We went on up the hill. It was almost too dark now to see where I was going, but Joe seemed to have eyes like a cat, He kept jerking out directions, warning me away from rocks and shrubs, as if he could see as easily now as in the sunlight.
Suddenly he said, 'Hold it.'
I stopped and waited.
He gave a shrill whistle. A moment later a light flashed on a few yards in front of us, and I could see, carefully hidden behind a screen of trees and bushes, a cleverly concealed log cabin, built into the side of the hill.
'Neat, huh?' Joe said. 'We built it ourselves. You'd have to walk right on it before you knew it was there, and by that time you'd be as full of lead as a church roof. Go ahead. Walk right in.'
I went ahead.
The door stood open and I walked into a large, roughly furnished room. Standing before a log fire, her hands behind her back, a cigarette in her full red lips was Mary Jerome.
chapter thirty-three
A white moth fluttered around the storm lantern hanging from a beam in the centre of the room, and cast an enormous shadow on the floor. It zoomed away from the light, fluttered rather helplessly round the room, and, as it passed Joe, he reached out, slapped it to the floor and put his foot on it
I didn't pay any attention to what he was doing. I was looking at Mary Jerome; the last person I expected to find in this cabin.
She was wearing a red-and-yellow cowboy shirt, a pair of canary-coloured corduroy slacks, and her dark hair was hidden under a red silk bandana. She was paler and more fine-drawn since last I saw her, but she was still lovely to look at.
'Hello,' I said. 'You may not believe it, but I've been hunting all over for you.'
'Pipe down, pally,' Joe said. 'No one asked you for a speech. Sit over there and keep quiet.'
He poked the gun into my spine, pushed me over to an armchair facing the fire.
I sat down.
'Where did you find him?' Mary Jerome asked.
Joe grinned at her, obviously very pleased with himself.
'He was in the mine. We spotted him coming out of the upper tunnel. He bolted into the desert, but we caught up with him.'
'Was he alone?'
'Why, sure.'
'Then why did he run into the desert?'
Joe frowned at her, ran his fingers through his short, crinkly hair.
'What do you mean?'
'If he wanted to get away, he would have run towards the Highway, wouldn't he?' she asked patiently.
Joe's face lost its animated expression. He turned to snarl at me.
'What's cooking, fella? Weren't you alone?'
'Why, no. I had a girl with me,' I told him. 'She's gone for the Law.'
Mary lifted her shoulders in a resigned shrug.
'I give up, Joe,' she said in disgust. 'You make a mess of everything you handle.'
'For crying out aloud!' Joe said, his face turning red, 'How was I to know?'
'Never mind; but you better do something about it.'
'Yeah.' He pulled a face, glared at me. 'Jeepers! It means walking back to that damned mine again. Can you look after this fella?'
She nodded.
'I'll take care of him. You'd better hurry, Joe.'
'Want my gun?'
She took the heavy .45 and balanced it in her hand.
'Get going, Joe.'
He looked over at me.
'Don't kid yourself she can't use that rod. She can.'
He went out of the cabin.
I listened to him crashing through the bushes on his way down the hillside. It would take him the best part of half an hour to reach the mine.
By that time Mifflin would have arrived.
Mary Jerome moved away from the fire and sat in an armchair facing me, but on the far side of the room. She dropped the gun into her lap and leaned back, resting her head against the padded back of the chair.
I considered the possibility of diving across the room, but decided there would be nothing in it for me except a slug through the head.
'It seems a long time since we met,' I said. 'Was it you who told Paula I was in the mine?'
'Yes. Don't ask me why. I guess I'm going soft.' Her voice sounded weary.
'Who's this guy, Joe? A pal of yours?'
'Not exactly.' She raised her head and stared at me. 'You're bursting to ask questions, aren't you? Well, go ahead and ask them. I'm through with being smart. I'm pulling out of here. I thought I could handle Joe, but I can't.'
'Let's pull out together.'
She shook her head.
