"yeah, an' judged he was a pretty early bird," Sudden said.
The other nodded. "Overlookin' details like that'll land Rogue's neck in a noose some day," he remarked. "yeah, I ,;aw him."
Sudden's eyes narrowed. "When did he leave yu?"
"Pretty near half an hour back--I didn't hurry."
"Then he mighta done the shootin'?"
"Could have--he had time, but it don't fit with his plans."
"We better get back--it won't look too good for us to be absent, an' together," Sudden suggested. "We'll have a powwow later."
They had almost reached the camp when Lasker pounded en up wail a strung of night-horses. He stopped on seeing then "Heard about the 01' Man bein' bushwhacked, Lasker?" Sudden asked.
The man's surprise seemed genuine. "Hell, no ; who done it?"
"Yore guess is as good as mine," was the reply.
"With him cashed the drive ends, I s'pose," the wrangler offered.
"Who told yu he's dead?" Sudden asked quietly, and then, "Well, mebbe he is ; we'll soon know."
The camp was very still. The other men had sought their blankets but the foreman sat near the fire, rifle beside him, and his face a mask of worry. He looked up as the two friends approached ; the horse-wrangler was seeing to his charges.
"This is a turr'ble business, Jim," he said, and sensing the question uppermost in their minds, "No, Eden ain't cashed--yet. We got him bedded down in the wagon, an' I've tended the wound--it ain't the first time I've played doctor by a-many. The slug went clean through an' 'pears to have missed the vital parts. Plenty desperate, but it might be wuss ; he's got a fightin' chance."
"Then he'll make it," Sudden said confidently. "He's the fightin' sort."
"Beats me who the murderin' houn' could be?" Jeff pondered.
"I went to see if I could catch him but didn't have no luck." Sudden explained. "Sandy saw someone hot-footin' through the brush an' figured it was Lasker."
"Lasker, huh?" the foreman muttered. "Well, he's a new hand, but there ain't no reason. yu boys better turn in--l'll be needin' yu presently ; gotta have four men watchin' the herd to-night."
It was two hours later when Jeff's low voice awakened them --in those dangerous days it was unwise to arouse a sleeper by touching him. They approached the slumbering herd slowly, exchanged a few words with the men they had come to relieve, and separated.
Sudden was riding Nigger, for the night-horse has to be the surest-footed, clearest-sighted, most intelligent of the cowboy's string of mounts. Knowing that the black would give instant warning of anything wrong, the rider allowed himself to think. The cold-blooded attempt to remove Lden had brought him definitely to the parting of the ways. He had little doubt but that the outlaw chief had been concerned in it, and the thought of working with men capable of such a deed sickened him. The world had given him the name, but not the stomach, of a desperado.
Another point which worried him was the attitude of Sandy. "The girl has him spell-bound, an' yet he's runnin' with Rogue," he mused.
The two things did not seem to jibe and he resolved to clear the situation at the earliest opportunity. This came when, relieved in their turn, they were riding slowly back to camp.
"I'm puttin' a plain question," Sudden said. "Are yu workin' for Rogue, or ain't yu?"
"I'm given' yu a plain answer," Sandy replied. "To hell with Rogue, an' yu can tell him I said so. yu may be in his debt but I ain't. Sabe?"
Sudden's laugh was bitter. "I'll tell yu what I owe him," he said slowly.
Pacing side by side in the 'starlight, he could not see the listener's face, but the muttered exclamations the story evoked showed his interest. When it was ended, Sandy drew a deep breath.
"My Gawd, yu have shorely had a tough break, Jim," he said. "I reckon all that's due Rogue from yu is a slug o' lead."
"Well, he got me in a jam unmeanin' an' he certainly took a risk to get me out again--which some wouldn't," Sudden replied. "Anyways, it's past mendin' ; even if I could prove I didn't kill Judson, the San Antonio affair an' this other, would hang me. yo're ridin' with a shore-enough outlaw, Sandy."
"An' damn glad to be," the boy said impulsively, thrusting out a fist. "I'm with yu to the finish, Jim, whatever it may be." Sudden gripped the hand ; it did him good to feel that he had a friend who, knowing all, trusted him.
"I'm obliged," he said simply. "When I joined this outfit my mind was all twisty-ways an' I didn't know what I was goin' to do. Now, I've got things straightened out ; I'm on Sam Eden's pay-roll."
