The man said weakly, “Might as well shot me again, sir, as trample me to death.”
“Mr. Brockhurst!” McKay went to his knees. “Are you badly' hurt? Where’s Miss Maragon?”
“That red-haired young ruffian’s got her-”
“Hannesey?”
The lawyer nodded almost imperceptibly. “I saw him from my office window. He came into town with another rider and a saddled horse. I started wondering about the extra mount when they turned into this street... "He choked down a cough, and struggled for breath. “I came here to investigate,” he whispered. “My client, sir, even though-even though-, Old fool, too old to redeem myself by physical-physical-, Knocked me down when I tried to stop them. Knew where she kept her carbine, by the door. When I came out with it, they were riding away. Unfamiliar weapon, sir. Shouldn’t have missed. Hannesey fired twice. Very poor marksmanship. First shot was three feet wide of-of the mark...”
He began to cough rackingly. McKay lifted and supported him, there was nothing else to be done to help. The older man seemed to be trying to find something in his clothing, at last he produced a white handkerchief and held it clumsily to his lips. The terrible coughing continued to tear and shake him, when it had quieted somewhat, Brockhurst held the handkerchief into the light and looked at the bloodstains on the cloth with wry interest.
“I suppose-, I suppose you could call it retribution, sir,” he gasped. “After all, I’ve been laying false claim to this very death ever since I-ever since...” Then the coughing seized him again, and did not stop while there was breath left in him.
Presently McKay rose. There were people standing around him in the darkness. They separated to let him pass.
He heard footsteps behind him, and turned to see the stocky shape of Ramon Gutierrez.
“Is this yours, Señor?” the old Mexican asked. “It was on the ground bf the little Señorita’s rifle, which I also took the liberty of bringing along.”
McKay locked with some surprise at the pistol case he had been holding in his hands when the shooting started. He had no recollection of bringing it with him.
“Mr. McKay.” He looked up to see a rider with a led horse. The man in the saddle wore range Clothing that seemed quite new, particularly the hat which shadowed his face.
“It’s Sam. Sam Purley,” the rider said. “I saw there wasn’t nothing I could do to help, and I figured you’d be wanting to ride, so I went for the horses. Luckily I’d just finished making a deal for them.”
"Thanks, Sam," McKay said.
Ramon said, "Señor McKay, if you take the road out of town like we came in this evening, and turn off up the wash to the southwest, I will catch up with you as soon as I find a fresh mount."
Chapter 22
WHEN THEY REACHED IT AT LAST, Blanco Canyon was a ghostly fortress in the fading moonlight. Buck Hannesey whistled twice, in a soft and peculiar way, as they approached the entrance, the quavering whistle was returned from both sides. Julie Maragon felt the tall cliffs on either hand close in on her. Although it was well past midnight, closer to dawn perhaps, she had lost track of time-there was light in the largest of the shabby houses ahead, and Rufus Hannesey was waiting on the ramshackle porch with the man called Clay, who, after helping with the kidnaping, had ridden ahead. The bearded man looked up at them mildly, standing there alone.
“Well, Young Rufus, it looks like you’ve raised hell and put a chunk under it today,” he said. “Killed two men and stole a girl, you’re cutting quite a swath there, ain’t you, boy?”
“I wasn’t as sure as you that Ladder would take care of Rainier,” Buck said. “So I took care of him. Trey can still get the credit for it, if we spread the word around that way. As for the girl-” He swung down from his horse, and walked over to Julie, hauled her roughly out of the saddle, set her on her feet, and looked at her critically. “Well, there she is, Pa. She don’t look like much but she’s going to come in handy. You’ve been pussyfooting around this thing for a couple of years now. I’m going to show you how to settle it... Did Beemis show up?”
Rufus Hannesey said, "If that’s the rumpot, he’s snoring in the house. What’s on your mind?”
“You’ve had no luck buying Big Muddy and you’re scared to just ride out and take it. Well, I’m going to be a good son to you. It goes against my nature, but I’m going to marry the damn ranch for you-”
“Boy, you have gone crazy, just like Clay’s been telling me!”
