Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    From $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Bodie 3: High Hell
    Bodie 3: High Hell
    Bodie 3: High Hell
    Ebook139 pages2 hours

    Bodie 3: High Hell

    By Neil Hunter

    ()

    Read preview

    About this ebook

    Bodie was set against a powerful, ruthless landowner who wanted Angela Crown’s mine and wasn’t going to let one gunman stop him from getting it. That was just one of the bounty hunter’s problems. There was also a beautiful, wealthy and cold-blooded whore called Beth Arling and she, too, had good reason to want Bodie dead ...

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPiccadilly
    Release dateApr 17, 2020
    ISBN9780463217115
    Bodie 3: High Hell
    Author

    Neil Hunter

    Neil Hunter is, in fact, the prolific Lancashire-born writer Michael R. Linaker. As Neil Hunter, Mike wrote two classic western series, BODIE THE STALKER and JASON BRAND. Under the name Richard Wyler he produced four stand-alone westerns, INCIDENT AT BUTLER’S STATION, THE SAVAGE JOURNEY, BRIGHAM’S WAY and TRAVIS.

    Read more from Neil Hunter

    Related to Bodie 3

    Titles in the series (11)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Historical Fiction For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • UNLIMITED

      Following A Dream

      Sep 12, 2019

      THE OCEAN VOYAGER AND ME Di Beach Published by Amazon, 2014, £13.74 (paperback) and £5.63 (Kindle) Di Beach, 20, was living in Kampala in the 1960s with her architect husband, Rod Pickering, and their baby daughter, Jojo. One Saturday they were forag

      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The After

      Jun 10, 2023

      He is sitting opposite me, staring blankly like a dead fish. Stone eyes. Cobalt and lifeless. Pale gray skin, dripping scales. I imagine him hauled out of the water and dumped on the riverbank, gasping for breath. Just as he deserves. I only agreed t

      13 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Ever The Diplomat

      Dec 19, 2021

      David Shearer may be a masochist. When you consider his career choices, you do have to wonder. He was a short-lived leader of the then-beleaguered Labour Party before resigning and being replaced by a similarly short-lived leader, David Cunliffe. He

      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Little Black Book

      Dec 10, 2024

      Content Disclosure: Sexual Innuendo I roll over to check the time. The red light from the clock reads 6:28 a.m. I have officially been up for twenty-four hours. My brain has been racing all night. The question, did I do the right thing, has been play

      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The Penalty

      Nov 5, 2020

      The Penalty
      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Powder Paint And Pride

      Jun 28, 2021

      Powder Paint And Pride
      9 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      79 The Terrible Grinning Men

      Sep 10, 2020

      79 The Terrible Grinning Men
      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Victoria Secrets

      Feb 24, 2021

      Victoria Secrets
      4 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Four Things You Hear

      Jan 1, 2023

      THE HOLLOW OF the oak tree wasn’t dark enough. Zoia squeezed her head between her knees, letting her wool dress mute the sunlight, the sounds of the forest, and the angry knife of grief that found her heart every time she thought about last night. Zo

      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Cruel Means, Bitter Ends

      Nov 10, 2021

      “In order for this speech to mean anything to me, I’ll need to dispense with the usual demagoguery and, instead, make an attempt at honesty. With this in mind, there is one thing I have to make clear. I’m not in this race to serve your interests, but

      12 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      In Defense Of The Harvest

      Nov 10, 2021

      I know what you will all be thinking. It is true that I was asked to write this story by members of the current government. A government pertaining of a few politicians, lawmakers, and others who are currently subject to public scrutiny as possibly b

      10 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Pleasure Palace

      Sep 1, 2022

      Pleasure Palace
      15 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Austin Heat

      Aug 2, 2018

      Austin Heat
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      A New Calling

      Nov 15, 2020

      A New Calling
      7 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Never say Di

      Oct 31, 2024

      Never say Di
      9 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      The July War

      Sep 8, 2020

      In summer, our neighborhood quiets in phases. The quieting begins in May. Schools give their older kids, the seventeen- and eighteen-year-olds, a month off to prepare for the baccalaureate exams. Following a ritual as old as our parents, the students

      21 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Excerpts From The Works Of The 2024 Whiting Award Winners

      Apr 10, 2024

      The 2024 Whiting Award winners were announced Wednesday night. Below are excerpts from their work.

