Rockinghorse by William W. Johnstone Read Free Book Online

away from this estate.”
    â€œI bet he’s the reason nobody wanted to buy this house,” Jackie said.
    â€œYeah,” Johnny said. “That old nut probably scared them away.”
    â€œProbably did,” Lucas agreed, remembering Lige’s statement about ‘the house don’t want to be sold.’
    He had completely forgotten about the moments of terror that had gripped him only hours before.
    â€œI’ve never seen you that angry, Lucas,” Tracy said. “You even scared me. Lucas, you could have killed that old man.”
    â€œNo,” Lucas corrected her. “He was at the side window when I shot at the door. I knew what I was doing.”
    â€œI think you should dismiss him. I think—”
    â€œYou kids go out front and sit out there for a minute. We’ll be right out,” Lucas said.
    Jackie and Johnny obeyed without argument.
    â€œI know what you were about to say,” Lucas said. “And I don’t see any point in scaring the kids.”
    â€œI think he might harm the kids,” Tracy stuck to her guns.
    â€œI don’t believe he’s to be feared, Tracy. More to be pitied, perhaps. But I’ll talk to Jim in the morning; see what he has to say about it. If Lige buckles down and starts working, let’s give him another chance.”
    â€œAnd the money he’s stolen?”
    â€œI don’t know. I think I’m going to have to run down to Atlanta some morning and speak with Mr. Garrett; see how he wants to handle that.” He patted her arm. “It’ll work out.”
    On the front veranda, brother and sister sat and stared at the gravel road. “Dad really got tough with that bum, didn’t he?” Johnny asked.
    â€œHe sure was mad,” Jackie agreed. “I think we’d better stay away from that Lige. I don’t much like him.”
    â€œSpooky for sure.”
    The kids watched as a sheriff’s department car drove slowly up the road in front of the mansion. They could see Deputy Simmons behind the wheel, looking at them.
    The deputy did not wave, and neither did the kids.
    â€œAnd I don’t like him, either,” Jackie said. “He gives me the creeps.”
    â€œHow come?”
    She looked at her brother, two and a half years younger in one way, and about a zillion years younger in another. “You wouldn’t understand.”
    â€œTry me.”
    â€œHe looks at me . . . well, funny.”
    â€œFunny? What kind of reason is that for not liking somebody?”
    â€œI said you wouldn’t understand. Just skip it, Johnny.”
    Before he could come back at her, the faint sounds of a horse whinnying drifted to the brother and sister. It floated eerily over their heads.
    Then the sound ceased abruptly.
    â€œWhere did that come from?” Johnny asked, looking around him. There was no horse in sight.
    Jackie pointed into the air, above her head. “From up there.”
    â€œThat’s impossible!”
    She shook her head. “I don’t know about that. What I do know is, this place is weird.”
    â€œYeah.”
    Deputy Simmons drove slowly past on his return trip. He looked at the kids on the veranda. From where they sat, Jackie thought she could see something evil on the man’s face. Something dirty.
    * * *
    While Lucas bought a lockback knife with belt sheath and slipped it on his belt, he told Jim about his run-in with Lige Manning.
    Jim thought it so funny he had Lucas tell it again. “Ol’ Lige, huh?” Jim laughed. “I’d have give a hundred-dollar bill to have seen that. I bet you scared the livin’ crap outta him when you popped that cap. That’ll get around, Lucas. Them folks so inclined to steal will think twice now that the city fellow has shown he ain’t gonna take no crap from nobody.”
    Lucas blushed with embarrassment. He had reviewed the incident in his mind several times and now felt—in his