by Andre Norton
13
A lantern provided a very small and smoky light on a table of three boardsmounted on boxes. If the furniture was makeshift, the walls of the roomwere not. Logs and adobe were just as effective for the purpose ofconfinement as stone blocks. Drew sat up on a bunk shell of board holdingstraw, and rested his head between his hands. He could follow the actionwhich had brought him here, trace it back almost minute by minute over thepast three days. How he had come here was plain enough; why was anothermatter.
Lieutenant Spath, back in the mustangers' camp, might have accepted theKentuckian's story. Or he might at least have been uncertain enough not toarrest him, if only Trooper Stevens had not been one of the patrol. Oncebefore Stevens had been most vocal about Rebs who were too free with theirfists. Spath's trooper guard, reporting the escape of Running Fox andAnse, had condemned his captive fully as far as the lieutenant wasconcerned. The troopers had then searched their prisoner and to them aloaded money belt worn by a drifter did not make good sense, either--unlesstoo much sense on the wrong side of the ledger. Drearily Drew had to admitthat had he stood in the lieutenant's boots, he would have made exactlythe same decision and brought his prisoner back to the camp.
So here he was now--just where Bayliss had promised to see him--in an armydetention cell, with no proof of identity and the circumstantial evidenceagainst him piling up by the minute. All they needed was some definiteproof to tie him to Kitchell and he was lost. He had to pin his hopes onAnse--and _Don_ Cazar.
Drew ground his boot heel into the dirt floor. That was just what he hadsworn he would never do--call upon Hunt Rennie for help. Especially now,since the troopers had discovered those army-branded horses back in thecanyon and Bayliss would try to use that against Rennie. Anse's escape hadbeen a short-sighted solution, Drew knew. To the captain such action onlytied the Range in deeper. The Kentuckian ran his fingers through his hair,trying to think of something which had _not_ gone wrong.
The plank door banged open and Drew's head came up with a snap. No useletting these Yankees think they had him worried. The lantern, feeble asit was, picked out the stripes on the blouse of the first man, the tinplate in the hands of the second.
Drew looked down at the plate as it was slid under the bars and across thefloor of his cell.
"Stew, Sergeant? Ain't that overfeedin'? Thought bread and water was morethe captain's style for Reb prisoners." Drew was pleased that he was ableto sound unconcerned.
"Cocky one, ain't you?" asked the man who had brought in the plate. "Allyou Rebs is alike--never know when you're licked--"
"Get along, Farley, that's enough," Muller broke in.
Drew picked up the plate and forced himself to spoon up its contents. Thestuff was still warm and not too bad. After the second spoonful hediscovered that he was hungry--that much he would not have to pretend.
"Kid!"
Sergeant Muller's bulk shut most of the lantern glow out of the cell.
"You young squirts're all alike--never take no advice. But I'm gonna giveit, anyway. When th' cap'n sees you, you button your lip! He ain't one astakes kindly to no smart talkin', 'specially not from a prisoner. As faras he's concerned he's got you about dead to rights--hoss thievin' from th'army."
"I'd like to know what proof he has," Drew returned sharply. "Your patrolpicked me up well away from those horses--in the mustanger camp where I wasworkin'--and Captain Bayliss can't prove that's not true, either. Anyway,what difference does it make to you, Sergeant?"
"Since you ask, I don't rightly know, kid. Maybe you was spoilin' for afight in th' Jacks an' did push our boys--"
"But you don't think so, Sergeant." Drew put the plate on the bunk andstood up to approach the bars. Muller was the taller; the Kentuckian hadto raise his eyes to meet the sergeant's. The trooper's face was mostly inthe shadow, but it was plain the man did not mean him any ill.
"I got m' reasons." Muller did not make any straighter answer. "But youthink o' what th' cap'n does know about you, kid. You go ridin' 'roundwith gold on you--more money than any drifter ever sees in ten years ormore. You're caught near where some stolen army stock is stashed away, an'your partner lights out hell-for-leather, breaking through army lines. An'we only got your story as to who you really are. I ask you--does that readgood in the lieutenant's report when th' cap'n gets it?"
