazed and where the rattler buzzed and the
buzzard soared. He struck north and west and he left a trail they could read
without trouble, and deep in his chest something violent and frightening began
to grow, the desire to turn on his pursuers and mow them down, to ride with
the red lust of battle in him, ride right into their midst with guns blazing.
But the time was was not ripe for that, first he would show them what hell was
like, he would show them what they had started!
The horizon danced and was lost in a haze of heat, the buzzards were the only
spot of movement and the sun baked down upon the desert and the sand threw
back the heat in his face like the top of a red hot stove. Their faces grew
dusty, their throats parched, and riding on and on, he looked back upon his
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trail and saw the distant rising dust and chuckled. "Let 'em come!" he
whispered. "Let 'em come!"
The surface of the desert broke into a maze of canyons, but he rode on. At
waterholes he hesitated and waited, then pushed on when dark came. The days
marched past and still he led them on, weaving among the canyons and taking
them deeper and deeper into one of the most awful lands on the face of God's
sometimes green earth. It was a land raw from the furnace of creation, a land
without soil, rock shaped like flame and a sky that held no clouds but only a
vast and blazing sun. Behind him his pursuers sweated and cursed, their lips
parched and they nursed their canteens like mothers over a newborn child. They
snarled at each other and grew vicious, and only Dee Havalik did not change [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
zanotowane.pl doc.pisz.pl pdf.pisz.pl akte20.pev.pl
There was Macy, however, and Bob Early. And there was Dolan and his men,
perhaps a few others. His spirits sagged as he realized how few they were. Yet
it had been always so. The many are afraid to act, hoping for the best until
it is too late.
A dozen men sat at the table when he entered. Briefly, he explained. Macy
leaned on the table, looking around at the faces of the others. "What did I
tell you?Carson first, now Carpenter. Nobody is safe."
"We don't know what happened." Woolrich owned the Emporium. "We don't know
Carpenter was run down a-purpose. We only got a hysterical woman's word for
it."
Happy Jack Harrow of the Pinenut Saloon agreed. "My sentiments. Tetlow's
bringing prosperity. My take's doubled since he came. This here's hard
country. If a man ain't fit, he can't last."
"Who are we to fight a rancher's battles?" Savory agreed. "There's always
been range wars. Far as that goes, what d'you suppose they'd do to the town if
we started something? They'd wipe us out."
"So you'll stand by and see men murdered, robbed of their homes, and women
driven into the desert?" Macy was disgusted. "Now we know the brand you wear,
anyway."
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"Easy with that, Sheriff." Savory's face was angry. "Because you're the law
doesn't give you license to make free with your tongue. A bullet'll stop you
soon as any man."
"Forget that," Early broke in. "Let's not fight among ourselves." He looked
around. "I take it then that you're not in favor of taking action?"
"That's right," Savory said. Woolrich,Harrow , and a half dozen others nodded
agreement.
Early turned to Macy. "Well, Leal, that shakes out the deck a little but the
right cards can still win. I want you to deputize me."
"And me," Doc Blaine replied shortly.
A big man with a shock of black curly hair stepped up from the back of the
room. His face was heavy-jawed and sullen. "I want you make me ziss deputy,
too."
Pierre Ernleven was rarely seen away from his kitchen. He liked nothing so
much as preparing food and seeing it eaten, and he took no part in the affairs
of Horsehead. If he did not like a man's conversation or his attitude he would
refuse to serve him. He was not above throwing a man bodily from the premises.
"Thanks,Pierre ," Macy said. "There's no man I'd sooner have."
Ernleven looked around, his eyes bitter with contempt. "The rest of you don't
come to my dining room. That goes for you,Harrow . Stay out."
Harrowgot up, flushed and angry. "Cut your throats if you want. You don't
know where your bread is buttered."
"That's probably right, Jack." Early spoke quietly. "We're thinking about a
little word that has meant an awful lot to this country. A word called
Justice. We're thinking of a country where there will be no feudal power,
where no one man can control the destinies of others. It was little men who
built this country, and little men who have been its backbone. You should read
Jefferson,Harrow . Had you lived in '76 you'd have been a Tory."
