Daggs, who was dealing, slapped the pack on the table with an expression of approval. "Scar, yo're a great man," he said. "There's on'y them two Mex boys in charge."
"Git the herd away to a safe place where we can lie doggo for a spell, change the brands, drive north, an' sell," Scar went on.
"The Chief'll think the Double K has stole 'em back," Squint chortled. "Won't he be wild?"
"That's a good notion--we'll make it look thataway," Scar greed. "I'll mosey over to-morrow an' sound the Greasers--they's pretty sore over Pedro gettin' his. If they'll throw in with us, we can use 'em; it's a big bunch to handle."
"Shore is, but it means splittin' the dinero six ways," Coger objected.
"Does it?" the other retorted meaningly. "Four of a kind allus beats a pair."
Which promised ill for the Mexican herders.
Chapter XVI
"Wonder what's fetched that hombre out'n his blankets this early?"
Sudden, peering through the grimy panes of the saloon window, watched Roden ride past, evidently making for the western exit of the town.
"Looks like he's changed his mind 'bout leavin' us after all. Anyways, time spent watching him won't ever be wasted."
Devoutly thankful for a meal already eaten, he secured his rifle and saddle, and in a few moments, was on his way. The guardian of the gate regarded him with respect and lost not an instant in opening; the man who had slain Butch was not to be kept waiting.
"Yep, Scar's just ahead," he said in reply to a question. "Which road? There ain't but one till you come to the fork, an' you'll catch him afore then."
The puncher had his own opinion about this, but he made a show of haste until the first bend afforded concealment, dropping then to a more leisurely pace; Scar had not appeared to be in any hurry. Fortunately for his purpose, curves in the trail--a mere shelf along the mountainside--were frequent, enabling him to approach his quarry unseen. Presently he saw that they were nearing the fork, the left prong of which headed westwards into the hills. Hidden behind a jutting spur of rock, he waited until Scar had swung into it, and then followed. It proved to be a mere bridle-track, winding amongst miniature mountalns, through brush-cluttered ravines and thickets of birch and scrub-oak. Only at rare intervals did he get a glimpse of the man in front, but this did not worry him; the path was plain.
The miles fell behind and Sudden was beginning to speculate as to whether the ruffian was really bidding farewell to Hell City when he noticed they were climbing again. Through a break in the trees he could see that the ascent ended in a ragged rim of bare rock like the broken battlements of a great fortress, the approach to which was masked by a scanty covering of mesquite, catclaw, and other thorny growths.
He waited until he saw Scar disappear behind a boulder and then toiled laboriously up the slope. It took longer than he expected, for the trail twisted serpent-like around patches )f cactus, the dreaded cholla, its cruel spines glistening frostily in the sunshine. Arrived at the top, he saw a breach in the stone rampart, and through it, a scene which drew from him a low whistle of wonderment.
Before him lay an almost circular hollow, thickly carpeted with grass, and divided by a line of willows which indicated a running stream, from which the ground rose gently at first, and then steeply, to a saw-toothed ring of grey cliff. The place, as he learned later, was known as the Devil's Bowl, and me look told him that it was an ideal spot from a rustler's point of view. So the presence of a herd of cattle, grazing near _he water, did not surprise him. He was too far away to decipher the brands.
"Must be over five hundred head," he muttered.
He watched Roden ride along the side of the valley to a log shack built in the shade of a group of pines, heard his hail, and aw two men run out to meet him. Their attire told him they vere Mexicans, and the visitor appeared to be welcome, the nore so when on dismounting, he produced a couple of bottles from his saddle-bags, for one of them slapped his comrade on the back. Seating themselves on a grassy bankoutside the hut the three fell to drinking. Sudden could see no way of overhearing the conversation, and having learned what he wanted, left them to it.
Instead of taking the back trail he worked southwards round the Bowl, and presently, as he had expected, came upon a cattle-track leading up to another break in the wall of the valley. He noted that all the hoof-prints pointed in one direction--towards the hiding-place; this was where the stolen steers had been brought in, and therefore ... A humorous quirk creased the corners of his mouth as he urged his mount along the tell-tales traces.
"Step lively, Nig," he said. "We've a fine chance to give Mister Satan a kick where he sits if that Twin Diamond fella ain't dippy."
