Duff reached out at the exact moment Percy’s arm was most extended. Putting one hand on Percy’s elbow and the other on Percy’s wrist, he jerked the arm back, breaking it at the elbow.
“Ahhh!” Percy screamed in pain.
Duff heard the knife hit the ground, and reaching down quickly, he picked it up and tossed it into the river, hearing the little splash as it went in.
“Percy!” the woman shouted.
“He’s here,” Duff said.
“Percy, what happened?”
“The son of a bitch broke my arm!” Percy said, his voice strained with pain.
“Aye, but ye should be glad ’twas your arm I broke, and not your neck,” Duff said.
“You son of a bitch! You broke Percy’s arm?” the woman said, angrily.
“Tch, tch, such language from a lady,” Duff said. “Sure now, lass, an’ I’m beginnin’ to think ye were in nae danger at all, now, were ye?” Duff asked.
“Kill him, Percy! Kill him!” the woman said, her voice rising in fear.
“Kill him? I can barely move, you dumb bitch! How am I going to kill him?”
“I would be for betting that I’m nae the first ye have invited down here by your ruse,” Duff said. “But ’tis thinking I am that I might be your last.”
“I need a doctor,” Percy said. “M’arm is about to fall off.”
“Aye, if I were you, I would get that arm looked at,” Duff said. Stepping out from under the bridge, he climbed back up the embankment. Behind him, he could hear Percy and the woman arguing.
“I got him down here for you. The rest was up to you, but you couldn’t handle it.”
“He broke my arm,” Percy replied. “Can’t you understand that? He broke my arm. I need a doctor.”
Their angry and accusing voices faded behind him as he walked through the night back toward the hotel.
“Mr. MacCallister,” the hotel clerk called to him as he crossed the lobby.
“Aye?”
“You’ve a message, sir, from a Mr. Woodson.” The clerk handed a note to Duff.
“Thank you,” Duff said.
Duff took the message over to one of the sofas in the lobby and sat there as he unfolded it to read.
Smiling, Duff put the note in his pocket. As soon as he got back to Wyoming, he would contact the Kansas City Cattle Exchange and make whatever arrangements as might be necessary.
PINNACLE BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
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Copyright © 2012 William W. Johnstone
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
Following the death of William W. Johnstone, the Johnstone family is working with a carefully selected writer to organize and complete Mr. Johnstone’s outlines and many unfinished manuscripts to create additional novels in all of his series like The Last Gunfighter, Mountain Man, and Eagles, among others. This novel was inspired by Mr. Johnstone’s superb storytelling.
If you purchased this book without a cover, you should be aware that this book is stolen property. It was reported as “unsold and destroyed” to the publisher, and neither the author nor the publisher has received any payment for this “stripped book.”
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ISBN: 978-0-7860-3003-3
Notes
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