Oliver Strange - Sudden Westerns 07 - Sudden Rides Again(1938) by Oliver Strange Read Free Book Online Page A

the kind of man I need.”
                 “I
can handle cattle.”
                 “I
want someone who can handle men—miscreants like those you dealt with
yesterday,” the rancher said harshly. “I want that nest of thieves and
cut-throats, Hell City—of which you must now have heard—wiped out. Above all, I
want to see their leader, who has robbed, flouted, and jeered at me, broken,
lying in the dust at my feet, begging for his life.”
                 The
low, tense tones, flaming eyes, and clamped, set jaw testified to the passion
which possessed him. In a moment it passed and Kenneth Keith was again the
cold, courteous gentleman.
                 “The
fellow is a menace to the whole community, Mister Green,” he went on. “A cancerous growth which must be ruthlessly removed. I have
written to the Governor, but apparently he can do nothing; we must take the law
into our own hands. Well, what do you say?”
                 Though
this was the offer for which he had hoped, Sudden did not wish to seem too
eager, and it was only after a pause that he said:
                 “I’m
takin’ a hand, but I gotta play the cyards my own way. To begin with I’ll be
just one o’ yore punchers—yu havin’ put me on the pay-roll for helpin’ Miss
Keith. That’ll give me time to look around.” He waited, and then, “If I get a
chance to down this leader would that be all right with yu?”
                 The
elder man’s face paled. “I would prefer to have him brought in for me to pass
judgment on,” he said slowly.
                 “I
savvy,” Sudden replied, and was glad he had asked the question. Somewhere in
this proud, hard parent there still glowed a spark of affection for the son of
his body.
                 The
appearance of the girl interrupted the conversation, and the cowboy had to
submit while she thanked him prettily.
                 “Green
is going to ride for the Double K, Joan,” Keith told her. “I scarcely think any
of that devil’s brood will interfere with you again.” His voice grew stern. “If
they do, he has my instructions to deal with them as they deserve.”
                 “I
hope the lesson they have received will be sufficient,” she said, but there was
fear in her eyes.
                 Sudden
made a mental note, and then—in response to the rancher’s hail—Frosty came up
from the corral. His face split in a broad grin when he learned that the Double
K had hired a hand.
                 “Show
him where he sleeps, and then”—Keith’s thin smile was in evidence—”you can go
with him to Dugout to fetch his things.”
                 As
they went to the corral for their horses, Frosty looked at his new friend and
said with a laugh:
                 “That’s
the 01’ Man all over : lashes yu with that tongue o’
his one minute, an’ the next, does somethin’ yu want but dasn’t ask for. I’m
thunderin’ glad yo’re joinin’ us, Jim, an’ Sam will be, too.”
                 “He’s
losin’ a boarder.”
                 “He’s
gainin’ a friend,” came the swift retort, “an’ bein’ the colour he is, he don’t
have too many.”
                 His
prophecy proved correct, for when they returned to Dugout with the news, the
saloon-keeper’s delight and relief were obvious.
                 “I’se
pow’ful pleased yo’ ain’t leavin’ us, sah,” he beamed. “Shucks, them hombres
would say I’d run away,”
                 Sudden
excused. “Ain’t called for their guns, I s’pose?”
                 It
appeared they had. Soon after the cowboys set out forthe Double K, a youth
arrived, paid the money, and re-deemed the weapons. He left a message.
                 “I
was to tell de stranger dat he’ll suah see dem guns some mo’,” the