The Curse of Iron Eyes by Rory Black Read Free Book Online

attractive, sir.’
    Wallis looked across at
his men who were watering their horses and eating. He then looked
around the canyon. This was a place that he would never come within
a hundred miles of if it were not for the orders in his breast
pocket.
    ‘ Do you think
that it’s getting hotter, Hanks?’ the officer scooping up another
spoonful of the stew.
    ‘ Yep. Hotter
than hell.’
    Wallis loosened the
collar stud under his sweating chin and gave a long sigh.
    ‘ I’ve never seen
horses lather up like this when they’re only walking. This place is
deadly.’
    ‘ This is a
dangerous place OK, sir.’ Hanks finished his meal and licked the
plate clean. ‘Them papers must be mighty important for you to be
ordered to bring us into here. I wonder why you’ve had to bring us
here?’
    ‘ They are very
important, Hanks.’
    Hanks
smiled and accepted the plate from the officer. ‘You still ain’t
gonna tell me what them orders say, are you?’
    ‘ Not
yet.’
    ‘ I reckon I’ll
have to just fret about it, then.’
    Captain Wallis looked
back up at the vultures.
    ‘ Tell Cookie
that I enjoyed the stew and inform the men that we’ll be heading on
in exactly five minutes.’
    ‘ Yes, sir.’
Hanks shrugged and began walking back to the chuck
wagon.

CHAPTER TEN
    Now
the true magnitude of the canyon walls became clear to the bounty
hunter. He had never ridden this way before and knew that if it
were not for the tracks of Calhoon’s horse in the sand before him,
and the rider with the deadly buffalo gun somewhere behind him, he
would not be here now. His eyes strained to see in the shimmering
heat haze as he urged the terrified pony on. He could just about
see what remained of the outlaw’s tracks leading into the pass
before him but it was the thought of becoming a target to such an
ugly weapon that kept him moving forward.
    Iron Eyes thundered
across the hot white sand, knowing that he had to get as much
distance between himself and his pursuer as possible. He had not
looked behind him for more than ten minutes knowing that to even
attempt to do so would slow the pace of the Indian pony beneath
him.
    He
would find out soon enough when the hunter with the buffalo gun had
reached the sandy dune. He just hoped that he would be able to
outride the deadly cartridge that would seek his back.
    The pony headed
straight between the high canyon walls and into the wide valley.
Iron Eyes whipped the shoulders of his mount with the long loose
ends of his reins.
    Then he heard the sound
that he had dreaded.
    It sounded like a
thunderclap.
    The
echo of the shot bounced off the sand-colored walls as he rode
between them.
    The
buffalo gun had been fired far behind the unshod hoofs of the pony.
The sound of the bullet passing within inches of him made the
bounty hunter’s blood boil with anger.
    Who dared shoot at Iron
Eyes?
    As he
forced his mount on to find even greater speed, he saw a huge chunk
of the wall towering in front of him shatter under the impact of
the large-caliber bullet.
    Debris exploded into
the air.
    Iron Eyes hauled his
reins to the side, leaned over the neck of the startled creature
and spurred again. Now he turned his head and stared back at the
mounted man far behind him, with the buffalo gun in his hands.
    He could see the man
aiming once more.
    Another deafening shot
cut through the hot air and hit the opposite canyon wall, showering
the rider with more small fragments of rock and dust.
    He galloped on with
even more determination to get out of range of the gruesome
weapon.
    Iron Eyes knew that he
was still within range of his attacker and yet luck was still on
his side. So far he had managed to avoid the lethal lead twice.
    The bounty hunter began
to force his pony to zigzag across the hot sand. He knew that it
was far harder to hit a skilled horseman than a stationary
buffalo.
    Harder
and harder Iron Eyes urged the pony on into the hot sun-baked pass.
He knew that he had to try to cover another fifty or