“That’s just it, Bryant. I didn’t want them all killed. We want them alive to talk! There are a lot of other men on this ranch and everyone has been working with these.”
“Where they at now?”
“Outside the house, figuring that you and I are dead.”
“Skunks,” growled Bryant.
Wallie appeared to have regained his composure. “What,” he asked, “are your plans now?”
“Shut up an’ you’ll find out,” snapped Bryant. “This masked man told me about you, yuh dirty double-dyed rat, but I wouldn’t believe him! He told me that he’d said jest enough tuh you so you’d figger the two of us had tuh be wiped out. Then he dragged me outen my bed an’ packed me in this yere corner of the room an’ waited till yuh showed yer hand. By God, I never got talked to in my hull damned life like I been talked to by this critter. Now he’s showed you up fer what yuh are I reckon I’m due tuh do some talkin’!”
“I ain’t interested,” growled Wallie.
“Now lookut here,” broke in Vince, “I’m yer own blood relative, Uncle Bryant. I—”
“Don’t ‘uncle’ me, yuh weasel-faced runt! You was in on everything that took place. Only thing I don’t savvy is where’s Jeb?”
“You’d better be interested in where Penelope is,” suggested Wallie. “You don’t give a damn what happens to Jeb, but if you’re interested in that girl, you’d better be willin’ to talk things over reasonable.”
“She’s in the care of that Indian,” retorted Bryant, “an’ a damn sight safer than she was around here with you crooks.”
Wallie nodded. “Suit yourself.”
The Lone Ranger said, “You were going to say something, Cavendish.”
“I was,” said Bryant, “an’ still am.”
The Lone Ranger rose again, feeling slightly stronger, and while Bryant talked, did what he could to dress the broken arm of Lombard.
“I got aplenty tuh explain,” said Bryant. “It’s as you said, I didn’t want tuh let on that my eyes was bad because I knew I’d be took advantage of by everyone, so I tried tuh hide it. I told Mort that I wanted a good lawyer tuh come here an’ help me make up my will. I didn’t know anything about this Lonergan, except that he talked like he knew law.”
“He did,” said the Lone Ranger.
“I had him make out my will an’ I signed it. When he read it tuh me, it sounded like I wanted it. The lyin’ crook didn’t say anything about anyone called Munson.”
“You don’t know anyone by that name?”
“No. When I told yuh I’d never heard the name, I told the truth.”
“What about that other document?”
“I had Lonergan write that up, too. It’s just like you said it was. I planned tuh have all these no-good nephews sign that paper. Penelope wasn’t never supposed tuh sign it.”
“She wasn’t?” asked the Lone Ranger quickly.
“No, she wasn’t supposed tuh sign that any more than a man named Munson was supposed tuh inherit my ranch. I left all I own tuh Penelope. That’s how the will was supposed tuh read an’ that’s how Lonergan read it tuh me. When I took Mort into Red Oak last night, these skunks seen their chance tuh make Penny sign that damned paper. I savvy what their dirty double-crossin’ scheme was. I ain’t no fool. Them crooks knowed that none o’ them could be named in my will without arousin’ a hell of a lot of suspicion, so they put in the name of Munson. If yuh want my opinion there ain’t an’ never was no Andrew Munson.”
“That,” said the Lone Ranger, “is about the way they planned it. They knew the claimant to the Basin would never appear and they’d go on running the place in accordance with the terms of the will and using it as they have been for the past weeks in their cattle business.”
Wallie yawned in feigned boredom. “When you get through with all this talk, you’d better spend a little time deciding whether you want Penelope to live—or die!”
The Lone Ranger said, “There’s one more thing we haven’t learned.” His voice grew flinty. “Who was in the party that ambushed those Texas Rangers?”
“What’s the difference?”
“Answer me!”
“An’ if I don’t?” replied Wallie in a bantering tone.
The masked man stepped back a pace and drew his gun. He held it at a hip, the muzzle pointing at the stomach of the other. “You saw how Lonergan died,” he said softly. “It wasn’t easy to watch.”
Wallie glanced at the gun, then at the masked man’s face. He saw something in those steady eyes behind the mask that made him almost feel the frightful drilling of a slug in the pit of his stomach. “I—I didn’t know anything about it,” he said. “Mort an’ Vince planned it by themselves an’—”
“Yuh damned squealer!” yelled Vince.
