CHAPTER VIII
THE HOODOO OUTFIT
Pop Daggett hesitated and glanced uneasily toward the door.
"I warned yuh, didn't I, the Shoe-Bar was a hoodoo outfit?" he evaded.
Stratton shook some tobacco into a cigarette-paper and jerked thedraw-string with his teeth.
"Sure you did, but that's not the question," he persisted. "I asked you ifany other punchers had met up with--accidents out there lately."
The old man continued to cock an eye on the store entrance.
"Since yuh gotta know," he answered in a lowered tone, "there was two.About three months ago Jed Terry was scoutin' around back in themountains, Lord knows what fur, an' fell into a canyon an' broke his skull.Four or five weeks arter that Sam Bennett was plugged through the chestdown below Las Vegas."
"Did Lynch happen to be with either of them?"
"No, sir-ee," returned Daggett hastily. "An' don't yuh go blattin' aroundI told yuh anythin' about it. I ain't one to gossip about my neighbors,more especially Tex Lynch. Them two deaths-- Say, Tex ain't in town withyuh, is he?"
"Not that I know of. He certainly didn't come with me."
"Huh! Wal, yuh never c'n tell with him. As I was sayin', Terry's death waspernounced a accident, an' they allowed Bennett was plugged by one of themgreaser rustlers I hear tell of. I ain't sayin' nothing to the contrary.All I'm tellin' yuh is the Shoe-Bar ain't a healthy outfit to work for,an' this business about Rick Bemis proves it. I wouldn't sign on with 'em,not for a hundred a month."
Buck thrust the cigarette between his lips and felt for a match. "StillI've got a mind to stick it out a while," he drawled. "Accidents come inthrees, they say, so there won't likely be another right soon. Well, Ireckon I'd better be traveling. How long will it take that doctor man toget over?"
"Not much longer than 't will yuh, if he was home when yuh telephoned,"answered Daggett. "The railroad takes a bend, an' Harpswell ain't morethan a mile or two further from the Shoe-Bar than Paloma."
Evidently Dr. Blanchard must have been at home, for Buck had just finishedunsaddling and was coming away from the corral when he rode up. Strattontook his horse and answered his brief questions as to the accident, andthen walked down to the bunk-house with his blankets, tarp, and otherbelongings. The place was empty, for it was after one o'clock andevidently the men had gone off somewhere directly after dinner. Indeed,Buck learned as much from Pedro when he went back to forage for somethingto eat.
"They go to move herd some place," shrugged the Mexican. "W'ere, I don'know."
Stratton ate his meal of beef, bread, and warmed-over coffee in silenceand then returned to the bunk-house, vaguely dissatisfied at the idleafternoon which stretched before him. Of course, Lynch had no way ofknowing when he would get back from town, but it seemed to Buck that anup-and-doing foreman would have left word for him to join them when he didreturn.
"Unless, of course, he don't want me around," murmured Stratton. "Thoughfor the life of me I can't see what he gains by keeping me idle."
Presently it occurred to him that this might be a good chance of pursuingsome of the investigations he had planned. Since noticing the disreputablecondition of the fence the afternoon of his arrival, he had kept his eyesopen, and a number of other little signs had confirmed his suspicion thatthe ranch had very much gone to seed. Of course this might be merely theresult of careless, slovenly methods on the part of the foreman, andpossibly it did not extend to anything really radical. It would need amuch wider, more general inspection to justify a definite conclusion, andStratton decided he might as well do some of it this afternoon. On theplea of seeking Lynch and the other men, he could ride almost anywherewithout exciting suspicion, and he at once left the bunk-house to carryout his plan. Just outside the door he met Dr. Blanchard.
"You made a good job of that dressing," remarked the older man briefly. Hewas tall with a slight stoop, bearded, a little slovenly in dress, butwith clear, level eyes and a capable manner. "Where'd you learn how?"
Stratton smiled. "Overseas. I was in the Transportation, and we had toknow a little of everything, including first aid."
"Hum," grunted the doctor. "Well, the kid's doing all right. I won't haveto come over again unless fever develops."
As they walked back to the hitching-rack, he gave Buck a few directionsabout the care of the invalid. There followed a slight pause.
