Free Stampede at Rattlesnake Pass by Clay More Page A

by a louder and more persistent
knocking.
    "Who . . . who is it?"
    "Scudder," came the reply.
    Elly rubbed her eyes as she slid off her bed
and crossed to the door. "Where have you been?" she asked as she
undid the lock. "I have been waiting for hours."
    She opened the door a few inches, then was
surprised when it was forcefully pushed open.
    "What the - ?" she began.
    The black figure of Rubal Cage grinned at
her. "Actually, Scudder couldn’t make it – so he sent me."
    Elly’s mouth opened as if to emit a scream.
But it never left her lips, for at that moment Rubal Cage’s fist
flashed up and caught her on the point of the chin, lifting her off
the floor and propelling her backwards into the room, where she
fell with a dull thud.
    "Come on, you two," Cage snapped as he
entered the room.
    When all three of them were inside, standing
around the unconscious figure of Elly Horrocks, Hog Fleming kicked
the door closed.

CHAPTER SEVEN
    Jake woke with a thundering headache as a
shaft of light from the new dawn shone through the gap in the cheap
curtains. His tongue felt as though it was stuck to the roof of his
mouth and he felt slightly nauseated. He was lying face down on the
bed beside the form of a girl whose bosom gently rose and fell mere
inches from his face.
    "Rosalind," he said softly, more to himself
than to her, as he raised his head to gather his senses. He pushed
himself up from the bed, stretching and working his shoulders to
ease his aching muscles.
    At the sound of her name, Rosalind awoke
with a start. "Wh . . . what happened?" she asked in some
confusion. "Weren’t we drinking –?"
    Jake had picked up the errant glass that had
rolled across the floor and stood sniffing it. "We were drinking
drugged brandy," he replied, his jaw setting in a look of grim
determination. "And I am going to find out who was
responsible."
    Rosalind’s eyes opened wide with alarm. "Not
Nantan?"
    Jake shook his head. "He delivered it, but
it was sent up by your boss, Carmen de Menendez."
    Rosalind gave an emphatic shake of her head.
"Miss Carmen wouldn’t do anything like that."
    Jake poured water from the washing pitcher
into the large porcelain bowl on the dressing stand then sluiced it
over his face. He sniffed the pitcher to ensure that it too was not
drugged and then took a hefty swig to clean his mouth.
    "I reckon that at this moment the main
question is, why were we drugged?"
    "You don’t think it could have been those
two men?"
    "That is possible, Rosalind," Jake replied.
He felt concerned for her, since she had clearly had a bad shock
the night before. "Now you can see why I think you need to get away
from this way of life. It's not healthy."
    Rosalind bit her lower lip. "But I can't get
away from it. I have no money."
    "I told you that I would stake you," he
returned. He pulled out a wad of notes from his back pocket and
peeled a number off. "This should be enough to buy a train ticket
for as far as you want to go. I have some business to sort out
first, then I’ll come back later today and put you on a train
myself."
    Rosalind stared incredulously at the money.
"You’ll do that for me? But I have not done anything for you."
    Jake gave her a wry smile. "Rosalind, I
think it's time you showed some faith in the human race. Not
everyone you meet is going to want something from you. I want you
to look at this money as your second chance. Take it."
    And he reached for the door while Rosalind
continued to stare in disbelief at the money. "I will be ready,
Jake."
    He nodded then left.
    "I will never know how to thank you, Jake
Scudder," Rosalind whispered as she stared at the closed door.
    * * *
    Elly had woken during the night with a
painful jaw and a splitting headache, from when her head had hit
the bedroom floor and snuffed out her consciousness. For a moment
she could not understand why her head was hanging down with her
arms dangling on each side. Then she realized that she was in
motion, being jolted up and down. She