Read Monument Rock (Ss) (1998) for Free Online Page B

ready for Dan Burnett's cookin'. That man can sure shake up a nice mes s o' vittles. Makes a man's mouth water."
    "Somebody north of us," the other rider said. "Somebody who doesn't want to follo w a trail."
    The fat man glanced at him. "You hear something?"
    "I smell dust."
    "Could be Utes. This here is Ute country." The fat man was worried. "The Utes hav e been killin' a lot of folks about here."
    "There's three ... maybe four of them."
    "Now, how would you know that?"
    "Dust from one horse wouldn't reach this far, but the dust from three or four would."
    "My name is Jones," the fat man said. "What did you say your name was?"
    "Talon ... Shawn Talon."
    "Odd name. Don't reckon I ever heard that one before."
    "You would in County Wicklow. My father was Irish, with an after-coating of Texas."
    They rode in silence until they dipped into a hollow, and Talon drew up briefly.
    "Three riders," Talon said, "on mighty fine horses. See the stride? A long strid e and good action, although they've been riding a long time."
    "You read a lot from a few tracks."
    "Well, they've had to be riding a long time," Talon said, smiling. "This isn't campin g country, and where would a man come from to get here?"
    Sun glinted on the rifle barrel a split instant before the bullet whipped past hi s ear, but the brief warning was enough. Talon slapped the spurs to his horse and wa s off with a bound, the report of a rifle cutting a slash across the hot still afternoon.
    Ahead of him there was a burst of firing, and as the two men, riding neck and neck , came over the rise, they saw three others in a hollow among the rocks defending themselve s against an attack by Utes. Glancing back, Talo n saw several Indians closing in from behind them. Jumping their horses into the circl e of rocks, Talon rolled on his side and began feeding shells into the Winchester.
    Briefly, he glanced at the other men.
    The three strangers were tough, competent-looking men. One, a slim, dark man, ha d his holster tied down. He was unshaven and he glanced at Talon and grinned. "Yo u showed up on time, mister."
    It was very hot. From time to time somebody thought they saw a target and fired , and from time to time the Utes fired back . . . but they were working closer. "Gettin g set for a rush," Talon said aloud.
    "Let 'em come," the man with the tied-down gun said. "The quicker they try it, th e quicker this will be over."
    Neither of his companions had said anything. One was a short, dark man, the othe r a burly fellow, huge and bearded. All three looked dirty, and showed evidence o f long days in the saddle. Talon noticed that his talkative friend was suddenly ver y silent.
    The rush came suddenly. Talon got in a quick shot with his rifle, and then the ma n with the tied-down holster was on his feet, his six-gun rolling a cannonade of soun d into the hot afternoon. He shot fast and accurately. With his own eyes Talon sa w three Indians drop under the gunman's fire before the attack broke. With his rifl e Talon nailed another, and saw the gunman bring down the last Indian with a fifty-yar d pistol shot.
    "That was some shooting," Talon commented.
    The man glanced at him briefly. "It's my business," he said.
    In the distance, beyond the trail, dust arose. "Thought so," the gunman said. "They'r e pullin' out."
    Talon waited a moment, watching the trail, and then he turned and walked toward hi s horse, standing with th e other horses in the low ground behind the rocks. "Let's ride, Jones."
    They mounted up and the three men watched them in silence. The gunman stared at Talo n as he swung his horse to ride out. "Something about you/' he said. "I've seen yo u before, somewhere."
    "No," Talon said distinctly, "I don't believe so."
    " You ridin' west?"
    "To Carson City, probably."
    "Make it definitely . . . you take my advice and don't stop this side." The gunma n grinned. "You might run into more Utes without me to protect you."
    Talon said, "You know something? You're in the wrong