"Yes, and while I'm strongly opposed to dueling on principle, I will say this for the old-fashioned affair of honor, at least both contestants ran a certain risk. One man didn't stand there absolutely safe, sheltered by the extra half-second trained into his hand. But then, I don't suppose your son carries that pistol in order to run risks, any more than Steve Leech, he likes to maintain his reputation as a dangerous man the easy way, by shooting down unarmed men and old gentlemen with whisky-broken nerves."
Buck Hannesey stirred angrily. "Shut him up!" he growled. "Shut him up, Pop, or by God I'll-"
"Take it easy, son." The older man stared hard at McKay, then he chuckled. "You've got your share of gall, I will say that for you, pilgrim. But you're pulling a fast one. Young Rufus knocked you down a couple of days ago. That was the first injury, and according to the dueling code it can't be changed by any subsequent blows. That leaves the challenge up to you, Mr. McKay, and gives my son the choice of weapons." He laughed softly and reminiscently. "Oh, I used to watch the gentlemen at their quarrels when I was a boy back east, I even hoped to be one of them, once, although you wouldn't think it to look at me now. Don't try to tell me about dueling! And Young Rufus will be within his rights to pick Colt revolvers-"
McKay said, "I know that He'll be within his rights, Mr. Hannesey. And when he picks them, he'll be admitting that he's nothing but a cowardly murderer hiding behind a sleight-of-hand stunt at which he happens to excel, because I don't know the first thing about drawing a pistol quickly. He'll be admitting-" As he spoke, he was aware that people were gathering around the scene, drawn to a fight like flies to a festering wound. "He'll be admitting that he hasn't got the nerve to face a loaded pistol that isn't safely tucked away in somebody's holster. He''' be telling the world that his courage is only good when he can be sure of shooting first."
As he spoke, he was aware of the baffled play of emotion on the younger Hannesey's face, although he did not allow himself to look that way directly. He was also conscious of Julie's eyes watching him. The sun was reaching down into the yard now, and there were more than a dozen people listening. McKay shrugged his shoulders resignedly, and turned to walk off the porch. He took two steps, and heard Rufus Hannesey address his son in a low, questioning voice, he took another step and heard the younger man say irritably, "Ah, one gun or another, what's the difference? Where's these toys he wants us to play With?"
Ramon was there instantly. "Here they are, Señor."
McKay stood quite still for a moment, thinking, Well, you have your chance, Mr. McKay, for what it's worth. He swung around. Ramon had the pistol case open. Buck Hannesey was looking down at the engraved weapons in a disinterested manner.
"You take care of it, Pop," he said. "Just so they shoot that's all I care. Just hurry it up-" His glance brushed the girl standing near by. "We're holding up the wedding."
Rufus Hannesey said curiously, "Let's see these pretty playthings." He took the case from Ramon and looked down with an odd, remembering expression on his face. "Real gentleman's weapons," he murmured. "Loaded?"
McKay shook his head. "There's powder in the flask and balls in the pouch. The grease should be swabbed out of the barrels first, and it would be well to flash a cap on each to clear-"
Rufus Hannesey snorted. Teach your grandmother to suck eggs. I was shooting guns like these, only not so fancy, before you were born-caplock and flintlock both.” He sat down at the edge of the porch with the case on his knees, lifted one of the pistols from its velvet-lined nest, and worked over it for a While, then raised it and fired. The report was sharp and whiplike, the bullet hit a rusty tomato can across the yard with a wicked, smacking sound. Hannesey laid the weapon down, picked up its mate, and repeated the performance. He looked up at last. "Hair-trigger,” he said. “Real pretty. Well, Young Rufus, is this the way you want it?”
Buck shrugged his shoulders. “Like I said, If they Shoot they’re good enough for me.”
Rufus looked up at his son deliberately. "Well, if you're satisfied to do it this way, go hang up that cannon somewhere so you won’t be tempted reach for it. I'm going to be running this here duel, and it's going to be run according to the rules.”
Buck said angrily, “I’ll wear my gun and be damned to You! Do you think I’d-”
“Go hang it up!” the older man snapped. “It’s not that, I don’t trust you, boy, it’s just that I don’t trust that educated hand of yours. It knows the way too well. And Just remember one thing, you agreed to this duel. if you want change your mind, now’s the time. I don’t give a damn how you shoot this fellow, but there’s going to be no tricks, understand, and that goes for you, too, McKay! As dueling master, I’ll be holding a weapon of my own, and according to the Code it’s not only my right but my duty to blow either principal to hell if he tries anything funny. Don’t think I won’t do it, either!”
