'Firebrand' Trevison

by Charles Alden Seltzer

  CHAPTER XIV

  A RUMBLE OF WAR

  The train that carried Corrigan's letter eastward bore, among its fewother passengers, a young man with a jaw set like a steel trap, who leanedforward in his seat, gripping the back of the seat in front of him; aneager, smoldering light in his eyes, who rose at each stop the train madeand glared belligerently and intolerantly at the coach ends, mutteringguttural anathemas at the necessity for delays. The spirit of battle waspersonified in him; it sat on his squared shoulders; it was in the thrustof his chin, stuck out as though to receive blows, which his ripplingmuscles would be eager to return. Two other passengers in the coachwatched him warily, and once, when he got up and walked to the front ofthe coach, opening the door and looking out, to let in the roar and whirand the clatter, one of the passengers remarked to the other: "That guy isin a temper where murder would come easy to him."

  The train left Manti at nine o'clock in the evening. At midnight it pulledup at the little frame station in Dry Bottom and the young man leaped offand strode rapidly away into the darkness of the desert town. A littlelater, J. Blackstone Graney, attorney at law, and former Judge of theUnited States District Court at Dry Bottom, heard a loud hammering on thedoor of his residence at the outskirts of town. He got up, with a grunt ofresentment for all heavy-fisted fools abroad on midnight errands, and wentdownstairs to admit a grim-faced stranger who looked positivelybloodthirsty to the Judge, under the nervous tension of his midnightawakening.

  "I'm 'Brand' Trevison, owner of the Diamond K ranch, near Manti," said thestranger, with blunt sharpness that made the Judge blink. "I've a case onin the Manti court at ten o'clock tomorrow--today," he corrected. "Theyare going to try to swindle me out of my land, and I've got to have alawyer--a real one. I could have got half a dozen in Manti--such as theyare--but I want somebody who is wise in the law, and with the sort ofhonor that money and power can't blast--I want you!"

  Judge Graney looked sharply at his visitor, and smiled. "You are evidentlydesperately harried. Sit down and tell me about your case." He waved to achair and Trevison dropped into it, sitting on its edge. The Judge tookanother, and with the kerosene lamp between them on a table, Trevisonrelated what had occurred during the previous morning in Manti. When heconcluded, the Judge's face was serious.

  "If what you say is true, it is a very awkward, not to say suspicious,situation. Being the only lawyer in Dry Bottom, until the coming of JudgeLindman, I have had occasion many times to consult the record you speakof, and if my memory serves me well, I have noted several times--quitecasually, of course, since I have never been directly concerned with therecords of the land in your vicinity--that several transfers of title tothe original Midland grant have been recorded. Your deed would show, ofcourse, the date of your purchase from Buck Peters, and we shall, perhaps,be able to determine the authenticity of the present record in thatmanner. But if, as you believe, the records have been tampered with, weare facing a long, hard legal battle which may or may not result in anultimate victory for us--depending upon the power behind the interestsopposed to you."

  "I'll fight them to the Supreme Court of the United States!" declaredTrevison. "I'll fight them with the law or without it!"

  "I know it," said Graney, with a shrewd glance at the other's grim face."But be careful not to do anything that will jeopardize your liberty. Ifthose men are what you think they are, they would be only too glad to haveyou break some law that would give them an excuse to jail you. Youcouldn't do much fighting then, you know." He got up. "There's a train outof here in about an hour--we'll take it."

