Feebly, he fumbled to unfasten his collar. And then, somewhat abruptly, he fainted.
“You can’t ...” Addy swallowed a lump in her throat, “you can’t just—let him die ...”
“He ain’t about to die,” grinned Larry. “He did try to poison you, Addy, but I didn’t switch the glasses. Spiked glass is out on the gallery. I let him think he was poisoned. Don’t you reckon he deserved a shock?” He nodded to Stretch. “Go find the Laramie law, big feller. Tell ’em the whole score, and have ’em come fetch the lawyer-man.”
“Yeah,” grunted Stretch. “He makes this purty room look plumb untidy.”
Soon afterward, Milliken was roused from his fainting fit. Laramie’s sheriff, a burly, angry-looking man, was raising him and dumping him into a chair, with scant ceremony. The lawyer struggled to regain his composure. His wrists were manacled. Larry and Stretch were seated at the table, looking downright bored. Before Milliken’s eyes, the sheriff dangled a sheet of paper.
“This,” he growled, “is a statement taken from these Texans and a lady name of Chapman. If what they claim is true, you hired yourself a killer ...”
“I’ll deny every word of that statement!” gasped Milliken.
He felt no nausea, no pain. His brain was in a whirl, and the expression on the lawman’s face was becoming increasingly ugly.
“Hiring a killer is bad enough,” he grated. “But you tried to poison the lady. You’re a lawyer, so you know the score. The charge will be attempted murder.” He exhibited the tiny bottle. “I took this from your pocket.”
“And you think it contained poison?” Milliken glared up at him. “Prove it!”
The sheriff darted a glance at Larry, and asked,
“How about that?”
“Nothin’ to it,” shrugged Larry. He rose up, ambled to the window and climbed out to the gallery. When he returned, he was toting the glass containing the spiked wine. “Here it is—the drink he rigged for Addy. If it ain’t poisoned, he won’t baulk at swiggin’ a few mouthfuls.” He moved closer to the bug-eyed Milliken, held the glass to his quivering mouth. “Go ahead, lawyer-man. What’ve you got to lose?”
“No ...!” groaned Milliken.
“All right,” breathed the sheriff. “I’m satisfied.”
He hustled the lawyer from the room. As the door closed behind them, the Texans traded wry grins, and Stretch remarked,
“So now it’s all over. You got all the answers, just like always.”
The atmosphere of tension had gone, along with the sheriff, his prisoner, and Addy. She had retired to her room. As well as fetching the law, Stretch had summoned a doctor. Stretch could be, when the occasion demanded, just as considerate, as chivalrous, as his partner. Could any woman be expected to maintain control of her nerves under such circumstances? Addy had fallen apart, but in the privacy of her own room, and with the medico in attendance. She was sleeping now, under the influence of a sedative.
“Tomorrow,” Larry predicted, “she’ll feel a sight easier. We’ll buy a ticket on the next eastbound and, before she knows it, we’ll be deliverin’ her to the bridegroom.”
“Bueno,” said Stretch. “But, meantime ...”
He nodded to the laden table. Larry butted his cigarette and drew up a chair.
“This elegant chow,” he observed, “is still hot—so what’re we waitin’ for?”
“Who’s waitin’?” grinned Stretch.
He seated himself and tucked a napkin into his collar. It was long past suppertime for the Lone Star Hellions, but better late than never.
About the Author
Leonard Frank Meares (February 13, 1921 - February 4, 1993)
Sydney born Len Meares aka Marshall Grover, published around 750 novels, mostly westerns. His best-known works feature Texas trouble-shooters Larry and Stretch. Before starting to write, Meares served in the Royal Australian Air Force, worked in the Department of Immigration and sold shoes. In the mid-1950s he bought a typewriter to write radio and film scripts. Inspired by the success of local paperback westerns, he wrote Trouble Town, which was published by the Cleveland Publishing Company in 1955.
His tenth yarn, Drift! (1956), introduced Larry Valentine and Stretch Emerson. In 1960, he created a brief but memorable series of westerns set in and around the town of Bleak Creek. Four years later came The Night McLennan Died, the first of more than 70 westerns (sometimes called oaters) to feature cavalryman-turned-manhunter Big Jim Rand.
The Larry and Stretch Series by Marshall Grover
Drift!
Arizona Wild-Cat
Ride Wild to Glory
Nomads from Texas
Ride Out Shooting
Texans Walk Proud
Never Prod a Texan
The Fast Right Hand
Close In For Showdown
Texas Gun Ghost
Lone Star Valiant
Colorado Pursuit
Follow the Texans
Lone Star Fury
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