"They may get us, boy, but we'll make 'em pay," Sudden grated.
Chapter XVII
THE onslaught did not come at once. The white men saw the two bands meet and fraternize, with much shouting, gesticulation, and brandishing of weapons. Probably the position their prey had taken up did not please them ; it meant a frontal attack, and most Indians had a healthy fear of the "guns that fired for ever." Sandy was counting.
"Thirty of 'em," he said in a low voice. "If they wait till dark we ain't got a hope."
"They won't--Injuns don't like night-work--too many bad spirits about," Sudden reminded him. "They may decide to sit down an' starve us out."
Sandy's face lengthened ; they had neither food nor water. Lying each behind a sheltering rock they awaited the outcome of the argument taking place amongst the enemy.
"Odd that fella Tyson showin' up," Sandy remarked. "Must 'a' changed his mind about searchin' out a settlement."
"Mebbe, but he'd have time to do that an' then catch us up," Sudden pointed out. "He could easy make three miles to our one."
"Well, I ain't carin' how it was but I'm hopin' he'll play another hand. He busted in on us just as yu hid the knife in that skunk's gullet, an' believe me, he was welcome. Hell! they're again'.
The savages, strung out in a long line, had turned tail and were trotting slowly away.
"No such luck," Sudden said. "They're a-comin'. Don't shoot till yo're shore an' aim low ; if yu miss the man yu'll get the hoss."
He was right ; with a whoop the warriors whirled their ponies and raced at the men they had hoped to catch unprepared. In the sunlight the bared bodies shone like polished bronze and the levelled lances were silver-bladed. Feathered head-dresses streamed in the wind as the , galloping ponies gathered speed. The muffled thunder of their thudding feet mingled with the threatening cries of the riders. Sudden waited until they were some fifty paces distant, and then:
"Let 'em have it," he said.
The reports of the repeating rifles rang out and gaps showed in the advancing line as men and horses went down. Not waiting to reload, the defenders drew their pistols--which at the short range were as effective--and continued the fusillade. The deadly stream of lead was too much for the attackers ; the line broke in the middle, the two halves sweeping round, to retreat at full speed. A grin spread over Sandy's perspiring features.
"Reckon they won't come that caper again," he said, busy recharging his weapons. "Funny they didn't use their bows."
"Want us alive," Sudden explained. "I'm bettin' they didn't savvy we'd got our guns."
"Well, they know now," Sandy said, "though there's some it won't interest no more."
He nodded grimly at the plain before them, where the bodies of seven men and as many horses could be seen. Even as they looked, one of the former rose, and crouching, ran towards his friends. Sandy's rifle cracked and the runner reeled and fell.
"Been watchin' that jasper," the marksman said callously. "Had a notion I on'y got his bronc."
The incident evoked howls of rage from the Comanches, with threatening gestures, but the warriors kept their distance. They had been taught a sharp lesson and had no wish for another. Carol, crouching tiredly behind a boulder, called a question, and Sandy cursed the country, the Indians, and lastly, himself.
"Wouldn't yu fancy a fella might have brains enough to hop off an' fill a canteen at the first stream, huh?" he queried savagely.
"Why, no, when two minutes' delay could mean life or death," his friend consoled.
He went over to the girl and explained the position, concluding with the droll little smile which, even in the direst danger, he was able to summon. "yu see, we left in just a suspicion o' haste. Still, Sandy might have . .
She would not have that. "He had enough to think of, and I ought not to have said anything. Do you think the redskins will attack again?"
Sandy's voice answered the question. "Hi, Jim, they're limn' up ; looks like they aim to have another try."
In fact, the long line was moving forward again but this time it extended farther--yards separating the riders. Also, they were moving slowly, the ponies gradually gathering pace for the final dash. This made the task of the defenders more difficult, for instead of firing into a mass, they had to place every shot.
"No use waitin' till they're near," Sudden said. "Pick yore man an' let fly soon as he's in range."
"I'm takin' that jigger on the pinto," Sandy said, and pulled the trigger. "Cuss the luck," he added, as the horse went down, and its rider, after rolling on the ground, arose and shook a vengeful fist.
