"My own father," he repeated mockingly, "who told me I was no son of his, and desires nothing so much as my death."
"I do not believe it."
"It is true; I have a means of knowing."
"You trust your spies?" she asked scornfully.
"I trust no one," he told her. "My knowledge comes from myself; ignorant folk call it witchcraft, black magic, or the like; actually it is a gift of divination. It enabled me to be sure of your presence here this morning."
"Impossible ! I did not decide to come this way until after I had set out."
"Nevertheless, I knew, and so came to meet you. I wanted to see you because, changed as I am in many ways, one thing remains unaltered--my feeling for you. There has never been anyone else."
"Rumour tells a different tale," she said coldly.
"And rumour--as usual--lies. I saved a woman from imprisonment, but she is nothing to me. I cared for you, Joan, and if that domineering old autocrat--"
"You shall not speak of him so,"' she cried heatedly.
"Incredible!" he murmured. "Why, you are not even of his blood."
"He has been a father to me, and I love him as a daughter," she said warmly, and then, "Jeff, I think I hate you."
For a long moment the man gazed at her, noting the tanned, flushed cheeks, the firm, ripe lips, and the curling tendrils of golden hair trembling in the light breeze. Desire glowed for an instant in his stony eyes.
"You think so, but it is not the case," he replied. "When Keith gave me the air, you had an affection for me."
"Which, if indeed it ever existed, you have effectually slain," she said passionately.
"No, it is dormant maybe, but one kiss from me will bring it to life."
His effrontery infuriated her. "Never," she stormed. "You, a would-be parricide ..."
She turned to go, but he was too quick. Ere she could guess his intention, a touch of the spurs sent his horse close to her own and he had gripped her by the wrist and waist.
"Don't struggle, Joan," he panted, his voice thick with passion. "You are mine. One day we will reign together at the Double K, my lovely queen."
Frantically she strove to free herself but without avail. The red mask was before her eyes, the avid lips beneath it seeking her own. She wrenched her head aside and struck with her loose hand. The blow drew an oath from her assailant.
"Damn you," he gritted. "I'll--"
"Let the lady go, right now, if yu wanta live," a steely voice finished.
With a start of surprise, the masked man released his captive and swung round to face the speaker, a cowboy on a black horse. He was spinning a gun by the trigger-guard and appeared to be deeply interested in the operation.
"Who the hell told you to interfere?" Satan exploded.
The cowboy looked at him. "I don't need tellin' to protect a woman from insult," he said.
"There was no question of that," the other snapped. "We are old friends, aren't we, Joan?"
The girl ignored him. "I was very pleased to see you, Green," she said, in a still shaky voice.
"Better head for the ranch, ma'am; I'll take care this hombre don't pester yu no more," Sudden advised. "Yu didn't oughta use this part o' the range--too many varmints about."
"Yes," she agreed, and without a glance at the masked man, rode away.
No sooner was she out of hearing than Satan turned furiously upon the interloper, who was still playing with his pistol.
"What's the meaning of this?" he asked. "Are you working for me or not?"
"Shore I am," the puncher returned easily. "I've just done yu a service. See here, I'm ridin' for Keith. How long d'yu s'pose I'd be doin' that if I stood by when his daughter was needin' help?"
"She didn't see you."
"She did; I was right close before I recognized yu."
"I don't allow people I pay to correct me, even if I'm wrong."
"Then yu can call the deal off--I ain't riskin' my neck for a fool," Sudden said bluntly. "Yu were tryin' to do somethin' no decent girl would ever forgive. Miss Keith is a lady, not a dance-hall dame." He returned the glare in the sated eyes. "If yu an' me are to tread the same trail there's one thing yu gotta keep in mind, that I ain't one o' the gaol-sweepin's yu got herded up in Hell City."
The bandit did not reply at once. He knew that the cowboy was right--he had behaved unwisely, to say the least of it.
The girl's loveliness had shattered the shield of icy indifference behind which he was wont to hide. This saturnine gunman had saved him from committing an irretrievable blunder, and though he felt no gratitude, he did not wish to lose him. So, when he spoke again, the anger had gone.
