Sudden Law o The Lariat (1935)

by Oliver Strange

  "Goin' to sneak up on me from the back," Larry surmised. He looked and saw that there was a ridge behind him which would make the manoeuvre a simple one. "Wish I had a hoss."

  But it was no use wishing, so he rolled a cigarette, lighted it and lay smoking, waiting philosophically for the next move in the game. Half an hour passed and then from the ridge behind came a gruff command :

  "Drop that gun, shuck off yore belt, an' elevate yore paws; two of us has got yu covered."

  Larry stood up, leaving his rifle on the ground, unbuckled his belt and let it fall, but instead of putting up his hands he used them to make another smoke.

  "Come ahead," he said coolly.

  Two masked men rose up from the brow of the ridge and stalked down upon him, rifles ready for the least movement.

  "I told yu to put yore hands up," growled the one who had spoken before.

  "I forgot, an' I'm keepin' on forgettin'," laughed the prisoner. "What yu goin' to do about it?"

  The man snarled out an oath, scooped up the rifle and belt, and sent his companion for their horses. At the same moment the other four came galloping up, two of them using the same mount. One, who appeared to be the leader, jumped down and, producing a piece of paper from his pocket, fixed it in a cleft stick and jammed it into the ground. Larry watched' this proceeding amazedly.

  "If yo're erectin' a eppytaph to the hoss his name's 'Bouncer'," he volunteered.

  "Tie him on a hoss--two o' yu'll have to 'de double," was the only response.

  So Larry, astride one of the bandit horses, his legs roped beneath its belly, found himself heading for the Pinnacles,ignorant of the fate in store for. But he was not unduly downcast; Phil's last words, and fact that she was safe, were a sufficient compensation.

  The arrival of the girl at the ranch, riding a spent and lathered pony, brought the foreman and those of the outfit there running. In a few words she told what had happened. Severn wasted no time.

  "Hosses an' guns," he ordered.

  "One for me, Darby," Phil added.

  The foreman looked at her. "I doubt if yo're fit--" he began.

  "I'm going," she told him. "It was for me--" She broke off and turned away.

  Severn made no further objection, and in a few moments he, six men and the girl set out for the scene of the attack. They rode in grim silence, the only sound the jingle of spur or bit and the creak of saddle leather. Not until Phil warned them they were nearing the spot did they slacken pace. Presently Severn called a halt, just short of a ridge the girl remembered crossing directly she left the cowboy.

  "Stay here, boys," he said. "They may be waitin' for us, an' there's no sense in our buttin' into an ambush."

  He rode forward alone, topped the rise and vanished.

  "Black Bart would 'a' sent one of us to do that," the girl heard Darby say, and the other men laughed assent.

  Somehow she felt that it was true, and a spasm of respect for the man who took the risk himself when he need not shot through her. Then came another thought, bred of Bartholomew's poisoned suggestions : was there any risk to Severn, or was he only playing a part? Her speculations were cut short by the return of the foreman.

  "The hoss is there--what the buzzards have left of it--saddle an' bridle gone, an' no sign of Larry barrin' this paper," he said. "Here's what she says :'We got yore man, Severn. If yu want him, be at Skull Canyon to-morrow about noon, an' fetch along two thousand dollars. If yu ain't there, or try any tricks, he stretches rope.--THE MASK.' "

  A cry from Phil, and a chorus of muttered curses frorn the men greeted the epistle, which was scrawled in pencil on a page apparently torn from an account book, for it was ruled for figures and numbered. The writing, Severn noted, appeared to be the same as on the scrap he had taken from Ignacio's body. Moodily he gave the word to return, and the girl whirled upon him.

  "Aren't you going to do anything?" she asked. "Surely you're not leaving him to die?"

  "There is nothin' we can do now," Severn told her. "They'll have covered their tracks, an' s'pose we could trail 'em, we'd on'y run into an ambush; they ain't overlookin' that bet." She stared at him, storm in her eyes.

  "I call it cowardly," she said. "If you won't lead the men, I will."

  Severn did not reply and, looking at the others, she knew that they would not follow her. It was Darby who answered. "The foreman's right, Miss Phil," he said. "No good buttin' yore head agin a rock. S'pose we did find 'em, an' it ain't likelyin that pile o' up-ended country, they might hang Larry pronto. They got us out on a limb, shore enough."

