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

fellers who they could never prove had done anything. You start somethin' a n' they'll be down on you like a flock of wolves."
    Branch smiled. "You expect me to believe that, Bully? You kno w folks. Come daylight we'll round up that kid. He won't get far without water or knowin' t he country."
    A big man sat with his back to the Kid and not over twenty yards away. The Kid coul d see the pistol in his belt. If he was going to start something, it would have t o be soon. The horses might be discovered if he waited, and the sheer surprise migh t help, also; the girl and her uncle wer e close at hand now, but after they had eaten, they would probably be returned to th e house.
    They had just come to the fire. It would be twenty minutes, thirty at most, befor e they would be returned to the house. There was a chance. He drew back suddenly, straightene d to his feet, and turned.
    He stumbled straight into the very same outlaw who had been bothered by the horse s acting up. The Kid's sudden rise from the ground had been a complete surprise an d now he gaped foolishly at the Kid. Then his surprise faded and he began to grin.
    "Got you!" he said hoarsely. "I got you!"
    "You got me?" The Kid jerked the shotgun. "What do you think this is?"
    "You had one shell." The man was grinning, enjoying himself. "You killed Breede n with it... uuhhh!"
    The Cactus Kid acted suddenly. He was gripping the shotgun with both hands and h e simply jammed the end of the barrel in the man's solar plexus with wicked force.
    The outlaw grunted and hit the dirt on his knees. Instantly, the Kid smashed hi m on the back of the skull with the butt of the shotgun, then stripped the man's gu n from his holster. Swinging the extra cartridge belt over his shoulder, the Kid quickl y rounded the back corner of the corral toward the haystack. Dropping to his knees , he struck a match, then another and another.
    Grabbing a pitchfork as the flames leaped up, he forked two quick bunches of flamin g hay high into the grease-wood surrounding the camp. Then he went over the corra l rails with a leap, grabbed the bridle reins of the three horses, and swung into th e saddle.
    "Fire!
    The hay's afire!" Other voices took up the call and men charged toward the stack.
    The fire scattered in the greasewood, caught, and the resinous wood and leave s burst into a crackle of flame. Crouching low in the saddle, his shotgun ready, th e Kid rode for the corral gate and kicked the latch open. The balanced gate swung an d instantly he was through.
    A man saw him coming and the Kid yelled, "Get the horses! Save 'em!" With a shril l whoop he rode down on the fire where Bully Brock stood beside the girl. Her hand s were free, but his were still bound and they had been making the girl feed him, fearin g what he might attempt if he wasn't restrained.
    Men were racing toward the flames, and the Kid's call made them realize the dange r of the horses without noticing who it was that yelled. Racing up to the fire, th e Kid called to Kirby. "Hit the saddle! Hit the saddle! Let's go!"
    After one startled instant of hesitation Brock raced for the nearest horse and, withou t even waiting to have his hands untied, jumped for the saddle and got a foot in th e stirrup. With his left hand, the Kid pulled the big man into the saddle while Kirb y swung up. Behind them there were yells and he could hear Kit Branch shouting angrily.
    Turning in the saddle, the Cactus Kid saw a big man take three running steps an d stop, whipping a Winchester to his shoulder. The Kid pulled the trigger on his shotgu n and the gun boomed and slammed his shoulder. The big man staggered and the Kid wheeled , jumping his horse away as he threw the shotgun into the face of another man. An d then they were off and running.
    Behind them men raced wildly about, grabbing at the thrashing horses, the whole scen e lighted by the whipping flames. The breeze was stiff and the flames had leaped acros s the greasewood until the whole hillside