"It is true. I acted like a half-wit, but I had not seen Joan for a long time and her beauty swept me off my feet. I am sorry." He laughed shortly. "Rescuing damsels in distress seems to be a habit of yours. Miss Dalroy--"
"She told yu?"
"There was no need; I saw it all, though I was in Hell City at the time." He read the other's expression, and added, "You don't believe there are men who see things their fellows cannot?"
"I've met 'em; it was allus a case of too much tangle-foot."
Satan shrugged. "I can't convince you, of course, but I venture to predict that Joan will beg you not to mention her meeting with me. Adios, my friend; it may be I have misjudged you; we shall yet do things to our mutual advantage."
He waved a hand, spurred his mount, and was soon lost in the vegetation which clothed the lower slopes of the hills. The cowboy spat in disgust.
"Play-actor, but a damn dangerous one," he muttered. "Friend, huh? I'd sooner tie up with a rattlesnake. Oughta rubbed him out, but I'm bettin' the girl still thinks of him as he used to be, which ain't goin' to help me any."
Confirmation of this view came as he approached the ranch that evening and saw Joan herself riding towards him. She turned her horse when they met.
"I want to thank you for--this morning," she began. "What happened?"
Sudden saw her anxiety, and smiled. "Why, just nothin'a-tall," he replied. "I told that hombre he'd find the hills more healthy, an' he drifted."
Her relief was obvious. "This is the second service you have done me," she said, "and I am going to ask a third: will you please keep silent about this unfortunate affair? Knowledge of it would only embitter my father still more, and might drive him to some desperate reprisal."
"Anythin' yu say, goes, ma'am," the cowboy said quietly. "If I hadn't guessed who he was ..."
She smiled her gratitude. "I can't understand," she confided. "He was always wild, impetuous, but never mean or dishonourable. He seemed older too, and almost--inhuman."
"Broodin' over an injustice ages an' sours a man plenty fast," he told her, and--not knowing his own story--she was surprised at the venom in his voice. Then he added something he did not in the least believe, "Mebbe he ain't so bad as folks figure--I've knowed such cases."
The words made her think. Was he himself one of the cases he had "knowed"? She could not decide, but it seemed difficult to credit that this grave young man, whose rare smile transformed his face into that of a boy, could be a notorious killer. Perhaps he had only said it to comfort her. Impulsively she held out her hand.
"Thank you again," she said, and spurred her pony.
Sudden's eyes followed her. "Nig, there's fools yu couldn't drag into heaven at the end of a rope," he told his horse.
Chapter XII
Kenneth Keith looked up as the latest addition to his outfit stepped on to the verandah. A week had passed since he learned of the cowboy's sinister history, and nothing had happened to change his first impression.
"I'd like to be foot-loose for a day or so, seh," Sudden said. "Where do yore fellas go when they got coin to spend an' aim to have a good time?"
The rancher's face darkened at this unexpected request; it was more than a little early for a new hand to be seeking a holiday. But he knew the breed; when the urge for a spree possessed them, they would sacrifice their posi
tions to ;ratify it.
"Work-shy already?" he asked sarcastically. "Red Rock kill clean you out quickly enough; women, drink, and cards, with a probable gun-fight thrown in; you'll find them all here."
"Thank yu, seh," Sudden replied. "That tale will do for the boys, but the truth is, I'm goin' to Hell City."
If the puncher had suddenly developed horns and a tail his employer could not have appeared more astonished.
"Are you tired of life?" he cried. "Why, they'll shoot you on sight."
"Yo're forgettin' my past," the puncher pointed out, and when Keith remained silent, "Didn't yu get the news' I warned yu about?"
"yes, but I decided to ignore it, and I'm asking no questions." a o d. Well, fella will be glad to see me."
"That is possible, if he knows who you are."
"Black Sam claims he's a wizard--finds out everythin'."
"That nigger is a superstitious old lunatic, saturated with witchcraft, voodoo, and like nonsense. To risk your life on that ..."
"Not any; the outfit is wise, an' I'm bettin' one of 'em is in Satan's pay."
"Which one?" the rancher asked sharply.
"Couldn't say," Sudden replied, and grinned. "It ain't Frosty nor Lazy--they's allus most amazin' broke."
