"I hope there will be, sir," the young man replied, with a look which brought the blood back into Joan's cheeks.
By this time Merry had recovered. "Well, yu of fraud, I'm free to admit yu had me razzle-dazzled," he remarked. "Shore thought yu meant it, an' I 'most wish yu had; I was figurin' on gettin' me a son an' daughter at the ranch-house." He sensed the significance of Frosty's grin. "O' course, she'd want repairin' some."
"All she needs is new floors, walls, roof, an' fixin's," the white-headed cowboy suggested. "The ground's good."
This produced a laugh in which the owner of the maligned edifice joined heartily. Then the Colonel spoke.
"My friends, I owe a great debt to all of you, but especially to James Green, whom I woefully misjudged."
The Twin Diamond man could not resist the opportunity. "I put one over on yu there, Ken; said all along he was straight."
The Colonel turned on him sharply, and--smiled. "That is so," he agreed, and Mart--who had expected a prompt contradiction--was sorry he had spoken. Then, divining Sudden's evident discomfort, the invalid went on, "We must have a long talk, Green, when I am stronger. Now, I see my nurse is looking severe ..."
Jeff lingered behind the others. "Dad, you're being very good to me," he said.
"Nonsense, son," was the reply. "When a man is ill, he has time to think, and I have found much to regret. Run along and entertain our guests."
Later, Sudden encountered Lazy and enquired about* Anita.
"She's here, goin' to be Miss Joan's maid--for a spell," the cowboy told him, and reddened at the other's, "Good luck to yuStaring after the tall, loose-limbed figure as it swung towards the corral, he muttered, "How'n th' devil did he guess? Hope he ain't interested--I wouldn't have a chance."
The sheriff of Red Rock shouted a welcome as "Mart Merry's visitor" stepped into his office some weeks after the effacement of Hell City. Then he looked out of the window and saw that the black had a blanket roll strapped to the saddle.
"Ain't leavin' us, are you, Jim?" he asked.
"Shore am, an' sorry to be," the puncher told him. "They let you go?"
"It warn't easy; the Colonel an' Mart made me han'some offers, Jeff an' Frosty damn near pulled guns on me, an' Miss Joan cried, which was wuss'n all."
"Then why in the nation ...?"
"Somebody's waitin' for me in Tucson."
Dealtry thought he understood. "An' she'll be anxious, huh?"
Sudden grinned. "Yo're way off the trail, sheriff. The person waitin' for me is a shortish, middle-aged fella, with grey hair an' a persuasive manner. They call him `Bloke,' an' he can be--times."
"The Governor?"
"Yeah, an' he'll be wonderin' if he oughta send a wreath."
"So you're from him? You kept it mighty close."
"I'm the third." He told the fate of his predecessors. "I expect they talked too much."
The sheriff breathed hard. "An' we thought he was doin ' nothin'," he said. "I'll bet he'll be pleased with you."
"Just a shake an' a `Well done, Jim,' but I reckon them's the best words a man can hear in this li'l of world."
Dealtry reached into a drawer, produced and passed over a familiar folded paper."Found it on Lander. Mean anythin' to you?"
Sudden laughed. "Shore, it's my letter of introduction to Hell City. A long story, sheriff."
"I never was curious," the officer replied.
He got out a bottle and they drank together, solemnly, as men do when they have to part, and regret it. Their farewell was a mere hand-clasp and a "So long"--it was an undemonstrative land.
Standing in his doorway, Dealtry watched the black horse pace slowly along the street. When, at length, it disappeared in the distance, he said softly:
"Well done, Jim."
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Sudden Rides Again (1938) s-4 Page 25