For an hour he followed the trodden road, which ran through low hills like a carelessly flung rope, winding this way and that, to avoid obstacles likely to hinder the progress of a herd, and came to a broad stretch of powdery sand, the surface swept smooth by the wind; on the edge of this the hoof-prints ceased abruptly.
This diminutive desert was not extensive, for he could see more hills and broken country on the far side, but it was big enough to make the task of finding where the cattle had entered it a long and tiring one. The puncher decided it was not worth while, and skirting the arid area, headed for where he believed the Twin Diamond ranch to be. Mile after mile he rode, trusting to his plainsman's sense of direction, and presently pulled up outside the dilapidated homestead. His shout brought its owner to the door, a pistol in one hand, an oily rag in the other. At the sight of the gun the visitor's eyes narrowed.
"Just cleanin' her up," the rancher explained. "Thought I reckernized the hoss but there's other blacks in this neck o' the woods. Light an' help yoreself to a seat."
He laid his weapon on the bench as he spoke. Sudden got down and trailed his reins.
"Do yu allus clean a gun when she's loaded?" he asked sardonically.
"Me, I'm a poor liar," Merry laughed. "Fact is, I warn't just lookin' for yu to call--yu left us a shade abrupt the other night."
"My neck suits me the way it is, an' I don't reckon Keith can improve it any."
"Yu can take it I ain't got no ambition thataway. What's yore errand?"
"I thought mebbe yu'd like to get yore cows back."
The other's face grew hard. "Double-crossin' yore new boss, huh?" he said, and when the cowboy's eyebrows rose, "Yo're wearin' his brand."
"Shore forgot that, an' yu'd better do the same--I ain't explainin'," Sudden shrugged. "If yu want the steers, I can tell yu where to find 'em."
"What's yore price?" the rancher asked.
The puncher stood up. "I allowed yu had sense, which is why I took a chance an' came here. Yu can go to blazes."
"Wait a minute," Merry cried. "I take that back. I guess I'm thick in the head as well as body, but I don't savvy yore game."
"Keith hired me to fight Hell City, an' when things looked ugly he turned me down--cold," Sudden pointed out. "I didn't know about the rustlin' till I heard it from him--as yu said just now, there's other black hosses around. Well, he may be finished with me, but I ain't finished with the fella who framed me."
"I get yu," Merry replied, after a moment's pause. "Ken is a square man but he can't help rememberin' he was once a little Gawd A'mighty on his plantation. Where are the cattle?"
Sudden described the spot and his journey to the Twin Diamond in detail. The fat man nodded understandingly.
"That's clear; they're usin' the Devil's Bowl, an' it's one damned good place for the purpose, too. Five hundred head, yu say, an' all wearin' Ken's brand or mine, I'll bet a stack."
"I couldn't get near enough to see."
"On'y two Greasers in charge, huh? Why, it'll be easy as takin' a drink, which reminds me ..." He shouted an order, and at once the pigtailed cook appeared with bottle and glasses. "Here's how," he toasted, adding, "This'll put yu right with Ken."
"I'll he obliged if yu don't mention me," Sudden said. "He needn't to know how yu got wind o' the herd."
&
nbsp; "But, damn it all, man, he thinks "
The puncher smiled coldly. "What he thinks ain't lost me any sleep so far, an' I'd ruther he warn't told."
"Well, have it yore way."
"Yu'll need to strike quick," Sudden warned. "Roden's visit may mean the herd is to be moved."
"We'll start in less'n an hour--with on'y two to handle there'll be no need to trouble Ken." He pushed out a paw. "I'm obliged to yu--Jim. If yu get in a tight place, an' can send word, we'll be along."
Sudden thanked him, and set out on his return to Hell City with a feeling of grim satisfaction; he had prepared a blow for the bandit chief and found another friend. From the first he had liked this tubby little man, with the twinkling, genial eyes, and his support meant a great deal.
Soon after sunrise on the following morning, a ragged, hatless Mexican limped wearily through the western entrance to Hell City, staggered into the saloon, and demanded drink. He gulped a stiff dose of the fiery spirit, poured another, his hand shaking with fatigue, and sat down with a sigh of relief. Sudden, who had been chatting with the proprietor, surveyed him with interest.
