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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Coyote, by James Roberts
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Coyote
+       A Western Story
+
+Author: James Roberts
+
+Release Date: August 3, 2009 [EBook #29602]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COYOTE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+THE COYOTE
+
+
+
+
+THE COYOTE
+
+A Western Story
+
+By JAMES ROBERTS
+
+CHELSEA HOUSE
+
+79 SEVENTH AVENUE--NEW YORK CITY
+
+
+
+
+The Coyote
+
+Copyright, 1925, by CHELSEA HOUSE
+
+(Printed in the United States of America)
+
+All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign
+languages, including the Scandinavian.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+  CHAPTER                                                         PAGE
+       I. Rewards Offered                                           11
+      II. A Boy and a Girl                                          17
+     III. The Law                                                   24
+      IV. "I Knew He Lied!"                                         32
+       V. A Capture                                                 38
+      VI. The Real Low-Down                                         45
+     VII. Where to Hide                                             52
+    VIII. Two Queer Moves                                           57
+      IX. Leave It to Me                                            65
+       X. Caught in the Cellar                                      71
+      XI. Freedom Behind Bars                                       77
+     XII. Against His Ethics                                        87
+    XIII. A Man and His Horse                                       93
+     XIV. The Witness                                               98
+      XV. The Welcome                                              106
+     XVI. The Dixie's Boss                                         114
+    XVII. A Commission                                             121
+   XVIII. In the Night                                             129
+     XIX. Quick Turns                                              136
+      XX. Appeal to the Law                                        145
+     XXI. A Capture                                                151
+    XXII. A Second Capture                                         160
+   XXIII. Quick Facts                                              165
+    XXIV. The Show-down                                            170
+     XXV. Filed!                                                   175
+    XXVI. The Prodigal                                             179
+   XXVII. The Desert Code                                          185
+  XXVIII. A Night Summons                                          194
+    XXIX. Gunmen                                                   201
+     XXX. The Sheriff's Plight                                     207
+    XXXI. A New Count                                              215
+   XXXII. The Compass Fails                                        220
+  XXXIII. Fast Work                                                224
+   XXXIV. The Compass Wavers                                       230
+    XXXV. Guns in the Night                                        235
+   XXXVI. The Loot                                                 242
+  XXXVII. The Test of a Man                                        245
+ XXXVIII. Ten Miles' Start                                         250
+
+
+
+
+THE COYOTE
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+REWARDS OFFERED
+
+
+The sign on the tree attracted the man's attention while he was still
+far down the slope. He could see the tall pine on the crest of the
+ridge above a veritable landmark in that country of stunted timber,
+and the square of paper, tacked to its trunk under the lowest
+branches, gleamed white against the background of vivid green.
+
+The air was clear, and every detail of the landscape--the red rocks,
+the saffron-colored slopes, the green pines and firs and buck brush,
+the white cliffs--everything within sight for miles stood out,
+clean-cut in the brilliant sunshine which flooded the empty land under
+a cloudless sky.
+
+When the man, mounted on a lean, dun-colored horse, first looked up at
+a turn of the narrow trail and saw the sign, he grunted. Then he
+frowned and looked back along the way he had come with a glowing light
+of reflection in his gray eyes. He was a tall man, slim and muscular,
+clean-shaven, his face and hands bronzed by sun and wind, and his face
+open and good-natured. A shock of blond hair showed where his gray,
+wide-brimmed, high-crowned hat was pushed back from his high
+forehead.
+
+His dress, though typical of the country which he traversed, was
+distinctive, or it might have been a certain natural grace that made
+it seem so. He wore a light-gray, soft shirt made of French flannel, a
+dark-blue silk scarf, leather chaps over olive-drab khaki trousers,
+black, hand-sewed riding boots which displayed their polish despite a
+coating of fine dust, silver spurs, and, strapped to his right thigh,
+was a worn leather holster, natural color, from which protruded the
+black butt of a six-gun.
+
+On the back of his saddle was tied a black slicker, the raincoat of
+the open country, which bulged with a medium-sized pack done up within
+it.
+
+One would have taken him to be thirty, perhaps a year or two more when
+his face was serious; but when he smiled, that is, when he smiled
+naturally, he looked little more in years than a youth who has just
+attained his majority.
+
+When he smiled the other smile--the smile he now expressed as he
+looked up the slope toward the tall pine with the white square of
+paper on its trunk--one would have forgotten the smile because of the
+sinister, steel-blue look in his eyes, and the direct, piercing
+quality of his gaze.
+
+He walked his horse up the winding trail. His right foot was clear of
+the stirrup, and he swung it idly. His left hand, in which he held the
+reins, rested lightly on the horn of his saddle, and his right gripped
+the cantle at his back. He hummed a ditty of the desert, but his gaze,
+keen and alert, continually sought the open stretches of trail above
+him, and at regular intervals flashed back along the way he had come.
