A Lust For Lead by Robert Davis Read Free Book Online Page B

the head with the butt of his revolver and knocking him unconscious.
The man had a belt revolver holstered by his side and Shane took it from him. He left him where he lay and stepped out boldly from behind the shack. He was of a different height and build to the unconscious guard but, from a distance and concealed in the dark, he doubted that anyone watching from the house would know any better. He crossed to the first of the two bunkhouses, drew a gun in each hand and then kicked down the door.
He was inside and shooting before anyone had time to respond. Two men died instantly in their beds, while three more had time to scramble for their weapons. Shane fired like a machine, thumbing back the hammers of both guns and pulling the trigger in a murderous rhythm of death. The flash of exploding cartridges illuminated the room in fractured bursts.
One man drew a gun and fired in return. Shane flattened himself against a wall, discarded a spent revolver and drew another, with which he shot the man in the head.
Outside, men had begun shouting in alarm. A series of shots rang out from somewhere on the opposite side of the ranch as Buchanan began his half of the attack. Women began to scream.
Shane looted the dead of their guns. His own guns were Colts and though they were fine and accurate weapons they were slow to reload and he did not have the time. He stepped outside with his purloined weapons, aimed one and fired at the man on the porch. He was awake, and ducked as the shot blew splinters from the doorframe beside him. Shane fired with his second gun and this time he did not miss. The man fell dead.
The door of the second bunkhouse suddenly burst open and a gang of men emerged, their guns blazing. Shane dropped to the ground and rolled sideways, shooting on the move. The men were gunned down. Others jumped over their bodies and scattered among the other buildings for cover. Shane was quickly caught in a crossfire and forced into shelter behind a log pile.
He discarded his empty guns and drew fresh ones. Thinking that he was empty, a pair of men rushed him and he gunned them down. He pirouetted, coat tails billowing, and fired two shots in opposite directions, killing two more.
Kicking down a door, he skirted through one building and came out the other side, catching a gunman by surprise. He shot another through the bunkhouse window and the slaughter was complete.
He tossed aside a pair of smoking guns and advanced toward the ranch house.
A man shot at him from an upstairs window and the bullet whipped past Shane’s ear. He retaliated with a lethal hail of bullets and a moment later the window exploded, the gunman toppling out to land on the hard earth below. Shane stepped up to the front porch and relieved the dead sentry of his shotgun.
There was mayhem inside. Shane kicked through the door, then stepped back immediately. A shot from within ripped the doorframe into splinters. Shane thrust the barrel of the shotgun around the door and fired. As he stepped inside, an elderly man and a boy of fifteen were both picking themselves up from behind cover. Shane emptied the shotgun into the old man’s chest then tossed it aside, drew a revolver and shot the boy. He stole a fresh gun from the dead, stepped over the bodies and followed the sound of fighting deeper into the house.
Buchanan had taken the fight to the upper floor. Shots rang out above and a man’s voice was shouting for the women to take the children and run. As Shane reached the stairs, the pretty young wife of Babson’s eldest son came rushing down. She was dressed in her nightclothes and dragged a four-year old child by the hand.
Shane did not even think about what he was doing. He levelled his gun and shot them both. He did it so quickly, so instinctively, that it was not until afterwards that he realised what he had done. He stopped in mid-stride, looked down at the woman, saw the look of shock upon her face. The boy looked peaceful, as if he was only