Gun for Revenge Read Online Free PDF Page B

Sunday morning many years ago, when as a boy of twelve he’d seen the face of the Madonna smiling at him from the clouds. No one believed him, of course; not even his parents. They just laughed and told him he was imagining things; that it was just the way the clouds were shaped.
    But he knew differently; because the Madonna had not only smiled at him, she had spoken to him as well. In a voice like none other he had ever heard, a voice that was so gentle, so soothing it had calmed all his fears, she told him to give his life to God. And when he asked the Madonna if she meant he was to become a padre, she said no, God had plenty of padres; what he needed was someone to help the sisters at the Convento de Cristo .
    Though surprised that God would ask a boy of his age to do such important work, Miguel knew better than to argue with the Almighty. And that afternoon, after repeating what the Madonna told him to his parents – who also knew better than to argue with God – he left the village and walked the twelve miles to the convent where heoffered his services to the Madre Superiora – a wise and gentle woman who, after he explained why he was there, and who sent him, seemed most pleased to have his help. After showing him where he could sleep in the stable, she immediately put him to work helping out in the kitchen.
    ‘Miguel … Miguel, wake up….’
    A voice interrupted his dream. Removing his sombrero, he saw it was Ellen.
    ‘Hitch up the team,’ she told him. ‘We’ll be leaving shortly.’
    ‘ Sí , Sister.’ He rose and plodded off to do her bidding.
     
    Ellen went to the cabin and knocked sharply on the door.
    ‘May I come in, Gabe?’
    ‘The señor , he is in the barn,’ Escalero called out.
    ‘ Gracias .’
    She found Gabriel cleaning out the Morgan’s stall.
    ‘We’re going now.’
    He accepted the news stoically. ‘Always good to get an early start.’
    ‘Yes … that’s what I thought … well, actually it was Miguel’s idea. He mentioned it last night and….’ her voice trailed off.
    Gabriel went on working, at the same time wondering why the idea of her leaving bothered him. He’d thought about it all morning and part of last night too; but he still couldn’t decide whether it was because in a few short hours she’d come to mean something to him or because her presence helped him to recapture the love he’d felt for her sister.
    ‘Well,’ Ellen was saying, ‘I just wanted to thank you for letting us stay and … for all you’ve done for us.’
    If he heard her, he showed no sign of it.
    ‘I hope I – we weren’t too much of an inconvenience.’
    He shook his head without looking up.
    Dear God, she thought, getting him to talk is harder than pulling teeth.
    ‘Good,’ she heard herself say. ‘Then … I guess I’ll be saying goodbye.’ She turned to leave.
    ‘Wait …’ Gabriel stopped pitching the hay, leaned on the long-handled fork and studied her with his ice-blue eyes. ‘ ’Fore you go, tell me the truth.’
    ‘About what?’
    ‘Why you’re lookin’ for Mesquite Jennings.’
    ‘What difference would that make?’
    ‘None, most likely. But I’d still like to know.’
    She hesitated, then locked gazes with him.
    ‘You’re a gunfighter, aren’t you?’
    His eyes narrowed but he didn’t reply.
    ‘You’re a strange man, Gabe. You expect me to tell you the truth yet you won’t even admit what you are.’
    He sighed heavily. ‘Sure,’ he admitted. ‘I carry a gun and I’ve used it to kill men. Most of ’em deserved it but not all. Some just had too much whiskey in ’em. Others just picked the wrong man to argue with.’
    ‘And you killed them all?’
    His silence assured her that he had.
    ‘And I suppose you’re going to say it was you or them?’
    More silence.
    ‘Couldn’t you have just walked away?’
    ‘Not unless I planned on spendin’ the rest of my life holed up in a cave.’
    ‘Isn’t that what you’re doing now, hiding out here, in the