the Quick and the Dead (1983) Read Online Free PDF Page B

them!"
    "Yes'm. I reckon so. But don't you worry none. Shabbitt ain't that good an Injun. About those others I'm not so sure. Ike Mantle maybe is."
    "I thought you killed him. Wasn't he the one?"
    "A man can make a mistake. I figured there wasn't two hats like that anywhere about, so when I fetched a bullet into that one I reckoned it was Ike. Must have been Doc Shabbitt's son though. He had him a no-account boy about nineteen or twenty."
    "That's too young to die. I am sorry for him."
    "Too young to die? Any time is, when you think on it. Sorry for him? Well, I ain't. He was born mean an' he was raised mean, an' he had his rifle pointed right at your husband's back. He was surely plannin' to kill him, only my bullet stopped him and I guess it jolted him off target. At that distance he wouldn't have missed."
    "Why did you come back?"
    He chuckled. "Oh, I figured I'd like to see how you folks handle Injuns. You're about to meet up with a passel of them."
    "Indians? You mean we'll be attacked?"
    "Maybe, maybe not. You can never tell about Injuns, ma'am, they have notions of their own."
    "When?"
    "They'll come in about sun-up, I guess, to see how wide awake you are. There'll be maybe a dozen or so."
    "What will they do?"
    "Depends on you folks."
    She stood up. "It is time for me to awaken Duncan."
    He got up too. He looked down at her, and she knew he was grinning that exasperating grin. "You sure you want to go in? You right sure?"
    She looked up at him and said quite calmly, "Yes, Mr. Vallian, I am sure."
    She turned away and walked a dozen steps before she turned to look back. "I am sure of something else, too, Mr. Vallian."
    "Yeah? What's that?"
    "I am sure that you are a gentleman, Mr. Vallian."

    Chapter V
    Before the sun appeared the earth was still, and silence lay like a blessing upon the land. No blade stirred in the coolness, nor any bird in the sky, only somewhere not too far off, a meadow lark spoke inquiringly into the morning.
    One arresting finger of smoke lifted thinly to the sky, and where the horizon drew its line across the heavens, a cloud seemed to lie upon the grass, off where the world curved away from them.
    "Put everything away," Vallian advised, "put your goods out of sight. You've got a-plenty of flour and sugar, so plan to spare them some."
    "We've scarcely enough to make it through," Susanna protested.
    "Take out a third," Vallian said, "but don't let it show. An' remember this: don't look scared. Injuns got no respect for a frightened man. You got to make them stand first, then give them something. If they figure you're scared they'll just take it all an' your scalps, too."
    "I don't see anybody," Tom protested. "Ain't nobody in sight for miles."
    "Shut up, boy, an' listen." After a moment he said, "Trouble with city folks. Always talkin'. You never learn anything when you're talkin', boy, only when you're listenin'."
    The clouds flushed pink, and a streak of bright crimson slashed the sky, reflecting on the grass and giving it a rosy sheen.
    "Shouldn't we be moving?" McKaskel asked, irritably. "Why wait like this? How do you know there is anyone out there?"
    "I know. They're watchin' us." Vallian paused. "You got a Bible?"
    "A Bible. Of course."
    "Get it out, stand there in front of us an' read. Read, an' take in the sky an' all. The Injuns," he added, "may not buy it, but they like a good show."
    Duncan McKaskel went to the wagon and got his Bible. He straightened his coat, stretched his neck out of his collar. He walked out and faced them. "I think this is nonsense," he said, self-consciously. "And I am no minister of the gospel."
    "Right this minute," Con Vallian removed his hat, "you surely are. You're a gospel-shoutin', fire an' brimstone preacher. Now when they come, don't none of you turn a hair. Pay them no mind."
    McKaskel opened the Bible and turned the pages. Suddenly from behind him there were shrill, piping yells. Involuntarily, he started to turn.
    "Read!" Vallian spoke sharply.