  With a glance of contempt which made the men squirm in their saddles, the angry girl swung her horse round on the home trail. She rode in silent disdain, trying to reconcile the smiling face of the boy who had squired her so joyously in the morning with the grim-faced man who had so roughly told her to "ride like hell for the boys", and who had cheerfully sacrificed, perhaps his life, for her sake.

  When, after a troubled night, she came down on the following morning, she found the foreman waiting to see her. Handing her a roll of bills, he said :

  "That's the money for the herd, less what I've paid for expenses; yu had better put it in a safe place."

  "Why are you giving it to me?" she asked.

  "Yu are forgettin' that I've got an engagement," he pointed out.

  "You are going to Skull Canyon?" she cried. "But then you will want the money."

  "Of course I'm goin', but I'm not takin' any cash," he said. "I ain't a kid."

  "But what do you intend to do?"

  "I dunno; I'll have to see what cards I get before I an play 'em."

  His tone was light, and there was even a quirk of amusement in the corners of his eyes. Yet he was taking a desperate chance. But was he? Despite her better feelings the old suspicion recurred.

  "Perhaps it isn't so dangerous after all," she said coldly. "You may have friends there."

  For a single instant the man lost his iron control and she quailed before the savage anger in his eyes.

  "Listen to me, girl," he said. "God Almighty placed a pretty head on yore shoulders an' it seems impossible that He shouldn't have put some brains in it. Use them."

  Without another word he strode from the room, sprang into the saddle of his waiting horse, and rode off. The girl, aghast at the sudden spate of passion she had aroused, saw him wave a farewell to the watching outfit and vanish. Then she dropped into the nearest chair and stared with hard, unseeing eyes, at the wall. She had encountered a novel experience and she did not like it. Men in anger she had often seen enough, but never had that anger been directed at her. Little demons of doubt pursued her all day; she found herself watching the northern trail anxiously, and knew she was looking for Larry.

  Chapter XI

  BY the time he had covered a mile Severn had recovered his customary calm, and was taking himself to task for having lost it.

  He had told the truth when he admitted that he did not know how the rescue of the prisoner was to be effected; he had made no plans. He figured that the bandits did not want Larry, and the fact that he had been named as the bringer of the ransom made him pretty certain that he was the one they wished to lay hands on; it was a trap and the cowboy was the bait. He smiled grimly; he was willing to be caught.

  "What with the girl, Bart, an' these fly-by-nights, I'm 'bout as welcome as a wet dawg in this neck o' the woods," he soliloquised.

  It was nearing noon when he reached the entrance to Skull Canyon, pulled up and sat waiting, a smile of contempt on his lips. He would not have been surprised to see a spurt of flame from the brush and to feel hot lead tearing through his body, but instead, a hidden voice hailed him.

  "Drop yore belt an' rifle an' put up yore hands, Severn; we got yu dead to rights."

  The foreman obeyed the order, and a masked man, leading his horse, emerged from a clump of undergrowth twenty yards away. Picking up the discarded weapons he climbed into his saddle and said gruffly :

  "Foller my tracks, a
n' if you feel like makin' a break, just remember there's a coupla chaps behind yu with orders to shoot."

  "I didn't come here to play the fool," Severn said acidly. "Where yu takin' me?"

  "Wait an' see," was the laconic answer.

  "The wisdom o' the ages in three words," commented the captive lightly.

  The guide only grunted and led the way through a thicket of spruce and aspen to the right of the canyon, after which they plunged into some of the wildest country Severn had ever seen. The trail, a mere pathway, had been little used, and the prisoner guessed that this was not the direct route to the robbers' roost.

  Throughout the journey they had been gradually climbing, and presently they reached the lower slopes of the mountains and rode amidst the serried ranks of a pine forest. The air was cooler, for the sunlight only penetrated the thick foliage overhead in shafts; on the soft carpet of pine needles the hoofs of the horses made no sound. Glancing back, Severn saw two masked riders, rifles in readiness across their knees. Evidently they hadclosed up, for although he had heard, this was the first time he had caught sight of them. Gradually the trees grew scantier and more stunted until presently they left the pine-belt behind and headed along the side of the rnountain. Above them loomed one of the giant teeth of the Pinnacles, towering in solemn majesty. A long, slight descent brought them to the edge of a cup-like depression in the side of the range. It was perhaps a mile in length and half as wide, and the whole expanse, save the rock-rimmed, brush-cluttered walls, was covered with luxuriant grass. In the centre was a small lake, fed by numerous streamlets from the heights above. Cattle and horses were dotted about, grazing.

