Breath of the Feathered Serpent Read Online Free Page B

statue is blue. Maybe it’s some kinda code?”
    “I’ll just tuck it away safely...” The rest of Adam’s sentence was cut short when Madison interrupted.
    “Hello. Looks like we’re about to get some visitors.” Madison indicated several riders heading towards them. “Want to do your strong, silent act?” He pulled his pistol back out and held it loosely in his hand.
    “Sure. You talk. I’ll watch and listen.” Adam stood and turned slightly away from the approaching riders as he pressed one of the studs on his belt and activated a hidden switch. The copper stud dropped down, revealing a small compartment. Adam tucked the ring inside and pushed the stud back until it clicked into place.
    Keeping his gun ready and his hat pulled low, Adam lounged, apparently unconcerned, on a post just behind Madison. His sharp gaze picked out the sheriff’s badge. Interesting. Why would a sheriff bother riding all the way from town to an empty ranch?
    “Okay, boys. I’m Sheriff Jackson from Buzzard Hill. What’s happened here? Who’s he?”
    The sheriff looked middle age and lazy. A paunch stuck out like a shelf over his belt buckle. Adam didn’t see him as the type to leave his nice, comfy office unless forced. He’d share that observation with Madison later.
    “I’m Madison, and this is my cousin Adam. We’re just passing through, Sheriff, looking for some wrangling work. We heard there were a couple of ranches out here. Just our bad luck to hit the empty one first. Well, empty apart from him.” Madison indicated to the body with his foot.
    “You don’t know him?” Jackson asked, and his eyes narrowed.
    “Nope,” Madison replied. “If you’ve a mind to check, you’ll find two sweating horses over there. We only arrived a few minutes ago ourselves. We were looking for someone to see if we could rest here a while. He’s colder than the tits on a frigid witch.”
    Jackson grunted as he and one of his men checked over the body. He sent another one of his men to check on the horses. “Cold all right. Water must’ve been bad. You boys just got here?” Jackson peered at Madison and Adam in turn.
    “Yup,” Madison said.
    “Horses are like they said, Sheriff. They’re still cooling from a long ride.” The sheriff’s man sauntered back, taking his place with the others.
    Jackson nodded at his man and stared at Adam. “Your cousin doesn’t say much, does he?”
    “Nope.” Adam grumbled the word, barely glancing at the sheriff.
    “Well, if you’re drifters, I guess you boys’ll just keep on moving.” Jackson spoke to Madison, but his gaze was fixed on Adam. He dropped down onto one knee and patted the body, checking all the pockets. “You find anything here? To identify him?”
    “Not a thing,” Madison said, his voice a slow drawl. “And since there’s nothing here, we’ll probably just mosey into town. Maybe stay there for tonight. See the other ranches tomorrow.”
    “Nothing work wise at either of them,” Jackson said. “Better off if you keep on going.”
    “Well our funds are running low. So, we’ll try the ranches anyway. Maybe he worked for one of them.” Madison glanced down at the dead man. “They’ll be needing a new hand now, won’t they?”
    Adam smirked. It seemed Madison had hit a sore spot with the sheriff. One of the two remaining men still on their horses rode forward.
    “He’s not one of my men, so you needn’t bother coming to my ranch. As for the other one, they probably couldn’t afford you, even if they needed the help. My name’s Carter, Abel Carter. I own the biggest ranch around here, the Big A. Anyone else is just small potatoes and not worth wasting your time.”
    “You just let us be the judge of that.” Adam tilted his hat a fraction. He wanted to alert Madison that he felt something was off kilter with the sheriff and Carter and speaking up was a perfect way to do it. He glanced at his friend, who gave a barely perceptible nod. “We’ve nowhere