The Charles Alden Seltzer Megapack

by Charles Alden Seltzer

  “Well,” returned the young man, “I ain’t layin’ it all out to you. But I’ll tell you this much; she said she was goin’ to make me one of the characters in that book she’s writin’.”

  “Well, now,” said Miller, “that’s sure lettin’ you down easy. Did she say what the character was goin’ to be?”

  “I reckon she did.”

  “An’ now you’re goin’ to tell us boys?”

  “An’ now I’m goin’ to tell you boys,” returned Skinny. “But I reckon there’s a drove of them characters here. You’ll find them with every outfit, an’ you’ll know them chiefly by their bray an’ their long, hairy ears.”

  The young man now smiled into his plate, while a chorus of laughter rose around him. In making himself appear as ridiculous a figure as the others, the young man had successfully extracted all the sting from his story and gained the applause of even those at whom he had struck.

  But now a sound was heard outside, and Leviatt came into the room. He nodded shortly and took his place at the end of the table. A certain reserve came into the atmosphere of the room. No further reference was made to the subject that had aroused laughter, but several of the men snickered into their plates over the recollection of Leviatt’s connection with the incident.

  As the meal continued Leviatt’s gaze wandered over the table, resting finally upon Ferguson. The range boss’s face darkened.

  Ferguson had seen Leviatt enter; several times during the course of the meal he felt Leviatt looking at him. Once, toward the end, his glance met the range boss’s fairly. Leviatt’s eyes glittered evilly; Ferguson’s lips curled with a slight contempt.

  And yet these men had met but twice before. A man meets another in North America—in the Antipodes. He looks upon him, meets his eye, and instantly has won a friend or made an enemy. Perhaps this will always be true of men. Certainly it was true of Ferguson and the range boss.

  What force was at work in Leviatt when in Dry Bottom he had insulted Ferguson? Whatever the force, it had told him that the steady-eyed, deliberate gun-man was henceforth to be an enemy. Enmity, hatred, evil intent, shone out of his eyes as they met Ferguson’s.

  Beyond the slight curl of the lips the latter gave no indication of feeling. And after the exchange of glances he resumed eating, apparently unaware of Leviatt’s existence.

  Later, the men straggled from the bunkhouse, seeking the outdoors to smoke and talk. Upon the bench just outside the door several of the men sat; others stood at a little distance, or lounged in the doorway. With Rope, Ferguson had come out and was standing near the door, talking.

  The talk was light, turning to trivial incidents of the day’s work—things that are the monotony of the cowboy life.

  Presently Leviatt came out and joined the group. He stood near Ferguson, mingling his voice with the others. For a little time the talk flowed easily and much laughter rose. Then suddenly above the good natured babble came a harsh word. Instantly the other voices ceased, and the men of the group centered their glances upon the range boss, for the harsh word had come from him. He had been talking to a man named Tucson and it was to the latter that he had now spoken.

  “There’s a heap of rattlers in this country,” he had said.

  Evidently the statement was irrelevant, for Tucson’s glance at Leviatt’s face was uncomprehending. But Leviatt did not wait for an answer.

  “A man might easily claim to have been bit by one of them,” he continued, his voice falling coldly.

  The men of the group sat in a tense silence, trying to penetrate this mystery that had suddenly silenced their talk. Steady eyes searched out each face in an endeavor to discover the man at whom the range boss was talking. They did not discover him. Ferguson stood near Leviatt, an arm’s length distant, his hands on his hips. Perhaps his eyes were more alert than those of the other men, his lips in a straighter line. But apparently he knew no more of this mystery than any of the others.

  And now Leviatt’s voice rose again, insolent, carrying an unmistakable personal application.

  “Stafford hires a stray-man,” he said, sneering. “This man claims to have been bit by a rattler an’ lays up over night in Ben Radford’s cabin—makin’ love to Mary Radford.”

  Ferguson turned his head slightly, surveying the range boss with a cold, alert eye.

  “A little while ago,” he said evenly, “I heard a man inside tellin’ about some of the boys learnin’ their lessons from a girl over on Bear Flat. I reckon, Leviatt, that you’ve been over there to learn your’n. An’ now you’ve got to let these boys know—!”

