CHAPTER XIX
A TRAGEDY IN THE TIMBER GROVE
The black was undoubtedly broken. His subsequent actions proved that.He did not become docile by any means, but he was tractable, which isto say that he did as he was bidden with a minimum of urging; he wasintelligent, divining, and learned quickly. Also, he respected hisconqueror. If Dade or Malcolm came near him he gave unmistakableevidence of hostility; he even shied at sight of Betty, who was hismost sincere admirer, for had not his coming to the Lazy Y beenattended with a sentiment not the less satisfying because concealed?
But the black suffered Calumet's advances, his authority, hisautocratic commands, with a patience that indicated that hissubjugation was to be complete and lasting.
When, toward the middle of the week, Kelton's men--two bepistoled,capable punchers--drove the cattle comprising the Lazy Y purchase intothe valley, Calumet immediately set to work to train the black toobserve the various niceties of the etiquette of cow-punching. He soonlearned, that when the rope whistled past his ears he was to watch itsprogress, and if its loop encircled a neck or a leg he was to bracehimself for the inevitable shock. If the loop failed--which it rarelydid--he discovered that he was to note at which particular steer it hadbeen hurled, and was to follow that steer's progress, no matter whereit went, until the rope went true. He discovered that it wasimperative for him to stand without moving when his master trailed thereins over his head; he early learned that the bit was a terribleinstrument of torture, and that it were better to answer to thepressure of Calumet's knee than to be subjected to the pain it causedhim.
He was taught these things, and many more, while the work of rebrandingthe Diamond K cattle went forward.
This work was no sinecure. Dade and Malcolm, and even Bob, assisted init--Malcolm and Bob attending to the heating of the branding ironswhile Calumet roped the steers and dragged them to the fire where Dadepressed the white-hot irons to their hips. But the work was donefinally, and the cattle turned out into the valley.
On the night that saw the finish of the branding, Calumet, Dade, andMalcolm retired early. Betty and Bob remained in the kitchen for sometime, but finally they, too, went to bed.
At one second before midnight Calumet was sleeping soundly--as soundlyas it is possible for a man to sleep who has been working out of doorsand is physically tired. At exactly midnight he was wide awake, lyingon his back, looking with unblinking eyes at the ceiling, all hissenses aroused and alert, his nerves and muscles at a tension.
He did not know what had awakened him, though he was convinced that ithad been something strange and unusual. It had happened to him before;several times when cattle had stampeded; once when a Mexican freighterat a cow camp had rose in the night to slip his knife into a puncherwith whom he had had trouble during the day. Incidentally, except forCalumet, the Mexican would have made his escape. It had happened tohim again when a band of horse thieves had attempted to run off somestock; it had never happened unless something unusual was going on.And so he was certain that something unusual was going on now, and helay still, looking around him, to make sure that what was happening wasnot happening in his room. He turned his head and looked at Dade.That young man was breathing heavily and regularly. He turned towardthe door of the room. The door was closed. A flood of moonlightentered the window; objects in the room were clearly distinguishable,and nothing seemed wrong here. But something was wrong--he was certainof that. And so he got carefully out of bed and looked out of thewindow, listening, peering intently in all directions within the limitsof his vision. No sound greeted his ears, no moving object caught hisgaze. But he was not satisfied.
He put on his clothes, buckled his cartridge belt around his waist,took his six-shooter from beneath his pillow, and stuck it into theholster, and in his stockinged feet opened the door of the room andstepped out into the hall. He was of the opinion that something hadgone wrong with the horses, and he intended to make the rounds of thestable and corrals to satisfy his curiosity. Strangely, he did notthink of the possibility of Betty meeting Taggart again, until he hadreached the bottom of the stairs. Even then he was half-way across thedining-room, stepping carefully and noiselessly for fear he mightawaken someone, when he glanced back with a sudden suspicion, towardthe door of the office. As in that other time there shone a streak oflight through the crevice between the bottom of the door and thethreshold.
He stood still, his muscles contracting, his lips curling, a black,jealous anger in his heart. Taggart was there again.
But he would not escape this time. He would take care to make no noisewhich would scare him away. He listened at the door, but he heard novoices. They were in there, though, he could distinguish slightmovements. He left the door and stole softly up the stairs to hisroom, getting his boots and carrying them in his hand. As before, heintended putting them on at the kitchen door. But Bob's dog would notbetray him this time, for since the other accident he had contrived topersuade Bob to keep the dog outside at night. Nor would there occurany other accident--he would take care of that. And so it took him along time to descend the stairs and make his way to the kitchen door.Once outside, he drew on his boots and stole silently and swiftly tothe front door of the house.
