Sudden--Strikes Back (A Sudden Western #1) Read Online Free PDF

faces of the Slash 8 crew. In only
one pair of eyes did he see anything except whole-hearted
camaraderie.
    ‘ Boss is right, Jim,’ Dobbs added. ‘We can use extry
hands.’
    ‘ Yep,’ pointed out Shorty. ‘Someone’s got to double up to make
up for Ben, account o’ he’s so shy.’
    ‘ Shy? What do you mean, shy?’ fumed the outraged cowboy to whom
this remark was addressed.
    ‘ Work-shy, o’ course,’ grinned Shorty.
    ‘ Me, work-shy? Why, you fat tub o’ lard, I do more—’
    ‘— eatin’ than workin’, we know,’ interrupted Gimpy. ‘Quit yore
chatterin’, boys, it’s time to hit the hay.’ So saying, he rose
from his chair and made his way to the door, pausing to call
goodnight to the old cook. Presently the others followed suit, and
Tate asked Dave Haynes to make up an extra bunk for Green in the
bunkhouse. Green stood as well, but Tate motioned him to stay, and
when they were alone, he faced the new Slash S man
squarely.
    ‘ Jim, I got to thank you—’ he began.
    ‘ I done told you, that ain’t half necessary,’ was Green’s
reply.
    ‘ I aim to get well paid in good eatin’.’
    The old
man nodded, obviously deep in thought, and the two men smoked in
silence for a while. Presently, Tate spoke again.
    ‘ Jim, how would you feel about lookin’ after my affairs for
me—if somethin’ was to happen?’
    ‘ Shucks, nothin’s goin’ to happen to you, seh,’ Green told
him.
    ‘ Mebbe, mebbe not. I’d like to think that I got everythin’ in
order just in case. Won’t you think about it, Jim? I was thinkin’
mebbe I could make you my foreman, an—’
    ‘ Mister Tate, you don’t know anythin’ about me,’ Green told the
rancher. ‘I’m thinkin’ you feel beholden to me, account o’ what
happened. But—’
    ‘— but, nothin’, Jim. I reckon I know how to size up a man. You
ain’t no long rider.’
    Green
smiled, and the old man misinterpreted Green’s
expression.
    ‘ Yo’re thinkin’ about what happened this afternoon. Hell, boy,
that was a mistake .... ’
    ‘ No, seh, it ain’t that.’ All traces of humor disappeared from
Green’s face as he spoke, and something akin to sorrow took its
place. ‘I’m right proud o’ yore confidence. But I better tell you
how wrong you are: down in Texas, where I come from, I’m known by
another name. They call me “Sudden”.’
    Sudden!
Tate’s eyes widened at this revelation. So this quietly-spoken
young man who had already so ably demonstrated his wizardry with
the six-gun was Sudden, the daredevil whose exploits were already
becoming a legend in the West. Sudden, who had cleaned out Hell
City and Lawless! Few had not heard of his lightning speed on the
draw, his amazing adventures, or of the fact that he was wanted for
murder. Tate looked afresh at the man who had saved his
life.
    ‘ Jim,’ he said slowly, ‘I don’t care where you come from, or
what you done. From here on in, I ain’t never believin’ another
lyin’ word I ever hear about Sudden the outlaw. Although I never
figgered on this nohow . . .’
    ‘ It’s true enough, seh,’ Green said. ‘If I hadn’t told you, it
mighta come back on you some day.’
    Tate
puffed on his pipe furiously for a moment.
    ‘ What I said still goes,’ he announced finally. ‘If anythin’
happens to me, I want you to run this ranch until my girl is of
age. I’m a-makin’ a paper tonight to that effect. Tomorrow, I’ll
send it over to my old friend Judge Amos Pringle in South Bend.’ He
hesitated a moment. ‘I’ll have to tell him, boy.’
    Green looked up quickly. ‘You trust him.’ It was not really a
question, but Tate nodded just the same. ‘Then tell him the whole
story,’ continued Green. His voice was harsh and compelling. The
two men sat limned by the lamplight, Tate listening in amazement as
the black-haired cowboy proceeded to tell the story of how blind
Fate had thrust upon him the unenviable reputation he owned. In
awed silence, the old rancher