+
+In time he reached the top of the ridge and pulled up his horse near
+the tree bearing the poster. He dismounted and walked slowly up a
+little grade to where he could the better read the legend on the
+paper.
+
+It was printed in large letters, but recent rain had somewhat faded
+it.
+
+                      FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD
+                         This will be paid for
+                               THE COYOTE
+                 dead or alive, by San Jacinto County.
+                          JUDSON BROWN, J. P.,
+                               Dry Lake.
+
+This man is tall and light in complexion, gray or blue eyes, good
+teeth, his horse said branded CC2, keeps himself neat, dangerous with
+gun, squints when mad. Bring him in and get the money.
+
+The man swore softly as he read the last sentence. "Bring him in an'
+get the money," he said snortingly. "You'd think they was talkin'
+about a locoed steer that just had to be roped an' drug, or shot an'
+hauled. Bring him in an' get the money!"
+
+There was genuine indignation in his tone as he repeated the offensive
+sentence.
+
+"Well, it can't be me," he said facetiously, aloud. "My name's
+Rathburn--a right good name." His eyes clouded. "A right good name
+till they began to tamper with it," he muttered with a frown as he lit
+a cigarette he had built while perusing the placard.
+
+He took the stub of a lead pencil from the pocket of his shirt. For
+some moments he reflected, staring at the sign on the tree trunk. Then
+he laboriously printed on its lower edge:
+
+Five thousand dollars more from the State of Arizona if you can get
+it.
+
+Rathburn surveyed his work with a grin, replacing the pencil in his
+shirt pocket. Then he stepped back and drew his gun. He seemed on the
+point of sending a half dozen bullets through the paper when he
+suddenly shook his head, glanced hurriedly about him, and shoved the
+weapon back into its sheath.
+
+He walked quickly to his horse, swung into the saddle, and started
+down the trail on the western side of the ridge.
+
+Below him he saw a far-flung vista of rounded, yellow hills, spotted
+with the green of small pines and firs. The ground was hard, dry, and
+gravelly. There were boulders a-plenty, and long, sharp-edged
+outcroppings of hard rock of a reddish hue. There was no sign of
+habitation to be glimpsed from the trail leading down from the high
+ridge which he had crossed. He continually looked about him with the
+interested air of a man who is venturing into a new locality with
+which he is not familiar.
+
+"Dry Lake!" he exclaimed, while his horse pricked up its ears at the
+familiar voice. "Good name for it, if it's anywhere in _this_ country.
+Hoss, I don't know when we're goin' to drink again. I didn't figure on
+hittin' a desert up here."
+
+He rode on at a brisk jog, down and down the winding trail. Then it
+led across a number of the round, low hills, ever westward.
+
+As the afternoon wore on, more green brightened the landscape and
+patches of grass appeared. Then they came upon a small stream
+trickling down from the higher slopes to northward where horse and
+rider drank their fill and rested in a quiet, secluded meadow off the
+trail.
+
+The man's face was a study as he lay back upon the grass in the cool
+shade of a clump of pines. Whimsical and wistful, it was occasionally
+lit by a peculiar smile which carried a hint of sadness. His eyes
+half closed, dreamily. The smoke from his cigarette curled upward in a
+thin spiral in the still air of the altitudes. His horse, with reins
+dangling and saddle cinch loosened, cropped the grass which carpeted
+the meadow.
+
+Finally the man arose, tightened the cinch in an absent manner,
+mounted, and rode back to the trail to continue on his way. At the top
+of the next ridge he halted, looking at a little ranch which lay in a
+wide valley a mile or two north of the thread of trail which he could
+see winding westward. The place looked poor, poverty-stricken, despite
+the small field of living green south of the house and the few head of
+cattle grazing along the banks of a little stream which wound through
+the valley.
+
+For some time the rider sat his horse motionless, frowning in
+indecision. Then he touched the dun lightly with his spurs, left the
+trail, and struck off to the north, following the ridge. He kept his
+gaze focused on the little ranch. The only sign of life which he saw
+was a heavily-burdened clothesline flapping in the idle breeze which
+at this point was wafted down from the mountains.
+
+When he was almost directly above the small house he turned his mount
+down the slope and gaining the floor of the valley, rode at a gallop
+for the house. His right hand now rested on his thigh near the
+holstered gun.
+
+As he brought his horse to a stop near the front of the house a girl
+appeared in the doorway. He looked at her in pleased surprise. Then
+his hat swept low in a gesture of courtesy.
+
+"Ma'am, I've found this to be a country of scattered habitations," he
+said in a musical bass. "So when I glimpsed your abode from yonder
+hills I said to myself, 'Rathburn, you're most powerful hungry; maybe
+you better pay a call.'"
+
+His eyes were glowing with an amused light, and a pleasant smile
+played upon his lips.
+
+The girl, who had listened curiously, now laughed in welcome. "There
+aren't many places between here and Dry Lake," she said; "and I guess
+it would be a pretty hot ride to-day. You can water your horse--and
+feed him at the barn, if you wish--and I'll get you something to eat,
+if you're not particular." Her eyes danced merrily.
