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

so yards to
ensure that he was well beyond the range of the mighty
gun.
    But it was not so
easy.
    The
sand beneath the Apache pony’s hoofs was soft and yielding. It was
not the best ground over which to maintain any speed and Iron Eyes
knew that the lathered-up pony was flagging beneath him.
    Then
the bounty hunter felt the sheer power of another shot tearing
through the flapping tails of his long trail coat. A split second
later the noise of the rifle shot erupted all around him. The force
of the bullet as it hit the coattail was powerful enough to cause
the pony to stumble and make its master fight just to remain atop
its back.
    The pony went down on
its knees.
    Iron
Eyes felt himself falling but grabbed at the pony’s neck as the
bullet struck rock a few yards ahead of him. More debris showered
over him as his long legs hit the ground.
    A
cloud of dust rose into the air from the pony’s hoofs.
    For a
few moments, Iron Eyes could see nothing as he clung desperately to
the pony’s rearing neck. For a few precious moments the bounty
hunter had cover from the deadly rifle that he knew was still
seeking his destruction.
    As the swirling dust
cleared his keen eyes spotted the distant rider once more galloping
after him. Iron Eyes knew that the rifleman must have thought that
he had finally hit his target.
    The horseman behind him
did not wish for his prey to get out of the range of his lethal
weapon. He was coming in for the kill.
    Whoever he was, the
rider was determined to finish off Iron Eyes once and for all.
    Iron Eyes knew that he
only had a few seconds before his opponent realized his mistake.
After steadying the frightened animal, the bounty hunter swiftly
checked himself and the pony. Blood trailed down the outside of his
left leg from where the bullet had torn across his thigh. The bony
fingertips touched the graze.
    He winced.
    But it was not as bad
as some of his untended wounds.
    To his relief, the pony
at least was unscathed.
    Iron
Eyes lifted the left-hand tail of his long coat. It was virtually
blown away. What was left of it was little more than smoldering
threads.
    ‘ Whoever you
are, stranger,’ Iron Eyes growled as he gathered up his reins, ‘I’m
gonna kill you real slow.’
    He
caught his breath and stepped back into his stirrup again. He
mounted the pony and spurred once more. The animal thundered deeper
into Devil’s Pass.
    He was now more than
angry.
    He was furious.
    Even Iron Eyes did not
try to shoot folks in the back, not even if they had a price on
their head.
    The two Navy Colts in
his belt were virtually useless at this distance. He knew it was
pointless even trying to shoot back at the rider with the buffalo
gun. There was no way that his pistols could compete with such a
formidable weapon.
    But the buffalo gun had
one drawback. Having such large bullets, it had to be reloaded
after every shot.
    As he rode on, Iron
Eyes began to formulate a plan in his mind.
    A plan that would
require nerves of steel and perfect timing.

CHAPTER
ELEVEN
    Iron Eyes noticed that
the canyon pass was becoming narrower and narrower the further he
rode into it. Whether this was a good or bad thing, he had no idea.
The bounty hunter lashed the long ends of his reins across the
bloodied shoulders of his galloping mount forcing it ever
onward.
    Even wounded, Iron Eyes
was still a terrifying sight as he balanced in his stirrups with
his long black hair flapping on the collar of his trail coat like
the wings of a fleeing bat desperately seeking sanctuary.
    With gritted teeth he
watched as dozens of vultures swooped down the pass towards him.
The great birds were travelling in the opposite direction to the
bleeding rider as they caught the aroma of the eight dead bodies he
had left out on the sand dunes behind him.
    Iron
Eyes had left them the biggest meal they had ever had in the form
of the dead Apaches. The vultures would not stop feeding off the
human carcasses until the bones were picked clean or coyotes