Riding for the Brand (Ss) (1986) Read Online Free PDF Page B

killing?"
    "Yes, sir. He surely did."
    A few more questions and the confession was signed.
    "Now get on that horse and get out of here before we change our minds and hang you."
    "Do I get my guns?"
    "You do not. Get going!"
    Flood handed the confession to Jed. "Are you going to use it?"
    "Not right now. I'll put it in the safe in the house. If Carol ever needs it, she can use it.
    If I brought it out now it would prove that I am not Michael Latch."
    "I knew you weren't him"... Flood said.
    "Old George told me a good bit about him, but just seein" you around told me you'd covered a lot more country than he ever did."
    "Does Carol know?"
    "Don't reckon she does, but then she's a right canny lass."
    If Stanton and Quinby were headed west, then Seever must have telegraphed for them to come, and they would certainly ally themselves with Seever against him. As if he did not have trouble enough!
    Costa and Jim Pardo rode into the yard, and Costa trotted his horse over to Jed, who was wearing the silver guns now.
    "There were many cattle! More than expected!
    We came to see if the Willow Springs boys can help us."
    "Later. Was Miss Carol out with you?"
    "No, Senor. She went to town."
    Jed swore. "Flood, you take care of things here.
    We're riding into town!"
    Seever would stop at nothing now, and if Quinby and Stanton had arrived in town Jed's had known how to reach them, and it must have been from Stanton that Seever learned his name.
    A description from Seever would have been enough for Stanton to recognize who he was.
    The town lay basking in a warm sun. In the distance the Sierras lifted snowcapped peaks against the blue sky. A man loitering in front of the Golden Strike stepped through the doors as Jed appeared in the street with his Casa Grande cowboys. Walt Seever stepped into the doorway, nonchalant, confident.
    "Figured you'd be in. We sort of detained the lady knowin' that would bring you. She can go loose now that you're where we want you."
    Jed stepped down from the saddle. This was a trap, and they had ridden right into it.
    "There's a gent in front of the express office.
    Boss"... Pardo said.
    "Thanks, and watch the windows"... Jed suggested.
    "Upstairs windows."
    Jed was watching Seever. Trouble would begin with him. He moved away from his horse. No sense in getting a good animal killed. He did not look to see what Costa and Pardo were doing.
    They would be doing what was best for them and for what was coming.
    "Glad you saved me the trouble of hunting you, Seever"... He said.
    Seever was on the edge of the boardwalk, a big man looking granite hard and tough. "Save us both trouble. Folks here don't take to outsiders. They'd sooner have somebody like me runnin' the outfit than a stranger. Shuck your guns, get on your horses, and you can ride out of town."
    "Don't do it, Boss"... Pardo warned. "He'll shoot you as soon as your back is turned."
    "The ranch goes to Miss Carol, Seever. You might get me, but I promise you, you will die."
    "Like hell"... Seever's hand swept for his gun.
    "I'll kill---
    "Look out"... Pardo yelled.
    Jed stepped aside as the rifle roared from the window over the livery barn, and his guns lifted.
    His first bullet took Walt Seever in the chest; his second went into the shadows behind a rifle muzzle in the barn loft.
    Seever staggered into the street, his guns pounding lead into the street. Oblivious of the pounding guns around him, Jed centered his attention on Seever, and when the man fell, the pistol dribbling from his fingers, Jed looked around, keeping his eyes from this man he had killed, hating the sight of what he had done.
    Costa was down on one knee, blood staining the left sleeve of his shirt, but his face was expressionless, his pistol ready.
    A dead man sprawled over the windowsill above the barn. A soft wind stirred his sandy hair. That would be Stanton. Pardo was holstering his gun. There was no sign of Strykes or Feeley.
    "You all right, Boss?" Pardo asked.
    "All right. How about