CHAPTER XV
PURDY MAKES A RIDE
Purdy's altercation with Grimshaw occurred on the night Alice Endicottand the Texan spent on the river. A raid on a bunch of Flying A mareshad been planned for the following night, and early in the morningGrimshaw and the man called Bill, pulled out to the northward to locatethe mares, while the other outlaws separated to skirmish the surroundingcountry and make sure that the coast was clear. Purdy's patrol took himinto the vicinity of Red Sand Creek, and as he rode the outlaw smiledgrimly: "Grimshaw's busted," he muttered, "this one job an' he'sthrough. It'll be the Purdy gang, then--an', believe me, we ain't goin'to stop at runnin' off a few head of horses. This country's lousy withmoney, just layin' around for someone to reach out an' take it--an' I'mthe bird c'n do it! They'll be four of us, an' that's a-plenty. We'llclean up the Wolf River bank, an' the Zortman gold stage, an' theLewiston bank, an' a train or two--then it's me for South America--an'to hell with 'em all!" He pulled up abruptly and sat gazing down uponthe buildings of McWhorter's ranch. The cabin door opened, a womanstepped out, emptied a pan of dishwater, and entered the cabin again."So, my pretty," sneered the man, "you carry yer nose high. Yer too goodfor a horse-thief, eh? If you had your way McWhorter would have a possecamped on the ranch till they'd wiped us out. Guess I'll just slip downan' give you one more chanct. When Purdy's boss of the gang you won't beso damn _safe_! I ain't afraid of losin' no friends. Friends never gotme nothin'. Damn the nesters! There won't be no deals when I'm runnin'the gang. It'll be every man for himself an' the devil take thehindmost. If a nester's got anything I want I'll reach out an' takeit--nesters, or banks, or railroads--they all look alike to me. An' ifMcWhorter's huzzy don't throw in with me willin', she'll come alongunwillin'. I'll break her. I'll take the snap out of them eyes, an' thesneer offen them red lips--she's the purtiest thing I've laid eyes onsence--sence Wolf River--an' I'm goin' to have her!" He swung down intothe creek bed, spurred his horse into a run, and pulled up before thedoor with a flourish, heedless of the fact that one of his horse's hoofsground a tiny lamb into the dirt. The door flew open and Janet McWhorterappeared. Her eyes rested for a moment on the little dead lamb, deep redmounted to her cheeks, and when she met Purdy's glance, her eyes blazed.The man laughed, and reaching into his pocket, tossing her a gold piece:"What's lambs worth?" he asked, "that had ought to pay for two or threeof 'em. Why didn't the fool thing git out of the way?"
"You brute!" The girl's voice trembled with passion, and snatching thecoin from the ground she hurled it into his face.
Purdy caught it in a gloved hand, and again he laughed: "Plenty more ofthese yeller boys where this come from," he announced flipping theshining disk into the air and catching it, "I'm goin' away fer a fewdays, jest you say the word, an' when I come back I'll bring you a--adiamon' ring--diamon' as big as yer thumb nail--I'll treat you swell ifyou'll let me."
The girl cuddled the dead lamb in her arms: "I despise you! I utterlyloathe you!"
"Purtier'n ever when yer mad," he opined. "I'll make you mad sometimesjest for fun----"
"Some day I think I'll kill you," she spoke in a low, level tone and hereyes stared directly into his.
Purdy laughed loudly: "That's a good one. Here, do it now." He drew agun from its holster and grasping it by the barrel, extended the butttoward the girl. She shrank into the doorway still clutching the lamb.The man returned the gun to its place and leaned forward in the saddle,"If you'll be reasonable--listen: You throw in with me, an' I'll quitthe horse game. I've got a-plenty, an' we'll go somewhere's an' buy usan outfit--bigger outfit than this, too--an' we'll settle down. I neverliked the business, nohow. I was forced into it when I was young, an'I've always wanted to get out--with a good woman to--to kind of help afeller along----"
The girl laughed harshly. "Don't try that on me--you can't get away withit. I'll tell you once and for all, I despise you. I wouldn't trust youas far as I would a rattlesnake. You are the most loathesome creature inthe world. You're nothing but a low-down horse-thief, and you never willbe anything but a horse-thief, till somebody shoots you--then you'll bea carrion." Her eyes were blazing again, and Purdy actually winced ather words. "If you were dying of thirst I'd pour alkali dust down yourthroat. Do I make myself plain? Do you understand now thoroughly justwhat I think of you? Because if you don't I'll go on and explain----"
"Oh, I guess I git you, all right," sneered Purdy, "from what youmentioned I gather you ain't seriously considerin' me for a husban'.Well, you've had yer say--next time it'll be my turn. Them was hardwords, but some day you'll eat 'em--an' when you've got 'em et, you'llsing a different tune. Where's McWhorter?"
"Lambing camp," she answered shortly, and disappeared into the cabinslamming the door behind her.
Purdy sat for a moment staring at the door, then whirled his horse, androde away. The girl's words had thrown him into a terrible rage: "Thistime a week from now, you'll wish to God you hadn't spoke 'em," hemuttered, and, avoiding the lambing camp, swung toward the river. "Killme some day, will she? She meant it, too. She's a hell-cat!"