Keith was silent for a space, considering this singular proposition, and a little suspicious. He reminded himself, however, that had the cowboy wished to desert he could have done so without warning, and the Red Rock fable was unnecessary unless he intended to return to the ranch.
"Why are you going, Green?"
There was a shade of anxiety in his tone which Sudden knew was not there on his account.
"Just to have a look at the fella an' his hide-out," he explained. "Sort o' spyin' out the land, yu savvy; I ain't gettin' no place, hangin' about here. He'll take it I'm ready to double-cross yu, an' that's what I'm gamblin' on." He hesitated for a moment. "Yu don't happen to have a picture o'--yore On?"
Keith frowned. "No, I--destroyed them," he said harshly. "Take care of yourself, Green; I will explain to Lagley."
As the puncher walked away, a low voice called from a window at the end of the building.
"These wooden walls are not sound-proof," Joan smiled. "I happened to hear your last question. Is this what you want? It was taken only a few months before he--went away."
Sudden scrutinized the photograph, which seemed oddly familiar. The costly cowboy clothes, ornate belt and weapons were there, but the face of the wearer was younger, smiling, and the eyes did not lack expression. A mark showed on the right side of the chin. He pointed to it, and the girl nodded.
"A faint scar, the only thing about him that hasn't altered," she said sadly. "You see, I was the cause of that. It happened when we were children: I had teased him, and running after me, he fell on a stone; the wound healed badly. All along I have been persuading myself there must be some mistake, but when I saw that ..."
The quiver in her voice and the trembling fingers as she took back the picture told him that she was very near tears.
"A fella who takes the wrong trail can come back an' start again," he consoled.
"Yes," she said, and her eyes met his meaningly. "I would like Jeff to have that chance."
Sudden understood--she was asking him not to kill. To his great relief, the Colonel called her, and he was spared the necessity of replying.
At supper that evening, he asked questions about Red Rock, and casually mentioned his holiday. The announcement met with a mixed reception.
"Why, yu ain't been here no time," one of the older men commented. "How'd yu work it, Green?"
"Held a gun on the 01' Man, I should think," Turvey sneered.
"Yeah, that's yore trouble, Turvey," Sudden retorted. "Yu should, but yu don't. I just asked, that's all."
"Ken must be drunk or loco; strike while the iron's hot is my motto," Frosty grinned, as he made for the door. "I'd like to go with yu, Jim."
He was back in ten minutes, still wearing the grin, but hisred face told a different story. A dozen eager voices put the same question.
Frosty shook his head. "Said he was mighty sorry, but he couldn't have two of his best men absent at the same time, which shows he's in his senses all right. 0' course, that don't shut out all o' yu."
A yelp of ironical mirth greeted this modest explanation and in the midst of it, Lagley entered. He shot a sour look at Sudden.
"Why didn't yu come to me if yu wanted to lay off?"
"Thought I'd save yu the trouble of askin' the boss," was * the careless reply.
The implication that he had not the power to give permission only deepened the foreman's frown, but it was Turvey who spoke.
"Allus did hate a ranch where the owner keeps pets," he said viciously.
"Well, yu ain't tied to it, are yu?" Sudden enquired acidly.
Lagley averted a possible storm by calling the new hand outside.
"Keith said yu were goin' to Red Rock. How long d'yu aim to stay away?" he asked.
"Two-three days, mebbe."
"Have yu told--him?" He jerked a thumb towards the hills.
"Lord, no. I ain't sold him my soul."
"Wait an' see," was the reply, and the puncher could have sworn there was a tinge of bitterness in the tone. "D'yu figure that he won't know?"
"I ain't carin', but shore he will," Sudden said. "Why, yonder goes Turvey, takin' the glad tidin's."
Even as he spoke, a hunched-up little horseman shot away from the corral, heading through the gloom towards the hills. The foreman swore.
"Damnation, yo're way off the target, Green. That hombre has to night-herd the bunch o' three-year-olds yu an' Frosty have rousted out'n the brush."
Sudden accepted the explanation but did not believe it. "A fella can't allus hit the mark," he said. "Got anythin' else to tell me?"
