The Project Gutenberg eBook, The Rustlers of Pecos County, by Zane Grey

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Title: The Rustlers of Pecos County

Author: Zane Grey

Release Date: April 8, 2005 [eBook #15580]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ISO-646-US (US-ASCII)

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THE RUSTLERS OF PECOS COUNTY

By Zane Grey

1914

Chapter 1

VAUGHN STEELE AND RUSS SITTELL

In the morning, after breakfasting early, I took a turn up and down the
main street of Sanderson, made observations and got information likely
to serve me at some future day, and then I returned to the hotel ready
for what might happen.

The stage-coach was there and already full of passengers. This stage did
not go to Linrock, but I had found that another one left for that point
three days a week.

Several cowboy broncos stood hitched to a railing and a little farther
down were two buckboards, with horses that took my eye. These probably
were the teams Colonel Sampson had spoken of to George Wright.

As I strolled up, both men came out of the hotel. Wright saw me, and
making an almost imperceptible sign to Sampson, he walked toward me.

"You're the cowboy Russ?" he asked.

I nodded and looked him over. By day he made as striking a figure as I
had noted by night, but the light was not generous to his dark face.

"Here's your pay," he said, handing me some bills. "Miss Sampson won't
need you out at the ranch any more."

"What do you mean? This is the first I've heard about that."

"Sorry, kid. That's it," he said abruptly. "She just gave me the
money--told me to pay you off. You needn't bother to speak with her
about it."

He might as well have said, just as politely, that my seeing her, even
to say good-by, was undesirable.

As my luck would have it, the girls appeared at the moment, and I went
directly up to them, to be greeted in a manner I was glad George Wright
could not help