"You call me a traitor?"Harrow 's face went white.
"Examine your conduct," Early replied, "then judge for yourself. As for me,"
he got to his feet, "myWinchester needs oiling. Call on me, Leal, when you're
ready." He turned away, then glanced back. "See you later,gentlemen !"
Harrowglared around him, then stamped out and slammed the door. Woolrich
walked after him. He was gloomy. His wife would give him the devil for this.
She thought anything Bob Early did was all right.
Macy smiled with wry humor. "There it is, Doctor. If you ever wanted a lost
cause, you've got it."
Blainerefused to admit it. "The cause of right is never lost, Leal. I've
often thought the biggest damned fool in the world could go down in history as
a great man if he would just consistently vote for the greatest good of the
greatest number.
"Take Andy Johnson. They hated him, called him a little man, reviled him,
tried to impeach him to get the presidency in the hands of a man they could
control. He voted as he believed right and acted as he believed. Now the
Page 39
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
reaction is setting in and most people believe he was right. This is a good
cause, not a lost one."
"What about Dolan?"
"He's a seasoned fighter who'll take no back talk from any man. Also,"Blaine
smiled, "Dolan's Irish and the Irish have an inborn resentment against power
and privilege. They imbibe it with their mother's milk."
They were silent, thenBlaine looked up. "Who is this man Trent?"
Leal Macy hesitated. This question he had known would come. "I think," he
said quietly, "thatTrent is probably the fastest man with a gun in the West. I
thinkTrent is Kilkenny."
"Kilkenny?"Blainewas shocked.
"I'm sure of it."
"Kilkenny ..." Blame muttered. "Kilkenny ... here!"
Chapter 5
DEE HAVALIK HAD his order. They were to hunt down and kill Lance Kilkenny.
Macy's identification ofTrent had swept the town. The dramatic scene when he
challenged Tetlow and manhandled three of Tetlow's tough riders took on a new
glow.
Dee Havalik heard the name with satisfaction. His gun speed was his great
pride, and to hear another man named as fast aroused irritation in him. Small,
slender-boned and pinched of face, he was a man compact of nervous energy and
drive. Far from pleasant at any time, with a gun in his hand he became ice
cold and passionless.
By choice three of those riding with him were the men Kilkenny had whipped in
the street, and there were four others. One of these was an Apache trailer.
Within a few hours after they took the trail Kilkenny was aware of it. He
studied them through his carefully shielded field glass. The make-up of the
crew was evidence of its intention. The saddle packs and pack horses meant it
was a hunt to the death. The issue was clearcut now. They must die or he
would.
At once he struck north into the wildest and loneliest country. If they
wanted a hunt, he would give it to them. This was the life he knew best, and
there was no trick of white man or savage that he did not know. He rode north
and the sun blazed down from a hot and copper sky. He struck out across the
sage brush levels where no cattle grazed and where the rattler buzzed and the
buzzard soared. He struck north and west and he left a trail they could read
without trouble, and deep in his chest something violent and frightening began
to grow, the desire to turn on his pursuers and mow them down, to ride with
the red lust of battle in him, ride right into their midst with guns blazing.
But the time was was not ripe for that, first he would show them what hell was
like, he would show them what they had started!
The horizon danced and was lost in a haze of heat, the buzzards were the only
spot of movement and the sun baked down upon the desert and the sand threw
back the heat in his face like the top of a red hot stove. Their faces grew
dusty, their throats parched, and riding on and on, he looked back upon his
Page 40
ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html
trail and saw the distant rising dust and chuckled. "Let 'em come!" he
whispered. "Let 'em come!"
The surface of the desert broke into a maze of canyons, but he rode on. At
waterholes he hesitated and waited, then pushed on when dark came. The days
marched past and still he led them on, weaving among the canyons and taking
them deeper and deeper into one of the most awful lands on the face of God's
sometimes green earth. It was a land raw from the furnace of creation, a land
without soil, rock shaped like flame and a sky that held no clouds but only a
vast and blazing sun. Behind him his pursuers sweated and cursed, their lips
parched and they nursed their canteens like mothers over a newborn child. They
snarled at each other and grew vicious, and only Dee Havalik did not change [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]