The Big Country

by Donald Hamilton

  He felt the shock of the collision up his arm to the shoulder and down his body to his heels, it drove him backward and threw him off balance. Why, the man’s a rock! he thought, with a sense of bleak resignation, as he flung himself aside to avoid the expected counterblow. When you hit a man with everything you had plus a club and he still kept coming, things were apt to turn out badly...

  Then he found himself standing there unmolested. Such a blow as he had just received, even Ben Rainier could not take in his stride, it had driven the wind out of him, and he was doubled up, holding himself and gasping for breath. It was no time for chivalry, and McKay put both hands on the club, stepped in, and struck hard.

  He had underestimated the giant’s ability to absorb punishment. Rainier staggered and went to his knees, but did not fall. It was like chopping down a tree, and there was no more pleasure in the fight. McKay lifted the club again; then he heard Julie Maragon cry out in warning. As he started to turn, strong arms seized him from behind.

  He did not make the mistake of straining against the grip that held him, instead he yielded to it instantly, hurling himself back against his attacker, so that they both went down. He was on top, and the weight of his falling body broke the other’s grasp. He rolled free and found his feet, to see Julie Maragon stretched out on the ground near the woodpile. Apparently she had started to run toward him to help, and the man called Lou, playing possum, had caught her ankle and tripped her, and the fall had knocked the breath out of her. The pistol was lying in the dust of the yard beyond her hand.

  McKay started for it, but Lou Combs was ahead of him, scooping it up. McKay threw the club with all his strength, and Combs went down again. Then a driving body struck McKay and brought him down as well. He broke free, rolled away, and came up facing a big man in worn range clothing, with a glistening black face and a shaved bullet head that showed a welted scar across the crown.

  The big Negro came toward him with a slow, deliberate gait. He aimed a tentative swing at McKay’s head which McKay parried, and the other fist came up hard and struck McKay solidly in the chest. McKay took the blow and returned it, there was no time for finesse, not with Rainier shaking himself like a great dazed animal, and Lou Combs crawling brokenly toward the pistol on the ground. He moved forward, slugging hard and openly and taking punishment in return. He reached a point beyond which the Negro would not yield, and they stood toe to toe. hammering each other savagely. Then his opponent broke buck suddenly crying,

  “Don’t do it, Lou! I need no help from you!”

  McKay ducked instinctively, and the gun barrel raked the side of his head. He stepped forward blindly into the arms of the Negro, who swung him aside.

  “All right, I’ve got him, Lou!” the Negro panted. "Now put up that damn gun, man. You don’t want to kill him, a pretty fighter like him. Damn if I ever thought to see Mr. Rainier cut down like that, even with a club.”

  Red waves of dizziness surged through McKay’s brain, he leaned against the man with his eyes closed, waiting for strength to return to him.

  Ben Rainier spoke to the Negro, “Hold him, Tiny. Hold him, You, too, Lou. Just hold him there for me.”

  The big man was still on his knees, locking their way. As they watched, he got one foot under him and tried to rise, failed, and shook his head in a curious, jerky way, like a man trying to shake water out of his ears.

  “Damn it, I said hold him! I’ll teach him to use a club on me!”

  The Negro said, “I don’t think you ought to-”

  Lou Combs, who had seized McKay, from the Other side, hissed, “Tiny, you damn. fool! You know what he’s like when he’s like this. Just grab the other arm and keep your damn trap shut!”

  McKay stood locked between the two men and watched the battered figure of Ben Rainier struggle to its feet. There was very little human about it, it seemed to tower high and shapeless against the rising sun, swaying there for measurable seconds before it started toward them. McKay stood slack and unresisting, Waiting. Ben Rainier stopped in front of him, breathing heavily, and swung a murderous fist at his head. At the last moment, McKay threw himself back, carrying the two men with him and the blow missed.

  “Hold him still!” Rainier bellowed, cocking his fist to strike again. There was a rustle of skirts, and Julie Maragon threw herself against him, grasping the backdrawn arm.

  “No, Ben, no! You’ll kill him!”