      19 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      POISON ON Pink Paper

      Dec 23, 2019

      POISON ON Pink Paper
      8 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      About Ed

      Jun 14, 2022

      I walk into the orchid show with Ed. As soon as I see the tumultuous hall I know he won’t last long. Ed walks like an old man though he is forty. After ten minutes on his feet, he vomits on some purple phalaenopsis. I get him outside through a fire e

      18 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Life After Death

      May 27, 2022

      Life After Death
      14 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Mystic Snippets

      May 12, 2020

      If there was ever a man who made a big impression, it was Aleister Crowley. Described as the ‘wickedest man in the world,’ the British occultist and keen climber founded a religion known as Thelelma in the early 20th century, with himself as the prop

      3 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Haunted

      Sep 27, 2023

      Haunted
      6 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      My Cellie Was the Father I Never Had

      Jun 13, 2019

      Editor’s note: This week, we’re running a special Life Inside series about fathers and incarceration. Read the previous essays about next-cell neighbors, dancing in the prison gym and a surprise meeting. I was born in 1964 on the South Side of Chicag

      5 min read

    • UNLIMITED

      Music

      Sep 21, 2022

      AN INVENTORY Jonathan Cape, 368pp, £20 Caroline Sullivan in the Guardian said the book ‘ambles through 25 years, tracking Cocker’s worldview as it takes shape in his home city of Sheffield. It opens in the present day, as he’s clearing out the loft o

      3 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Bodie 3

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Bodie 3 - Neil Hunter

      The Home of Great Western Fiction!

      Bodie was set against a powerful, ruthless landowner who wanted Angela Crown’s mine and wasn’t going to let one gunman stop him from getting it. That was just one of the bounty hunter’s problems. There was also a beautiful, wealthy and cold-blooded whore called Beth Arling and she, too, had good reason to want Bodie dead ...

      BODIE 3: HIGH HELL

      First published in 1979 by Star Books

      Copyright © 1979 by Neil Hunter

      First Digital Edition: November 2012

      Names, characters and incidents in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to actual events, locales, organizations, or persons living or dead is purely coincidental.

      All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information or storage and retrieval system, without the written permission of the author, except where permitted by law.

      Cover image © 2012 by Westworld Designs

      This is a Piccadilly Publishing Book

      Published by Arrangement with the Author.

      Chapter One

      I’ll be a sorry son of a bitch! Bodie said in disgust as his bullet kicked up a gout of earth at least a yard away from the man called Tarrow. He levered a fresh round into the breech, rose to his feet, and moved across the dusty ridge.

      Ahead of him Tarrow suddenly stopped running, turning quickly, his own gun swinging in Bodie’s direction. The manhunter threw himself to the ground as the gun blasted a spear of flame. As Bodie struck the ground, rolling frantically, he felt the vicious snap of the bullet as it burned the air just over his prone body. He came to rest, throwing his rifle to his shoulder again, this time holding his aim before he touched the trigger. The bullet caught Tarrow just as he was turning away and it spun him off his feet. Tarrow hit the ground hard, his body bouncing. A gush of blood spilled from his right shoulder. He jerked himself upright, firing as he began to regain his feet. And that was when Bodie’s second bullet punched a ragged hole through his chest, splintering bone and going on to penetrate the heart. Tarrow went over onto his back, legs kicking as he died.

      Bodie stood up, hearing the last echoed rattle of his gunshots fade. He made his way across to where Tarrow lay. The man was already dead by the time Bodie reached him. He stared down at Tarrow, thinking that the man hadn’t looked the kind who might up and slaughter a whole family just for thirty-five dollars. But that was what Tarrow had done. And he’d led Bodie a hell of a chase — all the way across New Mexico and down to this arid corner of Arizona. For thirty-five dollars! Bodie shook his head. He thought of the butchered family, the four graves where they were buried. Only the human animal could kill so wantonly for so little!

      He walked back and found Tarrow’s horse. Leading it to the body he draped Tarrow face down across the saddle, tying him down with his own rope. Then Bodie caught up his own mount, climbed into the saddle, and began the ride back to Ridgelow, the town he’d passed the day before. He might as well collect his bounty there, let the law in town deal with Tarrow, because sure as hell was hot, Bodie wasn’t going all the way back to New Mexico with Tarrow’s body.

      It was mid-morning of the next day when Bodie rode in along Ridgelow’s dusty main street. He paid no attention to the interested crowd of spectators who followed him all the way to the jail. At least Tarrow’s ripe smell kept them from getting too close.

      The town marshal was lounging in an old rocking chair on the boardwalk outside his office. He watched Bodie ride up and dismount, glancing half-heartedly at the body draped across the led horse.

      Looks like you come a fair way, mister, the marshal said, running his gaze over Bodie’s dust-streaked clothing. He gave a good-natured smile. Mind, you look in better condition than your friend.

      Bodie pulled a folded poster from his pocket and tossed it to the marshal. His name’s Tarrow. They posted a bounty on him back in Las Cruces. So there he is. Read the poster. Be obliged if you’d confirm my claim and wire the marshal in Las Cruces so I can collect my money.

