Sackett (1961) by Louis - Sackett's 09 L'amour Read Free Book Online Page A

the fool."
    "A soft answer turneth away wrath," I said. "Or that's what the Good Book says."
    We rode on for a couple of long hours and then camped in the woods on Comanche Creek, bedding down for a good rest.
    We slept past daylight and took our time when we did get up, so we could watch our trail and see if anybody was behind us.
    About an hour past daylight we saw a half-dozen riders going north. If they were following us, they did not see our tracks. We had made our turn in the creek bottom, and by this time any tracks left there had washed away.
    It was on to midday before we started out, and we held close to the east side of the valley where we could lose our shape against the background of trees, rocks, and brush. We were over nine thousand feet up, and here the air was cool by day and right cold by night.
    We cut across the sign of those riders and took the trail along Costilla Creek, and up through the canyon. At Costilla Creek the riders had turned right on the most obvious trail, but Cap said there was an old Indian trail up Costilla, and we took it. We rode into San Luis late in the afternoon. It was a pleasant little town where the folks were all of Spanish descent. We corralled our stock, hiring a man to watch over our gear again. Then we walked over to Salazar's store. Folks all over this part of the country came there for supplies and news. A family named Gallegos had founded that store many years back, and later this Salazar took it over.
    These were friendly, peaceful folks. They had settled in here years before, and were making a good thing of it. We were buying a few things when ,. all of a sudden a woman's voice said, "Senor?"
    We turned around; she was speaking to Cap. Soon as he saw her, he said, "Buenos dias, Tina. It has been a long time."
    He turned to me. "Tina, this is Tell Sackett, Tyrel's brother."
    She was a pretty little woman with great big eyes. "How do you do, Senor? I owe your brother much thanks. He helped me when I had need."
    "He's a good man."
    "Si... he is,"
    We talked a mite, and then a slender whip of a Mexican with high cheek bones and very black eyes came in. He was not tall, and he wouldn't have weighed any more than Cap, but it took only a glance to see he was mucho hombre.
    "It is my hoosband, Esteban Mendoza." She spoke quickly to him in Spanish, explaining who we were.
    His eyes warmed and he held out his hand.
    We had dinner that night with Tina and Esteban, a quiet dinner, in a little adobe house with a string of red peppers hanging on the porch. Inside there was a black-eyed baby with round cheeks and a quick smile.
    Esteban was a vaquero, or had been. He had also driven a freight team over the road to Del Norte.
    "Be careful," he warned. "There is much trouble in the San Juans and Uncomphagre. Glint Stockton is there, with his outlaws."
    "Any drifters riding through?" Cap asked.
    Esteban glanced at him shrewdly.
    "Si. Six men were here last night. One was a square man with a beard. Another"--Esteban permitted himself a slight smile, revealing beautiful teeth and a sly amusement--"another had two pistols."
    "Six, you said?"
    "There were six. Two of them were larger than you, Senior Tell, very broad, powerful. Big blond men with small eyes and big jaws. One of them, I think, was the leader."
    "Know them?" Cap asked me.
    "No, Cap, I don't." Yet even as I said it, I began to wonder. What did the Bigelows look like?
    I asked Esteban, "Did you hear any names?"
    "No, Senor. They talked very little. Only to ask about travelers."
    They must know that either we were behind them, or had taken another trail. Why were they following us, if they were?
    The way west after leaving Del Norte lay through the mountains, over Wolf Creek Pass. This was a high, narrow, twisting pass that was most difficult to travel, a very bad place to run into trouble.
    It was a pleasant evening, and it did me good to see the nice home the Mendozas had here, the baby, and their pleasure in being together. But