Massacre Canyon Read Free Page A

it?” he grated. “Anyway, all the reward dodgers on you say dead or alive, so it doesn’t really matter, does it?”
    Mordecai stood stiff as a board now. He must have realized that his callous remark had pushed Luke a little too far.
    The local lawman broke the tense spell by clearing his throat and saying, “Uh, Mr. Jensen . . . we said we were gonna lock him up. . . .”
    â€œAnd so we are,” Luke agreed as he got control over his anger. He lowered the Remington’s hammer and slid the revolver back into leather. “But if you’re smart, Kroll, you’ll keep your mouth shut for a while. Just remember . . . dead or alive.”

Chapter 3
    Marshal Jerome Dunlap sighed in obvious relief when the cell door clanged shut behind Mordecai Kroll. He had told Luke his name while they were marching the prisoner up the street and into the squat stone building that housed the local marshal’s office and jail.
    Luke said, “Turn around and back up to the bars, Kroll, and I’ll untie your wrists.”
    Kroll did as Luke told him. When his arms were free again, Mordecai brought them around in front of him and massaged his wrists as he glared at Luke.
    â€œYou’re gonna be mighty sorry you ever crossed trails with me, Jensen,” he said. “That was your name, wasn’t it?”
    â€œThat’s right,” Luke said.
    With a sneer, Mordecai told Dunlap, “You better make a note of that, Marshal, so you can tell the undertaker what name to put on this dumb bastard’s grave marker.” Mordecai paused, and then went on. “No, wait, that’s right, you’ll be dead, too, so you won’t be able to tell the undertaker a damned thing.”
    He laughed raucously. Luke ignored him and turned back to the marshal’s office.
    Dunlap followed him out of the cell block and dropped the big ring of keys on the desk with a jangling thump.
    â€œI’ll have to send to St. Johns for the sheriff,” he said. “That’s the county seat of Apache County. We can’t hope to hold Kroll here in this cracker box of a jail.”
    Luke thought the marshal was underestimating the building’s strength, but Dunlap had no deputies and it was certain that just the two of them wouldn’t be able to withstand an attack in force by the entire Kroll gang. The sooner they could get Kroll to the county seat and surround him with armed, experienced deputies, the better.
    â€œHave you got a telegraph office here?” he asked.
    Dunlap shook his head.
    â€œNo, I’ll have to send a rider to St. Johns. Fella who owns the livery stable has a boy who carries messages for me sometimes. Got a fast horse, too.”
    â€œHow long will that take?”
    â€œStart him first thing in the morning, the sheriff ought to be back here with a jail wagon and some men by nightfall.”
    Luke nodded and said, “So we’ve got to wait less than twenty-four hours.”
    â€œTwenty-four hours can be a mighty long time when you’ve got trouble rainin’ down on you,” Dunlap pointed out.
    He was right about that, Luke thought. But all they could do was hope for the best.
    â€œYou mind stayin’ here while I go roust out the undertaker and tell Benji Porter I need him to ride to the county seat in the mornin’?”
    â€œGo ahead, Marshal,” Luke said. “I’ll keep an eye on Kroll.”
    Dunlap nodded. He looked like he would be glad to get out of the office. Luke wondered briefly if the marshal would come back tonight or manage to be occupied elsewhere. He didn’t think Dunlap would abandon his duty like that, but you never could be sure about people.
    Once Luke was alone in the office, he looked at the few wanted posters that were pinned to the wall. He figured that Dunlap had to have more reward dodgers than that, unless the marshal had been using them for kindling, so he took a look in the scarred old desk. In