J. Johnstone - The Loner: Inferno #12

The Loner: INFERNO

J. A. Johnstone

PINNACLE BOOKS

Kensington Publishing Corp.

Chapter 1

The place didnt have a name, at least as far as the rider on the dun horse knew. Probably the people who lived there called it something, but the tall young man didnt care about that.

He just wanted a drink after riding all day in the baking New Mexico sun. One of the handful of buildings alongside the trail was a saloon, so that was all that mattered to him.

He reined the dun over to the hitch rail in front of the saloon and swung down from the saddle. Most of the buildings in the tiny settlement were adobe, but this one was constructed of lumberfreighted in from somewhereand even had a porch and a false front giving the illusion of a second story.

MAHONEYSBEERLIQUORGAMBLING was painted on the false front. Right to the point, the newcomer thought. He was a little surprised WHORES wasnt painted up there too.

The man was broad-shouldered, lean but powerfully built. He wore brown whipcord trousers tucked into high-topped brown boots, a buckskin shirt unadorned with fringe, and a wide-brimmed, flat-crowned brown Stetson with conchos on the band.

A Colt .45 revolver with black grips rode easily in the holster on his right hip. In sheaths strapped to his saddle were a nearly new Winchester repeater and an older Sharps Big Fifty carbine. With the dawn of a new century not that far away, it was getting more unusual to see men armed like that, even on the frontier, but it wasnt yet uncommon.

He wrapped the duns reins around the hitch rack and stepped up into the blessed shade of the saloons porch. Even though the air was blistering hot and dry, it helped to get out of the direct rays of the sun.

The stranger was thirsty, but before he stepped into the saloon he paused and leaned on the porch railing for a moment to look along the street. He was in the habit of being cautious and studying his surroundings.

Next to the saloon was a mercantile, beyond that a corral, and on the other side of the corral a single-story adobe hotel. Across the street was a blacksmith shop, a cantina, and a couple of adobe houses. That was the extent of the settlement.

A dog, panting in front of the blacksmith shop, was the only sign of life in the community. The strangers dun was the only horse tied at the hitch racks, although a few unsaddled mounts shifted around listlessly in the corral.

Everybody was taking a siesta, the man thought. Given the heat of the day, it wasnt surprising. Nobody wanted to move around much.

But somebody was moving, and in a hurry, he realized as he glanced to the south. His blue eyes narrowed at the sight of the dust cloud rolling up into the brassy sky.

Usually when somebody was moving that fast in such heat, it meant trouble. But it couldnt have anything to do with him. He had just ridden in and had never been there before.

With a mental shrug, he turned, pushed through the batwings, and walked into Mahoneys Saloon.

The stranger was the only customer. The place would soon go broke if it never did any more business than this. The bar was empty, and so were the half-dozen tables. A single bartender stood behind the hardwood, aimlessly wiping a cloth over it.

He looked up in surprise at the strangers entrance. He was a middle-aged man with a pinched face and was mostly bald with a fringe of graying red hair around his ears. Afternoon, mister.

It surely is, the stranger agreed as he approached the bar. Is your beer cold?

Oh, now, you might as well be asking for a miracle, my friend. The closest cold beer is in Albuquerque or El Paso. But what I have is wet, and itll wash the dust out of your throat if thats what youre looking for.

It is. The stranger took a coin out of his pocket and dropped it on the bar.

The bartender frowned. Beers usually four bits.

I pay four bits for cold beer. Warm is only worth two.

The bartender thought for a second and then nodded.

I suppose thats fair enough, especially seeing as I dont exactly have customers beating down my door right now.

You may in a few minutes, the stranger said as the bartender filled a mug from a keg. I saw some dust headed toward town. Looked like quite a few riders, and judging by the hurry theyre in, they must be thirsty.

The bartender dropped the mug. It shattered and splashed beer over the floor behind the bar.

A bunch of riders ... coming toward town? he choked out.

Thats right. The strangers eyes narrowed. You act like you have a pretty good idea who they are and what they want.

The bartender kicked the broken glass aside and didnt bother picking it up. If your horse isnt completely played out, Id advise mounting up and riding out of here right now, mister. You dont want to be here.

Why not?

The bartender wiped sweat off his face with the bar rag. Because when Hammersmiths men get here, theres likely to be shooting. A lot of it.

Shooting about what?

Dan Hammersmith owns the Hammer Ranch south of here. Hes been losing stock, and he blames Pep Flores. Flores owns the cantina across the road. Hes holed up in there now with half a dozen Mex gunmen. When Hammersmith and his crew get here, theres going to be a battle. Everybody in town knows whats coming. Thats why theyre all hunkered down, waiting until its over. Im going in my back room, where Ive got some crates stacked up to stop any stray bullets that come this way.

Is Flores actually behind the rustling?

I dont know. Hammersmith thinks he is, and thats all that matters.

The stranger thought it over, and nodded. I still want that beer.

Youre not leaving? the bartender asked, his eyes wide with surprise.

Not until Ive had that beer, Mister ... are you Mahoney?

Aye. William Mahoney, his own self.

Then draw another beer for me, Mr. Mahoney, and you can go get behind your crates.

Mahoney stared at him for a long moment, then muttered, Tis a madman you are.

The stranger smiled. No. Just thirsty.

Mahoney grabbed a mug from the backbar and filled it. He pushed it across the hardwood toward the stranger. There. Its on the house this time, since I dropped the first one. And whatever happens ... its on your head, mister.

He turned, scurried to the end of the bar, and disappeared through a narrow door.

The stranger picked up the mug and took a long swallow of the beer. Mahoney was right. It wasnt the least bit cold, but it was wet and washed away the trail dust, and it wasnt too bitter. The stranger sighed in satisfaction as he set the mug back on the bar.

He turned and walked to the door, pushed the batwings aside and stepped onto the porch. The dust cloud was a lot closer to the settlement. Close enough he could hear the pounding hoofbeats of the horses.

Riders appeared at the clouds base, black dots at first and then recognizable as men on horseback. They swept into the settlement and reined their mounts to a halt at the point where the trail turned into a street. The skidding stop kicked up more dust, and since there was barely any breeze, it hung over the street, drifting slowly past the saloon.

The stranger took off his hat, revealing a thatch of sandy hair, and waved some of the dust away as it tried to settle on him.

As the air gradually cleared, he saw that ten men had ridden into town, all of them wearing range clothes and sporting guns in tied-down holsters. They fancied themselves Coltmen, whether they actually were or not.

One man was a little better dressed than the others, so the stranger pegged him as Dan Hammersmith, the rancher whose herd had been the victim of rustlers.

Hammersmith cast a frowning glance at the stranger, who had replaced his hat and stood with a hip braced against one of the posts supporting the awning over the porch. Hammersmith said something to the rider beside him, who shook his head. The second man was probably indicating he had no idea who the tall stranger was.