"William W Johnstone - Ashes 24 - Judgment in the Ashes (txt)" - читать интересную книгу автора (Johnstone William W)

AFTER THE FALL

Ike spread a map on the hood of a HumVee and studied it for a moment.
"There is absolutely no way to tell which direction Ben might take," he
said. "He might head straight east, he might go north or south, he might
circle around and come up behind Bottger's men."

"You're sure they were Bottger's people?" Lamar Chase, the chief of
medicine, asked.

"Yes. The bodies are stretched out over there." Ike pointed to a row of
bodies laid out by the side of the road, covered with ground sheets.

"Any taken alive?"

"Two. One of them is badly hurt and won't live out the rest of the day.
He's been talking some. Ben has at least a hundred men, maybe twice that
number, chasing him." Ike waved a hand toward the east. "Out there in
all that thousands and thousands of acres of wilderness. I did some
training out there years back, Doc. Skilled trackers and experienced
woodsmen have gotten lost in that wilderness. Some of them were never
found."

"Were there any signs of Ben's being injured?"

"No traces of blood. Scouts say he's limping some."

"Hell, yes, he's limping. He's probably bruised from head to toe. Might
have cracked a bone or two. I don't see how he survived at all."

"He's lucky, Doc. Ben is the luckiest man I've ever known."

Lamar grunted. "You know, Ike, Ben's on his own now. No decisions to
make, no paperwork to wade through, no one breathing down his neck. And
you know what else?"

"What?"

"He's enjoying every damn minute of it!"

3 WILLIAM W. JOHNSTONE THE PREACHER SERIES

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