“Easy, boys!” Lawler called to the men. “Don’t let them suspect you know they’ve been trailing us. They’ve got us two to one, almost—if they mean trouble we’ll have to work easy!”
He saw the men relax; and several of them resumed their former positions at the fire.
The strange riders were coming steadily onward; they were not more than a hundred yards distant when Blackburn exclaimed, hoarsely:
“Lawler; it’s Blondy Antrim an’ his gang! Damn his hide! We’re in for it!”
For the first time since Garvin had told him of the presence of the men on the trail behind the herd, Lawler’s face betrayed passion—the glow in his eyes rivaled that in the giant’s.
During the past year or so word had reached him—rumor unfounded, but insistent—that more than once Singleton and Blondy Antrim, the outlaw, had been seen together. He had placed no credence in the rumors, ascribing them to the imaginations of mischievous brains, prejudiced against Singleton because of his bluff, dominant manner. He first had suspected there might be truth in them when Joe Hamlin had told him that he had rustled cattle for Singleton. He now believed that Singleton had disposed of the stolen cattle through Antrim and the conviction that Singleton was behind the action of the outlaw in trailing the herd through the country seized him.
In an instant—following Blackburn’s exclamation—he was aroused to the danger that confronted himself and his men. As though by previous arrangement, the men looked at him, noted the tenseness that had come over him, listened attentively when he spoke.
“Boys; don’t offer to throw a gun. I know Antrim. He’s a killer, and his men are like him. Take it easy—keep cool. The man who loses his temper will be guilty of the wholesale murder that will follow. When Antrim rides up, send him after me!”
He had not unsaddled Red King. He strode to the horse, swung into the saddle, and rode eastward, away from the advancing riders.
Blank astonishment, puzzled bewilderment shone in the eyes of the Circle L men as they watched him, and into the hearts of some of them crept the conviction that Lawler had deserted them; that he was afraid of the outlaw chief.
Blackburn saw what they thought, and his burning eyes bored into them with sarcasm unutterable. He laughed, hoarsely, with a grim mirth that startled them.
“Don’t you worry about Lawler’s nerve, boys; he’s got more of it than the bunch of us put together! He’s got some scheme in mind. You guys just set tight until you find out what it is. Do as he told you. Don’t let that scurvy gang know that you’re flabbergasted!”
When Lawler rode away there was a noticeable commotion in the group of advancing horsemen. One of them left the group, spurring his horse in the direction taken by Lawler. He must have been called back, for he wheeled his horse after he had ridden a dozen paces or so, and rejoined the group, which came on as before.
When the horsemen came to a halt near the fire, they were spread in a semi-circle about the Circle L men, and in their bronzed immobile faces was no answer to the question that agitated Blackburn and the other men. They had halted at a little distance from the fire, and one of them, a tall, slender, keen-eyed, thin-lipped man, urged his horse out of the circle and insolently inspected Blackburn and his cowboys. He lounged loosely in the saddle.
There was a sinister light in his eyes, a lurking threat in his manner.
“What outfit is this?” he demanded.
“Circle L, from Wolf River,” answered Blackburn.
“Where you headin’?”
“To Red Rock.”
“Railroad out of business?” jeered the outlaw.
“Far as the Circle L is concerned, it is, Antrim,” smiled Blackburn. “We had a fuss, an’ quit ’em.”
The outlaw peered intently at the other. Then he grinned.
“It’s Andy Blackburn!” he said. “Glad to meet you, Blackburn. This seems like old times—before the railroad went through; when old Luke Lawler used to jam ’em to Red Rock—sometimes—when he didn’t pick up too many strays on the way.” He laughed as though pleased over the recollection. “Got this stock vented, Blackburn?”
“Nary a vent, Antrim; the inspector wasn’t feelin’ in the humor.”
“Ha!” exclaimed Antrim; “so you didn’t get no vent. Well, we’re aimin’ to look through your herd. We’ve been missin’ cattle all summer—from my ranch, the Circle Bar. About three thousand head. We’ve traced ’em as far as Kinney’s cañon, an’ lost ’em. But we’ve been thinkin’, Blackburn, that it ain’t no hard job to make a passable Circle L out of a Circle Bar. That’s why we aim to look your cattle over.”