“Go on.”
“Rangoon bossed the job—”
“You’d o’ done it yer ownself,” bellowed Vince, “if yuh hadn’t been so damned yeller. All of us all the time had tuh take orders from you while you strutted around in fancy clothes!”
“That’s what I wanted to know,” the masked man said, holstering his weapon.
“That’s a confession,” shouted Bryant, “an’ I heard it. I’ll witness that in court.”
“But wait,” fairly shouted Wallie. “You’ve nothin’ to gain by hangin’ us! It’ll just mean that Penelope dies too! You don’t understand.”
One of the windows in the room looked out across the Basin to the Gap. The masked man had glanced toward this frequently throughout the conversation. Now he saw horsemen coming from the canyon.
“Yuma will be here in a few minutes,” he said. “He’s crossing the Basin now.”
“Then you’ve got damned little time to decide. I made arrangements in Red Oak, like I told you last night.” Wallie addressed himself to Bryant. “There’s a woman there that’s agreed to take care of Penny an’ those kids. I didn’t say how she was goin’ to take care of her! It’s Breed Martin’s wife!”
“Breed Martin!” Bryant roared the name. “A skunk that’ll do anything includin’ murder fer the price of a drink! Why you—” The old man was trembling in rage, struggling to get on his feet; his hands were working as if his fingers itched to feel Wallie’s thick throat.
“That’s just it,” said Wallie. “I admit all you’ve said here, I admit it tuh prove that I was willin’ to go to any lengths to have my way! I planned to be the richest man in this part of the country!” Wallie’s voice was shrill and getting shriller. “I wanted every killer in this state takin’ orders from me. I was goin’ to control the state an’ I wouldn’t let the life of one girl stand between me an’ what I wanted. I told that Redskin where tuh take Penelope. I described the house! He can’t miss it! Two hours after she gets there, Breed an’ his woman’ll have everything all set to take her an’ the kids south of the border, an’ that’ll be the last of ’em! You know damned well what’ll happen to a girl as pretty as Penelope in some of them outlaw greaser dives!
“I told Breed an’ his wife to get her out of Red Oak an’ go in hidin’ till they heard from me! They’ll do just that! If I don’t show up, they’ll go on south with her.”
“Where’s that hidin’ place?” barked Bryant. “Where is it? Answer me, yuh louse!”
“Answer you an’ then go an’ get hanged? What d’ya take me for, Bryant, a damned fool? Not on your life! You’ve got to make your mind up quick!”
Hoofs clattered outside the house. Wallie glanced through the window and saw a score of horsemen coming close with Yuma in the lead. “Quick,” he cried. “It’s us or Penelope! You can put all the blame on the dead men! If me an’ Vince an’ Lombard can ride out of here, we’ll promise that Penelope comes home before dark! Turn us over to the law an’ I swear you’ll never see that girl again!”
Bryant raged and stormed. His fury broke all past at
tainments. The louder the old man shouted, the more he said, the more poised Wallie became. During the furor the Lone Ranger made no comment.
The hoofs clattered in halting, and men’s voices carried to the room. The Lone Ranger saw with satisfaction that the men with Yuma were not weak-willed deputies like Slim. They were grim man-hunters—Texas Rangers—and they lost no time in herding the men of the Basin into a close-packed group with hands upraised. A door was opened downstairs, and heavy boots clattered on the stairs.
Bryant Cavendish, sweat dripping from his face, looked beaten. He cast an appealing glance toward the masked man.
“I,” he said, “don’t have no choice. You gotta stand behind me. That girl’s life means more ’n these crooks’ death! That skunk has played an ace.”
CHAPTER XXIX
AN ACE IS TRUMPED
The Lone Ranger closed the door. Wallie looked at him and smirked. “Now yer showin’ good judgment,” he said. “I’ve got a story all fixed up. It’ll put us in the clear an’—”
A shout outside the door.
“Come in alone, Yuma,” the masked man replied, stepping back against the wall. There was a hurried conversation in the hall, then Yuma came in. His face was red and sweaty. His eyes went wide with surprise at the scene before him.
