by B. M. Bower
*CHAPTER XXI*
*AN EQUAL GUILT*
Tommy Watkins, after delivering his message to Tim Murphy, hastened tothe Saunders' home, where he carried out his orders, with but oneexception; but the exception nullified all his efforts for a stealthyapproach and a secret watch. The best cover he could find around thehouse was a little building near the back door in which firewood,kerosene, and odds and ends were kept. Despite the kindling and thedarkness his entrance had been noiseless and he was paying himselfhearty compliments upon the exploit when his head collided with a basketof clothespins which hung from a peg in the wall, and sent the basketand its contents clattering down on the kerosene can and a tin pan. Hestarted back involuntarily and his spurred heels struck the side of awashtub which was nearly full of water, kept so against drying out andfalling apart. Into this he sat with a promptness and abandon whichwould have filled the heart of any healthy small boy with ecstasies.Bounding out of the tub, he fell over the pile of kindling and from thisinstant his rage spared nothing in his way. Had he deliberately startedout with the firm intention of arousing that part of Kansas he scarcelycould have made a better job of it. While he cursed like a drunkensailor, and burned with rage and shame, the door was suddenly flung openand Jane, lamp in hand, stared at him in fright and determination, overthe trembling muzzle of a short-barreled .38.
"Oh!" she exclaimed, the hand holding the gun now pressing against herbreast. "Oh!" she repeated, and the lamp wobbled so that shetremblingly blew it out. For some moments she struggled to get back tonormal, Tommy thankful that the lamp no longer revealed him in hispresent water-soaked condition. He felt that his flaming face wouldgive light enough without any further aid.
He sidled out of the door, tongue-tied, crestfallen, miserable, andplaced his back against the shed, intending to slip along it, and dasharound the corner into the kindly oblivion of the black night.
"Wait!" she begged, sensing his intention. "Oh, my; how you frightenedme! Whatever made you get into this shed, anyway? What were you tryingto do?"
Here it was, right in his teeth. Tex fairly had hammered into him thewarning not to frighten her--on his life he was to keep from her anythought of danger if she should see him. She had seen him, all right.She had seen entirely too much of him--and he was not to frighten her!Holy Moses! He was not to frighten her! He resolved that plenty oftime should elapse before he allowed Tex Jones to see him. Not tofrighten her--it was a wonder she had not died of fright.
"What on earth ever made you go in there?" she demanded, a littleacerbity in her voice.
"Why, ma'am, I was hidin' from you," said the culprit. "Let me lightth' lamp, ma'am, an' straighten things out in there. Everythin' slidthat wasn't nailed fast. That tub, now: was you savin' th' water foranythin', ma'am? If you was I plumb spoiled it."
"No; it was only to keep the staves swelled tight--for heaven's sake, doyou mean that you fell in it?" She reached out and grasped his coat,and suddenly collapsed against the building, shrieking with laughter.When she could speak she ordered him to feel for and pick up the lamp,and to lead the way into the house. "Go right into Jerry's room andchange your clothes--I hope you can get his things on. But whatevermade you go in there, anyway? What was it?"
"Like I done said, ma'am," he reiterated, flushing in the dark. "I wasgoin' to play a joke on Jerry when he came home--but I didn't aim to dono damage, ma'am, or scare you!" he earnestly assured her.
"Oh, but you were willing to scare Jerry!" she retorted.
"I don't reckon he'd 'a' been scared," he mumbled. "Here's th' lamp,ma'am, on th' step; I'll see Jerry at th' station. I'm fadin', now,"and before she could utter a protest he had put down the lamp anddisappeared around the house. But he did not go far. Wet clothes meantnothing to him, nothing at all in his present state of mind, and heintended to stay, and to keep his watch faithfully. And it was to hispresent flurried state of mind that he owed his more seriousmisadventure of the night, for he blundered around the second cornersquarely into two figures hugging the wall and a descending gun buttfilled his mental firmament with stars. He sagged to the ground withouteven a sigh and was quickly disarmed and bound. A soiled handkerchiefwas forced into his mouth and he was rolled against the wall, where hewould be out of the way.
One of the two hirelings nudged the other as they stood up, putting hismouth close to his companions ear. "Hey, Ike!" he whispered. "Thisfool is wet as a drownded pup--wears a gun an' cowpunch clothes. Heain't the agent!"
"H--l, no!" responded Ike; "but he meant us no good, bein' here. We'llgit th' agent, too. He'll be comin' soon, an' fast. Git over by th'path he uses."