  The big man was still on his knees, locking their way. As they watched, he got one foot under him and tried to rise, failed, and shook his head in a curious, jerky way, like a man trying to shake water out of his ears.

  Why Julie,I didn’t mean to-” Then he was stumbling hastily toward her, going to his knees beside her, and lifting her clumsily.

  “Julie!” he cried. “Julie, I didn’t mean-, You shouldn’t have-, She’s dead,” he whispered in horror, looking at his hand, which had blood on it. “She’s dead! I killed her!”

  Julie Maragon opened her eyes and sniffed. “Ben Rainier, damn you, you’ve given me a nosebleed!” she said shakily. “Give me a handkerchief before I get it all over me.”

  He put a handkerchief into her hand. “I thought-I thought I’d killed you,” he said. “I thought-” She did not speak, holding the cloth to her face. After a moment he set her gently down with her back to the woodpile. and rose. “Tiny, get her horse saddled.” he said.

  Tiny nodded and moved away. Lou Combs stirred. “But, Ben, you can’t-”

  “Shut up!”

  “Well, what about this one?”

  Rainier turned dully to look at McKay. “Might as well let him go, too. Two can’t do no more harm talking than one.”

  “Hannesey’s going to be awful damn mad.”

  “It’s likely,” Ben Rainier said. He looked down at his big hands. “I want her out of here,” he said very softly.

  Chapter 19

  THEY DID NOT SPEAK until they had come well past the point where the road turned away from the river and the cabin was no longer in sight behind them. The sun was well up now, and the air was fast losing the chill of early morning.

  At last Julie asked, “Do you. think it’s safe to stop for a moment, Mr. McKay? I must look a mess.”

  McKay reined in, dismounted, and helped-her down from the sidesaddle. He watched as she unfastened the water bottle she carried by the pommel, dampened Ben Rainier’s stained handkerchief, and cleaned the dried blood from her face.

  “I’m afraid it wasn’t a very gentlemanly fight,” McKay apologized. “The fellow was a little too big for me to take on empty-handed.”

  She laughed quickly. “There’s not another man in this country who’d go up against Ben Rainier with anything less than a forty-five.” She let him help her into the saddle again, and waited while he mounted. As they rode away together, she said, “You’re a surprising person. Where did you learn to handle yourself like that?”

  He laughed. “Why, my father considered that no gentleman’s education was. complete until he could give a reasonable account of himself with both sword and pistol.”

  “There’s another thing I Would like explained-” She hesitated.

  “What’s that?”

  “How did you know something was wrong, back at the cabin? How did you know I was a prisoner and not just caught in a-a compromising situation?”

  He said, rather stiffly, “Well, I didn’t know, of course. But if you were hiding in that shed of your own accord, why would Rainier hide with you?”

  “Oh,” she said, sounding a little disappointed. “Yes, of course. I hadn’t thought of that.”

  “Also,” McKay said, rather diffidently, “there’s the fact that one gets certain impressions of people, and, I didn’t believe-”

  “That I what? My friend, if your impression of me is that I’m such a cold fish that there’s no possibility on earth of my visiting a man I loved in the middle of the night for purposes utterly immoral, then I think you’d better keep your opinion to yourself.”
/>   He glanced at her, a little shocked. She did not look at him, and there was color in her face beneath the freckles; he thought she was a little shocked, herself. He grinned. “That wasn’t what I was about to say, Miss-er, Julie. My reasoning was based upon altogether different grounds-"

  He checked himself abruptly, and reined in, the girl had already halted her mare and drawn her carbine from its scabbard. She glanced at him, he held out his hand, and she passed the weapon to him. They waited, watching a rider come down the ridge to the right. After a moment, McKay laughed. “It’s just Ramon,” he said. “I think you know him; he used to work for the Lazy M.”

  “Ramon Gutierrez?” she said. “What’s he doing here?”

  “What are we both doing here? Looking for you.” He chuckled. “You see, I did get lost last night, but I had sense enough to backtrack until I found the right road. It took me quite a while, however. Just as I got myself squared away, Ramon came riding up. He said you’d left the ranch ahead of him, had I seen you? Your tracks weren't in the road. We started hunting, and found where you’d turned off. It seemed best for me to strike straight for Rainier’s to find out if you’d been seen there, while Ramon, who knows something about tracking, waited for daylight to follow your trail.”

