Free the Rider Of Lost Creek (1976) by Louis - Kilkenny 02 L'amour Page A

the jump or were you just faster?"
    "Didn't amount to much, but he did beat me to the draw."
    "I didn't think anybody ever beat you ... Rusty said.
    "Several men have, and he did. It may be he saw me a split second sooner. Fact is, I think he did."
    "How come he didn't kill you?"
    "He made a mistake. He drew faster, but he missed his first shot. He didn't get another."
    A faint breeze stirred among the oak leaves.
    Kilkenny looked again at the approaching rider. It was Steve Lord, all right, but why here? At this time?
    They rode on, taking their time, watching the approaching rider as well as the trail ahead.
    Steve Lord came up at a gallop, reining in when he recognized Lance. He glanced sharply from one to the other.
    "I didn't know you had interests down this way ... He said.
    "We're takin' a look at Apple Canyon ... Rusty said. "An' I want to introduce Kilkenny to Nita."
    Steve glanced at the gunfighter. "I heard somebody say that you were Kilkenny, but I didn't believe it You don't fit any of the descriptions."
    "Just as well ... Kilkenny commented. "I'm not anxious to be known."
    "I should think you'd"... He paused. For the first time it dawned on him what Rusty had said. "What's your interest in Miss Riordan?"
    "None at all ... Kilkenny replied. "Rusty is showing me the sights, and from all I hear, she's one of them."
    "She is beautiful ... Steve agreed, "but I'm not sure she would appreciate being considered one of the "sights.""
    "No offense meant ... Rusty said cheerfully. "But any man who wouldn't ride a hundred miles just to be in the same room with her is no kind of man. She's a woman!"
    Kilkenny glanced at Steve, who obviously agreed but was somewhat disturbed by this talk about her. Was he infatuated? Well, it would not be surprising.
    He was young, very good-looking, and obviously very concerned with himself.
    "You know, Steve ... He suggested, "I had a talk with Webb Steele last night. And if we're going to avoid a war that will do nobody any good, we've got to get your father and Mort Davis together with him."
    "Mort Davis"..."... Steve exploded. "Why, Dad's threatened to shoot him on sight! They'd never dare get in the same room!"
    "I'll be there ... Kilkenny commented grimly. "And if there's any shooting done, I'll do it."
    Steve was doubtful "I'll talk to him, but it won't do any good. He's pretty hard-headed."
    "So's Webb Steele ... Rusty added, "but we'll bring him around."
    "Did you ever see a cattle war, Steve"..."... Kilkenny asked.
    "No, I never did ... He admitted. "But we heard about the Sutton-Taylor fight and the trouble between the Regulators and the Moderators."
    "Well, then you know how many men can die. Most younger men think they're going to live forever, but there's no guarantee of that. The young can die as quickly as the old, and if there's a shooting war started you'd be sitting up there as a first-rate target. And nobody's even going to hesitate about shooting."
    "I'm not afraid ... Steve protested.
    "Not now ... Nobody is shooting at you.
    Surprising how quick a man's feeling can change when lead starts flying. Because a bullet doesn't care who it hits. A man always has the idea that it's the others who will die, not him. But all the dead men thought that, too."
    "You think that? You... Kilkenny?"
    "Of course ... Lance said simply. "Any man is vulnerable. And I think a man who knows he can die is a more dangerous antagonist than one who believes he cannot. Fearlessness is often the very thing that gets a man killed."
    "Anyway ... Rusty said, "why fight when it's in somebody else's interest?"
    Steve turned sharply around to look at him. "What does that mean? Whose interest?"
    Kilkenny let his horse walk on a few steps before he replied to the question. Rusty had made a sort of gesture implying, that he should explain.
    He glanced over the country before him from a bit of a rise. He was riding into unknown country and he did not really like traveling with others. Any conversation was