"Yu 'pear to be all in, amigo," he remarked. "Come far?" The traveller shook his head. "A short way is a long way sometime, senor," he replied. "My hoss, she break de leg."
"Tough luck," the puncher commiserated.
At that moment Roden entered, and his eyes went wide when he saw the stranger. "Hello, Benito, what you doin' here?" he asked.
The Mexican drew him aside and spoke in a sibilant whisper. Sudden heard the muttered "Damnation!" and read the look of dismay and disappointment Benito's news evoked. He needed no second guess; the Twin Diamond had hit back, and, anxious to see how Satan would receive the reverse, he went out.
"Mebbe that fairy godmother o' his has told him all about it," was his whimsical reflection.
Evidently this was not the case, for he found the bandit leader in a good humour. He was reading a newspaper--one of those crude journalistic products of the pioneer days of which a settlement of any size boasted at least one example. The perusal seemed to afford him satisfaction.
"Hark to this, Sudden," he greeted. " `Another of those infamous outrages which blot the fair page of Western history.' That is how the Bosville Bugle refers to the looting of the local bank. It appears to have been very simple. Four strangers rode in and two of them entered the building. A shot was heard, the men emerged carrying a leathern satchel, mounted, and the whole party galloped away before the good citizens began to think. The cashier dead, with an undischarged pistol in his hand--he was clearly a fool--a rifled safe, and thirty thousand in cash and bills missing. As easy as that."
There was a pronounced sneer on his lips. He tapped the paper on his knee. "The nit-wit who conducts this mangy sheet adds, `This is an addition to the many similar daylight robberies which have disturbed the country during the past twelve months. What is the Governor going to do about it?' I can tell him: the Governor will do just--nothing. The sheriff and his blundering posse will lose the trail, as usual, and we shall turn the trick again elsewhere. My plans are well laid; I never fail."
The last three words moved the puncher to inward mirth; a contradiction was coming.
"Thirty thousand is a sizeable stake," he remarked. "S'pose them fellas decide to glom on to it?"
The stony eyes gleamed. "No man ever double-crossed me an got away with it," Satan said. "One who tried reached Montana; another, Kansas City; a third, Tucson--under the Governor's nose, but they all died--swiftly. These men know that I possess the power to find them, and fear will make them honest--to me."
"They're takin' their time; Bosville ain't so far, is it?"
"About fifty miles, but certain enquiries would necessitate a roundabout route, and possibly, delay."
Sudden would have liked more definite information, but his hope of obtaining it vanished when Silver ushered in Benito.
"Said he'd gotta see you right away," the dwarf rumbled.
The Mexican did not wait to be questioned, blurting out his news in short, spasmodic sentences, as though anxious to get the ordeal over. The herd had gone--a dozen Twin Diamond riders had raided the valley, and, after shooting his companion, had rounded up and driven away the cattle. He was distant from the camp, had seen them arrive, and escaped by hiding in the rocks. Trembling with fright, the man ceased his mumble and waited for the storm to break.
He was not kept long. 1 he Chief's face, schooled so carefully to stoic indifference, became insensate with fury. Snatching out a gun, he levelled it at the shivering wretch.
"You have lost my cows and made me a figure of fun," he hissed. "Well, for that you--die."
He was on the point of pulling the trigger when Sudden spoke.
"That's a mighty poor remedy. What d'yu expect a couple o' men to do against the Twin Diamond outfit? This fella had the guts to come an' tell yu; he could 'a' travelled the other way just as easy."
The sarcastic tone brought the bandit to his senses; he realized that he had betrayed himself. Replacing his weapon he said sternly, "This time I spare you, but speak so much as one word ..." He tapped the butt of his gun suggestively, and added, "Get out."
With a furtive glance of gratitude to the man who had saved him, Benito departed hurriedly. Satan turned to his companion.
"I should not have killed the cur, but I had to frighten him," he lied. "It is maddening to have been outplayed by that overfed hog, Merry. Someone must have betrayed me."
"Then yu oughta know--bein' a kind o' medicine man," was the ironical reply.
"True," Satan said, and putting one hand to his brow, sat in silence. Then he looked up. "Why did you do it, Sudden?"