  Just a rustle it was—a snake-like motion. And then Ferguson’s gun was out; its cold muzzle pressed deep into the pit of Leviatt’s stomach, and Ferguson’s left hand was pinning Leviatt’s right to his side, the range boss’s hand still wrapped around the butt of his half-drawn weapon. Then came Ferguson’s voice again, dry, filled with a quiet earnestness:

  “I ain’t goin’ to hurt you—you’re still tenderfoot with a gun. I just wanted to show these boys that you’re a false alarm. I reckon they know that now.”

  Leviatt sneered. There was a movement behind Ferguson. Tucson’s gun was half way out of its holster. And then arose Rope’s voice as his weapon came out and menaced Tucson.

  “Three in this game would make it odd, Tucson,” he said quietly. “If there’s goin’ to be any shootin’, let’s have an even break, anyway.”

  Tucson’s hand fell away from his holster; he stepped back toward the door, away from the range boss and Ferguson.

  Leviatt’s face had crimsoned. “Mebbe I was runnin’ a little bit wild—” he began.

  “That’s comin’ down right handsome,” said Ferguson.

  He sheathed his gun and deliberately turned his back on Leviatt. The latter stood silent for a moment, his face gradually paling. Then he turned to where Tucson had taken himself and with his friend entered the bunkhouse. In an instant the old talk arose and the laughter, but many furtive glances swept Ferguson as he stood, talking quietly with Rope.

  The following morning Stafford came upon Rope while the latter was throwing the saddle on his pony down at the corral gate.

  “I heard something about some trouble between Dave Leviatt an’ the new stray-man,” said Stafford. “I reckon it wasn’t serious?”

  Rope turned a grave eye upon the manager. “Shucks,” he returned, “I reckon it wasn’t nothin’ serious. Only,” he continued with twitching lips, “Dave was takin’ the stray-man’s measure.”

  Stafford smiled grimly. “How did the stray-man measure up?” he inquired, a smile working at the corners of his mouth. “I reckon he wasn’t none shy?”

  Rope grinned, admiration glinting his eyes. “He’s sure man’s size,” he returned, giving his attention to the saddle cinch.

  CHAPTER VIII

  THE FINDING OF THE ORPHAN

  During the few first days of his connection with the Two Diamond Ferguson had reached the conclusion that he would do well to take plenty of time to inquire into the situation before attempting any move. He had now been at the Two Diamond for two weeks and he had not even seen Radford. Nor had he spoken half a dozen words with Stafford. The manager had observed certain signs that had convinced him that speech with the stray-man was unnecessary and futile. If he purposed to do anything he would do it in his own time and in his own way. Stafford mentally decided that the stray-man was “set in his ways.”

  The wagon outfit had departed,—this time down the river. Rope Jones had gone with the wagon, and therefore Ferguson was deprived of the companionship of a man who had unexpectedly taken a stand with him in his clash with Leviatt and for whom he had conceived a great liking.

  With the wagon had gone Leviatt also. During the week that had elapsed between the clash at the bunkhouse and the departure of the wagon the range boss had given no sign that he knew of the existence of Ferguson. Nor had he intimated by word or sign that he meditated revenge upon Rope because of the latter’s championship
of the stray-man. If he had any such intention he concealed it with consummate skill. He treated Rope with a politeness that drew smiles to the faces of the men. But Ferguson saw in this politeness a subtleness of purpose that gave him additional light on the range boss’s character. A man who held his vengeance at his finger tips would have taken pains to show Rope that he might expect no mercy. Had Leviatt revealed an open antagonism to Rope, the latter might have known what to expect when at last the two men would reach the open range and the puncher be under the direct domination of the man he had offended.

  There were many ways in which a petty vengeance might be gratified. It was within the range boss’s power to make life nearly unbearable for the puncher. If he did this it would of course be an unworthy vengeance, and Ferguson had little doubt that any vengeance meditated by Leviatt would not be petty.