Sudden toppled a tall warrior from his seat and then an amazing change came over the scene. From somewhere be-' hind the attacking line rang out a volley of rifle-fire which sent half a dozen ponies careering across the plain masterless. The Comanches, taken utterly by surprise, scattered and fled, hotly pursued by the newcomers, who wore the garb of white men. Sandy swung his hat and whooped.
"It'll be the boys, Jim ; they've found us at last," he cried. "Why for yu lookin' as if yu'd lost a dollar?"
"If that's the outfit, the S E has been takin' on hands--there was a dozen of 'em," Sudden replied. "Ever hear o' the steak that fell outa the frying-pan?" Before the boy could reply, the rescuers came racing back,and their leader, reining in, pushed up the brim of his battered sombrero and disclosed the malevolent face of Navajo. He grinned evilly as he recognized the men to whose aid he had come.
"Well, well, see who's here," he drawled. "Sandy, his sidekick, an' "--his triumphant eyes travelled to the girl--"that must be Eden's gal. Shore was lucky for yu-all that we took a fancy to see what mischief this red scum was up to."
"We're obliged to yu," Sudden said shortly.
"Oh, yeah," the ruffian sneered. "But seein' we're Rogue's men yu'll have to thank him in person. I'm bettin' * he'll be main pleased to see yu."
The covert intimation that they were prisoners was no more than Sudden expected. For a moment he did not reply ; he was studying their new captors. Two of them he had seen at the outlaw hide-out, though he did not know their names ; the rest were strangers.
"I was wantin' a word with Rogue anyway," Sudden said.
"Good, then we'll be movin'--I reckon them 'paints has got their needin's," Navajo returned. His eyes narrowed. "There's on'y one point: yu boys must be tired ; guess we'll carry yore guns for yu."
Sudden laughed scornfully. "yu don't guess very good," he retorted. "If yu want our weapons yu'll have to buy 'em an' the price will be high. Sabe?"
Navajo did. The cowboy had rested his rifle against a rock and now stood with hands hovering over the butts of his revolvers, his slitted eyes boring into those of the other. The half-breed hesitated ; he had seen those long, nervous fingers at work before. It was twelve men against two, but ... His glance went to the plain, still dotted with brown bodies. His shoulders shrugged submission.
"yu an' yore men lead the way--we'll follow," Sudden said. "At the first sign of funny business, yu'll take a header into hell, Navajo."
The man scowled, but made no reply. He realized that the prisoners would be of no use dead, and he was not sure of his leader's attitude towards them ; Rogue did not confide in him. So, when they set out, he and his ruffians went first, followed by Sudden and Sandy with the girl riding between them. Carol, who had not heard all that passed, was curious.
"Who are these men?" she asked.
"Some of Rogue's Riders an' they are takin' us to their chief," Sudden told her. "We ain't out o' the wood yet."
"Rogue?" she cried in amazement. "But he's a Texan outlaw. What is he doing so far north?"
"He followed us--it was his gang stampeded the herd."
"Well, at least they are white--not savages."
Luckily she did not see the look her companions exchanged ; it would not have added to her comfort.
Two hours of slow but arduous riding, owing to the difficult nature of the trail, brought them to the outlaws' camp pitched in a glade o
n the bank of a stream and shadowed by tall pines. A small fire, near which lay cooking utensils, a little heap of stores covered by a slicker, saddles carelessly thrown down, picketed ponies, and the absence of any shelter, denoted the temporary nature of the halting-place. Around a spread blanket four men were playing cards, while another paced slowly to and fro. He looked up as Navajo rode in.
"Get any buffalo?" he asked.
"Never seed hide nor hair o' one," the half-breed replied. "The boys'll have to pull their belts in to-night. Allasame, we had good huntin'."
Rogue's eyes widened when he saw the last three of the party. "How come?" he asked sharply.
Sullenly the man recounted the circumstances. His coup was not being received with the enthusiasm he had looked for. His chief heard him with an expressionless face until he came to the weapon incident, and then he said :
"So Jim didn't wanta part with his guns, huh?"
The jeer in his voice stung the half-breed. "It would have meant a battle ; I reckon I played it right," he retorted angrily. "yu played it safe, anyway," came the sneer. "Awright, I'll talk to Jim now--alone."
