Shoot-out at Split Rock Page 10

  The gambler it was, and with him was a middle-aged, bent-shouldered fellow, with a long horse-face and deep-set sly eyes. With a word of greeting to the cowboys, the pair rode to where Eden was sitting, and dismounted.

  Baudry shook hands with Eden and presented his companion: "Meet Davy Dutt; he's in a deal with me."

  The cattleman received the stranger without undue enthusiasm—^Mister Dutt's exterior was not impressive. Then, in reply to an enquiry for Carol, he told die story of their predicament, and was surprised at the effect it produced; the gambler's full, faintiy tanned face took on a yellowish tinge and his voice betrayed real concern.

  "My God!" he cried. "Miss Carol in the hands of savages? That's terrible, Sam. What are you doing about it?"

  Eden told him and Baudry swore in perplexity. "You can't do a thin g tiU you locate those damned heathens. Got any ideas, Davy?"

  "Nope," the stranger confessed. "You seen the kind o* country we come through."

  The gambler explained that they had been traveling northwest from Fort Worth, and finding a cattle trail some way back, had followed it on the chance of it proving to be the S-E.

  The day passed monotonously enough for the little group left in the camp, and when, as the sun sank in the west, the searchers again reported failure to discover the trail of the red raiders, a blanket of gloom descended upon the whole company.

  But as the dusk was deepening into dark, Sandy and his charge rode wearily into camp and were instantly surrounded by whooping cowboys. The rancher's eyes bulged when he found the girl he feared was lost forever,

  kneeling beside him. One arm hugging close, the other hand went to Sandy.

  "By heavens, boy, you've put me deeper in yore debt than I can say," he cried.

  Naturally Carol was the center of attraction; everyone was avid to hear what had happened to her. The story of Sudden's slaying of Red Fox brought ejaculations of "Bravo, Jim," and "Good old Texas" from the cowboys, but when she related how they had been rescued from the redskins by some of Rogue's riders, it was Baudry who spoke:

  "What's brought that road agent to these parts?" he asked. "Think he's been trailing you, Sam?"

  "It would be a safe bet he stampeded our cows," the foreman volunteered.

  "But if he's after my herd, why did he let you an* Sandy go?" Eden asked the girl. "He must 'a' knowed he had me cinched."

  "I was to tell you that he could win without women," she replied.

  "Huh! there's two words to that," her father said grimly. With the girl safe by his side he was becoming his own dour self again. He looked at Sandy. "Can you explain it?"

  "No, but I'm guessin' Jim fixed somethin', an' that's why he stayed an' I've to go back."

  "Like hell you have," the cattleman exploded.

  "I've promised."

  "A promise to a prowlin' thief don't hold."

  Sandy looked at the girl; in the firelight her cheeks appeared pale; her lips were sUent, but her eyes spoke.

  "Rogue's word to me was that if I didn't show up it would go hard with Jim," Sandy added.

  "Did he call him by his name?" Baudry put in.

  "No, he said 'yore friend,'" was the quick reply. "An* because he's that, I'm goin' back—alone."

  The rancher was about to make another angry protest but Carol anticipated him: "Daddy, he has to go," she said, and the young man's heart leapt at the regret in her voice. "You would do the same yourself."

  The old man snorted, but his hard face softened as he looked at Sandy. "She's right, boy, o' course," he ad-

  mitted. "You have to do it, but you can tell Rogue that if he harms you or Jim I'll hound him down an' hang him, if it takes the rest o' my days."

  Sandy grinned. "I'll pass on the message, but he don't strike me as a man to scare easy."

  An hour later, having fed, Sandy transferred his saddle to a fresh horse and started for the outlaws' camp. He had seen Carol for one moment before he left, had graSped a slim brown hand, had heard a whispered, "Good luck, Sandy." The kindness in her eyes went with him as he rode silently into the gloom.

  Eden and the gambler were alone at the fire. The women had retired to their tent and Dutt had expressed a desire to view the sleeping herd. Baudry, biting on a black cigar, was the first to speak.

  "Damned if I can fathom Rogue's game, Sam," he-said reflectively. "He has you cold and Sirows the hand in. Why?"

  "You can search me," the rancher replied. "Carol figures he has a soft spot, but gals get romantic notions *bout fellas like him. He's reckoned the most ruthless ru£aan in Texas, an' that's sayin' a lot."

