Bloom of Cactus

by Robert Ames Bennet

  CHAPTER XX

  INTO THE FIRE

  Carmena rallied and smiled up at the big trader with a show of trustfulconfidence. "I knew you'd keep your part of the deal, Mr. Slade," shesaid. "You've fought off Cochise and saved us, and there's a good bighole in his bunch. All we need do now is wait for your punchers to comein and wipe out the rest."

  "Sure!" agreed Slade. "I done it. Now I got a dead cinch all 'round."

  He drew his revolver and twirled the cylinder as if to make certain thatit had been fully reloaded.

  "Yep--a dead cinch. With me up here, Cochise won't try no more poleladders. You and my Cookie Gal better hustle up some feed. Ain't hadnothing but bacon and flapjacks since I left."

  Elsie fluttered across to light her charcoal brazier. But Carmenalingered beside Lennon.

  "Huh," muttered Slade. "Where'd sonny boy git hit? Ain't plunked bad, ishe?"

  "Oh, no. I----"

  "No, not fatal," Carmena broke in on Lennon's disclaimer of seriousinjury. She gave Slade a significant side glance.

  "No, I'm sure it won't prove fatal--just cut the bone a bit. Jack'll getover it all right if he keeps perfectly quiet."

  Slade's big face took on a look of solemn concern.

  "Quiet--huh? Can't let him take no risks. He's worth ten thousand to me.Here, you, Pete--and you----"

  A guttural command in Navaho and a careless wave of the revolver broughtPete and his wounded but still active companion hurrying forward.

  Carmena sprang up and held out her arms to the trader. Lennon failed tosee her face. He saw only how Slade swept his left arm about the girland swung her around in a bearlike embrace. Lennon sought to leap up.The Navahos seized him on either side and forced him down again.

  He caught a glimpse of Carmena futilely clutching for Slade's throat.The big man burst into a bellow of contemptuous laughter and flung herfrom him.

  "Bah!" he jeered. "What you bucking about? Don't figger I want _you_ anymore, do you?"

  "No--no, of course not. I---- But Jack's head--If you hogtie him----"

  "Got to be kept quiet, ain't he? You said it yourself. What you hangingfire for, Pete?"

  The heavy revolver swung around in another seemingly careless gesture.Pete and the wounded Navaho hogtied Lennon with expert quickness.

  Slade shifted around to nudge Farley in the ribs with the toe of hiscowhide boot. The badly wounded man stirred and opened his haggard eyesto blink at the disturber.

  "Has--Cochise---- What! you?" he murmured. "You have run off the devils?Girls safe?"

  "You bet they're safe, Dad. How you feeling? Looks like they plugged youpretty bad."

  "Very--very bad," gasped Farley. "I--do not expect to--survive."

  "Aw, keep a stiff upper lip. You'll pull through."

  Farley's discoloured eyelids quivered and drooped. Slade had beenpeering sideways at the rigidly posed Carmena. He laughedgood-humouredly, put up his revolver, and grinned toward Elsie.

  "I smell grub--real grub. Carmena, you git over to the far window andkeep a lookout while I feed up. Just leave your gun lie. We don't wantto rile up Cochise till we git him cornered."

  The girl looked at Lennon and hesitated. Slade rested his hand on hiship. She hurried off to the window toward which he had pointed.

  Seated alone at the table, the trader feasted upon the food set beforehim by Elsie. While he gormandized he tormented the shrinking girl withhis coarse gallantry. When at last his gluttonous appetite was satisfiedhe called for another pie. Elsie obediently brought the last of herbaking and bent over the corner of the table to set it before him.

  With the quickness of a striking grizzly, Slade lunged forward andclutched her soft round arm. At her startled shriek he wrenched hismassive body half around and menaced everyone in the room with asweeping wave of his revolver.

  Lennon had been bound too tightly to do more than writhe. Pete and hisfellow Navaho stood as if turned to stone. But Farley had twisted abouton the floor, and Carmena was springing away from her outlook windowtoward the table. The revolver barrel paused in line with herforward-rushing figure.

  "Stop!" bellowed Slade.

  The savage roar threatened instant death. Carmena came to a sudden halt.She stood panting and quivering, her face white, her eyes dilated withhorror.

  "Huh! Thought you'd rush me, did you?" growled the trader. "You didn'tstop any too soon to save your bacon, you she-wildcat. Stand still now,or you'll git gentled with a club."

  "But--but, Mr. Slade----" gasped the horror-stricken girl."Blossom--she's only a child. She's so young and--and innocent! Oh,won't you--won't you please take me instead?"

  "You?" sneered the trader. "Jealous, are you? Well, you're too late now.Wouldn't take me when you had the chance. Now I wouldn't have you evenif I couldn't git her."

  "But she--little Blossom! Oh, you can't--you can't be so heartless! Youpromised to wait----"

  "Wait?" Slade jerked the half-fainting Elsie around the corner of thetable.

  "Ain't I waited all this time? This is same as Injun country, and squawsmate-up young. I'm going to take my Cookie Gal now. Sabe? Injun marriageis good enough 'round these parts for any woman, white or red."

  "You--beast!" cried Carmena, and she flung herself at him in a fury ofdespair.

