Valley Of the Sun (Ss) (1995) Read Free

was. It's just a formality." .
    My reasons for not speaking were the best ones, so I waited. Lucas put a hand on the sheriff's shoulder .
    "Best forget it, Fred. His gun was half-drawn, so he made a try for it. Whoever shot him was fast and could really shoot. That bullet was dead center through the heart despite the bad light!" .
    His eyes went to Tap Henry, and then momentarily, they rested on me. Margita had me by the arm and I felt her fingers tighten. When she looked up at me she said quietly, "You saw it?" .
    Somehow, something about her was warm, understanding. "I did it." My voice was low and we were a little apart from the others. "There are good reasons why nobody must know now. It was quite fair." Simply, then, but without mentioning Red, I told her what I had heard .
    She accepted my story without question. All of them at the dance knew every effort would be made to run us off South Fork, so my story was no surprise. Some women could keep a secret and I was sure she was one of them .
    That we were on very shaky ground here both Tap and I knew. It was not only Lucas. As the biggest of the ranchers, and the one whose actual range had been usurped, he had the most right to complain, but Bayless of the Slash B was doing the most talking, and from what I had heard, he had a way of taking the law into his own hands .
    Tap joined me. "You see that shooting?" he asked. Then without awaiting a reply, he continued, "Guess he had it coming, but I wonder who did it? That's the kind of shooting Wes Hardin does or the Laredo Kid. Heard anything?" .
    "Only that Johnny had it coming. He was the kind who might be hired to dry-gulch a man or burn him out." .
    Tap glanced at me quickly, but before he could speak, Betty hurried up to us .
    "You two had better go," she whispered. "There's some talk around and some of the men are hunting trouble." .
    She spoke to both of us, but she looked at me. Tap shifted his feet. "What do you expect us to do?" he demanded. "Run?" .
    "Of course not!" she protested. "But why not avoid trouble until I can talk some sense into Dad?" .
    "That's reasonable, Tap. Let's go." .
    "If you want to back down"--his voice was . i rritable and he spoke more sharply than he ever had to me--?g ahead and go! I say face 'em and show 'em they've got a fight on their hands!" .
    The contempt in his voice got to me but I took a couple of deep breaths before I answered him. "Don't talk like that, Tap. When a fight comes, I'll be ready for it, only why not give Betty a chance? Once the shooting starts there'll be no more chance." .
    Two men shoved through the door followed by a half dozen others. My pulse jumped and I grabbed Tap's arm. "Let's get out of here! .
    There's Chet Bayless and Jerito Juarezffwas .
    How could I miss that lithe, wiry figure? Betty Lucas gave me a swift, measuring look of surprise. Tap shook my hand from his arm and shot me a glance like he'd give to a yellow dog. "All right," he said, "let's go! I can't face them alone!" .
    What they must be thinking of me I could guess, . b ut all I could think of was facing Bayless and .
    Jerito in that crowded room. And I knew .
    Jerito and what would happen when he saw me. The . c rowd would make no difference, nor the fact that . i nnocent people might be killed. .
    Betty avoided my eyes and moved away from my hand when I turned to say good-bye, so I merely followed Tap Henry out the door. All the way home he never said a w ord , nor the next morning until almost noon .
    "You stay away from Betty," he said then, "she's my girl." .
    "Betty's wearing no brand that I can see," I told him quietly, "and until somebody slaps an iron on her, I'm declaring myself in the running .
    "I don't," I continued, "want trouble between us. We've rode a lot of rivers together, and we've got trouble started here. We can hold this place and build a nice spread." .
    "What about last night?" His voice was cold .
    "You took water." .
    "Did you want to start throwing lead in a room