+
+"Ma'am!" he exclaimed, with mock severity, "I quit bein' particular
+when I was--when I was as young as that youngster."
+
+A boy of ten or twelve had appeared beside the girl.
+
+"Young man, what're those dirt-looking spots on your face?" asked the
+stranger, frowning with his eyes but smiling with his lips.
+
+"They _ain't_ dirt spots!" returned the boy with spirit, advancing a
+step.
+
+"No?" said the man, feigning intense astonishment. "What _are_ they?"
+
+"They're freckles," answered the boy stoutly.
+
+"Oh--oh, _that's_ what they are," said the stranger with a delighted
+laugh. "Won't they wash off?"
+
+"Naw. You can't fool me. You knew what they were!"
+
+"Well, now, maybe so," observed the man as the girl laughingly turned
+inside.
+
+"Grub'll be ready by time you are," she called back to him.
+
+"I'll show you where to put your horse," said the boy as the man
+looked searchingly up and down the valley.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+A BOY AND A GIRL
+
+
+When Rathburn had put up his horse, after giving him a light feed of
+grain in the barn, he followed the boy to the rear of the house where
+he found water, soap, and a towel on a bench, above which hung a small
+mirror.
+
+The boy left him there, and he soon washed and combed his hair. The
+girl opened the rear door for him and he walked through the little
+kitchen into a small front room where a table was set for him.
+
+"Sure, ma'am, I didn't figure on causing you so much trouble," he said
+with a smile. "I didn't expect anything but a snack, an' here you've
+gone an' fixed a regular dinner--this time of day, too."
+
+"My experience with men in this country has taught me that when
+they're hungry, they're hungry," replied the girl. "And it wasn't much
+trouble. Those beans were in the oven and already warm. I just had to
+make the coffee. I was expecting my brother."
+
+"I didn't see any men around the place," he said, beginning to eat.
+"If I had I'd have made myself known to them before coming to the
+house. Where is he--out with the cattle?"
+
+He saw her gaze was troubled. "I don't know just where he is--to-day,"
+she confessed. "He goes away and sometimes doesn't come back for a day
+or two." She stood in the doorway.
+
+Rathburn noted her trim, slim figure and her wealth of chestnut hair.
+She was pretty and capable. He surmised that her parents were dead,
+although he could not ascribe the reason for this deduction. Evidently
+the boy was a younger brother. He wondered if the older brother would
+return before he finished eating.
+
+"How far is it to Dry Lake?" he asked casually.
+
+"Oh--why, didn't you come from there?" She seemed surprised.
+
+"No. I came from over to eastward."
+
+"But it's miles and miles to any place east of here, isn't it?" she
+asked, puzzled. "You must have had a long ride."
+
+A ghost of a frown played on his brows. Then he laughed. "Yes, miss,
+I've been ridin' some," he confessed. "I didn't know how far it was to
+anywhere or I mightn't have come in this direction."
+
+She looked at him wonderingly, and again he thought he saw a troubled
+look in her eyes.
+
+"You're going to Dry Lake?" she asked.
+
+"Yes," he said shortly, and a grim note crept into his voice. "It's
+west of here, ain't it?"
+
+"About fifteen or eighteen miles," she answered. "The trail leads
+there from the lower end of this valley--the same trail you came on, I
+guess. Are you a cow-puncher?"
+
+"Don't I look like one, miss?"
+
+"Yes, you do and--you don't." She was confused by the quality of his
+smile. But his eyes seemed to glow at her kindly, with a cheerful,
+amused light--altogether honest and friendly. She lowered her gaze and
+flushed despite herself.
+
+"My vocation, miss--you're too young an' pretty to be called ma'am, if
+you'll excuse me for saying so--is a peculiar one. I've punched cows,
+yes; I've prospected an' worked a bit in the mines. I've scared the
+wolf from the 'Welcome' mat by standing off the boys at green-topped
+tables, an' once I--I--worked on a sort of farm." He appeared
+apologetic as he confessed this last. "I guess I wasn't cut out for a
+farm hand, miss."
+
+She laughed at this. "Are you going to work in Dry Lake?" she asked,
+sobering.
+
+"Well, now, that is a question," he returned, draining his cup of the
+last of the coffee.
+
+"I'll get you some more," she said quickly, taking his cup. "Dry Lake
+isn't a very big place, you know."
+
+"Just how big _is_ Dry Lake?" he asked when she returned from the
+kitchen with more coffee for him.
+
+"Only a hundred or two. But the men from miles and miles go there
+because--because there are places there where they can stand the wolf
+off at the green-topped tables and--drink." The troubled look was in
+her eyes again. "Sometimes the wolf catches up with them before they
+get home," she added, smiling faintly.
+
+"It's not a safe system," he said thoughtfully.
+
+"But you might get work in Dry Lake," she said hopefully. "You--you
+look capable. The cattlemen from back in the hills go there and
+they're nearly always looking for men, I've heard. You might meet some
+of them and get a job."