“Close the door,” said the masked man softly.
Yuma slapped it closed and then exclaimed, “What in hell’s been goin’ on?” He saw Bryant, then the others with their hands still held slightly lifted.
“Yuma,” the masked man said, “Jeb is about the house some place. You might have a couple of the men look beneath the living-room floor.”
“But what’s been goin’ on here?” repeated the big cowboy. “Has that old buzzard confessed?”
“Bryant is in the clear. Get the story briefly. Wallie led the gang. Bryant’s half-blind, but I know of a doctor who can help him. Bryant didn’t know what went on here. Penelope is supposed to inherit everything, but I have an idea that she and Bryant will be together for a good many years before there’s any inheritance to talk about.”
Yuma nodded, still wide-eyed. He looked from Bryant to Wallie, then at the men on the floor. He said, “There’ll be a nice hunk o’ reward money comin’ fer the capture o’ these critters.”
“I won’t be here to collect any reward, Yuma. You helped capture them. Perhaps you and Bryant can split the rewards.”
Yuma looked surprised. “Yuh mean tuh say yuh don’t want the reward money?”
The masked man shook his head. Then Yuma saw his drawn face and the blood-soaked shirt.
“Look here, yore hurt bad. Yuh need some patchin’ up.” He stepped to the door. “I’ll call the Rangers in here tuh take things in hand an’ see about you.”
“No, no,” the Lone Ranger said quickly. “Tonto will be here and he’ll fix the wound. It doesn’t amount to much.”
“The hell it don’t.”
“There’s something more important. Wallie was just trying to buy his freedom. He had Penelope taken to Breed Martin in Red Oak.”
“Breed Martin!” howled Yuma, following the name with a string of invectives. “Why that—”
“Wallie said that Breed was to take the girl to a hiding place and if he didn’t hear from Wallie to go on to Mexico with her.”
Yuma’s face lost color. His eyes flashed angry fire in a look toward the erstwhile bandit leader. “An’ so he wants tuh be let go free,” said Yuma with terrible coldness in his voice. “Where is this hidin’ place?”
Wallie spoke. “D’you think I’m fool enough to tell you? Not me. You let me go an’ you’ll see Penny back here soon.”
“I think,” said Yuma slowly, “yore agoin’ tuh tell where at that place is.” He took one step forward, swinging his right hand in a wide arc. It landed open-palmed with a resounding slap on Wallie’s cheek. “That,” cried Yuma, “ain’t even the start!” He brought his left around to slap the other side of Wallie’s face, and then began a dazzling sequence of open-handed slaps, each one delivered with a force that bounced Wallie’s head from one side to the other. A blow with a closed fist would have knocked the killer out, and Yuma didn’t want this. He slapped until the other’s face became a livid mass of swollen flesh. He would have gone on until exhaustion made him stop, but the Lone Ranger halted him.
“That’s enough, Yuma—enough,” the masked man called above cries of “give ’im hell!” that came from Bryant.
Yuma, breathing hard, stepped back. “That’s just the start, yuh ornery rat,” he gasped. “Now you speak up or I’ll wade in with more o’ the same!”
Wallie was reeling, clutching at a table for support. His eyes were red, and blood drooled from a corner of his mouth.
“I didn’t intend to let you go that far,” the masked man said. “There is no need of trying to make him reveal this hiding place.”
“No need?” demanded Yuma.
“No. Tonto didn’t take Penelope to Martin’s. He went to Red Oak and then followed you and the Texas Rangers back here.”
“I ain’t seen him or that girl,” argued Wallie.
“Look out the window.” The buckboard with its team still hitched was near the corral. The children were still on board.
“Where at,” cried Yuma, “is my girl?”
“She and Tonto came into the house.”
Wallie had slumped to the floor and sat there completely beaten and wearing a dazed, bewildered expression.
“Now listen to me carefully,” the masked man told Yuma. “If the Texas Rangers see me here, with this mask on, they’ll ask no end of questions. I don’t want that. I want to slip out of this house by the rear stairs. You can turn these men over to the law, and Bryant will tell the entire story.”
There was a hammering upon the bedroom door. “The Rangers,” said the masked man softly. “Tell them to go back downstairs.”