      The marshal studied the poster, nodding to himself. Heard about this, he said. Things some folk’ll do for money, he added, fixing his eyes squarely on Bodie.

      Bodie thumbed his stained hat to the back of his head, a mirthless smile playing around the corners of his taut mouth. I know what you mean. Marshal. It’s a hard old world.

      Ain’t it just! the marshal said. All right, leave it to me. I’ll have somebody take him away and bury him. Come by in the morning and I’ll try and have your money ready.

      Bodie nodded. He turned and picked up his horse’s trailing reins.

      What name do I put on the wire?

      Bodie.

      The marshal climbed to his feet and watched the tall man make his way along the street. So that was Bodie! Now that he had actually seen the man the marshal could begin to believe all the tales he’d heard. About how hard Bodie was. What a mean, out-and-out son of a bitch he’d become since throwing away his badge and building himself a reputation as a bounty hunter. He had become a legend. The marshal walked to the edge of the boardwalk and watched Bodie turn in at the doors of the livery stable at the far end of town. He glanced along the street and saw Ridgelow going about its business. He stared at the bunch of men who had gathered near the jail, and he wondered if any of them realized who Bodie was.

      Hey, Ike, he called to a skinny man dressed in soiled, threadbare clothing. Go on down to Nate Hawley’s. Tell him, I got a customer for him.

      Ike nodded. Sure, Marshal.

      And, Ike, tell him I don’t want any of his fancy coffins. Cheapest he’s got!

      Ike made off down the street. The marshal made sure that the horse carrying Tarrow’s corpse was secured to the hitch rail, then he went into his office, closing the door. He sat down behind his desk, deep in thought, staring out of the window. He was still there when the man called Ike appeared, followed by a gaunt, grim man dressed in dusty black. A smile touched the marshal’s lips as he watched Ridgelow’s undertaker pause beside the waiting horse at the hitch rail, take out a tape measure and begin to size up Tarrow. Nate Hawley took his work very seriously. He had a proper respect for the dead, which, the marshal admitted, was all right. The trouble was, Hawley tended to carry his professional manner into his private life. It didn’t make for very cheerful conversation with the man.

      The office door opened and Ike stuck his head in. I brung him, he said.

      Thanks, Ike. The marshal beckoned Ike into the office. Something else you can do for me.

      Ike grinned with self-importance. Sure, Marshal.

      That young woman who came to see me yesterday. The one who took a room at the hotel. Take a walk over there and ask her would she like to come and see me.

      All right.

      Ike. Just tell her I might have an answer to her problem.

      Ike’s head bobbed as he digested the message. I’ll tell her. Marshal."

      When you get back, Ike, I’ll have a couple of dollars for you.

      Ike left the office with all the dignity of a diplomatic courier off on a matter of national importance. The marshal followed him outside and stood watching as Nate Hawley finished writing Tarrow’s measurements in a little black book. The undertaker was as fussy as a tailor measuring someone for a suit.

      Hey, Nate, the marshal said.

      Yes, Marshal?

      I think you overlooked his inside leg!

      The look on Hawley’s face was more than the marshal could bear. He turned and went back inside his office, barely managing to close the door before he doubled up with laughter.

      Chapter Two

      Bodie had bathed, shaved, dressed in clean clothes and eaten. Later he had returned to his room at the hotel with a bottle of good whisky and some fine cigars, prepared for a session of doing nothing at all. So he was mildly annoyed when his siesta was disturbed by a knock on his door.

      Yeah, I’m coming, he growled, swinging his legs off the bed. He crossed the room in long strides, yanking open the door, prepared to air his feelings to whoever it was in the hall.

      For one of the few times in his life Bodie was left speechless. For a full three or four seconds he just stood and stared. And it was the girl who spoke first.

      May I speak with you, Mr. Bodie?

      Bodie took the thin cigar from his mouth. I don’t see why not, he said, and stood aside to let the girl in. He closed the door and moved across the room to pull a chair from the wall for her. The girl sat down, slim hands resting in her lap.

      The marshal suggested that I come to see you, she said. He made no promises, of course.

      I’ll have to thank the marshal, Bodie thought, watching the girl. She was nothing less than beautiful. Yet there was no artificiality to her. The youthful face bore no makeup, the long mass of dark hair shone with natural highlights. Bodie judged her to be in her mid-twenties, the supple body firmly matured beneath the snug fit of her brown dress. Full, well rounded breasts thrusting out above a slim waist. Strong hips flowing into long legs. He felt her eyes on him, studying him with a boldness that was unusual in a woman. The eyes were bright, clear, a warm shade of hazel, flecked with green, and they were eyes that probed and penetrated, and hinted at a deeper awareness of life than might have been apparent at first sight of the girl.

      "Well, Mr. Bodie, do I pass your

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1