He grinned slightly at Blackburn’s scowl, aware of the impotent rage the latter felt over the worst insult that could be offered an honest cattleman. For an instant he watched Blackburn keenly, his lips sneering; and then when he saw that Blackburn had mastered his rage, he said, sharply:
“Who was that guy that rode away as we come up?”
“Lawler,” said Blackburn. “He’s figurin’ on seein’ you alone, looks like. He left word that when you come I was to tell you he wanted to see you.”
The outlaw’s eyes glowed with swift suspicion.
“He knowed me, eh?” he said. He glanced keenly over the level floor of the desert. Dimly, in the dusk, he could see Lawler riding near the herd. For an instant Antrim hesitated, plainly debating the wisdom of leaving his men; then he smiled with whimsical recklessness. And his movements became rapid, jerky.
“Slade,” he said, addressing a rider near him; “you’re runnin’ things till I get back.”
He wheeled his horse and sent him into the dusk toward the herd, riding cautiously, evidently not entirely convinced of the peaceableness of Lawler’s intentions.
He rode a quarter of a mile before he came upon Lawler; and though the light was fading he could plainly see Lawler’s face, set, expressionless.
The outlaw brought his horse to a halt within three or four paces of Red King. Antrim’s manner exuded the insolent tolerance of the master, who has the confidence that comes from thoughts of an overwhelming advantage.
He knew Lawler; knew him as perhaps no other man in the section knew him. For he had seen Lawler using his gun. It had been some years before, when Lawler had been proving himself—proving that he had a right to the respect and consideration of his fellow-men; proving that no man could trifle with him.
Antrim had been a witness to the shooting. He had marked Lawler’s coolness, the evenness of his temper; and had noted the deadly swiftness and precision of his movements when he had drawn his pistol. Lawler had not been the aggressor—a dozen other men had testified to that.
Antrim had not seen Lawler since, until now. And as he looked at him he saw that the years had brought a change in the man. He had been a tall, bold, reckless-looking youth then, with a certain wild waywardness in his manner that might have destroyed him, had he yielded to it. Now he was cold, calm, deliberate, imperturbable. The recklessness had disappeared from his eyes; they were now aglow with quiet determination. The waywardness had gone—ironlike resolution marked his manner.
And yet behind it all, Antrim could see the threat of those youthful passions; the lurking eagerness for violent action; the hint of preparedness, of readiness.
Antrim was startled, uneasy. He saw now that he should not have left his men; that he had made a mistake in coming alone to meet Lawler.
He was certain of it now, when he heard Lawler’s voice, saw the cold, smiling light in his eyes.
“You’re wanting my cattle, Antrim. Your men have been trailing me for two weeks. You don’t get them. You’ve got thirty-nine men, and there are only twenty-three Circle L men over there. I’m not getting any of them killed. This thing is between you and myself. Get your hand away from your gun or I’ll bore you!”
He moved his hand—where it had been—seemingly—lying on Red King’s neck, under the mane; and Antrim saw the dark muzzle of a pistol showing in the hand.
“I’m n
ot taking any chances, Antrim—you can see that. I’m not going to take any. If you do anything to attract the attention of your men, I’ll kill you. Drop your guns, using your thumbs and forefingers.” He waited, watching keenly, until the outlaw had complied with the demand, the two big pistols thudding dully into the sand beside his horse.
Then Lawler resumed, his voice low and even, as before:
“Now we’re riding back to the fire, Antrim. Listen hard, for this means life or death to you.
“We’re going back to the fire. You’re going to act as though nothing had happened; and you are to tell your men that you have changed your mind about the cattle—you are to tell them that you are going with me to Red Rock; and you are sending them back to where you came from, to wait for you.”
Antrim stiffened, and his face bloated poisonously. But he did not answer, for there was that in Lawler’s eyes that convinced him of the futility of attempting resistance.
“You’re going to Red Rock with me,” went on Lawler. “I’m going to be personally responsible for you. I’m going to watch you; you’re going to ride ahead of me. If you talk, or make any motion that brings any of your men back, you’ll die so quick you won’t know it happened! Do you understand?”
“Damn you, Lawler; you’ll pay for this!” muttered the outlaw. “I’ll go on your trail and I’ll never let up till I get you!”
