Ball and Chain Read Online Free PDF Page B

to pull his own reins free and was up on his hind legs with both front legs churning furiously in the air. Dave had one foot in the stirrups and was trying to swing his other leg over Eclipse’s back when the stallion decided to throw him off. Eclipse had the size advantage, so he was able to toss Dave aside without much effort.
    Clint rushed toward Eclipse with the intent of calming the stallion down and picking Dave up once he landed. The only problem with that plan was that Dave wasn’t about to land anytime soon. Dave’s foot had gotten snared within the stirrup and only locked in tighter after he’d lost his grip on the saddle horn and fallen off the side.
    Dave’s shoulders bumped against the ground and his arms flailed wildly as he dangled from the stirrup. A good portion of his upper body also hit the dirt, but his instinct to pull his head up saved him from breaking his neck. Even with that bit of luck on his side, Dave wasn’t in the mood to celebrate.
    â€œGoddamn horse!” Dave snarled as he tried to reach up for the foot that was wedged inside the stirrup. “I’ll get you to sit still!” With that, Dave propped himself up as best he could with one arm against the ground. Eclipse’s front hooves pounded against the dirt and were on their way up again when Dave swung his other arm around to aim his pistol at the Darley Arabian’s head.
    Clint reacted out of pure instinct. Although he’d wanted to try to get Dave away from Eclipse, he wasn’t about to watch the asshole shoot his horse before he could get the job done. Standing just outside of arm’s reach, Clint aimed and fired in the blink of an eye.
    Dave’s hand snapped to one side as Clint’s bullet sparked against his gun. He twisted around either to look at the source of the gunshot or to get away from it. Whichever Dave had intended, his movement only curled his body in just the right way to make certain his right temple hit a partially buried rock when Eclipse dropped him down again. Dave’s neck snapped loud enough for Clint to hear it, and then his entire body went limp to hang from the stirrup like a broken toy.
    â€œShit,” Clint snarled as he reached out for Eclipse’s reins.
    Eclipse calmed down the moment he saw Clint instead of a stranger trying to take hold of him. Once the stallion had come to a stop, Clint kicked at Dave’s foot until it fell away from the stirrup.
    From the moment Clint heard the men were after Ned’s mysterious, valuable parcel, Clint knew the matter would blow over once the riders saw what the parcel actually was. Even after the shooting had started, Clint hoped to frighten the men away with a minimum of spilled blood. Now that one of the men was dead, the chance for an easy resolution was gone. Clint wasn’t about to take time to grieve the loss of a man who’d tried to shoot him, so he climbed into his saddle and looked around for the other two gunmen.
    Mose was dragging himself to his feet and just taking notice of Dave’s crumpled body. Since Acklund was riding back to the camp, Clint fired a few quick shots at him to spook his horse some more. The animal was still skittish and waggled its head nervously as the bullets whipped past its nose. From there, Acklund had his hands full all over again trying to rein his horse in.
    â€œLeave well enough alone,” Clint said in a voice loud enough to be heard by anyone in the vicinity. “You made a mistake in coming after me once. Don’t make that mistake again.”
    With his warning still drifting through the air, Clint left Acklund and Mose behind. Their kind of stupidity was its own punishment.

EIGHT
    The town of Hinterland was nestled in a bed of trees and partially surrounded by Knee Bend Creek. The creek flowed along the town’s northern side and then hooked south to form Hinterland’s eastern border. Sticking to the directions he’d been given,