Dorothy Garlock Read Online Free PDF Page B

stretch of country God’s sun ever shone on.
    “Land out here ain’t fit fer nothin’ but tarantulas, centipedes, and rattlesnakes,” Mooney had told her.
    Later in the afternoon, they encountered one of the latter.
    They were rolling along at a steady pace, Johanna drowsing on the seat beside Mooney, Jacy in her hammock. Suddenly the two lead mules whirled off the trail, bringing the wagon to an abrupt stop.
    “Right there’s gotta be the granddaddy of all rattlers.”
    Johanna’s eyes followed Mooney’s pointing finger. In the middle of the trail was a large snake, coiled in striking position. Its head was up and swaying, its beady eyes looking directly at them. The rattles on the end of its body were in constant motion. Johanna shuddered but couldn’t take her eyes off the snake. Jacy, standing behind her, clutched her shoulders and stared with horror at the squirming monster whose rattles could be heard by the teams pulling up behind.
    Mooney was having difficulty holding the badly frightened mules. Johanna turned her eyes to them for only an instant, then heard the shot. She looked back to see the snake, now minus its head, uncoiling in its death throes. A rider astride a horse as black as midnight was shoving his silver pistol back into its holster. He turned in his saddle, and his somber blue eyes slanted across Johanna to rest on Jacy’s pale face and shiny brown hair.
    “Thanky, Luis.” Mooney leaned over the side of the wagon and spat in the dust. The mules ceased their restless movements and stood trembling in their harnesses. Mooney wound the reins about the brake lever and jumped down from the wagon.
    The body of the snake was as thick as a man’s leg, and stretched out it was well over six feet long. Mooney grabbed it by the tail and pulled it off the trail.
    “It’ll make good eatin’, Luis, if Codger’ll pick it up.”
    “
Sí
—I will tell him.” He turned the black horse and looked at the girls once again before he headed back down the line.
    It was the first time Johanna had seen the slim, goodlooking cowboy in daylight. He always came into camp after dark and was gone when the wagons rolled out in the morning. She had wanted to ask Mooney about him, waiting until the time was right. She turned to him now.
    “That was real shooting, Mooney.”
    “Yup. But that warn’t no chore atall fer Luis. I seen him shoot the eye outta a jackrabbit at full gallop.”
    Johanna expected him to turn and grin at her as he did sometimes when he was exaggerating, but his face remained serious.
    “Is he a gunman?” She didn’t know why she asked the question and wished she could rephrase it when she saw the look on Mooney’s face.
    He let loose another stream of tobacco juice. “’Pends on what ya call a gunman.”
    “You know what I mean. Is he hired by Mr. Macklin because he’s good with a gun?”
    “Ain’t hired,” was Mooney’s clipped reply.
    Before she realized it, Johanna let out a sigh of exasperation.
    Mooney grinned.
    “If’n you’re a-wantin’ t’know ’bout Luis, why don’t ya just come right on out and say so ’stead a beatin’ ’round the bush?”
    “Mooney, you are the beatinest man!” Johanna said heatedly and then laughed. “All right, I’ll stop beating about the bush. Tell us about Luis.”
    “Luis is a breed of his own. He ain’t like nobody else I ever knowed.”
    “Why is he with the train if he isn’t working for Mr. Macklin?”
    “He makes the trip once in a while. Likes to look over the horseflesh in town. He’s got know-how ’bout horses. Hates cows.”
    “Does he live in the valley?”
    “Yup. He lives there.” Mooney waited, but Johanna decided to ask no more questions. He would tell her as much as he wanted her to know, in his own good time. After a lengthy pause he said, “Built a nice little hacienda down the valley a ways. Got a string of horses, all good stock. Right steady feller, Luis, and in a fight he ain’t got no quit