Jane, somewhat vexed, had picked up the lamp and entered the house. Theconstantly repeated "ma'am" and the stammering explanations, which sheput but little stock in, made her suddenly contrast this big, overgrownboy with a man she knew, and to Tommy's vast discredit. She had hit it:one was no more than an overgrown boy, coarse, unlearned, clumsy,embarrassed; the other, a grown man, cool, educated, masterful,unabashed. One was in his own way; the other, unobtrusive in manner butpersistently haunting in his personality. She might not be able forgood reasons to see Tex Jones in a room filled with people, but shecould not fail to sense his presence. But the marshal was no longer tobe thought of; he had taken a human life and was forever beyond the paleof her interest and affections. He had blood on his hands.
Suddenly she started and cast an apprehensive glance toward the windowwhich faced the town. A low, chaotic roaring, indistinct in its blurredentirety, but fear impelling because of its timbre, came from the mainstreet. A shot or two sounded flatly and the roaring rose and fell inqueer, spasmodic bursts. Before she could move, a knock sounded on thedoor and, fearing bad news about her brother, she took a tight grip onherself and walked swiftly toward the summons, flinging the door wideopen.
Henry Williams, a smirk on his face, bowed and entered, not waiting foran invitation. He forgot to remove his hat in his eagerness to placehis packages on the table where she plainly could see them. Selectingthe easiest chair, he seated himself on the edge of it, and tossed hissombrero against the wall.
"Nice evenin', ma'am," he said, flushing a little. "I was hopin' formore rain but don't reckon we'll git none for a spell. What we had hashelped wonderful. You an' Jerry feelin' well?"
"It doesn't feel like rain, Mr. Williams," she replied, torn betweenfear and mirth at the presence of this unwelcome visitor. "Both mybrother and myself are as well as we can expect to be. If you'll go tothe station you'll find him there--this is report night and he may notbe home until quite late."
"I ain't waitin' for Jerry," explained Henry, leering. "It's just aswell if he is a little late. My call is shore personal, ma'am; personalbetween me an' you."
She was staring at him through eyes which were beginning to sparkle withvexation. She was now beginning to accept her first, intuitive warning.
"I am not aware that there is anything of a personal nature whichconcerns us both," she rejoined. "I believe you must be mistaken, Mr.Williams. If you will close the door behind you on your way out I willbe duly grateful. Jerry is at the station." She stepped back to lethim pass, but he ignored the hints.
There came an increase in the roaring from the direction of town and shestarted, casting an inquiring and appealing glance at her visitor.
"Th' boys are a little wild tonight," he said, smiling evilly. "They'vegot so much dust that they're bustin' loose to paint th' old townproper. There ain't nothin' to be scared about."
"But Jerry: my brother!" she exclaimed fearfully. "He's alone in theoffice!"
"No, he ain't ma'am," replied Henry with an air meant to reassure her."I got four good boys, deputized by th' marshal, watchin' th' station incase some fool gets notions. Jones, hisself, is settin' on a benchoutside, an' you know what _that_ means. I allus look after my friends,ma'am." He smiled again. "'Specially them that are goin' to be re
alclose to me. That's why I'm here--to look after you now--now, an' allth' time, now an' forever. Just see what I brought you--sent all th'way to St. Louie for 'em, an' shore got th' very best there was. Why,"he chuckled, going to the table, and so engrossed in his packages thathe did not see the look of revulsion on her face, a look rapidly turningto a burning shame and anger.
"These here gloves, now--they cost me six dollars. An' lookit thisCashmere shawl--you'd think I was lyin' if I told you what that cost. Itold th' boys you'd show 'em off handsome an' proper. Put 'em on andlet's see how they look on you." He held the gifts out, looking up ather, surprised by her silence, her lack of pleased exclamations, andpaused, dumbfounded at her expression.
Mortification yielded place to shame and fear; shame and fear to angerwith only a trace of fear, and then rage swept all else before it. Thecolors playing in her cheeks fled and left them white, her lips werethin as knife blades and her eyes blazed like crucibles of molten metal.She struck wildly at the presents, sending them across the room andraised her hand to strike him. Never in all her life had she been sofurious.
"Why--what's th' matter?" he asked, not believing his senses. He putout a hand to pacify her. It touched her arm and turned her into afury, her nails scoring it deeply as she struck it away.
