Read Online Kill Dusty Fog by J. T. Edson - Free Book Online

gone. Even the hope that his escort would take advantage of their captors’ preoccupation, jump and overcome them, did not materialize. All Glock’s men sat under guard, staring with open-mouthed amazement and apparently frozen into immobility by the ease with which the small Texan had mastered the hitherto unmanageable stallion.
    ‘My bet, I reckon,’ Dusty drawled, halting the horse. Swinging his left leg forward and over the saddle horn, he dropped to the ground at the bay’s right side. ‘Sandy, put my rig back on the black.’
    ‘And see you take it off the bay from the Indian-side,’ Red advised, grinning as he took the bag of money from Glock’s limp hand.
    ‘ Indian -side?’ Hoffinger repeated.
    ‘Why sure,’ Dusty said. ‘Didn’t you fellers notice that the Indians always saddle-up and mount from the right, instead of at the left like white folks?’
    ‘I didn’t,’ Hoffinger began. ‘From the ri— But that means—’
    ‘Yeah,’ agreed Dusty. ‘Every time your men tried to saddle it from the left, they spooked it. Trying to use a bit made things worse. Indians don’t use ‘em.’
    ‘Way you took on,’ Red continued, ‘I reckon you figured Dusty’d rile it up by putting a rope ‘round its neck.’
    ‘I did,’ Hoffinger admitted, surprised to learn that the youngster had read his emotions so well.
    ‘An Indian breaks his horse by roping it and choking it down,’ Red explained. ‘That’s rough on the horse and after he’s felt it a couple of times he learns better’n fight against a running noose. After the horse gets over being choked down, the Injun fusses it a mite and blows into its nostrils. Damned if I know why, but doing that quietens it down and lets him know the feller doing it’s his friend.’
    ‘You still took a risk, Captain Fog,’ Hoffinger pointed out. ‘Even counting on us not knowing which side to saddle and mount from, the Pawnee chief could have been lying about it being fully saddle-broken.’
    ‘Indians don’t do a heap of lying,’ Dusty answered. ‘And I figured it was near on certain he hadn’t, the bay being a chief’s gift for General Trumpeter.’
    ‘I’m afraid that I still don’t understand.’
    ‘Figure it this way. That chief’s got plenty of horses to sell and’s likely getting a better price from you than he could any other place—’
    ‘The price is adequate, I admit, but I still don’t follow your reasoning.’
    ‘It’s easy enough,’ Dusty told him. ‘The chief wants to keep General Trumpeter friendly and eager to buy more horses. So he sends along a gift. Now he doesn’t know how good a rider the general is, so he figures not to take chances. The horse he picks looks good, has some spirit, but’s real easy and gentle to ride. That’s the way I saw it and reckoned I could win the bet easy. The South can use a thousand dollars in Yankee gold, only I coudn’t take it from a civilian by force, now could I?’
    ‘Well, I’m damned!’ Hoffinger croaked. ‘You’ve slickered me, Captain Fog!’
    ‘They do say it’s hell when it happens to you,’ Dusty replied with a grin. ‘I want to pull out in fifteen minutes, Cousin Red.’
    ‘Yo!’ Red replied and walked away grinning.
    Once again Cousin Dusty had pulled it off. Sure Red and Billy Jack knew how Indians trained and mounted their horses; but neither of them had thought out a way to put their knowledge to use. Dusty had done so and gained a large sum of money for which the Confederate States’ Secret Service could probably find a purpose. What was more, he had done it in a way which the Yankee newspapers could not call robbing a civilian. Glock and the others were sure to talk of the bet on their return and would be believed no matter how the Union tried to prevent it.
    In fifteen minutes, the Company was ready to march. Smiling, Hoffinger held out his hand to the small Texan who had bested him.
    ‘I hope General Trumpeter’s not too riled at you for losing the