+
+He beamed upon her. "I've always heard that a woman gave a man
+encouragement an' ambition, if she was a good one," he mused. "You've
+almost got me thinking I'd better go straight to work."
+
+"Why--didn't--wasn't that your intention?" she asked wonderingly.
+
+His face clouded. "It ain't always so easy for me to do what I want to
+do, miss," he said. "I--you see----" He broke off his speech with a
+frown. "This is a queer country, miss," he said earnestly.
+
+"Oh, I know," she said eagerly. "I'll bet you're an--an officer!"
+
+Then he laughed. It was the spontaneous laugh of youth, vibrant,
+compelling, mirth-inspiring.
+
+"Say, miss, if there's one thing I ain't tackled yet, it's being an
+officer," he chuckled as he finished his repast.
+
+She smiled vaguely, studying him under her long, dark lashes. The boy
+came into the room, holding his hands behind him, and stood with his
+sturdy legs braced apart, staring at Rathburn.
+
+"There he is now!" Rathburn exclaimed. "Did you try to wash the
+freckles off?" he queried with a wink.
+
+"I know who _you_ are!" said the boy. There was admiration and awe in
+his wide eyes.
+
+Rathburn looked at him closely, his brows wrinkling.
+
+"Yes, I do," said the boy, nodding. "Did he tell you who he is, sis?"
+he asked, looking at the girl.
+
+"Now, Frankie, we don't care who the man is," she reproved. "He was
+hungry and he's welcome. What's the matter with you?"
+
+"I guess you'd be surprised if you knew as much as I do," the boy
+boasted. "I guess you'd be surprised all right. I do."
+
+"I've been surprised more than once at things you knew," the girl said
+with a laugh.
+
+"Yes, but I guess you'd be surprised all right if you knew who _he_
+is," cried the boy, pointing at Rathburn.
+
+"Come, now, young fellow, don't be getting all het up here," said
+Rathburn slowly, drawing tobacco and papers from his shirt pocket.
+"What do you find to do with yourself around here?"
+
+But the youngster was not to be diverted from his topic. "I was
+lookin' at your horse," he said, his eyes shining. "That's how I know
+for sure an' certain who you are."
+
+Rathburn gazed at the boy sternly as he touched a match to his
+brown-paper cigarette. "My horse is all right, ain't he?"
+
+"Sure he is," said the boy eagerly. "I bet he can go some, too. He'd
+have to go for you to have him, wouldn't he? You're The Coyote!"
+
+Rathburn continued to smile with an amused tolerance. But the girl
+gave a start; her hands flew to her breast, and she stared at the man
+with wide-open eyes.
+
+"Frankie! What are you saying?" she exclaimed.
+
+The boy triumphantly brought his hands from behind his back. He held
+out a poster.
+
+"His horse has got CC2 for a brand, just like it says in this bill Ed
+brought from town!" he cried. "He's The Coyote, all right. But I won't
+tell," he added quickly, looking at Rathburn.
+
+The man avoided the girl's eyes. The boy laid the poster on the table
+where she could read it again, word for word.
+
+"Tall--light in complexion--gray or blue eyes--good teeth--horse
+branded CC2--dangerous----"
+
+And this man was tall and blond, with gray eyes. Five hundred dollars
+reward!
+
+"I won't tell anybody you've been here," the boy continued. "We won't
+tell, will we, sis?" He looked at the girl imploringly.
+
+"My brother Ed says what you want you take," said the boy, gazing at
+the man in admiration. "An' he says you don't rob anybody that can't
+afford it! He says the banks are insured an' you've been a friend to
+more'n one that's just gettin' a start in the cattle. I won't tell
+anybody you've been here, an' I won't let sis tell anybody, either!"
+
+Rathburn was smiling wistfully. "Always tell the truth, sonny," he
+said in a low voice. "Don't forget that. I wouldn't want you to lie
+for me. Any man that would want you to lie for him wouldn't be a man
+a-tall, son. See?"
+
+"But old Brown, the judge, or the sheriff might come along an' want to
+know if you'd been here!" said the boy in breathless excitement.
+
+"Then tell 'em the truth," said Rathburn smilingly. "Tell 'em a man
+with a horse branded CC2 was here an' kidded you about your freckles,
+had something to eat, an' rode away. Don't lie, sonny, no matter what
+happens."
+
+The girl took a step toward the table. "You--_are_--The Coyote?" she
+asked in a whisper.
+
+"My name is Rathburn, miss," he replied cheerfully. "In some ways I'm
+a lot like the man described in that reward notice. An' I'm riding a
+dun-colored horse branded CC2. I don't like that monicker, Coyote, or
+I might 'fess up to it."
+
+"Then--if you're him--you're an outlaw!" she stammered.
+
+Rathburn's dreamy look shifted to the boy who was staring at him.
+
+"You'll grow up to be quite a man, son," he said in a fatherly tone.
