Sudden Plays a Hand (1950)

by Oliver Strange

  He was not travelling fast, and she soon overtook him. `Changed yore mind, huh?' he asked.

  `I come with you only on your promise to keep secret this--marriage,' she said.

  `Ashamed of it?'

  `Yes,' was the furious retort.

  `Folks will have notions,' he offered.

  `I don't care what they think. You promise?'

  `Suits me,' he replied indifferently. `An' now, Miss Darrell, we've got quite a piece to go afore we get home.' There was a gibe in the last word.

  Chapter II

  Two riders were loping lazily along a little-worn track which had begun to dip down into a patch of scrub and larger trees. They made an odd couple, for apart from being obviously cowpunchers, they were entirely unlike.

  The elder, lean, longlimbed, and wide of shoulder, was not yet thirty, but his tanned, clean-shaven face, with its firm jaw and steady, grey-blue eyes, was that of a man who has seen life and its many problems, and death, which solves them all, and is prepared to face either unflinchingly. To the casual observer, the crossed cartridge-belts slung about his hips, and the shiny butts of two six-shooters protruding from their holsters, would have proclaimed a person perilous to provoke. The casual observer would have been right, for this was `Sudden'--wanted, unjustly, as an outlaw in faraway Texas, and reputed throughout the South-West for reckless daring and dexterity with any weapon.

  His companion did not appear formidable. Still in his teens, he was of small but wiry ouild, his features thin and angular, with eyes ever alive. He wore one gun only, but his hand was never far from it, a fact the older man noted with a smile.

  `Expectin' trouble, Yorky?' he asked presently.

  `Guess not, but there's no harm in bein' ready,' the youth replied. `She's liable to be just round th' corner. Don't you reckon we'll get some excitement this trip, Jim?'

  `You're a bloodthirsty young devil,' came the answer. `This is just a holiday, an' we're mindin' our own business, yu sabe?'

  `Figure you can, Jim?' Yorky asked slyly.

  `Meanin'?' with an assumption of fierceness.

  `Well, if you'd made that a rule, I'd be fillin' a hole in th' ground right now, an' Dan an' Doc Malachi wouldn't be arguin' over which of 'em has th' finest kid.'

  The grin which made a boy of him again sofnened Sudden's saturnine features. `Awright, yu win,' he said, and then checked his mount as a rasping voice reached them.

  `Anythin' to say, Drait, afore we jerk you into the next world?'

  Sudden twisted his reins round the saddle-horn, pulled both guns, and forced his horse through a break in the underbrush. Yorky followed.

  The scene upon which they burst was a curious one: a man with hands bound behind, standing beneath a tree. From an overhead branch dangled a lariat, the loop around his neck, and the other end in the hands of two burly ruffians. A couple more stood a few yards away, gazing with malevolent satisfaction at the prisoner, whose expression was one of sneering contempt. On one side of the open space, four horses nibbled contentedly at tufts of grass, and on the other a further two, on one of which sat a girl, wrists tied and head bent. A dark-faced, broken-nosed fellow was raising a hand as a signal to the executioners when Sudden spoke.

  Put 'em up, pronto,' he said, and there was a bite in his voice which told that delay would certainly be dangerous.

  The command was promptly obeyed, the pair holding the rope letting go as though it had suddenly turned into a rattlesnake. This stranger on the black horse appeared to know

  exactly what he wanted and to be capable of raising Cain if he did not get it. True, they were four to two, but each of them was well aware that a bullet could travel faster than the hand of

  the greatest gunman. The unknown accepted their obedience as a matter of course.

  `Now that we're all comfortable, mebbe one o' you will tell me what's goin' on?' he suggested.

  `We're stringin' up this fella,' the broken-nosed man snarled. `Ain't that plain enough?'

  `As plain as yore face, an' that's Gawd-awful plain,' Sudden replied, adding sharply, `What's yore name?'

  `Lanty,' was the unthinking reply, and nhen, `What's it gotta do with you, anyway?'

  `I might need it for yore tombstone.' Lanty looked alarmed; this two-gun stranger was not his idea of a humorist. `Why are yu hangin' this man?'

  `He's a cattle-thief.'

  `Appearances shorely are deceivin'; I'd 'a' picked yu for that part, Mister Vigilante,' Sudden said. `I don't see any cattle. Have yu searched him?'