"You're new here," commented the doctor, untying his bridle-reins.
"Just came yesterday," answered Stratton.
"Friend of Lynch?"
Buck's lips twitched. "Not exactly," he shrugged. "Miss Thorne hired mewhile he was in Paloma. I got a notion he was rather peevish about it.Reckon he prefers to pick his own hands."
As the doctor swung into the saddle, his face momentarily lightened.
"Don't let that worry you," he said, a faint little twinkle in his eyes."It isn't good for anybody to have their own way all the time. Well, youknow what to do about Bemis. If he shows any signs of fever, get hold ofme right away."
With a wave of his hand he rode off. Stratton's glance followed himcuriously. Had he really been pleased to find that the new hand was not afriend of Tex Lynch, or was the idea merely a product of Buck'simagination?
Still pondering, he turned abruptly to find Pedro regarding him intentlyfrom the kitchen door. As their glances met, the Mexican's lids droopedand his face smoothed swiftly into its usual indolent indifference; but hewas not quite quick enough to hide entirely that first look of searchingspeculation mingled with not a little venom.
Stratton's own expression was the perfection of studied self-control. Hehalf smiled, and yawned in a realistically bored manner.
"You sure you don't know where the bunch went?" he asked. "I'm gettingdead sick of hanging around doing nothing."
"They don' say," shrugged the Mexican. "I wash dishes an' don' see 'em go.Mebbe back soon."
"Not if they're moving a herd--I don't think!" retorted Buck. "Guess I'llask Miss Thorne," he added, struck by a sudden inspiration.
Without waiting for a reply, he walked briskly along the front of thehouse toward the further entrance. As he turned the corner he met thegirl, booted, spurred, her face shaded becomingly by a wide-brimmedStetson.
"I was just going to find you," she said. "Rick wants to see you aminute."
Stratton followed her into the living-room, where she paused and glancedback at him.
"You haven't met my aunt, Mrs. Archer," she said in her low, pleasantvoice. "Auntie, this is Buck Green, our new hand."
From a chair beside one of the west windows, there rose a little old ladyat the sight of whom Buck's eyes widened in astonishment. Just what he hadexpected Mrs. Archer to be he hardly knew, but certainly it wasn't thisdainty, delicate, Dresden-China person who came forward to greet him. Tinyshe was, from her old-fashioned lace cap to the tips of her small, trimshoes. Her gown, of some soft gray stuff, with touches of old lace hereand there, was modishly cut yet without any traces of exaggeration. Herabundant white hair was beautifully arranged, and her cheeks, amazinglysoft and smooth, with scarcely a line in them, were faintly pink. A moreutterly incongruous figure to find on an outlying Arizona ranch would beimpossible to imagine, and Buck was hard put to refrain from showing hissurprise.
"How do you do, Mr. Green?" she said in a soft agreeable voice, whichStratton recognized at once as the one he had overheard that morning. "Myniece has told me how helpful you've been already."
Buck took her outstretched hand gingerly, and looked down into herupturned face. Her eyes were blue, and very bright and eager, withscarcely a hint of age in them. For a brief moment they gazed steadilyinto his, searching, appraising, an underlying touch of wistful anxiety intheir clear depths. Then a twinkle flashed into them and of a suddenStratton felt that he liked her very much indeed.
"I'm mighty glad to meet you," he said impulsively.
The smile spread from eyes to lips. "Thank you," she replied. "I think Imay say the same thing. I hope you'll l
ike it here well enough to stay."
There was a faint accent on the last word. Buck noticed it, and after shehad left them, saying she was going to rest a little, he wondered. Did shewant him to remain merely because of the short-handed condition of theranch, or was there a deeper reason? He glanced at Miss Thorne to find herregarding him with something of the same anxious scrutiny he had noticedin her aunt. Her gaze was instantly averted, and a faint flush tinged hercheeks, to be reflected an instant later in Stratton's face.
"By the way," he said hurriedly, annoyed at his embarrassment, "do youhappen to know where the men are? I thought I'd hunt them up. There's nosense in my hanging around all afternoon doing nothing."
