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' money." "Who was it? And when?" "It wasSatiday . Therewas three of them.Three men and a woman ... a redheaded woman." "How many head?" "Ten, twelve head, maybe." I looked at the bartender. "You bought them?" While I was talking Corbin had stepped around the bar and taken up the Page 53 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html shotgun the bartender kept there. He had picked the bartender up and was holding him with one hand. The big man had a nasty cut along his skull above his ear and a stunned glaze to his eyes. I had to ask the question again before he could answer. "Uh-huh. I bought 'em." "You bought stolen stock," I said, "and the going price inAbilene was twenty dollars a head. We'll figure there was ten head, and that means you owe me two hundred dollars." He stared at me, trying to face me down. "I bought that stock," he muttered. "I paid for 'em!" "They were stolen cattle, and you knew it," I said, "and they were my cattle. If you say they were not stolen, and that you didn't know it, you're a liar on both counts. Pay me." He hesitated, but Corbin shook him so his teeth rattled, and he fumbled in his pocket and counted out ten gold eagles on the bar. "Write him out a bill of sale; Cotton," I said, "and I'll sign it." Corbin had shoved the bartender against the bar, and he was holding the shotgun on the other men. I waved the gunman around and he staggered over and fell into a chair at the table. "Yougoin ' to let me do something about this hand?" he pleaded. "Just as much as you'd have done for me."I said. "If you're alive when we leave here, you can do something about it then. Right now I want to know where those men went the ones who sold the cattle. And don't waste any more time by saying you don't know." One of the men at the table wet his lips. "Hell, itain'tno sweat off us. They rode in from the south, and they went back that way. They wereaskin ' about another herd of Lazy TC cattle. We hadn't seen 'em. He was alsoaskin ' about you ... if you're Chancy." "I'm Chancy," I said, "Otis Tom Chancy. And if you see those boys again, you tell 'emI'm looking for them. And if they've killed my partner, BobTarlton , I'll see they hang." We started toward the door. "And that goes for anybody who lends them a hand, or buys any more cattle from them." Outside the air was cool. We swung into our saddles, Handy Corbin still carrying the shotgun. He glanced over at me as we started to ride away. "Mister," he said, "you can sure build yourself a fire if you've got the right kindling." Chapter 8 AT THE SUTLER'S store, we split our supplies, taking what we could pack on one horse. We left the other supplies with him, and turned the rest of our stock into his corral. Briefly, I explained what had happened, and left word with him forTarlton if he should happen to come in before we did ... if he was still alive. We followed a south-bound trailThere was no use hunting for tracks until well Page 54 ABC Amber Palm Converter, http://www.processtext.com/abcpalm.html away from the fort. Army patrols and folks coming and going would have trampled all sign into a mess of tracks imposed upon tracks. Five miles south, when the tracks had thinned out, I described the tracks of Andy Miller's horse and that big black of Kelsey's to Cotton Madden and Handy Corbin. "We'll camp tonight," I said, "and in the morning Corbin will ride east and Cotton west. Five miles should do it. If either of you boys comes on the Kelsey lot, don't start a war all by yourselves cut the rest of us in on it." "You figure there's beenshootin '?" Cotton asked. "I don't know. Only Kelsey's outfit seems to have a pattern of holding the main herd back in the hills, and driving a few head into town to sell.Like as not we'll find the herd somewhere south of here." At daybreak, after a quick cup of coffee, we started out. When the others had gone, I taken my rifle from the scabbard and started south, leading the pack horse and studying the ground in long sweeps to right and left Now, most Indians travel by landmarks, and if a body can figure which landmarks an Indian is using, he can afford to pay little attention to tracks on the ground. But these were white men, not as canny at hiding a trail as an Indian is, yet smart enough not to be taken lightly. I moved slowly south. The sun climbed into the sky, the day grew warm. I found occasional buffalo tracks, and several small herds of antelope started [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ] |