Oliver Strange - Sudden Westerns 02 - Sudden(1933) by Oliver Strange Read Free Book Online Page A

me to concern m’self,” he replied. “Like I
told Luce, Ol’ Man Purdie reckons him an’ his outfit can deal with it.”
                 “Is
that so?” Mart growled. “Wants a fight, does he? Well, that suits us fine, eh,
Sim?”
                 The
younger brother laughed. “Yu betcha,” he agreed.
                 Slype made a gesture for appearance’ sake. “Now, see here,
Mart, a range war ain’t goin’ to do this yer town no good,” he protested. “All
Chris wants, I reckon, is to find out who bumped off his boy.”
                 “Bah!
He’s plastered it on the Burdettes a’ready,” Sim said angrily. “Awright, we’ll
let it go as it lays ; the Burdettes can take care o’
theirselves.”
                 “An’
whose side are yu on, anyways, Slippery?” snapped Mart.
                 “I
represent the law, an’ I’m agin both o’ yu,” the marshal evaded, a reply which
drew an ironic laugh from the brothers. “Where’s King? Left him at Lu
Lavigne’s, I reckon?”
                 “Yu
reckon pretty good,” Sim replied, adding slyly, “Why not send if yu want him?”
                 “I
don’t,” the officer said hastily. “I just asked. What about a little game?”
                 Sudden
stayed a while longer, hoping to see the eldest of the Burdettes, but was
disappointed. Weldon, the blacksmith, a bluff, bearded giant with whom he got
into conversation, explained the marshal’s reference to King’s whereabouts. He
would be at “The Plaza,” the only real rival establishment to ‘The Lucky
Chance.’ It was owned and run by a woman, who had bought out the former
proprietor less than a year before. Save that she was young, attractive, and
wise to her business, nothing was known of her.
                 “Calls
herself Mrs. Luisa Lavigne, but no husband ain’t showed up yet,” the blacksmith
said. “She’s certainly restful to the sight, but I’m layin’ she’s got Spanish
blood in her, an’ a temper to match. Soon after she hung out her shingle, a
cowboy tries to get fresh with her, an’ she slips a knife into him middlin’
prompt. No, he didn’t die, but it shorely puts a crimp in his affection. O’course,
it don’t stop others sufferin’ from the same complaint, but it makes ‘em
careful, an’ when King Burdette starts hangin’ round, most of ‘em loses
interest.”
                 Sudden
ventured to ask one direct question, and to his surprise, received an answer.
                 “If
it comes to a fight, I opine Purdie would have most of the town against him?”
                 “Stranger,
Purdie is liked, but the Burdettes is feared.”
                 Which was exactly what the puncher wanted to know.

  Chapter
V
                 THE
C P ranchhouse occupied a little plateau in the foothills around the base of
Old Stormy, facing the great valley in which, ten miles distant, lay the town of Windy. Solidly built of ‘dobe bricks and
shaped logs, with chimneys of stone, it had an imposing appearance despite the
fact that it consisted of one storey only. A broad, covered verandah, paved
with pieces of rock, stretched along the front of the building, and to the left
were the bunkhouse, barns, and corrals. A few cottonwoods, spared when the
ground had been first cleared, provided shade. At the back of the house a
grassy slope climbed gently to the black pines which belted the mountain.
                 Sudden
found the owner on the verandah.
                 “Mornin’,
friend,” Purdie greeted, and pulled forward a chair. “That’s a good hoss yu
got.”
                 “Shore
is,” replied the puncher, and waited.
                 “Made
them plans yet?” came the question, and when the visitor replied in the
negative, another silence ensued. Sudden was aware that the cattleman