A Rocky Mountain Christmas by William W. Johnstone Read Free Book Online Page A

horse.
    The other rider, suddenly realizing he no longer had a two-to-one advantage, jerked his horse around and dug in the spurs.
    Luke holstered his pistol and snaked his rifle from the saddle sheath. Jacking a round into the chamber, he raised the rifle to his shoulder and took very careful aim, but couldn’t bring himself to shoot a man in the back. Carefully, he eased the hammer back down and lowered the rifle as he watched the rider flee.
    Dismounting, Luke walked over to the man he had shot and saw that he was dead. The man’s fate neither surprised nor bothered him. It had been a head-to-head confrontation, and the robber knew the chances he took when he set out. Luke pulled the hood off and tossed it to one side as he studied the man’s face without recognition.
    The road agent’s horse had not run off, so, with some effort, Luke put the dead man belly down over the saddle. He thought about going back to Greenhorn, but he was almost as close to Pueblo, so he decided to take him there.
    Riding up to the sheriff’s office in Pueblo half an hour later, he was greeted by Deputy Sheriff Proxmire, who met him out in front of the office. “Who have you got there, Luke?”
    “To tell you the truth, Deputy, I don’t know who this man is,” Luke answered. “But this fella and another man tried to rob me.”
    “Tried to rob you, you say?”
    “Yes, I saw them ahead of me, saw them hiding behind some trees, so I got a little suspicious. I pulled my gun out and when they ordered me to give them my money, I shot one of them. This one.” Luke nodded toward the body draped over the horse he was leading.
    “What about the other man?”
    “When I shot this fella, the other one turned and rode off. I could have shot him, too, but I don’t have the stomach to shoot someone in the back. Anyway, I thought I may as well bring this one to you.”
    Proxmire turned toward the office and called, “Sheriff Ferrell, you want to come out now?”
    The door to the sheriff’s office opened behind Proxmire and another man stepped out. Luke was surprised. He believed it was the man who had gotten away. He was also surprised to see the man was wearing a star on his vest. There had been no star during the ambush.
    “Deputy, I’m not sure, but I think this may have been the other man.” Luke pointed toward the man behind Deputy Sheriff Proxmire.
    “By other man, you mean he was with the man you shot?” Proxmire asked.
    “Yes. He had his face covered with a hood, so I can’t be positive, but he was about this size and was wearing the same kind of clothes. Only he wasn’t packing a star when I saw him last.”
    “You say they were both wearing hoods?”
    “Yes.”
    “What about the hood that was on this fella?” Deputy Proxmire asked. “Have you got it with you?”
    “No, I just tossed it aside.”
    “What about you, Sheriff? Is this the man you encountered on the road?”
    “It is, indeed. And you heard him, Sheriff. He just confessed to murdering Deputy Gates.”
    “What?” Luke replied loudly. “What are you talking about? I didn’t murder anyone!”
    “Did you, or did you not, shoot down my deputy?”
    “Who are you?” Luke asked.
    “I’m Sheriff Dewey Ferrell.”
    “Did you shoot his deputy, Luke?” Proxmire asked.
    Luke pointed to the body that was still draped across the horse behind him. “If that man is this man’s deputy, then yes, I shot him. But it was in self-defense. Whether this man is a sheriff or not, he and the man I shot tried to hold me up.”
    “We did no such thing,” Sheriff Ferrell argued. “We were merely trying to stop him, so we could ask him a few questions. That’s when he surprised the two of us by shooting.”
    “Deputy, I don’t know what’s going on here, but what happened is nothing like this man is saying. Both men were wearing hoods over their faces, and they demanded that I give them my money. You don’t mask yourself with a hood if all you want to do is ask a few