Outlaw Pass (9781101544785) Read Online Free Page A

took a step to the side when a man pushed into the bar beside him. Adam took another step to the side to give him more room, but was stopped when a second man moved in to box him in. Not sure if it was intentional or not, he stepped back away from the bar, still holding the glass of beer in his hand. A quick look right and left told him there was plenty of space on either side, and no reason to crowd him, so he took a moment for a closer look at the two. Nothing unusual, he decided, two men who looked pretty much like most of the men in the saloon, so he moved down the bar a few paces to drink his beer.
    â€œWhat’s the matter, big’un,” one of the men slurred, “was we crampin’ your style too much?”
    Why, he couldn’t imagine, but it was obvious now that the crowding by the two was intentional. “As a matter of fact, you were,” Adam answered, “but there’s plenty of room at the bar, so I’ll move out of your way.” He could see that he wasn’t going to be allowed to avoid a confrontation, judging by the malicious grins in place on each face. What he couldn’t understand was why they had picked him out to hassle.
    The one who had spoken to him, a man of average height, wearing a fancy hand-tooled leather vest and two revolvers with their handles forward, gave his partner a sideways glance and said, “You hear that, Rafe? He said we was crampin’ his style.” Turning a contemptuous gaze toward Adam, he said, “I hear you been askin’ a lot of questions around town about somebody you’re lookin’ for.”
    â€œI reckon that’s right,” Adam replied. “I’m lookin’ for somebody. Does that bother you for some reason?” He took a sip of his beer and let his free hand casually drop down next to the barrel of his rifle, propped against the bar beside him.
    Leather Vest’s sneer widened as he continued to lock his eyes on Adam’s. “He wants to know if it bothers us, Rafe.” Rafe nodded with a cruel grin still in place. “I’ll tell you what bothers me,” Leather Vest continued. “You smell like a lawman to me—come in town askin’ ever’body if they’ve seen some feller around. We got a sheriff in this town, and we ain’t got no use for no federal marshal to come nosin’ around where they got no business. So why don’t you tell me if you’re a damn marshal and who the hell you’re lookin’ for?”
    Adam glanced at the bartender, who had stopped polishing a shot glass, and now stood watching his reactions. He was also aware that the entire barroom had suddenly become silent as every eye was upon him, waiting for his reaction. Hoping to quickly defuse a tense situation, Adam smiled and replied. “I ain’t a marshal. The man I’m lookin’ for is my brother. He’s been missin’ for a while and I came to find him, so I reckon there’s nothin’ to worry you.”
    â€œIs that so?” Leather Vest said, not willing to let the matter drop, and encouraged by Adam’s apparent reluctance to cause trouble. “Just lookin’ for your brother, huh?” He winked at his companion and continued his obvious intent to intimidate the stranger. “So you’re sayin’ that if I was to pull your coat aside, I wouldn’t find no marshal’s badge pinned on your shirt. Is that right?” He took a step closer, and his partner moved to position himself at Adam’s left.
    Having reached the limit of his patience with the two troublemakers, Adam resigned himself to what appeared to be inevitable. With another glance at the bartender, he decided the altercation would be confined to the two men and himself, with the bartender merely an interested spectator. With his hand still loosely grasping the glass of beer as it rested on the bar, he gazed into Leather Vest’s eyes and replied, “What