  Ferguson went his own way, deeply thoughtful. He was taking his time. Certain things were puzzling him. Where did Leviatt stand in this rustling business? That was part of the mystery. Stafford had told him that he had Leviatt’s word that Radford was the thief who had been stealing the Two Diamond cattle. Stafford had said also that it had been Leviatt who had suggested employing a gunfighter—had even gone to Dry Bottom with the manager for the purpose of finding one. And now that one had been employed Leviatt had become suddenly antagonistic to him.

  And Leviatt was in the habit of visiting the Radford cabin. Of course he might be doing this for the purpose of spying upon Ben Radford, but if that were the case why had he shown so venomous when he had seen Ferguson sitting on the porch on the evening of the day after the latter had been bitten by the rattler?

  Mary Radford had told him that Leviatt was her brother’s friend. If he was a friend of the brother why had he suggested that Stafford employ a gunfighter to shoot him? Here was more mystery.

  On a day soon after the departure of the wagon outfit he rode away through the afternoon sunshine. Not long did his thoughts dwell upon the mystery of the range boss and Ben Radford. He kept seeing a young woman kneeling in front of him, bathing and binding his foot. Scraps of a conversation that he had not forgotten revolved in his mind and brought smiles to his lips.

  “She didn’t need to act so plum serious when she told me that I didn’t know that I had any right to set there an’ make pretty speeches to her. . . . She wouldn’t need to ask me to stay at the cabin all night. I could have gone on to the Two Diamond. I reckon that snake bite wasn’t so plum dangerous that I’d have died if I’d have rode a little while.”

  As he came out of a little gully a few miles up the river and rode along the crest of a ridge that rose above endless miles of plains, his thoughts went back to that first night in the bunkhouse when the outfit had come in from the range. Satisfaction glinted in his eyes.

  “I reckon them boys didn’t make good with her. An’ I expect that some day Leviatt will find he’s been wastin’ his time.”

  He frowned at thought of Leviatt and unconsciously his spurs drove hard against the pony’s flanks. The little animal sprang forward, tossing his head spiritedly. Ferguson grinned and patted its flank with a remorseful hand.

  “Well, now, Mustard,” he said, “I wasn’t reckonin’ on takin’ my spite out on you. You don’t expect I thought you was Leviatt.” And he patted the flank again.

  He rode down the long slope of the rise and struck the level, traveling at a slow lope through a shallow washout. The ground was broken and rocky here and the snake-like cactus caught at his stirrup leathers. A rattler warned from the shadow of some sage-brush and, remembering his previous experience, he paused long enough to shoot its head off.

  “There,” he said, surveying the shattered snake, “I reckon you ain’t to blame for me bein’ bit by your uncle or cousin, or somethin’, but I ain’t never goin’ to be particular when I see one of your family swingin’ their head that suggestive.”

  He rode on again, reloading his pistol. For a little time he traveled at a brisk pace and then he halted to breathe Mustard. Throwing one leg over the pommel, he turned half way around in the saddle and swept the plains with a casual glance.

  He sat erect instantly, focusing his gaze upon a speck that loomed through a dust cloud some miles distant. For a time he watched the speck, his eyes narrowing. Finally he made out the speck to be a man on a pony.

  “He’s a-fannin’ it some,” he observed, shading his eyes with his hands; “hittin’ up the breeze for fair.” He meditated long, a critical smile reaching his lips.

  “It’s right warm to-day. Not just the kind of an atmosphere that a man ought to be runnin’ his horse reckless in.” He meditated again.

  “How far would you say he’s off, Mustard? Ten miles, I reckon you’d say if you was a knowin’ horse.”

  The horseman had reached a slight ridge and for a moment he appeared on the crest of it, racing his pony toward the river. Then he suddenly disappeared.

  Ferguson smiled coldly. Again his gaze swept the plains and the ridges about him. “I don’t see nothin’ that’d make a man ride like that in this heat,” he said. “Where would he have come from?” He stared obliquely off at a deep gully almost hidden by an adjoining ridge.

  “It’s been pretty near an hour since I shot that snake. I didn’t see no man about that time. If he was around here he must have heard my gun—an’ sloped.” He smiled and urged his pony about. “I reckon we’ll go look around that gully a little, Mustard,” he said.

