The Reckoning Read Online Free PDF

thing.”
    â€œ'At's what I figgered.”
    It was silent again, except for the sound of hoof-beats. Duane raised his eyes and saw an eagle high in the sky. What a perspective he must have, Duane thought. Must make that old bird wise. But Duane didn't have time to speculate upon eagle life. He lowered his eyes and checked mesquite trees, juniper bushes, and cholla cactus for a feather tied to an Indian's hair, or war paint on his cheeks.
    Duane was curious about Indians, as he was curious about everything else. Their favorite trickwas to tie white men head down on wagon wheels, and build fires underneath their heads. I love this land, Duane thought, and if I have to fight for it— that's what I'll do. No Indian's going to cook me over a fire, and if he tries to steal the boss's cattle, hell—I'll fight for the brand.
    â€œY'know,” said his companion, “Uncle Ray was a-fixin’ to clean yer clock last night. I wouldn't push him too hard, I was you.”
    â€œHe puts something in my bed again, I'll ram it down his throat.”
    Ross looked at him coldly. “Yer a little too big fer yer britches, sonny jim. You ain't talkin’ back to me, are you?”
    â€œYou tell me.”
    Ross spat a gob of brown juice at a pale green yucca blossom, and said, “Boy, you don't treat me with respeck, I'll get down from this horse and whip your ass right naow.”
    â€œThe hell you will,” Duane replied.
    â€œI guess yer brave now, ‘cause the ramrod'll fire both of us if we git in a fight while we're a-ridin’ the point, but I'll tell you what. Tonight, after supper, you and me—back of the chuck wagon. What do you say?”
    Duane leaned closer and looked into his eyes. “Sooner or later I'll have to kick the shit out of somebody in this outfit, and it might as well be you.”
    â€œChildren, it gives me great pleasure to introduce Miss Vanessa Fontaine, your new teacher.”

    Mrs. Gibson stepped out of the way, leaving Vanessa alone before her new students gathered in the parlor of the Gibson home. Each child perched a board across his or her lap, for desks. They looked like a bunch of imps, their beady little eyes focused on her, waiting for her to make a mistake.
    â€œYour parents have hired me,” she began, “because they want you to receive a better education. If you don't know arithmetic, can't read, and can't write, you'll be at a disadvantage in the modern world.”
    â€œPuhsonally,” grumbled a boy, “I'd druther be outside.”
    â€œYou can't play your life away,” Vanessa lectured. “And besides, learning can be fun. I'll bet everybody in this class would like to know something, but you don't know how to find the answer. Why don't we make that our first project? You tell me what you want to know, and that's what we'll do. Any suggestions?”
    Nobody said a word, and Vanessa realized that they didn't feel comfortable in her presence. But she was nervous herself, with Mrs. Gibson looking directly at her. “I know that you're shy, but surely there's something that you're curious about, such as who invented arithmetic, or where certain words came from. You might even want to know why iron melts, or why water freezes at thirty-two degrees fahrenheit. Can't you think of anything?”
    It was silent, and Vanessa knew that she was failing to reach them. If I were little, and I lived in this town, what would I be curious about right now? A whiff of campfire drifted through the window, and atantalizing possibility came to mind. “Something very significant happened in Shelby recently,” she said. “Can anyone tell me what it was?” Again, nobody said a word, so she continued undaunted. “A detachment of soldiers has come, and that doesn't happen every day. Perhaps we should search through every book in town for information about the lives of soldiers. Wouldn't that be fun?”
    A little girl with