Ralph Compton Death Rides a Chestnut Mare by RALPH COMPTON Read Free Book Online Page A

to default on our taxes.”
    â€œIf it’s not improper for me to ask,” Danielle said, “how are you paying your taxes?”
    â€œMy aunt in St. Louis—Ma’s sister—married well,” said Tuck. “She’s kept our taxes paid, God bless her, so we wouldn’t lose the place. Now this damned Upton Wilks is tired of waiting. He’s trying to force my sister, Carrie, to marry him, and that would just about amount to giving him our spread.”
    â€œHow does Carrie feel about him?”
    â€œShe hates his guts,” Tuck said. “He’s old enough to be her daddy, drinks like a fish, and goes to a whorehouse in Dallas every Saturday night. That’s his good points.”
    Danielle laughed, in spite of herself.
    â€œI’d give the place up before I’d have her marry that sorry old bastard,” said Tuck.
    â€œI don’t blame you,” Danielle said. “A girl shouldn’t have to make a sacrifice like that. There must be some other way. Since we’re both after the same gang, maybe I’ll stick around for a few days, if I won’t be in the way.”
    â€œYou won’t be,” said Tuck. “We don’t have a bunkhouse, but we have a big log ranch house. There’s plenty of room.”
    â€œI’ll contribute something toward my keep,” Danielle said. “I don’t have a lot of money, but I do have a five-pound sack of coffee beans.”
    â€œMerciful God,” said Tuck, “if you was a girl, I’d marry you for that.”
    Danielle laughed, feeling more at ease with him all the time. She was truly amazed that she had adapted so well to the ways of men. They were generally crude, and without even a shred of modesty among their own kind. She no longer blushed at anything said or done in her presence. She had already acquired enough swear words to hold her own with the best of them. Prior to leaving home, she hadn’t been around men except for her father and brothers. She recalled the time when she had been fifteen and her brothers Jed and Tim were thirteen. She had followed them to the creek that July, watched them strip and splash around. But to her horror, the boys discovered her. When they told her mother, Margaret Strange caught the tail of Danielle’s skirt, lifted it waist-high, and spanked her bare bottom. Jed and Tim had never let her forget it. She now felt old and wise in the ways of men, her childhood gone forever.
    The Carlyle ranch house, when they reached it, was truly grand, the product of a bygone era. A huge wraparound porch covered the front and each side of the house. Danielle had a sudden attack of homesick ness. Tuck’s mother stood on the porch, watching them ride up, reminding the girl of her own mother.
    â€œI brought some company, Ma,” said Tuck. “This is Daniel Strange. He’s hunting that same bunch of outlaws that’s stealing our cattle.”
    â€œWelcome, Daniel,” Mrs. Carlyle said. “Get down and come in.”
    A young girl—obviously Tuck’s sister, Carrie—stepped out on the porch. She looked at Danielle with obvious interest, making Danielle nervous.
    â€œDaniel,” said Tuck, “this is my sister, Carrie. We’re trying to marry her off to somebody so Upton Wilks will leave her alone.”
    The implication was obvious, and Carrie hung her head, blushing furiously.
    â€œTuck,” said Mrs. Carlyle, “don’t tease your sister about that. You and Daniel come on into the house, and I’ll scare up some breakfast. We have bacon, ham, and eggs, but we’ve been out of coffee for years.”
    â€œFlour too,” Carrie added.
    â€œI have some supplies, including flour and coffee,” said Danielle. “It’s risky, building a fire to cook, when you’re tracking outlaws in the Territory.”
    â€œWe surely will appreciate the coffee and flour,” said Mrs. Carlyle,