Read Online Ransom by Frank Roderus - Free Book Online Page B

we should start looking?”
    Taylor shook his head. He settled back on the bench in front of the barbershop and crossed his legs. “‘Course I don’t know. But I’m thinking we might could get a hint or two.”
    â€œHow are we supposed to do that?”
    â€œMister, I’ve trailed lost cows half my life. Deer, elk, all them. I know how to follow a trail.”
    â€œWhat trail do you have it in mind to follow, cowboy?” Dick sneered.
    â€œDon’t got one yet, o’ course, but think about it. They won’t’ve rode the stagecoach outta town. Aren’t likely to’ve showed themselves out on the public roads neither. Which means they likely cut back toward the mountains.” He gestured over his shoulder in the general direction of the snowcapped peaks that lay to the west, far higher than the relatively tame mountains that were situated east of Thom’s Valley.
    â€œWhy that direction?” Dick asked.
    â€œâ€˜Cause it’s the quickest way to get outta sight. Once they get up into the hills, they can’t be seen from the flats. Once they get into those mountains, they can lose themselves for months at a time. Over that way”—he pointed to the east—“there’s folks moving around. Running cows and sheep and such. No, sir, to them mountains west of here. That’s sure the way I’d head if I wanted to hide somebody I wasn’t supposed to have hold of.”
    â€œAll right, let’s say you can find a trail. Then what?”Dick was still skeptical, all the more so because it was John Taylor who was proposing the plan.
    Taylor’s eyes glinted and his lips compressed to a thin line. “Then we kill the sons of bitches.”
    Dick supposed that he should object to that comment. He did not.
    * * *
    â€œI’m gonna go borrow me a horse from the livery an’ start scouting around. It’s best to do that before the sun gets too high.” Dick seemed to be puzzled, so Taylor added, “When the sun is shinin’ on a slant, it causes shadows, makes it easier to spot tracks.”
    â€œOh. I . . . suppose that makes sense. You don’t have a horse? I see you riding through town all the time.”
    â€œMister, you got a lot to learn. A working hand has got no business owning his own horse. They’re convenient but they have to be sheltered and fed whether they’re earning their keep or not. Cowhands ride the horses of whatever outfit they happen to be working for.”
    â€œI never knew that.”
    â€œThere’s a lot o’ things you don’t know, Hahn.” Taylor scowled, then said, “While I’m gone you’d best get us some supplies. You can say . . . hell, I dunno. You’re the liar, not me. Make something up. Just make sure nobody ends up wondering what we’re up to. You got any guns?”
    â€œShotguns,” Dick admitted.
    â€œYou got a spare that I can carry?” Taylor asked.
    â€œYes, I have my everyday shotgun and I have a rather special custom gun too. You don’t have a gun? No kind of gun?”
    â€œMister, I do odd jobs around town that I need a hammer an’ saw for and I do day work with cows. For them I need a saddle and a rope. But I don’t need a gun for any of it.”
    â€œThat surprises me. I always thought—”
    â€œNever mind all the shit you’ve thought that isn’t so. Are both your shotguns the same size?”
    Hahn nodded. “They’re both twelve gauge.”
    â€œFine,” Taylor said. “Get a bunch of shells for that size. Couple boxes anyway. Single-ought buck would be good. You can say you’re going deer hunting with some fellas from over in Cauley. One thing, though.”
    â€œWhat’s that?”
    â€œI don’t got much money. You’ll have to foot the bill.”
    Dick’s chin lifted and he looked Taylor straight in the eye. “This is for