+"Those freckles mean a tough skin. A weak sort of skin tans quick an'
+the toughest just sunburns. You're halfway between. That's all right
+for freckles; but it don't go in life. It's best to be on one side or
+the other, an' the right side's the best for most folks."
+
+He rose and went for his hat. Then he extracted a roll of bills from a
+hip pocket and laid a five-dollar note on the table.
+
+"That meal was worth it," he said to the girl with a smile.
+
+She shook her head. "I--I couldn't take it," she said.
+
+"That's clean money, miss. I earned it circumventin' three of the most
+ornery card sharps in Arizona."
+
+She continued to shake her head. "You do not understand," she
+murmured. "It--it wouldn't make any difference. We couldn't take money
+from a stranger who came to us--hungry. It wouldn't make any
+difference who you were."
+
+"Aw, we need it, sis!" blurted out the boy. "The Coyote's all right.
+He wouldn't lie to us."
+
+Rathburn laughed and, stepping to the boy, ran his fingers in his
+hair. "I guess I've made a friend," he said in a wistful voice. Then
+he picked up the bill on the table and stuffed it into the boy's
+pocket. His eyes encountered the poster again and they clouded. He
+turned away from it.
+
+"Miss, you'll let me thank you--sure."
+
+She nodded, retreating a few paces.
+
+"Then I'll be going," he said, stepping to the door.
+
+"To--to Dry Lake?" she found the voice to ask.
+
+"Yes. To Dry Lake."
+
+He left the house and in a few minutes reappeared from the direction
+of the barn, riding his dun-colored horse. He did not stop, but
+galloped down the valley, waving a hand in farewell which the boy
+answered.
+
+The day was nearly spent. The sun was low in the west, sliding down
+like a ball of gold toward the rim of the blue mountains. A stiff
+breeze had sprung up, driving the heat before it. At the lower end of
+the valley Rathburn found the trail he had left when he detoured to
+the ranch. He turned westward upon it, put spurs to his horse, and
+sped toward town.
+
+It was just as well that the girl could not see the look which came to
+his face as he rode into the sunset.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE LAW
+
+
+Night had descended when Rathburn came in sight of the little town on
+the edge of the foothills. He rode slowly toward it, staring moodily
+at the flickering lights between interlaced branches which waved and
+weaved in the wind blowing down from the mountains. In all the
+distance he had traveled from the lonely ranch where he had met the
+girl and the boy he had encountered no one. He surmised that the trail
+to the desert hills to eastward was not a popular one.
+
+As he neared the town he saw that it consisted of one main street with
+buildings clustered about it, and numerous shacks scattered in the lee
+of the hills. There were trees close to the eastern end of the street
+which he was approaching, and when he reached these trees he
+dismounted, led his horse into the shadows, and tied it.
+
+He walked down the main street, which was illuminated only by the
+stars and the yellow gleams of light from windows on either side.
+
+There were several resorts, and one in particular seemed the most
+popular. Rathburn glanced in through the door of this place as he
+passed and saw that it consisted of a bar and numerous tables, where
+games were in progress. He did not stop but continued on his way.
+
+Few people were on the street; none of them took any especial notice
+of him. Several doors below the largest resort which he had so
+casually investigated, he came to a small, one-story, white-painted
+building, which, save for the door and window in its front, looked
+like a huge box.
+
+Across the glass in the door was lettered in gold:
+
+                         JUDSON BROWN
+                         Justice of the Peace
+                         Notary Public
+
+A dim light shone within, and, peering through the window, Rathburn
+saw that this light came from a lamp in a second room behind the
+little front office.
+
+He looked up and down the street and saw but two pedestrians, both
+walking up the other side of the thoroughfare with their back to him.
+He tried the door stealthily, found it unlocked, and stepped quickly
+inside. Three strides took him to the door of the inside room.
+
+A man looked up from a small table where he was engaged in writing. He
+was a stout man, large of countenance, with small black eyes under
+bushy brows which were black, although his hair was gray. He scowled
+heavily at the intruder who failed to remove his hat, and who stood,
+with feet well apart, in the doorway, a whimsical smile playing on his
+lips.
+
+In a sweeping glance Rathburn saw that the room contained a bed,
+wardrobe closet, several chairs, and other articles of furniture and
+decoration of a bedroom and living room. His eyes flashed back to the
+burly man sitting at the table, pen poised, coolly surveying him with
+a frown.
+
+"Your name Jud Brown?" he asked, stepping inside the room and to the
+side of the door toward the table where he could not be seen from the
+street.
+
+"I'm _Judge_ Brown," replied the large man testily. "You should have
+knocked before you came in, but now you're here, state your business
+as quickly as possible."
+
+"That's a businesslike tone that I admire to hear, Brown," drawled
+Rathburn. "You'll excuse my not callin' you judge. I'm afraid when you
+find out who I am you'd think I was kiddin' you!"
+
+He smiled amiably while the justice glared angrily.
