Shadow of the Hangman Read Online Free PDF Page A

reputation. Still, he was the kind of man that named gunfighters called “Sir” and allowed the road. Luther was a brave man, there was no doubt about that, but he was also reckless, impetuous, insubordinate, quick-tempered at times, and a mite too fond of bonded bourbon and painted women.
    In other words, he was just the kind of heller the colonel needed in Georgetown. Him and Shawn. And Jacob. If he ever arrived.
    â€œLuther,” Shamus said, “I want you and Shawn to head out at first light tomorrow for Georgetown. Keep an eye on lawyer Dunkley and make sure nobody guns him.”
    When he saw Ironside and his son nod, Shamus added, “And I want Patrick safe. I don’t trust John Moore and never did. He’s got a long Yankee face on him, and I don’t cotton to that.”
    â€œI catch your drift, Colonel,” Ironside said.
    â€œJohn Moore’s all right, Pa,” Samuel said. “He knows Patrick didn’t murder Molly Holmes and said it out straight at the trial.”
    â€œHe still plans to hang him though, doesn’t he?” Shamus said.
    Samuel could only stay silent and nod his agreement.
    â€œNo son of mine will ever hang,” Shamus said, his face reddening. “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, and all the saints in heaven bear witness that I’ll destroy that damned town and everyone in it before I’ll let them murder my blood.” He glared at Samuel. “Yes, it’s about the blood, Samuel. The same blood that runs in my veins runs in Patrick’s, and I’ll never turn my back on my own blood. Remember that well, because blood and honor are the very foundations of Dromore and all it stands for.”
    â€œAnd Ma’s hearthstone,” Samuel said, smiling.
    For a moment Shamus was taken aback. Then he smiled. “Yes, Shawn, you’re right. Saraid’s hearthstone is the bedrock for all the rest, for what has been and for what is still to come.”
    â€œColonel,” Samuel said, “I understand what you say about the blood. I won’t watch Patrick hang.”
    â€œI know you won’t,” Shamus said. “But a lesson once given is worth repeating.”
    â€œColonel,” Ironside said, “why don’t me and Shawn just ride into town, spring Patrick from jail, then hide out in the mountains for a spell?”
    â€œIt’s a thought,” Shamus said.
    â€œI’ll put a bullet in Moore, if you like,” Ironside said, beaming, as though he’d just clinched the deal.
    The colonel was lost in thought for a while, but he looked up and said, “No, for the time being we’ll do it legally. Let’s wait and hear what Dunkley has to say.”
    â€œBut it’s an option, though, huh?” Ironside said.
    â€œYes,” Shamus said. He pushed his wheelchair to the window and stared out at the fading day. “It’s an option.”

Chapter Five
    The bedroom was dark, lit only by the thin blade of moonlight that angled through the drawn curtains. A rising wind whispered slyly around the eaves of the house, and in the distance coyotes lifted their noses and questioned the night.
    â€œHe done it again, Cap’n,” the man who stood at the bottom of the bed said. “He came home covered in blood that wasn’t his’n.”
    The bed creaked, but the man who sat bolt upright was invisible in shadow. “You were supposed to keep him confined to his room.”
    â€œWe did, Cap’n, but he slung a chair and broke clean through the window.”
    â€œWho was it this time?”
    â€œWoman who lives in a shack over to Apache Canyon and her two kids.”
    The man in the bed groaned, like someone in pain. “Damn him, damn him to hell,” he said.
    â€œI’m real sorry, Cap’n.”
    â€œDid you see her? And the kids?”
    â€œBill Anders rode over there, came back an hour ago. He hasn’t talked since, just sits on his bunk holding