The Rules of the Game
Page 88
XXX
For ten seconds Oldham sat as Bob had left him. His hat and eyeglasseswere gone, his usually immaculate irongray hair rumpled, his clothescovered with dust. A thin stream of blood crept from beneath hisclose-clipped moustache. But the most striking result of the encounter,to one who had known the man, was in the convulsed expression of hiscountenance. A close friend would hardly have recognized him. His lipssnarled, his eyes flared, the muscles of his face worked. Ordinarilyrepressed and inscrutable, this crisis had thrown him so far off hisbalance that, as often happens, he had fallen to the other extreme.Sniffling and half-sobbing, like a punished schoolboy, he draggedhimself to where his revolver lay forgotten in the dust. Taking asdeliberate aim as his condition permitted, he pulled at the trigger. Thehammer refused to rise, or the cylinder to revolve. Abandoning theself-cocking feature of the arm, he tried to cock it by hand. Themechanism grated sullenly against the grit from the road. Oldham workedfrantically to get the hammer to catch. By the time he had succeeded,his antagonist was out of reach. With a half-scream of baffled rage, hehurled the now useless weapon in the direction of the young man'sdisappearance. Then, as Oldham stood militant in the dusty road, achange came over him. Little by little the man resumed his old self. Afull minute went by. Save for the quicker breathing, a spectator mighthave thought him sunk in reverie. At the end of that time the old,self-contained, reserved, cynical Oldham stepped from his tracks, andset methodically to repair damages.
First he searched for and found his glasses, fortunately unbroken. Atthe nearest streamlet he washed his face, combed his hair, brushed offhis clothes. The saddle horse browsed not far away. Finally he walkeddown the road, picked up the revolver, cleaned it thoroughly of dust,tested it and slipped it into his pocket. Then he resumed his journey,outwardly as self-possessed as ever.
Near the upper dam he had another encounter. The dust of some oneapproaching warned him some time before the traveller came in sight.Oldham reined back his horse until he could see who it was; then hespurred forward to meet Saleratus Bill.
The gun-man was lounging along at peace with all the world, his bridlerein loose, his leg slung over the pommel of his saddle. At the sight ofhis employer, he grinned cheerfully.
Oldham rode directly to him.
"Why aren't you attending to your job?" he demanded icily.
"Out of a job," said Saleratus Bill cheerfully.
"Why haven't you kept your man in charge?"
"I did until he just naturally had one of those unavoidable accidents."
"Explain yourself."
"Well. I ain't never been afraid of words. He's dead; that's what."
"Indeed," said Oldham, "Then I suppose I met his ghost just now; andthat a spirit gave me this cut lip."
Saleratus Bill swung his leg from the saddle horn and straightened toattention.
"Did he have a hat on?" he demanded keenly.
"Yes--no--I believe not. No, I'm sure he didn't."
"It's him, all right." He shook his head reflectively, "I can't figureit."
Oldham was staring at him with deadly coldness.
"Perhaps you'll be good enough to explain," he sneered--"five hundreddollars worth at any rate."
Saleratus Bill detailed what he knew of the whole affair. Oldhamlistened to the end. His cynical expression did not change; and theunlighted cigar that he held between his swollen lips never changed itsangle.
"And so he just nat'rally disappeared," Saleratus Bill ended hisrecital. "I can't figure it out."
Then Oldham spat forth the cigar. His calm utterly deserted him. Hethrust his livid countenance out at his man.
"Figure it out!" he cried. "You pin-headed fool! You had an unarmed mantied hand and foot, in a three-thousand-foot hole, and you couldn't keephim! And one of the smallest interests involved is worth more thaneverything your worthless hide can hold! I picked you out for this jobbecause I thought you reliable. And now you come to me with 'I can'tfigure it out!' That's all the explanation or excuse you bring! Youmiserable, worthless cur!"
Saleratus Bill was looking at him steadily from his evil, red-rimmedeyes.
"Hold on," he drawled. "Go slow. I don't stand such talk."
Oldham spurred up close to him.
"Don't you try any of your gun-play or intimidation on me," he fairlyshouted. "I won't stand for it. You'll hear what I've got to say, justas long as I choose to say it."
He eyed the gun-man truculently. Certainly even Bob could not haveaccused him of physical cowardice at that moment.
Saleratus Bill stared back at him with the steady, venomous glare of arattlesnake. Then his lips, under his straggling, sandy moustache,parted in a slow grin.
"Say your say," he conceded. "I reckon you're mad; I reckon that boyman-handled you something scand'lous."
At the words Oldham's face became still more congested.
"But you look a-here," said Saleratus Bill, suddenly leaning acrossfrom his saddle and pointing a long, lean finger. "You just rememberthis: I took this yere job with too many strings tied to it. I mustn'thurt him; and I must see no harm comes to him; and I must be nowayscruel to mama's baby. You had me hobbled, and then you cuss me outbecause I can't get over the rocks. If you'd turned me loose with noinstructions except to disappear your man, I'd have earned my money."
He dropped his hand to the butt of his six-shooter, and looked hisprincipal in the eye.
"I'm just as sorry as you are that he made this get-away," he continuedslowly. "Now I got to pull up stakes and get out. Nat'rally he'll makeit too hot for me here. Then I could use that extry twenty-five hundredthat was coming to me on this job. But it ain't too late. He's got awayonce; but he ain't in court yet. I can easy keep him out, if theoriginal bargain stands. Of course, I'm sorry he punched your face."
"Damn his soul!" burst out Oldham.
"Just let me deal with him my way, instead of yours," repeated SaleratusBill.
"Do so," snarled Oldham; "the sooner the better."
"That's all I want to hear," said the gun-man, and touched spurs to hishorse.