Read Sudden--Troubleshooter (A Sudden Western) #5 for Free Online

said. ‘Be that as it may, Dancy’s the foreman o’ the Saber,
an’ I have to bear that in mind when I tangle with him. It ain’t’
He held up a hand to stop the remark that Green was about to make.
‘It ain’t a question o’ playin’ favorites. It’s plain fact: if I
ride the Saber too hard, an’ Gunnison decided to take his trade to
Riverton, about fifteen miles upriver, Yavapai’d dry up an’ blow
away. Jake here’ll tell yu I try to give everyone a fair shake. My
job is to keep the peace in Yavapai. Outside town all I can do is
try to help as much as possible.’
    ‘ It’s true enough, Jim,’
Reb Johnstone said. ‘Tom heah does the best he can, all things
considered.’
    Appleby’s smile was open
and friendly, and it grew even wider as Susan Harris came into the
room with the cup of coffee she had gone to make when the visitor’s
identity was established.
    ‘ Wal,
now, I reckon this was worth the ride – a cup o’ cawfee from the
purtiest gal this side o’ Tucson,’ grinned the Marshal. ‘How are you, Miss Susan?’
    Sue Harris blushed and
smiled. ‘Well, thank you, Tom. We haven’t seen you for a
while.’
    Green risked a sly glance at Philadelphia.
The youngster was glowering at the Marshal, and the puncher smiled
to himself.
    ‘ Got to admit it,’ Appleby
was saying. ‘Been powerful busy tryin’ to get a line on this lost
Saber stock.’
    ‘ Gunnison’s lost more
beef?’ A worried frown appeared on Jacob Harris’s face.
    ‘ A few head here, a few
there. Nothin’ big,’ Appleby told them. ‘Just enough to be noticed.
Any o’ yu boys seen any loose stock up in the hills?’
    No one spoke; Scott and Peters shook their
heads.
    ‘ Didn’t expect yu
would’ve,’ Appleby said. ‘Beats me. Yu can’t even find tracks. It’s
as if someone was flyin’ off with them.’
    ‘ Mighty peculiar. Yu ain’t
thinkin’ …? ’ said Kitson.
    ‘ Hell, no, Terry. Yu boys
give me yore word yu wasn’t lifting Saber beef an’ I believe yu.
But Gunnison’s losin’ ’em just the same, an’ yu can’t blame him for
feelin’ hot about it. He swears it has to be yu boys. I keep
tellin’ him it ain’t. It’s deadlock.’
    ‘ Ol’ goat,’ muttered Jack
Scott. ‘He’s slapped his brand on enough mavericks in his
time.’
    ‘ I’m just tellin’ yu what
he said,’ Appleby remarked. ‘Ain’t sayin’ I agree. I’m just hopin’
I can find sumthin’ out afore Lafe takes it into his head to go on
the warpath.’
    ‘ He better come dressed fo’
a buryin’,’ Johnstone snapped. ‘He’ll sho’ be participatin’ in one
if he comes up heah with a war party.’
    ‘ Let’s hope it don’t come
to that,’ said Appleby. ‘I wouldn’t take much pleasure in standin’
in the middle tryin’ to keep yu boys an’ the Saber crew apart. In
the meantime, if anybody has to go to town, mebbe it wouldn’t be a
bad idea to leave yore guns at home.’
    ‘ Fat
chance o’ that,’ snorted Johnstone. ‘No damn Yankees are goin’ to
scare me into shuckin’ mah
shootin’ arm.’
    ‘ Just
friendly advice, Reb.’ The Marshal rose and picked up his
wide-brimmed black hat. ‘Miss Susan, thank yu for the cawfee. I’m lookin’ forward to seein’ yu in
town right soon. Maybe I can return the compliment: Mrs. Robinson’s
restaurant serves a fair cup o’ cawfee these days.’
    ‘ Yu’ll have to stand in
line, Tom,’ laughed Fred Peters. ‘There’s about seventeen guys just
waitin’ for the chance.’
    Appleby smiled. ‘Shore,’ he
agreed, ‘but how many o’ them live in Yavapai?’
    Bidding all those present goodnight, he went
out, and they watched him mount and ride up the trail into the
timber.
    ‘ Well, Jim,’ asked Taylor
when Appleby was out of sight. ‘What d’ye think of our
Marshal?’
    ‘ Pretty cool customer,’
commented Green.
    ‘ I don’t like the look o’
him,’ added Philadelphia.
    ‘ Hell, Philly, yo’re a mite
biased,’ grinned Jack Scott, and Jake