Ted Strong in Montana

by Edward C. Taylor

  CHAPTER XIX.

  HELEN MOWBRAY'S WILL.

  By the time one could have counted ten there was not a man of Burk'sforce in sight, but, on looking down the road where it led to the plainthat lay before the mountains, the dust of their retreat hung in theair.

  "We've got 'em on ther run," said Bud, throwing his hat into the airwith a joyous yawp. "Sufferin' tomcats, but them fellers has theirnerve, aber nit."

  Ben and the major had carried Ted into the house, and the major, who wasa good surgeon, had Ted's coat off and was examining his wound.

  When the shot had been fired through the door at him the ball had beendeflected by a piece of iron, and, instead of penetrating his heart, asit surely would have done otherwise, it struck a rib and ran aroundtoward the back, coming out near the spine, and, although an extremelypainful wound, it was not at all serious.

  A ball had passed through the fleshy part of Kit's forearm, but when themajor had washed it in warm water and dressed it, it ceased to pain, andhe could use it handily. But Ted's wound was different, and the impactof the ball on the rib had made him so sore that he could not breathewithout suffering agony.

  Stella had one of the boys make a fire for her, and, having found thehouse well stored with provisions, she began to cook supper for them,for they were all tired and hungry.

  It was evening before they knew it, and it was decided to stay at thehouse all night, keeping a careful guard against the return of Burk andMowbray.

  "I never was so surprised in my life as when I saw Mowbray in the bushesout there just in the act of murdering you," said the major aftersupper, as he sat on the sofa beside Ted.

  "It was a surprising meeting," said Ted. "I had no idea he was in thispart of the country. His was the face I saw at the window when we hadall that money and gold and jewels out."

  "Then he knows we have found it?"

  "Sure. He knows we have it, and if he is the chap I think he is, he'llnot rest until he gets it, or--something else."

  "Meaning?"

  "Death or imprisonment."

  "He richly deserves either, or both. He made the life of my sister mostunpleasant."

  "By the way, major, what do you know about him? It might be handy toknow something in the future if he tries to make trouble."

  "Precious little."

  "Oh, by the way, have you looked into that packet I took from the safeand handed you? The one addressed to your father, I take it, or toyourself."

  "Haven't thought of it until now. Must take a look at it, by Jove. Itmay tell us a lot we want to know."

  The major pulled the envelope from his pocket, and after examining thewriting on it closely for a moment tore off the end of it and drew outseveral business-like documents.

  "You'll excuse me, Strong, while I look these over, won't you?" he said.

  "Certainly. Don't mind me," replied Ted, sinking back comfortably amongthe cushions.

  As the major's eyes traveled over the documents they began to light upwith a new intelligence. Then a look of pain followed, and the tears ranslowly down his cheeks.

  Finally he turned to Ted:

  "It is her will, and some history of her adventures in this countrysince she left home, and an account of the abuse and indignities heapedupon her by her husband, Mowbray, from whom she was divorced some monthsago."

  "Then Mowbray has no right to her property?"

  "Not a penny's worth. I shall not bore you by reading all she says onthe subject. She tells how he beat her after stealing from her all hecould. Then she goes on to tell of his crimes."

  "He is a bad egg, then," said Ted, as the major paused.

  "You would scarcely believe how bad he was if I were to read the storyof his career."

  "I suppose he had been bothering her since in order to get more moneyfrom her."

  "Yes, she says that he made her life miserable, and that he oftenthreatened to kill her if she didn't give him all she had."

  "Hearing of her death, he came here to steal everything he could lay hishands on; is that it? But I don't quite see why the authorities here,knowing of her divorce from him, would permit him to take possession ofher effects, from any ownership in which the courts had barred him."

  "I don't suppose the people here knew anything about it, for she says inthis paper that she got her divorce secretly, and that there was nopublicity about it. She simply had her lawyers notify Mowbray to thateffect, at which time she sent him ten thousand dollars in settlement ofall claims against her, which he agreed to accept with thatunderstanding. But later he wrote her a letter in which he said that theagreement meant nothing to him, and that he would expect more."