"yu ain't overlookin' what this means, Rogue?" the other urged. "That's Carol Eden there, an' her dad'll turn over the whole herd to git her back. Why, it's a pat hand. But mebbe this is what yu bin plannin'? Mebbe Jim an' Sandy was fetchin' her in when the Injuns"
His leader's cold gaze stopped him. "Mebbe yu'll mind yore own business, Navajo," he said. "When I want yore advice I'll shorely ask for it. Tell Jim I'm waitin'."
The scowling half-breed slouched to where the girl and her companions were standing, and gave the message. His leeringeyes swept over Carol and brought the hot blood to her cheeks. Sudden saw the look and said sternly:
"If any guy gets fresh, Sandy, shoot him."
When he had gone, the girl turned to her companion and said quietly, "What is going to happen?"
"I dunno," the young man told her. "Jim'll get us out ; he's a wizard, that fella."
"You seem to think a great deal of him," she said.
"I think more of him than anyone else in the world--but wo," he added hastily.
"Your father and mother?" she suggested.
Sandy shook his head. "Dad, yes, but I can scarcely remember my mother."
She did not pursue the inquiry. There was a 'warmth in his eyes which stirred her pulses despite the danger which threatened them.
Sudden found the outlaw sitting on a fallen tree at the edge of the camp. He greeted the young man with a hard smile. He seemed to have aged, the lines in his face were deeper, and he looked haggard. Sudden sat down and rolled a cigarette.
"Howdy, Jim," the outlaw greeted. "Navajo said yu wanted to see me."
"Well, I wasn't goin' to let him fancy he fetched me in," Sudden explained.
Rogue nodded in comprehension. "Allasame, yu've lost out, Jim, an! I've won," he stated.
Sudden's eyebrows went up. "That so?" he queried. "The game ain't finished yet."
"Talk sense, boy," Rogue retorted. "Sam Eden thinks the world an' all o' that girl ; I can make my own terms. She's the winnin' card an' I hold it."
"But yu won't play it," Sudden said quietly.
The elder man glowered at him. "Th' hell I won't? Who'll stop me?"
"yu will," came the cool response. "Listen to me, Rogue. yo're one tough hombre--I never met a tougher--but at bottom yo're a white man an' yu can't forget that once yu had women-folk yu thought a lot of, an' that there was a time when yu'd 'a' shot a man just for speakin' disrespectful of a girl like Miss Eden. She's in yore han's by accident ; yu can't use her to rob her father, an' yu know it."
For a moment he thought the man he had spoken to so boldly was about to spring upon him. The cold eyes had grown hot and the big fists were bunched into knots. But the outlaw held himself in, only his voice betraying the tearing passion which possessed him.
"What's past is past an' no damn business o' yores," he said thickly. "Why should I care how she comes to be here? To Sam Eden I'm a road-agent an' cattle-thief an' if I fell into his han's, even by accident"--with a heavy sneer--"he'd stretch my neck. All right, I ain't blamin' him, but this time it happens to be my turn. I'd be loco to pass up such a chance as this, an' what d'yu s'pose my men would say, huh?"
Under his hat-brim, the younger man's eyes gleamed slyly. "Hadn't thought o' that," he admitted. "yeah, I reckon yu'd find it middlin' hard to persuade 'em."
He saw the other's jaw tighten and his own face remained wooden under the sharp scrutiny it received. Rogue pondered heavily for a while, his brows knitted, and then stood up, motioning the cowboy to follow. The card-game had ceased and the men were gathered in a group listening to the half-breed. They opened out when their leader approached.
"Well, Navajo, yu got it figured out to yore satisfaction?" Rogue asked.
The man shrugged his shoulders. "Don't need any figurin'," he replied. "Eden hands over the herd an' gits his gal back ; that's all there is to it."
The outlaw leader folded his arms, his eyes flinty.
"The girl goes back to her father, now, an' without conditions," he said deliberately. "I don't war with women." The decision stunned them to silence for a moment and then babel broke out. Above the protesting voices that of Navajo made itself heard :
"See here, Rogue, we all got a say in this," he cried. "yu ain't the on'y one."
"I've said it," the outlaw told him. "As long as I'm boss o' this band I run things my own way." His baleful, bloodshot eyes travelled to the half-breed. "Navajo, yu got ambitions to fill my shoes. Step out an' pull yore gun ; we'll settle it here an' now."
