Those Jensen Boys! Read Online Free PDF

down,” Ace said with alarm in his voice.
    â€œYeah, I reckon you’re right, but there’s not a blasted thing we can do from down here,” Chance said.
    It was true. The stagecoach was several hundred yards away and still a hundred yards above the valley floor. Three sharp turns remained to navigate before the vehicle would reach the relatively level terrain of the valley.
    â€œThere!” Ace exclaimed as he pointed again. “That’s why the driver’s running his team so hard!”
    Several men on horseback had come into view as they pursued the stagecoach. The way the road twisted back and forth, they were above it, and they fired down toward the coach with six-guns. The booming reports echoed back and forth between the mountains that loomed on either side of the valley.
    â€œThey’ve got to be outlaws,” Ace went on as he pulled his Winchester from the sheath strapped to his saddle.
    â€œMaybe not,” Chance argued. “What if bandits held up the stage and stole it, and those are lawmen chasing them?”
    â€œStole the whole stage, not just the express box? Why in blazes would anybody do that?”
    â€œI don’t know! I’m just saying we can’t be sure those fellas on horseback are up to no good.”
    While they were talking, the stagecoach hurtled hell-bent for leather around another hairpin turn, with the team running full blast to stay ahead of the speeding coach. Ace didn’t figure the horses or the coach would be able to make the next turn if they kept going that fast. He levered a round into the rifle’s chamber, raised it to his shoulder, and fired, aiming above the galloping riders.
    The whip crack of the shot joined the other echoes. He saw dirt and rock fly up from the slope where his bullet hit. He levered the Winchester and fired again.
    â€œOh, hell,” Chance muttered. He hauled out his rifle and joined in the fusillade.
    Both brothers cranked off a handful of rounds in a matter of seconds, spraying lead over and around the men on horseback.
    That got the riders’ attention. They hauled back on their reins and twisted in their saddles to return the fire. The range was too great for handguns, though, so their shots fell well short of the Jensens. Ace and Chance renewed their efforts and peppered the edge of the road just below the horses’ hooves with slugs. The dirt and gravel that sprayed up made the mounts dance around skittishly.
    One of the riders waved an arm and probably shouted something, but with the racket from the earlier shots Ace and Chance couldn’t hear anything else. They saw the results, though. The men wheeled their horses around, not as easy as it might sound on the narrow road, and charged back up toward the pass.
    The brothers let them go.
    Ace lowered his Winchester and looked to see how the stagecoach was doing. It was still dashing down the mountainside. Holding his breath, he watched it sway around the next-to-last turn.
    â€œThe brake must be broken,” Chance said. “Otherwise that driver would have slowed down by now.”
    â€œHe would have if he has any sense,” Ace said. “Look, there’s a guard on there, too.”
    It was true. A second figure clung to the driver’s box on the front of the stage, hanging on for dear life to keep from getting thrown off.
    â€œThat jehu’s doing some mighty fancy driving,” Chance said. “Some of the best I’ve ever seen, in fact. Most fellas would have piled up that coach already.”
    Ace looked up at the pass. The men who had been chasing the stagecoach were gone, although a haze of dust hung in the air at the top of the pass where they had disappeared. “Let’s go meet that coach,” he suggested. “Those fellas might need some help.”
    They followed the creek that led in the direction they wanted to go, keeping their horses moving at a fast clip. Up ahead, a wooden bridge came into