The Two Devils Read Online Free PDF

mine. But the horse wasn't down there for nothing.
    A loud belch erupted from the back room. I decided on that room and cautiously opened the door. Four men and one saloon girl, all with drinks in hand, were surrounding the chest, which was on top of a small table.
    From the looks on their faces, they were not too pleased with my arrival. I recognized Clyde as one of the group. Then I noticed a hammer and crowbar next to the chest. “That chest doesn't belong to you,” I insisted.
    Clyde pointed a long bony finger at me. “That man is in league with Satan."
    I didn't view it quite that way. “Now, that chest ain't yours, Clyde. And I can't even figure why you want it. It can't be nothing but trouble inside."
    Clyde pulled a gun on me. I sure wished he hadn't done that.
    I was wearing the six-gun Nick gave me. Now, figuring on account who gave it to me, I didn't quite know what to expect when I went for it. The gun slid right out of the holster and into my hand. And my bullet hit Clyde's revolver and sent it flying. From the looks of his hand, a finger or two may have been broke in the process. It was like the gun just knew where I wanted it to shoot.
    "Now, I ain't got no quarrel with the rest of you. This chest is going back to its owner. You folks just stay seated like you are now, and no one else need get hurt.” I picked up the chest and backed toward the door. At the last second, I made sure nobody was lurking outside waiting to ambush me. If it'd been my establishment, I'd have been concerned with shooting going on. But there wasn't anyone there, so I raced down the back stairs, through the kitchen, and out the back door. Paul was waiting for me. I hopped up on him and we were off.
    There was some commotion behind us. I didn't look back. I kept waiting for somebody to shoot me, but no one did. Now I was mainly just trying to balance this little sturdy chest. Paul's stride was pretty smooth for a horse. It wasn't too bad, holding on to everything. One thing puzzled me; we were going away from the mine, heading up toward Donner Pass and Lake Tahoe. I sure was glad it wasn't winter. I figured Paul knew where he was going, so I didn't argue.
    It was getting dark, so I decided to make camp at a flat, sheltered spot overlooking the Truckee River. I wanted to climb down to the water and catch me a fish, but the trunk was heavy enough I didn't want to lug it all the way down to the water and back up. There was no way I was leaving it anywhere out of my sight. So, I sat by the fire listening to the roaring water below as I thought about how hungry and thirsty I was. Eventually, I must've drifted off to sleep.
    I came to later on. It was still dark. The fire was just embers. The chest I'd been using for a pillow was gone. At least the moon was up, and I could make out some fresh hoof prints in the dirt. I followed them along the narrow mountainside trail until I came to a clearing a bout a mile from my camp. The horse was standing quietly in the shadows. “Why didn't you wake me up?” I whispered. Paul looked down at the ground. “You slept through it too?” Then Paul looked away and I followed his gaze.
    Well, there was a campfire blazing. These things Nick called lost souls—some would say they're ghosts; I don't rightly know—but there were these three shimmering aberrations, including the one I figure first stole the chest, sort of dancing around the fire. Then, something real frightening happened.
    Clyde and them other people from town showed up. I counted. There were seven this time. They'd added two new ones. The people all formed a circle around the trunk while the spirit things floated upward until they danced in the air above them.
    I slid the rifle out of the saddlebag and readied my six-gun as well. I cocked the hammer and marched out into the clearing. “I don't know why I have to keep repeating this. That chest don't belong to you."
    They stopped dancing. “Miles, you have no idea what we have.” Clyde