Read Deadman Canyon for Free Online Page B

Winged L headquarters; then she disappeared behind the big white house. Clay turned his dun east and started toward the pass.
    He saw a pair of riders moving fast along the hill road. They reached the crossing with the main road and went on past, toward Clay’s land. When he came to the crossing, he slowed the dun and reached down, loosening his rifle in the boot under his left thigh.
    He saw the riders again as he rounded a bend in the trail. They sat their horses in the middle of the road, looking his way, clearly waiting for him.
    Damsons men
, Clay thought angrily. They had seen him in the valley and had been ordered to ride this way to head him off. The trick was typical of Bick Damson. Vanner would have been more subtle. But not Damson. Money wouldn’t have changed his belief that, by throwing enough force against a man, you could break him.
    As Clay drew close, the men moved their horses so that they blocked the trail. Clay pulled the dun up and looked the pair over slowly.
    They were strangers to him. The smaller one was short and wiry, with narrow, bright eyes and sharp features; the other was as big as Bick Damson but soft looking, with a dull, almost empty expression on his heavy face.
    The small one moved his horse closer to Clay. “You’re Belden?” he demanded in a thin, reedy voice.
    “That’s right,” Clay said.
    “I’m Abe Marnie,” the small man said. “And this here is Ben Pike. We work for Mr. Damson.” He grinned at Clay, showing a badly broken set of teeth.
    Clay looked quietly at him, saying nothing.
    “We figured you might need a little help getting out of the valley,” Marnie said. His grin broadened. “What with snipers in the mountains and all.”
    Clay said slowly, distinctly, “Go tell Damson that if he wants to fight me, to crawl out of his hole and do it himself.”
    He lifted the reins as if to move the dun along. He saw eager desire for action spring into Marnie’s face and he had a quick glimpse of Pike making a clumsy move toward the gun on his hip. Clay jerked the reins suddenly, wheeling the dun around and ramming it against Marnie’s horse, pinning the small man’s leg down.
    Marnie cursed shrilly and leaned back to reach for his gun. Clay caught the front of his coat with both hands. He urged the dun back and then jerked Marnie out of the saddle. He pressured the dun with his knees, urging it forward so that Marnie’s horse stumbled back toward Pike.
    Pike had his gun up now but he couldn’t shoot with Marnie hanging between him and Clay. The dun drove forward as Clay raked a heel across its flank. Pike tried to back his horse away but he moved too slowly. Clay threw Marnie at him and Pike raised his hands and dropped his gun in an effort to keep the smaller man from knocking him out of the saddle.
    Marnie hit the ground on his side, rolled and staggered to his feet. He reached for his gun and stopped only when Clay pulled his rifle from the boot.
    Marnie stared at the rifle and then his head swiveled slowly around toward his partner. Pike had both hands on his saddlehorn. His eyes were on Clay’s rifle, and his expression said that he wasn’t interested in going after his gun lying on the ground.
    Clay said quietly, “Throw your gun down, Marnie.”
    Marnie looked back at Clay, his eyes squinted as if he was trying to find some advantantage in this for himself. Then he pulled his gun and let it fall to the road. He stepped back toward Pike’s horse.
    Clay rode the dun to Mamie’s horse and caught the reins. He looked at Pike. “Climb down,” he ordered.
    “It’s my horse!” Pike objected in thick voice.
    Marnie turned a scathing look on him. “Do what the man says. Don’t you know when you’re whipped?”
    Pike left the saddle and Marnie led the horse to Clay and tossed him the reins. “I never argue with another man’s gun,” Marnie said dryly. His broken-toothed grin showed again. “But you’re wasting your time, Belden. Like Mr. Vanner would