"That goes for me too," Sandy rejoined. "We'll beat that gang o' chaparral thieves yet."
Immediately after breakfast, the foreman called a meeting of all the men in camp to discuss what should be done. Lasker was the first to speak :
"Nothin' for it but to turn back, fur as I c'n see."
"Then yore eyesight ain't what it oughta be," Sudden put in. "I'm for goin' on ; the 01' Man'll want. that, I'm bettin'." Other opinions, for and against, were expressed and in the middle of the argument a hail from the cook apprised Jeff that his employer wanted him. From his bed in the wagon the rancher glared at his foreman.
"What's all the chatter about?" he asked in a weak but angry voice. "Why ain't yu startin' the herd?"
"We was sorta settlin' which way to go," the foreman excused.
"There's on'y one, yu ol' fool--north'ards," Eden snapped, and then, as comprehension came to him, "Yu wasn't thinkin' o' goin' back?"
Jeff looked uneasy. "Well, yu see, Sam, we figured yu oughta have proper medical attention," he explained.
The patient's pale face grew red with rage. "Medical attention, huh?" he sneered. "yu talk like a perfessor, an' a damn silly one at that. D'yu reckon I've never been shot afore? Pretty fine outfit I got if yo're goin' to turn tail an' run at the first bit o' trouble."
"That's not fair, Dad," Carol reproved. "They are thinking of you."
"yo're right, honey," Eden said. "I didn't mean that, Jeff, but yu can cut out the doctor-talk--I don't need no help to die. An' let me hear no more o' goin' back ; we'll take this herd through come hell or high water. Now, git them cows movin', or I'll be up an' see to it my own self."
"An', by Christmas, he'd 'a' tried it," Jeff said, when he reported the conversation to the others. "Stubborn as two mules, ol' Sam is, an' tough as rawhide. They say he once rode fifty miles with a busted leg--tied hisself to the saddle, knowin' if he fell off he'd never git on again."
The only man who did not seem pleased was Lasker. "It's a fool play," he said sullenly. "He'll never make the trip--we'll have to plant him."
"Awright, we won't ask yu to dig the hole," Jeff retorted. "Take care o' yor hosses--we're shorely goin' to need 'em." Sudden had a small investigation to make. In a patch of bare earth in the brush from whence the shot had come he found clear prints of a pair of moccasins, and scorched shrivelled leaves showed where the weapon had been fired through the foliage. With a strip of rawhide he measured the marks, making knots to indicate the width and length. His search for further footprints proved fruitless.
"Either made his getaway over grass or wanted them tracks to be seen," was his muttered conclusion.
Dismissing the matter for the moment he rode to the river, where preparations for crossing were in full swing. Conditions were favourable, shelving banks, and not much current. Already the cattle, grazed and watered, were being strung out and headed for the stream. Jeff, bawling orders right and left, was watching the operation.
The riders who had to guide the herd across the stream had stripped to the middle, also removing boots and saddles, and were shivering in the keen morning air. One of them had already made the trip, returning with the tidings that the bed of the river seemed fairly firm and the deep water not too extensive.
"Don't rush 'em, boys," the foreman instructed. "Haze 'em along gradual-like but keep 'em movin'. We want to be over before the sun gits too high, an' these damn streams is liable to rise mighty sudden."
Th
ere was little trouble ; the leading steers, when they felt the cold water sweeping beneath their bellies, tried to retreat, but the watchful riders, with quirts and the ends of their ropes kept them from turning and soon they took the plunge and swam steadily for the opposite bank.
The crossing took time but went without a hitch, and Jeff breathed a sigh of relief when the last steers climbed the far bank, shook themselves, and went to peacefully grazing. The remuda followed, and then the wagon came lumbering up, a sizable, trimmed tree-trunk lashed along each side. Drawn by its full team of six mules, it rocked and slithered down the slope to the stream. The leaders baulked at the water but the biting lash of the long whip stung their flanks and threw them into the collars again.
With a couple of riders on either side steadying it with their ropes, the wagon proceeded slowly but majestically across, to be greeted with a cheer when the dripping team hauled it safely up the bank.
The foreman, who had followed the vehicle over, poked his head through the flaps at the back. "How d she go, Sam?" he asked anxiously.
