Novel 1966 - Kid Rodelo (v5.0) Read Online Free Page A

ground. “These strangers gave me a lift. Mighty kind of them.”
    He had underlined the word “strangers” just a little, and Sam understood. He glanced at them, smiling. “Reckon you boys could do with a bit of something.”
    “You got some whiskey?” Jake asked.
    “Best in town,” Sam said. He struggled to his feet and lumbered through the door ahead of them. “Can’t say I’ve got much competition.”
    Placing two glasses and a bottle before them, he then glanced at the girl. “And you, ma’am, a spot of coffee?”
    “Show me where it is and I’ll make it.”
    “Right through the door, ma’am. You’ll find everything easy to hand.”
    “You carry quite a stock for a ghost town,” the man called Clint commented.
    “We ain’t as lonesome here as a body would think. Lots of cattlemen, and sometimes there’s one of them Arizona Rangers or some Wells Fargo man…prospectors too, and the like of that.”
    “I didn’t think there was anything between here and the Gulf.”
    “There ain’t. Port Isabel down there ships some beef stock. That’s about it.” He nodded his head toward the desert. “Most God-forsaken country on earth.”
    Sam refilled the glasses. “Have one on the house. Always like comp’ny, and any friend of Dan’s is a friend of mine.” He glanced at them, his eyes innocent. “Plenty of accommodation in this town, such as it is. Where you from mister?”
    “Flagstaff,” Clint replied.
    Jake shifted his weight and glanced irritably at Clint.
    “Ain’t much worth seein’ down here unless you’re prospectin’,” Sam said.
    “Anything wrong with that?”
    “You know your own business.”
    “That we do, old-timer.” Jake tossed off his drink. “Let’s go, Clint,” he said.
    “You ain’t had your coffee yet.”
    “That was for Nora—Nora Paxton. If she wants coffee, let her have it. I want to find a place to bed down.”
    “I’d better see if the lady needs help.” Sam turned toward the door at the back of the bar but Jake stepped in front of him. “I’ll do that, mister.”
    Dan Rodelo sat very still. He had found a kitchen chair near the other end of the bar and had seated himself, keeping out of the way, but with everything within range of his vision. He could hear the faint murmur of voices from the kitchen but he could not distinguish what they were saying.
    Nora was standing by the stove when Jake Andrews entered. “We’re goin’ to look around and find that ’dobe,” he said. “We don’t want anybody over that way, d’you hear?”
    “I’ll do what I can.”
    “Just be damn sure you don’t do too much. I don’t know who that man is, but I don’t like him. And he’s fresh out of Yuma.”
    Nora Paxton looked at him sharply. “That’s where Joe Harbin is!”
    “You’re right. How do we know this gent ain’t a friend of Joe’s? You be careful.”
    As Jake went out she filled a cup, and took the cup and the coffee pot into the other room.
    Dan Rodelo was on his feet. She looked at him, seeing him in the light for the first time; she had not dared to notice him while Jake Andrews and Clint Wilson were near.
    He was tall, a wide-shouldered, easy-moving young man with a dark, lean face and high cheekbones. He was well dressed for a man just out of prison, so they must be clothes he had when he went in.
    “I’d better be findin’ a place to bed down myself,” Rodelo said.
    “So soon? The party is just beginning,” Nora said.
    “What party?”
    “The one we’re going to have.” She put the cup down in front of him, and placed the pot on the table. “I’ll get some more cups.” Turning, she saw the guitar on the shelf. “Do you play that, Sam?”
    “A mite…when I’m by myself. Dan here, he used to play almighty well. How about it, Dan?”
    “Not now,” said Rodelo.
    Outside in the street Clint had walked to the wagon and picked up a lantern, raised the globe, and struck a match to the wick. The first match went out, the second