"No," Drew answered. "But what do you suggest doin' about it, Sergeant?"
"Got anybody in town as will speak up for you, Kirby? Reese Topham? He didbefore."
"He doesn't know any more than what he said right then. Trouble is,Sergeant, anybody I could ask to back me up I'd have to bring out fromKentucky--and I don't believe Captain Bayliss would wait for that."
"You work for Rennie, don't you?"
"Hunt Rennie has nothing to do with this. He didn't know those horses wereon the Range----"
"Because you put them there, Kirby?"
Muller made a lightning about-face. He snapped to attention facing thecaptain.
"And what are you doing here, Sergeant?"
"Prisoner bein' fed, sir!" Muller reported stolidly.
"And there is no need for conversation. Dismissed, Sergeant!"
The captain watched Muller leave before he turned once more to Drew."Kirby, do you know the penalty for horse stealing in this country?" hesnapped.
"Yes."
"Then you must know just what you have to face."
"Captain ..." Drew began slowly, wanting to make his words just right.There was no reason to let Bayliss think he could simply ride right overhis prisoner. On the other hand Muller's advice had been good; it would bedangerous to antagonize the officer. "I had nothing to do with thosestolen horses. We found them, yes, but they were already in the canyon.And there were two men guardin' them--up on the ridge. They must havecleared out when your patrol rode in, but they were there the nightbefore."
"You saw them?"
"No, our scout did."
"What scout--that Indian who got away with your partner? I heard rumorsthat Kitchell had links with bronco Apaches, but I didn't believe anywhite man could stoop so low."
"That Indian"--Drew felt as if he were walking a very narrow mountain ledgein the dark, with a drop straight down to the middle of the world on oneside--"was a Pima, one of the Stronghold scouts."
"So--Hunt Rennie _did_ know about those horses!" Bayliss pounced.
"He did not! He sent us to the mustanger camp with a message, and the Pimarode scout for us. It's a regular order on the Range--take one of the Pimasif you are goin' any distance from where you can fort up. You can find outthat's true easily enough." Drew was striving to keep a reasonable tone,to find an answer which _must_ pierce through Bayliss' rancor. After all,Bayliss could not have held his present rank and station so long and beenall hot-headed plunger.
"What was this so-important message Rennie had to have delivered to a campof Mex mustangers?" Bayliss bored in. Even in the lantern's restrictedlight Drew could see the flush darkening the other's face.
"They are havin' trouble with a wild stud--a killer. Mr. Rennie wants himkilled, quick. He sent the two of us out to help--thought with more handsit could be done."
"Kirby!" Bayliss' fists were on his hips, his head pushed forward from hisshoulders until his sun-peeled face was only inches away from the barsbetween them. "Do I look like a stupid man, a man to be fed stories? Youride into town on a blooded stud, with a mare of like breeding, and a beltloaded down with gold. You give out that you served with Forrest--Forrest,a looting guerrilla and a murdering butcher! You've heard of Fort Pillow,Kirby? That's what decent men remember when anyone says 'Forrest' in theirhearing! Only you can't even prove you were one of that gang of raiders,either, can you? Now I'll tell you just who and what you are.
"You're one of Kitchell's scavengers, come into town with gold forsupplies and a chance to contact the people you want to meet. I've knownfor a long time that Topham, Rennie, and probably a dozen other so-calledcitizens of that miserable outlaws' roost are backing Kitch
ell. Now here'sa chance to prove it!"
"Not through me, you don't," Drew cut in. "I'm just what I said I was fromthe beginnin', Captain. And you can't prove anything different."
"I don't have to prove it; you've convicted yourself, Kirby. You can'taccount for the gold you're carrying. And, if you rode with Forrest,where's your parole? You know you were told to carry it. I can deal withyou just as any horse thief is dealt with. Why, I'll wager you can't evenprove ownership of those horses you brought with you. Where're your salepapers? On the other hand, Kirby, if you do give us the evidence we needagainst Kitchell and those who are helping him, then the court might bemoved to leniency. How old are you? Nineteen--twenty--? Rather young tohang."
