CHAPTER XXII
A CHECK
"Lookit here, Judge," said Racey, earnestly, "do you mean to say yo'regonna let the sheriff serve them eviction papers?"
Judge Dolan elevated his feet upon his desk and tilted back his chairbefore replying.
"Racey," he said, teetering gently, "I gotta do what the law says inthis thing."
"Then yo're gonna sic the sheriff on, huh?"
"I ain't doin' no sicin', not me. Luke Tweezy's the boy you mean."
"But the law makes you back up Luke."
"In this case it does."
"Then it's a helluva law that lets a feller take away the home of twowomen."
"They's lots of times," observed Dolan, judicially, "when I thinkshe's a helluva law, too. But what you gonna do? Under the law oneman's word is as good as another's till he's proved a liar. And twomen's words are better than one, and so on. And so far nobody ain'tproved Doc Coffin and Honey Hoke and Luke Tweezy are liars."
"Of course we know they are," protested Racey.
"Not legally. You gotta remember that knowing a man is a liar is onething, and being able to prove it is another breed of cat."
"Then they ain't nothing to be done short of rubbing out Lanpher andTweezy?"
"And what good would wiping out either or both of them do? BeyondLanpher and Tweezy are their heirs and assigns, whoever they may be.You can't go down the line and abolish 'em all."
"I s'pose not," grumbled Racey.
"Of course not. It ain't reasonable. You don't wanna bull alongregardless like a bufflehead in this, Racey. You wanna use yore brainsa few. They'll always go farther than main strength. You got brains,and you can bet you'll need every single one of 'em if you wanna getto the bottom of this business."
"Under the circumstances, then, what's yore advice, Judge?"
"I ain't got no particular advice to give," replied Dolan, promptly."I'm a judge, not a lawyer, but I'm free to say even if I was alawyer, I dunno exactly what I'd do, or where I'd begin."
Racey nodded. He didn't see exactly where to begin, either.
"Lookit, Judge," he said at last, "can't you sort of delay theproceedin's for a while?"
"I'll do what I can," assented Dolan, "but I can't keep it up forever.I'm sworn to obey the law and see that it is obeyed. And if LukeTweezy's paper can't be proved a forgery certain and soon, they's onlyone thing for me to do and one thing for the Dales to do. I'm sorry,but that's the way it stands under the law."
It was then that the door-latch clicked and one entered withoutknocking. It was Luke Tweezy. Beyond the merest flicker of a glancehe did not acknowledge the presence of Racey Dawson. He noddedperfunctorily to Dolan.
"Mornin', Judge," said he, "are the papers ready for the sheriff yet?"
"Not yet, Luke, not yet," Dolan assured, him blandly. "I ain't hadtime to get at 'em."
"When you gonna get at 'em?"
"Soon as I get time."
"But lookit here, Judge. We're bein' delayed. We wanna get the Dalesoff their ranch soon as we can."
"Off _their_ ranch is shore the truth," struck in Racey. "You do tellit sometimes, don't you, Luke?"
But Luke Tweezy was not to be drawn that morning. He focussed his eyesand attention steadily on Judge Dolan.
"We wanna take possession soon as we can," persisted Luke Tweezy.
"Shore you do," said the Judge, heartily. "No reason why you shouldn'twanna as I know of."
"If you can't see yore way to getting at this business within areasonable time I'll have to sue out a mandatory injunction againstyou, Judge, and--"
Dolan smiled wintrily. "What judge are you figuring on to grant thisinjunction?"
Luke Tweezy was silent.
"You don't expect me to grant a mandatory injunction against myself,do you?" pursued Dolan.
"I can go to Judge Allison at Marysville or to Piegan City, and Iguess--"
"I guess not," interrupted the Judge. "Judge Allison, as you know, isa Federal Judge, and these here eviction proceedin's are territorialbusiness. And, furthermore, lemme point out that the Piegan City courtain't got any jurisdiction in this case."
"Why not?"
"Because the case ain't come to a hearing yet. That's why. You oughtaknow that, Luke. Yo're a lawyer."
"Alla same--" began Luke.
"Alla same nothing!" declared Judge Dolan. "_After_ evictionproceedin's have been started, and if you don't have any luck ingetting them women off the place, then you can apply to this court forredress. I'll set a date for a hearing. _After_ the hearing, if yougot a notion in yore numskull that I ain't doing you right, you canapply to the Piegan City court for all the ---- mandatory injunctionsyou feel like and be ---- to you. Is they any further business you gotwith me, Luke, or any more points of law you wanna be instructed on?'Cause if they ain't, here's you, there's the door, and right yonderis outside."
Luke Tweezy departed abruptly.
Dolan laughed harshly as the door slammed. "He can't bluff me, thechucklehead. He knew he couldn't sue out a mandatory injunction yet,knew it damn well, but he didn't think I knew it, damn his ornerysoul."
"Oh, he's slick, Luke Tweezy is," said Racey Dawson, "but like mostslick gents he thinks everybody else is a fool."
