A Time For Hanging by Bill Crider Read Free Book Online Page A

"All right, we'll go.   But the sonofabitch is still a cheater."
    They pushed back their chairs and stood up.
    Moran kept his hand on the handle of the pistol in his lap until they had left the saloon.   Then he holstered the gun and gathered in his winnings.
    He walked over to the bar and had one last drink, then stepped through the batwings.   The full moon was sinking low in the sky, but it silvered the silent buildings and the dirt of the street.
    Moran did not pause to admire the view.   He moved down the boardwalk, his boot heels striking hollowly and the sound echoing off the walls.   There was no one else in sight.
    He stepped off the walk at the end of the block, and that was when they got him, coming at him out of the alley in a rush, their fists swinging before he had a chance to react.
    It was the dandy and the farmer, and they had been both smarter than he had given them credit for and more bitter than he had thought.   They had left, but they had not given up on getting their money back.
    One of them hit him in the face and he reached out, grabbing   a handful of shirt that ripped as he went down.   He rolled over, avoiding a kick, and swung out his legs, tangling them with the legs of the dandy and causing him to fall heavily.
    He drew his .44, but the farmer kicked it out of his hand.   It landed somewhere in the dark of the alley.
    Moran got to his feet, dodged a blow, and hammered his fist into the chest of the farmer, directly over his heart.
    The farmer staggered back into the wall of the nearest building, sucking for breath, his eyes bugging out and his mouth working like that of a fish thrown on the bank of a river.
    Moran moved in on the man, smashing him again and again in the chest and stomach.   If the wall had not been holding him up, the farmer would have collapsed to the ground.
    He did fall when the dandy jumped on Moran's back, dragging the gambler backward.
    Moran kept going back until he hit the building on the other side of the alley, or rather the dandy hit it.   All the breath went out of him, and he dropped off Moran's back.
    He tried to get up, but Moran kicked him under the chin.   The dandy's teeth slapped together with a loud click and his eyes rolled up in his head.
    Goddamn sore losers, Moran thought as he was going through their pockets to see if there was any money in there that he hadn't already taken from them.
    There wasn't, which was just as well.   He wasn't really a thief, and he had never robbed anyone before, at least not unless they had been sitting at a poker table together, and that didn't really count in Moran's book.   Any man who got into a game of chance was fair game.   If he let himself be taken, that was too damn bad.
    He wasn't fond of trouble, and it was time that he was leaving Sharpsville anyway.   These two wouldn't have anything good to say about him when they woke up, and it was for sure they wouldn't tell anyone the truth of the matter.   Most likely they would lie and say that he had been the one who attacked them and took all their money. It would be easier for them to admit that than to say they had lost it all gambling.
    He'd just go over to the livery and get his horse, head on down the road.   It was late, but that didn't make much difference.   He'd gone without sleep before.
    He'd move on down to Dry Springs, trim a few suckers, and maybe ride down into Mexico for a spell.   He'd heard the Mexicans were big gamblers, and it was high time he found out for himself.
    He whistled tunelessly as he walked on down the street, not looking back to the two who lay in the alley.
    He had forgotten them already.

10.

    The sun woke Willie Turner, shining under the brim of his hat and hitting him right in the eyes.
    It had been doing that a lot more lately, and he was a little worried about it.   A man of his age ought not to be sleeping outside all night without even a blanket.   Wasn't good for the bones.
    It took Willie a while to get