'Nothing like that. Joe wouldn't like it, and I can't afford to get on his wrong side. We'll wait a while. If he doesn't come back, you can go.'
'But suppose he does come back?' I said and moved cautiously to the edge of my chair. 'What'll happen to me?'
She shrugged.
'He won't harm you. Joe's not like that. He'll keep you here until he's ready to pull out himself. You don't have to worry.' She lifted the gun and pointed it at me. 'Sit back and relax. You're staying here until Joe gets back.'
That didn't worry me a great deal, as I felt pretty certain Joe wouldn't come back.
'Just where do you fit in this set-up?'
She give a bitter little smile.
'Can't you guess? I'm Lee's wife.'
I sat forward again and stared at her.
'Dedrick's wife?'
'That's what I said.'
'But he's married to Serena Marshland.'
'He married me first.' She reached for a box of cigarettes, lit one and frowned into the fire. 'Lee can take a little thing like bigamy in his stride.'
'You mean Serena's marriage was a fake?'
'Yes. Of course, she didn't know at the time. She knows now,' and again she smiled bitterly.
'Did you tell her?'
'I told her father.'
'Was that why he went to see you at the Beach Hotel?'
She raised her eyebrows at me.
'You found that out? Yes, that's when I told him. I had to have money. I was cleaned right out. He gave me a thousand dollars to keep out of sight.'
'Now don't rush this. Suppose you begin at the beginning. When did you marry Dedrick?'
'Oh, about four years ago, I forget the exact date. It isn't anything I cherish. Being married to Lee isn't a romantic dream. I met him in Paris, and fell for him. He's the kind of heel most women would fall for. I don't know why he married me, but he did. He always had plenty of money, and never seemed to do any work. I guess his money attracted me. Well, I got what I deserved.' She flicked the cigarette into the fire, and reached for another. 'I found out he was smuggling dope into Paris. Joe worked with him. He persuaded me to help him too.' She smiled at me. 'You don't know how persuasive he can be. Then he met the Marshland woman. I hadn't an idea what was cooking. He was often away for weeks at a time, and I thought he was handling a consignment. Then without warning, he disappeared. Joe and I were left holding the baby. Joe tried to carry on, but he just hadn't what it takes. The police nearly caught us. We managed to get out of France, and came here. That was when I found out he had married Serena Marshland. I went to Barratt. You know about Barratt?'
I said I knew about Barratt.
'He wants watching,' she said, her face hardening. 'He fooled me all right. He said Lee had married Serena Marshland to get her money, and as soon as he had it, he would return to me. He asked me to co-operate; to keep away from Lee and give him a free hand. Like a fool, I believed him. I was staying at the Chandos Hotel, and on my way back from seeing Barratt I was shot at. I knew then that Barratt was going to get rid of me, and I moved to the Beach Hotel.' She glanced at me, asked, 'Are you enjoying this?'
'More or less,' I said. 'It's not what I was hoping to but never mind. Go on.'
'What were you hoping to hear?'
'Finish what you've got to say. I'll tell you later.'
She shrugged.
'There's not much more. I thought if I could only see Lee I might persuade h
im to come back to me. I found out he was going to Ocean End, and I went there to see him. That's when I met you, and heard he was supposed to have been kidnapped. He hasn't been kidnapped, has he?'
'No. But by faking his own kidnapping he collected five hundred thousand dollars off Serena, and that ain't hay. The last time I saw him he was staying with Barratt.'
'I've read about that. It's just the kind of thing he would get away with. Well, that's about all. I knew Barratt kept his main supply of reefers in the mine. Joe and I hooked up together. I wanted to get even with Barratt. My idea was to burn the stock: it's worth thousands, but Joe has other ideas. He's planned to hi-jack the stuff and start an organization of his own. Dope smuggling's too dirty for me. I've had enough of it. Joe won't get anywhere. He hasn't the brain for the work. I'm quitting. He's getting ideas about me.' Her mouth curled. 'A woman can't live under the same roof with a man for long. Sooner or later, he makes a pest of himself.'
'Some women can,' I said and grinned at her.
