The Sapphire Gun by J. R. Roberts Read Free Book Online Page A

seeping blood. After washing some of the blood away, Clint examined the stitches and handed the canteen over to Johnny.
    â€œHow’s it look?” Johnny asked, refusing to look down at himself.
    â€œLet’s just say that Eclipse and I got the better end of the bargain.”
    When Johnny laughed, he quickly winced and forced himself to stay still.
    â€œAre those stitches going to hold?” Clint asked.
    â€œI think so. Where’d you learn your doctoring?”
    â€œI’d like to tell you it’s something I was taught by a very wise man. The truth is that I get a lot of practice from all the people trying to carve out a piece of me for themselves.”
    â€œWell, you did a fine job. It still hurts like a bastard, though.”
    â€œI’ll bet it does. By the looks of it, the bullet dug in about half an inch all the way across. You’re damn lucky to be alive.”
    Johnny took as deep a breath as he could and let it out. “I sure don’t feel lucky.”
    â€œYou have any whiskey?”
    Suddenly, Johnny’s eyes lit up. “In my wagon, just behind the seat.”
    â€œThat explains your skill with the reins.”
    â€œGo to hell, Clint. But first, go get my whiskey.”
    Clint was still chuckling when he returned with the bottle. Considering how bad Johnny looked when they’d brought the horses to a stop, Clint was awfully glad that the man was still alive. For that matter, taking a grazing shot to the ear for himself seemed like a fairly light sentence.
    â€œThanks, Clint. And not just for this,” Johnny said as he held up the bottle. “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t be breathing right now. I sure as hell wouldn’t still have my gold.”
    â€œThat’s funny. I was just thinking what a piss-poor job I did in keeping you safe.”
    Johnny shook his head while tilting the bottle to his lips. As the whiskey flowed through his system, his voice was less strained and his posture became a bit more relaxed.
    â€œIf you hadn’t did what you done, that first rifle shot would have taken me down.”
    â€œI’m lucky that first rifle shot didn’t put me down.”
    After pondering that for a moment, Johnny shrugged. “Maybe, but everything after that was pure guts. I’ve never seen the like.”
    â€œYou pulled your share when that rider came in close. I didn’t even see what happened.”
    â€œI saw someone ride up to me and it took me a second to realize it wasn’t you. Soon as I saw that gun in his hand coming at me, I fired a shot that didn’t even come close to hitting a damn thing. I . . . lost my balance and started to fall. That must’ve been when he pulled his trigger, because I felt like my chest was tore off. With all the blood that came out of me, he must have thought he killed me.” Shaking his head, he added, “Then he rode away.”
    â€œThat’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Clint said after picking up on the tremor in Johnny’s voice.
    â€œWell . . . actually I didn’t fall. I dropped to save my own hide. All that while you were still fighting.” Johnny shook his head and took another pull from the whiskey bottle.
    â€œYou would have been stupid if you weren’t scared back there,” Clint told him. “It’s just like I said. Nothing to be ashamed of.”
    â€œWhat about you? Were you scared?”
    Without missing a beat, Clint replied, “Hell no! You think I’m yellow?”
    There was just enough bluster in Clint’s voice to make Johnny laugh rather than cringe. In fact, Johnny laughed so hard that he wound up pressing a hand against his chest and forcing himself to calm down before he busted a stitch.
    Once Johnny caught his breath, Clint asked, “Do you think you’ll be able to move soon? We should find someplace to stash this wagon before anyone comes around looking for us.”
    â€œI