After a moment, Buck turned away and moved into the house in a sullen manner, unbuckling his heavy gun belt as he went. There were armed men straggling down the rocky slopes now, drawn by the impending spectacle. McKay watched them with a lack of comprehension, wondering what brought them to see a man killed.
A movement at his side made him turn to see Julie Maragon. “It was a foolish thing,” she said. “I wish you hadn’t-’ She shook her head quickly. “No, that’s poor thanks. I’m very grateful, but the odds are so heavy against you. He’s lived with a gun all his life.”
McKay said, “The purpose of the duel is to bring two men together on relatively equal terms, it’s supposed to be a test of courage, not of skill. Even an indifferent marksman, like myself, can, hit a man-sized target at twenty yards if his hand doesn't tremble too violently. Young Mr. Hannesey can Shoot fast no doubt, but I haven’t been greatly impressed by his accuracy. He emptied his weapon at my hat. the other day-they all did-and there wasn’t a hole in it, he took two shots at Mr. Brockhurst at close range and hit with only one.” He hesitated. “I only regret that, you’ll have to watch it.”
She smiled crookedly. “You have some very eastern notions. I don’t faint at the sight of blood. Just-just to make sure it isn’t yours I’ll have to look at, and I’ll be quite all right.”
She touched his arm lightly, and moved away, clearly knowing that it, Was not a time for conversation or even companionship, this something he could best face alone. He felt Ramon pause near by and spoke without turning his head. “If you and the other men can get her away while they're all busy watching-"
"I'll try, Señor. Vaya con Dias.”
Then he was alone again. There was a good sized crowd the ramshackle houses now, not men alone, but women and children as well. He thought, So this is how he used to feel waiting, I always wondered. He watched a lizard three inches long, run along the edge of the porch. Rufus Hannesey rose with a dueling pistol in each hand, marched into the yard, drew a line in the dust the his heel, turned and measured off twenty strides, and drew another line He returned to the middle of the measured space.
“Get your weapons. from me and take your places,” he said. “If neither man is hit on the first exchange, hold firm while I get the pieces and load again. I forget all the fancy rigmarole that goes with this, I’ll just give you ‘ready’ and ‘fire’ And mark this again, I’ll be standing over there with a Winchester in my hands. If either man tries to take an advantage in any way, I’ll shoot him dead in his tracks! So mind you keep your fingers off those hair-triggers until I tell you.”
McKay heard the speech only dimly. He was aware of walking forward through the brilliant sunshine, taking the weapon extended to him, and turning left. At the mark in the dust, he swung about. Twenty yards away, Buck Hannesey had taken his place, his hips looked oddly naked with-out the familiar revolver belt. Rufus Hannesey stepped back and Picked up a rifle leaning against the porch.
“Gentlemen,” he said deliberately, “make ready.”
McKay used both hands to cock the pistol, as he did so, he noted the figure 2 engraved on the tang. It sho
cked him Slightly that out of the pair of weapons he should have been given this one, it seemed like an omen. He put the thought from his mind. One pistol would shoot as well as the other. He fitted the curved butt into his palm, and saw Buck Hannesey’s Weapon poised, aiming skyward, ready to swing down and fire. He found himself remembering his father’s words, Another thing, James, if you have the choice, always fire with the piece rising, that gives you an unobscured view of the target until the sights are in line.
“Fire!”
Buck Hannesey’s weapon cracked with the signal. McKay felt the wind, of the shot against his Cheek. Even as he realized that he had survived the bullet and had now a chance to finish this, his unpracticed finger bore too heavily on the delicate trigger mechanism and his pistol discharged, He saw the bullet kick up dust at his opponent’s feet and ricochet harmlessly up toward the cliffs.
Rufus Hannesey laughed aloud. “Looks like the boys need practice,” he said, coming forward. “Keep your places now, while I put your toys in order again.”
They stood facing each other in the open space while the bearded man worked at the edge of the porch. McKay could hear laughter and betting in the crowd now, they were enjoying this unaccustomed spectacle.