+
+"You're drunk!" flared Brown. "The best thing you can do is get out of
+here--quick."
+
+Rathburn looked pained. "First you ask me to state my business an' now
+you tell me to get out," he complained. "You might as well know that I
+never touch likker," he added convincingly.
+
+Brown was studying him intently with a puzzled look on his face.
+"Well," he said finally, with a show of irritation, "what do you
+want?"
+
+"I want you to tell me the why an' the wherefores of this document,"
+said Rathburn sternly as he drew a folded piece of paper from a pocket
+and spread it out on the table before the astonished gaze of the
+justice.
+
+"That's one of a number I saw tacked on trees on the east trail out of
+here," continued Rathburn, frowning. "What's it all about, Brown?"
+
+The pen in the hand of the justice suddenly began to waver as the hand
+trembled. Then Brown dropped it, squared away his chair, and looked
+grimly at his nocturnal visitor. For some moments his gaze was
+concentrated on Rathburn's face. Then he slowly read the poster
+offering a reward of five hundred dollars for The Coyote. He wet his
+lips with his tongue.
+
+"So I was right!" he exclaimed. "You _were_ headed in this direction.
+I'm assuming that you're The Coyote!"
+
+"And you're assuming what's the bare, untarnished truth," said
+Rathburn. "I'm The Coyote you've offered five hundred for, an' who'll
+bring another five hundred in several counties in Arizona, not to
+mention five thousand that the State of Arizona has tossed into the
+pot. I suppose I'm worth at least ten thousand as I stand here."
+
+"That would be cheap for a man of your reputation!" said the justice
+bravely. "We don't want you across the line in California, Coyote. We
+won't put up with your depredations, and if you murder one of our
+citizens you'll hang!"
+
+Rathburn's chilling laugh hung upon the justice's words. "You're
+side-stepping the point," he said suddenly in crisp tones that were
+like the crack of a whiplash. "You're anticipating events, Jud. That's
+my complaint--that's my business here with you." He brought his right
+palm down upon the table smartly.
+
+"An' now that I'm here, Jud, you're sure goin' to listen!"
+
+"Don't threaten me!" cried the justice. "There are a hundred men
+within call and they'd make short work of you if they got their hands
+on you. Darn your ornery hide, I'm holding the winning cards in this
+game!" he concluded excitedly.
+
+Rathburn was smiling at him; and it was not his natural smile. It gave
+the justice pause as he looked up into those narrowed gray eyes, shot
+with a steel-blue light. Rathburn's right hand and wrist moved with
+incredible swiftness, and Brown found himself staring into the black
+bore of a six-gun. Still he saw the eyes above the weapon. His face
+blanched.
+
+"There are six winning cards in my right hand," Rathburn said slowly.
+"You can start shoutin' for those hundred men you mentioned just as
+soon as you want. Brown, it's you an' your kind that's made me
+desperate--dangerous, like you said in that printed notice. I won't
+fool with you or any other man on earth!"
+
+"What--what did you come here for?" stammered the justice.
+
+"To get away from--from back there in that cactus-bordered country of
+black, lava hills where I was born an' where I belong!" said Rathburn
+grimly, sliding into a chair on the opposite side of the table from
+Brown.
+
+"Listen to me! I was driven out. I've ridden for a week with the idea
+of gettin' where I wasn't known an' where I could maybe get a fresh
+start, and here I find a reward notice staring me in the face from the
+top of the first hill I cross after leaving Arizona. I've never been
+here before; I've done nothing to molest you or your town; but you sic
+the pack on me first off an' hand-running, without any reason, except
+that you've _heard_ things about me, I reckon."
+
+Brown nodded his head as Rathburn finished. A measure of composure
+returned to him. His eyes gleamed with cunning as he remembered that
+his front door was unlocked and some one might by chance come in. But
+he again felt troubled as he conjectured what might happen in such
+event.
+
+"You cannot blame me," he said to Rathburn. "You've robbed, and you're
+a killer----"
+
+"That's what you _hear_?" thundered Rathburn. "I admit several
+robberies--holdups of crooked, gambling joints like you've got in this
+town, an' petty-larceny bankers who robbed poor stockmen with sanction
+of the law. I've killed one man who had it coming to him. But I've
+shouldered the blame for every killing an' every robbery that's been
+staged in the desert country for the last three years. 'The Coyote did
+it,' is what they say, an' the crooks an' gunmen that turned the deal
+go free. I'm talking to you, Brown, as man to man--a thing I've never
+done with any mouthpiece of the law before. I'm trying to show you
+how you an' your kind can make a man an outlaw an' keep him one till
+somebody shoots him down. I'm sore, Brown, because I know that one of
+these days I'm going to get it myself!"
+
+The justice saw that the man was in deadly earnest. He saw the hand
+resting on the table tighten its grip upon the gun.
+
+"I didn't know all these things," he said hastily. "I had to judge by
+what I heard--and read. Why didn't you make all this known to the
+Arizona authorities?"
