Gunman's Reckoning

by Max Brand

  20

  It should be understood that before this the men in Milligan's hadreached a subtly unspoken agreement that red-haired Donnegan was not oneof them. In a word, they did not like him because he made a mystery ofhimself. And, also, because he was different. Yet there was a growingfeeling that the shooting of Lewis through the hand had not been anaccident, for the whole demeanor of Donnegan composed the action of aman who is a professional trouble maker. There was no reason why heshould go to Milligan's and take his servant with him unless he wished afight. And why a man should wish to fight the entire Corner wassomething no one could guess.

  That he should have done all this merely to focus all eyes upon him, andparticularly the eyes of a girl, did not occur to anyone. It lookedrather like the bravado of a man who lived for the sake of fighting.Now, men who hunt trouble in the mountain desert generally find all thatthey may desire, but for the time being everyone held back, wolfishly,waiting for another to take the first step toward Donnegan. Indeed,there was an unspoken conviction that the man who took the first stepwould probably not live to take another. In the meantime both men andwomen gave Donnegan the lion's share of their attention. There was onlyone who was clever enough to conceal it, and that one was the pair ofeyes to which the red-haired man was playing--Nelly Lebrun. She confinedherself strictly to Jack Landis.

  So it was that when Milligan announced a tag dance and the couplesswirled onto the floor gayly, Donnegan decided to take matters into hisown hands and offer the first overt act. It was clumsy; he did not likeit; but he hated this delay. And he knew that every moment he stayed onthere with big George behind his chair was another red rag flaunted inthe face of The Corner.

  He saw the men who had no girl with them brighten at the announcement ofthe tag dance. And when the dance began he saw the prettiest girlstagged quickly, one after the other. All except Nelly Lebrun. She swungsecurely around the circle in the big arms of Jack Landis. She seemed tobe set apart and protected from the common touch by his size, and by hisformidable, challenging eye. Donnegan felt as never before theunassailable position of this fellow; not only from his own fightingqualities, but because he had behind him the whole unfathomable power ofLord Nick and his gang.

  Nelly approached in the arms of Landis in making the first circle of thedance floor; her eyes, grown dull as she surrendered herself wholly tothe rhythm of the waltz, saw nothing. They were blank as unlightedcharcoal. She came opposite Donnegan, her back was toward him; she swungin the arms of Landis, and then, past the shoulder of her partner, sheflashed a glance at Donnegan. The spark had fallen on the charcoal, andher eyes were aflame. Aflame to Donnegan; the next instant the veil haddropped across her face once more.

  She was carried on, leaving Donnegan tingling.

  A wise man upon whom that look had fallen might have seen, not NellyLebrun in the cheap dance hall, but Helen of Sparta and all Troy's dead.But Donnegan was clever, not wise. And he saw only Nelly Lebrun and thebroad shoulders of Jack Landis.

  Let the critic deal gently with Donnegan. He loved Lou Macon with allhis heart and his soul, and yet because another beautiful girl hadlooked at him, there he sat at his table with his jaw set and the devilin his eye. And while she and Landis were whirling through the nextcircumference of the room, Donnegan was seeing all sides of the problem.If he tagged Landis it would be casting the glove in the face of the bigman--and in the face of old Lebrun--and in the face of that mysteriousand evil power, Lord Nick himself. And consider, that besides these hehad already insulted all of The Corner.

  Why not let things go on as they were? Suppose he were to allow Landisto plunge deeper into his infatuation? Suppose he were to bring LouMacon to this place and let her see Landis sitting with Nelly, makinglove to her with every tone in his voice, every light in his eye? Wouldnot that cure Lou? And would not that open the door to Donnegan?

  And remember, in considering how Donnegan was tempted, that he was not aconscientious man. He was in fact what he seemed to be--a wanderer, acareless vagrant, living by his wits. For all this, he had been touchedby the divine fire--a love that is greater than self. And the moredeeply he hated Landis, the more profoundly he determined that he shouldbe discarded by Nelly and forced back to Lou Macon. In the meantime,Nelly and Jack were coming again. They were close; they were passing;and this time her eye had no spark for Donnegan.

  Yet he rose from his table, reached the floor with a few steps, andtouched Landis lightly on the shoulder. The challenge was passed. Landisstopped abruptly and turned his head; his face showed merely dullastonishment. The current of dancers split and washed past on eitherside of the motionless trio, and on every face there was a glitteringcuriosity. What would Landis do?