"Fine--never jarred me none," the invalid lied stoutly. "Get agoin' soon as yu like ; it does me good to feel we're movin'." Jeff was not deceived ; he knew quite well that the orossing must have caused intense pain to the wounded man, but he also knew Sam Eden. As he turned away, Carol jumped down lightly from the wagon.
"Jeff, you're a dear," she said impulsively. "Of course it hurt him terribly although we did all we could to spare him the jolts, but he bore it without a murmur. We must push on ; he'll fret himself into a fever if we delay."
The foreman made unintelligible noises in his throat and was obviously glad when Sandy rode up leading Carol's pony. "Thought yu'd mebbe like a ride after the boat-trip, ma'am," he grinned.
She thanked him, swung into the saddle, and loped along the trail. The cowboy's eyes followed her, until a slight cough from his companion recalled his wandering thoughts.
"She shore can ride," he remarked hastily, and then, "How's the 01' Man makin' it?"
"Pretty good, considerin'," the foreman told him, "an' liable to raise Cain if that wagon ain't on the move pronto." Sandy took the hint and found himself a job.
Chapter IX
THE long straggling line of men and beasts moved like a sluggish stream over the apparently unending area of brown, sun-dried earth, cracked and fissured by the fierce heat, and covered, for the most part, by short curly grass which, the colour of hay, needed only rain to transform it into a carpet of brilliant green. No tree, save an occasional thicket of stunted mesquite or live-oak, was to be seen.
Uneventful days had slid by since they crossed the Colorado, and the outfit was making the most of an easy time. Lolling in their saddles, the riders had little to do save check the ambition of any steer who seemed disposed to stray too far. Even the foreman's lined, leathery countenance wore an un wonted smile as he rode to Sudden's side and nodded at the surrounding scene.
"All like this an' it'd be easy, but it ain't goin' to be," he remarked. "We got most of our troubles ahead of us."
"Yu can say that any time, any place," the cowboy grinned. "How's the 01' Man?"
"He's a flamin' merricle," the foreman replied. "It's a wonder that bullet didn't bounce off'n him." Then his voice sobered. "I'd like to know who done it. Got any ideas?"
Sudden told of the moccasin marks and mentioned the Indian who had escaped when he rescued Carol. Jeff shook his head.
"Might be, o' course, redskins is vindictive devils, but I don't think it an' neither do yu," he said shrewdly.
To this the other made no reply. He was studying the broad, trampled track they were following.
"Yu figure this is Chisholm's trail?" he asked.
"I'm hopin' so. Anyways, she's good goin' an' pointin' north, which is all we want," Jeff told him. His gaze travelled forward along the line of cattle to where Sandy and Carol were riding together, and his eyes twinkled. "Yore friend is cuttin' yu out."
Sudden looked at him amusedly. "That was a mighty poor throw, ol'-timer," he said. "I've got somethin' to do before I think o' wedded bliss. Ever hear o' fellas called Webb an' Peterson?"
"No, but names ain't nothin' in these parts," Jeff replied. "yu wantin" 'em special, Jim?"
"I'm hopin' to run across 'em," Sudden said, and though there was no threat in the words, the cold, passionless tone sent a chill down even the hardened spine of the foreman.
That evening, before supper, Sudden drew Sandy apart.
"If yu can get yore mind off that lean, hatchet-faced female yu been ridin' with all day" he commenced.
"Jim, she's an--angel," Sandy interrupted.
"Shore she is," his friend agreed dryly. "Likewise, she's the daughter of a big rancher, an' yo're just an--outlaw."
"D'yu think I need remindin' o' that?" the boy asked, so bitterly that Sudden's heart smote him.
"After all, what's the odds?" he consoled. "I'll bet her dad blotted a few brands in the early days--most o' the old settlerswas afflicted with defective eyesight when they happened onon a cow what looked lonely."
This did not have the effect he intended ; Sandy flared up instantly. "Don't yu dare say it," he cried. "Sam Eden never stole a cent's worth in his life."
Sudden saw that he was really angry, his face flushed, and fists clenched. "Shucks," he said placatingly. "I ain't sayin' he did ; they usen't to call it stealin'. Besides"--he smiled disarmingly--"she ain't really his daughter, yu know."
