the Outlaws Of Mesquite (Ss) (1990) Read Online Free Page A

then he dropped his rifle and started to run. He never made it, and Milt heard his death scream as he went down under the lashing hoofs. And then the herd was racing away down the valley.
    "Milt!" Jennie's cry was agonized.
    He swung his horse and looked back. The gray had fallen with her, spilling her over on the ground even as she screamed. And running toward her was Dan Spencer.
    Milt Cogar's horse was beside her in three bounds and he dropped from the saddle, drawing as he hit ground. His first shot was too quick, and he missed.
    Spencer skidded to a halt, his face triumphant.
    "Now we'll see!" he shouted.
    The veins swelled in his forehead, and his eyes were pinpoints of steel. His gun bucked in his hand, and Milt's leg went out from under him, but even as his knee hit ground, he fired. His bullet caught Spencer in the diaphragm, and knocked him back on his heels. Both men fired again, but Dan Spencer's shot bit into the earth just in front of Cogar, and he thumbed his gun, aiming low down at the outlaw's body. Spencer backed up, his jaw working, his eyes fiercely alive. Then a bloody froth came to his lips, and Milt, cold and still inside, fired once more. The outlaw's knees gave way and he pitched over on his face.
    Milt stared at the fallen man, fumbling at his belt for more cartridges. His fingers seemed very clumsy, but he finally filled the empty chambers.
    Jennie was hobbling toward him.
    "I've sprained my ankle," she said, "but it's nothing!"
    She dropped beside him, and gasped when she saw the blood on his trouser leg. "You're hurt!" she exclaimed.
    "Not much," he told her. "Who's that coming?"
    Her head came up sharply. Then her face whitened with relief. "It's Joe Peters! And Thacker!"
    The two men walked up, the slender Peters looking even smaller beside the rope-girthed bulk of Thacker. Both men had rifles.
    "You two all right?" Thacker demanded. The hesitation and fear seemed to have left him. "We hurried after you to help, but we got here late."
    "What happened to the other men with Spencer?" Cogar asked.
    "The horses got both Martinez and Record.
    We found one other man dead, one wounded. We kilt one our ownselves, and caught up the rest."
    Red came up. "Reckon you started somethin', mister," he said to Milt. "When you took Jennie away so's Spencer couldn't have her, we decided it was right mean of us to let a stranger protect our women. So Thacker here, he seen Joe Peters, and a few others. Then we got together at my eatin' place and started cleanin' the town. We done a good job!"
    Thacker grinned, well pleased with himself. "You two can come back if you want," he suggested. "This here deserves a celebration."
    "Why, I'd like to come back, sometime," Milt said, "but right now I've got to get my horses down to my own ranch and into the pasture there. I'd take Jennie to see the place, if she'll go."
    "A ranch might be nice," Jennie said. Her eyes smiled at him, but there was something grave and serious in their depths. "I might like it."
    "Only if you come, I might want to keep you,"
    Milt said. "It isn't going to be the same after this."
    "Why should it?" Jennie said.
    The gray had gotten to his feet and was shaking himself.
    Milt walked over to him, and his hand trembled as he examined the gelding's legs. When he straightened up, Jennie was facing him, and her lips looked soft and inviting.
    "I reckon," Thacker said, pleased, "that we'll have to celebrate without them!"

The Outlaws Of Mesquite (ss) (1990)

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    Love and the Cactus Kid Author's Note:
    Nowadays when we see women riding in the West they're usually wearing blue jeans, but this was not the case during the time these stories take place. Up until World War I, or shortly thereafter, a woman wouldn't have been caught dead wearing pants anywhere. She wore a dress wherever she went.
    Women never rode a horse astride unless they were miles from where anybody was likely to see them. Then they might. They rode sidesaddle, and sidesaddle only, with the