  It was the accused who answered, with a grin. `Did so, an' all they found was a couple o' calves--on my legs; they took my wad instead.'

  `That warn't noways right, Mister Vigilante,' came the reproof. `Dollars ain't evidence; they might 'a' been earned honest.'

  'My name's Dirk,' Lanty snapped. `We didn't need no proof. That's Nick Drait, a nester, an' they all steal stock. That hoss the gal's on bears Bardoe's brand.'

  `I borrowed it for the lady,' came the prompt explanation. 'Was Bull there at the time?' Lanty wanted to know.

  `Shore, an' raised no objection.' This with a grim smile. Sudden did not understand, but his heart warmed to a man who could find anything amusing in his present situation. `One of us,' he reflected, and turned his attention to the other horses.

  `You ridin' for the S P?' he asked, and got an affirmative nod

  Drait spoke again. `An' that's a lie. The S P has a new cook; ask 'em to tell you the colour of his hide.'

  The challenge met with sullen silence. At a word from his friend, Yorky slid from his saddle, released the girl's wrists, andperformed a like office for the accused. Then the two of them collected the weapons of the four, Drait taking his own and his money from Lanty. Standing in front of him, he said: `You hit me after I was tied up. Well, a blow for a blow is my motto, an' I'm actin' up to it.' Measuring his distance, he drove a fist into the scowling face, with a force that lifned its owner from his feet and dropped him on the back of his neck several yards away. Spitting a tooth and a torrent of oaths from his gashed mouth, the prostrate ruffian gasped:

  `I'll git you for that, Drait.'

  `Try, an' I'll send you to hell so quick they won't be ready for you,' was the reply. He went to the S P horses, slung the saddles to the ground, and knotted the bridles together. `I'm takin' 'em back to the S P--mebbe,' he said.

  The prospect of being set afoot brought immediate protest from the victims; a cowboy would almost rather ride in a hearse than walk. Their leader appealed to Sudden.

  `Them horses was loaned us,' he explained. `Our'n was played out an' we left 'em in exchange.'

  `Comin' so late, an' on top o' yore other claim, that's a pore tale,' Sudden told him. `Toddlin' home'll give yu a chance to think up a better one. Yo're lucky; I've seen men swing for

  less.'

  Driving the tied animals ahead, the nester and his party turned back into the trail, Sudden and Drait in the lead, with Yorky and the girl behind. `I'm shorely obliged,' the rescued man said. `It was curtains for me if you hadn't shown up.'

  `Forget it,' Sudden replied. `One look at that Lanty fella's face told me yu were gettin' a raw deal. So yo're a nester?'

  `Sort of. I'd like fine for you to see my place, Mister.'

  `Green is the name; it ain't a long word, but "Jim" is shorter,' the other smiled. `My side-kick is called "Yorky" an' he's a good kid; we're just takin' a look at the country.'

  `She's worth it, but reptiles is mighty prevalent,' was the sardonic answer.

  Meanwhile, Yorky was endeavouring to thaw the human iceberg riding beside him, and meeting with little success. Hard-eyed, she stared at the trail before them, and replied to his remarks in words of one syllable. At length, he fell oack on his favourite topic--his friend. So she learned of the coming of the cowboy to the Circle Dot, the restoration of his own health, and the amazing adventures which followed. Despite herself, she was interested, and her gaze went from the trail to the broad back of the man she was hearing ab
out.

  `Why are you called Yorky!' she asked.

  `Just a name th' boys give me. You see, I was born in li'l old Noo York.'

  `I never would have taken you for an Easterner.'

  That made a friend of him; for many months he had been striving to eradicane all trace of the East from his speech, and only in moments of high excitement did he now relapse.

  `Don't you ever want to go back?'

  `No, ma'am. Look !' He swept a hand towards the distant mountains. `Me for th' West, every time.'

  `It's a cruel country, and its men are like it,' she said bitterly.

  `Fella has to be tough, but that don't mean bad,' the boy defended. `Now yore--friend, Drait,'--he did not notice her shiver--'he's tough, but I'd trust him; he has a straight eye. An' wasn't that the gran' daddy of a wallop he give that Lanty jasper?'

  `Is brutality the only remedy for evil?'

  `I guess so, in a land where there ain't no law.'

  `Oh, I might have known,' she said. `You men always hang together.'

