The Railroad War

The Railroad War by Wesley Ellis

Book: The Railroad War by Wesley Ellis Read Free Book Online
Authors: Wesley Ellis
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the one in between, I’d take home myself!”
    Jessie gave no indication that she heard the exchange. The men were obviously drunk, and Jessie had learned that to pay any attention to drunken rowdies only encouraged them. For his part, Ki had long since learned to ignore such jibes. The man named Jug was not to be discouraged by being ignored, however.
    â€œI might not let you take her, Slip,” he said. “I think I could do better for her than you could.”
    â€œWell, either one of us’d be a step up from either of the two that’s walking with her,” Slip commented.
    â€œNow that’s the truth,” Jug guffawed. “Well, I’ll tell you what, Slip. I’ll toss you for her.”
    â€œYeah, you’re right, Jug. You or me, either one, could chew him up and spit him out and never know we’d did it.”
    Jessie had seen Bobby’s back stiffen when the big man made his first remark. They had reached the corner of the veranda now, and Jessie put her hand on Bobby’s shoulder, hoping the boy would understand her gesture as a warning to pass on by without appearing to notice the rowdies.
    Jug said to his companion, “You know, now I see her closer, I got a good mind to see if she’d like to have a real man for a change. That little piddling fellow that acts like her husband sure don’t look to be man enough for a woman like her.”
    Bobby, Jessie, and Ki were in front of the men now. Slip pointed at Ki and said, “Well, by God! Look at him, Jug! He’s a damn chink!”
    â€œNow she’s way too good-lookin’ to be wasted on a piece of yellow-skin trash,” Jug replied. “Let’s just see if she don’t feel the same way.”
    Giving a hitch to his pistol belt, Jug stepped off the veranda to the sidewalk. He pushed Bobby into the street and planted himself in front of Jessie. Her head barely reached the big man’s shoulder. She looked at him with cold eyes, and for a moment the drunken rowdy hesitated.
    On the veranda, Slip guffawed, “What’s wrong, Jug? Cat got your tongue? Or is your belly yellow, too?”
    His companion’s words gave Jug the impetus he needed. He extended his hand, reaching for Jessie’s shoulder, and began, “Look here, little lady, you—”
    Jessie had not attained Ki’s skill in hand-to-hand combat, but her work with him had given her more than enough ability to handle a clumsy hulk like Jug. He was not prepared for the quickness with which Jessie acted. Her hands darted forward with the speed and accuracy of striking snakes. With her left hand she grasped Jug’s hamlike hand, her strong fingers digging into the base of his thumb, her thumb pressing hard on the back of his hand to spread his palm. At the same time she wrapped her fingers around Jug’s wrist, yanked his arm forward, then twisted his wrist down while she shoved his elbow into his bulging belly.
    When he saw that his companion was in trouble, Slip stepped off the veranda, his right hand moving by habit to the butt of his holstered revolver. At Jug’s first movement, Ki had dropped the suitcase he was carrying. Now he slid his left forearm into the crook of Slip’s elbow, and locked his right hand around the wrist of the hoodlum’s bent arm. Ki twisted Slip’s wrist to bring the rowdy’s hand palm-upward, then, using his own muscular forearm as a lever, he snapped the wrist down. Ki’s quick, expert pressure dislocated the man’s elbow. With the gargled scream of a wounded animal, Slip went to his knees, cradling his elbow in his left hand. Ki slid the thug’s revolver from its holster and tossed the weapon onto the shed roof that extended above the veranda.
    Jug grunted with surprise as Jessie’s fingertips bit into the senstive muscles bunched in the base of his thumb. The yipping turned into a yowl of pain as she pulled his forearm down, gaining

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