Then suddenly, without warning, the distant sound of gunfire brought us both to our feet.
'What's that?' Mary asked sharply, running to the window.
'Maybe the cops are chasing Joe,' I said hopefully, 'but just to be on the safe side, I'll put out the light.'
As I turned down the wick of the storm lantern more shots rang out, much closer now, and I hastily lifted the lantern from its hook and blew out the flickering flame.
'It's Joe and Mac!' Mary said, and threw open the door.
The flash of gunfire lit up the darkness outside. Away in the valley came answering flashes and bullets smacked into the wooden roof.
Joe and Mac, breathing heavily, charged into the room, and slammed the door.
chapter thirty-four
For a moment or so neither of them could say anything. They leaned against the wall, panting for breath, while slugs slapped into the solid walls of the cabin and gunfire rolled in the valley.
'Get the rifles,' Joe gasped. ‘It's Barrett!'
Mary stumbled across the room. I heard her open a cupboard. She came back with two rifles and gave them to Joe and Mac.
'Are you in this?' she asked, as calm as if she was sitting down to a cup of tea.
'Yeah; if it's Barratt, I am,' I said.
She went back to the cupboard and produced two more rifles and a sack of ammunition.
'What happened, Joe?' she asked as we loaded the clips.
'Jeepers! The boys walked right into them. There are about ten of them and Barratt. I guess he'd come to shift the stuff. They must have spotted our trucks and came down on us.'
‘Where do you get this us stuff from?' Mac growled. ‘You weren't even there.' He was kneeling in front of the window, and turned his head to look at Mary. 'They were at the top of the quarry. We were at the bottom. It was like shooting rabbits. They got Harry, Lu and George with their first volley. The rest of us got behind the trucks. They kept crawling around the edge of the quarry, picking us off, until I was the only one left. I just lay there and waited. Finally, they decided they'd picked us all off and came down to investigate. Harry and George were still alive. They were badly hurt, but they were still breathing. Barratt shot them both through the head. I managed to sneak away while they were checking up on the others. I got to the top of the quarry, when Joe turned up. They spotted Joe. The chump was smoking. You could see him a mile away, and they came after us. I told Joe not to shoot, but he kept letting his rod off, and of course, they just kept coming. I was hoping to get away in the dark, but not with Joe lighting up the countryside for miles. So here we are, and right out there, they are, and it's going to be some picnic.'
Joe said, 'I got two of them. You don't think I was going to let that mob shoot at me without shooting back?'
While they were talking, I was examining the-valley below the cabin. There wasn't much cover until you started to climb the hill. Once they got a foothold on the hill, they could get up to the door of the cabin without being seen.
I edged the rifle over the window sill, sighted into the darkness and pressed the trigger. Almost immediately flashes lit up the shrubs on the far side of the valley and slugs whammed against the walls of the cabin.
'They're over on the far side,' I said. 'If they can get across the floor of the valley, we'll be cooked.'
'The moon will be up in a few minutes,' Mac said. 'It's just below the peak of the hill as we came along. Then we'll have plenty of light.'
I thought I saw some movement below, shifted the sights of the rifle and fired.
A tiny, shadowy form darted back under cover again. Both Joe and Mac fired at the same time. A faint yell followed the crash of gunfire. These two might not be very strong in the brain department, but they could shoot.
'That's another of the punks,' Joe said with satisfaction.
I put my hand on Mary's arm and pulled her close to me.
'Is there any way out of here besides the door?' I asked in a whisper.
She shook her head.
'How about the roof?'
'There's a ladder that takes you up to the roof, but once up there, there's no way to escape.'
'Sure?'
'You might with a rope, but it wouldn't be easy.'
'I guess I'll take a look,' I said. 'Got a rope?'
'There's one in the kitchen.'
Joe suddenly fired again.
'Look out!' he bawled. ‘They're coming.'
We could make out six or seven moving figures, running across the floor of the valley. We all fired as fast as we could pull our bolts. Two of the figures fell. The others drifted back again under cover of the opposite bank.