  They urged their horses toward the old Mexican. “So you find her, Señior McKay,” he said when he reached them. “I was afraid you might lose yourself in the dark.” He looked at them closely, noting “their bruised and dusty look. “Trouble, Señor?”

  Julie grinned. “Not for this man, Ramon. Of course, it wasn’t as if he had any big fellows to deal with, just little Ben Rainier and two riders-” Her grin faded abruptly. “I don’t know what I’m thinking of! We’ve got to ride to Ladder, of course. I have to warn the Terrills. Come on, Ramon, show me the quickest way.”

  The old Mexican sat his horse unmoving. His mild face had hardened in a surprising way. “The Terrills may rot in hell for all I care, Señorita.” He touched the noticeable welt on his cheek. “A man is not a dog to be whipped! You were there. You saw it happen.”

  She said gently, “So that’s why you were leaving Ladder last night, Ramon?”

  “That is the reason, Señorita.”

  “And you will not ride with me to warn them? I must ride alone, or with Señor McKay-” She glanced at McKay, who nodded. “-With Señor McKay, whose little compass will have to guide us since you refuse to do so.”’

  Ramon grinned cheerfully. “When the granddaughter of Señor Clem Maragon needs the help of either a feeble old man or a little compass to find her way in this country, I hope I am comfortably resting in my grave. I will ride with you to warn the accursed Terrills, but for one reason only-"

  “And what is that, Ramon?”

  “The reason, Señorita, is that the mission is a useless one, because no one can warn a Terrill. Of anything. You have not told me what threatens, but I can tell you this, the Major will believe only what he wishes to believe. Anything else that he is told, he will either ridicule, or he will call the one who tells him a liar. Come, let us ride. You will see I speak the truth.”

  Some hours later, in front of the Ladder ranch house, McKay found himself remembering the old Mexican's words, and he saw Julie glance his way and grimace wryly, clearly with the same thought in mind. They had not been invited inside, but stood in the hot sunshine facing the Major and Steve Leech, while other men lounged near by, listening with lazy interest. The Major's attitude was skeptical, while that of his forman was openly contemptuous. McKay saw the tall man measure him with a glance that held mocking laughter poorly concealed. It seemed a long time for Leech to be gloating over yesterday’s small victory; and McKay found himself wondering what else could have happened in his absence to make the other man so pleased with himself this morning. He looked for Patricia, but she was nowhere to be seen.

  The Major was speaking to Julie with the voice of a patient man seeking the truth. “I’m just trying to get this all straight, girl. You say Jim got lost-it seems to be a habit of his-and wound way up north at Rainier’s this morning. And Ramon, did he get lost, too? And Ben Rainier was holding you prisoner, but Jim gave him a licking and got you away from there-” A man standing by the corner of the house snickered loudly. The Major looked that way without expression, and the sound stopped. "That was very commendable of Jim, I’m sure,” the Major said calmly. "And then you came here to warn me that Rainier is in league with the Hanneseys and plans to raid the herd at Caballo Springs if I ride south to Blanco Canyon. I hope I have it all straight. It’s a little confusing to an old man.”

  Leech said, “It sounds like a put-up story to me.”

  The Major said, “But what would be the purpose?”

  “Why, to draw us north, while the Hannesey bunch moves in on Big Muddy with no one to stop them!”

  “But why would these friends want to deceive me, Steve?”

  Leech said, “Ah, the greaser’s still brooding about a lick across the face Miss Pat gave him last night. And the dude bought Big Muddy yesterday, remember, he could have made a deal with Hannesey last night.”

  Major Terrill said, rather sadly, “And Julie Maragon, Steve, who almost grew up in this house as a second daughter to me? Surely you can’t suspect her of trying to-”

  Leech said, “She’s sweet on Rainier, she’d play his game. You’ll note she hasn’t said what she was doing at his place in the middle of the night.”

