Ghost Valley Read Free Page A

the gray hat is Vanbergen,” Pettigrew said as he turned his horse.
    â€œI know who Victor Vanbergen is,” Frank growled. He’d put a bullet in the outlaw’s hip not too long ago, and he was certain that Vanbergen remembered it.
    Frank aimed for Vanbergen as his horse plunged across the shallow stream.
    â€œGood to see you again, Vic,” Frank whispered, triggering off a well-placed shot, jacking another round into the firing chamber as the roar of his rifle filled the draw.
    Vanbergen’s body jerked. He bent forward and grabbed his belly, but before Frank could draw another careful bead on him, he spurred his horse into some trees on the east bank of the creek.
    The other gunmen wheeled their horses in all directions and took off at a hard run. One rider fired a harmless shot over his shoulder before he went out of sight on the far side of the dry wash.
    â€œI got him,” Frank said, searching the trees for Vanbergen as gun smoke cleared away from his rifle.
    But to Frank’s regret, he saw Vanbergen galloping his horse over a tree-studded ridge, aiming due north. Seconds later he was out of sight.
    â€œI’ll find you one of these days, Vic,” Frank said, grinding his teeth together. He strode back over the ridge and swung up in the saddle, booting his rifle.
    â€œDid you get any of ’em?” Tin Pan asked.
    â€œI shot Vanbergen in the belly. If Lady Luck is with me he’s gut-shot and he’ll bleed to death. But if he’s still alive, one of these days I’ll find him and settle this score for good.”
    Conrad glowered at Frank. “Mom was right. You’re nothing but a killer.”
    â€œThere were circumstances back then,” Frank explained. “If you give me the chance, I’ll tell you about them.”
    â€œI don’t want to hear a damn thing you have to say, Frank. The only thing I want is for you to leave me alone.”
    Frank tried to push the boy’s remarks from his mind. The kid couldn’t know what he’d been through back when Vivian was alive, or what her father had done to him.
    A time would come when Frank would get the chance to tell his side of the story. In the meantime, he’d take the boy back to Durango and let a doctor check him over.
    Then there was other unfinished business to attend to when he got back, and the thought of it brought a slight smile to his rugged face.
    Frank had a good future if he made the most of it. He only hoped that one of these days Conrad would come around. At least listen to Frank’s side of the story.
    â€œI hope you’ll grant me the time for an interview,” Louis Pettigrew said.
    â€œWe’ll see,” Frank replied. “It depends....”
    * * *
    And Conrad was safe now, even though the boy resented him for reasons he’d never fully understand. It was a burden Frank would have to bear, probably for the rest of his life. Conrad would never understand what had happened between his mother and Frank and Vivian’s father. Some things were best left alone, even if they caused deep personal pain.
    But affairs would not be completely settled until Frank found Pine and Vanbergen. This was what had brought him into the most rugged regions of the Rockies. Pine and Vanbergen had to pay for what they’d done.
    He strolled up to the hotel desk. “I need a room for the night,” he said to a balding clerk.
    â€œCash in advance, mister. Two dollars hard money.”
    Frank laid two silver dollars on the counter. “I hope you’ve got a bathhouse.”
    â€œSure do, stranger,” the clerk said, handing him a pen so he could sign the register. “No offense intended, but you smell like you could use one. Just follow that hallway out to the back and Bessie will bring you pails of hot water. The bath, and the towels, cost ten cents.”
    Frank tossed a dime down before he signed “F. Morgan” on a page of the register.