[Texas Rangers 03] - The Way of the Coyote by Elmer Kelton Read Free Book Online

it out with them? Leavin' only puts things off to another day."
    Webb said gravely, "Killin' is a mean thing in the sight of the Lord, but I believe there's times He knows it needs to be done. God forgive me for sayin' this, Rusty, but it would've been better if you'd killed the both of them that day. You may still have to do it."
    "Not if they don't find out where I live."
    "Nobody here will tell them anything."
    Evan Gifford and Geneva heard the commotion and came out of their cabin. They waited as Rusty and Andy led their horses back toward the main house. Geneva said regretfully, "You're leavin' early."
    Rusty could not look at her without a feeling of loss. "Somethin' came up."
    Evan said, "The Oldham brothers. I was with James when they rode in. If there's anything I can do—"
    "Much obliged. You can help James see that they stay here awhile."
    Andy noted that Rusty gave Geneva a long look before he pulled away and moved on toward the main house. Clemmie and the girls came out from the dog run. Josie said, "We've put somethin' together for you and Andy to eat on the way." She handed Rusty a canvas sack and managed to hold on to his hand. He did not immediately pull it away.
    Rusty said, "I'm obliged to everybody. I'm sorry we brought trouble to your door."
    Clemmie said, "Trouble is no stranger here. You've helped us through the worst there ever was. We'd do anything we can for you."
    "You wouldn't do murder. That's what it might take to settle with the Oldhams."
    Rusty shook hands with the men, except for James, who remained in the house to watch the brothers. Clemmie and both girls hugged Andy. It made him uncomfortable.
    Josie said, "Mind now, Andy, you keep studyin'."
    He promised her he would, though he had reservations.
    Riding away, Andy turned to look back at the lantern light in the windows. He said, "That Josie, she likes you. Likes you pretty good."
    Rusty did not answer.
    Andy said, "Those Oldhams don't. You think they like to hide and kill you?"
    "I'd bet my horse and saddle on it."
    "Why we don't hide and wait for them? Kill them easy."
    Rusty gave Andy a look of disbelief. "That's not the way honest men do things."
    "It is Comanche way. Kill them, you fix everything."
    Rusty grunted. "I've got a lot more to teach you than just how to read."
     

· CHAPTER FOUR ·

     
     
    COLORADO RIVER, TEXAS, 1871
    .
    S ix years had passed without war, but they had not brought peace. They had brought a reconstruction government but not reconstruction.
    The blacksmith rolled the wagon wheel out for Rusty to see. He leaned it against his broad hip and said, "There she is, a few spokes, a new rim, and she's as good as when that wagon first came out of the shop that made it."
    The original wheel had buckled when Andy brought the team a little too fast down a rough hillside. He had a youth's weakness for speed. "It'll do fine," Rusty said. He dug into his pocket, wishing he did not have to spend any of the dollars he had received for cattle he sent up the trail with James Monahan. It seemed there were never enough dollars to cover his needs and still pay the heavy taxes imposed by the occupation government.
    The blacksmith remarked, "You've taught that Andy boy readin' and writin', but you ain't taught him much about caution. He's whipped most of the young fellers his size around here and some a right smart bigger. Still got a lot of Indian in him."
    "Lord knows I've tried. He's got no notion about consequences. Do it now and think about it later, that's his style."
    More than once since he had been living with Rusty Andy had taken a horse, a blanket, and very little else and disappeared without offering any explanation. After several weeks he would return thinner, browner, and silent about where he had been. Threats of punishment had no effect.
    The responsibility weighed heavily on Rusty's shoulders like a hundred-pound sack of feed. Sometimes he wondered if he had assumed a load he was not equipped to carry. He