Read Online THE DODGE CITY MASSACRE (A Jess Williams Novel.) by Robert J. Thomas - Free Book Online
Authors: Robert J. Thomas
Ads: Link
you let me pick out three other men out of our bunch and let me go into Dodge City and kill those two,” insisted Heath Durrand.
“Didn’t you hear me? Twelve men! Any two men that can take out that many men in a gunfight is just too damn good to mess around with, especially when we ambushed them at night! Hell, the truth is, they ain’t really hurting my bottom line so I’m not letting any of my hired guns with any bounty on their heads go into town until those two leave. Let them kill off the other rancher’s hired guns or gunslingers that drift in and out of Dodge City. Hell, I have a lot less men on the payroll now because of those two and that is actually saving me some money.”
“Well, I hope you’ll change your mind and if you do, I’ll be willing to go into town and kill those two,” replied Heath Durrand.
“Don’t hold your breath waiting and make sure you stay out of town since you have a bounty on your head, you hear me. If you go into town, I’ll fire you before you can get back here, that is if you live to do so.”
Heath Durrand had a temper and he was mad as hell. Three of the twelve men that Jess and Bodine killed were personal friends of his. They actually rode with Durrand for a year before they all hired on with Manny Welch, but Welch paid good wages and Durrand knew that he would make good on his promise to fire him. He would have to think about whether or not revenge was worth losing the best job he ever had. He walked out of Welch’s office and over to the bunkhouse to let the rest of the men know what Welch’s orders were. The ones with bounties on their head were upset since they couldn’t go into town anymore, but the ones without bounties didn’t really care either way.
XXX
Hal Dixon received word about six months ago regarding the death of his brother, Galt Dixon, at the hands of a young man by the name of Jess Williams. Hal Dixon knew it was a fair fight, but that mattered little to him, Galt was still his brother and he was obliged to avenge his death. Hal Dixon taught his brother Galt everything he knew about using a six-shooter. He was faster than Galt had been and since he decided to hunt down Jess Williams, he had been practicing every day to increase his hand speed. He had been to Buford, Clarence, Devil Ridge, Abilene and Wichita, Kansas looking for Jess William, but he just couldn’t seem to catch up with him. He even tried Black Creek, Kansas, but no one would even talk to him about Jess Williams. While he was in Devil Ridge, he found the poster that Henry Stidham had sent out to every town he could, notifying people about the ten thousand dollars in blood bounty for the death of Jess Williams, which only made Hal Dixon want to catch up with Jess Williams all the more. Ten thousand dollars was enough money to let a man retire for life.
Hal had finally found himself in Dodge City. He had heard about Jess Williams being there and engaged in bounty hunting men who were working for some of the rich ranchers there. He arrived the day after the shootout between Jess and Bodine and the twelve men that Manny Welch had sent into town to ambush Jess and Bodine. He took a room at a different hotel since the construction had begun to fix the damage from the shootout and it was quite noisy. After he checked in, he walked over to the sheriff’s office to ask the whereabouts of Jess Williams.
He walked into the sheriff’s office and found two deputies sitting inside. Justin Watts and Conner Landon were still going through wanted posters checking on the twelve men to see if there was any bounty on their heads when Hal Dixon walked in. They both looked up and immediately knew that this man was a seasoned gunslinger.
“What can we do for you, Mister?”
“Didn’t you hear me? Twelve men! Any two men that can take out that many men in a gunfight is just too damn good to mess around with, especially when we ambushed them at night! Hell, the truth is, they ain’t really hurting my bottom line so I’m not letting any of my hired guns with any bounty on their heads go into town until those two leave. Let them kill off the other rancher’s hired guns or gunslingers that drift in and out of Dodge City. Hell, I have a lot less men on the payroll now because of those two and that is actually saving me some money.”
“Well, I hope you’ll change your mind and if you do, I’ll be willing to go into town and kill those two,” replied Heath Durrand.
“Don’t hold your breath waiting and make sure you stay out of town since you have a bounty on your head, you hear me. If you go into town, I’ll fire you before you can get back here, that is if you live to do so.”
Heath Durrand had a temper and he was mad as hell. Three of the twelve men that Jess and Bodine killed were personal friends of his. They actually rode with Durrand for a year before they all hired on with Manny Welch, but Welch paid good wages and Durrand knew that he would make good on his promise to fire him. He would have to think about whether or not revenge was worth losing the best job he ever had. He walked out of Welch’s office and over to the bunkhouse to let the rest of the men know what Welch’s orders were. The ones with bounties on their head were upset since they couldn’t go into town anymore, but the ones without bounties didn’t really care either way.
XXX
Hal Dixon received word about six months ago regarding the death of his brother, Galt Dixon, at the hands of a young man by the name of Jess Williams. Hal Dixon knew it was a fair fight, but that mattered little to him, Galt was still his brother and he was obliged to avenge his death. Hal Dixon taught his brother Galt everything he knew about using a six-shooter. He was faster than Galt had been and since he decided to hunt down Jess Williams, he had been practicing every day to increase his hand speed. He had been to Buford, Clarence, Devil Ridge, Abilene and Wichita, Kansas looking for Jess William, but he just couldn’t seem to catch up with him. He even tried Black Creek, Kansas, but no one would even talk to him about Jess Williams. While he was in Devil Ridge, he found the poster that Henry Stidham had sent out to every town he could, notifying people about the ten thousand dollars in blood bounty for the death of Jess Williams, which only made Hal Dixon want to catch up with Jess Williams all the more. Ten thousand dollars was enough money to let a man retire for life.
Hal had finally found himself in Dodge City. He had heard about Jess Williams being there and engaged in bounty hunting men who were working for some of the rich ranchers there. He arrived the day after the shootout between Jess and Bodine and the twelve men that Manny Welch had sent into town to ambush Jess and Bodine. He took a room at a different hotel since the construction had begun to fix the damage from the shootout and it was quite noisy. After he checked in, he walked over to the sheriff’s office to ask the whereabouts of Jess Williams.
He walked into the sheriff’s office and found two deputies sitting inside. Justin Watts and Conner Landon were still going through wanted posters checking on the twelve men to see if there was any bounty on their heads when Hal Dixon walked in. They both looked up and immediately knew that this man was a seasoned gunslinger.
“What can we do for you, Mister?”
Similar Books