  McKay took a step forward, but Julie put a hand on his arm. “Jim,” she said warningly. “No, Ramon-, Help me up, will you please, Jim?” She turned to mount, after a moment McKay moved to help her. Then he took his bridle-reins from Ramon and swung stiffly into the saddle. The old Mexican did likewise. As they rode away they heard the Major speaking in measured tones behind them,

  “That could have been a little unwise, Steve, diplomatically speaking... Well, perhaps it would be just as well for us to take a quick ride up to Rainier’s just to look around, before we move south tonight and put an end to this annoyance once and for all!”

  It was twilight when Julie and Jim reached the outskirts of San Rafael. There Ramon bid them good night and turned away. Looking after him, Julie laughed ruefully.

  "Well, he was right, wasn’t he? You can’t warn a Terrill.” She shrugged. “Well, we’ve done what we could. It’s out of our hands, I guess.”

  McKay said, “It’s been a long ride. I’ll take you home.” They did not speak again until he had handed her down from the mare in front of her house. Then, opening the gate, she said, “Come in. I’ll fix you something to eat.”

  “You’re tired,” he said. “I can get something at the hotel.”

  “Don’t be a fool,” she said. “I have every intention of feeding myself and it’s little trouble to cook for two.”

  “Very well,” he said, and followed her inside.

  “Sit down somewhere and don’t try to be helpful, is all I ask,” she said when they reached the kitchen. “There’s nothing worse than having a man underfoot when you’re trying to cook.... What are you going to do about Big Muddy, Jim?” she asked presently.

  “I don’t know yet,” he said.

  “I’ve got your money right here in my, saddlebag,” she said. "We can call the whole deal off if you like."

  “No,” he said. “I don’t think so.”

  If Pat’s broken your engagement, there is nothing to keep you here, is there?”

  McKay said, "I burned my bridges pretty thoroughly before coming out here. There's nothing to keep me anywhere else."

  “Well, if you change your mind, I’ll understand. Mean while I’d appreciate it if you’d take this small fortune over to the hotel when you go and have Ma Horst put it in her safe for me.

  He sat and watched her at work, feeling tired and a little awkward with the embarrassment that was bound to be present between a man and a woman whose relationship was not clear. It was a silent meal. Later she saw him to the door.

  “Heavens, I d
on’t think I’ve thanked you for coming to my rescue,” she said with a quick laugh. “It could have been a rather unpleasant situation.”

  McKay said, “Well, you should be safe enough now that we’ve seen the Major, any damage you could do is already done. I'll take your mare over to the livery stable and have your money put in the hotel safe. Good night, Julie, and thanks for the dinner.” “What there was of it,” she said. “Good night, Jim.”

  He started to turn away, but changed his mind and looked back at her. “I never did answer the question you were asking this morning, how I knew something was amiss when I was in Rainier’s cabin. Well, it was like this. I guess I thought about what you’d expect when I first saw your mare in the corral, but when I heard the racket in the tool. shed, I knew I must be wrong-” He hesitated.

  “Why, Jim?” she asked gently.

  “Why,” he said, “you wouldn’t hide, would you, Julie? Whatever you did, you’d figure it was worth doing, and you wouldn’t be ashamed of it afterward. So if you were hiding in the tool shed, it was because somebody had forced you to take cover there. Anyway, that was the way I worked it out.”

  She looked at him a moment longer, then she stepped forward and rose on tiptoe to kiss him lightly on the mouth.

  “That was a very nice thing to say,” she murmured. "Good night, Jim.”

  Chapter 20

  BUCK HANNESEY stood dourly at the edge of the little circle of men that had formed about Lou Combs, holding his father’s horse and his own.

  “Yeh,” Rufus Hannesey was saying gently, “I can see it was a tough spot you were in, Lou, just the three of you alone at the ranch and this man eating dude coming at you breathing fire and smoke-”

  Combs said, “No call to be sarcastic, Mr. Hannesey. Anyway, Tiny wasn’t there to start with, and I’m admitting the fellow fooled me. He looked as innocent as a lamb, without a thought in his head but getting a bite to eat and finding his way safe to town. I wouldn’t have turned ,my back to him, otherwise.”