  A few seconds before he would have shot her down. Now, instead offiring, he released his hold on Elsie's arm and thrust out to meet thefrantic rush of her foster-sister. The big red hand clutched fast onCarmena's throat and held her off at arm's length. Contemptuouslyheedless of her frenzied struggles, he fixed a hard stare on Pete.

  "You," he ordered, "git a hustle on. Rope this hellcat, pronto."

  Though Pete's hesitancy was almost imperceptible, Slade's revolver swungup toward him. The young Navaho sprang forward, jabbering to his fellowtribesman. As the two seized and started to bind Carmena, Slade grinnedat her, derisively.

  "Guess you wish you hadn't," he jeered. "I'll learn you who's boss. How'llyou like being let down to Cochise, huh?"

  The danger to Elsie had horrified and enraged Lennon no less thanCarmena. He had been writhing in his rawhide bonds, in a furiousstruggle to break loose. Now he lay exhausted and hopeless, his wristsand ankles cut and bleeding from the cruelly tight thongs. Even thehideous threat against Carmena could not goad his flaccid muscles torenewed efforts.

  Behind him he heard a peculiar wheezing. He twisted his head about tolook. Farley was creeping along the floor. As Lennon caught sight ofhim, the desperately wounded man clutched his rifle and straightened upon his knees. His ghastly face was blotched with angry purple. Hissunken eyes flamed with vengeful fire. He raised the muzzle of the rifletoward Slade with the last flare of his failing strength.

  "You scoundrel!" he shrilled. "Harm my daughter, would you?"

  Slade's savage bellow was drowned in the crash of the rifle. Thebull-like roar of the trader sharpened to a yell of pain. An instantlater two answering shots came back at the swaying avenger.

  Farley fell upon his back, with his arms outflung crosswise and hisglazing eyes upturned. As he lived, so he had died--futilely. Yet he hadat least made the attempt to rise above his weakness and degeneracy. Hehad died like a man.

  Slade stood at the end of the table, mopping the base of his neck withhis dirty neckerchief. The rifle had missed his jugular vein by littlemore than an inch. He cauterized the wound with sangre de dragon sap,cursing blasphemously and barking commands at the Navahos.

  Pete ran to signal from the nearest window. His companion hurried tomake certain that Farley was dead. Slade shouldered past the half-boundCarmena and came to stare gloatingly down at Lennon. Between his thicklegs Lennon saw Carmena twist about and roll over toward herterror-stricken sister. Slade was too intent upon mocking his otherprisoner to look about at the girls.

  "Well, son, you seen what happened to Dad, trying to murder his pard,"he admonished. "Hope it'll be a warning to you. I'm a peaceful man. Igot to have law and order. Cochise ripped loose with his bunch. You seenhow
I smashed his play. 'Fore night my Navahos'll clean up what's leftof 'em all."

  Lennon choked down his rage and loathing. Not he alone was in the powerof this brutal scoundrel. For the sake of the girls he must play fortime.

  "Yes, to be sure!" he said. "That was clever generalship on your part,Slade. As for Farley--you of course had to shoot him, in self-defense.But now all is settled. You will keep your word to go through with yourbargain."

  "I will, will I, huh?"

  "How else? We have had our little misunderstandings. But you are a whiteman and you gave your word to go through with our deal."

  The trader's face blackened with a ferocious scowl.

  "Try to be funny with me, will you? I'll skin you alive!"

  "You misunderstood me, quite," said Lennon, soothingly. "How could Ithink other than that you intend to keep your bargain. I mentioned itbecause I wish to suggest an addition to the terms. If you will releaseCarmena and postpone your marriage to Elsie until we can get a licenseand a minister, I shall be pleased to give five thousand toward thebride's trousseau."

  For a long moment Slade stood glowering, morosely suspicious of theproposal. When he sensed its precise meaning, he burst into mockinglaughter.

  "So that's what you're after, huh? Think you can bribe me, do you? Well,just let me tell you, sonny boy--when I want a squaw I take her. As forthat she-wildcat, she's going down to Cochise right now. What's more,you're going with her if you don't agree to write that mine report andshell out the whole twenty thousand."

  "You devil!" cried Lennon. "I'll give you all--everything I possess--tosave the girls from you. But if you harm either one of them--if yourefuse to set them both free--you shall not have a dollar of my money."

  "Huh--I sha'n't, sha'n't I?"

  "Not a cent! You are a thief, a murderer, a liar--and you know it. Yourword is not to be trusted. Take your choice. Kill me, or accept mypledge to pay you the money when you have brought me and the girls safeto the nearest town."

  The corner of Slade's coarse lip drew up in a wolfish snarl.

  "Kill you? Just wait and see. Killing's a heap too easy. Wait tillCochise has had a little fun with you. Mebbe you won't agree to bereasonable then, huh?"

  The pale eyes of the trader glittered with cold malevolence as he swungaround to the window from which Pete was signalling. He boldly thrusthis head out and shouted to the Apaches in their own tongue. From belowcame an answering shout. Slade called down to them for several momentsin hissing thick-tongued gutturals.

  When at last he drew back and faced about, his mouth was twisted in agrin of evil satisfaction. He stared across the room, blinked, andstared again, with his grin distorted into an angry grimace.

  Carmena lay where he had last seen her. But Elsie was nowhere in sight.