  Yorky grinned delightedly. `If hangin' together keeps us from hangin' separate it gets my vote.'

  She did not smile, and if she had intended to reply, the distant report of a rifle, followed by several more, drove in from her mind. Drait straightened up in his saddle, and swore.

  `Damnation ! That's Shadow Valley way; somethin' wrong. We gotta hurry.'

  The big Mexican spurs rasped the ribs of his mount, quickening its pace. Very soon he swung off the main trail to the left, plunging into thick scrub with only a few hoofprints to point the way.

  `This'll save some miles, but it's tricky travellin',' he explained. `Them hosses is goin' to hamper us.'

  `Easy settled,' Sudden replied, and beckoned to Yorky. Put yore loop over one o' the broncs an' lead 'em behind us.' He watched approvingly as the boy made the throw and held the captives until the two men had passed.

  `Ain't forgot all I taught yu,' he smiled.

  `Not any, an' learned a lot more,' Yorky retorted, as he resumed his place by the again silent girl.

  They descended a long slope by means of a series of wooded shelves, and as Drait had warned, care was essential and speed out of the question. No more firing was heard, but a column of black smoke staining the sky some miles off brought another curse to the lips of their leader.`If that's my place some o' the cattlemen round here are goin' to need new ranch-houses afore long,' he gritted.

  Presently they reached a level expanse of short grass, on the far side of which was what appeared to be the mouth of a gorge. Barely forty yards apart, rock walls rose abruptly on either side, curving inwards as though to meet at the top to form a gigantic natural arch. Huge boulders lying near supported the theory that once it had existed, but now only the pillars remained.

  They passed through this gateway, and Sudden was surprised to find, instead of the stony gully he had expected, an open oval valley, shut in by miniature cliffs. A bend prevented him from seeing the full extent of the valley, but it appeared to be about a quarter of a mile in width, and the floor was carpeted with good grass. An imprecation from the nester stopped further observation.

  On the fringe of the brush the charred remains of a log hut were still smoking. Only when they were close did they see, hanging from a tree-branch, the horror awaiting them. A little while earlier it had been a man, but now, the sagging head, with its bloated features, outthrust blackened tongue and goggling eyes presented only a hideous travesty of God's handiwork. The girl screamed, Yorky's face whitened, but the two men stared at the thing in hard-lipped silence; they had seen the like before. Drait rode forward, and standing in his stirrups, slashed through the rope and lowered the body gently to the ground. Then it was he saw the paper pinned to the shirt. Printed in crude capitals, it read : `Get out, Drait. Yo're next.'

  He folded and put it in a pocket. Then came the hammer of hurrying hooves, as four riders raced up and slid to a stop. At the sight of the dead man they removed their hats.

  `So they got Eddie,' commented one of them, a small, grizzled bowlegged cowboy, older than the others. `We didn't know that.'

  `What do you know, Quilt?' Drait asked.

  `Mighty little. We was up at the other end, blockin' the outlet like you said. We saw smoke an' come a'bilin'. O' course, they spotted us an' ran, the damn cowards. We see it was on'y the cabin an' took after 'em, loosin' lead, but havin' no luck. They'd got too big a start, an' when they split in the brush we lost 'em.'

  `How many?'

  `Nine, I reckoned. No, couldn't pin a name to any--we on'y saw their tails. There was a biggish chap who might 'a' bin Cullin, but I wouldn't swear to him.'

  Drait's eyes went again to the limp, pitiful figure, over the contorted face of which he had put his own hat. `Think of it,' he said bitterly. `He was crippled for life--his hoss rolled on him--an' the bastards had to hang him, for no reason 'cept he worked for me. By God! Eddie, they shall pay, in full.'

  `Haven't yu got a sheriff?' Sudden asked.

  `I ain't, but the cattlemen have,' was the ironic reply. `They appointed him an' he wants to keep his job; figure it out for yoreself.' He got back into his saddle. `Quilt, you an' the boys take care o' Eddie--next that Palo verde he used to sit under. Where's Beau?'

  `Took the buckboard to Midway for them supplies you ordered. Be along any time now.'

  The nester nodded. `Want you all to feed at the house this evenin'. We gotta talk things over.'

