The Trail to Yesterday
Page 6
CHAPTER VI
KINDRED SPIRITS
Looking rather more rugged than when he had arrived at the station atLazette two weeks before, his face tanned, but still retaining the smooth,sleek manner which he had brought with him from the East, David DowdLangford sat in a big rocking chair on the lower gallery of the Double Rranchhouse, mentally appraising Duncan, who was seated near by, hisprofile toward Langford.
"So this Ben Doubler has been a thorn in your side?" questioned Langfordsoftly.
"That's just it," returned Duncan, with an evil smile. "He has been andstill is. And now I'm willing him to you. I don't know when I've been moretickled over getting rid of a man."
"Well," said Langford, leaning farther back in his chair and clasping hishands, resting his chin on his thumbs, his lips curving with an ironicsmile, "I suppose I ought to feel extremely grateful to you--especiallysince when I was negotiating the purchase of the ranch you didn't hint ofa nester being on the property."
"I didn't sell Doubler to you," said Duncan.
Langford's smile was shallow. "But I get him just the same," he said. "Asa usual thing it is pretty hard to get rid of a nester, isn't it?"
"I haven't been able to get rid of this one," returned Duncan. "He don'tseem to be influenced by anything I say, or do. Some obstinate."
"Tried everything?"
"Yes."
"The law?"
Duncan made a gesture of disgust. "The law!" he said. "What for? I haven'tbeen such a fool. He's got as much right to the open range as I have--asyou will have. I bought a section, and he took up a quarter section. Theonly difference between us is that I own mine--or did own it until youbought it--and he ain't proved on his. He is on the other side of theriver and I'm on this. Or rather," he added with a grin, "he's on theother side and you are on this. He's got the best grass land in thecountry--and plenty of water."
"His rights, then," remarked Langford slowly, "equal yours--or mine. Thatis," he added, "he makes free use of the grass and water."
"That's so," agreed Duncan.
"Which reduces the profits of the Double R," pursued Langford.
"I reckon that's right."
"And you knew that when you sold me the Double R," continued Langford, hisvoice smooth and silky.
Duncan flashed a grin at the imperturbable face of the new owner. "Ireckon I wasn't entirely ignorant of it," he said.
"That's bad business," remarked Langford in a detached manner.
"What is?" Duncan's face reddened slightly. "You mean that it was badbusiness for me to sell when I knowed Doubler owned land near the DoubleR?" There was a slight sneer in his voice as he looked at Langford."You've never been stung before, eh? Well, there's always a first time foreverything, and I reckon--according to what I've heard--that you ain'tbeen exactly no Sunday school scholar yourself."
Langford's eyes were narrowed to slits. "I meant that it was bad businessto allow Doubler's presence on the Two Forks to affect the profits of theDouble R. Perhaps I have been stung--as you call it--but if I have been Iam not complaining."
Duncan's eyes glinted with satisfaction. He had expected a burst of angerfrom the new owner when he should discover that the value of his propertywas impaired by the presence of a nester near it, but the new ownerapparently harbored no resentment over this unforeseen obstacle.
"I'm admitting," said Duncan, "that Doubler being there is bad business.But how are you going to prevent him staying there?"
"Have you tried"--Langford looked obliquely at Duncan, drawlingsignificantly--"force?"
"I have tried everything, I told you."
Duncan gazed at Langford with a new interest. It was the first time sincethe new owner had come to the Double R that he had dropped the mask ofsleek smoothness behind which he concealed his passions. Even now thesignificance was more in his voice than in his words, and Duncan began tocomprehend that Langford was deeper than he had thought.
"I'm glad to see that you appreciate the situation," he said, smilingcraftily. "Some men are mighty careful not to do anything to hurt anybodyelse."
Langford favored Duncan with a steady gaze, which the latter returned, andboth smiled.
"Business," presently said Langford with a quiet significance which wasnot lost on Duncan, "good business, demands the application of certainmethods which are not always agreeable to the opposition." He took anothersly glance at Duncan. "There ought to be a good many ways of making itplain to Doubler that he isn't wanted in this section of the country," heinsinuated.
"I've tried to make some of the ways plain," said Duncan with a cold grin."I got to the end of my string and hadn't any more things to try. That'swhy I decided to sell. I wanted to get away where I wouldn't be bothered.But I reckon that you'll be able to fix up something for him."
During the two weeks that Langford had been at the Double R Duncan hadstudied him from many angles and this exchange of talk had convinced himthat he had not erred in his estimate of the new owner's character. As hehad hinted to Langford, he had tried many plans to rid the country of thenester, and he remembered a time when Doubler had seen through one of hisschemes to fasten the crime of rustling on him and had called him toaccount, and the recollection of what had happened at the interviewbetween them was not pleasant. He had not bothered Doubler since thattime, though there had lingered in his heart a desire for revenge. Manytimes, on some pretext or other, he had tried to induce his men to clashwith Doubler, but without success. It had appeared to him that his mensuspected his motives and deliberately avoided the nester.
With a secret satisfaction he had watched Langford's face this morningwhen he had told him that Doubler had long been suspected of rustling;that the men of the Double R had never been able to catch him in the act,but that the number of cattle missing had seemed to indicate the nester'sguilt.
Doubler's land was especially desirable, he had told Langford, and thiswas the truth. It was a quarter section lying adjacent to good water, andprovided the best grass in the vicinity. Duncan had had trouble withDoubler over the water rights, too, but had been unsuccessful in oustinghim because of the fact that since Doubler controlled the land he alsocontrolled the water rights of the river adjoining it. The Two Forks wasthe only spot which could be used by thirsty cattle in the vicinity, forthe river at other points was bordered with cliffs and hills and wasinaccessible. And Doubler would not allow the Double R cattle to water atthe Two Forks, though he had issued this edict after his trouble with theDouble R owner. Duncan, however, did not explain this to Langford.
The latter looked at him with a smooth smile. "It is plain from what youhave been telling me," he said, "that there is no possibility of yousucceeding in reaching a satisfactory agreement with Doubler, andtherefore I expect that I will have to deal with him personally. I shallride over some day and have a talk with him."
The prospect of becoming involved with the nester gave Langford a throb ofjoy. All his life he had been engaged in the task of overcoming businessobstacles and he had reached the conclusion that the situation which nowconfronted him was nothing more or less than business. Of course it wasnot the business to which he had been accustomed, but it offered theopportunity for cold-blooded, merciless planning for personal gain; therewere the elements of profit and loss; it would give him an opportunity toapply his peculiar genius, to grapple, to battle, and finally overthrowthe opposing force.
Though he had allowed Duncan to see nothing of the emotions that riotedwithin him over the discovery that he had been victimized by thelatter--at least to the extent of misrepresentation in the matter of thenester--there was in his mind a feeling of deep resentment against theformer owner; he felt that he could no longer trust him, but for the sakeof learning all the details of the new business he felt that he would haveto make the best of a bad bargain. He had already arranged with Duncan toremain at the Double R throughout the season, but he purposed to leave himout of any dealings that he might have with Doubler. He smiled as helooked at Duncan.
"I like this country," he said, leaning back in his chair and drawing adeep breath. "I was rather afraid at first that I would find it dull afterthe East. But this situation gives promise of action."
Duncan was watching him with a crafty smile. "You reckon on running himoff, or----" He leered at Langford significantly.
The latter's face was impassive, his smile dry. "Eh?" he said,abstractedly, as though his thoughts had been wandering from the subject."Why, I really haven't given a thought to the method by which I ought todeal with Doubler. Perhaps," he added with a genial smile, "I may make afriend of him."
He observed Duncan's scowl and his smile grew.