  At first sight there appeared to be no entrance to the valley, but the guide did not hesitate. Sliding his horse down a sharp incline, he circled some bushes, and came to where a break in the rock formation afforded a natural gateway. Passing through this they came to a rude corral./

  "Turn yore hoss in there, we gotta walk some," the captor commanded, setting the example himself.

  Severn complied, and then followed the other up a narrow, stony path which climbed up and along the steep face of the mountain. At a height of about a hundred feet above the floor of the valley the path broadened out into a ledge, and here were several openings in the rock face. Severn knew it for an old Hopi Indian haunt, and smiled sarcastically at the thought that the present inhabitants were probably considerably more savage than the first of the cave-dwellers. Several of the caves had rude doors fitted, and into one of these the prisoner was directed.

  "Stay there till yo're wanted," his captor said. "Hungry?"

  "Well, breakfast shore seems a long time back," the Lazy M man replied, and then, fishing out a five-dollar bill, "D'yu reckon yu could find a bottle o' whisky? I'm feelin' sorta shaky."

  "Dutch courage, eh?" chuckled the other. "See what I can do."

  He went away, padlocking the door first, and presently returned with meat, bread and a flask of spirit.

  "Go light on that hooch," he warned. "It's wuss'n dynamite if yu ain't used to it."

  Severn nodded; he knew the stuff. When the man had gone he examined his place of confinement. It was a mere hole in the rock, entirely dependent for light and air upon the filtrations through the ill-fitting door. He made his meal, took a mouthful of spirit and spat it out, poured two-thirds of the remainder on the ground and placed the bottle beside him.

  Squatting with his back against the wall and a cigarette between his lips he calmly awaited the next development. That he had been brought there with his eyes unoandaged and his handsat liberty was an ominous sign; they were sure of him and did not mean that he should leave the place alive. He wondered where Larry was. His first task was to find him.

  Two hours passed and then a step outside sent his head slumping down, hat pushed back, figure sprawled as though in a drunken stupor. The man who had brought him swore when he looked at the bottle.

  "Yu damn fool--I told yu to be careful," he said.

  "I'm aw ri'," Severn mumbled. "Whadye wan'?"

  Helped by the bandit, he got to his feet. Still gripping his arm, his conductor led him, not without difficulty, to a larger cave with a high, domed roof. Numerous other caves apparently opened upon this, and into one of these near the entrance he was thrust. It was a biggish place, lighted by a hole in the rock face, and in it seven men were lolling in rough chairs; all were masked, only their eyes showing through slits in the dirty whine kerchiefs.

  "Why for didn't yu tie him up?" asked one, whose figure seemed somehow familiar to Severn.

  "Huh! Look at him--he's tied hisself up," replied the other.

  "Hittin' the bottle, eh?" sneered the first speaker, who was evidently in some authority; and then to the prisoner, "Where's the dollars?"

  Severn drew himself up in drunken dignity and nearly lost his balance.

  "Shay, fella, whadye take me for, thinkin' I'd fall for that?" he asked. "I ain't no ch-child."

  "If yu ain't brought 'em I'll hang the pair o' yu," snarled the unknown.

  Severn leered at him and shook his head. "Nothin' to that, ol'timer," he said thickly. "Whatsa good o' two corpsed cowpunchers? Can't even sell the hides an' t-taller. Listen to m-me. How do I know yu got my m-man? Might be somebody else's fella yu grabbed, see? Yu prove he's m-mine an' I'll write to the r-ranch for the rnoney. One o' yore c-chaps can go for it. What's fairer'n that, huh?"

  "Fetch the other fool in," commanded the leader, disgustedly surveying the smiling, rocking figure before him.

  In two minutes Larry, his hands tied behind him, came in and stared in amazement when he saw his foreman peering at him with heavy, blinking eyes.

