Free Stampede at Rattlesnake Pass by Clay More

dropped her head to avoid his
regard. "They – are – horrible," she replied slowly, emphasizing
each word. "They are evil, Mr. Scudder. They are violent – to
women!"
    "The curs!" Jake exclaimed. He held all
women in the highest regard and felt disgust for those who did not.
He swallowed his own brandy and topped up their glasses again.
    Rosalind smiled and sipped her drink, then
turned and nodded at the bed. "Wouldn’t you like to be more
comfortable – Jake?"
    Scudder reached over and patted the back of
her hand. "Rosalind, I still do not believe that you are as old as
you say. And I do not think that your way of life is doing you any
good. I do not want to sleep with you. In fact, I would like to
stake you some money so that you can get away from here."
    Rosalind’s eyes lit up for a moment. Then
the light faded. "I have had men say things like that before. All
of the girls have, but nothing ever happens."
    "How long have you worked here,
Rosalind?"
    "A year. Miss Carmen is a good boss. She has
been kind to me."
    Jake swallowed some more brandy then yawned,
suddenly feeling quite weary. "And what about those men? You told
me they were violent to women. Do you know anything else about
them?" He blinked and rubbed his eyes.
    Rosalind yawned as well, then took another
drink. "I declare you are making me feel sleepy, Jake," she said
coquettishly. "They come and go. They have been in town before,
then left for months. Cattlemen, they claim to be, but I think –
"
    "What do you think, Rosalind?"
    "I think they – could be thieves," she
replied, stifling another yawn. "Rustlers, maybe."
    Her eyes rolled upwards and she suddenly
fell backwards on the bed, her brandy glass tumbling from her hand
and rolling across the floor.
    Jake felt his head begin to swim and he rose
unsteadily to his feet. "I – kind of – feel groggy – too!" he
murmured, staring suspiciously at his own half empty glass. Then he
staggered forward and collapsed on the bed beside Rosalind.
    * * *
    Nantan had done his job and then reported
back to the cellar where he had been told to meet his boss.
    "Did they seem suspicious about anything?"
the boss demanded.
    The impassive Nantan shook his head.
    "And did you wait outside like I told you
to?"
    Nantan nodded again. "I heard them talking.
He asked a lot of questions and she answered. I could not make out
all of her answers, except for one."
    "Go on!"
    "She said she thought they were
rustlers."
    "Anything else?"
    "No, they fell asleep."
    The boss laughed. "How do you know
that?"
    "There was the noise of them falling on the
bed, then nothing more. Normally those beds make many spring
noises, but not this time."
    "You are a prize, Nantan!" And several
dollars passed from palm to palm.
    * * *
    Elly had wept for a while and then pulled
herself together, as was her way. She realized that things were
looking bad for the Rocking H, but if she was to salvage anything
from all this, it would be up to her. And that meant that she had
to think straight.
    "Where is Jake?" she asked herself again and
again. And when he still hadn’t appeared two hours later she lay
down on the bed and tried to work out her next move. Almost
mercifully she fell into slumber. A slumber from which she was
rudely awakened by the noise of two shots from somewhere not too
far off.
    She was awake instantly, her immediate
concern being that the shots could have something to do with Jake
Scudder. But then her reasoning mind took over and she realized
that in a railhead town like Silver City, such shooting in the
evening was probably related to some cowboy letting off steam, or
to some gambler celebrating a win at the tables. Either way it was
unlikely to have anything to do with Scudder. And so thinking she
dosed off again, fully expecting Jake Scudder to appear at some
point and waken her in the process.
    She managed to fall into a deep sleep this
time and was only dimly aware of a light tap at the door. After a
few moments it was repeated