He headed up stream, following the shore of the swollen river,muttering, cursing, plotting as he rode. And so he came to the highbluff that overlooked the mouth of a broad coulee. He paused on the rimof the bluff and stared out over the raging flood. Something directlybelow him caught his eye, and he glanced downward. A water-logged craft,which he recognized as Long Bill Kearney's ferry boat, lay groundedagainst the narrow strip of sloping beach that lay between the foot ofthe bluff and the river. At the same instant an object lying part way upthe slope caught his eye and instinctively he jerked his horse back,swung to the ground and, crawling to the rim of the bluff lookedcautiously over the edge. For a long time he stared downward at themotionless form of a woman. Her face was not visible but he could seethat she wore a riding costume, and a hat of approved cowboy pattern. Invain his eyes searched the beach, and the bluff, and even the river."Crossin' on Long Bill's ferry an' the cable busted," he muttered, "but,it's a cinch she wasn't crossin' alone--an' it's a cinch they ain't noone else around--onless they're up the coulee. Maybe whoever was alonggot drownded--anyhow, I'm goin' to find out--an' if she's all alone--"the man grinned--"maybe she won't be so damned uppity as McWhorter'sgal." He sprang into the saddle, and, after a careful survey of thebluff and the surrounding bench, headed away from the river and came tothe coulee a half-mile back from its mouth at a point where the sidesallowed easy descent.
Once in the coulee Purdy again headed for the river, riding slowly, witha hand on the butt of his gun. Rounding an abrupt bend, he drew upsharply. Not fifty yards from him, a blaze-faced buckskin, saddled andbridled, with a lariat rope trailing from the saddle horn, was croppinggrass. His eyes surveyed every nook and cranny of the coulee for signsof the rider, but seeing none he approached the horse which raised itshead and nickered friendly greeting. He loosened his rope, but the horsemade no effort to escape, and riding close the man reached down andsecured the reins which he made fast to the horn of his own saddle anddismounted. "Yer a plumb gentle brute," he muttered as he coiled thetrailing rope and secured it in place, "Y Bar brand--that's oversomewhere acrost the river." Again he grinned, evilly: "Looks like theycome from the other side, in which case, providin' they don't nomen-folks show up in the next few minutes er so, things looks purtyfavourable for yours truly. With the river like it is, an' the ferrygone, they can't no one bother from the other side, an' by the time theyfind out she's missin', they'll think she got drownded along with therest. Things is sure framin' my way, now," he grinned, as he swung intothe saddle and, leading the buckskin, headed down the coulee with histhoughts centred on the woman who lay on the little grassed slope at itsmouth. "Be hell if she was dead," he growled, "be just my luck--but ifshe is, I'll cache her in a mud crack somewheres an' maybe her friendsfrom acrost will stick up a reward, an' I'll make Cinnabar Joe or LongBill go an' collect it an' fork it over."
Proceeding cautiously, Purdy rode down the coulee, and at its mouth,dismount
ed and proceeded directly to the motionless form. Swiftly hestooped and lifted the hat-brim that had pushed forward over her face,then with an oath he leaped erect and jerking his gun from its holster,glared wildly about him. But save for the two horses, and a buzzard thatwheeled high in the blue above, there was no living, moving thing withinhis range of vision, and the only sounds were the soft rattle ofbit-chains as the horses thrashed lazily at pestering flies, and thesullen gurgle of the swollen river. Again he swore. His lips drew into asnarl of hate as his glance once more sought the face of the woman. Inhis eyes the gleam of hot desire commingled with a glitter of revenge ashis thoughts flew swiftly to Wolf River--the Texan's open insult and thepilgrim's swift shot in the dark. Here, helpless, completely in hispower to do with as he pleased, lay the woman who had been the unwittingcause of his undoing! Vengeance was his at last, and he licked his lipsin wolfish anticipation of the wrecking of that vengeance. The thoughtof revenge was more sweet in that he never anticipated it. The Texan haddisappeared altogether, and he had heard from Long Bill that the girlhad married the pilgrim in Timber City, and that they had gone backEast. But if so, what was she doing here--alone?
Swiftly the man scanned the ground for tracks, but found none. Thebootless feet of the Texan had left no mark on the buffalo grass. Onlyone horse had gone up the coulee--and he had that horse. Whoever hadbeen with her when the ferry cable broke, had certainly not landed withher at the mouth of the coulee. "Pilgrim's prob'ly fell out an'drownded--an' a damned good job--him an' his horse, too--prob'ly thehorse got to raisin' hell an' jerked him into the river--Long Bill, too,most likely--I'll swing around by his shack an' see if they's anythingthere I want. But, first off, I got to take care of this here lady--silkstockin's an' all an' the quicker I git to the bad lands with her thebetter--it ain't no cinch that the pilgrim, or Long Bill didn't makeshore somewheres else, an' if they did they'll be huntin' her." After avain attempt to rouse the girl Purdy led the buckskin close and throwingher over the saddle bound her firmly in place with the rope. Then,leading the buckskin, he rode rapidly up the coulee and coming out onthe bench headed up the river for the bad lands only a few short milesaway.
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