The puncher grinned. "That's a bad miss," he replied. "Keith havin' tried to string me up, I'd naturally be eager to give him back his property, wouldn't I? An' yu can add to that I didn't know where to look for it. No, sir, I'd say one o' Merry's men happened on the tracks by accident; cows ain't got wings, yu savvy."
"You may be right, but I shall know," Satan said. "Well, the fat fool wins--this time, but he'll live to be sorry."
Sudden came away with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. Ile had a plan, but to put it into operation he must have help, and promptly went in search of it. This took him to the northern extremity of the Double K range.
Frosty, perspiring and lurid-tongued, was engaged in an endeavour to drive a steer out of a patch of cactus scrub which it seemed loth to leave when a derisive voice from behind advised him to pick up the beast and carry it out. He whirled his pony to find Sudden enjoying his efforts.
"Any idjut can look on an' laff," he greeted. "Why don't yu do somethin', yu perishin'--ornament?"
"The Double K has dispensed with my services," Sudden reminded. "Anybody out here with yu?"
"Nope. Steve don't think it matters if I'm bumped off. Did yu hear we got our cows back?"
His friend's eyes twinkled. "I was told the Twin Diamond made yu a present of'em."
"Well, it amounted to that, an' the 01' Man is hoppin' mad --didn't like Merry's outfit gettin' ahead of us. I heard him give Steve his opinion, an' he made hisself plain."
"He's hard to please. yu got the natural increase, too."
"Yu bet. Why, in that short while the herd had more'n doubled, an' the curious thing was, the calves had all been born branded an' grooved to full size. Ain't Nature wonderful?"
"Shore is," Sudden agreed gravely. "How would the Double K like to give Mister Satan a jolt?"
"Try us," Frosty urged, adding slyly, "Anyways, it's our turn, ain't it?"
"Smart lad, huh?" the other grinned.
"Pickles! I know that Twin Diamond bunch--blind as bats. S'pose yu had to use 'ein, but don't tell me--"
"I won't, yore mouth opens easy as a saloon door. Now listen." He told what he had learned of the bank robbery.
"It will have to be a private play, just yu an' Lazy--they won't know there's on'y two o' yu. Say yo're goin' to Dugout. I'd take a hand but I go
tta be where I can be seen. I'm guessin' them jaspers will arrive this evenin' an' use the west gate. If I'm wrong, yu'll be outa luck."
"Shore will, with the nights cold as they is," his friend said feelingly. "But if they do show up?"
"Short o' Hell City there's a split in the trail, with plenty cover; yu can stand 'em up there. One o' yu can heave their hardware into the brush, collect the cash--it'll be in a leather bag--an' stampede the hosses, while the other keeps 'em covered. By the time they've hoofed it into town, yu'll be past pursuit. Take the plunder to Merry an' tell him to send it by a shore hand to the Bosville sheriff. Yu sabe?"
"Sounds simple," Frosty lied cheerfully, and then, "Thirty thousand is a wad o' money. Yu could swipe it yore-self, head for California, an'--"
"Be the skunk the world tried to make me," Sudden finished. "No, yu snow-topped calamity, I'm workin' for somethin' more than easy money."
"It's devilish risky," Frosty offered. "If Satan learns he's been sold out by a man in his pay
"Back up," Sudden broke in. "Get this into the knob yu put yore hat on: I've never had a nickel from him an' ain't goin' to. Now, so long, an' good luck for to-night."
With puzzled eyes the Double K rider watched him disappear into a near-by ravine. "He shore has got me guessin'," he ruminated. "Passes up a chance to hive thirty thousand bucks, won't take no pay, an'--hell, it gives me a headache. I hope them bank-busters drift in." He smote his pony a flat-handed smack on the rump and sat easily rocking in the saddle while the outraged animal expressed disapproval in a mild bout of bucking. "G'wan, yu son of a wall-eyed mule, we got a li'l jape to put over an' it's goin' to be fun."
That the "li'l jape" had been duly "put over" Sudden got news in the morning, when Silver arrived at the saloon with an urgent summons from the Chief.
"He's wantin' you immediate," he objected, when the puncher casually promised to come along. "I gotta take you back, or he'll skin me. All het up, he is--never seed him so rathy."
"What's the trouble?" Sudden enquired.
"Guess he'll tell you hisself," was the cautious reply. "Best watch yore step, an' keep yore han's still."
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