"Hey Buck," somebody shouted, "maybe you'd better get yourself a hat like the dude to go with those fancy guns."
McKay noted that Buck Hannesey did not answer, a cold, sneering expression was fixed on his face. Then Rufus Hannesey was returning with the loaded pistols, giving one to McKay and walking the length of the field to present the after to his son. He moved back to his former position.
"Make ready"
There was silence again, and McKay heard clearly the sound of Buck's pistol being cocked, he waked his own. It seemed as if he had been standing all his life in this one spot, shooting and being shot at.
"Fire!"
Again the other's piece discharged on the heels of the word. McKay felt something pluck at his right sleeve. He steadied himself. The pistol in his hand rose and came into line. The sights wavered and settled, suddenly the knowledge that had been trained into his nerves and muscles when he was a boy was back with him. Apparently it was something you never really He knew that, at this range, he could hit the other man Wherever he pleased-and Buck Hannesey’s gun was empty.
He found himself remembering Julie's bruised face, and Michael Brockhurst' coughing his life out in the dust. He placed the front sight of his Weapon against the pocket of Buck Hannesey’s shirt with care and deliberation. His finger rested gently on the trigger, Slowly increasing the pressure.
...Then he shuddered, and took his finger away, and let go his pent-up breath. I can’t do it he thought. God help me, I can’t do it!
He heard a murmur go through the crowd as he started to lower his arm, and thought it was directed at him. Then he saw that Buck Hannesey was moving, tossing aside the fired dueling pistol and clawing open his shirt to snatch out the revolver hidden inside. McKay saw the ugly weapon come up, and in the same instant he aimed and fired. The sound of the shot seemed unusually loud and prolonged. Buck Hannesey spun around and fell on his side, rolled over on his face, and lay still, the revolver loosely grasped in his outstretched hand.
McKay walked slowly forward. These was sickness inside him as he looked at motionless form on the ground. He turned abruptly to confront Rufus Hannesey, who had come forward slowly.
“I’m sorry, sir," he said. "I did not shoot to kill."
“But I did," the older man said in an odd, harsh voice; and McKay saw white smoke trickling from the muzzle of the rifle he held.
Chapter 26
RIDING OUT through the cleft in the rocks, they heard hoof-heats behind them. McKay looked back, saw a single rider flogging his mount in pursuit, and drew rein so the man could catch up. Suddenly Tiny Johnson let out a rumbling curse and kicked his mount around.
McKay said, "Hold it! What's the matter, Tiny?"
"Its that sneaking renegade, Lou Combs, I've a matter to settle with him."
"Let's hear what he has to say first," McKay said.
They watched Combs ride up. He halted his horse and folded his hands in plain sight on the saddle horn. One whole side of his face McKay noted, was puffed and pulpy-looking where the thrown stick of firewood had caught him. Nevertheless, he faced them in a sell-possessed way, looking them over deliberately. His glance settled at last on the big Negro.
"It looks like you've found yourself a new boss, Tiny. Think he could use another hand?"
McKay spoke quickly before Johnson could respond, "We've no time for pleasantry, Mr. Combs. What's your business with us?"
Combs smiled crookedly. "Why, like I say, I'm looking for a job, Mr. McKay. You seem to be hiring on riders, by the looks of these men, I thought I'd ask."
McKay said, "Are you planning to work for me like you worked for Ben Rainier, perhaps, reporting to Mr. Hannesey on the side?"
Combs flushed. "Is that what Tiny's been telling you? He's got it wrong, Mr. McKay. I was Hannesey's man, paid by him, put there to keep Rainier in line, and Rainier knew it. There was no double-dealing about it. I never took a cent from Ben Rainier, or pretended to be his friend, either one. You pay my wages, Mr. McKay, and I'll be your man and I know a lot of other men around here would like to work for an honest-to-God Cow outfit for a change, instead of risking. their necks for a couple of puffed up range barons playing at war."
McKay said, "Well, you can ride along with us if you like. But I expect you to make 'Your peace with Tiny before I hire you on. I want no feuds in this crew."
Without waiting for Combs's reply, he reined his mount around and urged it to a trot. As they emerged from the cleft onto the open plain, Major Terrill and his men came at a gallop to meet them. McKay noted Patricia riding between the Major and Steve Leech. She seemed to have fully recovered from her hard night ride, and she made a slender, erect, and graceful figure in her sidesaddle.
