Absaroka Ambush Read Online Free

up this country. Neither you, nor I, can even come close to understanding the hardships and mind-numbing deprivations they have stoically endured over the years. There is no law past this point, Lieutenant. None except what powder and shot the individual carries with him. There are no courts of law. Past this point, it is a hard and violent land, where life is cheap and death can be either quick or terribly long and painful. You don’t know the breed of men called mountain man. And I scarcely know much about them. But I do know this: crowd them and they’ll hurt you. The best advice I can give you all is to keep your mouths shut and your ears wide open.”
    The president’s man swung into the saddle and rode after Preacher and the others.
    â€œIt’s going to be a very interesting journey,” a young soldier said.
    â€œSergeant Scott,” Lieutenant Worthington said, after withering the young man silent with a hard look, “mount the men.”

Three
    Preacher and his friends sat their horses in a line on a ridge and stared openmouthed at the scene before them. None of them had ever seen anything like it, and had nothing with which to compare it. Before them there were more women than any of the men had ever seen gathered in one place. And when the mountain men came into view, all the women fell silent and heads turned to look at the mountain men on the rise above them.
    â€œI think,” Steals Pony broke the silence, his voice mirroring his inner shock at the sight of so many women, “that I should prefer to be elsewhere.”
    â€œWell, you ain’t,” Preacher told him. “But I do know what you’re talkin’ about.”
    â€œThere must be a thousand females down yonder,” Snake said.
    â€œOne hundred and thirty-five,” the president’s man said, riding up behind the mountain men. “With fifteen more due in sometime today or tomorrow.”
    â€œHow many wagons?” Charlie Burke asked.
    â€œSixty-five.”
    â€œGod have mercy on us all,” Blackjack muttered.
    â€œThere is a female journalist among the ladies, coming along to chronicle the event.”
    â€œA journal-whichilist to do what?” Ned asked.
    â€œA writer to keep a diary.”
    â€œOh. Why?”
    â€œIt will be printed in newspapers back east.” He smiled. “You gentlemen are about to be famous.”
    Preacher grunted. “Stay here,” he told his friends. He flipped the lead rope to his packhorse to Snake. “Hold onto that for me, Snake.”
    â€œWhat are you gonna do?” Snake asked.
    â€œI’m gonna go down there.”
    â€œYou be careful, Preacher,” Charlie told him. “Them females look man-hungry to me. They grab you, you’ll disappear amongst all them petticoats and paint and powder and they’ll wear you down to a shadder. There won’t be enough of you left to bury.”
    â€œYou want me to tie you into the saddle?” Steals Pony asked.
    â€œNow, gentlemen,” the president’s man said with a smile. “Those are ladies down there. They were all carefully chosen from hundreds of applicants. Many of those ladies come from fine old respectable families.”
    â€œAnd some of ’em are bound to have come from whorehouses,” Preacher added. “But that don’t make no difference to me. I got to eyeball ’em all up close.”
    â€œI’ll pray for you,” Blackjack said.
    Snake looked at the huge mountain man. “You— pray?”
    â€œI prayed a-plenty when them goddamn Utes had me back in ’31. You can bet on that.”
    Lieutenant Worthington and his detachment had ridden up. “You probably antagonized them,” Rupert said. “I was taught that the Utes were very friendly toward the white man.”
    â€œYou shore have a lot to learn, sonny-boy,” Snake told him. “Utes is like any other Injun tribe. They’re all