“Gentlemen!” boomed the judge of the match, holding a Colt in his right hand, “I’ll count to three, then fire a shot. On that shot you make your move.”
The line of men stood ready, hands poised to grip the butts of their guns. The count was given, then the Colt crashed. As if springs were released, hands snapped down. Dusty’s hands crossed, the curve of the Peacemaker butts fitting into his palms as they so often had before. There was no conscious effort about the move, no straining to gain extra speed. The thumbs curved over the hammers, drawing them back to firing position even as the Colts cleared leather. Dusty’s eyes were on the target before him, twenty feet away, the guns came up and lined to fire while still waist high. The thunder of his Colts sounded and was lost in the crash of the other eight men’s weapons, which came as a ragged crash. Dusty saw his target rock back, saw the others jerk, then his target tipped over and crashed to the ground.
The crowd was silent for a moment, then wild were the whoops and yells from those watching Texans, the other cowhands joining in. Every cowhand here was wild with delight, for one of their kind, one of the leading names of their trade, had just proved he was the fastest gun of them all.
Dusty holstered his Colts as the yells and cheers of the crowd died away to allow the judge to announce the winner. He was smiling, this small Texan, knowing that the test proved little or nothing. It was one thing to send a bullet into a target but another again to throw lead at a man who might be faster and was capable of throwing bullets back. Dusty Fog knew that the crowd would not think of that, they had seen Wyatt Earp, Bat Masterson and the other fast men beaten by the Rio Hondo gun wizard. Arizona was safe from the Kansas lawmen.
About the Author
J. T. Edson was a former British Army dog-handler who wrote more than 130 Western novels, accounting for some 27 million sales in paperback. Edson’s works - produced on a word processor in an Edwardian semi at Melton Mowbray - contain clear, crisp action in the traditions of B-movies and Western television series. What they lack in psychological depth is made up for by at least twelve good fights per volume. Each portrays a vivid, idealized “West That Never Was”, at a pace that rarely slackens.
The Floating Outfit Series by J. T. Edson
The Ysabel Kid
.44 Caliber Man
A Horse Called Mogollon
Goodnight’s Dream
From Hide and Horn
Set Texas Back on Her Feet
The Hide and Tallow Men
The Hooded Riders
Quiet Town
Wagons to Backsight
Troubled Range
Sidewinder
Rangeland Hercules
McGraw’s Inheritance
The Half-Breed
White Indians
Texas Kidnappers
The Wildcats
The Bad Bunch
The Fast Gun
Cuchilo
A Town Called Yellowdog
Trigger Fast
The Trouble Busters
Decision for Dusty Fog
Cards and Colts
The Code of Dusty Fog
The Gentle Giant
Set-A-Foot
The Making of a Lawman
The Peacemakers
To Arms! To Arms! In Dixie!
Hell in the Palo Duro
Go Back to Hell
The South Will Rise Again
The Quest for Bowie’s Blade
Beguinage
Beguinage Is Dead
The Rushers
The Fortune Hunters
Rio Guns
Gun Wizard
... And more to come every month!
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