* * * * *
"They're down at the south pasture," she answered readily. "Tex thinks itwill be better to move the cattle to where it won't be so easy for thoserustlers to get at them. I'm just going down there and we can ridetogether, if you like." She turned toward the door. "When you're throughwith Rick you'll find me out at the corral."
"Don't you want me to saddle up for you?"
"Pedro will do that, thank you. Tell Rick if he wants anything while I'mgone all he has to do is to ring the bell beside his bed and Maria willanswer it."
She departed, and Buck walked briskly into the bedroom. Bemis lay in bedpropped up with pillows and looking much better physically than he haddone that morning. But his face was still strained, with that harassed,worried expression about the eyes which Stratton had noted before.
"Yuh saw Doc Blanchard, didn't yuh?" he asked, as Buck sat down on theside of his bed. "What'd he say?"
"Why, that you were doing fine. Not a chance in a hundred, he said, ofyour having any trouble with the wound."
"Oh, I know that. But when'd he say I'd be on my feet?"
Buck shrugged his shoulders. "He didn't mention any particular time forthat. I should think it would be two or three weeks, at least."
"Hell!" The young fellow's fingers twisted the coverlet nervously. "Don'tyuh believe I could--er--ride before that?" he added, almost pleadingly.
Stratton's eyes widened. "Ride!" he repeated. "Where the deuce do you wantto ride to?"
Bemis hesitated, a slow flush creeping into his tanned face. The glance hebent on Stratton was somewhat shamefaced.
"Anywhere," he answered curtly, a touch of defiance in his tone. "You'llsay I've lost my nerve, an' maybe I have. But after what's happened aroundthis joint lately, and especially last night--"
He paused, glancing nervously toward the door. Buck's expression had grownsuddenly keen and eager.
"Well?" he urged. "What did happen, anyhow? I had my suspicions there wassomething queer about that business, but--You can trust me, old man."
Bemis nodded, his dark eyes searching Stratton's face. "I'll take achance," he answered. "I got to. There ain't nobody else. They've kept Budaway, and Miss Mary--Well, she's all right, uh course, but Tex has gother buffaloed. She won't believe nothin' ag'in him. I told Bud I'd stay aslong as he did, but--A man's got to look after himself some. They ain'tlikely to miss twice runnin'."
"You mean to say--"
Bemis stopped him with a cautious gesture. "Where's that sneakinggreaser?" he asked in a low tone, his eyes shifting nervously to the opendoor.
"Out saddling her horse."
"Oh! Well, listen." The young puncher's voice sank almost to a whisper."That sendin' me down to Las Vegas was a plant; I'm shore of it. My orderswas to sleep days an' patrol around nights to get a line on who was afterthe cattle. I wasn't awful keen about it, but still an' all, I didn'tthink they'd dare do what they tried to."
"You mean there weren't any rustlers at all?" put in Strattonimpulsively.
"Shore there was, but they didn't fire that shot that winged me. I'd justgot sight of 'em four or five hundred yards away an' was ridin' along inthe shadow tryin' to edge close enough to size 'em up an' mebbe pick off acouple. My cayuse was headin' south, with the rustlers pretty near deadahead, when I come to a patch of moonlight I had to cross. I pulled outconsiderable to ride around a spur just beyond, so when that shot came Iwas facin' pretty near due east. The bullet hit me in the left leg, yuhrecollect."
Stratton's eyes narrowed. "Then it must have been fired from thenorth--from the direction of the--"
He broke off abruptly as Rick's fingers gripped his wrist.
"Look!" breathed Bemis, in a voice that was scarcely audible.
He was staring over the low foot-board of the bed straight at the opendoor, and Buck swiftly followed the direction of his glance. For aninstant he saw nothing. The doorway was quite empty, and he could not heara sound. Then, of a sudden, his gaze swept on across the living-room andhe caught his breath.
On the further wall, directly opposite the bedroom door, hung a longmirror in a tarnished gilded frame. It reflected not only the other sideof the doorway but a portion of the wall on either side of it--reflectedclearly, among other things, the stooping figure of a woman, her limpcalico skirts dragged cautiously back in one skinny hand, her sharp,swarthy face bent slightly forward in an unmistakable attitude oflistening.
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