Free the Riders Of High Rock (1993) by Louis - Hopalong 0 L'amour Page A

alleyway. From where he stood only a corner of the saloon could be seen, and the merest edge of the saloon window. The unseen gunman's only chance of seeing him would be if he was pressed tightly against that edge of the window, and in any event he would have no chance to fire. Hopalong pulled his hat on, took a step back, then launched himself in a swift run to the back wall of the house. He drew up and stood still, listening.
    There was no sound. The boards of the old house were brown with age and they smelled of the heat. Edging along behind the building, he peered through a window that allowed him to see through the empty house and watch the front of the saloon. As he watched he saw a shadow slip by a window opposite to his. He had been right, then. Someone had been left behind in case he had hidden in the town.
    On tiptoe, placing each foot down gently, Hopalong worked his way to the corner of the building. The neighboring house, which was the last in town, jutted at least ten feet farther towards the road than his present hiding place. To cross to its shelter he would have to allow himself in full view of the saloon for at least three steps. Time enough to drop him if the watcher was ready.
    Listening, Hopalong Cassidy heard a horse walking in the gravel in front of the livery stable. Evidently Sourdough had led the black outside for water. That would certainly attract the watcher's eyes. In three quick steps Hopalong made the back
    of the neighboring house, but even as he leaped behind it, a gun bellowed and he heard the angry thud of a bullet!
    Swinging around the corner of the house, he dropped flat at its corner and edged forward. The Gold Strike's swing doors had been enclosed inside the heavy outer doors put up when the saloon was closed. Now the outer door stood partly open, and Hopalong thought he saw the blackness of a boot. He lifted his pistol and took a snap shot past the corner.
    Instantly a gun boomed and a heavy slug ripped through the corner of the house just inches over his head, showering him with splinters. Another shot came through higher, and then one lower that almost nicked him! Jerking back, he lay still, waiting. His shot must have been wasted. Whoever the watcher was, he was using a rifle--probably, by the sound, a Spencer.
    He groaned suddenly, then again, and softer in tone. The air was still, and he was sure the sound would reach the gunman. Whether he would be taken in by the ruse was quite another thing, but it was worth trying. Hopalong waited while a man might have counted ten and then moaned softly, as if in pain.
    There was no sound within the saloon. The air was warm and very still. A door slammed down the street; then all was silent once more. A lizard eased itself from under the porch and peered, bright-eyed and curious, at Hopalong. He waited, heard a faint creak of boards from within the saloon, then no other sound.
    A hat appeared, and he waited. The hat was withdrawn and there were sounds of movement within the saloon. Drawing back, Hopalong tiptoed around the house and peered from the back corner. The door was partly open now, as if the gun--
    jit
    man were looking towards the corner at which he had fired. Unexpectedly, the man emerged. It was Vila.
    Gun in hand, but a pistol this time, for close work, the desperado stepped off the porch into the street. Instantly Hopalong stepped into the open.
    "Vila!" he shouted. "Drop it!"
    The outlaw whirled as if touched by a spark, and dropping into a half-crouch, he fired. Despite the speed of his turn, the bullet flicked dangerously near Hopalong's cheek. Cassidy thumbed the hammer of his gun. The outlaw sprang back, his pistol sliding from his fingers, a red gash across the back of his hand. With his left he grabbed for his other gun, but a bullet cut between belt and gun butt and he jerked his hand clear, blood dripping from a thumb knuckle. Slowly he lifted his hands.
    "That's better," Hopalong said quietly, "much better. My advice