  Some two hundred yards further along the valley brought them to the house. A low building, constructed of squared logs, it covered considerable space. There was a raised veranda along the fronn, and at the back the ground had been cleared halfway to the overshadowing cliff. On the left was a small horse-corral, and a little to the right was the bunkhouse. Flaying unsaddled and corralled the horses, they walked to the house. A stout, middle-aged Negress met them at the door.

  "Lo, Lindy,' the nester greeted.

  `Sho' am pow'ful glad to see yoh, Massa Nick,' she replied. `What happened?'

  `Eddie tells me go hide in de brush 'case dere's trouble. He went to fin' out what dem riders was afteh. I ain't seen Eddie no mo'.' she ended fearfully.

  `You won't--they murdered him.' He saw her mouth open and eyes fill with tears, and spoke roughly. `He died doin' his duty, an' weepin' won't help.' He pointed to an open door. `Jim, there's the parlour; you an' Yorky make yoreselves to home; grub'll be ready soon.'

  When they had gone he turned again to the black woman. `Lindy, this is my friend, Miss Darrell; she's stayin' here. Do all you can to make her comfortable. Jusn now she's tired an' would like to wash an' tidy up. See to it, an' then fix a meal here for all of us.' For the moment the Negress forgot her grief, and beamed. `Yuh come wi' me, honey,' she said. The girl hesitated, and Drait said quietly, `You can trust Lindy, as I would, with anythin' I possessed.'

  Plainly fitted as the bedroom was, it should have represented luxury to Mary Drait, but the events of the past twenty-four hours, culminating in the awesome sight of the murdered man, had produced in her a snate of stunned hopelessness; it seemed like a terrifying nightmare from which she could not wake up.

  The Negress helped her remove hat and coat, and poured water into the basin. Her motherly gaze noted the white, drawn face, the haggard eyes. `Yoh et sence mawnin'?' And when the girl shook her head, `I jes' knowed it; dat Nick thinks we all strong as bullocks, like hisself. Now yoh lie down an' rest while I git a meal foh yoh an' nine'--her voice faltered--'eight hungry men.'

  She hurried away, and the exhausted girl threw herself on the bed and presently slept.

  Having entrusted his `guest' to the care of the black woman, Drait joined his guests in the parlour. It was a large room, and the big centre table suggested hospitality, the solid chairs, comforn. A high, old-fashioned dresser with cupboards, and a writing-desk relieved the bareness of the walls and rugs of cured skins did the same for the board floor.

  `Guess we'll have to wait a spell for our meal,
' he said. `It's a bigger party than Lindy was lookin' for, an'--Eddie used to give her a hand.' Yorky stood up. 'Helpin' cooks is my strong suit,' he said. Despite their host's protest, he grinned and vanished in search of the kinchen. Sudden laughed. `Leave him be,' he said. `When he had it to do, he hated it; now he don't have to, it's a treat. That's human nature.'

  He proceeded to give the boy's story in brief, concluding with, `There ain't much of him but it's good, an' he's just full o' sand. I promised him a holiday when I left the Circle Dot, an' I guess he's been livin' for it.'

  `I hope runnin' into me ain't goin' to spoil things for you.'

  Sudden chuckled. `Just before we met up with yu he was complainin' we hadn't had any excitement.'

  When Yorky returned to say the food was coming, and the men arrived in a bunch, Drait went to fetch his wife. His knock aroused her, and thinking Lindy had come back, she opened the door.

  `Supper is ready,' he said.

  `I'm not hungry,' she replied, and remembering her former use of the same words, added, `Didn't you oring your quirt?' The sarcasm produced no effect. `I want to present the boys to you, an' there's a lot to discuss,' he replied evenly.

  `I don't wish to meet them, and your affairs are no concern of mine,' she said stubbornly.

  `Yo're wrong there. This business of pore Eddie has brought matters to a point when I gotta know how I stand. I'm puttin' my cards on the table an' givin' everyone the opportunity to duck out from here. That includes you.'

  She was silent for a moment, studying him with scornful eyes. `What happened to the women who wore this before me?'

  In the palm of her hand was the ring he had placed on her finger.

  `There was on'y one, an' she is dead.'

  `You killed her?'

  `A good guess. She was my mother, an' died to bring me into the world,' he replied sternly. `Come.' And when she did not move, `This mornin' you promised to love, honour, an' obey; I ain't insistin' on the first two, but I will have obedience.'

  In the parlour seven men were sitting round the table, at one end of which were two empty seats. All stood up when Drait and his companion entered.