To his astonishment, when he arrived at the door, there was no light,no sound to indicate that anybody was in the room. He tried thedoor--it was barred. He stepped to the window. If there was a lightwithin it would show through the cracks and holes in the shade, for thelatter was old and well worn.
But no light appeared. If there was anyone inside they must have heardhim in spite of his carefulness, and had put out the light. He cursed.He could not watch both the back and the front door, but he could watchthe outside of the house, could go a little distance away from it andthus see anybody who would leave it.
He walked away toward the timber clump, looking around him. As hisgaze swept the wood near the river he caught a glimpse of a horse andrider as they passed through a clearing and went slowly away from him.
They had tricked him again! Probably by this time Betty was in herroom, laughing at him. Taggart was laughing, too, no doubt. Thethought maddened him. He cursed bitterly as he ran to the stable. Hewas inside in a flash, saddling Blackleg, jamming a bit into his mouth.He would follow Taggart to the Arrow, to hell--anywhere, but he wouldcatch him. Blackleg could do it; he would make him do it, if he killedhim in the end.
In three minutes Blackleg shot out of the stable door--a flash in thenight. The swift turn that was required of him he made on his hindlegs, and then, with a plunge and a snort of delight, he was away overthe level toward the wood.
Calumet guided Blackleg toward the spot where he had seen the rider,certain that he could not have gone far during the interval that hadelapsed, but when he reached the spot there was no sign of a horse andrider in any direction.
For an instant only Calumet halted Blackleg, and then he spurred himdown the river trail. One mile, two, three, he rode at a breakneckpace, and then suddenly he was out of the timber and facing a plainthat stretched into an interminable distance. The trail lay straightand clear; there was no sign of a horse and rider on it. Taggart hadnot come in this direction, though in this direction lay the Arrow.
He wheeled Blackleg and, with glowering eyes and straightened lips,rode him back the way he had come, halting often and peering intoshadows. By the time he arrived at the spot where he had first seenthe horse and rider he had become convinced that Taggart had secretedhimself until he had passed him and had then ridden over the backtrail, later to return to the Arrow by a circuitous route.
Calumet determined to cut across the country and intercept him, and hedrove the spurs into Blackleg and raced him through the wood. Histrail took him into a section which led to the slope which the horsesdrawing the wagon had taken on the night of the ambush. He was tearingthrough this when he broke through the edge of a clearing about aquarter of a mile from the ranchhouse. At about the center of theclearing
Blackleg came to a jarring, dizzying stop, rearing high on hishind legs. When he came down he whinnied and backed, and, peering overhis shoulder to see what had frightened him, Calumet saw the body of aman lying at the edge of a mesquite clump.
With his six-shooter in hand, Calumet dismounted and walked to the man.The latter was prone in the dust, on his face, and as Calumet leanedover him the better to peer into his face--for he thought the man mightbe Taggart--he heard a groan escape his lips. Sheathing his weapon,Calumet turned the man over on his back. Another groan escaped him;his eyes opened, though they closed again immediately. It was notTaggart.
"Got me," he said. He groaned again.
"Who got you?" Calumet bent over to catch the reply. None came; theman had lost consciousness.
Calumet stood up and looked around. He could see nothing of the riderfor whom he was searching. He could not leave this wounded man topursue his search for Taggart; there might be something he could do forthe man.
But he left the man's side for an instant while he looked around him.Some dense undergrowth rose on his right, black shadows surrounding it,and he walked along its edge, his forty-five in hand, trying to peerinto it. He saw nothing, heard nothing. Then, catching another groanfrom the man, he returned to him. The man's eyes were open; theygleamed brightly and wildly.
"Got me," he said as he saw Calumet.
"Who got you?" repeated Calumet.
"Telza."
"Telza?" Calumet bent over him again; the name sounded foreign. "Talksense," he said shortly; "who's Telza?"
"A Toltec Indian," said the man. "He's been hangin' around here--for amonth. Around the Arrow, too. Mebbe two months. Nobody knows. He'slike a shadow. Now you see him an' now you don't," he added with agrim attempt at a joke. "Taggart's had me trailin' him, lookin' for adiagram he's got."
"Diagram of what?" demanded Calumet. His interest was intense. AToltec! Telza was of the race from whom his father and Taggart hadstolen the idol. He leaned closer to the man.
"Are Telza an' Taggart friends?" he asked.