  "Those two men joined you for the drive, dropping in from nowhere," Jethro proceeded. "And one of tiiem— Green—answers pretty well to the printed description of Sudden."

  "Whose last job was pulled off while Green was at the S-E."

  "True, but it would be a safe play for one of Rogue's men to put the blame on a fellow he knew co«ld prove an alibi."

  "You suggestin' that Green an' Sandy are in cahoots with Rogue?" Eden asked, and there was a rasp in his voice.

  "I'm saying it's possible, that's all," was the reply. "Your daughter said some of the outiaws knew them."

  "Then why did them two boys fetch back near a thousand head after the stampede?"

  Baudry chuckled. "You have to admit they knew where to find them," he pointed out. "See here, Sam. Mightn't it be that Rogue realized that the stampede was a mistake, that it would pay him better to let you drive the cattle north for him to steal within reach of a

  market where they'd fetch four or five times as much? Why, that's maybe the reason he ain't forcing your hand now."

  The rancher's brows drew together. Put hke this the plan seemed all too probable, and the idea that he was being played with was far from pleasant.

  "Tryin' to bump me off don't seem to fit in."

  "Why not, if his first scheme was to grab the herd as soon as he could? I'm supposing it was later he got the notion of aiming for the bigger prize, an' I'd wager something it was Green gave it him; he ain't a fool, that fellow, beheve me."

  "I don't think yo're right, Jethro," Eden said stubbornly.

  Baudry smiled. "Well, perhaps not," he said easily. "But I'm telling you, those two men will be back before long;-they're more use to Rogue here."

  ,"ru be glad to see 'em," the catdeman said stoutiy, but the seeds of suspicion had been sown. "Aimin' to travel with us, Jethro?"

  "Maybe we can be of some use," was the reply.

  "Pleased to have you," the rancher said heartily. • The visitor was sUent for a time, and then, with the air of one who has come to a decision, he flung the butt of his cigar into the glowing ashes, and looked across at his host.

  "Sam, you know what I do for a Uving," he began, "Well, I'm planning to give myself a fresh deal and drop the cards. With the coin I get when you cash in on your herd I'm starting a ranch—I've got options on land not far from ihe S-E; with the railways coming west and the northern ranches needing stock, there's going to be money in cattie. But more than that, I want to settie down, with a home of my own—and a wife."

  "Why, that's good hearin', Jethro," the rancher said. "Mebbe yo're on the way to fetch the lady, huh?"

  The gambler's teeth gleamed as his thick lips parted in a half-smile. "Not exactly," he said. "The lady is traveling north too; in fact, she's less than fifty yards away at this moment."

  Eden straightened up, his eyes wide. "You—mean— Carol?" he cried incredulously.

  "And why not?"

  "I never dreamed of it," the old man evaded.

  This was true; though Baudry had been a frequent visitor at the S-E, the possibility that the girl was the attraction had not occurred to the owner. Now, faced with the fact, he suddenly realized that he knew very little about the man, save his profession. Still on the right side of forty, suave, well-dressed and apparently wealthy, the gambler did not lack attraction for die other sex, but... Sam Eden shook his head, as though in answer to his own
query, and Baudry's narrowed, watching eyes grew cold.

  "Any objections, Sam?"

  "Have you spoken to her?"

  "No, I reckoned the square thing was to ask you first."

  Eden breathed his rehef; it gave him a way out. Sandy's devotion to the girl was patent, and once or twice he had seen her looking at the boy; women were queer, but he could not conceive that she would prefer the older, sophisticated man for her mate. So he replied with more confidence:

  "It's entirely her affair, Jethro. Even if I could claim her as my own child, I wouldn't attempt to influence her. Whatever she says goes, with me."

  "Fair enough," he said evenly. "I'm not asking you to do my courting, Sam. When do you expect to pull out from here?"

  "Can't say; must give them boys a chance to come in."

  "They'U do it—with a fine tale of how they hoodwinked Rogue and got away," Baudry sneered.

  Long after, when he had been lifted back into his bed in the wagon, the words recurred to the rancher. He fought against the fear that they might be the truth, but could not completely convince himself; Baudry's arguments had seemed all too plausible. Moreover, the outlaw's impudent warning that he intended to have the herd was disturbing; Eden was well aware that his outfit was numerically weak and if two members of it could not be depended upon ...

