by Max Brand
19
"Big Landis lost his nerve and sidestepped at the last minute, and thenthe whole gang faded."
That was the way the rumors of the affair always ended at eachrepetition in Lebrun's and Milligan's that night. The Corner had hadmany things to talk about during its brief existence, but nothing tocompare with a man who entered a shooting scrape with such a fellow asScar-faced Lewis all for the sake of a spray of mint. And the main topicof conversation was: Did Donnegan aim at the body or the hand of thebouncer?
On the whole, it was an excellent thing for Milligan's. The place wasfairly well crowded, with a few vacant tables. For everyone wanted tohear Milligan's version of the affair. He had a short and vigorous one,trimmed with neat oaths. It was all the girl in the blue calico dress,according to him. The posse couldn't storm a house with a woman in it oreven conduct a proper lynching in her presence. And no one was able tosmile when Milligan said this. Neither was anyone nervy enough toquestion the courage of Landis. It looked strange, that sudden flight ofhis, but then, he was a proven man. Everyone remembered the affair ofLester. It had been a clean-cut fight, and Jack Landis had won cleanlyon his merits.
Nevertheless some of the whispers had not failed to come to the big man,and his brow was black.
The most terribly heartless and selfish passion of all is shame in ayoung man. To repay the sidelong glances which he met on every side,Jack Landis would have willingly crowded every living soul in The Cornerinto one house and touched a match to it. And chiefly because he feltthe injustice of the suspicion. He had no fear of Donnegan.
He had a theory that little men had little souls. Not that he everformulated the theory in words, but he vaguely felt it and adhered toit. He had more fear of one man of six two than a dozen under five ten.He reserved in his heart of hearts a place of awe for one man whom hehad never seen. That was for Lord Nick, for that celebrated characterwas said to be as tall and as finely built as Jack Landis himself. Butas for Donnegan--Landis wished there were three Donnegans instead ofone.
Tonight his cue was surly silence. For Nelly Lebrun had been warned byher father, and she was making desperate efforts to recover any groundshe might have lost. Besides, to lose Jack Landis would be to lose themost spectacular fellow in The Corner, to say nothing of the one whoheld the largest and the choicest of the mines. The blond, good looks ofLandis made a perfect background for her dark beauty. With all thesestakes to play for, Nelly outdid herself. If she were attractive enoughordinarily, when she exerted herself to fascinate, Nelly wasintoxicating. What chance had poor Jack Landis against her? He did notcall for her that night but went to play gloomily at Lebrun's untilNelly walked into Lebrun's and drew him away from a table. Half an hourlater she had him whirling through a dance in Milligan's and had dancedthe gloom out of his mind for the moment. Before the evening was wellunder way, Landis was making love to her openly, and Nelly was in theposition of one who had roused the bear.
It was a dangerous flirtation and it was growing clumsy. In any placeother than The Corner it would have been embarrassing long ago; and whenJack Landis, after a dance, put his one big hand over both of Nelly'sand held her moveless while he poured out a passionate declaration,Nelly realized that something must be done. Just what she could nottell.
And it was at this very moment that a wave of silence, beginning at thedoor, rushed across Milligan's dance floor. It stopped the bartenders inthe act of mixing drinks; it put the musicians out of key, and in themidst of a waltz phrase they broke down and came to a discordant pause.
What was it?
The men faced the door, wondering, and then the swift rumor passed fromlip to lip--almost from eye to eye, so rapidly it sped--Donnegan iscoming! Donnegan, and big George with him.
"Someone tell Milligan!"
But Milligan had already heard; he was back of the bar givingdirections; guns were actually unlimbering. What would happen?
"Shall I get you out of this?" Landis asked the girl.
"Leave now?" She laughed fiercely and silently. "I'm just beginning tolive! Miss Donnegan in action? No, sir!"
She would have given a good deal to retract that sentence, for it washedthe face of Landis white with jealousy.
Surely Donnegan had built greater than he knew.
