Read Online Oliver Strange - Sudden Westerns 02 - Sudden(1933) by Oliver Strange - Free Book Online Page A

“Lot
o’ grief that would ‘a’ caused, wouldn’t it?” the boy asked bitterly.
                 “I
dunno,” Sudden told him; “but I reckon that with skunks like that around Miss
Purdie needs all her friends.”
                 His
chance shot hit the mark; this aspect of the matter brought a quick flush to
Burdette’s cheeks. “I hadn’t looked at it thataway,” he admitted, and pointing
to an unoccupied table in a far corner of the room, added, “Can I have a word
with yu?”
                 For
some moments after they were seated the boy was silent, his moody eyes staring
into vacancy. Then, in a low, strained voice, he began to talk:
                 “Just
now yu saved my life, an’ I expect I didn’t seem none too grateful. Well, I wasn’t, an’ I’m goin’ to tell yu why. Pretty near
everybody in town figures I killed Kit Purdie; some are sayin’ it openly,
others think it but dasn’t say so till they know how
my brothers are goin’ to take it. My refusin’ to draw on Chris has got around,
an’ is regarded as a confession o’ guilt. I wish I’d pulled an’ let him get me.”
                 “That
ain’t no way to talk. What do yore brothers think?”
                 The
boy flushed angrily. “They allow I did it,” he blurted out.
                 Sudden
nodded comprehendingly. “It suits them,” he pointed out. “I understand they’ve
been tryin’ to get Purdie to r’ar up for some time.”
                 “I’m
done with ‘em—when King told me this mornin’ to pull my freight from the Circle
B he said somethin’ he can’t ever take back,” Luce said passionately. “Ramon
musta knowed ‘bout that, or he’d never ‘a’ had the
nerve to frame me. Yu shore yu didn’t get a blink at the fella who fired the
shot?”
                 “If
I had I’d ‘a’ put a crimp in his getaway.”
                 “Yu
don’t think it was me?”
                 “No,
an’ I told Purdie so.”
                 Burdette’s
face cleared a little. “Thank yu,” he said gratefully. “That’s two friends I got.”
                 Sudden
fancied he could have named the other, but what he said was, “What yu aimin’ to
do?”
                 “Stick
around an’ clear myself,” Luce said. “I’ll be at the hotel if yu want me any
time. I—I’d like to see yu,” he finished with boyish eagerness.
                 “I’ll
be along,” the puncher promised. “Mebbe we can help one another.”
                 “Shore,
but get me right,” Luce insisted. “Though the Burdettes have shook me I’m not
roundin’ on ‘em nohow, but”—he grinned mirthlessly—“I ain’t related to their
outfit. yu’ll have to watch out for those hombres, an’
that half-breed, Ramon, is pure pizen. ‘Fraid I’ve fetched yu right up against
Ol’ Man Trouble.”
                 “ Him an’ me have met afore, an’ yu’ll notice I’m still here,”
the puncher smiled.
                 When
the boy had gone, Sudden drifted over to the bar, and Magee pushed forward a
bottle, a look of perplexity on his face.
                 “Shure
I can’t foller your play, sorr,” he said. “ ye’re a C P
man, an’ ye save the loife of a Burdette; that’ll puzzle Purdie, I’m thinkin’.”
                 Sudden
looked at him quizzically. “I start with the C P to-morrow mornin’,” he pointed
out, “an’ Luce finished with the Circle B to-day. Yes, sir, his family has
turned him down cold.”
                 The
landlord whistled. “Odd that,” he commented. “The Greaser knew av it too, or
he’d niver ‘a’ dared raise a hand to a Burdette.” He sipped his drink
contemplatively. “So Luce is at outs wid his brothers, eh? Well, he was allus
different to the rest av thim, an’ I’ve seen