Julie glanced at McKay. "You didn't tell me she was here."
"There was no occasion to mention it."
"Perhaps not," the girl said, with a wry grin, "but damn her for looking like that, while I'm straddling this crowbait like a Comanche squaw, with a black eye in the bargain."
The Ladder outfit thundered to a halt before them. "We were getting worried, Jim," the Major shouted. "We heard shots. We were about to ride in and see what happened to you. . . It seems that you got her out all right. Congratulations."
"Yes," McKay said riding forward with Julie. "She's all right."
"What kind of deal did you have to make? Well, it doesn't matter; a bargain made under coercion has no standing. Besides when we've finished with them, they won't have interested in Big Muddy or any other property, saving only enough to bury them after they've stopped swinging. Steve, are the boys all ready?"
Leech said, "They've been ready for an hour, Major. They've been ready since they got here last night." He turned in his saddle. "Slim, you stay here with Miss Terrill; the rest of you-"
McKay said, "I wouldn't ride in there if I were you."
Leech and the Major both turned to look at him quickly. It was the Major who spoke, "Not ride in there! What are you saying , Jim? After the sufferings this poor girl has obviously endured at the hands those-"
Julie said, "The only one at whose hands I did any suffering was Buck Hannesey, and he's dead."
Steve Leech's eyes narrowed. "Dead? Who killed him?"
"There was a duel," Julie said quietly. "Buck Hannesey is dead, quite dead. I consider my sufferings completely avenged, Mr. Leech, and I wish you'd go home and tend to your cows, Major, I don't want any violence on my account, please. Won't you just ride back to Ladder and let the country have a little peace?"
The Major said stiffly, "As far as the country's concerned, girl, we've ridden a long ways to make it safe for decent people once and for all, and we're not going home until We've finished the job. And it seems mighty strange to me that you'd sit there and defend the peop
le responsible for-"
"The man responsible is dead!" Julie cried. "Pat, if you don't want them killed, talk to them! The Hanneseys are ready and waiting in there, if there's an attack it'll turn into a massacre."
"Dad!" Patricia said. "Perhaps-"
Steve Leech said smoothly, "I wouldn't listen to these folks, Miss 'Terrill. They've been playing a mighty funny game, how'd he get her out, anyway? They seem awful eager to get rid of us, don't they?" McKay said, "Mr. Leech, I'm the owner of the Lazy M ranch. I've got Hannesey range south of me and Terrill range to the north. If you ride in there today, you'll start a war that may go on for years-across my property! Well I don't intend to stand by while you turn my ranch into a battlefield, Mr. Leech, so telling you to turn this crew around and take it home."
The Ladder foreman looked at him in some surprise, then laughed loudly. "Talking pretty big of a sudden, aren't you, McKay? Why, I take my orders from Major Terrill." There was a small rattle of sound behind McKay, and the voice of Ramon Gutierrez said very softly, "Your mistake Señor. Today when Señior McKay speaks, you take your orders from him."
McKay spoke to Major Terrill, "I wouldn't want you to think that I'm taking sides in your quarrel with Rufus Hannesey. This works both ways. If they come across Big Muddy to attack you, you'll find us standing with you. From now on, if either of you want to fight, you'll fight Lazy M first."
The Major hesitated. Steve Leech cried harshly, "Hell, there's only six of them altogether, one without a gun. Give the word, Major, and well ride them down!"
McKay said urgently, "I'm a peaceful man, Major Terrill, as you all have reason to know. It's my earnest desire not to have to raise a gun or a fist for the rest of my natural life, and today, God help me, I'm going to make sure there'll be no further need for violence, if I have to ram Steve Leech's teeth down his throat to do it!"
He threw the challenge out deliberately, and heard Patricia gasp; but her reaction was of little importance now. What mattered was that in an instant he had succeeded in narrowing the threatening conflict into a personal matter between himself and one man. It was a technique he had used before when faced with mutiny or drunken riot, it was always good, if the timing was accurate. Now, he was aware, the Ladder riders, who had not looked forward to charging for no very good reason into the muzzles of five steady rifles were feeling a sudden relief, give them a good bruising fist fight to watch and it would be hard to move them again.
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