"What's th' matter with you?" he demanded angrily, looking up from hisbleeding hand. "Oh!" he sneered, his face working with anger. "That'sit, huh? All right, d--n you! I'll cussed soon show you who's boss!"he gritted, moving slowly forward. "If you won't come willin'ly, you'llcome unwillin'ly! Puttin' on airs like you was too good for me, huh?I'll bust yore spirit like you was a hoss!"
She flung a quivering arm toward the door, but he pressed forward andbacked her into a corner, from where she struck at him again and again,and then felt his arms about her as he wrestled with her. Her strengthamazed him and he broke loose to get a more punishing hold. "Ike!" heshouted. "George! Hurry up: she's worse'n a wildcat!"
Ike's head popped in through a window, George dashing through the door,and with them at his side Henry leaped for her. She clutched at herbreast and crouched, as savage and desperate as any animal of the wild.He shouted something as he closed with her and then there came a muffledroar, a flash, and a cloud of smoke spurted from between them. Henry,his glazing eyes fixing their look of fear, amazement, and chagrin, spunaround against his companions, his clutching hands dragging down theirarms, and slid between them. For him the mob had been incited in vain.
His two friends, stupefied for an instant, gazed unbelievingly from Janeto Henry and back again, vaguely noticing that her horror and revulsionwere unnerving her and that the short-barreled Colt in her hand waswobbling in ever-widening circles. Ike recovered his self-possessionfirst and, reaching out swiftly, knocked the wavering weapon from herhand. Shouting savagely he leaped for her as a streak of flame stabbedin through the window he had entered by, the deafening roar filling theroom. He stiffened convulsively, whirled halfway around and pitchedheadlong under the table, dead before he touched the floor. Hiscompanion's arms jerked upward with spasmodic speed.
"Keep 'em there! Sit down, Miss Saunders," came an even, unflurriedvoice from the window as the marshal, hatless and coatless, hoping thatGeorge would draw, crawled into the house behind a steady gun. "GoodLord!" he muttered, glancing over the room, his eyes passing the fallen.38 without betraying any recognition. "Steady!" he cried as Jane'sknees buckled and she slid down the wall. "Keep 'em up!" he snarled atGeorge as he swiftly disarmed him. "Face th' door!" As the frightenedman obeyed, the marshal stepped quickly to a shelf on which stood abottle of brandy and some glasses. He changed the gun to his left hand,snatched a cartridge from his chaps' pocket and, yanking out the leadwith his teeth, emptied the shell into a glass. Quickly filling thisand another he wheeled and thrust one out at the rigid prisoner. "Drinkthis," he ordered. "You shore need it; an' if you don't I'll blow youapart." George's stare of amazed incredulity changed to one of hope andrelief and he downed the drink at a gulp. Tex slipped a pair ofhandcuffs over his wrists and ordered him to sit down. "Sit down inthat big chair, an' close yore eyes. I got somethin' for you todo--relax!"
As he bent over Jane she stirred, opened her eyes, glanced at him, andthen fixed them on the men on the floor, shuddering and shrinking fromthe sight; but she could not look away. "I killed him! I killed him!"she sobbed hysterically, over and over again.
"Drink this," ordered the marshal, forcing the glass between her lips.He nodded with quiet satisfaction. "Shore," he replied in an assumedmatter-of-fact voice, as though it were an everyday occurrence. "Goodjob, too. I should have done it, myself, days ago." He held up theglass again. "Can you drink a little more of this, Miss Saunders?There are times when a little brandy is very useful." His low, even,unemotional tones were almost caressing, and she thankfully put herselfin his capable hands. Slowly growing calmer she began to see thingswith a less blurred vision and the slow slumping of the sleepy man inthe chair took her wondering attention.
"Why, is he--killed--too?" she asked shuddering.
"Oh, no; he's only half asleep," replied Tex, smiling. "Three moreminutes an' he'll be sound asleep, for a dozen hours or more. Brandyhas an hypnotic effect on some people, Miss Saunders, while itstimulates others. Will you please collect a small valise of your mostvaluable and indispensable possessions, all the money in the house, agood wrap of some kind, and allow me to escort you to Murphy andCostigan? You are leaving town, you know, never to return."
"But I've killed a man, and you are an officer of the law! Do youmean--" she paused unbelievingly.
"You shot a mad skunk in plain self-defense," he replied. "He haspowerful friends and influence to avenge him. The jury would be packedand justice scorned. I'm marshal no longer, Miss Saunders. I acceptedthe appointment on the definite understanding that I would be marshalonly as long as I could. The term has automatically come to an end. Sofar as this town is concerned I'm a rabid outlaw." He tore the badgefrom his vest and threw it on the table. "Ah! George is sleeping moresoundly than he ever slept before. There's no need of gagging him, forhe'll give no alarm. Please fill that satchel, Miss Saunders--timepresses."