'Get the rope,' I said to Mary. 'And get that trap open. We may have to leave in a hurry.'
'What are you two whispering about?' Joe demanded suspiciously.
'We're preparing a get-away,' I told him. 'By way of the roof.'
'Fat chance you have,' he snorted. ‘They'd pick you off like a sitting rabbit when the moon's up.'
'We may have to,' I said, seeing the first rays of the moon appearing over the hill top. 'Here it comes.'
Two or three minutes later the floor of the valley was flooded with white light.
'Well, at least, it's as bad for them,' Mac said, sitting back on his heels. 'We can't miss them from here.'
'What do you think they're playing at?' Joe said, uneasily. 'They haven't let off a heater for the past five minutes.'
'Why should they?' I said. 'They're waiting for the moon to pick this joint out, and it will. They'll be able to see in through the windows.'
'I have the rope,' Mary called from an adjoining room. ‘I'm going up on the roof,' I said. 'Keep an eye on them.'
'You better keep an eye on yourself,' Joe said sarcastically. 'Don't expect flowers for your funeral.'
I went into the inner room.
Mary held a flashlight in her hand, and as I came in she swung the beam to a short ladder that led to a trap door in the roof.
'You'd better not go up there,' she said. 'They're certain to see you.'
'Hey, you two; give me some covering fire,' I called into the outer room. 'I'm going up on the roof.'
'Hope it keeps fine for you,' Mac said and laughed.
They began firing down into the valley. I waited, listening, but there was no answering fire.
'I wonder what they're playing at,' I muttered. 'Well, here goes. Let's see what's up there.'
I mounted the ladder and very cautiously lifted the trap-door. I slid it to one side and peered around the flat roof that spread out before me.
Moonlight fell directly on it, and it was nearly as light as day up there.
Above me the hill went up steeply, offering little foothold and not much cover. To try and scale the hill from the roof in this light would be asking for trouble. The only chance would be to wait until the moon moved round and the hill face was in the shadow. I didn't know if we had the time wait.
I slid down the ladder again.
<
br /> 'Not much good. A rope won't help. It's too light. In another hour it might be done, but not now.'
'In another hour we'll be pushing up the daisies,' Joe said cheerfully from the other room.
'How about some coffee?' I suggested to Mary. 'We might be stuck here for some time. I'll go back and keep watch while you get it.'
I returned to the outer room.
Mac was chewing an unlit cigarette, staring down into the valley. Joe sat on the edge of a chair, and peered around the window-frame.
'You didn't see a girl in the quarry, did you?' I asked Mac.
'No-why?'
'I had a girl with me when you spotted me. I sent her for the cops.'
'That's not going to help us. You'd never hear gunfire out of the valley. I don't know how it is, but it's a fact. Unless they come here to look for us, they won't know a battle's going on,' Joe said. 'Besides, it would hurt my pride to be rescued by a cop.'
'I reckon I could sink my pride,' Mac said and laughed. I'd sooner be pinched by a cop then fall into Barratt's hands.'
'Think it's safe to smoke?' Joe asked.
'Go and sit on the floor if you must smoke,' I said. 'I'll take your place.'
'You're a pal, pally. I'm glad I didn't shoot you.'
'So am I.'
He lit a cigarette while he sat on the floor.
'These punks don't show much initiative, do they?' Mac said. 'Maybe they've scrammed.'
'Go out there and find out,' Joe said. 'I bet they're cooking up something.'
I had an idea they were, too. So long as the floor of the valley lay in the moonlight, I could understand them not showing themselves, but, once the light had shifted, they would probably make a rush.
Mary came in with cups of coffee. Joe laced his from a pint flask he hauled out of his pocket
'Anyone want rum?' he asked, waving the flask.
Mac helped himself, handed the flask to me, but I shook my head.
'Just coffee for me.'
'Fancy your chances getting out of here?' Joe asked as he sucked up the rum and coffee noisily.
'I don't see why not.'
1950 - Figure it Out for Yourself Page 18