"He makes a mistake once in a while," grunted Dolan.
At which Racey looked up sharply. "A mistake," he repeated. "There'san idea. I wonder if he has made any mistake."
"Who ain't?" nodded Dolan. "Luke's made plenty, I'll bet."
"I dunno about plenty," doubted Racey. "One would be enough."
Dolan rasped a hand across his stubbly chin. "One would be enough," headmitted. "If you could find the one."
"It wouldn't have to be a mistake having to do with this particularcase, either, would it?"
"Not necessarily. Of course it would be better to trip him up on thiscase, but if you can get hold of something else Luke has done thatcan be proved anyways shady it would be four aces and the joker. Lukewould have to pull in his horns about this mortgage. And if I knowLuke, he'd do it. He's got nerve, but it ain't cold enough nor witlessenough to go up against the shore thing."
"If only McFluke would talk. He knows the ins and outs of thisbusiness."
Dolan nodded. "Shore as yo're a foot high Dale gave him that blackeye."
"And shore as _yo're_ a foot high he downed Dale."
"I guess likely. But circumstantial evidence is amazing queer. Youcan't ever tell how the jury's gonna take it. But anyway we gotMcFluke, and he'll do to start in on."
Entered then Kansas Casey with a serious face. "McFluke has sloped,"said he without preliminary.
"What!" cried Judge Dolan.
But it was characteristic of Racey Dawson that he did not say "What!"He asked "How?"
"Because the jail was burned down," said Kansas; "you know we had toput him in yore warehouse, Judge, as the next strongest place, andthey dug him out."
"'Dug him out?'" Thus Judge Dolan.
"That's what they did."
"'They!' 'They!' Who's 'they?'" Again Judge Dolan.
"If I knowed who they was," Kansas replied, "I'd dump 'em just tooquick. Way I know it's a 'they,' is because the job of diggin' isbigger than a one-man job."
"We'll go look into this," Dolan exclaimed, wrathfully, and reachedfor his hat.
"He'd never 'a' been pulled out of the calaboose so easy," saidKansas, as he led Dolan and Racey up the street to the rear of theDolan warehouse, "but yore foundation logs ain't sunk more'n sixinches, and diggin' under and in was a cinch."
"But why didn't you handcuff this sport to a roof stanchion inside?"demanded the Judge.
"We did, man, we did. We got a log chain and the biggest pair ofhandcuffs in our stock and we ironed McFluke by the ankles to astanchion in the middle of the warehouse. Besides that his hands washandcuffed, and no matter how he stretched he couldn't reach nothing.We seen to that."
"But, my Gawd, hownell did they have time to file through that logchain or them cuffs? A log
chain ain't made of wire an' them cuffs isall special steel."
"They didn't file neither the chain nor the cuffs," explained Kansas,wearily. "They unlocked the cuffs."
"Unlocked 'em, huh? Where'd they get the key? Lose one of yores, didyuh?"
"Ours is all safe. They must 'a' had a key. Anyway, there's thehandcuffs wide open when I found McFluke gone this mornin'."
Dolan pulled out his watch. "Nine o'clock," said he. "When did youfirst find Mac was gone, Kansas?"
"When I took his breakfast in less'n five minutes ago."
"Howcome you went to the warehouse so late?"
"Well," said Kansas, somewhat shamefacedly, "we didn't lock him upin the warehouse till one o'clock this morning, and I figured a li'lextra sleep wouldn't do him any harm."
"Or a li'l extra sleep wouldn't do yoreself any harm neither, huh?"
"Maybe I did sleep later than usual," admitted Kansas.
"I guess you did," said Dolan. "I guess you did. And Jake, too. Toldanybody else about this?"
"Only Jake."
They had left the street while they talked, and walked down the longside wall of the warehouse. Now they turned the corner and saw, heapedagainst a foundation log, a pile of freshly dug dirt. Beyond the dirtpile gaped the mouth of a hole leading beneath the log. The hole wasquite large enough for an over-size man to crawl through withoutdifficulty.
Judge Dolan got down on his hands and knees and peered into the hole.Then he eased down into it headfirst and pawed his way through.
"That's what you get for not walking in by the front door in the firstplace, Kansas," grinned Racey. "Root hog or die, feller, root hog ordie."
Swearing under his breath Kansas went to ground like a badger. Hisbroad shoulders did not scrape the sides of the hall. Observing whichRacey knew that it must have been an easy matter for McFluke to crawlthrough, for the saloon-keeper's shoulders, wide as they were, werenot as broad as those of Kansas Casey by a good inch and a half.
"That hole is four or five inches wider than necessary," ruminatedRacey, preparing to follow the deputy. "I wonder why. Yep, I shorewonder why. Here they are in a harris of a hurry and they take timeto make a hole big enough for two men almost. Maybe they robbed thewarehouse, too."
He suggested as much to Dolan when he joined the latter within.