Lawler laughed, lowly. “Just be careful not to get any of that poison in your voice when you tell your men what I told you, Antrim, or you’ll never go on anybody’s trail. Get going, now; and be careful.”
Antrim wheeled his horse, and Lawler spurred Red King beside him.
“I’ll be watching you, Antrim,” he warned. “If your men show they suspect anything wrong you go down, mighty rapid. You don’t get off your horse until your men go. And there is to be no playing for time. You talk fast and earnest, and carefully. Go ahead.”
Riding slightly in Antrim’s rear, Lawler followed the outlaw to the fire. There had come no change in the positions of the outlaws or of the Circle L men. And when Antrim and Lawler rode up there was a silence during which the men of both factions looked interrogatively at their leaders.
Antrim’s face was pale, and his voice was vibrant with emotion. But he did not hesitate.
“Slade,” he said to the man he had left in charge; “I’ve changed my mind about those cattle. Lawler has given me proof that none of our stock is with them. I’m hittin’ the trail to Red Rock with Lawler. You take the boys back to the ranch an’ wait for me.”
Slade’s eyes widened; he flushed and peered keenly at Antrim. “You—why, hell’s fire, Antrim; we—”
“Slade, do as I tell you!” said Antrim, coldly. “Are you runnin’ my affairs? You hit the breeze, right now—you hear me!”
Slade grinned venomously, and waved a violent hand around the circle. “You hear your boss, boys!” he said; “Slope!”
The men hesitated an instant, sending sharp, incredulous glances at their leader. But Antrim, pale, knowing that if he betrayed the slightest sign of insincerity his men would suspect, met their looks steadily. The men wheeled their horses, muttering profanely, and rode slowly westward into the growing darkness.
When they had disappeared, Lawler smiled faintly at the outlaw chief.
“You can get down, now, Antrim.” He drew the pistol from Red King’s mane, where it had been concealed during Antrim’s talk with his men, and sheathed it. And then Blackburn, who had been a silent, amazed witness to what had occurred, whistled softly, covertly poking Shorty in the ribs.
“There’s one thing that’s as good as a vent, ain’t there, Shorty?” he said. “That’s a gun in the hand of a man who’s got plenty of nerve!”
CHAPTER XV
CONCERNING AN OUTLAW
Early in the afternoon of the first day of December the sky darkened, and a cold, raw wind began to shriek through Willets. The company corral was empty; and again, as on the day before Kane Lawler had visited him, Gary Warden stood at one of the windows of his office smiling. Warden was almost satisfied.
Only one disturbing thought persistently recurred; Lawler had got his cattle through to Red Rock.
A crimson stain appeared in Warden’s cheeks as his thoughts reverted to Lawler’s return to Willets, after disposing of his cattle to the Red Rock buyer. And Warden’s shoulders sagged a little, the smile faded and he glared malignantly at the bleak, gray clouds that sailed over town on the chill, bitter wind.
Oddly, at the instant Warden’s memory was dwelling upon the incident of Lawler’s return to Willets, Lafe Corwin, the storekeeper, was mentally reviewing the incident.
Willets was a cow-town, and for the winter its activity was over. All the beef cattle in the section, with the exception of three thousand head still held by Lawler, at the Circle L, had been shipped eastward, and Willets would now descend to supine indifference to considerations of gain.
Lafe Corwin was tilted back in a big wooden chair near the big, roaring-hot stove in the lounging-room of the Willets Hotel. His clerk could attend to the store. Until spring came, Corwin would spend much of his leisure near the big stove in the hotel, talking politics and cattle—two subjects of paramount importance.
But just at this instant Corwin was thinking of Lawler’s return to Willets. Little wrinkles gathered around his eyes—which were twinkling; and he chuckled lowly as his gaze roved from one to the other of the men who, like himself, were enjoying the warmth of the stove and listening, between words, to the howling and moaning of the wind.
Three or four times, during silences, Corwin chuckled. And when at last he saw Dave Rankin, the blacksmith, watching him curiously, he guffawed aloud, rubbing his hands gleefully.
“I don’t reckon I ever seen no mournfuller sight than that!” he declared.