And suddenly he was there in the midst of the house. No one had stoppedhim--at least, no one had interfered with his servant. Big George had ona white suit and a dappled green necktie; he stood directly behind hismaster and made him look like a small boy. For Donnegan was in black,and he had a white neckcloth wrapped as high and stiffly as anold-fashioned stock. Altogether he was a queer, drab figure comparedwith the brilliant Donnegan of that afternoon. He looked older, moreweary. His lean face was pale; and his hair flamed with redoubled ardoron that account. Never was hair as red as that, not even the hair ofLord Nick, said the people in Milligan's this night.
He was perfectly calm even in the midst of that deadly silence. He stoodlooking about him. He saw Gloster, the real estate man, and bowed to himdeliberately.
For some reason that drew a gasp.
Then he observed a table which was apparently to his fancy and crossedthe floor with a light, noiseless step, big George padding heavilybehind him. At the little round table he waited until George had drawnout the chair for him and then he sat down. He folded his arms lightlyupon his breast and once more surveyed the scene, and big George drewhimself up behind Donnegan. Just once his eyes rolled and flashedsavagely in delight at the sensation that they were making, then theface of George was once again impassive.
If Donnegan had not carried it off with a certain air, the wholeentrance would have seemed decidedly stagey, but The Corner, as it was,found much to wonder at and little to criticize. And in the West grownmen are as shrewd judges of affectation as children are in other places.
"Putting on a lot of style, eh?" said Jack Landis, and with fierceintensity he watched the face of Nelly Lebrun.
For once she was unguarded.
"He's superb!" she exclaimed. "The big fellow is going to bring a drinkfor him."
She looked up, surprised by the silence of Landis, and found that hisface was actually yellow.
"I'll tell you something. Do you remember the little red-headed trampwho came in here the other night and spoke to me?"
"Very well. You seemed to be bothered."
"Maybe. I dunno. But that's the man--the one who's sitting over therenow all dressed up--the man The Corner is talking about--Donnegan! Atramp!"
She caught her breath.
"Is that the one?" A pause. "Well, I believe it. He's capable ofanything!"
"I think you like him all the better for knowing that."
"Jack, you're angry."
"Why should I be? I hate to see you fooled by the bluff of a tramp,though."
"Tush! Do you think I'm fooled by it? But it's an interesting bluff,Jack, don't you think?"
"Nelly, he's interesting enough to make you blush; by heaven, the houndis lookin' right at you now, Nelly!"
He had pressed her suddenly against the wall and she struck backdesperately in self-defense.
"By the way, what did he want to see you about?"
It spiked the guns of Landis for the time being, at least. And the girlfollowed by striving to prove that her interest in Donnegan was purelyimpersonal.
"He's clever," she ran on, not daring to look at the set face of hercompanion. "See how he fails to notice that he's making a sensation?You'd think he was in a big restaurant in a city. He takes the drink offthe tray from that fellow as if it were a common thing to be waited onby a body-servant in The Corner. Jack, I'll wager that there's somethingcrooked about him. A professional gambler, say!"
Jack Landis thawed a little under this careless chatter. He still didnot quite trust her.
"Do you know what they're whispering? That I was afraid to face him!"
She tilted her head back, so that the light gleamed on her young throat,and she broke into laughter.
"Why, Jack, that's foolish. You proved yourself when you first came toThe Corner. Maybe some of the newcomers may have said something, but allthe old-timers know you had some different reason for leaving the restof them. By the way, what was the reason?"
She sent a keen little glance at him from the corner of her eyes, butthe moment she saw that he was embarrassed and at sea because of thequery she instantly slipped into a fresh tide of careless chatter andcovered up his confusion for him.
"See how the girls are making eyes at him."
"I'll tell you why," Jack replied. "A girl likes to be with the manwho's making the town talk." He added pointedly: "Oh, I've found thatout!"
She shrugged that comment away.
"He isn't paying the slightest attention to any of them," she murmured."He's queer! Has he just come here hunting trouble?"