Read Online the Rustlers Of West Fork (1951) by Louis - Hopalong 03 L'amour - Free Book Online

Thatcher's face was grim with triumph.
    "That'll give them somethin' to think about! Nobody ever faced "em successfully before. All the time they've been comin" it high an' mighty around town an' over the range, they've done about as they pleased.
    Been two or three killin's aroun', an' they plumb scared out most of the honest men. Each one is afraid if he bucks "em he'll be next.
    "Lost some stock?"
    "Some, but only small stuff. This outfit's deeper than that. I don't know what they've got in mind, but it won't be little."
    "Know anythin" about that bank robbery over to McClellan?" Thatcher looked quickly at Hopalong. "Know anything? No, I don't, but I've done some thinking. Those hombres got away slick as a whistle, an' believe me they weren't just ordinary thieves! They had a plan, an' a mighty shrewd one!"
    They rode on in silence until they came to the adobe ranch house of the T Bar. Diamond Creek flowed along a small canyon nearby, and there was little at the ranch but the rambling adobe house, the stables, bunkhouse, and corrals. However, they had been solidly constructed around a square and there was a huge log gate, carefully balanced, that dosed off the central square from the outside.
    The house was L-shaped, and with the bunkhouse it formed the end and two sides of the square, while the stables and corrals formed the opposite end. As the stables were also constructed of adobe and there were heavy plank troughs within the corrals, the place was admirably situated for defense against Apaches.
    "Come on us three, four times," Thatcher said, as Hopalong washed his hands in a tin basin. "We drove "em off each time. Lost a hand one time, though. He was caught outside. I been here ten years," he added, "an" don't aim to leave, short of they carry me. And I reckon what's left won't be worth the haul."
    The dining room was long and low-raftered, warmed by a huge fireplace and a potbellied stove. "Need a fire up here, even in the summertime, usually.
    Nighttime she cools off."
    A sturdy Mexican woman came in and began piling dishes on the table, and a few minutes later several hands trooped in and dropped to their seats.
    One and all, they merely glanced at Hopalong, then began eating. The food was good and wholesome.
    Hopalong had not realized how hungry he was, but the slab of steak he took was huge, and he returned for another helping when the platter went by him. The potatoes, beans, and rice were equally good. When he pushed back from the table, Sam Thatcher chuckled at him. "Don't you be cashin' in so soon!" he said. "This here Mexican woman I got bas learned one trick north of the border.
    She makes first-rate apple pie!" Hopalong promptly slid his chair back to the table and filled his coffee cup. One of the hands looked up.
    "Seen Barker t'day," the hand remarked. "He was sort of scoutin' the ranch. I reckoned he might be huntin' for you. All of us, we aimed to start out, when we seen you comin'."
    "Hope you got a good look at him," Thatcher said, "if you aim to remember him. You won't see ham no more."
    If he had shouted for attention he would have received it no faster. Not even the arrival of the apple pie distracted their attention. They stared from Sim Thatcher to Hopalong Cassidy, then back at Sim. A big redheaded puncher with a huge Adam's apple was first to demand an explanation. Coolly, ignoring their pleading eyes, Thatcher cut into the apple pie with his fork. It was all of two and a half inches thick, and juicy. Hopalong's mouth watered, and he went to work on his own. Each slab was a quarter of a pie.
    Few Western ranchers ever considered cutting a pie into more than four pieces.
    Thatcher chewed quietly, then stirred his coffee and tasted it. The punchers stared at him sadly.
    Finally the redhead spoke again. "Aw right," he said, "I give in. What happened?"
    "Barker," Thatcher said, smacking his lips over the pie, "had some words with us. My friend here declared himself in. Then Barker made a