"Friends!" The man's weak laugh was full of scorn. "Taggart'sstringin' him. Telza's lookin' for an idol--all gold an' diamonds, an'such. Worth thousands. Taggart set Telza on Betty Clayton." The manchoked; his breath came thickly; red stained his lips. "Hell!" hesaid, "what you chinnin' me for? Get that damned toad-sticker out ofme, can't you. It's in my side, near the back--I can't reach it."
Calumet felt where the man indicated, and his hand struck the handle ofa knife. It had a large, queerly-shaped handle and a long, thin bladelike a stiletto. It had been driven into the man's left side justunder the fleshy part of the shoulder, and it was plain that its pointhad found a vital spot--probably through the lung and near the heart,for the man was limp and helpless, his breath coughed in his throat,and it was certain that he had not many minutes to live. Calumetcarefully withdrew the weapon, and the man settled back with a sigh ofrelief.
"You're Marston, ain't you?" he said, slowly and painfully, gaspingwith every breath. "I've heard the Taggart's talk about you. OldTom's developed a yellow streak in his old age an' he's leavin' all hisdirty work to Neal. Neal's got a yellow streak, too, for that matter,but he's young an' ain't got no sense. I reckon I'm goin' somewherenow, an' so I can say what I like. Taggart ain't no friend ofmine--neither of them. They've played me dirt--more than once. Myname's Al Sharp. You know that Tom Taggart was as deep in that idolbusiness as your dad was. He told me. But he's got Telza soft-soapedinto thinkin' that Betty Clayton's folks snaked it from Telza's people.Taggart's got evidence that your dad planted the idol around heresomewheres--seems to know that your dad drawed a diagram of the placean' left it with Betty. He set Telza to huntin' for it. Telza got ittonight--it was hid somewhere. I was with him--waitin' for him. If hegot the diagram I was to knife him and take it away from him. Taggartan' his dad is somewhere around here--I was to meet them down the rivera piece. Telza double-crossed me; tried to sneak over here an' huntthe idol himself. I found him--he had the diagram. I tried to get itfrom him--he stuck his toad-sticker in me, . . . the littlecopper-skinned devil. He--" He hesitated and choked, raising himselfas though to get a long breath. But a dark flood again stained hislips, he strangled and stretched out limply.
Calumet turned him over on his back and covered his face with ahandkerchief. Then he stood up, looking around at the edge of theclearing. Ten feet in front of him, curled around the edge of a bit ofsagebrush, was a dirty white object. He walked over, kicked thesagebrush violently, that a concealed rattler might not spring on him,and took up the object. It was a piece of paper about six inchessquare, and in the dim moonlight Calumet could see that it containedwriting of some sort and a crude sketch. He looked closer at it, saw aspot marked "Idol is here," and then folded it quickly and placed it,crumpled into a ball, into a pocket of his trousers.
He was now certain that Taggart had been merely deceiving Betty; therehad been no other significance to his visits. The visits were merelypart of a plan to get possession of the idol. While he had beentalking to Betty in the office tonight Telza had stolen the diagram.
There was more than triumph in Calumet's eyes as he turned hispony--there was joy and savage exultation. The idol was his; he wouldget the money, too. After that he would drive Betty and all of them--
But would he? A curious indecision mingled with his other emotions atthis thought. His face grew serious. Lately he was developing avacillating will; whenever he meditated any action with regard to Bettyhe had an inclination to defer it. He postponed a decision now; hewould think it over again. Before he made up his mind on that questionhe wanted to enjoy her discomfiture and confusion over the loss of thediagram.
He had lost all thought of pursuing Taggart. Sharp had said thatTaggart was somewhere in the vicinity, but it was just possible thatSharp had been so deeply engaged with Telza about the time Taggart hadmade his escape that he had not seen him. There was time for him tosettle with Taggart.
He took up the bridle rein, wheeled, placed one foot into the stirrup,intending to mount, when he became aware of a shadow looming near him.He pulled the foot out of the stirrup, dropped the reins with the samemovement, and turned in a flash.
Neal Taggart, sitting on a horse at the edge of the clearing, not overtwenty feet from him, was looking at him from behind the muzzle of asix-shooter. At a trifling distance from Taggart was another man, alsobestride a horse. A rifle was at this man's shoulder; his cheek wasnuzzling its stock, and Calumet saw that the weapon was aimed at hischest.
He rapidly noted the positions of the two, estimated the distance,decided that the risk of resistance was too great, and slowly raisedhis hands above his head.
"Surprise party, eh?" he said. "Well," he added in a self-accusingvoice, "I reckon I was dreamin' some."
Neal Taggart dismounted, moving quickly aside so that the man with therifle had an unobstructed view of Calumet. He went close to the latter.