  Nine

  Sandy experienced little difficulty in finding the outlaws' camp again. As he rode in, a man with a leveled gun

  stepped from the shadow of a tree and ordered him to halt. A glance satisfied him.

  "So you come back?" he said. "Damned if I thought you'd be such a fool."

  "It wam't folly, SUgh, just pure affection—^for you," was the flippant reply. "What's the next move?"

  The outlaw pointed to a small fire apart from the larger one in the center of the glade. Sandy grinned.

  "Go ahead," he said. "I might lose my way."

  With a curse the sentinel slouched off. Two men were sitting by the fire when Sandy reached it.

  Rogue looked up as the boy slid from his saddle. "'Lo, Sandy, I'm wantin' that weapon," he said quietly.

  Sandy's eyes were on the odier figure at the fire. "What's the word, Jim?" he asked.

  "You got Miss Eden back?" Sudden queried, and when his friend nodded, he drew his own guns, handing them, butts first, to the outlaw leader. "Ante up, Sandy," he went on. "Rogue has kept his part o' the bargain an' we gotta keep our'n." He smiled sardonically across the flames. "We're yore prisoners. Rogue, but I'm givin' you wamin' that we'll light out if we get a chance."

  "Then I'U have to tie you," Rogue rapped.

  "I don't blame you," Sudden smiled, and at a nod from him, Sandy relinquished his revolver.

  "A bullet apiece would hold 'em better," Sligh snarled.

  His chief glared at him. "Fetch these fella's blankets an' bring a rope."

  The words were quietly spoken but the threat was plain. SUgh knew that in this mood Rogue would destroy him without hesitation. So, without even a sign of dissent, he did as he was bid.

  Later, three shapeless, blanket-covered forms lay round the smaller fire. The only difference between them was that two of them were tied hand and foot and appeared to be fast asleep. The third was wide awake, wrestling with the problem of what to do with his prisoners. The disarming and binding had been merely a bluff, for he did not want them; they could only be a burden. The girl had been a different proposition—a weapon—^but he could not credit the rancher with great solicitude for two of his hands. Also, Sudden had saved his life, and—

  with all his faults—the outlaw was not ungrateful. Their detention would mean two less to defend the herd, but he dismissed this aspect; his own force was strong enough. A gleam of steel in the flickering fireUght caught his eye; it was SUgh's knife, used in the binding and forgotten. It helped him to a decision.

  He glanced at the sky, where clouds had now blotted out the moon, flinging a pall of darkness over the camp. Soundlessly he edged over until he was close to Sudden, and able to reach the knife. Carefully raising the blanket. Rogue severed the bonds which confined the sleeper's wrists, and dropping the blade, rolled back to his former position. For a time nothing happened and then he saw Sudden stretch and he still again. Rogue knew that he had discovered that his arms were free.

  Presently the dark block of the cowboy's blanket stirred as he slowly sat up. He saw the knife, reached for it, and freed his ankles. With a whispered warning, he did the same for his fellow prisoner. Then, on hands and knees, Sudden crept to the oudaw, whose heavy breathing suggested deep slumber. Leaving their blankets roUed in some semblance of human forms, they crawled away from the fire, and reached the edge of the glade._

  "The bosses are on the far side," Sudden whispered. "We'll have to pass Shgh. While I deal with him, you sUp around an' get the broncs."

  Skirting the edge of the encampment, they moved swiftly and silently over the floor of pine needles, and presently saw the sentinel leaning against a pine, his rifle beside him. Like a shadow Sudden darted from tree to tree, and then, dropping on his belly, wormed his. way forward. All that the unsuspecting watcher knew was that out of the murk a figure rose at his very feet and fingers of steel clutched his throat, imprisoning any sound he might have uttered. A few moments and the man was a limp and senseless weight. Sudden let him faU, and hurried after Sandy. That young man had not been idle; he had found the horses and saddles. Soon the outiaw camp was behind them. For a while they rode in silence and then Sandy could restrain his curiosity no longer.

  "How in hell did you manage it, Jim?" he asked,

  "I didn't," Sudden smiled. "Some kind gent cut my paws loose an' left the knife handy."