The boy's belligerent attitude vanished. "Sorry, Jim. I'm a plain fool to lose my wool like this," he apologized. "yu wanted to ask me somethin'?"
"yeah, what did Rogue tell yu of his plans?"
"Nothin' definite, but I gathered that he aimed to hold up the herd, get what coin he could outa Eden, bust up the drive later on, an' collar the cows. It's a-plenty."
"Shore is," Sudden said soberly, and then his eyes twinkled. "I'm takin' it yu still don't propose to help him in them projects?"
"yo're damn right," the boy returned hotly, "an' the sooner he knows it the better."
"That's somethin' we'll let him find out," Sudden decided. "Our hand'll be hard enough to play without showin' it."
Cheerfulness was in evidence at supper that evening ; the easy going and the improving health of the wounded man had put everyone in a good humour. The men chaffed one another, told tall stories, and kept Peg-leg busy.
Early on the following morning the camp had visitors, six mounted men, well-armed, and range-riders by their rig. One, who appeared to be the leader, signed to the others to halt, and rode forward. Peg-leg was busy loading his vehicle for the day's march. Carol, who had just mounted her pony to join the herd, halted at a word from Sudden, the only other man in camp.
"Tell Jeff to fetch in some o' the boys," he told her. "I ain't likin' the look o' these hombres."
The girl nodded and rode away. Sudden waited, his fingers concerned with a cigarette, but his eyes taking in the new-comer. A dark, evil-faced fellow this, with lank black hair and a straggly, ill-kept beard which only accentuated a cruel mouth. His narrowed eyes were arrogant, provocative.
"Mornin'," Sudden said laconically.
at his gun. He got it clear of the holster, but before he could press the trigger there came a flash and a roar from Sudden's side. Dale dropped his weapon and clutched a ripped forearm.
Thrusting his smoking gun into its sheath Sudden stepped forward, and before the ice-cold fury in his face the other man fell back. For the lust to take his life was there and Dale knew that only by a miracle had he escaped the fate for which he had asked. Sudden knew this too. For a few terrible seconds he had been possessed by that cruel craving to slay for the sake of slaying ; he had wanted to shoot this man ; to see him writhing in the agonies of death at his feet. Then the evil moment passed and though his face was granite-hard, the old satirical note was in his voice.
"yu ain't hurt much an' yu got another gun. If yo're wishful to try the left hand ..."
The Do
uble O man looked at him, stark hatred in every line of his face. He was nearly mad with pain and humiliation, and for an instant, it seemed he might take up this second challenge. The cowboy had an idea.
"I'm advisin' yu not to," he said quietly. "Further south, they call me `Sudden.' "
The fellow's eyes widened and something very like fear took the place of the ferocity in them. He picked up his pistol, and grabbing the horn of his saddle with his left hand, hauled himself up.
"We'll be meetin' again an' mebbe I'll be lucky," he growled. "yu've been lucky this time," Sudden replied. "Keep on thinkin' that. Now, roll yore tail, an' take that bunch o' trail-robbers with yu."
Watching them ride away, he became aware of Jeff at his elbow asking what it was all about. The foreman's face when he heard the particulars was a picture of puzzlement.
"Mebbe we have got some o' their cows," he suggested. "Shucks, then we can turn over what they fetch," Sudden argued. "Any o' yu boys seen the Double O brand?"
Not one of them had. "Me neither, an' I've been lookin' pretty constant for strays," Sudden went on. "I'd risk a little that there ain't such an iron hereabouts--his hoss warn't wearin' it. No, sir, it was a plain hold-up."
"If they'd combed the herd an' hadn't found any ..." the foreman speculated. "Why should they want to hang up our drive?""I ain't a wizard, Jeff," Sudden told him.
"I'm not so shore, seein' the way yu got that gun goin'," was the smiling reply.
The shrill voice of Aunt Judy came from the wagon. "Hi, Jeff, yo're wanted."
They found the invalid anxious and irritable. "What's the shootin'?" he barked.
Sudden explained, and Sam Eden's frown deepened. "yu done right, Jim," he commended. He was silent for a while, thinking deeply. "I was warned o' this," he went on. "There'll be other damn thieves further along the trail, waitin' to try the same game. We've got precious little coin, an' I won't hand over a cow, so that means fightin' our way through."
His fierce eyes carried a question and the little foreman answered it without hesitation :
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