"Captain, I can prove everything I've told you. In Kentucky I have kin.They can----"
"Kentucky!" Bayliss snorted. "Kentucky is far away, Kirby. Do you expectus to sit around waiting for some mythical kin of yours to appear fromKentucky with another set of lies to open this door?" He pounded with onefist against the cell portal. "I'm a reasonable man, Kirby, and I'm notasking too much--you know that. What're Kitchell, Rennie, Topham to youthat you're willing to face a noose for them?"
"Kitchell I know nothin' about--except what I've heard and that's notgood." Drew sat down on the bunk, partly because the chill which had creptdown his back had poured into his legs and they felt oddly weak under him."Reese Topham and Mr. Rennie--as far as I'm concerned they're honest men. Idon't think, Captain, that you can prove I'm not, either."
"There is such a thing as over-confidence, Kirby, and it always comes tothe fore in your kind!" Bayliss returned. "But after you do some seriousthinking I believe you'll begin to see that this is one time you're notgoing to be able to lie or ride yourself out!"
He left without a backward glance. Drew picked up the plate, pushed thespoon back and forth through the congealing mess left on it. He could notchoke down another mouthful. Just how much power did Bayliss have? Couldhe try a civilian by court-martial and get away with it? And to whom couldDrew possibly appeal? Topham? Rennie? Apparently Bayliss wanted themenough to suggest Drew testify against them. Did he actually believe Drewguilty, or had that been a subtle invitation to perjury? The Kentuckianset the plate on the floor and got up again to make a minute study of thecell. His thought now was that maybe his only chance would be to breakout.
But his first appraisal of the detention quarters had been the right one.Given a pickax and a shovel, and an uninterrupted period of, say, a week,he might be able to tunnel under one of the log walls. But otherwise hecould not see any other way of getting free--save to walk out through thecell door. Drew threw himself on the bunk and tried to think logically andclearly, but his tired body won over his mind and he slept.
"Hey, you! Kirby, wake up! There's someone here to see you!"
Drew reached for a Colt which was no longer under his pillow and thenrolled over and sat up groggily, rubbing one hand across his smartingeyes. The lantern light had given way to dusty sunshine, one bar of whichnow caught him straight across the face.
"All right, Kirby, suppose you tell me what this is all about!"
Drew's head came up, his hand fell. Hunt Rennie and Lieutenant Spath stoodside by side beyond the bars. Or rather, not Hunt Rennie, but _Don_ Cazarwas there--for the owner of the Range was wearing the formal Spanish dressin which Drew had first seen him. And his expression was one ofwithdrawal.
"They think that I'm one of Kitchell's men and that I had something to dowith those stolen horses we found on the Range." He blurted it out badly.
"They also showed me about six hundred dollars in gold found on you,"Rennie returned. "I thought you needed a job. You told Topham that, didn'tyou?"
"Yes, suh." Drew's bewilderment grew stronger. Hunt Rennie sounded as ifhe believed part of Bayliss' accusation!
"That money's rightfully mine," Drew added.
"You can prove it?"
"Sure. Back in Kentucky...." Drew paused. Back-in-Kentucky proof would nothelp him here and now in Arizona.
"Kentucky?" Rennie's withdrawal appeared to increase by a score of miles."I understood you were from Texas."
"Told you, Rennie," the lieutenant said, "his story doesn't hold togetherat all. A couple of really good questions and it falls right apart."
"I came here from Texas." Drew took stiff hold of himself. He was walkingthat narrow ledge again, and with a wind ready to push him off into abottomless gulf. "Rode with a wagon train as far as Santa Fe--from there onwith military supply wagons to Tucson. I was in Kentucky after the war;went home with a boy from my scout company...."
"Who gave you two blooded horses and a belt full of gold for a good-bypresent?" scoffed Spath.
"_Have_ you any proof of what you say closer than Kentucky?" Rennieignored the lieutenant's aside. "I can account for your time on the Range,or most of it. But you'll have to answer for this money and where you camefrom originally. What about your surrender parole? I know you did havepapers for the horses--Callie saw them. Produce those...."