  "Gripes, I'll bet it wasn't Sligh."

  "It was Rogue hisself."

  "Oh, yeah," came the reply. "Havin' tied us up he would turn us loose, wouldn't he?"

  "Them bonds was just eyewash for the gang. Rogue didn't want us—^we gotta be watched allatime, an' he knows Eden ain't goin' to part with a single steer on our account, so he gets rid of us—his own way. That was Shgh's knife—I saw him drop it; he'll get the blame an' we'll get the credit. Rogue is one smart hombre"

  A smudge of grey in the eastern sky had turned to a golden glow and the red rim of the sun was pushing above the horizon when they rode down the valley and sighted the S-E wagon. Peg-leg, busy preparing the morning meal, let out a yell which brought men leaping from their blankets and grabbing for guns. When they saw it was not an Indian raid they laughed and swore at the cook. The foreman, his wrinkled face one broad smile, surveyed the pair delightedly.

  "Nice damn couple, ain't you?" he said. "Holdin' the driye up thisaway. The Ol-Man oughta give you yore time."

  "An yore chin would hit yore toes if he did, you holy fraud," Sudden retorted. "Now, Sandy an' me ain't had no sleep for 'bout a year. Who's got spare blankets? We had to leave our'n behind."

  For a couple of hours they slept like dead men and then JeflE aroused them. "Sam's aslan' for you," he said.

  They found the cattleman sitting at the end of the wagon. Baudry and Carol were with him, and several of the outfit lingered near.

  "Here's the truants, boss," the foreman grinned. "I was tellin' Jim you oughta give 'em their time."

  Eden had smothered his doubts and his rugged face softened as he surveyed the men to whom he owed so much. "I reckon they oughta have anythin' they ask for, but I'm hopin' it won't be that," he said. "I'm curious to learn what that ruffian is up to; he had me thrown an' tied. Think well hear more of him?"

  "Shorely. He'll strike when he's ready, but I'm guessin'

  that won't be till we're nearer a market. He's got nigh a score o' men."

  Baudry looked at the cattleman and nodded; he had expressed the same view of the rustler's intentions. With a half-sneer he turned to Sudden.

  "You seem pretty well acquainted with this catde thief," he said. "Perhaps he turned you loose too?"

  "Now I wonder who told you?" Sudden
debated. "He did that very thing."

  "D'you mean that, Green?" the rancher asked sharply, and when the other nodded, "Why should he do that?" The cowboy related the manner of their escape. "You see," he concluded, "we would on'y have been a nuisance, an' besides, I had saved his life a few hours earlier."

  "Why?" interjected Baudry.

  Sudden sensed the hostility in the tone. "K I hadn't Miss Eden wouldn't have been here," he explained quietly. "His men would have had none of his finer feelin's." "Fine feelings—in an outlaw?" gibed the gambler savagely. "That's more than I can swallow." "He let her go," the cowboy reminded. "Yes, at your request," came the sneer. "Were you ever one of his gang?" "No, were you?" Sudden asked.

  Pebbles, who was one of the listening riders, chuckled audibly, and the visitor's face flushed with anger.

  "Damn your impudence," he shouted. "What do you mean by that?"

  Sudden bent forward, his eyes bleak. "Just what I said," he replied. "Listen to me. Mister Man. On'y two fellas here can talk down to me with safety—^my boss an' his foreman. Yo're speakin' outa turn."

  For a moment the gambler's narrow eyes clashed with those of the speaker and then turned in mute appeal to his host. Sam Eden was nonplussed. Tom between gratitude and friendship, he did not know how to deal with the tiny tempest which had so swiftly arisen. Carol came to his aid.

  "Mister Baudry appears to be forgetting that these two men risked their lives to save me, first from Indians, and

  then from outlaws," she said. "To my mind, that alone matters."

  Like a dash of cold water the words brought Baudry to his senses; his ill-humor vanished and he achieved some sort of a smile.

  "You're right, Miss Eden," he said heartily. "Nothing else counts. I'm sorry, Sam, but I let my ideas run away with me. If that Rogue fellow happened to be here, I'd thank him, whatever his motive may have been."

  This ended the discussion, but as Sudden and the foreman went to get their horses, the cowboy asked casually:

  "You know friend Baudry long?"