Wanted! Belle Starr! by J.T. Edson Read Free Book Online Page B

the
‘Duchness’ gasped.
    “ Very well indeed,” Belle
confirmed and raised her left hand in a prohibitive fashion as
Emily was about to speak. “No, do not try to pretend the innocent
with me. Our families have done business together for many years
and he told me what had happened when we met down the railroad
track. That is why I brought ‘Manuel’ and sought you out, to get
back all he lost to you. Now make up your mind muy pronto, my dear
‘Duchess’. The longer you delay, the less chance there is of your
husband recovering from the effects of the poison.”
    “ D—Do as she says, Emily!”
the ‘Duke’ commanded, his face now gray with fear. He did not doubt
for one moment, so convincingly had Belle acted, that a person of
‘Señora Donna Maria Constanza del Santa Rosa’s’ kind would take
such extreme measures to retrieve money out of which a business
associate had been cheated. Being equally certain that the
‘Brazilian’ beauty and her part-Indian ‘husband’ were what they
claimed and believing his life was in mortal peril, he went on, “Oh
my god!”
    “ What is it?” the
“Duchness’ gasped.
    “ I—I feel d dizzy!”
Chauvelin croaked.
    Waiting to hear no more,
Emily dashed from the room.

Chapter Eight – What Was On That Spike
    “ Well, I’ll be switched!”
the Ysabel Kid announced, returning the borrowed Webley Royal Irish
Constabulary revolver to its shoulder holster on catching up with
Belle Starr. He had been keeping the mansion under observation for
a few minutes after they had taken their departure. “Dusty was
right.”
    “ What about?” the lady
outlaw inquired.
    Having collected all the money from the
table and received the loot belonging to General Jackson Baines
‘Ole Devil’ Hardin and Andrew Bullstrode which the Chauvelins had
had in another room, as Belle had suspected would be the case, she
had ordered the ‘Duchess of Haute-Savoie’ to accompany herself and
‘Manuel’ to the front door. On crossing the threshold without
interference by the other members of the gang, or giving any
indication that she was not ‘Señora Donna Maria Constanza del Santa
Rosa,’ she had handed over the bottle of thick dark brown liquid.
Then, as Emily had fled back to the dining-room to administer the
antidote without further delay, she had closed and locked the door.
While the Kid, at his own suggestion, had remained in case there
should be any attempt at pursuit, she had set off towards the
business section of the town in which their hotel was situated. She
had been confident that, should they be followed there later, the
men who came would be deterred when learning the ‘Brazilian’ beauty
and her ‘husband’ were in the company of Captain Dustine Edward
Marsden ‘Dusty’ Fog and other members of the OD Connected ranch’s
already legendary floating outfit.
    “ He reckoned when he loaned me
this newfangled itty-bitty stingy gun’s how a man could kill
somebody with it like it was my ole Dragoon thumb-buster and, seems
like, you can at that,” the Indian-dark young Texan
explained. xii Then, putting aside his invariable
pretense of having no faith in any kind of handgun except his
massive, yet already, obsolete revolver, he reported, “Anyways,
there ain’t nobody of ’em coming a-hunting after us for
evens.”
    “ That was your sneaky
Pehnane Comanch’ idea, I never thought there would be,” the lady
outlaw answered, gesturing with the reticule which was now bulging
with the money acquired from the ‘Duke and Duchess of Haute-Savoie’
and their reduced gang. “Not even for this.”
    “ Well, blast it!” the Kid
protested. “You didn’t say’s how I shouldn’t need to keep
watch!”
    “ Seeing how eager you were
to do it, I didn’t want to be so mean as to spoil your fun,” Belle
claimed, with a smile, “After all, you men always know
best.”
    “ I’d be the last to say,
‘no’ to that,” asserted the Texan. “Anyways, we pulled it off