The Gallows Gang Read Online Free Page A

say,without questioning me.’
    ‘Yes, sir ,’ Shackleton snapped. ‘And what are my orders now, sir?’
    Kurt stared at Shackleton for several seconds to ensure he knew he’d noticed his sarcasm, then he gestured down the ridge.
    ‘Demonstrate that local knowledge you’re so proud of. Decide on the direction Pablo is most likely to come from, then lie in wait for him. If you guess right, capture him and hold him until I arrive.’
    Shackleton nodded, then turned to go, but he’d had to swallow a lot of pride over the last few days to stay involved with this mission and the urge to speak his mind became too great. He turned back.
    ‘Before I go, I’ll say this – you’re a fool.’ This act of open defiance made the rest of Kurt’s men look up in shock. ‘We could have got Javier Rodriguez to Bear Creek without any trouble if we’d done this my way, but riding openly down Devil’s Canyon is inviting disaster, and hiring Hiram Deeds was utter madness.’
    Shackleton could have gone on to detail everything Kurt had done wrong in setting up this mission, but Kurt’s sneer said it’d fall on deaf ears, so he turned away, giving the marshal no chance for a retort. Now he welcomed the opportunity to spend time with the two-man team he’d worked with for the last three years.
    With his head down he snaked along the top of the ridge to join Barney Clarke and Elwood Brown.
    The two men noted Shackleton’s firm-jawedexpression and each cast a smiling glance at the other, acknowledging their own thoughts about Kurt and his methods. Then they settled down to await darkness.
    An hour later they made their move.
    Elwood pointed out their destination and route in a silent and quick manner that only people who have worked together for years could understand.
    Then they made their way down from the ridge and into a winding gully that came out 400 yards from the edge of the canyon and slightly further away from the cage. There, a bright fire was now lighting up a semicircle a hundred yards wide.
    Flickering light even played along the rim of the other side of the canyon a quarter-mile away.
    Elwood and Barney murmured their disapproval of the lack of a guarded fire, but Shackleton said nothing. They had both heard enough of his complaints.
    Now they just had to wait to see if Pablo would show. As the northern route to this point had plenty of cover, whereas the southern route was more open, Elwood judged he’d pass them here.
    ‘Do you reckon he’ll come?’ Shackleton asked.
    ‘Ain’t got a clue,’ Barney said, while Elwood gave the question more careful consideration.
    ‘If I were Pablo and I knew that double-crossing snake Hiram Deeds was looking after the cage, I’d …’ Elwood looked around then lowered his voice. ‘I’d already be here.’
    Shackleton flinched, not having expected thisanswer. He then followed Elwood’s gaze to look at the ridge, then along the route that Elwood indicated with an outstretched finger. He nodded, seeing what Elwood had noted.
    Although the fire was bright enough to appear to have been carelessly situated, a large boulder could be seen between the fire and the cage; it prevented the prisoners from getting any of the warmth and light, and also ensured that were shrouded in darkness . Between the edge of the canyon and the ridge there was 400 yards of open space, but there were enough mounds and hollows to mean that long stretches of the ground were in shadow.
    ‘So Hiram is doing precisely what I tried to warn Kurt about,’ Shackleton murmured, aghast.
    ‘Yup. He’s lit up the area to let us all see that everything is fine. Except, come the morning, the cage will be one prisoner short.’
    ‘Or will have one prisoner more if I have anything to do with it.’
     
    ‘There is no dark place,’ The Preacher muttered to himself, ‘no deep shadow, where evildoers can hide, Job thirty-four, verse twenty-two.’
    The Preacher was now talking loudly enough for Nathaniel to hear