Lone Calder Star by Janet Dailey Read Free Book Online

dark cowboy hat shaded his eyes, but it didn't conceal the lower half of his age-weathered face or the tufts of gray hair that poked from beneath the sides of his hat. He didn't say a word, just stood there glaring at Quint.
    "All right," Quint said, "let's try this again. Who are you?"
    "Empty."
    Quint thought he was referring to his shotgun, currently cradled against the crook of his arm. "I know it's empty. I unloaded it."
    "No," the man grumbled irritably. "That's my name-Mordecai Thomas Garner. M.T for short."
    "What are you doing here?"
    The old man spunkily cocked his head to one side. "I don't know that it's any of your damned business."
    "I can promise you it is." Quint smiled and began a leisurely approach to the man. "If you had given me a chance to explain earlier, I would have told you that I don't work for Rutledge." He halted a few feet from him and gave the shotgun a toss into the old man's arms. "I work for the Triple C."
    Empty Garner clutched the shotgun and stared at Quint for an uncertain instant. "The Triple C-that's the Montana outfit that owns this place, isn't it?"
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    "That's right," Quint confirmed.
    The old man eyed him leerily. "How do I know you're who you say you are? That car you're driving has Texas plates." "That's because I rented it after I flew down here."
    "That's what you say," Empty scoffed, still skeptical.
    "I did give you back your shotgun," Quint reminded him.
    "You kept the shells, though."
    Quint smiled. "I'm not stupid."
    "Neither am I," the old man retorted and patted the bulging side pocket of his jacket. "I got a bunch more shells right here. If I thought you were lying, I could have this loaded in two seconds."
    "In that case, you have a decision to make. Because one of us is trespassing and it isn't me."
    Empty thought about that a moment, then ducked his head. "I guess that'd be me then." When he looked up, there was fire in his eyes again. "But if you're that Evans fella, you've done one helluva poor job of running this place."
    "I don't know where Evans is," Quint admitted. "My name's Echohawk. Quint Echohawk."
    " Thats an indian name."
    "Thatt's right. Now would you care to ~ tell me what you're doing here.'" Quint asked in light challenge.
    " I guess you've got a right to know," Empty Garner admitted. `My granddaughter mentioned last night that Rutledge had run off this Evans guy. It got me to thinking about the livestock. I knew, Rutledge wouldn't care one whit if they starved to death.and I was right, too. When I got here, I found the horses in the pen, nosing in the dirt to find the last few scraps of hay, and nothing but nubbins for grass. So I turned them out."
    "And I have a half dozen bags of grain in my car." Quint smiled at the irony of it. "Now I have the fun of catching them again."
    "You won't have any trouble," the old rancher declared. "Just rattle some corn in a feed bucket and they'll come running."
    "Probably," Quint agreed, turning away.
    "Where'd you leave your car?"
    He swung back. "Halfway down the lane."
    Empty Garner responded with a slow nod of comprehension. "When you left, I figured you'd head to the Slash R for reinforcements. Never occurred to me you might sneak back here. That was my mistake." He paused, his sharp-eyed glance giving Quint the once-over. "My truck's out back. Why don't I give you a lift to your car and save you hiking all the way back to it?"
    "That's a deal."
    Leaving the gloom and musty odors of the barn, they exited through the rear door and made their way to the white pickup. Empty Garner stowed the shotgun in the gun rack mounted across the cab's back window and hauled himself behind the steering wheel. Quint climbed into the seat beside him and pulled the creaking door shut.
    At a turn of the ignition key, the engine sputtered, then rumbled to life. The way the old pickup bounced across the rough ground, circling to the front of the barn, Quint suspected its shocks had given out long ago. The going was a little