FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164  
165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   189   >>   >|  
teelman's restless black eyes watched furtively the effect of his taunting on this man, a victim of wild and uncurbed passions. He was egging him on to a rage that would throw away all caution and all scruples. "He'll never live to run for office!" the cattleman cried hoarsely. "They talk him for sheriff. Say Applegate's no good--too easy-going. Say Sanders'll round up you an' Shorty pronto when he's given authority." Doble ripped out a wild and explosive oath. He knew this man was playing on his vanity, jealousy, and hatred for some purpose not yet apparent, but he found it impossible to close his mind to the whisperings of the plotter. He welcomed the spur of Steelman's two-edged tongue because he wanted to have his purpose of vengeance fed. "Sanders never saw the day he could take me, dead or alive. I'll meet him any time, any way, an' when I turn my back on him he'll be ready for the coroner." "I believe you, Dug. No need to tell me you're not afraid of him, for--" "Afraid of him!" bellowed Doble, eyes like live coals. "Say that again an' I'll twist yore head off." Steelman did not say it again. He pushed the bottle toward his guest and said other things. CHAPTER XXXV FIRE IN THE CHAPARRAL A carpenter working on the roof of a derrick for Jackpot Number Six called down to his mates: "Fire in the hills, looks like. I see smoke." The contractor was an old-timer. He knew the danger of fire in the chaparral at this season of the year. "Run over to Number Four and tell Crawford," he said to his small son. Crawford and Hart had just driven out from town. "I'll shag up the tower and have a look," the younger man said. He had with him no field-glasses, but his eyes were trained to long-distance work. Years in the saddle on the range had made him an expert at reading such news as the landscape had written on it. "Fire in Bear Canon!" he shouted down. "Quite a bit of smoke risin'." "I'll ride right up and look it over," the cattleman called back. "Better get a gang together to fight it, Bob. Hike up soon as you're ready." Crawford borrowed without permission of the owner the nearest saddle horse and put it to a lope. Five minutes might make all the difference between a winning and a losing fight. From the tower Hart descended swiftly. He gathered together all the carpenters, drillers, enginemen, and tool dressers in the vicinity and equipped them with shovels, picks, brush-ho
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   140   141   142   143   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154   155   156   157   158   159   160   161   162   163   164  
165   166   167   168   169   170   171   172   173   174   175   176   177   178   179   180   181   182   183   184   185   186   187   188   189   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Crawford

 

Steelman

 
saddle
 

Number

 

called

 

purpose

 

Sanders

 

cattleman

 

carpenters

 

enginemen


drillers

 
losing
 
younger
 

descended

 
swiftly
 
driven
 

gathered

 

season

 

shovels

 

equipped


chaparral

 

dressers

 

danger

 

contractor

 

vicinity

 

Jackpot

 

Better

 

shouted

 

permission

 
nearest

distance

 

difference

 
trained
 

borrowed

 

glasses

 
minutes
 

landscape

 
written
 

expert

 
reading

winning

 

ripped

 

authority

 
explosive
 

playing

 

pronto

 
Shorty
 

vanity

 

jealousy

 
whisperings