Ambush at Shadow Valley Read Online Free Page A

Either tell me where Suelo Soto and Nate Ransdale are headed, or I’ll feed you to them. You can spend your last minutes swinging from a limb.’’
    Hirsh let out a shallow breath and said, ‘‘All right, Ranger. That’s Ted Shala . . . you killed over there.’’ He gasped to catch his breath, then continued. ‘‘Soto, Ransdale and me were all . . . headed south, down through Sonora, going to lose ourselves.’’
    Sam stared at him, wondering if he should believe a word of it. ‘‘Sonora, huh?’’
    Hearing the ranger’s tone, Hirsh said, ‘‘It’s the truth, Ranger. I don’t owe . . . them two nothing.’’ His voice grew weaker as he spoke. ‘‘It was Soto’s idea . . . for me and Shala to gun you down. He could have . . . taken me with them, but no . . . he left us here.’’
    â€˜â€˜What’s in Sonora?’’ Sam asked.
    â€˜â€˜I expect I’ll . . . never know.’’ Hirsh gave a weak grin; blood trickled from his lips. ‘‘Will you . . . ?’’
    Sam and Hector watched the outlaw’s eyes glaze over and turn blank. Sam let his shotgun slump in his hands as he stepped over and took a closer look at the other dead man lying sprawled on the dirt floor, riddled with buckshot. ‘‘Obliged for your help, Hector,’’ he said over his shoulder as he opened the shotgun to replace the spent shell.
    â€˜â€˜You are welcome, Ranger,’’ Hector replied. He turned the big Winchester back and forth as he looked at it. As far as he was concerned the repeating rifle now belonged to him. ‘‘Do you think he is telling the truth about Sonora?’’
    â€˜â€˜He could be,’’ Sam replied, ‘‘but I wouldn’t count on it.’’
    â€˜â€˜When will you go after the other two?’’ Hector asked, cradling the rifle.
    â€˜â€˜As soon as I rest my stallion and find myself a good meal,’’ Sam said, hearing the men venture toward the blanketed doorway.
    â€˜â€˜Careful, boys,’’ Simon Gates said to the others in a gravelly voice. He held the front door blanket to the side and looked in, the coiled rope in his clenched fist. Inside the cantina, the men looked back and forth at the bodies on the dirt floor. ‘‘Hot damn, fellows,’’ Gates chuckled. ‘‘It looks like our own Hector Sandavol is a bonafide gunfighting hero.’’ He gestured his coiled rope toward the dead outlaws. ‘‘Let’s get this trash cleared out of here. I think the town of Valle Hermoso owes us all a drink.’’
    â€˜â€˜I have no time for drinking,’’ said Hector, turning toward the door. ‘‘My brother, Ramon, is lying dead in the street.’’
    â€˜â€˜I’ll give you a hand,’’ said Sam, following him out of the cantina.
    Giving the rest of the men an annoyed look, Gates called out, ‘‘Well, what are you all waiting for? Let’s give Hector a hand with his brother.’’

Chapter 2
    The ranger helped the young Mexican carry his brother off the street while Gates and the rest of the men followed close behind, carrying Valle Hermoso’s dead constable. The group stepped back and waited outside as Sam and Hector carried the body to a small plank-and-adobe shack where an elderly widow had quickly cleared a battered wooden table when she saw them coming. Two villagers laid the body of the elderly constable beside Ramon; then they backed out of the open doorway and joined Gates and the others.
    The old woman patted Hector’s shoulder in sympathy and left to fetch a gourd of water and a washcloth. Hector stared down at his brother’s body for a moment, then crossed himself and looked at the body of the old constable.
    â€˜â€˜This one’s name is Luis Gravis. He grew up here with our father.’’