“What’s crazy about it?”
“Even if this drunken preacher does the job, it won’t stand up in court.”
“Who’s going to court?” Buck Hannesey laughed. “I’ll tell you one thing about this girl, she’ll go all the way for her friends. And Major Terrill ought to be on his way here by now if your figuring is any good at all, if he hasn’t started yet, he will when he hears about this. And how many men have you got hidden up in the rocks? Enough to knock the whole Ladder crew out of the saddle at the first volley... Hear that, ma’am?” he said, fixing his glance on Julie. “If your friends ride in here, they’re all dead men. If you don’t believe it, look up toward the cliffs in the morning. I’ll lend you a pair of glasses. A regiment of cavalry couldn’t break out of here, once inside. We’ve got every man, woman, and child who can carry a gun up there, helped out by a dozen renegades who like to shoot...”
Julie licked her lips. “Get to the point, Mr. Hannesey,” she whispered.
“If they come in after you, they’re dead. It’s your job, if you don’t want their blood on your soul, to go out there when they arrive and persuade them you’re here of your own accord of course, you can throw yourself into their arms, if you like, and tell them what a coyote I am, and they’ll come charging in here to avenge you no matter how much you warn them. The Major’s come in here twice before, and gone out again, he thinks it’s easy because that’s what we wanted him to think. He’s not a man to pay much heed to warnings, anyway, he’d-, just take it as a challenge. If you want those men alive, you’ll have to get them away from here, and I doubt they’ll go unless you make them believe that you. came here willingly, meaning to stay.”
She drew a long breath, marshaling her thoughts. “You set me an impossible task. How can I convince them that I’m here willingly when you killed a man to seize me?”
“Ah, everybody knows old Brockhurst spent his nights with a bottle for company. He was too drunk to tell the difference between an elopement and a kidnaping, that’s all. And what was I supposed to do when he came reeling up with a loaded Winchester trying to blow my head off, kiss him on both cheeks? Maybe I was a little hasty, but he fired first.”
She hesitated. Before she could speak, Rufus Hannesey said quietly, “You really think I’m going to let you go through with this, Young Rufus?”
The younger man wheeled to face him. “You’ve got no choice,” he said harshly. “They’ll be here in the morning ready to wipe this place off the earth. They’ve got the excuse they want now. The Major don’t give a damn about her, but he’ll sound real fine talking about sacred womanhood, and if they get shot up trying to rescue her, that’s a lot different from a squabble over a piece of ground. The whole country might get excited about that. Like you said earlier, we want to keep on living here. The only way to do it is the way I say. Hell, they know I’ve been courting her, and there are women who don’t treat me like I was a kid-what’s so unlikely about her wanting to marry me?”
Julie stiffened, and stole a glance at him, and thought, So that’s it! In defense against the fear and revulsion this man aroused in her, she had made the mistake of treating him like a schoolboy, correcting his grammar and reminding him of his manners, without realizing it, she had hurt the enormous pride he had. She had shaken his sublime faith in the picture he carried of himself as a menacing figure with a deadly gun, hated and feared perhaps, but respected, and irresistible to women because of the aura of danger that surrounded him. Her crime had been that she had failed to act suitably impresse
d by him. For this she was to be punished now, and taught to fawn over him properly, as his wife...
Rufus Hannesey said, “Seems to me I’ve got a choice. Maybe the girl can send them away satisfied, but so can I, son. You’ve brought this on us. We weren’t ever popular here, but people didn’t really start hating us until you got old enough to buckle that gun on and start helling around. And things was going well enough today until you took the bit in your teeth and ran wild. Suppose, when they come, I just fix things up by sending the girl out to them and kicking you the hell out, too?”
The younger man grew rigid then he drew a long breath. “That’s the second time you’ve said that. A couple of days ago you was talking about turning me over to the sheriff in Las Lomas. Don’t keep waving the stick at me unless you’ve got the guts to use it.” He waited, then he smiled thinly, taking a step forward. “I don’t think you have. I don’t think you’re tough enough to send your own flesh and blood out to be hanged. Well, you’ve got until morning to make up your mind, but that ain’t too far off.”