Yuma shouted through the door, “Vamoose, I’ll be down tuh meet yuh in a minute!”
“Don’t you tell me to vamoose in my own house,” a girl’s voice retorted.
“Penny!” breathed the big cowboy.
“See if she is at the door alone,” the masked man said while he still held the latch of the door.
Penny’s voice gave the answer. “Open up, you big galoot. Tonto is here with me! I’ve got to see that masked man in a hurry!”
The Lone Ranger told Yuma to stay in the room and bind the hands of the three prisoners. Then he stepped out to the hall.
Tonto said, “Me watch for Ranger. Girl want talk with you.” The Indian took a place at the head of the stairs to give a sign in case the Texans came up the stairs.
Penelope clutched the masked man’s arm. “Please,” she said with intensity in her eyes and voice, “don’t let them take Uncle Bryant away. I’m sure there must be some reason for—for everything. He’s been like a father to me, he’s been honest and good all his life. If he’s changed it must be for some reason. You promised me—”
Penny held a silver bullet toward the Lone Ranger. “You gave me your word!”
The Lone Ranger took the girl’s small hand in his and closed her fingers about the bit of precious metal. “Keep that,” he said. “Your Uncle Bryant isn’t going to jail. He’s going to a doctor and have his eyes fixed up.”
“Then—then I was right in the first place!” Penelope’s face lighted up with the announcement.
“The worst crime of your uncle was his refusal to let friends help him.”
A new note came into the confusion of voices on the first floor. Tonto explained that Jeb had been found and was telling everything he knew about the others. The masked man listened for a moment to the heavy voice that told how Wallie planned to place the murder guilt on the masked man and Bryant.
Then the bedroom door jerked open. Yuma came out like a charging bull and halted abr
uptly at the sight of Penny. Bryant, leaning against the edge of the door, stood right behind him. “Yuh can’t leave here yet,” Yuma told the Lone Ranger. “I got them critters roped so’s they won’t make no more trouble; now yuh got tuh wait an’ listen tuh what Bryant’s got tuh say.”
Yuma looked at Penny; then his old confusion overcame him. He fumbled with the buttons of his shirt and barely raised his eyes above the floor.
Bryant Cavendish went to the point at once. “You,” he said to the Lone Ranger, “have gotta stay here an’ run this ranch.”
The masked man shook his head slowly.
“I won’t take ‘no’ fer an answer. I’ve got tuh go an’ take a trip tuh git my eyes fixed up an’ I cain’t leave this place with no one tuh run it an’ no cowhands tuh run it with. We’ve gotta git all new men an’ weed out the cattle that’s been stolen, an’ see that the folks that lost their cattle are paid back in full fer it an’ no end of other things. Now you stay here an’ name yer own price.”
“I can’t do it, Bryant. Tonto and I must leave here.”
Penelope clutched the masked man. “Please,” she said. “Please stay.” She looked into his eyes in a way that made big Yuma squirm.
“Doggone,” he said softly and wistfully, “if she ever said that tuh me a span o’ wild hosses couldn’t drag me off this ranch. I’m damned if—”
Penny turned quickly. “You!” she said. “If you’re to stay here, you’ve got to stop that cussing.”
“Huh? M-me stay? I been fired!” Yuma looked at Bryant. “Y-yore uncle told me tuh git the hell—”
“More swearing,” snapped Penelope.
Bryant broke in. “You look here, you big sidewinder, you was tryin’ tuh tell me how this outfit should be run. Yuh did a heap of braggin’ an’ boastin’ on how much yuh knowed an’ now yore goin’ tuh make good. I’d like tuh have that masked man stay an’ do the bossin’, but I’d have to have you as well. If he won’t stay, then it’s you that’ll have to do the bossin’. I can’t stop the masked man from leavin’, but, by damn, if you run out on me, I’ll make yuh wish yuh hadn’t.”
“Yuh-yuh mean that I ain’t fired then?” Yuma blinked at Bryant, then looked at Penny and his face fell. “A-w-w hell, Cavendish, I cain’t stay around here. That doggone purty girl jest ain’t no use fer me, an’ every time I speak tuh her I rile her more. I reckon I—”
The Pulp Hero Page 33
