Ralph Compton Double: Rough Justice #1 (Ralph Compton Double, 1, Band 1) - Softcover

Buch 1 von 2: Ralph Compton Double

Compton, Ralph; Cotton, Ralph

 
9780593441176: Ralph Compton Double: Rough Justice #1 (Ralph Compton Double, 1, Band 1)
Softcover
ISBN 10: 0593441176 ISBN 13: 9780593441176
Verlag: Berkley, 2022

Inhaltsangabe

Ride the long path of vengeance in this thrilling double installment of bestselling Western author Ralph Compton’s Rough Justice series.

DEATH RIDES A CHESTNUT MARE by Ralph Compton: Waylaid by a pack of murdering outlaws, Daniel Strange's lifeless body is left dangling at the end of a rope. Now a mysterious gunslinger is on the vengeance trail, packing twin Colts and answering to the same name.

With fiery green eyes and a temper to match, he won't stop until every last man who killed Strange shares the same fate. And as each bullet finds its mark, his victims will die never knowing the truth: that Daniel Strange may be dead and buried, but his daughter is alive—and killing....
 
THE SHADOW OF A NOOSE by Ralph Cotton: Young Jed and Tim Strange lost their father to an outlaw's bullet, and now their mother has succumbed to a fatal illness. Unable to farm their land due to a lack of funds, the twins set out to find their sister—who left home to avenge their father's death over a year ago.
 
Farm life hasn't prepared the twins for the rough-and-tumble cow towns west of Missouri. And before they even begin their search, they're accused of a murder they didn't commit. Just barely escaping a posse's rope, the twins are on the run—wounded, hounded by the law, and desperately seeking the true killers....

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Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Ralph Compton stood six foot eight without his boots. He worked as a musician, a radio announcer, a songwriter, and a newspaper columnist. His first novel, The Goodnight Trail, was a finalist for the Western Writers of America Medicine Pipe Bearer Award for best debut novel. He was the USA Today bestselling author of the Trail of the Gunfighter series, the Border Empire series, the Sundown Riders series, and the Trail Drive series, among others.
 
Ralph Cotton is a former ironworker, second mate on a commercial barge, teamster, horse trainer, and lay minister with the Lutheran church. There are millions of Ralph Cotton books in print worldwide.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

Chapter 1

Danielle spent her second night in Indian Territory unmolested. As she lay looking at the glittering stars, it occurred to her she might actually have to join a band of outlaws to find the men she sought. Somewhere, one of the killers carried her father's Colt, and it was a unique piece that a man who lived by the gun would remember. Could she pass herself off as an outlaw among killers and thieves? It seemed the only way. She remembered Buck Jordan sitting on the edge of his bed, wearing only his undershirt. She realized she had led a sheltered life, and that men on the frontier were likely more crude than she even imagined. The kind of men she must associate with would soon become suspicious of her furious blushing. She drifted off to sleep. Tomorrow she would begin looking for a band of outlaws. The distressing thought crossed her mind that she might die the same senseless death as her father had, but that was the chance she had to take.

Indian Territory. July 8, 1870.

Three days into Indian Territory, Danielle encountered a group of men who could only be outlaws. It was late in the day when she smelled woodsmoke. Dismounting, leading the mare, she called out a challenge.

"Hello, the camp!"

A rustling in the brush was proof enough that one or more of the outlaws were preparing to cover her.

"Come in closer where we can see you," a voice shouted. "Strangers ain't welcome."

"I'm Dan Strange," Danielle shouted back, "and my grub's running low. I was hoping for an invite to supper."

"Come on in," the voice invited, "but don't get too busy with your hands. We got you covered."

There were four men in camp, and two more who came out of the brush.

"Hell," said one of the men, "it's a shirttail kid that ain't old enough to shave."

"What are you doin' in the Territory, kid?" a second outlaw asked. "You won't find nobody here to change your diapers."

"I shot two hombres near Fort Smith," said Danielle, "and they had friends. It seemed like a good idea to move on."

It was time for a test, and one of the outlaws reached for his Colt. He froze before he cleared leather, for Danielle already had him covered.

"You're awful damn sudden with that iron, kid," said the man who had been about to draw. "Put it away. I was just testin' you. Part of our business is bein' suspicious. Who was the two hombres you gunned down?"

"I have no idea," Danielle said. "They came after me with guns drawn, so I shot them."

"You shot them while they had the drop on you?"

"I did," said Danielle. "Wouldn't you?"

"If I was fast enough," the outlaw said.

The rest of the men laughed and relaxed. It was the kind of action they could relate to, and the outlaw who had just been outdrawn introduced the bunch.

"I'm Caney Font. To your left is Cude Nations, Slack Hitchfelt, and Peavey Oden. The two varmints that just come out of the brush is Hargis Cox and Cletus Kirby."

