Read Tough to Kill for Free Online

way to the creek. It would not have taken long to kill him that way. He had seen a man dragged that way down in the Nations once and it was a sight horrible enough never to be forgotten. But he was alive when they reached the creek. There were several riders there. They took the rope from around his ankle, got him by his legs and arms and lobbed him into the water. He couldn’t swim, so he nearly drowned. But he managed to make the shore and staggering dripping to his feet. He walked to the first ridge and watched the riders who had thrown him in rejoin their fellows. Markham was in the middle of them, bawling orders. Men dismounted and ran this way and that.
    Jack caught sight of a flutter of cloth and knew that was Sarie. He saw her strike at Markham with both fists. A rider jumped his horse to her and plucked her from the ground on the run, turned his mount and went yelling like an Indian out along the valley, Sarie fighting and clawing every inch of the way. About a quarter mile from the house, he dumped her in the long grass, howled his laughter and rode back again. Doggedly, screaming curses she had learned from the men shelived with, Sarie started to walk back to the house.
    Jack thought bitterly that if McAllister or McShannon had been there they would be among the men with their guns out, but here he was, standing dripping like a half-drowned dog, gunless, unable to do a thing.
    He watched the men open the corral gate and drive all the horses out and, whooping, spook them down valley on the run. Then he saw the men with the axes they had found in the barn chopping the corral posts to matchwood and throwing them in a pile, dowsing them with coal-oil and setting fire to them. He saw the man carry the can of coal-oil into the house and knew what that meant. For the second time a house on this spot was going to be burned down. Jack almost wept with rage and helplessness as he watched. They had known Markham was rough but who could have guessed that he would have gone this far?
    When he saw the flame burst out through the window and smoke start to billow, his bitterness was complete. He sat down and watched and promised himself what he would do to Markham one day. He had played hell with the Turvis gang, hadn’t he? By God, he’d take up the gun again. He occupied his time, noting details of the men so that he would recognise them again.
    Sarie changed course and came and sat by him. She slipped a hand in his and tried to comfort him.
    â€œThere ain’t nothin’ you can do, Jack,” she said. “There’s too many of ’em. Neither of the Macks would of tried to fight a big bunch of men like this.”
    They fired the barn full of good summer sun-cured hay that was to feed their saddle stock through the winter so they would not have to let them range free and go hunting for them in the spring. Jack clenched his fists and ground his teeth together in almost uncontrollable rage.
    Then they were done after about five of them had dropped their ropes over the chimney and brought the tall stone edifice crashing down. They rode shouting and laughing to the ford, Markham in the lead, calling gibes to the man and the girl. They splashed noisily through the water and rode away over the rise.
    By the time Jack and Sarie had reached the house, it was no more than a glowing ember.

4
    McAllister and McShannon rode up at a steady lope. Jack and Sarie rose to meet them. Dusk was falling and Jack couldn’t see the faces of the two men. They got down slowly from their saddles. McAllister walked over to the burning embers and stared at them for a moment.
    â€œI don’t have to ask if that was Markham,” he said when he turned back to the others. “I reckon I misjudged the man. I didn’t think he’d go this far. He’s more Injun than I thought.”
    McShannon said! “He ain’t the on’y one ’at can be Injun.” He said it quietly as if some of the go had