“Meanin’ which?” asked the blacksmith, his eyes alight with truculent inquiry. The others sat erect, attentive.
“Meanin’ that mornin’ when Kane Lawler hopped off the train with his bunch of cowhands—an’ Blondy Antrim,” snickered Corwin. “Dave Singleton an’ Gary Warden an’ Jordan an’ Simmons an’ that pony-built girl which is stayin’ over to the Two Diamond with that ossified woman she calls ‘Aunt Hannah,’ was on the platform waitin’ for the six o’clock train from the east. It appears that pony-built—Della Wharton, her name is—was expectin’ some gimcracks, an’ Warden an’ her was waitin’ for them. Anyways, they was there. It sure was medium mournful!” declared Corwin.
He appeared to hesitate; and Rankin grinned.
“We’ve heard it before; but I reckon we can stand listenin’ ag’in. Tell it, Corwin.”
“As I was sayin’ when you interrupted me—it was medium mournful,” resumed Corwin. “Shorty—who was with Lawler on the drive—has told me since; but at that time I didn’t know—that Jordan had refused to vent Lawler’s cattle.
“Well, I’d come down to see the train come in, too. We was all standin’ there when she come a-steamin’ up, an’ stopped. An’ who clumb off but Lawler an’ his trail crew—twenty-three of ’em. An’ Blondy Antrim in the midst of ’em, lookin’ like a sheep-killin’ dog.
“Well, gentlemen, they was a scene. Warden got his face all screwed up an’ couldn’t get it unscrewed ag’in. He looked like he’d swallered a hot brandin’ iron an’ it didn’t lay easy on his stummick. Singleton was a-standin’ there with his mouth open an’ his eyes a-poppin’ out; an’ Jordan was plumb flabbergasted. Simmons was leanin’ ag’in’ the side of the station buildin’, lookin’ like he was expectin’ to be shot the next minute.
“That Della Wharton girl was the only one that seemed to have any wits a-tall. I seen her grin eloquent at Lawler, an’ look him straight in the eye like she was tellin’ him somethin’ intimate.
“Well, as I was sayin’, Lawler an’ his boys got off with Blondy Antrim. Antrim looks wild an’ flighty—like you’ve seen a locoed steer on the prod. His eyes was a-glarin’ an’ he was mutterin’ cusses by
the mouthful. All of which didn’t seem to faze Lawler none.
“Lawler was as cool as an iceberg which had just arrove from the North Pole—an’ then some. An’ he got a mean, mild grin on his face when he saw the reception committee that had come to meet him. They was a twinkle in his eyes when he looked at Della Wharton; but when Warden blows into his line of vision he looked mighty wicked.
“Lawler an’ his gang had brought their hosses from Red Rock in two cars—they’d sold some of the remuda in Red Rock, not carin’ to ship ’em home. Anyways, the gang didn’t appear in no hurry to unload the hosses; an’ a trainman yells to them, sayin’ they’d have to hurry.
“But the boys was too interested just then. ‘Unload ’em yourself, you sufferin’ yap!’ yells Shorty. ‘If you pull out of here with them hosses I’ll blow your damned railroad over into the next county!’ Shorty sure does love the railroad!
“As I was sayin’ when you interrupted me: Lawler looked mighty wicked. But he’s cold an’ polite—an’ ca’m. An’ he escorts Antrim over to where Warden was standin’, an’ says, quiet an’ low:
“Warden, I have brought back my vent. He sure was a heap of trouble, an’ he got himself attached to us right close. But as we haven’t got no further use for him we’re turnin’ him over to you. I reckon he’s lookin’ to you an’ Singleton to pay him for the trouble of trailin’ us for two weeks, an’ for keepin’ me company as far as Red Rock, to see that my herd got there right an’ proper. ‘Antrim,’ he says; ‘go to your boss!’ And he gives him a little shove toward Warden.
“Warden didn’t say nothin’—he’d lost his voice, I reckon. But Antrim goes off the handle complete.
“‘The damned sneak lifted my guns!’ he yells.
“‘You wantin’ a gun?’ says Lawler, cold an’ ca’m. He backs up an’ lifts one of Shorty’s. Then he walks close to Antrim an’ shoves it into his right hand.
The Charles Alden Seltzer Megapack Page 98