"So it's you, eh?" he said. "We saw you tearin' up an' down the rivertrail, when we was back in the timber a piece. Racin' your fool headoff. Nothin' in sight. Saw you come in here ten minutes ago. Whatyou doin' here?"
"Exercisin'," said Calumet; "takin' my midnight constitutional." Helooked at the man with the rifle.
The latter was hatless. Long gray hair, unkempt, touched hisshoulders; a white beard, scraggly, dirty, hid all of his face exceptthe beak-like, awry nose. Beady, viciously glowing eyes gleamed out ofthe grotesque mask.
"Who's your friend?" questioned Calumet, with a derisive grin. "If Iwas a sheep-man now, I'd try an' find time, next shearin'--"
"My father," growled Neal.
"Excuse me," said Calumet with a short laugh, though his eyes shonewith a sudden hardness; "I thought it was a--"
"You're Calumet Marston, I reckon," interrupted the bearded man."You're an impertinent pup, like your father was. Get his guns!" hecommanded gruffly.
Neal hesitat
ed and then took a step toward Calumet. The lattercrouched, his eyes narrowing to glittering pin points. In his attitudewas a threat, a menace, of volcanic, destroying action. Neal stopped astep off, uncertain.
Calumet's lips sneered. "Take my guns, eh?" he said. "Reach out an'grab them. But say your prayers before you do--you an' that sufferin'monolith with the underbrush scattered all over his mug. Come an' takethem!" He jeered as he saw Neal Taggart's face whiten. "Hell!" headded as he saw the elder Taggart make a negative motion toward hisson, "you ain't got no clear thoughts just at this minute, eh?"
"We ain't aimin' to force trouble," growled the older man. "We're justcurious, that's what. Also, there's a chance that we can settle thisthing peaceable. We want to palaver. If you'll give your word thatthere won't be no gun-play until after the peace meetin' is over, youcan take your hands down."
"No shootin' goes right now," agreed Calumet. "But after this peacemeetin'--"
"We ought to come to terms," said Taggart, placing his rifle in thesaddle holster as Calumet's hands came down. "There hadn't ought to beany bad blood between us. Me an' your dad was a heap friendly until wehad a fallin' out over that she-devil which he lived with--Ezela."There was an insincere grin on his face.
It was plain to Calumet that the elder Taggart had some ulterior motivein suggesting a peace conference. He noted that while Taggart talkedhis eyes kept roving around the clearing as though in search ofsomething. That something, Calumet divined, was Sharp and Telza. Hesuspected that Calumet had seen Telza and Sharp, or one of them, enterthe clearing, and had followed them. Neal had said that they had seenCalumet when he had been racing up and down the river trail; they hadsuspected he had been after Sharp or Telza, and had followed him. Nodoubt they were afflicted with a great curiosity. They were playingfor time in order to discover his errand.
"I reckon we'll get along without mushin'," suggested Calumet. "Whatterms are you talkin' about?"
Taggart climbed down from his pony and stood beside it.
"Half-an'-half on the idol," he said. "That's square, ain't it?" Helooked at Calumet with the beginning of a bland smile, which instantlyfaded and turned into a grimace of fear as he found himself lookinginto the gaping muzzles of Calumet's pistols, which had appeared withmagic ease and quickness.
"I'm runnin' a little surprise party of my own," declared Calumet."Was you thinkin' I was fool enough to go to gassin' with you, trustin'that you wouldn't take your chance to perforate me? You've got anotherguess comin'."
The disappointed gleam in Taggart's eyes showed that such had been hisintention. "There wasn't to be no shootin' until after we'd held ourpeace meetin'," he complained.
"Correct," said Calumet. "But the peace meetin' is now over. Get yoursky-hooks clawin' at the clouds!" he warned coldly as Neal hesitated.When both had raised their hands above their heads he deftly pluckedtheir weapons from their holsters. Then, alert and watchful, he drewthe elder Taggart's rifle from its sling on the saddle and threw it adozen feet away.
"Now just step over to that bunch of mesquite," he ordered; "there'ssomethin' there that I want to show you."
In obedience to his command they went forward. Both came to a haltwhen around the edge of the mesquite clump they saw the dead body ofSharp, with the handkerchief over his face. Neither recognized the manuntil Calumet drew the handkerchief away, and then both started back.
"Know him, eh?" said Calumet, watching them narrowly. "Well, he donehis duty--done what you wanted him to do. But your man, Telza,double-crossed him--knifed him." He took up the rapier-like blade thathe had drawn from Sharp's side and held it before their eyes. Againthey started, and Calumet laughed.
"Know the knife, too!" he jeered. "An' after what you've done you'vegot the nerve to ask me to divvy with you."
