Novel 1954 - Utah Blaine (As Jim Mayo) (v5.0) by Louis L’Amour Read Free Book Online Page A

“I would not have said that, Utah Blaine, but I know the man you are, and I know you ride for Joe Neal, and for something stronger and better than all of them.”
    She turned abruptly and started for the house and he looked after her, a little puzzled, but captured by her grace. She turned suddenly. “When it happens that they are all against you,” she said, “and it will happen so for I know them and they are wolves…when it happens, come to me. I will stand beside you as my father did beside Joe Neal.”
    Chapter 6
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    M ARY BLAKE WAS waiting impatiently beside a spring at Goat Camp. There was nothing there but a dark and gloomy hut with a roof so sunken that only a midget could have used the old cabin. A stone corral and a shed thatched with branches loomed in the background.
    She walked to Blaine quickly as he came up. “You’re late. You’ve been talking to that girl.”
    “Angie? Yes, I have.”
    “She’s beautiful.” Mary said it shortly and Utah repressed a grin as he swung down. No love lost here, that was certain.
    “Yes,” he agreed cheerfully, “I believe she is. Now what’s this proposition?”
    “You may have guessed. I’ve two good men. Kelsey and Timm. Neither are gunmen but both will stick. They’ll fight, too, and both are tough men. You have yourself. Together we can make a better fight than alone, and you—well, your name should draw some help to us.”
    “I’ve one man,” he admitted, “Rip Coker.”
    She was immediately pleased. “Good! Oh, fine! He’s the best of that lot on the 46, and as a fighting man he’s worth two of my men. Good. And we can get some more. There’s lots of them drifting into the Junction.”
    “Not them. Paid warriors.”
    “Aren’t they all? Aren’t you?” She flared at him, then she swept off her hat and shook out her hair. “Don’t mind me, Utah, I’m upset by this thing. I’m snapping at everyone.”
    “It’s understandable. I get a little upset at times.”
    She looked at him critically. “I doubt that. Were you ever upset by anything? Or anyone? You look too damnably self-sufficient, like you had ice water in your veins.”
    “All right,” he brushed off her comments. “We’ve got four men and they had, as you suggest, better operate together. The 46 is the center, and we could fort up there.”
    Her face changed swiftly. “And leave the B-Bar? Not for a minute. I thought you’d come over to my place. I could cook and I have Maria, too. I couldn’t leave her alone.”
    You mean you couldn’t leave the ranch alone, he told himself, then immediately felt guilty. After all his irritation at Angie he was adopting her viewpoint. “What we had better do,” he said, “is ride into town and have a showdown with Otten. Swing him to our side.”
    “It won’t work. He can gain nothing that way. He’ll stay neutral as long as he can, then join them.” She moved closer to him. “Utah, help me. On the 46 you’ll have Ortmann on one side and the others to your south. You’ll be between two fires. Come to the B-Bar and we can present a united front, with only enemies from one direction.”
    There was some logic in that, but not much. His own desire was to move right in, to take the bull by the horns. He said finally, “Tomorrow I’m riding to see Ortmann. I’m going to talk him out of this if I can, then I’ll tackle the others.”
    “He won’t listen to you.”
    “He’ll have his chance.”
    She shrugged, then smiled at him. “Oh, I shouldn’t argue! You’re probably right. Only…only…only I’d feel safer if you were over there with me. Maria is wonderful, and I know she would die for me, and so would Kelsey and Timm, but neither of them could face Clell. He frightens me.”
    He looked at her quickly. “You don’t think he’d bother you?”
    “I wouldn’t put it past him. Or the others.” She was not being honest and she knew it. Clell—well, he might—but she doubted it. He liked telling her off, he liked