He turned on his heel and marched off. Rufus Hannesey stood watching him go. Julie heard the older man heave a deep sigh before he turned to look at her.
“All right, girl,” he said. “Turn around so I can get those ropes off you...”
Later, she lay on a straw mattress on the crude bunk in the room in which she had been put. The window had been broken and boarded over to keep out the wind, leaving no hope of escape that way. She lay looking out at the paling sky through the remaining slits. She felt tired and dirty and coldly frightened, Suddenly it occurred to her that she hat overlooked her most obvious weapon of defense. Buck Hannesey was marrying her for the Lazy M ranch-but she ranch was no longer hers!
She started to sit up quickly, then she lay back on the mattress again, knowing that she could not speak. For one thing, Buck was not really marrying her to get the ranch, but only to soothe his sick vanity which she had injured. For another, she was here now and Mike Brockhurst was dead and people would be coming to exact retribution from the Hanneseys-at least claiming that was their purpose, no matter who owned the Lazy M. These were not adequate arguments, she knew. They indicated that speaking up might do her no good, but on the other hand, it could certainly make her position no worse than it already was. Her real reason for keeping silent was, she knew, the fact that as long as the Hanneseys did not know the real owner of Big Muddy, he was comparatively safe from them... You’re a fool, my girl, she told herself grimly, haven’t you had enough of sticking your neck out for other people?
Then it was too late, for the door was opening, throwing light across the bunk. She knew that she had been waiting for this. She lay quite still.
“All right, Miss Julie, ma’am,” Buck Hannesey said. “School’s out and teacher’s gone to bed. We can play now."
Chapter 23
RIDING FAST IN THE DARK was like driving a ship through shoal waters with all sail set and no chart or leadsman. There was no conversation, only the steady chopping sound of the horses' hoofs in the hard earth. At last Ramon threw up a hand.
"Señior McKay, I hear a rider coming from the direction of town."
"Just one?" McKay asked dryly. "it doesn't look as if they managed to scrape up much of a posse, does it?"
He turned and rode back slowly to meet the approaching horseman, noting that Ramon swung gradually out to the right while Sam Purley drifted off an equal distance to the left and both men had their carbines out of the scabbards. It was not a trustful country, McKay reflected. The unknown rider checked his horse some distance away and came forward at a walk. When he raised his head to look at McKay squarely, the impression he gave was, for moment, a startling one, it seemed that he he had no face. Then McKay realized that in the weak moonlight, the man's face simply blended into the night, being equally black.
"What are you doing here, Johnson?"
The big Negro answered. There was some relief sound. "Lord, it's the little fellow with the big punch," he said cheerfully. "My ribs have been sore all day, man. That was a sweet fight, before Lou butted in. . . Damn his sneaking soul to hell, anyway! He got Mr. Rainier killed, he did."
McKay said startled, "Ben Rainier's dead? Who killed him?"
"Never you mind who killed him, man. That's my private business. Mr. Rainier had his bad spells, to be sure, but he was a fine boss." Tiny Johnson drew a bong breath. "He sent me away. Well it looks as if Lou's gone to make report," he said. "They'll be coming for me soon. Here's your pay and a little over, now get the hell out of here and me alone, you grinning black bastard." Got me mad, that you understand, so I'd go. When I caught on he'd done, and got back there, that red-haired been there ahead of me."
McKay said "So it was Buck Hannesey. We're looking for him on a different matter You're welcome to ride along if you want."
Sam Purley held a brief conference with Ramon and rode on ahead to find Major Terrill and let him know what happened. McKay and the others continued on Buck Hannesey's trail. The tracks continued undeviating southwest, and when dawn came they could see the loom of the white cliffs ahead of them, and shortly thereafter it was possible to make out the break in the impressive formation that.
Ramon said, was the entrance to Blanco Canyon. Out on the plain before its a campfire sent smoke into the pale morning sky.