The elder Taggart was the first to recover his composure.
"Telza?" he said. "Why, I reckon you've got me; there ain't no one ofthat name--"
But Calumet was close to him, his eyes blazing. "Shut your dirtymouth, or I'll tear you apart!" he threatened. "You're a liar, an' youknow it. Sharp told me about you settin' the Toltec on Betty. I knowthe rest. I know you tried to make a monkey out of my dad, you damnedold ossified scarecrow! If you open your trap again, I'll justnaturally pulverize you! I reckon that's all I've got to say to you."
He walked over to Neal, and the latter shrank from the bittermalignance of his gaze.
"Can you tell me why I ain't lettin' daylight through you?" he said ashe shoved the muzzle of his six-shooter deep into Neal's stomach,holding it there with savage steadiness as he leaned forward and lookedinto the other's eyes. "It's because I ain't a sneak an' a murderer.I ain't ambushin' nobody. I've done some killin' in my time, but Iain't never plugged no man who didn't have the same chance I had. I'mgivin' you a chance."
He drew out one of the weapons he had taken from the two men, holdingit by the muzzle and thrusting it under Neal's nose. The terrible,suppressed rage in his eyes caused a shiver to run over Neal, his faceturned a dull white, his eyes stared fearfully. He made no move tograsp the weapon.
"I ain't fightin'," he said with trembling lips.
Calumet reversed the gun and stepped back, laughing harshly, withoutmirth.
"Of course you ain't fightin'," he said. "That's the reason it's goin'to be hard for me to kill you. I'd feel like a cur if I was toperforate you now--you or your scarecrow dad. But I'm tellin' youthis: You've sneaked around the Lazy Y for the last time. I'm layin'for you after this, an' if I ketch you maverickin' around here againI'll perforate you so plenty that it'll make you dizzy. That's all.Get out of here before I change my mind!"
Shrinking from his awe-inspiring wrath, they retreated from him,watching him fearfully as they backed toward their horses. They hadalmost reached them when Calumet's voice brought them to a halt.
His lips were wreathed in a cold grin, his eyes alight with a satanichumor. But the rage had gone from his voice; it was mocking, derisive.
"Goin' to ride?" he said. "Oh, don't! Them horses look dead tired.Leave them here; they need a rest. Besides, a man can't do anythinkin' to amount to anything when he's forkin' a horse, an' I reckonyou two coyotes will be doin' a heap of thinkin' on your way back tothe Arrow."
"Good Lord!" said the elder Taggart; "you don't mean that? Why, it'sfifteen miles to the Arrow!"
"Shucks," said Calumet; "so it is! An' it's after midnight, too. Butyou wouldn't want them poor, respectable critters to be gallivantin'around at this time of the night, when they ought to be in bed dreamin'of the horse-heaven which they're goin' to one of these days when theTaggarts don't own them any more. You can send a man over after themwhen you get back, an' if they want to go home, why, I'll let them."His voice changed again; it rang with a menacing command.
"Walkin' is good!" he said; "get goin'! You've got three minutes toget to that bend in the trail over by the crick. It's about half amile. I'm turnin' my back. If I see you when I turn around I'mworkin' that rifle there."
There was a silence which might have lasted a second. Only this smallspace of time was required by the Taggarts to convince them thatCalumet was in deadly earnest. Then, with Neal leading, they began torun toward the bend in the trail.
Shortly Calumet turned. The Taggarts had almost reached the bend, andwhile he watched they vanished behind it.
Calumet picked up the rifle which he had taken from the elder Taggart,mounted his horse, and drove the Taggart animals into the corral. Hedecided that he would keep them there for an hour or so, to give theTaggarts time to get well on their way toward the Arrow. Had he turnedthem loose immediately they no doubt would have overtaken their mastersbefore the latter had gone very far.
Remounting, Calumet rode to the bend in the trail. He carriedTaggart's rifle. About a mile out on the plain that stretched awaytoward the Arrow he saw the two men. They seemed to be walking rapidly.
Calumet returned to the ranchhouse, got a pick and
shovel, and wentback to the timber clump. An hour later he was again at the corral.He led the Taggart horses out, took them to the bend in the trail, andturned them loose, for he anticipated that the Taggarts would make acomplaint to the sheriff about them, and if they were found in the LazyY corral trouble would be sure to result.
He watched them until they were well on their way toward the Arrow, andthen he returned to the ranchhouse and went to bed. No one had heardhim, he told himself with a grin as he stretched out on the bed besideDade to sleep the hour that would elapse before daylight.
The Boss of the Lazy Y Page 19
