TOM MIX AND PANCHO VILLA: A Novel of Mexico and the Texas border Read Online Free PDF

murmured.
    “Try to stay away from women, Tomás. Sometimes, of course, it’s impossible, but if you try and succeed you’ll be a better man. Bullfighters have told me the same thing. They ought to know. Now, what’s bothering you?”
    I had been thinking about the shooting and finally voiced my puzzlement. “You didn’t aim,” I said.
    “Aim? No … ah, wait. I understand! You’re a good American cowboy. You ride, but you don’t shoot. That’s something we’ll have to fix. Come along! This won’t be a waste of bullets.”
    Together we walked through the dazzling light to the thin strip of shade behind the hut. The others tagged along, interested. Villa handed me the cartridge belt and pistol, still warm from his grasp. The butt fit snugly in my hand, and I strapped on the belt.
    “Go ahead,” he said. “Take a shot. Give us your best.”
    I sighted carefully down the barrel at the cartridge case, took a deep breath and pulled the trigger. There was more kick than I had expected, and the pistol jerked up into the air. Candelario trotted down to the wall and inspected the target.
    “About a hundred yards into Chihuahua, chief.”
    “Awful.” Villa rested a fleshy hand on my shoulder. “I like you. I don’t want to see you get killed. Actually, it’s a wonder you’re still alive, telling lies and shooting as badly as you do. Now pay attention. I’m going to share a secret with you that’s worth more than a million dollars. It could mean the difference between life and death to you. Don’t you think your life is worth more than a million dollars?”
    “You bet your ass I do,” I said.
    He guffawed, showing red teeth. “What a fool this is! Listen, my friend, I’ll tell you another secret which might save your hide equally well. This is Mexico! Your life isn’t worth more than ten pesos here. That’s the price I would have to pay some down-and-out pelado, some nobody, if I wanted to hire him to kill you—which of course I’d never do, because if I wanted you dead I’d simply shoot you myself. And there would be no one in this world to object. You understand?”
    I nodded unhappily. I understood all too well.
    “Cheer up,” Villa said. “We’re going to be friends. I’m going to teach you many things. Now pay attention again. Listen closely. First calm yourself. Look at the target. Shut everything else from your mind. Love it a little. Not the way you would love a woman, but the way you would love part of yourself … like a hand, or your cock. Between you and the target there must be no distance, because distance is an illusion. I spit on distance. Is it nonsense to you, or do you understand?”
    His voice droned, yet soothed, and I had the feeling as I stared at the target that it had moved closer to me. I saw the cartridge clearly. Villa’s voice came from very far off.
    “Wrap your middle finger around the trigger. It will feel strange, but do it. Remember, there is no distance. You don’t have to aim. The bullet will find its way. Raise the pistol and fire.”
    I did as he told me and squeezed off a second shot.
    “Son of a whore!” Candelario sounded amazed. “Only four inches to the right!”
    Villa beamed at me. “Well done, cowboy! You’ve learned in five minutes what it took me five years! If you go out there every day with five rounds and a clear head—and if you haven’t fucked a woman the night before—you’ll become a marksman.” He clapped me on the back, and I don’t think he could have been more pleased if his own shot had lodged dead center instead of clipping the cartridge’s edge. I was feeling pretty frisky myself. “If you’re loyal to me,” he said, “you’ll never have anything to fear. I like you, and my friends like you. Candelario! What do you think of this boy? The truth!”
    “He’s lucky,” Candelario replied.
    Villa considered that for a moment, then nodded vigorously. “We need men who are lucky,” he said. “In fact, we need every man