FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38  
39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   >>   >|  
have several of his troopers looking out for me. Well, I want one of them to see and follow me south along the Montana trail. There's no horse in the Government service can keep pace with that black of mine, but it would not be difficult to pull him and just keep the trooper out of carbine-shot behind. When he finds he can't overtake the black, he'll go off for his comrades, and the boys will run our goods across the river while they're picking up the trail." "You mentioned the horse, but not yourself," said Winston quietly. Courthorne laughed. "Yes," he said. "I will not be there. I'm offering you one hundred dollars to ride the black for me. You can put my furs on, and anybody who saw you and knew the horse would certify it was me." "And where will you be?" "Here," said Courthorne dryly. "The boys will have no use for me until they want a guide, but they'll leave an unloaded pack horse handy, and, as it wouldn't suit any of us to make my connection with them too plain, it will be a night or two later when I join them. In the meanwhile your part's quite easy. No trooper could ride you down unless you wanted him to, and you'll ride straight on to Montana--I've a route marked out for you. You'll stop at the places I tell you, and the testimony of anybody who saw you on the black would be quite enough to clear me if Stimson's men are too eleven for the boys." Winston sat still a moment, and it was not avarice which prompted him when he said, "Considering the risk one hundred dollars is very little." "Of course," said Courthorne. "Still, it isn't worth any more to me, and there will be your expenses. If it doesn't suit you, I will do the thing myself and find the boys another guide." He spoke indifferently, but Winston was not a fool, and knew that he was lying. "Turn your face to the light," he said sharply. A little ominous glint became visible in Courthorne's eyes, and there was just a trace of darker color in his forehead, but Winston saw it and was not astonished. Still, Courthorne did not move. "What made you ask me that?" he said. Winston watched him closely, but his voice betrayed no special interest as he said, "I fancied I saw a mark across your cheek. It seemed to me that it had been made by a whip." The deeper tint was more visible on Courthorne's forehead, where the swollen veins showed a trifle, and he appeared to swallow something before he spoke. "Aren't you asking
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   14   15   16   17   18   19   20   21   22   23   24   25   26   27   28   29   30   31   32   33   34   35   36   37   38  
39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63   >>   >|  



Top keywords:
Courthorne
 

Winston

 

forehead

 

visible

 
dollars
 
hundred
 

trooper

 
Montana
 

indifferently

 

sharply


avarice

 

prompted

 
Considering
 

moment

 
eleven
 
expenses
 

ominous

 

deeper

 
swollen
 

swallow


showed

 

trifle

 

appeared

 
fancied
 

astonished

 
darker
 

troopers

 

betrayed

 

special

 

interest


closely

 

watched

 
difficult
 

carbine

 

certify

 

service

 
Government
 
mentioned
 

picking

 

comrades


overtake

 

offering

 

laughed

 

quietly

 
unloaded
 

wanted

 
straight
 

marked

 
testimony
 

places