"I've already told you my name," said Danielle.

"That's an unusual iron you're carryin'," Kirby said. "Mind if I have a look at it?"

"Nobody takes my Colt," said Danielle.

"The kid's smarter than he looks," Cude Nations said.

"Hell," said Kirby, "I never seen but one pistol like that, and I wanted a closer look. It looks like the same gun Bart Scovill had."

"Well, it's not." Danielle said. "A gunsmith in St. Joe made only four of these."

"I reckoned Scovill likely stole the one he had," said Kirby. "He ain't the kind to lay out money on a fancy iron. He claimed he had it made special just for him, and it did have a letter 'D' inlaid in the butt plates."

Danielle's ears pricked up at the mention of the gun.

"That don't make sense," Hargis Cox said. "Bart Scovill's got no 'D' in his name."

"You ain't knowed him as long as I have," said Caney Font. "His middle name is David, and there's times he calls himself Bart Davis."

"Where are you bound, kid?" Cude Nations asked.

"Away from Fort Smith," said Danielle.

The outlaws laughed. Her answer had told them nothing, and it was the kind of humor they could appreciate.

"We don't eat too high on the hog, kid," Caney Font said, "but you're welcome to stay to what there is."

The food was bacon, beans, and sourdough biscuits, washed down with coffee. Danielle was ravenous, having had no breakfast.

"Kid," Caney Font said after they had eaten, "we might could use that fast gun of yours. That is, if you ain't playin' games."

"Pick a target," said Danielle.

"What about this tin the beans was in?" Slack Hitchfelt said.

Without warning, Hitchfelt threw the tin into the air. In a split second, Danielle fired twice, drilling the can with both shots before it touched the ground.

"My God, that's some shootin'," said Caney Font. "How'd you learn to shoot like that, kid?"

"Practice," Danielle said, punching out the empty casings and reloading.

"How'd you like to ride with us to Wichita on a bank job?" asked Caney Font.

"I don't think so," Danielle said. "I have other business."

Cletus Kirby laughed. "What business is more important than money?"

"Killing the bastards that murdered my father," said Danielle.

"Then I reckon you ain't interested in joinin' us," Slack Hitchfelt said.

"No," said Danielle.

"Then I reckon it's unfortunate for you, kid," said Caney Font. "One word to the law in Wichita, and it'll all be over for us."

"I'm not going to Wichita," Danielle said.

"You're a sure enough killer, but you ain't no outlaw," said Peavey Oden.

Danielle saw it coming. She had refused to throw in with them, and having revealed their plans, they had to kill her. If they all drew simultaneously, she was doomed. But they had no prearranged signal. Peavy Oden drew first, with Hargis Cox and Cletus Kirby a second behind. Danielle fired three times in a drumroll of sound, while the men who had drawn against her hadn't even gotten off a shot. The remaining three outlaws were careful not to move their hands.

"The rest of you-Font, Nations, and Hitchfelt-are welcome to saddle up and ride," said Danielle. "Make the mistake of following me, and now that I know your intentions, I'll gun you down without warning."

"We ain't about to follow you, kid," said Caney Font. "At least, I ain't."

"Me neither," Nations and Hitchfelt said in a single voice.

"Then saddle up and ride," said Danielle.

Careful to keep their hands free of their weapons, the trio saddled their horses and rode into the night. Danielle's hands trembled as she reloaded her Colt. While she had a lead toward one of her father's killers, she had already gunned down five men. When and where would it end? She saddled the chestnut mare and was about to mount when it occurred to her that she should search the dead outlaws. As distasteful as the task was, she found a total of a hundred and twenty dollars in the pockets of the dead men. Common sense soon overcame her guilt and she took the money.

Already tired of killing and outlaws, she rode south, toward the Red River and Texas. There was a chance the men she hunted had traveled as far from the scene of their crime as they could, and Texas was by far larger than Indian Territory. Danielle forded the Red at the familiar cattle crossing, near Doan's Store. Taking some of the money she had, she bought supplies she had been doing without, such as a small coffeepot, coffee, a skillet, canned beans, and some cornmeal. On second thought, sparing her bacon, she bought half a ham, which was all the chestnut mare could comfortably carry.

The storekeeper eyed her curiously, for he had seen all kinds come and go. They were getting younger all the time, he decided with a sigh.

Danielle continued riding south....

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Verlag
Berkley
Erscheinungsdatum
2022
Sprache
Englisch
ISBN 10 
0593441176
ISBN 13 
9780593441176
Einband
Taschenbuch
Anzahl der Seiten
544
Kontakt zum Hersteller
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Verantwortliche Person
preigu
mail@preigu.de

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