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

"Bully? Let's get out of here! This one's walked a deck of his own!"
"Don't be a damn fool! S'pose he has? I want that ... All right! Take him!"
The shout was accompanied by a lunge. The second man leaped, swinging a cudgel.
Bully Benson held a knife.
Finian Chantry's brain was icy. He took a half-step back and the cane seemed to
spring apart in his hands. A blade leaped from the cane like a whip of dancing
light. Benson caught the flash of the blade and tried to pull up, his eyes
bulging with sheer horror. The next moment, where his mouth had been there was
an ugly gash as the blade cut ear to ear. The second man swung his cudgel, but
the sweeping blade had never stopped moving, slicing his cheek and nicking his
nose.
He screamed and dropped his club, both hands going to his face. Bully Benson was
already in a staggering run, choking on his own blood. The third and wiser man
had never closed, and he was maintaining a fair lead as he ran.
Turning quickly, Finian saw Johnny Gibbons had a man against the wall and was
slugging him with both fists. Archie had put one man down, and the third was
running away.
Finian Chantry's heart was pounding as he watched them go; then, taking a
handkerchief from his pocket, he wiped clean the sword blade and returned it to
the cane. "A pack of scoundrels," he commented as Johnny Gibbons came up beside
him. "This will give them something to consider before they try it again."
When they reached the carriage, Chantry got in and Johnny followed. "Archie?" he
invited.
"Thank you, sir, your coachman is a friend, I shall ride out with him."
"Back there," Gibbons commented, "you spoke of giving that chap fifty good ones
with a 'Penang lawyer.' I had never heard the phrase."
"A Penang lawyer is a strip of rattan. It was used to influence discipline
aboard craft in the Indian Ocean."
"You were a ship's officer?"
"Briefly. Like my brother, I was a merchant venturer, investing in cargoes and
often going along to handle the trading myself. I had read for the law, as had
he, so I finally settled for that. It was a fortunate choice."
"In the O'Hara affair, if I can be of any assistance, you have only to ask."
"No, it is a small matter. What you have told me is sufficient."
Alone in his bedroom, Finian Chantry looked down upon his hands. "Useful," he
muttered, "useful still. And there was no fear, that is important."
He felt no sympathy for Bully Benson. They had chosen the time, the place, and
their weapons. What they got was less than what they deserved.
5
At supper I was seated in the same place, and discovered that in boardinghouses
as at home, most people wanted to sit in the same seats. The bald-headed man who
sat across from me was named Prescott. He nodded and smiled when I came in. "How
are you enjoying Philadelphia?" he asked.
"There's so much to see! After I saw Mr. White and Mr. ChantryЧ"
The fat man farther down the table looked up from his food long enough to give
me a sharp, somewhat impatient glance. He clutched his knife and fork as if
prepared for battle. "Chantry, did you say? You saw Finian Chantry?"
"I did. He was very nice."
"Young lady"Чhe spoke with authorityЧ"you must be mistaken. Nobody, but nobody
just walks in and sees Finian Chantry."