CHAPTER XLII
SHORTY IS AWAKENED
The eyes that looked into those of Joyce in the gloom of the cabinabruptly shook off sleep. They passed from an amazed incredulity to amalicious triumph.
"So you've come to old Dug, have you, my pretty?" a heavy voice jeered.
The girl writhed and twisted regardless of the pain, exerting everymuscle of the strong young arm and shoulder. As well she might have triedto beat down an iron door with her bare hands as to hope for escape fromhis strong grip. He made a motion to draw her closer. Joyce flung herselfback and sank down beside the bunk, straining away.
"Let me go!" she cried, terror rampant in her white face. "Don't touchme! Let me go!"
The force of her recoil had drawn him to his side. His cruel, mirthlessgrin seemed to her to carry inexpressible menace. Very slowly, while hiseyes taunted her, he pulled her manacled wrist closer.
There was a swift flash of white teeth. With a startled oath Doblesnatched his arm away. Savage as a tigress, Joyce had closed her teethon his forearm.
She fell back, got to her feet, and fled from the house. Doble was afterher on the instant. She dodged round a tree, doubled on her course, thendeflected toward the corral. Swift and supple though she was, his longstrides brought him closer. Again she screamed.
Doble caught her. She fought in his arms, a prey to wild and unreasoningterror.
"You young hell-cat, I'm not gonna hurt you," he said. "What's the use o'actin' crazy?"
He could have talked to the waves of the sea with as much effect. It isdoubtful if she heard him.
There was a patter of rapid feet. A small body hurled itself againstDoble's leg and clung there, beating his thigh with a valiant littlefist.
"You le' my sister go! You le' my sister go!" the boy shouted, repeatingthe words over and over.
Doble looked down at Keith. "What the hell?" he demanded, amazed.
The Mexican came forward and spoke in Spanish rapidly. He explained thathe could not have prevented the boy from coming without arousing thesuspicions of his sister and her friends.
The outlaw was irritated. All this clamor of fear annoyed and disturbedhim. This was not the scene he had planned in his drink-inspiredreveries. There had been a time when Joyce had admired the virile forceof him, when she had let herself be kind to him under the impression shewas influencing him for his good. He had misunderstood the reaction ofher mind and supposed that if he could get her away from the influenceof her father and the rest of his enemies, she would again listen to whathe called reason.
"All right. You brought the brat here without orders. Now take him homeagain," directed Doble harshly.
Otero protested fluently, with gestures eloquent. He had not yet beenpaid for his services. By this time Malapi might be too hot for him. Hedid not intend ever to go back. He was leaving the country pronto--muypronto. The boy could go back when his sister went.
"His sister's not going back. Soon as it gets dark we'll travel south.She's gonna be my wife. You can take the kid back to the road an' leavehim there."
Again the Mexican lifted hands and shoulders while he pattered volubly,trying to make himself heard above the cries of the child. Dug hadsilenced Joyce by the simple expedient of clapping his big hand over hermouth.
Doble's other hand went into his pocket. He drew out a flat package ofcurrency bound together with rubber bands. His sharp teeth drew off oneof the rubbers. From the bundle he stripped four fifty-dollar bills andhanded them to Otero.
"Peel this kid off'n my leg and hit the trail, Juan. I don' care whereyou leave him so long as you keep an eye on him till afternoon."
With difficulty the Mexican dragged the boy from his hold on Doble andcarried him to a horse. He swung to the saddle, dragged Keith up in frontof him, and rode away at a jog-trot. The youngster was screaming at thetop of his lungs.
As his horse climbed toward the notch, Otero looked back. Doble hadpicked up his prisoner and was carrying her into the house.
The Mexican formulated his plans. He must get out of the country beforethe hue and cry started. He could not count on more than a few hoursbefore the chase began. First, he must get rid of the child. Then hewanted to go to a certain tendejon where he would meet his sweetheartand say good-bye to her.
It was all very well for Doble to speak of taking him to town or to theroad. Juan meant to do neither. He would leave him in the hills above theJackpot and show him the way down there, after which he would ride tomeet the girl who was waiting for him. This would give him time enough toget away safely. It was no business of his whether or not Doble wastaken. He was an overbearing brute, anyhow.
An hour's riding through the chaparral brought him to the watershed farabove the Jackpot. Otero picked his way to the upper end of a gulch.
"Leesten, muchacho. Go down--down--down. First the gulch, then a canon,then the Jackpot. You go on thees trail."
He dropped the boy to the ground, watched him start, then turned away ata Spanish trot.
The trail was a rough and precipitous one. Stumbling as he walked, Keithwent sobbing down the gulch. He had wept himself out, and his sobs hadfallen to a dry hiccough. A forlorn little chap, tired and sleepy, hepicked his way among the mesquite, following the path along the dry creekbed. The catclaw tore his stockings and scratched him. Stone bruises hurthis tender feet. He kept traveling, because he was afraid to give up.
He reached the junction of the gulch and the canon. A small stream, whichhad survived the summer drought, trickled down the bed of the latter.Through tangled underbrush Keith crept to the water. He lay down anddrank, after which he sat on a rock and pitied himself. In five minuteshe would have been asleep if a sound had not startled him. Some one wassnoring on the other side of a mesquite thicket.
Keith jumped up, pushed his way through, and almost stumbled over asleeping man. He knelt down and began to shake the snorer. The man didnot awaken. The foghorn in his throat continued to rumble intermittently,now in crescendo, now in diminuendo.
"Wake up, man!" Keith shouted in his ear in the interval between shakes.
The sleeper was a villainous-looking specimen. His face and throat werestreaked with black. There was an angry wheal across his cheek. One ofthe genus tramp would have scorned his charred clothes. Keith cared fornone of these details. He wanted to unload his troubles to a "grown-up."
The youngster roused the man at last by throwing water in his face.Shorty sat up, at the same time dragging out a revolver. His gazefastened on the boy, after one swift glance round.
"Who's with you, kid?" he demanded.
Keith began to sniffle. "Nobody."
"Whadya doin' here?"
"I want my daddy."
"Who is yore daddy? What's yore name?"
"Keith Crawford."
Shorty bit off an oath of surprise. "Howcome you here?"
"A man brought me."
The rustler brushed the cobwebs of sleep from his eyes and brain. He hadcome up here to sleep undisturbed through the day and far into the night.Before he had had two hours of rest this boy had dragged him back fromslumber. He was prepared to be annoyed, but he wanted to make sure of thefacts first.
As far as he understood them, the boy told the story of the night'sadventures. Shorty's face grew grim. He appreciated the meaning back ofthem far better than the little fellow. Keith's answers to his questionstold him that the men figuring in the episode must be Doble and Otero.Though the child was a little mixed as to the direction from which Oterohad brought him, the man was pretty sure of the valley where Doble waslying hid.
He jumped to his feet. "We'll go, kid."
"To daddy?"
"Not right away. We got hurry-up business first."
"I wanta go to my daddy."
"Sure. Soon as we can. But we'll drift over to where yore sister's atfirst off. We're both wore to a frazzle, mebbe, but we got to trail overan' find out what's bitin' Dug."
The man saddled and took the up-trail, Keith clinging to his
waist. Atthe head of the gulch the boy pointed out the way he and Otero had come.This confirmed Shorty's opinion as to the place where Doble was to befound.
With the certainty of one who knew these hills as a preacher does hisBible, Shorty wound in and out, always moving by the line of leastresistance. He was steadily closing the gap of miles that separated himfrom Dug Doble.
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