  Half an hour later he rode down into the gully. After going some little distance he came across a dead cow, lying close to an overhanging rock rim. A bullet hole in the cow’s forehead told eloquently of the manner of her death.

  Ferguson dismounted and laid a hand on her side. The body was still warm. A four-months’ calf was nudging the mother with an inquisitive muzzle. Ferguson took a sharp glance at its ears and then drove it off to get a look at the brand. There was none.

  “Sleeper,” he said quietly. “With the Two Diamond ear-mark. Most range bosses make a mistake in not brandin’ their calves. Seems as if they’re trustin’ to luck that rustlers won’t work on them. I must have scared this one off.”

  He swung into the saddle, a queer light in his eyes. “Mustard, old boy, we’re goin’ to Bear Flat. Mebbe Radford’s hangin’ around there now. An’ mebbe he ain’t. But we’re goin’ to see.”

  But he halted a moment to bend a pitying glance at the calf.

  “Poor little dogie,” he said; “poor little orphan. Losin’ your mother—just like a human bein’. I call that mean luck.”

  Then he was off, Mustard swinging in a steady lope down the gully and up toward the ridge that led to the river trail.

  CHAPTER IX

  WOULD YOU BE A “CHARACTER”?

  The sun was still a shimmering white blur in the great arc of sky when Ferguson rode around the corner of the cabin in Bear Flat, halted his pony, and sat quietly in the saddle before the door. His rapid eye had already swept the horse corral, the sheds, and the stable. If the horseman that he had seen riding along the ridge had been Radford he would not arrive for quite a little while. Meantime, he would learn from Miss Radford what direction the young man had taken on leaving the cabin.

  Ferguson was beginning to take an interest in this game. At the outset he had come prepared to carry out his contract. In his code of ethics it was not a crime to shoot a rustler. Experience had taught him that justice was to be secured only through drastic action. In the criminal category of the West the rustler took a place beside the horse thief and the man who shot from behind.

  But before taking any action Ferguson must be convinced of the guilt of the man he was hunting, and nothing had yet occurred that would lead him to suspect Radford. He did not speculate on what course he would take should circumstances prove Radford to be the thief. Would the fact that he was Mary Radford’s brother affect his decision? He preferred to answer that question when the time came—if it ever came. One thing was certain; he was not shooting anyone unles
s the provocation was great.

  His voice was purposely loud when he called “Whoa, Mustard!” to his pony, but his eyes were not purposely bright and expectant as they tried to penetrate the semi-darkness of the interior of the cabin for a glimpse of Miss Radford.

  He heard a movement presently, and she was at the door looking at him, her hands folded in her apron, her eyes wide with unmistakable pleasure.

  “Why, I never expected to see you again!” she exclaimed.

  She came out and stood near the edge of the porch, making a determined attempt to subdue the flutter of excitement that was revealed in a pair of very bright eyes and a tinge of deep color in her cheeks.

  “Then I reckon you thought I had died, or stampeded out of this country?” he answered, grinning. “I told you I’d be comin’ back here.”

  But the first surprise was over, and she very properly retired to the shelter of a demurely polite reserve.

  “So you did!” she made reply. “You told me you were comin’ over to see my brother. But he is not here now.”

  Had he been less wise he would have reminded her that it had been she who had told him that he might come to see her brother. But to reply thus would have discomfited her and perhaps have brought a sharp reply. He had no doubt that some of the other Two Diamond men had made similar mistakes, but not he. He smiled broadly. “Mebbe I did,” he said; “sometimes I’m mighty careless in handlin’ the truth. Mebbe I thought then that I’d come over to see your brother. But we have different thoughts at different times. You say your brother ain’t here now?”

  “He left early this morning to go down the river,” she informed him. “He said he would be back before sun-down.”

  His eyes narrowed perceptibly. “Down” the river meant that Radford’s trail led in the general direction of the spot where he had seen the fleeing horseman and the dead Two Diamond cow with her orphaned calf. Yet this proved nothing. Radford might easily have been miles away when the deed had been done. For the present there was nothing he could do, except to wait until Radford returned, to form whatever conclusions he might from the young man’s appearance when he should find a Two Diamond man at the cabin. But anxiety to see the brother was not the only reason that would keep him waiting.