  About six o'clock that morning the two men stepped off the train at Manti.Graney went directly to a hotel, to wash and breakfast, while Trevison, alittle tired and hollow-eyed from loss of sleep and excitement, and with atwo days' growth of beard on his face, which made him look worse than heactually felt, sought the livery stable where he had left Nigger the nightbefore, mounted the animal and rode rapidly out of town toward the DiamondK. He took a trail that led through the cut where on another morning hehad startled the laborers by riding down the wall--Nigger eating up theground with long, sure, swift strides--passing Pat Carson and his men at apoint on the level about a quarter of a mile beyond the cut. He waved ahand to Carson as he flashed by, and something in his manner caused Carsonto remark to the engineer of the dinky engine: "Somethin's up wid Trevisonag'in, Murph--he's got a domned mean look in his eye. I'm the onluckiestson-av-a-gun in the worruld, Murph! First I miss seein' this fire-eaterbate the face off the big ilephant, Corrigan, an' yisterday I wasfiggerin' on goin' to town--but didn't; an' I miss seein' that littlewhiffet of a Braman flyin' through the windy. Do ye's know that there's afeelin' ag'in Corrigan an' the railroad in town, an' thot this monTrevison is the fuse that wud bust the boom av discontint. I'm beginnin'to feel a little excited meself. Now what do ye suppose that gang av minwid Winchesters was doin', comin' from thot direction this mornin'?" Hepointed toward the trail that Trevison was riding. "An' that big stiff,Corrigan, wid thim!"

  Trevison got the answer to this query the minute he reached the Diamond Kranchhouse. His foreman came running to him, pale, disgusted, his voicesnapping like a whip:

  "They've busted your desk an' rifled it. Twenty guys who said they wasdeputies from the court in Manti, an' Corrigan. I was here alone,watchin', as you told me, but couldn't move a finger--damn 'em!"

  Trevison dismounted and ran into the house. The room that he used as anoffice was in a state of disorder. Papers, books, littered the floor. Itwas evident that a thorough search had been made--for something. Trevisondarted to the desk and ran a hand into the pigeonhole in which he kept thedeed which he had come for. The hand came out, empty. He sprang to thedoor of a small closet where, in a box that contained some ammunition thathe kept for the use of his men, he had placed the money that RosalindBenham had brought to him. The money was not there. He walked to thecenter of the room and stood for an instant, surveying the mass of litteraround him, reeling, rage-drunken, murder in his heart. Barkwell, theforeman, watching him, drew great, long breaths of sympathy andexcitement.

  "Shall I get the boys an' go after them damn sneaks?" he questioned, hisvoice tremulous. "We'll clean 'em out--smoke 'em out of the county!" hethreatened. He started for the door.

  "Wait!" Trevison had conquered the first surge of passion; his grin wascold and bitter as he crossed glances with his foreman. "Don't doanything--yet. I'm going to play the peace string out. If it doesn't work,why then--" He tapped his pistol holster significantly.

  "You get a few of the boys and stay here with them. It isn't probable thatthey'll try anything like that again, because they've got what theywanted. But if they happen to come again, hold them until I come. I'mgoing to court."

  Later, in Manti, he was sitting opposite Graney in a room in the hotel towhich the Judge had gone.

  "H'm," said the latter, compressing his lips; "that's sharp practice. Theyare not wasting any time."

  "Was it legal?"

  "The law is elastic--some judges stretch it more than others. Asearch-warrant and a writ of attachment probably did the business in thiscase. What I can't understand is why Judge Lindman issued the writ atall--if he did so. You are the defendant, and you certainly would havebrought the deed into court as a means of proving your case."

  Trevison had mentioned the missing money, though he did not think itimportant to explain where it had come from. And Judge Graney did not askhim. But when court opened at the appointed time, with a dignity which wasa mockery to Trevison, and Judge Graney had explained that he had come torepresent the defendant in the action, he mildly inquired the reason forthe forcible entry into his client's house, explaining also that since thedefendant was required to prove his case it was optional with him whetheror not the deed be brought into court at all.

