The Drygulch Trail E-Book

Ned Oaks

• Herausgeber: Robert Hale
• Kategorie: Abenteuer, Thriller, Horror
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2016

Beschreibung

When Will Curtis rides into Junction City on a cold, rainy night, all he wants is a shot of whiskey and a place to dry off. Instead, he finds himself dragged into a feud between a land-hungry banker and the tough homesteaders who are desperate to keep their ranches. But when rich bully Clem Dawson brings in hired guns to force the ranchers off their land, Curtis decides there is only one thing a decent man could do under the circumstances - and that is to fight. He must keep his wits about him and his pistol handy as he rides The Drygulch Trail.

Leseprobe

The Drygulch Trail

When Will Curtis rides into Junction City on a cold, rainy night, all he wants is a shot of whiskey and a place to dry off. Instead, he finds himself dragged into a feud between a land-hungry banker and the tough homesteaders who are desperate to keep their ranches. But when rich bully Clem Dawson brings in hired guns to force the ranchers off their land, Curtis decides there is only one thing a decent man could do under the circumstances—and that is to fight. He must keep his wits about him and his pistol handy as he rides The Drygulch Trail.

The Drygulch Trail

Ned Oaks

© Ned Oaks 2016

First published in Great Britain 2016

ISBN 978-0-7198-2116-5

The Crowood Press

The Stable Block

Crowood Lane

Ramsbury

Marlborough

Wiltshire SN8 2HR

www.crowood.com

This e-book first published in 2016

Robert Hale is an imprint

of The Crowood Press

The right of Ned Oaks to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988

CHAPTER ONE

It was nearly midnight when the stranger rode into town.

The rain assailed him as he made his way up Main Street. His horse’s hoofs made squishing noises in the thick mud. The man wore a slicker against the relentless rain, and water streamed off the brim of his Stetson, which he’d pulled down low over his lean face.

Only one lantern burned in the street, dangling from a pole in front of the saloon. The man pulled reins in front of the saloon’s hitching post and looked up and down the street. Apart from the area where he was sitting, the town was completely dark.

He dismounted and wrapped his reins around the post. One other horse was tied there. He climbed the steps wearily and stood under the awning in front of the batwing doors. He peeled off his slicker and shook the water from it, then did the same with his hat. It was the first time he’d been out of the rain all day.

The man pushed through the batwings into the saloon. It was a surprisingly clean establishment, albeit a small one. There was a bar along the far wall, the length of the room. The tables and the chairs appeared new. There was a large and ornate mirror behind the bar. The brass lanterns had been polished recently. To the man’s left, a staircase led up to a landing on the second floor. A pair of closed doors opened onto the landing.

Apart from the stranger, there were two people in the saloon. One was a man sitting on a stool at the far right of the bar, his back turned to the man standing just inside the batwings. The other was a young woman standing behind the bar. She was wiping a glass, her eyes cast down, when the man stepped into the room. The hinges of the batwings creaked and she raised her eyes toward the stranger.