+
+Rathburn laughed harshly. "Because I'd be framed clear across the
+board," he said jeeringly. "It's the law! It's as much of a crime to
+rob a thieving gambler or a snake of a whisky runner or peddler as it
+is to rob a home! I've had to rob to live! An' all the while there's
+been the makings of one of the hardest-lookin' bad men that this
+Southwest country ever saw in me. And, now that I think of it, why the
+devil I've held off I don't know!"
+
+Brown was moved by the sincerity of the man. He saw in Rathburn's eyes
+that he was speaking the gospel truth. He saw something else in those
+eyes--the yearning of a homeless, friendless man, stamped with the
+stigma of outlawry, rebelling against the forces which were against
+him, relentlessly hunting him down.
+
+"You say you came here to start over?" he asked curiously. "How do I
+know you won't walk right out of this office and turn a trick right
+here in this very town?"
+
+"You don't know it, that's the devil of it!" exclaimed Rathburn. "An'
+there's no use in my telling you I won't, for you wouldn't take my
+word for it. You've got me pegged for a gun-fightin' bandit of first
+water an' clear crystal, an' I won't try to wise you up because it
+wouldn't do any good. Now that you know I'm in this country, you'll
+blame the first wrong thing that happens on to me. I've got no
+business here talking to you. I'm wasting my breath. You'll have to
+find out from somebody besides me that I was telling you the truth,
+an' I reckon that coincidence ain't in the pictures. Where's your
+handcuffs?"
+
+The justice stared at him, startled.
+
+"Where's your handcuffs?" insisted Rathburn angrily.
+
+"In the drawer of my desk out in front," replied Brown.
+
+"Go an' get 'em an' bring 'em here," Rathburn commanded. "I'll keep my
+drop on you under cover."
+
+Brown rose and went to his desk in the front room while Rathburn
+watched him in the doorway with his gun held under his coat.
+
+When the justice returned to the inside room Rathburn moved a chair
+close against one of the bedposts. He compelled Brown to sit in the
+chair, put his hands around between the supports in the back, and
+about the bedpost. He handcuffed him in that position.
+
+Drawing a bandanna handkerchief from a pocket he swiftly gagged the
+justice. Then he rummaged about the room until he found a piece of
+rope tied about a pack in the bottom of the wardrobe. With this he
+secured Brown's ankles to the front legs of the chair.
+
+"There!" he said, standing back to view his handiwork. "You're pretty
+well trussed up. I ain't trusting you any more than you'd trust me,
+an' I don't figure on you raising any hue an' cry before I can get
+along on my way."
+
+The eyes of the justice were rolling as he struggled in vain to
+speak.
+
+"Never mind," said Rathburn. "I reckon I know what you want to say.
+Under the circumstances, the same being so much on my side, you'd say
+you believed me an' all that. But I took a chance in coming here to
+tell you what I did an' I never aim to take more'n one chance in a
+day. So long."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+"I KNEW HE LIED!"
+
+
+Rathburn extinguished the light in the lamp, walked swiftly to the
+front door, and outside. Closing the door softly he turned back up the
+street. He sauntered along slowly, debating his next move. Evidently
+the town was the last for many miles in the mountainous country east
+and north. Westward he would come upon many towns as the country
+became more and more densely populated toward the coast. Northwestward
+he would be able to keep within the arm of the mountains and still be
+in touch with civilization. But he would have to make some changes in
+his attire and fix that brand on his horse.
+
+Instinctively his course brought him to the big resort he had noticed
+upon his arrival. The entrance doors had been closed against the chill
+of the night, but he could see the interior of the place through one
+of the windows despite the coating of dust upon the glass.
+
+As he peered within he stiffened to alert attention and a light oath
+escaped him. Walking swiftly from a rear door was a tall man, the
+lower part of his face concealed by a black handkerchief. He held a
+gun in each hand and was covering the score or more patrons of the
+place who had risen from the tables, or stepped back from the bar,
+with their hands held high above their heads.
+
+"Keep 'em there an' you'll be all right," the masked man was saying in
+a loud voice which carried to Rathburn through cracks in the window
+glass. "Line up down there, now--you hear me? Line up!"
+
+The patrons lined up, keeping their faces toward the bandit.
+
+"If anybody gets to acting uneasylike it'll be the signal for me to
+start shootin'--understand?" came the holdup's menacing voice as he
+moved around behind the bar.
+
+"Open both cash drawers," he ordered the servitor in the white apron.
+He covered the bartender with one gun while he kept the other pointed
+in the direction of the men standing in line.
+
+Obeying instructions, the bartender took the bills from the cash
+drawers and laid them before the bandit on the bar. He then made
+several piles of silver near the bills, walking to and from the
+drawers of the big cash register. Continuing to do as he was told, he
+stuffed the bank notes and silver into the masked man's pockets, one
+gun's muzzle against his breast, the other holding the men in line at
+bay.