  "But why didn't she make the fact that he was no longer her husbandpublic? It would have saved this trouble."

  "She didn't want the news of it to travel to our parents in England.That was her pride."

  "I see. Does she leave him anything in her will?"

  "Yes. Her will is a curious document. It was evidently made immediatelyafter her divorce from Mowbray, and leaves all her property to ourmother, and, after her death, to my brother and myself, with a smallbequest to silence Mowbray. But there is a codicil which leads me tobelieve that she had heard of mother's death, in which event she leavesalmost everything to her brother, Frederic Caruthers. He is the oneknown as Fancy Farnsworth."

  "Nothing to you?"

  "Oh, yes, but not so much as to Fred, whom she puts in my care, askingme to see that he is properly treated and that he gets the justice whichis his due."

  "Evidently she knew, then, that he has many enemies who were trying toput him within the clutches of the law."

  "Evidently. But there is a section which I do not understand."

  "Read it. Perhaps we can figure it out between us."

  "All right, I will. The paragraph is as follows: 'I desire that my elderbrother, John Stairs Caruthers, shall take charge of my property in theevent that the said Frederic Caruthers shall not be present when my willis opened, and that he shall be found as speedily as possible. Forseveral years Frederic Caruthers has been my only protector, defendingme from the abuse and greed of my former husband, and, further,sustaining my credit and honor by assuming the misdeeds of Mowbray, tohis own discredit and danger. Had it not been for his watchful care, Iwould long ago have been stripped of all I have been able to accumulate,and have been in my grave at the hands of Mowbray. But of this latter Iam in constant dread, and I feel such will yet be my fate. If my deadbody is found with marks of violence on it, and my house robbed, it willhave been the work of said Mowbray. Therefore, in the way of a tardyreward for the loyalty, care, protection, and love given me by mybrother, Frederic Caruthers, I leave to him the bulk of my property,personal and real, in mining stocks, jewels, money, and the turquoisebeds in New Mexico, as well as the San Fernando Ranch. I especiallycharge my brother John Stairs Caruthers to find his brother, and todefend him and clear his name, should it be necessary, and to put him infull possession of his property.'"

  As the major finished reading he looked at Ted inquiringly.

  "Well, what do you make of it?" he asked. "I confess it puzzles me."

  "I can see through it. But you have your work cut out for you, major."

  "In what way?"

  "You will find this fellow Mowbray a hard customer."

  "Pshaw! I am not afraid of him."

  "Neither am I, for that matter; but it is not he alone that is to befeared in this matter."

  "What do you mean?"

  "Just this: Mowbray evidently is an archvillain, but he could not do allhis dirty work alone."

  "You think he has accomplices, then?"

  "Exactly. And of the most dangerous sort."

  "For instance?"

  "I have been thinking the matter over, and I am convinced that Mowbrayhas got about him the most dangerous sort of a gang to carry on his workfor him. Do you know if he is a man of any particular force andcleverness?"

  "When I knew him, which was before I went to India
, he was alreadybeginning to practice his shady transactions in England, but he hadnever been directly caught at it. This led to the greatest opposition onthe part of my family to his marriage to my sister."

  "But, in spite of it, she married him?"

  "Yes; she had an idea that he was abused and misrepresented, and flew tohis defense by secretly marrying him. After that he got worse and bolderuntil he was caught not only cheating at cards, but actually stealing bymeans of forgery and in other ways, and they had to flee from England."

  "Then, of course, he is a master in crime by this time."

  "It would not surprise me to learn it. But you spoke of his beingespecially dangerous because of the men he had gathered about him?"

  "Yes, and I mean it. I am sure now that in his gang are several men whoare especially dangerous, because they can defy the law without muchrisk of running counter to it."

  "I don't see how one man can break the law with less danger ofpunishment than another."