Major Terrill and Steve Leech came out on foot to meet them as they rode up, at the same time, Sam Purley, who had been squatting by the fire with a tin plate on his knee, set the plate aside and walked over to his horse, mounted, and came riding around the group of men and horses to join the two riders behind McKay-who, remembering the lesson he had been taught at Rainier's, did not dismount since he had not been asked.
He looked down from his saddle first at Steve Leech. The tall foreman met his glance with the same expression of secret triumph that he had worn yesterday. The reason for his self-satisfaction was abundantly clear now to McKay, after the scene with Patricia in town, but he found that, surprisingly, he felt no anger at all. He turned his attention to Major Terrill.
"Your man met us with your message," the Major said.
"The trail leads directly here," McKay said.
Leech said, "Was there any reason to think it wouldn't?" The Major shook his head in quick reproof. "Jim is absolutely right, Steve, this is a very serious thing and we must be sure before we act." He looked at The opening in the cliffs before them and sighed. the poor girl's in there somewhere, God help her. We've had our little disagreements, to be sure, but I can't forget that she was like a second daughter to me for many years, and that her father was my very good friend. Well it's obvious that these ruffians have been allowed to terrorize us long enough, when they go so far as to lay hands on our women, it's time to wipe them out for good."
McKay thought wryly that Julie would be surprised and probably not wholly pleased to hear herself numbered among Major Terrill's womenfolk. He asked respectfully, "What are your plans, sir?"
"Plans?" the Major said, surprised. Why we ride in and rout them out of there, of course!"
"That could be hard on Miss Maragon, if there's any shooting."
Steve Leech said, "The girl might welcome a bullet, after a night in Buck Hannesey's hands."
The thought was unpleasant, and the Ladder foreman's expression of it more so. McKay said coldly, "I'll lend her a loaded pistol and let her make her own choice-after we get her back safely. But if we all ride in together, there's bound to be a fight-"
"That's right, Mr. McKay," Leech said. "You don't like fights. I forgot."
The big Negro sitting his horse behind McKay stirred in the saddle. "If he don't like them, man, he's got a damn funny way of showing it. you should have seen him-"
"That's enough, Tiny," McKay said without turning his head.
The Major looked at Tiny Johnson, frowning. "Didn't he work for Rainier? What are you doing, Jim, collecting a crew of deadbeats and castoffs from other ranches-"
"Talking about Rain
ier," Leech interrupted, "what about this raiding party of outlaws that was supposed to be hiding up there? When we got there, the place was burned to the ground and there wasn't a man around. What was the idea of sending us up there on a wild-goose chase, McKay?"
McKay said, "Hannesey apparently changed his plans upon learning that Rainier had let Miss Maragon and me escape. Apparently he sent his son back to disperse the raiders and, perhaps, to take care of Ben, although that could have been Buck's own idea, as could the kidnaping. We won't know precisely who's responsible until we get Miss Maragon back."
"Who's responsible?" Major Terrill laughed shortly. "Why, they're all responsible, my boy, and we've got ropes enough for them all. Do you make distinctions between the wolves of a pack?"
McKay hesitated, and said evenly, "As a stranger in the country, Major, I'm not in a position to argue with your local notions of justice. But I'd like to ask you, as a favor, to let one make an attempt to get Miss Maragon to safety before you attack."
"And how are you planning to do that, Mr. McKay?"
Steve Leech asked scornfully. "Ride in and ask Old Rufus please to let her go?"
McKay nodded coolly. "That was my thought I don't know what Buck Hannesey's motives are, but his father's supposed to be a clever man. I can't see him giving sanction to a kidnaping without expecting to make some profit out of it, which would seem to indicate that he's under the impression that Miss Maragon still owns Big Muddy and can be persuaded to part with it somehow. Either she hasn't seen fit to tell him she's sold the place or he didn't believe her. Maybe I can be more convincing."
Steve Leech said harshly, "For a man who's been going out of his way to avoid trouble, you're very brave all of a sudden. Maybe you've got-reason to know you'll be safe in Blanco Canyon?'
The Major turned his head. "What are you driving at, Steve?"
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