"No," said Dolan, sweeping with a glance the stacks of cases andcrates that half filled the single floor of the warehouse. "No, Idon't think they's anything missing. Who'd steal truck like this here,anyway? It ain't valuable enough. Where's Jake, Kansas?"
"I left him here when I went after you," replied the deputy. "Guessthis is him," he added, as the front door opened.
It was the sheriff. He shut the door behind him and advanced towardthe little group gathered about the stanchion. "This is a great note,Jake," said Dolan, eyeing the sheriff severely. "Can't you make out tohang onto yore prisoners no more?"
"Hang onto hell!" snapped back the sheriff. "Short of sleeping in herewith him, I done all that could be expected. I put Shorty Rumbold onas guard, and Shorty--"
"Where's Shorty?"
"Went to the Starlight for a drink. He'll be along in a minute."
"Maybe he went to sleep," suggested Dolan.
"Not Shorty," denied the sheriff, with a decisive shake of his head."I've used Shorty before. He don't go to sleep on duty, Shorty don't.Here he is now."
Entered then Shorty Rumbold, a tall, lean-bodied man with a twinklingeye and a square chin.
"Shorty," said Dolan, "Jake says he put you on guard here last night."
"Not here," said Shorty, always painfully meticulous as to facts."Outside."
"Where outside?"
"Just outside. I sat on the doorstep all night."
"And didn't you go round to the back once even?"
"I didn't think they was any use. They's no door in the back, and thelogs are forty inches through, some of 'em. I never thought of 'emgopherin' under this away."
"I guess the sheriff didn't, either," said Dolan, with a glance ofstrong disapproval at the sheriff. "You didn't hear anything, huh?Yo're shore of that?"
"Shore I am. If I'd heard anything I'd 'a' scouted round to see whatmade the noise."
"Maybe you went to sleep."
"Not me." The twinkle in Shorty's eyes was replaced by a frosty stare."I don't sleep on duty, Judge."
"That's what the sheriff said, Shorty. But, hownell they could digthat tunnel and not make _some_ noise I don't see."
"I don't, either," Shorty Rumbold admitted, frankly. "But I didn'thear a single suspicious sound either inside or outside the jail thewhole night."
"Did you hear any noise a-tall?" asked Racey Dawson.
"Only when some drunk gents had a argument out in front of the dancehall. You couldn't help hearin' 'em. They made noise enough to hear'em a mile."
"How long did the argument last?"
"Oh, maybe a hour--a long time for a plain argument without anyshooting."
"Did they call each other any fighting names?" pressed on Racey.
"Plenty."
"And no shooting?"
"Nary a shot."
"Didn't that hit you as kind of odd?"
"It did at the time sort of."
"Recognize any of the voices?"
Shorty Rumbold shook his head. "They was all too hoarse an' loud."
"That's the how of it, Judge," said Racey to Dolan. "That's why Shortydidn't hear any sounds of diggin'. The drunk gents a rowing togetherfor a long time like that without any shooting proves they were doingit on purpose to keep Shorty from hearing anything else."
The sheriff swore. "I heard them fellers, too," he said. "They wokeme up with their bellerin' and I had a job gettin' to sleep again. Iguess Racey's right."
"I guess he is," assented the Judge. "Now we know how they managedthat part of it, where did they get the key to open the cuffs? Kansassays you ain't lost any keys, Jake."
"We got 'em all, every one. I don't believe they used a key. Themhandcuff locks was picked."
"Picked?"
"Picked. After Kansas went for you I found these here on thefloor." Here he produced from a pocket a bent and twisted piece ofbaling-wire, and a steel half-moon horse-collar needle.
"That's a Number Six needle," observed the sheriff, who invariablyscented clues in the most unpromising objects. "And the point's brokeoff."
"Number Six is a common size," said Racey. "Most stores carry 'em. Andif the point didn't get broke off wigglin' round inside the lock itwould be a wonder."
"Still it would take a mighty good man to open them locks with onlybale-wire and a harness-needle," said the sheriff, hurriedly. "Aexpert, you bet."
"It don't matter whether he was a expert or not," said Dolan. "Heopened them, and the prisoner has skedaddled. That's the main thing.Jake, how about trailin' him?"
"How? They's tracks, a few of 'em, leadin' from the pile of dirtstraight to the hard ground in front of the stage corrals. Beyondthere they ain't any tracks. Trail 'em! How you gonna trail 'em?"
"I dunno," replied Dolan, promptly passing the buck. "Yo're thesheriff. She's yore job. You gotta do _something_. C'mon out."
The five men, Dolan and the sheriff arguing steadily, went out intothe street. Racey walked thoughtfully in the rear. He was revolving inhis mind what the sheriff had said about an expert. Of course it hadbeen an expert. And experts in lock-picking in the cattle country arefew and far between.
Racey decided that it would be a good idea for him to have a littletalk on lock-picking with Peaches Austin. Not that he suspected theexcellent Peaches of having picked those locks. But Peaches knew whohad. Oh, most certainly Peaches knew who had.
The Heart of the Range Page 22