A Colt for the Kid Read Online Free PDF

alongside of them and his gaze went enquiringly to Johnnie at the same time as he said:
    ‘Morning, Lucy. I was on my way to your place.’
    ‘Morning, Stone. Is it anything I can do or do you have to see Sam—’
    ‘Not particularly. I’ve got a message for Sam from the boss. I guess you could tell it to your brother when you get back. This the kid I heard you’d hired?’
    ‘This is Johnnie Callum and he’s hired to us. What’s Mr Donovan’s message?’
    ‘Just that Sam should come into town tonight to see him. He wants to talk to him some.’
    ‘Well, Sam’s mighty busy right now. Can’t Mr Donovan ride this way himself?’
    Stone grinned. ‘Perhaps I put the message the wrong way. It’s for Sam to come and see Donovan. Kind of an order.’
    ‘We don’t take orders from Mr Donovan or anyone else,’ Lucy said sharply. ‘You tell him that when you get back. You can also say that he’s welcome to call on us at any time, but if he wants to talk about buying our place, that’s definitely out.’
    ‘Maybe he’ll take it when he gets around to thinking that way,’ Stone jeered.
    ‘Maybe he’ll try and if he does I expect you’ll be amongst those gunning for him.’
    Stone looked at her for a moment, then a suggestive leer came into his eyes. ‘Depends on yourself. For instance if you were to be sort of nice to me—’
    He got that far when Lucy made a quick snatch at the long whip that lay near her feet. She had it raised when Stone made a long reach from the saddle and grabbed her by the arm. The quickness of the two moves found Johnnie temporarily bereft of movement. He had not fully understood the gist of the conversation between Lucy and Stone although he had gathered that there was some kind of difference between them. Also, the mention of Donovan’s name had brought about an emotion that he could not explain. His moment of inaction was short, in fact just long enough for Stone to twist the whip from Lucy’s grasp. Then, Johnnie left the seat of the rig in a spring that carried him clear across Lucy and whirled Stone from his saddle. The pair hit the ground solidly with the foreman underneath. He was partly winded but otherwise unhurt and for the moment, surprised more than angered at being attacked by one he regarded as a kid. Anger came a second later when the kid’shands fastened in his hair and thumped his head sickeningly against the ground. In a moment he had kneed Johnnie in the groin and as the hold in his hair broke, twisted himself uppermost and came quickly to his feet. He did not wait for Johnnie to rise but immediately drove a boot at his ribs. Unskilled at fighting, Johnnie took the full force of the kick and only reached out blindly as Stone kicked again. He got a hold on the foreman’s boot, tried to throw the man and when he did not succeed, hung on desperately. He heard Lucy scream something and for some reason lifted his eyes towards Stone’s. The foreman, fighting to hold his balance, was dragging his sixgun from its holster. Johnnie saw death coming to him and moved with the speed of a frightened animal. He let go his hold on Stone’s boot, came up to a crouch and seized the foreman’s gunhand in both his own. He gave a wrench to the wrist that sent the gun whirling. Stone screeched with pain and brought his knee against Johnnie’s chin. Johnnie went sprawling. He should have been unconscious from such a blow, and in fact saw two of the foreman as he staggered to his feet. Head down, eyes almost closed, he rushed at Stone again. This time the foreman dealt a left-handed punch to the jaw that sent him floundering against the horses. He rebounded senselessly and bored in again. Stone, surprised by the quick return to the attack, got the full impact of Johnnie’s blond head somewhere about his chin. He went down flat and an avalanche of arms and legs seemed to fling at him. Next, his head was bounced against the ground, twice in rapid succession. It was more than even a