Soldier of the Horse Read Online Free

various projects, and didn’t hesitate to maintain order with his fists or whatever tool came to hand. Sometimes Tom, as the boss’s son, was sent to collect teamsters from back alleys in the North End where they were sleeping off the effects of a night’s carousing. Still drunk or angry men sometimes took a swing at him and the fight would be on. But Tom reasoned that bare-knuckle brawling was not a requirement for a law career and might even interfere with it, so he did his best to avoid trouble.
    He took a deep breath and contented himself by exploring the back of the Evans lawn, which looked out on the Assiniboine River. The sight of the grey-brown river, slowing to flow into the Red two miles downstream, calmed him until the punch bowl once again beckoned. Inkmann had moved on and was nowhere to be seen.
    The sun had slipped down behind trees to the west, and some of the guests, as if responding to its pull, were leaving. Tom saw a group of young people, mostly men, around Ellen and her friend. One of the uniformed men was Bill Reagan, whom he knew from university.
    He walked over and noticed that Bill stood face to face with Ellen, which puzzled him. Bill was several inches shorter than Tom.
    Ellen said something to Bill that Tom didn’t hear.
    â€œFort Garry Horse,” Bill responded. “It’s a reserve unit, but we’re being brought up to full strength in order to be ready to go overseas as soon as possible. Cavalry.”
    â€œCavalry?” Tom butted in. “The papers say there’s no place for cavalry in modern warfare.”
    â€œNonsense.” Bill snorted as if he were a horse himself. “Mounted soldiers are very mobile.” He added with a laugh, “And at least I’ll go to war like a gentleman. On horseback.”
    â€œA gentleman? Guess that lets me out,” Tom joked, and was rewarded by appreciative chuckles.
    He saw that Bill was standing on a flat stone, one of several that bordered a flower bed. No wonder he was eyeball to eyeball with Ellen. When he teetered a little, Tom reached up with his right hand, grasped the back of Bill’s tunic and pulled him down off his perch. He put his arm around his friend’s shoulders and grinned at Ellen.
    â€œNow where did Bill go?” Ellen laughed. “I could have sworn I was just talking to him.”
    â€œOh, Bill is right here. He always lands on his feet, even if he falls from a great height.”
    â€œAnd what about you, Tom Macrae? Do you always land on your feet?”
    â€œAlways. And I’ve got nowhere to go but up.”
    Ellen gave him a frank look and smiled. “You must tell me about it some day. But I see Daddy waving, and I have guests to say goodbye to. I do want to hear all about Bloody Jack Kravenko and Henry Zink, though.”
    She gave a little wave of her hand, which might have been an embrace, given its effect on Tom as he watched her walk away. He had felt lightheaded earlier; now he figured it was a miracle his feet remained on the ground.
    Miss Ellen Evans wanted to see him again.
    â™¦Â Â â™¦Â Â â™¦
    Tom’s reveries were interrupted by the sound of John Evans’s voice out in the courthouse hall, talking to the policemen. Evans came back into the interview room, closed the door behind him, and sat across the table from Tom. His face was haggard, as if he, too, hadn’t slept well.
    â€œI’m willing to help in a limited fashion, but after today I have worries of my own.”
    â€œI don’t want . . .”
    Evans cut Tom off with a raised hand. “I’m going to bring you up to date, then you can decide what you want to do. As you know, Bloody Jack is on the run. He escaped using a gun smuggled in to him by persons unknown.” Evans gave Tom a sharp glance. Tom was annoyed at the unspoken question, but at the same time he was amused at Evans’s tone, which would have been more in keeping with an