Cowpokes and Desperadoes Read Online Free PDF Page A

uncle to get back. If they think it’s important, they can call the sheriff.”
    Dunc shook his head. “We can’t wait that long. Billy Ray already left.”
    “Hold it!”
    “What?”
    “Exactly how did you think we were going to follow him?”
    “That’s the tricky part.”
    Amos waited.
    “We can’t walk because he’s driving, and he’d get too far ahead of us.”
    Amos waited.
    “And neither one of us can drive. So I guess that means we’ll have to ride.…”
    Amos shook his head. “Forget it. There’s no way you’re going to get me on that horse again. I’m sore in places I didn’t even know I had. I’ve decided my cowboy days are over. I’m going to spend the rest of my vacation helping Maria.”
    Dunc leaned back against the horse stall. “I understand, Amos. Really.”
    “You do?”
    “Sure. If we were to crack this case, Melissa would probably go a little overboard with the hero worship. She might lose control completely. Who knows what would happen then?”
    Amos thought about it. Not long. “Maybe I could put a pillow in the saddle.…”
    Dunc smiled and headed for the corral.

• 11
    Saddling the horses took longer than Dunc had planned. Gomer ran around the corral until Amos assured him he was the best-looking and most intelligent horse on the ranch, probably on the planet.
    Even after the saddles were on, things didn’t go too well. Dunc’s saddle turned sideways every time he stepped in the stirrup, and Amos put his saddle on facing the wrong direction.
    After about an hour and several more tries, they managed to saddle and bridle both horses. Before they left, Dunc pinned a note on the barn wall telling his uncle where they would be.
    Billy Ray’s tire tracks were easy to follow. They stayed on the main road for a few miles, then turned south up a canyon bed.
    Amos stood in the stirrups to avoid sitting. After a few miles he pulled his horse to a stop and stepped down. “I’ve changed my mind. Not even Melissa is worth this much pain.”
    Dunc stopped. “Just think, Amos. When they talk about this in the future—and they will—your name will be right up there with all the famous cowboys like Wyatt Earp, Pat Garrett—”
    “Calamity Jane. I don’t know if I can stand this much longer, Dunc. We’re talking major pain here.”
    “Listen—do you hear anything?”
    “Only the sound of my poor body begging me to go home and soak in a hot tub.”
    “Cows. I hear cows—lots of them!”
    Amos closed his eyes. “I hate to break it to you, but this is a ranch. There are supposed to be cows on it.”
    Dunc rode around the next bend. “Not this many in one place. Come up here and have a look.”
    About a hundred head of cattle were contained in a makeshift barbed-wire corral.Billy Ray’s old truck was parked in front of a falling-down adobe house, along with a brand-new black and silver pickup with dark tinted windows.
    Dunc stepped off. “We’ll tie our horses over there behind that boulder. We need to get closer. If we keep low and move through the cows, I don’t think they’ll spot us.”
    Amos looked at the cattle. One of them stood out. He was twice the size of the others. He snorted and pawed the ground. “Dunc, do you remember that bull your uncle lost? I think we’ve found him.”
    “El Diablo?” Dunc swallowed. “I wouldn’t worry about him. He’s probably just your basic harmless bull. We’ll try and work around him.” Dunc started toward the cows. “Are you coming?”
    Amos was about to tell him how stupid the whole idea was—when he heard a rattling sound at his feet.
    “Snake!”
    Amos plowed over the top of Dunc, burying him facedown in the sand. He hurdled the corral fence and landed on his knees. He looked up—straight into a pair of big, ugly, bloodred eyes.
    El Diablo snorted, and steam came out of both nostrils. He lowered his head and pointed his long horns in Amos’s direction. Amos rolled under the fence just as the bull charged.
    Dunc