Monument Rock (Ss) (1998) Read Online Free PDF

went on with his work. He cut several of the pistol bullets into three piece s and with a rock pounded off the rough edges of the lead and shaped the pieces int o fairly round slugs. With utmost care he pried a primer out of one of the shells an d fit it into the back of the shotgun cartridge. It was a bit loose but seemed lik e it would stay centered. He now had a heavy charge of powder and twelve slugs; usin g some bits of paper from an old letter in his pocket as wadding, he soon had a charg e for his shotgun. When it was reloaded he felt much better. If they got him now, h e was at least taking one man with him. At close range his contrived shotgun shel l would tear a man wide open.
    As he waited, his eyes accustomed to the dim light, he looked around the interio r of the ruined dugout. The floor was a litter of old paper, sacks, bits of rawhide , old clothes, and odds and ends of broken bottles. Suddenly he had an unaccountabl e fit of depression. Unaccountable for him, for the Cactus Kid was wont to look upo n life as his particular bailiwick, and he had spent most of his time trying to find the bright sid e of every situation.
    This, he decided, was the limit of something or other. That he, the Cactus Kid, whos e cheerful grin and ready sense of humor had carried him through the worst of times , should be hiding here in a ruined dugout in the last hours of a hot Texas day wa s absolutely unacceptable. The Cactus Kid made up his mind. Come what may, he was goin g out and he was going to leave his mark on this outfit-but good.
    Dusk came at last and the fires were built up and soon he could smell coffee. Wit h nothing to eat since daybreak, that added to the Kid's disgust. In all this tim e he had not dared look out, yet now, with the darkness bringing deep shadows aroun d the dugout, he moved to the back and thrust his head and shoulders through the hole.
    He found himself looking out through a curtain of brush over the whole area of th e hideout. To his left was the stone corral, part of it almost in front of him, an d in the corral were the horses. Beyond it, on the slope and almost facing him, wa s the main house. There was an old stable, open-faced and now used by some of the outlaws , and there were four fires going. In all, he surmised there must be sixteen to twent y men at the hideout.
    Slipping out of the hole, he crawled down to the corral wall. Flipping a loop ove r a horse's neck, he drew the animal to the wall and saddled it. A second horse snorte d and leaped when the rope touched it and one of the men at the fires got up. "Somethin' b otherin' the horses," he said.
    "Aw! They're just fightin'!"
    The outlaw stood looking toward the corral, but as all was quiet he soon subside d and returned to his seat.
    Swiftly, the Kid saddled the second horse and another. Then he tied the three horse s and circled the corral.
    Lying flat on his stomach, he looked past the corner at the group of outlaws. I f he only had his guns! The one shot in his shotgun meant little; he could only tak e one man, two at best, and then they would have him.
    Suddenly the girl and her uncle were led from the house and brought down to the neares t fire. With them was Kit Branch and Farbeson. Jewell was at the fire and he got u p as they approached, grinning at Bully Brock. "Does me good to see this!" He sneered.
    "You been struttin' high-an'-mighty for a long time!"
    Brock straightened his shoulders. "Branch, give Kirby a horse an' let her go. She' s done nothin' to you. Let her go back home to San Antone."
    "Not a chance! We've got her an' we'll keep her. We'll keep you, too, Brock, as lon g as you behave. We've got an idea that maybe you can keep the Rangers off us."
    "Don't be a fool!" Brock retorted. "The only reason the Rangers stayed away was becaus e nobody from around here did anything but rustle a few head of cows once in a while.
    They knew I was mostly honest and they didn't want to come all the way out here fo r a few young