Saint Goes West by Leslie Charteris Read Free Book Online Page B

been there that anyone else would have sworn that there was no trail at all; but he set his horse boldly at the living wall and smashed easily through into a channel that could hardly have been trodden since he last opened it… so that presently they found the creek again at a sharp bend, and he led them over two deep fords through swift-running water, and they came out at last in a wide hollow ringed with palms where hundreds of spring floods had built a broad open sandbank gouged out a deep sheltered pool beside it.
    “This is lunch,” said the Saint, and swung out of the saddle to moor his bridle to a fallen palm log where his horse could rest in the shade.
    They spread out the contents of their saddlebags on the sandbank and ate cold chicken, celery, radishes, and hard-boiled eggs. There had been some difficulty when they set out over convincing Freddie Pellman that it would have been imнpractical as well as strictly illegal to take bottles of chamнpagne on to the reservation, but the water in the brook was sweet and ice-cold.
    Esther drank it from her cupped hands, and sat back on her heels and gazed meditatively at the pool.
    “It’s awful hot,” she said, suggestively.
    “Go on,” Ginny said to Simon. “Dare her to take her clothes off and get in. That’s what she’s waiting for.”
    “I’ll go in if you will,” Esther said sullenly.
    “Nuts,” said Ginny. “I can have a good time without that.”
    She was leaning against the Saint’s shoulder for a backrest, and she gave a little snuggling wriggle as she spoke which made her meaning completely clear.
    Freddie Pellman locked his arms around his knees and scowled. It had been rather obvious for some time that all the current competition was being aimed at the Saint, even though Simon had done nothing to try and encourage it; and Freddie was not feeling so generous about it as he had when he first invited the girls to take Simon into the family.
    “All right,” Freddie said gracelessly. “I dare you.”
    Esther looked as if a load had been taken off her mind.
    She pulled off her boots and socks. She stood up with a slight faraway smile, and unbuttoned her shirt and took it off. She took off her frontier pants. That left her in a wisp of sheer close-fitting scantiness. She took that off, too.
    She certainly had a beautiful body.
    She turned and walked into the pool and lowered herself into it until the water lapped her chin. It covered her as well as a sheet of glass. She rolled, and swam lazily up to the far end, and as the water shallowed she rose out again and strolled on up into the low cascade where the stream tumbled around the next curve. She waded on up through the falls, under the palms, the sunlight through the leaves making glancing patterns on her skin, and disappeared around the bend, very leisurely. It was quite an exit.-
The rustle of the water seemed very loud suddenly, as if anyone would have had to shout to be heard over it. So that it was surprising when Ginny’s voice sounded perfectly easy and normal.
    “Well, folks,” she said, “don’t run away now, because there’ll be another super-colossal floor show in just a short while.” She nestled against the Saint again and said: “Hullo.” “Hullo.”
    “Hullo,” said the Saint restrainedly.
    Freddie Pellman got to his feet.
    “Well,” he said huffily, “I know you won’t miss me, so I think I’ll take a walk.”
    He stalked off up the stream the way Esther had gone, stumbling and balancing awkwardly on his high-heeled boots over the slippery rounded boulders.
    They watched him until he was out of sight also.
    “Alone at last,” said Ginny emotionally.
    The Saint reached for a cigarette.
    “Don’t you ever worry about getting complicated? he asked.
    “I worry about not getting kissed,” she said.
    She looked up at him from under her long sweeping lashes, with bright impudent eyes and red lips tantalisingly parted. The Saint had been trying conscientiously not