Longarm and the Train Robbers by Tabor Evans Read Free Book Online

straight, that
would be fine."
    "You want a.30-30
carbine?"
    "Maybe something
heavier."
    "I've a fine
Remington Rolling-block.50 I could offer at a good
price."
    "That's an
excellent rifle, but I'm in need of something that holds more
than one shot."
    "I see.  How about
a Winchester Model 1873?  I've a battered but serviceable
fifteen-shot with a twenty-four-inch barrel.  It's heavier than
the.30-30, being a.44-40 caliber."
    "Let me see
it."
    The rifle's stock
had been broken and crudely repaired with nails and wire, and
then covered with tightly stretched rawhide.  The Winchester
wasn't anything for looks, but the ugly stock felt solid and
Longarm figured that he might need a fifteen-shot weapon with
reaching power.
    "How
much?"
    "Ten dollars." 
The man smiled.  "That's what I paid for it.  Bought it off a
Cheyenne, but not before I tested it for accuracy.  It shoots
straight and the action is smooth."
    "Sold."
    Longarm left the
general store and returned to Martha's house.  She wasn't home,
so he packed his things, put on his new clothes, and headed back
into town.  After receiving directions, Longarm ended up at the
fancy law offices of Noble, Evans, and Black.
    "Excuse me," he
said to a clerk wearing a green eyeshade.  "I'm looking for Miss
Noble."
    "She's in
conference with Mr. Evans and Mr. Black.  If you could come back
later."
    "I don't think
so," Longarm said, pushing past the clerk.
    "Hey, you can't go
in there!"
    But Longarm was
already "in there," pushing open the door to the private office,
and surprising Martha and two older men.
    "Custis!"
    "I apologize for
this sudden and unannounced interruption," Longarm said, "but I'm
about to leave Cheyenne.  Martha, I thought I ought to say
good-bye."
    Martha's smile
died and she jumped to her feet.  "You're leaving so
soon?"
    "I need to get on
the outlaws' trail," Longarm said.  "If it snows again, the
tracks are lost.  Every hour I delay is an hour that it will be
tough to make up."
    "Any idea where
they might have gone?" one of the well-dressed men
asked.
    "No," Longarm
admitted.  "They seem to have the ability to vanish into thin
air.  They might even have dispersed in all directions.  Today,
given the telegraph and so many law enforcement agencies, a
really smart gang comes together only when they have a stage or a
train to rob."
    "That would make
it tough to apprehend them," the other lawyer said.
    "Damned tough,"
Longarm agreed, not able to take his eyes off Martha, who looked
beautiful and very competent in a black pleated skirt and white
silk blouse.
    Martha took his
arm.  "Gentlemen, you must excuse me for a few minutes while I
say good-bye to my friend."
    The lawyers did
not look pleased, but nodded in agreement.  "We'll be waiting,
Miss Noble."
    "It'll only be a
moment," she replied, leading Longarm out of their
office.
    Once they were out
on the board sidewalk, Martha slipped her arms around Longarm's
waist.  Tears made her eyes glisten.  "It just occurred to me
that I may never see you again."
    "I swear that I'll
return."
    Her lower lip
trembled.  "But not to take that job or to get
married."
    "I can't say what
I'll do for the future, Martha.  All I know for sure is that I've
already got a big job to do."
    "You don't know
anything about this bunch and you don't even know how many there
are."
    "I'll know more
when I pick up their trail," he said.  "A lot more."
    Martha laid her
head against his chest.  "I'm scared for you, Custis. What if you
get killed?"
    "Then your life
goes on just as it did before we met two days ago."
    "It seems like
we've known each other for years.  I can't imagine not having
known you."
    Longarm hugged her
tightly.  "Martha, I have to go now.  Stretching out a good-bye
never does any good."
    She released him
and stepped back.  "I've told Mr. Evans and Mr. Black that they
can either buy me out of their partnership or bring me into the
firm that my father founded as an equal partner.  It seems that
they're