  "'S' Larry, shore enough, but why's there two of him?" Severn muttered bemusedly. "Mus' be twinsh. Betcha they come from the sarne family, anyways. Yessir--" he drew himself up and looked at his audience with owlish gravity. "I never knew a case o' twinsh with different parents."

  Laughter came from behind the masks; the bandits wereenjoying the spectacle and their vigilance was relaxing. This was what the foreman was playing for. He noted that the man who had brought him in was just behind. His face took on an expression of maudlin concern.

  "Twinsh is dangerous to c-community--can't tell t'other from which," he stated seriously. "Gotta 'bolish one of 'em." His hands dropped to his holsters and a look of astonishment came on his face at finding them empty. "Losht my guns," he mumbled. "'S' funny." A roar of raucous merriment greeted the announcement and they saw him suddenly stagger backwards and throw his hands wide in an effort to keep on his feet. In another second he leapt sideways so that every man in the room was in front of him, and the guns he had snatched from the unwary man behind him was /threatening them.

  "Reach for the roof, every dam one o' yu," he ordered. "As I was sayin', twins is dangerous, an' these guns is twins."

  The drunken cowpuncher with the slurring, tripping tongue had disappeared and, in his stead, was a crouching, alert gunman, with narrowed eyes, a savagely snarling mouth and death in either hand. T' was one man against eight, and all of them had courage of a kind; by a concerted effort they could overwhelm him, but at least one would die swiftly and none of them wanted to be that one. So the command was obeyed.

  When this had been done, as it was in quick time, Severn holstered one of his guns, stepped forward and borrowed a knife from the belt of one of the bandins in order to free his friend. The knife having done its work, he added, "Pull their teeth, get one o' them ropes, an' tie their hands behind 'em."

  With a joyous yelp, Larry came to life and leaped to obey. The guns he flung into the middle of the floor, and cutting a lariat into suitable lengths proceeded to bind the wrists of the captives with an enthusiasm which drew hearty curses from his victims. This done, Severn searched for and found his own revolvers, but had to content himself with another rifle. Then he stepped up to the bandit who had done the talking and jerked the masking handkerchief from his face.

  "Just as I reckoned," he said. "Yor
e figure is a trifle uncommon, Mister Shadwell. Step ahead, we're takin' yu with us."

  "Damn yu, I'll get yu both for this," the man hissed.

  "Mebbe, but for now, we've got yu," Severn told him. "March, you mealy-mouthed son of a she-dawg, or I won't leave enough o' yu to bury."

  Under the urge of a gun-barrel in his ribs, the ruffian slouched out and down the mountain pathway, his captors, having first pitched all the weapons collected into the valley,followed him. At the corral, Severn took his own mount, Larry picked the best he could to replace the one he had lost and Shadwell was mounted on a third, his hands released and his feet tied to the stirrups. Then the foreman threw the loop of his rope round the prisoner's neck and secured the other end to his saddle-horn.

  "If yu like to bolt for it an' save the hangman a job, I ain't objectin'," he remarked pleasantly.

  The only reply was a venomous scowl which left the recipient untouched; he had encountered hard looks before. He merely told the fellow to go ahead and take the nearest trail for Hope.

  "An' don't yu delay none, for if we get tired o' yore company there's trees a-plenty," he warned him.

  "Yu old son of a gun," Larry said, as they rode behind the prisoner. "Couldn't yu get any o' the boys to come with yu, or did yu wanta hog all the glory?"

  Severn explained the reason for his solitary effort.

  "Boun' to do somethin'--the Princess was right peeved with me," he added, and chuckled when he saw the boy's face promptly justify his nickname.

  "What we goin' to do with this jigger?" Larry nodded towards the outlaw, riding chin down, hunched in his saddle, ahead of them.

  "Hand him over to the sheriff."

  "Tyler'll on'y let him go."

  "Yu bet he will, an' that'll put him in wrong with more'n half the folks in Hope. The sheriff ain't goin' to be a bit grateful, believe me."

  Either on account of Severn's warning, or for some reason of his own, Shadwell appeared to be as eager to reach town as his captors, and under his guidance they made such good time that they arrived before nightfall. Their appearance filled the street, and an eager crowd followed them to the shack which served the double purpose of lock-up and sheriff's quarters. Tyler was at home, and his eyes nearly popped out of his head when he saw who the prisoner was.