  Corrigan had been on time; he had nodded curtly to Trevison when he hadentered to take the chair in which he now sat, and had smiled whenTrevison had deliberately turned his back. He smiled when
Judge Graneyasked the question--a faint, evanescent smirk. But at Judge Lindman'sreply he sat staring stolidly, his face an impenetrable mask:

  "There was no mention of a deed in the writ of attachment issued by thecourt. Nor has the court any knowledge of the existence of such a deed.The officers of the court were commanded to proceed to the defendant'shouse, for the purpose of finding, if possible, and delivering to thiscourt the sum of twenty-seven hundred dollars, which amount, representingthe money paid to the defendant by the railroad company for certain grantsand privileges, is to remain in possession of the court until the title tothe land in litigation has been legally awarded."

  "But the court officers seized the defendant's deed, also," objected JudgeGraney.

  Judge Lindman questioned a deputy who sat in the rear of the room. Thelatter replied that he had seen no deed. Yes, he admitted, in reply to aquestion of Judge Graney's, it might have been possible that Corrigan hadbeen alone in the office for a time.

  Graney looked inquiringly at Corrigan. The latter looked steadily back athim. "I saw no deed," he said, coolly. "In fact, it wouldn't be _possible_for me to see any deed, for Trevison has no title to the property hespeaks of."

  Judge Graney made a gesture of impotence to Trevison, then spoke slowly tothe court. "I am afraid that without the deed it will be impossible for usto proceed. I ask a continuance until a search can be made."

  Judge Lindman coughed. "I shall have to refuse the request. The plaintiffis anxious to take possession of his property, and as no reason has beenshown why he should not be permitted to do so, I hereby return judgment inhis favor. Court is dismissed."

  "I give notice of appeal," said Graney.

  Outside a little later Judge Graney looked gravely at Trevison. "There'sknavery here, my boy; there's some sort of influence behind Lindman. Let'ssee some of the other owners who are likely to be affected."

  This task took them two days, and resulted in the discovery that no otherowner had secured a deed to his land. Lefingwell explained the omission.

  "A sale is a sale," he said; "or a sale _has_ been a sale until now. Landhas changed hands out here just the same as we'd trade a horse for a cowor a pipe for a jack-knife. There was no questions asked. When a man had apiece of land to sell, he sold it, got his money an' didn't bother to givea receipt. Half the damn fools in this country wouldn't know a deed from amarriage license, an' they haven't been needin' one or the other. For whena man has a wife she's continually remindin' him of it, an' he can'tforget it--he's got her. It's the same with his land--he's got it. So faras I know there's never been a deed issued for my land--or any of the landin that Midland grant, except Trevison's."

  "It looks as though Corrigan had considered that phase of the matter,"dryly observed Judge Graney. "The case doesn't look very hopeful. However,I shall take it before the Circuit Court of Appeals, in Santa Fe."

  He was gone a week, and returned, disgusted, but determined.

  "They denied our appeal; said they might have considered it if we had someevidence to offer showing that we had some sort of a claim to the title.When I told them of my conviction that the records had been tampered with,they laughed at me." The Judge's eyes gleamed indignantly. "Sometimes, Ifeel heartily in sympathy with people who rail at the courts--theirattitude is often positively asinine."

  "Perhaps the long arm of power has reached to Santa Fe?" suggestedTrevison.

  "It won't reach to Washington," declared the Judge, decisively. "And ifyou say the word, I'll go there and see what I can do. It's an outrage!"

  "I was hoping you'd go--there's no limit," said Trevison. "But as I seethe situation, everything depends upon the discovery of the originalrecord. I'm convinced that it is still in existence, and that JudgeLindman knows where it is. I'm going to get it, or--"

  "Easy, my friend," cautioned the Judge. "I know how you feel. But youcan't fight the law with lawlessness. You lie quiet until you hear fromme. That is all there is to be done, anyway--win or lose."

  Trevison clenched his teeth. "I might feel that way about it, if I hadbeen as careless of my interests as the other owners here, but Isafeguarded my interests, trusted them to the regularly recognized law outhere, and I'm going to fight for them! Why, good God, man; I've worked tenyears for that land! Do you think I will see it go _without_ a fight?" Helaughed, and the Judge shook his head at the sound.