"THE TRAIL TO SEVEN PINES" - читать интересную книгу автора (L'Amour Louis)

"Just dehorn it and run it in, Katie. I'll take it from there."
Frying steak spluttered, and then she reappeared with a steaming cup of coffee. She
was a tall girl with a superb figure, and Hopalong had no trouble imagining that
many drifting cowhands had tried that dishwashing trick. "You're new here?" she ventured.
"Are you the one who found Jesse Lock?"
He nodded. "News gets around. Did you know him?"
"I knew him. There's not a hand this side of Texas that's his equal. And good with
a gun, too, although in that they say he can't hold a candle to his brother Ben."
Hopalong waited, wanting her to go on talking. There were times when listening paid
off. He intended to look around a bit before leaving. The murder of Jesse Lock had
become a personal matter now. Had Lock died from the original shots, Cas-sidy would
not have considered it any of his affair, but to have the man so foully murdered
while Hopalong was doing his best to save him was quite something else. He would
like to have a look at the man who would do such a thing.
"What will Harrington do for a shotgun rider now?" he queried.
Katie Regan looked down at him. "They do say he offered the job to you."
"Uh-huh. I'm not job huntin', and if I take a job, it will be ridin'."
22
24
THE TRAIL TO SEVEN PINES
Katie returned to the kitchen and came back with the steak and eggs. While he ate,
Katie talked. "Nobody
hiring much now. Ronson needs riders. He can never keep any around with those two
sisters of his."
"Bob Ronson?" Hopalong looked up. "He was out there today with Hadley and Harper."
"That was the one. He owns the Rocking R, and it's a good ranch, although it's said
that he's hard-pressed for money."
"You mentioned girls?"
Katie flashed Hopalong a glance. "I thought that would get you. Every cowhand in
the country tries to get a job there, and everyone tries to dab a rope on one or
the other of the girls, although Lenny seems to be the preferred one. Irene has a
way about her that scares them a little. Anyway, she seems spoken for."
"Pretty, are they?"
"No, not just pretty. They are beautiful."
Hopalong nodded seriously. He was not thinking of the Ronson sisters. He was trying
to get a line on this town and the country around it. He wanted to know just what
went on. Sheriff Hadley was a good man, he would gamble on that. How much imagination
he would have was another guess.
While he ate, Hopalong kept Katie Regan talking, and the community began to take
shape in Hopalong's mind. His keen blue eyes were thoughtful as he listened.
The community was a combination of cattle and mining. The biggest cow outfit was
Bob Ronson's Rocking R; the only mine of any consequence was Harrington's Gold Stake.
Ronson had inherited the Rocking R from his father, who had been an old gray wolf
from the high timber, a man who had teeth and used them on the least provocation.
He had been honest in his dealings, but utterly ruthless. The Rocking R had made
few
23
25
LOUIS L'AMOUR
friends and many enemies. When the old man died, rustlers hit the Rocking R high,