Wellspring (Paskagankee, Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

wagon in order to lug the supplies into the building. He
knew because that was how Matt always did it.
    The
stranger continued speaking, unaware of Fulton’s presence behind him. “Your
beautiful wife told me you was down here takin’ a delivery at the waterin’ hole
and that this would be a much better place than your house to lie low. Turns
out it was a slightly different kind of delivery than I woulda expected, though,
wasn’t it? It was the kind of delivery that tells me you must truly have some
good places for me to hide out for a while.”
    The man
grinned, and even in the uneven light of the flickering torches Luke could see
his teeth were yellowed and stained; some of them were missing entirely. “So
whaddaya say,” he said, smiling wickedly. “Is there any room at the inn?”
    As the
stranger talked Fulton approached stealthily from behind, taking his time,
moving with care. Sarah stood resolutely, trembling and clearly afraid but
trusting in Luke to handle the situation. Fulton had nearly reached the
stranger when Luke realized he had just made a critical mistake. He had been so
caught up in tracking the deliveryman’s progress and trying not to give
anything away that he had fallen silent for much too long. He had completely
lost track of the stranger’s words.
    The gunman’s
eyes widened and he threw Sarah to the ground as he spun left and ducked.
Fulton launched a roundhouse right at the stranger’s jaw, a dangerous punch
from a dangerous man which, had it been thrown one second earlier, would have
ended the fight before it began.
    But by
the time the punch reached the stranger’s jaw he was no longer there. Fulton’s roundhouse
whistled harmlessly through the air, leaving Matt off-balance and vulnerable to
a counterattack. The stranger’s foot shot out and connected solidly with
Fulton’s knee. Luke rushed forward as the sound of Matt’s kneecap shattering
filled the air. It was loud and unmistakable and horrifying.
    Fulton
gasped in shock and pain and the stranger lifted his six-shooter, pointing it
directly at Luke’s face. “That’s far enough,” he said coldly.
    Luke
stopped short. “No,” he said. “No, no!”
    The gun
barrel looked enormous and deadly. From somewhere in his panicked brain Luke
could hear Sarah sobbing quietly. The stranger swiveled his arm, holding the
big pistol one-handed, aiming it at Matt Fulton’s head.
    And then
the stranger fired, and instantly Matt Fulton’s head caved in, pulverized by
the .38 slug. Blood and bone and brain tissue exploded into the night air and
the elderly slave—in his panic Luke had forgotten all about the old black
man standing behind him—screamed and Sarah screamed and Luke realized he
was screaming, too.
    Matt
wasn’t screaming, though, he was too busy dying, and his body slumped to the
ground, his head a pulpy mush, bludgeoned by the mass of the bullet fired
almost point-blank into his skull.
    The
stranger was panting and jittery and his eyes were wild. He turned the gun on
Sarah next, and Luke sank to his knees in the dirt and the weedy grass. “Please
stop,” he said. “Please. We’ll do whatever you want. We can hide you. We can
hide you for as long as you want to be hidden. Just, please, stop.”
    For a
long moment nothing happened, and then the stranger lowered his gun. “Show me
where I can hide or everyone dies,” he said.

 
 
 
 
    5
    The Paskagankee Tavern had been
constructed on a foundation of rough-hewn, sound-deadening granite blocks, each
several feet thick. From the moment Lucas Crosby had first set eyes on the
basement, he had known exactly how he was going to modify the structure to
allow Underground Railroad travelers to remain safe and secure during the final
stopover in their long journey to freedom.
    The day
he finalized the purchase, Luke had begun modifications on the property. He did
most of the backbreaking work alone, contracting out what few jobs he could not
handle himself to Railroad