  Nothing. He was too stupefied to act. He, Jack Landis, had actually beentagged while he was dancing with the woman which all The Corner knew tobe his girl! And before his befogged senses cleared the girl was in thearms of the red-haired man and was lost in the crowd.

  What a buzz went around the room! For a moment Landis could no more movethan he could think; then he sent a sullen glance toward the girl andretreated to their table. A childish sullenness clouded his face whilehe sat there; only one decision came clearly to him: he must killDonnegan!

  In the meantime people noted two things. The first was that Donnegandanced very well with Nelly Lebrun; and his red hair beside the silkenblack of the girl's was a startling contrast. It was not a common red.It flamed, as though with phosphoric properties of its own. But theydanced well; and the eyes of both of them were gleaming. Another thing:men did not tag Donnegan any more than they had offered to tag Landis.One or two slipped out from the outskirts of the floor, but something inthe face of Donnegan discouraged them and made them turn elsewhere asthough they had never started for Nelly Lebrun in the first place.Indeed, to a two-year-old child it would have been apparent that Nellyand the red-headed chap were interested in each other.

  As a matter of fact they did not speak a single syllable until they hadgone around the floor one complete turn and the dance was coming towardan end.

  It was he who spoke first, gloomily: "I shouldn't have done it; Ishouldn't have tagged him!"

  At this she drew back a little so that she could meet his eyes.

  "Why not?"

  "The whole crew will be on my trail."

  "What crew?"

  "Beginning with Lord Nick!"

  This shook her completely out of the thrall of the dance.

  "Lord Nick? What makes you think that?"

  "I know he's thick with Landis. It'll mean trouble."

  He was so simple about it that she began to laugh. It was not such avoice as Lou Macon's. It was high and light, and one could suspect thatit might become shrill under a stress.

  "And yet it looks as though you've been hunting trouble," she said.

  "I couldn't help it," said Donnegan naively.

  It was a very subtle flattery, this frankness from a man who had puzzledall The Corner. Nelly Lebrun felt that she was about to look behind thescenes and she tingled with delight.

  "Tell me," she said. "Why not?"

  "Well," said Donnegan. "I had to make a noise because I wanted to benoticed."

  She glanced about her; every eye was upon them.

  "You've made your point," she murmured. "The whole town is talking ofnothing else."

  "I don't care an ounce of lead about the rest of the town."

  "Then--"

  She stopped abruptly, seeing toward what he was tending. And the heartof Nelly Lebrun fluttered for the first time in many a month. Shebelieved him implicitly. It was for her sake that he had made all thiscommotion; to draw her attention. For every lovely girl, no matter howcool-headed, has a foolish belief in the power of her beauty. As amatter of fact Donnegan had told her the truth. It had all been to winher attention, from the fight for the mint to the tagging for the dance.How could she dream that it sprang out of anything other than a wilddevotion to her? And while Donnegan coldly calculated every effect
,Nelly Lebrun began to see in him the man of a dream, a spirit out of adead age, a soul of knightly, reckless chivalry. In that smallconfession he cast a halo about himself which no other hand could everremove entirely so far as Nelly Lebrun was concerned.

  "You understand?" he was saying quietly.

  She countered with a question as direct as his confession.

  "What are you, Mr. Donnegan?"

  "A wanderer," said Donnegan instantly, "and an avoider of work."

  At that they laughed together. The strain was broken and in its placethere was a mutual excitement. She saw Landis in the distance watchingtheir laughter with a face contorted with anger, but it only increasedher unreasoning happiness.

  "Mr. Donnegan, let me give you friendly advice. I like you: I know youhave courage; and I saw you meet Scar-faced Lewis. But if I were you I'dleave The Corner tonight and never come back. You've set every managainst you. You've stepped on the toes of Landis and he's a big manhere. And even if you were to prove too much for Jack you'd come againstLord Nick, as you say yourself. Do you know Nick?"

  "No."

  "Then, Mr. Donnegan, leave The Corner!"

  The music, ending, left them face to face as he dropped his arm fromabout her. And she could appreciate now, for the first time, that he wassmaller than he had seemed at a distance, or while he was dancing. Heseemed a frail figure indeed to face the entire banded Corner--and LordNick.

  "Don't you see," said Donnegan, "that I can't stop now?"

  There was a double meaning that sent her color flaring.

  He added in a low, tense voice, "I've gone too far. Besides, I'mbeginning to hope!"

  She paused, then made a little gesture of abandon.

  "Then stay, stay!" she whispered with eyes on fire. "And good luck toyou, Mr. Donnegan!"