Free Ole Devil at San Jacinto (Old Devil Hardin Western Book 4) by J.T. Edson Page B

potential until the arrival of techniques developed by
Twentieth Century combat shooting experts who employed even more
compact weapons and sophisticated equipment. xxii
    Certainly there was nothing in Texas, or the
United States for that matter, in the 1830s which might have served
as a warning to Jaloux and Pierre-Quint of what was to come.
    Bounding past Ole Devil and
Hallistead, giving neither of them an opportunity to take any
action, the little Oriental sent his right hand flashing to the
hilt of the tachi. Before he alighted in front of the two young dandies, brief
as the movement had been, he had already slid the thirty inch long
blade from its sheath. Still moving with the same remarkable speed,
giving the spiritual cry of ‘Kiai!’ he swung the naked weapon in a smooth and graceful
arc towards Jaloux.
    Before the amazed Creole could even grasp the
butt of the pistol, much less pluck it from his belt, he saw the
shining and obviously exceptionally sharp blade approaching as if
his right arm was a magnet attracting the steel. Instinctively, if
involuntarily, he snatched the threatened limb clear of the
danger.
    Having prevented Jaloux from
drawing the weapon, Tommy treated him, Pierre-Quint, Hallistead and
Lieutenant Alphonse Jules Dumoulin to a masterful exhibition of
sword handling in the Japanese fashion. He also drove all thoughts
of further aggression from Jaloux’s and Pierre-Quint’s heads. Even
Ole Devil, who had frequently watched the small Oriental practicing
with the tachi, was impressed with the display.
    Around and around, back and
forth, up and down darted the long and —to Occidental eyes—strangely shaped
sword. For all its relatively cumbersome appearance, Tommy made
thrusts or cuts with the facility of an epee-de-combat or saber, but without making
contact on either of the startled young Creoles. Although neither was as much as
scratched in passing, each was all too aware of just how slender a
margin they were being missed by. Fortunately for them, surprise at
the transformation of one whom they had previously dismissed as no
more than a harmless servant froze them into immobility.
    Sometimes the tachi was held in one
hand, then it would be grasped in both. Either way, nothing
interfered with the rapid flowing motions of the razor sharp blade
that had a pliancy and strength all but unequalled in the Western
Hemisphere. As the weapon moved, almost of its own volition, Tommy
heightened the effect by bobbing, weaving, advancing and
retreating, but always judging his distance to a fraction of an
inch to avoid injuring the now thoroughly alarmed and frightened
young men.
    For a good two minutes, although
it seemed far longer to the Creoles and the onlookers, the little Oriental kept up the
demonstration. Then, giving another yell, he pivoted around. On
returning to face the pair, he cut left and upwards, then back at a
downwards angle to the right in quick succession. A sliver of
material was sliced from the crown of Jaloux’s ‘planter’s’ hat,
without it being knocked from his head. A moment later, its knot
severed, the sling that had supported Pierre-Quint’s dislocated
right shoulder fell away. Gasps of amazement burst from the
watchers, Tommy returned the tachi to its sheath as swiftly as he had removed
it.
    None of the party in the hollow moved or
spoke for several seconds!
    In fact, Jaloux and Pierre-Quint were
incapable of speech or movement!
    Even as Hallistead was about to make a
comment, the silence was broken from another direction.
    Footsteps sounded, drawing the group’s
attention to two people who were coming in some haste down the
slope. In the lead, his face even more florid than it usually was,
strode the commanding officer of the New Orleans’ Wildcats. Colonel
Jules Dumoulin was followed by a small, dainty, very shapely and
beautiful blonde haired woman. Her poise and carriage lent a
somewhat seductive grace to what, on a person less well favored,
would have been a plain