The other men watched the half-breed curiously. Any one of them might have shot down the challenger but it would have meant a battle, for not all of them were disloyal to Rogue. Also, there was that lean-limbed cowboy, of whose abilityto use his gun there was no doubt. Navajo was not the stuff to stand an acid test.
"yu got me all wrong, Rogue," he protested. "I ain't makin' trouble, an' I reckon the boys don't want none neither. Gittin' the herd is all that matters. It seemed an easy way, but if yu got itfixed different, we ain't carin'."
Having gained his end, Rogue was too astute to overplay his hand. He knew the men, understood that self-interest was the only factor which governed their crude natures. Once satisfied that they would not lose, they would be tractable enough.
"I want them cattle as bad as yu do--got to have 'em, in fact," he said quickly. "So yu needn't to worry 'bout that."
Boldly turning his back on them, he walked to the tree-trunk. Sudden stepped after him. The tempest of emotion which had raged through him seemed to have weakened the outlaw physically ; he looked tired and his face was drawn.
"Rogue, yu acted like a white man an' I'm rememberin' it," Sudden told him.
"I acted like a damn fool an' I'm forgettin' it," came the sardonic reply. He was silent awhile, pondering. "How in hell am Ito get that gal back to her of man? It's most of ten mile. Can't use any o' the boys, an' I dursn't leave 'em just now."
"Send Sandy, an' yu can have my word, an' his, that he'll come back--alone," Sudden suggested. "yu can tell him that my life depends on his doin' that, though there's no need."
"yu trust him that much?" the outlaw asked, almost a wistful note in his voice, and when Sudden nodded, "Well, it 'pears to be the on'y trail out."
He walked over to where the girl and her companion were waiting, anxiously. Carol, born of fighting stock, faced the famous desperado fearlessly. With scarcely a glance at her, Rogue said roughly:
"I don't want yu here. This fella"--he gestured to Sandy --"will take yu back to yore camp ; it ain't so far."
"Thank you," the girl said. "I am sure my father"
"Don't get any fool notions," he interrupted harshly. "Tell Eden I can win without usin' women." He beckoned Sandy aside. "The herd lies due west--yu can't miss it. Now, I want yore word that'yu'll come back--alone. If yu don't show up, or bring company, it will go hard with Jim. yu
sabe?"
"I'll be back--if the war-whoops don't get me," the young man promised. "An' Rogue, I wanta say thisa mighty han'some act"
"Aw, go to hell," the outlaw retorted. "She interferes, an' that's all there is to it. Get agoin'."
Furtive glances followed the pair as they rode away, but there was no protest, and the inevitable ribald remarks were uttered in undertones. Sudden had waved a cheerful paw but purposely did not go near them ; he had no desire to invent explanations. When they had gone, Rogue came to him.
"What about them guns o' yores, Jim?"
"I've pledged myself to stay here till Sandy returns. Don't yu reckon it would be wiser to let me wear 'em till then?" The other considered the proposition ; in the event of more trouble with the men, the prisoner would necessarily be on his side.
"Mebbe yo're right," he decided.
Meanwhile the girl and her escort were slowly making their way in the direction they believed the S E camp to lie, slowly because, there being no trail, they had to pick a path for themselves in the wilderness.
Despite the necessity for constant caution, Sandy stole an occasional glance at the girl riding beside him. She had courage, and if the slim, straight figure now drooped slightly in the saddle, it was only to be expected after the nerve-wracking ordeal of the last forty-eight hours. Her first words, after they had ridden a mile in silence, took him by surprise:
"Some of those men seemed to know you."
"We'd met 'em," Sandy admitted. "yu run up against all sorts when yo're driftin round."
She did not speak for some moments, and then, "Why did that man let me go? He could have made his own terms with my father."
"It's got me guessin'," the boy told her, truthfully enough. "Mebbe Jim struck some sort o' bargain, seein' he stayed behind."
Carol shook her head. "He could have kept all of us," she pointed out. "He was disputing with his men when the shooting occurred. Was anyone hurt?"
"I expect so," Sandy replied. "That's a tough team an' it takes a hard man to handle 'em. Rogue's all o' that."
"Somehow I wasn't afraid of him," Carol said reflectively. "Though I believe he had just killed or maimed a fellow-creature."
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