Rattlesnake Valley by J. A. Johnstone

Author:J. A. Johnstone
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corp.
Published: 2010-01-20T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

The Diamondback hands wanted to know what The Kid was doing and why he’d happened to come along when he did. He thought they were still slightly suspicious of him, despite the help he had given them, and he supposed he couldn’t blame them for that. They had to be feeling that everyone in the valley was against them, and they probably weren’t too far wrong.

The Kid explained how Orrie and Dr. Eggars had been forced by gunfire to turn back before they reached the ranch headquarters. That brought bitter, angry curses from some of the men.

“If Deuce dies, it’ll be that damn Malone’s fault!” one of them declared.

“What about Orrie?” asked another puncher. “How bad was he hit?”

“The doctor thinks he’ll pull through,” The Kid said. “He’ll be laid up for a while, though.”

“That’s one more mark against Malone,” the Diamondback cowhand vowed ominously.

The Kid was in complete agreement with that. He asked, “What were you fellas doing out here?”

“Just checking on the stock in the east pasture. That bunch of gunnies jumped us, and we barely made it to the line shack so we could fort up.”

“Anybody hurt?”

The cowboy shook his head. “A couple of bullet burns, but nothing to speak of. You say you’ve got medical supplies on your horse?”

“That’s right,” The Kid said.

“We’d better make sure you get through to the house, then. Folks there are liable to need ’em.”

The cow ponies the men had been riding had scattered when they reached the line shack, but the animals hadn’t gone far. They were grazing on the far side of the pasture. It didn’t take long to round them up. The whole group started toward Diamondback headquarters with The Kid riding in the middle of the punchers. Since they knew that country a lot better than he did, he trusted them to get him back to the ranch by the best route.

It took another hour to reach their destination, which meant that the sun was setting when they got there, but at least they hadn’t run into any more trouble along the way. The two big yellow dogs bounded out to bark at them as they rode in. Diana heard the canine commotion and hurried onto the porch to greet them.

“Kid!” she said. “Thank God you’re all right. I was worried you might not come back from Bristol alive.”

The Kid swung down from the saddle. Sam Rocklin came up from the bunkhouse and said, “Gimme your horse, Morgan. I’ll see that it’s tended to.”

“Thanks,” The Kid said as he passed over the reins. He untied the bag of medical supplies from the saddle. Rocklin gave the reins to one of the punchers and followed The Kid up the steps onto the porch.

“Orrie never came back with the doctor,” Diana said tensely. “You didn’t happen to see them in town, did you?”

“Matter of fact, I did. They started out here this morning but got ambushed along the way.”

Diana gasped. “My God! Is Orrie all right? Was Dr. Eggars hurt?”

“Orrie’s got a bullet hole in his shoulder,” The Kid said.

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