business.
To his surprise, rather than jerk away from him, screaming, she suddenly turned to face him, throwing her arms around his thick neck and burying her face in his chest. Her firm breasts pushed against his belly, stirring the strong-willed old snake lurking in his trousers.
âPlease donât let them have me, sir,â she pleaded, shoulders quivering. âIâm all alone up hereâjust a poor girl from Pinecone working in Mr. Cableâs fine bank to help support my family, and I thought I was doing right by testifying against those privy rats. They killed Mr. Lewis, after all!â
âMr. Lewis?â
âThe vice president and chief loan officer,â she said. âShot him right before my eyes. Even sprayed my blouse with blood !â She sobbed hysterically, finally catching her breath a little. âAnd now . . . and now they want to do the same to me, but even worse !â A few more sobs as she soaked the front of Longarmâs shirt and vest with salty tears. âAnd no one . . . no one can save me !â
âAh, now, that ainât true, neither, miss,â Longarm said, gently rocking the girl and patting her fragile back. âThatâs what they sent me here to doâto see that you make it back down the mountains to your home in Pineconeâand thatâs exactly what Iâm gonna do.â
He glanced over at Deputy Panabaker staring at him, the kidâs brows furled jealously.
âDeputy, go pick me anâ Miss Pritchard out two of the finest horses in town. Speedsters with bottom and hearts like Baldwin locomotives.â
The young deputyâs expression turned incredulous. âAinât you gonna wait on the train?â
âThey clear the tracks yet?â
âShould be clear by tomorrow. We just got word this morninâ.â
Longarm shook his head. âMe and Miss Pritchard are lighting out this afternoon. Weâre gonna find a back way to Pinecone, and hightail it. If that gang is only five miles awayâI donât care how much fun theyâre having, theyâll be ridinâ in to find out what happened to those three in the street real soon. Besides, as slow as the trains are in this neck of the mountains, theyâd run us down before their horses broke out in sweats.â
Miss Pritchard lifted her head from Longarmâs chest. âWhat are you proposing?â
âWeâre gonna make a run for it.â
âMe?â She pulled her body away from his and crossed her arms on her breasts as though to cover them. âHow do I know I can trust you?â
âI donât reckon it much matters. My assignment is to see you safely home, and thatâs what I intend to do. Whatâre you just standinâ there for, Leroy? Fetch those hossesâbest ones in town. I donât care who ownsâemâthis is federal business and Uncle Sam will pay for âem. And weâre gonna need a bag of grubâwhatever you can find. Coffee and jerky oughta do it.â
The boy stood in front of the door, looking indignant.
Longarm said, âOh, and fetch me a few boxes of .44 shells, too, will you?â He scowled. âLeroyâhave you gone deaf on me, son?â
The scowl lines deepened in the kidâs face. âI . . . well . . . I ainât your errand boy, Marshal Long. Meâwell, hell, Iâm a deputy town marshal! And now I reckon, since Marshal Scobie done rode over the Divide, Iâm head lawman of the entire town of Snow Mound.â He puffed up his chest a little and thrust out his chin. âYes, sir! I ainât your errand boy.â
Longarm stood, trying to keep from blowing his stack. âI do apologize, ki . . . I mean, Marshal Panabaker. Seeinâ as how weâre short on time and we want to get the young lady to safety as soon as possible, do you think you could maybe help me out? I donât know the layout of the town, you see, and . .
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