"I can't." Drew's hands balled into fists where they rested on his knees.
"Sure you can't--you never had any!" Spath returned.
"I had them. I don't have them now." What was the use of trying to tellRennie about his suspicions of Shannon? And if Johnny had destroyed thepapers as well he might have, Drew could never make them believe him,anyway.
"Kirby, this is serious!" said Rennie. "You ride in from nowhere with twofine horses wearing a brand you say is your own. You have more money thanany drifter ever carries. You claim to be a Texan, and yet now you say allthe proof of your identity is in Kentucky. And--you are not Anson Kirby'scousin, are you?" That last question was shot out so suddenly that Drewanswered before he thought.
"No."
"I thought so." Hunt Rennie nodded. "Education is a polisher, but I don'tthink three or four years' schooling would have made a Texas range riderask for sherry over whisky--except to experiment with an exotic beverage.There were other things, too, which did not fit with the Kirby backgroundonce Anson turned up. Just who are you?"
Drew shrugged. "That doesn't matter now--as the lieutenant and CaptainBayliss have pointed out--if my only proof is in Kentucky and out ofreach."
"I suppose you have heard of telegraphs?" Rennie's sarcasm was cold."Communication with Kentucky is not so impossible as you appear to think.You give me a name and address--or names and addresses--and I'll do therest. All you have to do is substantiate background and your army service,proving no possible contact with Kitchell. Then the captain will be forcedto admit a mistake."
Give Hunt Rennie the name of Cousin Meredith Barrett, of Aunt Marianna'shusband, Major Forbes--the addresses of Red Springs or Oak Hill? Drew couldnot while there was a chance that Anse might find the papers or makeJohnny Shannon admit taking them. The Kentuckian could _not_ tell HuntRennie who he was here and now.
"I want to talk to Anse," he said out of his own thoughts. "I've got totalk to Anse!"
"He's gone." Rennie's two words did not make sense at first. When theydid, Drew jumped up and caught at the bars.
"Gone? Where?"
"Cleared out--got clean away." Again Spath supplied the information. "Or sothey tell us. He went back to the Stronghold after he broke through ourlines. But when a patrol rode down to get him, he was gone."
"Why?" Drew asked. "Why pick him up?"
"Why? Because he's in this, too!" Spath retorted. "Probably rode straightto Kitchell's hideout. Now, Mr. Rennie, time's up. The captain authorizedthis visit because he thought you might just get something out of theprisoner. Well, you did: an admission he's been passing under a falsename. We know _what_ he is--a renegade horse thief."
Drew was no longer completely aware of either man. But, as Rennie turnedaway, he broke through the mist of confusion which seemed to be enclosinghim more tightly than the walls of the cell.
"Shannon. Where's Shannon?"
Hunt Rennie's head swung around. "What about Johnny?" he demanded.
> "He took my papers--out of my belt!" This was probably the worst thing hecould do, to accuse Johnny Shannon without proof.
"What papers, and why should he want them?" If Rennie had been remotebefore, now he was as chill as the Texas northers Anse had joked about.
"The parole, the horse papers, some letters...."
"You saw him take them? You know why he should want them?"
Drew shook his head once. He could not answer the second question now.
"Then how do you know Johnny took them?"
How did he know? Drew could give no sane reason for his conviction that ithad been Johnny's fingers which had looted the pocket of papers andstuffed leaves and grass in their place.
"You'll have to do better than that, kid!" Spath laughed. "You must haveknown Shannon was gone, too. By the time he's back from Mexico he won'tneed to prove that's a lie."
Drew disregarded the lieutenant's comments--Rennie was the one whomattered. And in that moment the Kentuckian knew that he had made a fatalmistake. Why hadn't he agreed to telegraph Kentucky? Now there was nohope. As far as _Don_ Cazar was concerned, one Drew Kirby could be writtenoff the list. Drew had made an enemy of the very person he most wanted toconvince. The Kentuckian swung around and walked to the one small, barredwindow through which he could see the sun. He walked blindly, trying notto hear those spurred boots moving out of the door ... going away....