"On'y this," Lagley replied. "Yo're sittin' in a bigger game than yu savvy; don't over-value yore hand."
"Oh, I'm growed up an' got all my teeth," the puncher returned lightly. "Any messages for Red Rock?"
He got no answer to this flippant enquiry. Seated on the bench outside the bunkhouse, he smoked, and turned things over. Despite the fact that they were supposed to be working together, the foreman did not like him. That he had guessed correctly as to Turvey's errand he felt positive.
"Steve don't want me in neither camp," he reflected. "Probably he's plannin' to play me some scurvy trick right now. Wonder if that little rat is goin' on to Red Rock to make arrangements?"
The possibility sent him to bed chuckling.
Sudden's reception in the morning at Black Sam's was not the one he had expected, for though the negro professed to be glad to see him, it was very evidently untrue. His hands shook as he supplied the drink ordered, and his anxious gaze was never off the door. A blunt enquiry elicited that nothing had been seen of Scar and his friends, but that other denizens of the bandit stronghold had visited Dugout and behaved themselves decorously.
"Then what's yore trouble, ol'-timer?" the puncher demanded. "Why treat me like I had a catchin' complaint?"
The saloon-keeper furtively pushed a piece of paper the bar. "Done foun' it dis mawnin', shove undeh de do', quavered. "I silo' gotta leave heah."
Clumsily scrawled in pencil on the soiled scrap were the words : "One more offense an' you dekorate a tree.
SATAN."
Sudden laughed as he read it. "I wouldn't be in too much of a hurry, Sam," he advised. "Why, yu numskull, don't yu reckon Jeff Keith can write an' spell better'n that?"
The negro's gloomy features lightened. "Yo're sho'ly right, ser," he agreed. "Dis niggeh got no savvy. Massa Jeff he done went to college."
"It's friend Scar, o' course, tryin' to frighten yu. Lemme have the message, an' next time I meet the gent I'll make him eat it."
He pocketed the warning and casually mentioning that he was bound for Red Rock, departed. Climbing the long slope to Hell City, an idea occurred to him which brought a mischievous grin to his hard fa
ce. The custodian of the gate opened without question or comment, though it was not the man he had seen before. Evidently he was expected. The bandit chief received him without any sign of surprise and his first remark told that Turvey's time had not been entirely devoted to night-herding.
"Aren't you rather wide of the route to Red Rock?" Sudden affected astonishment he did not feel. "Yu are well served," he said.
"As a man should be who serves himself," was the reply. "Did the girl ask you to be silent?"
"It was a good guess."
The masked man grimaced. "Well, call it that. Now I'll tell you another thing--you never had any intention of visiting Red Rock."
"Me bein' here, it shore looks thataway," the puncher countered. "Mebbe yu know about this too." He produced the scrap of paper and told where he had obtained it. "Not quite yore style, I'd say, threatin' an old darkie who musta been pretty good to yu as a kid," he added sarcastically.
The effect was volcanic. Through shut lips the bandit barked an order which sent Silver scuttering. His master paced to and fro, his fists bunched till the knuckle-bones showed white beneath the skin, obviously seething with anger. In a few minutes the dwarf returned, with Roden slouching behind. With a furious gesture, Satan flung the paper at his feet.
"What's the meaning of that?" he snarled.
The man picked it up. "I dunno " he began, and stopped as he saw the gun levelled at his breast.
"One lie and you'll never speak again."
The rascal did not doubt it. In those pale eyes shone a lust to take his life, and he knew that the finger on the trigger was itching to press it. His tanned skin turned to a sickly yellow.
"Aw, Chief, I didn't mean no harm," he muttered. "The nigger's bin gittin' uppity--you know what he done to some of us a bit back, an' I wanted to give him a bad moment, that's all."
"All? You dared to act without permission, and use my name? One more break like that, you damned dog, and I'll feed you to the buzzards. Get out, and remember, that warning now applies to you."
Only when the fellow had crept, utterly cowed, from the room did Satan replace his revolver and turn again to his visitor. The storm had passed.
"I am obliged to you," he said. "These brutes must learn that there is only one head."
Sudden Rides Again (1938) s-4 Page 9
