the Outlaws Of Mesquite (Ss) (1990) Read Online Free
Author: Louis L'amour
flushed.
"Oh, forget it! Looks ain't gettin' us out of this hole! What I'm afraid of is they'll get somebody on the mountain behind us, or else they'll fire the grass."
"Fire the grass?" Her head jerked up and her face went white. "Oh, no! They wouldn't burn us!"
"That outfit? They'd do anything if they got good and riled."
Some sort of a plan seemed to have been arrived at.
Dan Spencer shouted again:
"One more chance! Come out with your hands up and we'll turn you loose! Otherwise we're comin' after you!"
They were barely within rifle range, and Milt Cogar knew the chips were down. His reply was a rifle shot that clipped a white hat from the head of a newcomer. They all hit dirt then.
"I wanted to get him then," Milt muttered. "That wasn't to scare him."
Milt was scared, he admitted to himself. He was as scared as he'd ever been, yet in another way, he wasn't. There was no way out that he could see, and if they fired the grass the only chance was a run for the horses and a wild break in an attempt to outrun the attackers. But there was small chance of that working, for there were too many of them. An idea came suddenly.
"You slip back there," he said. "Get the horses down into the hollow. We may have to make a break for it."
She glanced at him quickly, and then without a word, slid back down the slope and got to her feet.
He heard a rifle spang, but what happened to the bullet, he didn't know, and then there was a volley and he knew what happened to all the rest. Two whipped by right over his head, and one of them burned him across the shoulders. He rolled over and crept to another position. He could see nothing to shoot at, yet a moment later there was a movement down below, and he fired twice, fast as he could lever the rifle.
The movement stopped, and he rolled over again, getting himself to a new position. If they got to the edge of the hollow, he was done for, but he couldn't watch all the terrain. A bullet nipped the grass over his head and he fired at the sound.
Stealing a quick glance backward, he saw Jennie coming out of the trees into the hollow with the horses. They seemed disturbed by the firing, and halted not far away.
Spencer yelled then, and instantly, without replying, Milt snapped a shot at the spot, then one left and one right of it. He heard a startled yelp, but doubted from the sound that his shot had more than burned the renegade.
"Get to your horse but keep your head down!" he warned Jennie. "Now listen: we're going out of here, you and I, and fast when we go. We're going to start our horses right down there into the middle of them, and try to crash through. It's a wild chance, but from the way they act, they are scattering out to get all around us. If they do, we won't have much chance. If we run for it now, right at them, they may get us, but we'll have a chance of stampeding their horses."
He swung into the saddle and they turned the herd of fifteen horses toward the enemy, then with whoops and yells, started them on a dead run for Spencer. The rim of the hollow and the tall grass gave them a few precious moments of invisibility, so when the horses went over the rise they were at a dead run.
Milt Cogar, a six-gun in each hand, blazed away over the heads of the horses at the positions of the attackers. He saw instantly that he had been right, for men were already moving on foot off to left and right to surround the hollow.
With a thunder of racing hoofs, the horses charged down on Spencer's position, nostrils flaring, manes flowing in the wind of their furious charge.
Milt saw Dan Spencer leap to his feet and throw up a gun, but his shot went wild, and the next instant he turned and fled. Johnny Record had started to move off to the right, but he turned when he saw the charging horses, and threw his rifle to his shoulder. Cogar snapped a shot at him, and the yells of the men ahead swerved the horses.
There was a moment of startled horror as Record saw death charging upon him, and
"Oh, forget it! Looks ain't gettin' us out of this hole! What I'm afraid of is they'll get somebody on the mountain behind us, or else they'll fire the grass."
"Fire the grass?" Her head jerked up and her face went white. "Oh, no! They wouldn't burn us!"
"That outfit? They'd do anything if they got good and riled."
Some sort of a plan seemed to have been arrived at.
Dan Spencer shouted again:
"One more chance! Come out with your hands up and we'll turn you loose! Otherwise we're comin' after you!"
They were barely within rifle range, and Milt Cogar knew the chips were down. His reply was a rifle shot that clipped a white hat from the head of a newcomer. They all hit dirt then.
"I wanted to get him then," Milt muttered. "That wasn't to scare him."
Milt was scared, he admitted to himself. He was as scared as he'd ever been, yet in another way, he wasn't. There was no way out that he could see, and if they fired the grass the only chance was a run for the horses and a wild break in an attempt to outrun the attackers. But there was small chance of that working, for there were too many of them. An idea came suddenly.
"You slip back there," he said. "Get the horses down into the hollow. We may have to make a break for it."
She glanced at him quickly, and then without a word, slid back down the slope and got to her feet.
He heard a rifle spang, but what happened to the bullet, he didn't know, and then there was a volley and he knew what happened to all the rest. Two whipped by right over his head, and one of them burned him across the shoulders. He rolled over and crept to another position. He could see nothing to shoot at, yet a moment later there was a movement down below, and he fired twice, fast as he could lever the rifle.
The movement stopped, and he rolled over again, getting himself to a new position. If they got to the edge of the hollow, he was done for, but he couldn't watch all the terrain. A bullet nipped the grass over his head and he fired at the sound.
Stealing a quick glance backward, he saw Jennie coming out of the trees into the hollow with the horses. They seemed disturbed by the firing, and halted not far away.
Spencer yelled then, and instantly, without replying, Milt snapped a shot at the spot, then one left and one right of it. He heard a startled yelp, but doubted from the sound that his shot had more than burned the renegade.
"Get to your horse but keep your head down!" he warned Jennie. "Now listen: we're going out of here, you and I, and fast when we go. We're going to start our horses right down there into the middle of them, and try to crash through. It's a wild chance, but from the way they act, they are scattering out to get all around us. If they do, we won't have much chance. If we run for it now, right at them, they may get us, but we'll have a chance of stampeding their horses."
He swung into the saddle and they turned the herd of fifteen horses toward the enemy, then with whoops and yells, started them on a dead run for Spencer. The rim of the hollow and the tall grass gave them a few precious moments of invisibility, so when the horses went over the rise they were at a dead run.
Milt Cogar, a six-gun in each hand, blazed away over the heads of the horses at the positions of the attackers. He saw instantly that he had been right, for men were already moving on foot off to left and right to surround the hollow.
With a thunder of racing hoofs, the horses charged down on Spencer's position, nostrils flaring, manes flowing in the wind of their furious charge.
Milt saw Dan Spencer leap to his feet and throw up a gun, but his shot went wild, and the next instant he turned and fled. Johnny Record had started to move off to the right, but he turned when he saw the charging horses, and threw his rifle to his shoulder. Cogar snapped a shot at him, and the yells of the men ahead swerved the horses.
There was a moment of startled horror as Record saw death charging upon him, and
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