Return of the Mountain Man by William W. Johnstone Read Free Book Online Page A

him, a twinkle in her eyes. As they walked, Buck’s spurs jingled. “Which line of employment are you currently pursuing, Mr. West?”
    â€œBeg pardon, ma’am?”
    â€œBounty hunter, cowhand, gunhand, or trapper?”
    â€œI’m lookin’ for a killer named Smoke Jensen. Thirty thousand dollar reward for him.”
    â€œQuite a sum of money. I’ve seen the wanted posters around town. What, exactly, did this Jensen do?”
    â€œKilled a lot of people, ma’am. He’s a fast gun for hire, so I’m told.”
    â€œFaster than you, Mr. West?”
    â€œI hope not.”
    She laughed at that.
    A group of hard-riding cowboys took that time to burst into town, whooping and hollering and kicking up clouds of dust as they spurred their horses, sliding to a stop in front of one of the saloons.
    Buck pulled Sally into a doorway and shielded her from the dust and flying clods.
    When the dust had settled, Buck stepped aside and Sally stepped once more onto the boardwalk. “Those are men from the PSR Ranch,” she said. “Rowdies and ruffians, for the most part.”
    â€œPSR?” Buck asked, knowing full well what the letters stood for.
    â€œPotter, Stratton, Richards. It’s the biggest ranch in the state, so I’m told.”
    â€œHow do they get their cattle to market?” Buck asked. “I know they don’t drive them over the Divide.”
    â€œThey haven’t made any big drives yet. I understand that so far they’ve sold them to people in this area. Leesburg, Salmon, Lemhi. Small communities within a fifty-to seventy-mile radius. The big drive is scheduled for late next spring. They’ll be using a hundred or more cowboys.”
    â€œQuite an undertaking.”
    â€œOh, yes.”
    A door opened behind them. A very pretty lady emerged from the dress shop. “Sally,” she said. She gave Buck a cool glance and walked on down the boardwalk.
    â€œThat is, ah, Mr. Richards’s mistress, Buck. Her name is Jane.”
    Buck had just seen his sister for the first time in almost ten years.

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    â€œY ou have an odd look in your eyes, Buck,” Sally said.
    â€œI never have gotten used to being snubbed, I suppose. But I suppose I should have, by now. But to be snubbed by a common whore irritates me.”
    â€œShe may be a whore, but she isn’t common,” Sally corrected that. “I’m told she speaks three languages very fluently; her home is the showcase of the state; and her carriage was built and brought over from France.”
    â€œOh?” Now where in the devil did Janey learn three languages? he thought. She quit school in the eighth grade.
    â€œHere she comes now,” Sally said.
    It was a grand carriage, all right. The coachman was a black man, all gussied up in a military-looking outfit. Four tough-looking riders accompanied the carriage. Two to the front, two to the back.
    As the carriage passed, Buck removed his hat and bowed gallantly.
    Even from the boardwalk, Sally could see the woman in the carriage flush with anger and jerk her head to the front. Sally suppressed a giggle.
    â€œOh, you made her mad, Buck.”
    â€œShe’ll get over it, I reckon.” Buck remembered the time, back before the war, when he had rocked the family outhouse—with his sister in it. She’d chased him all over the farm, throwing rocks at him.
    â€œThat funny look is back in your eyes, Buck. What are you thinking?”
    â€œMy own sister,” he said.
    â€œDoes Jane remind you of her?”
    â€œNot really. I haven’t seen the sister I remember in a long time. I’ll probably never see that girl again.”
    Sally touched his arm. “Oh, Buck. Why do you say that?”
    â€œThere is nothing to return to, Sally. Everything and everyone is gone.”
    He took her elbow and they began to walk toward the edge of town. They had not gone half a block before the sounds of