Read From Hide and Horn (A Floating Outfit Book Number 5) for Free Online Page B

hard-driven steers still felt. Later, when the
cattle were broken to the trail, there would normally only be two
riders at a time on night guard. Until then, and in periods of
necessity later, the number would be doubled.
    When the quartet arrived to take over, the
rest of the crew trooped gratefully to the camp. Dusty went with
them, but Goodnight stayed by the herd to make sure the guard knew
their duties. First caring for their mounts, the trail hands took
and picketed their night horses ready for instant use if the need
arose. With that done, they made their way to the big main fire.
There Rowdy or Turkey supplied each man with a plate generously
loaded with thick, savory stew and cups of coffee in which a spoon
would almost stand erect.
    Little was said until the plates had been
cleaned and hunger satisfied. Then the hum of conversation
arose.
    ‘ How do
y ou
like being on the trail, Vern boy?’ demanded Willock in a
condescending manner, winking at his crony, Jacko.
    ‘ It’s great!’ the
youngster answered enthusiastically, although he did not particularly care
for the swaggering Double Two cowhand. Then, realizing that he
sounded too eager for a man of the world, he tried to adopt a more
nonchalant tone. ‘It’s about what I figured it’d be.’
    ‘ Is, huh?’ Willock
sneered, flashing a superior grin around the circle of watching and
listening men. ‘It gets sorta rough though. Unless you’ve got the
boss on hand to save you from them mean old steers.’
    ‘ Yeah?’ Vern flashed back,
cheeks reddening at the sniggers which rose from Willock’s friends.
‘Well I didn’t see you doing so all-fired much about
the m
two steers that was fighting—until Cap’n Dusty come and split ’em
out for you.’
    A low chuckle of laughter rose at the
response, coming from the men less close to Willock. Annoyance
twisted at the flashy cowhand’s face and he lurched to his
feet.
    ‘ If you’d done more
working and less sitting watching, us men’d’ve had a heap less work to
do!’ Willock snarled, looking mean and hooking his right thumb into
his gunbelt close to the butt of the low-hanging Army Colt. ‘I
don’t take much to carrying—’
    Watching the incident, Dusty
scented potential trouble. Across the fire, the D4S’s third member,
a dour, middle-aged man called Josh Narth stirred slightly as he
squat on his heels. No swaggering trouble-causer, Narth had been a
long time with the Sutherland family and could be counted on to
side with his boss’ s son. So Dusty set about nipping the discord in the
bud.
    ‘ All right, you pair,’ Dusty said in a
carrying voice as Vern also rose. ‘Let it drop.’
    ‘ What’s up?’ Willock
asked, looking to where Dusty heel-squat ted, cradling a coffee-cup.
‘Don’t you reckon the hen-wrangler there can take a bit of
funning?’
    ‘ He can take it, and hand
it back,’ Dusty replied. ‘Only it’s starting to look and sound
like you can’t take what he gives.’
    ‘ Hell!’ Willock spat.
‘We’ve been car —’
    ‘ The young ’n’ did all right
today,’ Red Blaze remarked. ‘He didn’t need any carrying, what I
saw of him.’
    ‘ Shy out of it, Red,’ Dusty ordered,
but noticed that most of the hands muttered agreement with his
cousin’s statement.
    ‘ Yeah, Red!’ Willock went
on viciously. ‘Shy out. Unless you figure this D4S bunch
can’t—’
    ‘ That’s
another thing!’ Dusty interrupted and gave Red a glare which
prevented him from rising and carrying the matter further. ‘From
now on I don’t want to hear any more talk about the D4S, Double
Two, Bench P or any other damned kind of bunch. This drive’s going
to be hard enough with us all pulling together. So you can forget
about riding for some spread or other back to home. From here to
Fort Sumner we all belong to this outfit.’
    ‘ Them
your orders,’ Burle asked, ‘or Colonel Charlie’s?’
    A low rumble of sound came from Swede Ahlen’s
throat, but he said nothing. Maybe