  "It is this way: Mowbray has in his gang several deputy United Statesmarshals. These men have advance information of any action to be takenby the law against the suspected perpetrators of crime. This informationis at once at the disposal of Mowbray, and he can escape theconsequences of his crimes without difficulty. He is protected, also, byhis partners rigging up accusations against innocent persons, andconvicting them by manufacturing evidence against them."

  "What a villainous system!"

  "It is. And it is just this thing that has enabled Mowbray to prey onhis wife for so long a time."

  The major uttered an exclamation of anger.

  "Another thing," continued Ted: "I am sure now that it was these verypals of Mowbray that made the accusations against your brother, known asFarnsworth, at the instance of Mowbray. They nursed public resentmentagainst the young fellow until every hand was against him, and he wasforced to become an outlaw, or fall into the hands of the authoritiesand be forced into prison, or to the gallows, through the perjury ofthese same deputy marshals. It is an infamous thing, and I am going totry to sift it to the bottom and clear your brother, and see thatMowbray gets what's coming to him."

  "You are very good, and I shall never forget what you have done for mealready."

  "That's all right. It's my duty as an officer of the United States inthis Territory of Arizona to do it. Never fear; there will be more tothis than the beginning, and a race is not won until it is ended."

  All night one or the other of the boys patrolled the grounds, hiding inthe shrubbery, ready to give the alarm should any of Mowbray's partyreturn to attack the house and capture the treasure.

  But dawn broke without an alarm, and the boys were astir, making readyfor the abandonment of the house and the return to the Bubbly WellRanch.

  Ted was feeling so much better after a good night's rest that he wasable to climb into his saddle and go into the town.

  His object was to get a wagon and a span of mules in which to transportthe remains of Helen Mowbray and the valuables she had left behind toher brother's house.

  At a livery stable he met the proprietor, a garrulous old man, whom,when he had explained his mission, looked at him strangely beforespeaking.

  "What's doin' at the Mowbray house?" he asked. "We all uptown was somecurious last evenin' when we heard so much shootin'."

  "Nothing much," said Ted. "Just a little pistol practice."

  The old man grinned.

  "Yuh musta kep' ther targets warm some from ther way ther poppin'sounded up yere," he said dryly.

  "Yes, it was rather warm for a while. Well, can I have the wagon, and adriver to bring it back?"

  "I don't know whether I can spare one or not. Yuh see, it's somedangerous ter take sides in this town."

  "I don't want you to take my side. All I want is to complete a businesstransaction with you. I want you to hire me a wagon and team for a day.You understand what I want?"

  "Yes, but, yuh see, that would be considered as givin' succor ter therenemy."

  "I don't understand why."

  "It's this way: Judge Harris owns this stable an' rents it to me by thermonth. He could kick me out to-morrow if he wanted to. He's a queerdick, an' him an' Burk, what, I understand, was at ther Mowbray houseyesterday, and what had ter run away, is as close as two sheets o'sticky fly paper."

  "He is, eh?"

  "Yes; an' the coroner, the jailer, the mayor, the sheriff, an' everybodyelse what has any power er authority, is in the same boat. They all hangtogether, an' they're all friends o' Mr. Mowbray. Lord Mowbray theycalls him."

  "Ah, ha!" thought Ted. "If that is the case, it behooves us to get outof town and to Bubbly Well with our property as soon as we can."

  After some further talk Ted was still unable to get the old man to renthim a wagon. Then he changed his tactics.

  "Well," he said, in a firm voice, "if you won't rent me the wagon andteam I'll be obliged to confiscate it for the United States."

  "Eh, how is that?"

  "I said I would take it for the uses of the United States. Come, roll itout and hitch up before I have to resort to violence."

  "I don't know you, bub. I'm from Missouri. You'll have to show me."

  Ted exposed his star of authority.

  "Does that go?" he asked. "Because if it don't, this will."

  His revolver was out of its holster like a flash, much to the surpriseof the liveryman, who had been somewhat of a bad man himself in his day,and gun plays were not uncommon at Rodeo.

  He gazed mildly into the bore of the big, silver-mounted forty-five, andthen murmured:

  "It goes, pal."