"You are a good friend, Mr. Jones; and I have wronged you," she said,her words barely audible. "My hands are as bloody as yours--and Iscorned you for taking life! Take me away from here--please--please!"
"As fast as I can," replied Tex, soothingly. "You help me by filling asatchel and getting your wrap. Put your mind on your possessions,please; think what you wish to take with you, and then get them. Money?Jewels? Miscellaneous valuables, intrinsic or sentimental? Documents?Apparel? Please--you must aid me all you can if I'm to aid you. Wehave no time to lose!"
"But my brother--he is safe?"
"Waiting outside, tied, and gagged. I couldn't stop to free him," Texanswered. "Watkins, likewise. They laid their plans well, but the mobwas a misfire and didn't keep me as busy as they counted on. Will youobey me, Miss Saunders, or must we leave bare-handed? I'll give youjust three minutes by that clock--then we go."
A pious, shocked exclamation came from the window where Murphy staredsuddenly into a magic gun before he was recognized. "Holy Mother!" hewhispered, and then: "I found Tommy--where is Jerry?"
"Don't you ever do that again!" snapped Tex, a little white showing inhis face. "I don't know how I kept th' hammer up! You look around bythat clump of scrub oak, where the path goes around the big bowlder. Inearly fell over him. Take them both with you--we'll follow close. Anysigns of anyone coming from town?"
"Not yet--but ye needn't stay here all night! Hurry, miss, or there'llbe a slaughter that'll shake this country!"
As Jane obeyed, Tex walked over, drew up one of George's eyelids andsmiled grimly. Then he placed a hand on each of the figures on thefloor and nodded, a sneer flickering over his face. In a moment Jane,still a little unsteady, returned and found the ex-marshal pinning thenickeled badge on the lapel of Henry's coat
, and while it meant nothingto her then in her agitated state of mind its significance came to herlater. When that badge was found she would be freed of blame forHenry's death. Opening the door Tex blew out the light and led the way.They hurried over the uneven, hard ground and soon reached the railroad,where a hand car, with Murphy, Costigan, and Tommy at the handles,waited to run them over a trail where no tracks would tell any tales.
"Head for Scrub Oak, an' stop outside th' town till Jerry's party getsaway," ordered Tex. "Th' grades are mostly against you an' all of youcame from th' east, where Mike's family went. They'll figger you wentth' same way, if they think of th' hand car at all. It ain't likelythey will, because I'm aimin' to give them something plain to read, whenthey're _able_ to read it. Got money? Got enough to buy three goodcayuses with saddles, grub, an' everythin' you need? Good! Tommy, whenyou get to town, go in alone, get three outfits, an' take Miss Saundersan' Jerry to Gunsight as fast as they can travel. When you get there,ask for Nelson, an' tell him Tex Ewalt says to hold off h--l an' highwater before givin' up these two. I'll join you there as soon as I can.Here, listen close," and he gave a description of Gunsight's locationsufficient for a rider of the plains. "Off with you, now--let her rollgently near Buffalo Crick--she'll rumble deep crossin' that bridge an'Jake may be at home. So-long--get a-goin'!"
"But you?" cried Jane. "Where are you going? Surely not back into thattown!" The distress and anxiety brought a smile to the ex-marshal'slips. "You must come with us! You must! You must!" she insistedalmost hysterically. "You can't fight the whole town!"
"I'm bettin' he can," growled Murphy. "Here, Tex! Better take a coupleav these little firecrackers! Count five an' let 'em go; but _you_better count sorta fast."
"No, thanks, Tim," laughed Tex. "I can't go with you, Miss Saunders.I've got a pack of coyotes to make fools of--see you at th' SV in fouror five days. Don't you worry--it was clean self-defense. He broughtit on himself. All right, Tim: get a-goin'!"
He listened to the sounds of the cautiously propelled car, the clicks ofthe rail joints growing softer and softer. When they had died out, hewalked swiftly back to the house, where he got his hat and coat and thenwent on to town. Going to where the roan patiently waited for him heled it to John Graves' stable and reconnoitered the building. John wasnot at home on this night of excitement.
Tex forced the door, and quietly saddled the sorrel and the gray, threwa sack of corn across the latter and, leading them forth, led the threeanimals back of a deserted building and then went toward the hotel.