the Sky-Liners (1967) by Louis - Sackett's 13 L'amour Read Free Book Online

shouted.
    Before I could open my mouth to speak, Judith said, "How could he? He's been standing here talking to me!"
    That stopped them, and for the moment nobody thought to ask how long I'd been there. After that moment they never got the chance, because the marshal pushed by them.
    "What happened down there?" he asked me.
    "Sounded like some shooting. These boys say Tory Fetchen got killed."
    Just then Bat Masterson came up the steps. "Everything all right, Wyatt?" Then he saw me standing there at Judith's door. "Oh, hello, Sackett."
    Earp turned on him. "Do you know this man, Bat?"
    "Yes, I do. He brought Evan Hawkes's cattle in, and helped round up some strays. He's a friend of mine."
    Earp glanced down at my boots. "Mind if I look at your boots? The man who did that shooting had to come along behind the buildings. It's muddy there."
    I lifted one boot after the other. Both were as slick as though they'd never stepped on anything but a board floor.
    Colby Rafin was sore. He simply couldn't believe it. "He's lyin'!" he shouted. "It had to be him! Why, Tory was - "
    "Tory was what?" Masterson demanded. "Laying for him? Was that it?"
    It was Burr who spoke up. "Nothin' like that," he protested, "Tory just went after his horse."
    "At this hour?" Earp asked. "You mean he was riding out of town this late, with a storm brewing?"
    "Sure," Burr replied easily. "He was riding out to join some of our outfit."
    "Gentlemen," Earp said coldly, "before we ask any further questions or you give any more answers, let me tell you something. Your Friend Tory Fetchen wore new boots, boots with a very distinctive heel pattern. He left enough tracks down there at the stable for a man who was doing a lot of waiting, a man crouched down or standing beside one of the support posts. From those tracks, I'd say he was waiting for somebody and trying to keep out of sight. He was either nervous or he waited a long time. In any case, his gun was fired twice, and he was hit twice ... looked to me like a third shot cut the top of his coat's shoulder. We've no case against the man who shot him. Both men were armed, both were shooting. It's nothing but a matter of clearing up the details."
    "Just a question, gentlemen," Masterson said. "You came up here, apparently headed for Sackett's room. Did you have some idea of finishing the job Tory tried to do?"
    "Aw, it was nothing like that!" Burr Fetchen waved a careless hand. "Only we had some trouble back in Tennessee, and - "
    "Then I suggest you go back to Tennessee and settle it," Earp interrupted. "I won't have shooting in Dodge."
    "I give you my word, Marshal," I said, "I won't shoot unless I'm shot at."
    "That's fair enough, Sackett. All right, you boys go about your business. If there's any more trouble I'll lock you up."
    When they had gone, I said, "Judith, I'm sorry I got you into this."
    "You were standing here with me!" she insisted. "Why, I must have come out of my door just as those shots died away."
    She had been quick enough. The trouble is that a running man can cover a good distance, and folks just never calculate time as well as they think. In any event, she had stopped a nasty shooting in a crowded place where she or others might have been hurt, and for that much I was glad.
    "They didn't tell the truth," she said then. "Tory wasn't going out of town. He was going to have dinner with James and me."
    "Late for dinner, isn't it?"
    "James said he would be busy. He wanted to eat late. He said the restaurant would not be so crowded."
    'I'd better go," I said. I backed off a few steps. "If you change your mind, you can always come back and join us. We'll take you on to your pa."
    She smiled a little. "Flagan, I shall not change my mind. I love James, and he loves me."
    "You keep telling yourself that. Maybe after a while you'll come to believe it," I said.
    "Flagan Sackett, I - "
    Maybe it isn't right for a gentleman to walk away whilst a lady is talking, but I did. This was an argument where I was