"Louis L'amour - sackett05 - Ride The River" - читать интересную книгу автора (L'Amour Louis)

It was easier, sometimes, to meet with people on neutral ground, to discuss
probable outcomes and resolve problems without going to court. Chantry was, as
they all knew, a thorough student of the law, who prepared his cases with
infinite skill. His memory was fantastic and he seemed to forget nothing,
recalling with ease rulings made fifty years before. He seemed to have read
everything and forgotten nothing. Most other attorneys preferred to settle his
cases out of court rather than go to trial and almost certain defeat.
Pendleton was a cheerful man with a bald head and muttonchop whiskers. He
glanced up as Chantry approached.
"Finian! Come and sit down! We don't see much of you these days!"
"Busy, George, busy! Reading a lot, too. This fellow Dickens, you know? The
Englishman?"
"Indeed, I do know! My wife and daughter can scarcely wait for the ship to get
in with the next installment. Pity we don't have such writers here!"
Chantry seated himself. "George, do you know anything about a lawyer named
White? James White?"
"I know him." He twisted in his seat and spoke to the black waiter who was
approaching. "Archie? Get Mr. Chantry something, will you? And bring us some
cigars."
"Calvados, sir?"
"Please."
"White's a scoundrel. Be disbarred one of these days. Mixes in all sorts of
shady dealings. Nothing we can do about it, but we're watching the man."
When the calvados arrived, Finian took but a sip before putting down his glass.
He drank rarely, but the apple brandy from Normandy seemed about right. He
accepted a cigar, bit off the end, and accepted a light from Archie.
"He is handling an estate in which a client of mine is interested."
"Your client should be careful. The man's a shyster. If not an actual criminal."
Pendleton drew on his cigar. "Some of Adam Brunn's business, I suspect. When
Adam died, his widow put the business in White's handsЧwhy, I can't imagine.
"Adam was a nice old gentleman, but when he died, his widow asked White to
handle his affairs. I heard her housekeeper recommended White."
Pendleton glanced at Chantry. "A client of yours, you say? I didn't know you
handled cases of that sort."
"The client is a young lady who walked in out of nowhere."
"With White involved? I'd be careful, Finian. You are a wealthy man, you know."
"Nothing like that. She recognized my nameplate and came for advice, as she did
not trust White. She had recognized the name, and as soon as she mentioned hers,
it took me back. I knew her grandfather, George, knew him in the war, and had it
not been for him, I'd not be here at all."
"The war?"
"The Revolution. He was from Tennessee. The greatest woodsman I ever met or
expect to meet. We met by accident, but he had known my older brother, had
dealings with him. In fact, there's been a shadowy connection between our
families for many years. I expect it happens more often than we realize, but our
families have rubbed elbows a dozen times."
"What is the nature of her problem?"
"She did not trust the man. Instinct, I guess, although one of the boarders at
Mrs. Sulky's warned her."
Chantry tasted the calvados again. "The Sacketts are an odd lot, George. No