+
+Rathburn heard footsteps on the walk close to him. He whirled and saw
+two men about to enter the resort. "I wouldn't go in there," he said
+sharply in a low voice.
+
+"Eh--what's that?"
+
+The two men paused, looking at him questioningly.
+
+"I wouldn't go in there," Rathburn repeated. "Come here an' take a
+look."
+
+One of the men stepped to his side and peered curiously through the
+window.
+
+"Bill!" he whispered excitedly. "Look here. It's a holdup!"
+
+The other man looked over his shoulder. He swore softly.
+
+"I'll bet it's The Coyote!" said the first man in an awed voice.
+
+"Probably is," said Rathburn sneeringly. "They say he was heading this
+way."
+
+"Good place to stay out of--if it's _him_," declared the second man.
+
+Rathburn suddenly pulled back his left sleeve. "See that?" he said,
+pointing to his left forearm.
+
+The two men stared at the bared forearm in the yellow light which
+shone through the dust-stained window. They saw a scar about three
+inches below the elbow.
+
+"Looks like a bullet made that," one of the men observed.
+
+"You're right," said Rathburn, letting down his shirt sleeve. "A
+bullet from The Coyote's gun left that mark."
+
+The men looked at him wonderingly and respectfully.
+
+"You boys live here?" asked Rathburn.
+
+"Sure," was the reply. "We work in the Pine Knot Hotel an' stables.
+You from the hills?"
+
+"Yep," answered Rathburn. "Cow-puncher an' horseshoer an' one thing
+an' another. What's he doing now?" He again turned his attention to
+the scene within the resort, as did the two men with him.
+
+The bandit was backing away from the bar toward the rear of the room,
+still keeping his guns thrust out before him, menacing the men who
+stood with uplifted hands.
+
+"You can tell your funny judge that I called!" he sang out as he
+reached the rear door. "An' now, gents," he continued in an excited
+voice, "it won't go well with the man that tries to get out this back
+way too soon."
+
+As he ceased speaking his guns roared. The two large hanging
+lamps, suspended from the ceiling in the center, went out to the
+accompaniment of shattered glass crashing on the floor. The three
+smaller lamps above the back bar next were cut to splinters by
+bullets and the place was in total darkness.
+
+Then there was silence, save for the sound of a horse's hoofs coming
+from somewhere behind the building.
+
+Rathburn drew back from the window as a match flared within and his
+two companions moved toward the front door. He stole around the corner
+of the building and started on a run for the rear. He stopped when he
+heard a horse galloping toward the east end of the street behind the
+buildings which lined that side. He hurried behind two buildings which
+did not extend as far as the resort and hastened up the street. He did
+not once look back.
+
+Behind him he heard shouts and men running in the street. He increased
+his pace until he was running swiftly for the trees where he had left
+his horse. From above he caught the dying echoes of hoofs flying on
+the trail up the foothills by which he had come early that night.
+
+The cries down the street increased, a gun barked, and bullets whined
+over his head.
+
+"The locoed fools!" he panted. "Didn't they hear that fellow ride
+away?"
+
+But the shooting evidently was of a promiscuous nature, for he heard
+more shots around by the rear of the place where the robbery had been
+committed. No more bullets were fired in his direction as he darted
+into the black shadows of the trees.
+
+He quickly untied his horse, mounted, rode in the shelter of the
+timber to the east trail, and began the ascent, urging his horse to
+its fastest walking gait up the hard trail. The fleeing bandit's
+sounds of retreat no longer came to his ears, but he kept on, scanning
+the open stretches of trail above in the starlight, a disparaging
+smile playing upon his lips.
+
+Back in the little town excitement was at a high pitch. Extra lamps
+had been lighted in the resort where a big crowd had gathered. Several
+men ran to the office of Judson Brown, justice of the peace, while
+others went in search of the constable.
+
+When Brown failed to answer the summons at his door, some one
+discovered it was not locked, and the little group of men trooped in
+to find the justice gagged and handcuffed to his bed. They lighted the
+lamp and removed the gag. Then acting upon his instructions they took
+a bunch of keys from his pocket and unlocked the handcuffs.
+
+He stood, boiling with rage, while they alternately hurled questions
+at him and told him of the holdup.
+
+He ignored their questions as to how he came to be bound and gagged
+and demanded more details of the robbery.
+
+"We took him to be The Coyote," said the spokesman of the group. He
+had been one of the men the bandit had lined up. "He was tall, an'
+blue or gray eyes, an'----"
+
+"A puncher from up north picked him out through the window," spoke up
+one of the men who had encountered Rathburn outside the resort. "He'd
+been shot in the forearm by him once--showed us the scar. The robber
+was The Coyote, all right."
+
+"Certainly it was him!" roared Brown. "He came in here, tied me up
+after pulling a gun on me, an' threatening to kill me, practically, so
+he wouldn't have any trouble pulling his trick. Tried to steer me off
+by saying he didn't come here to make any trouble. I knew he lied!"
+
+The constable came in as the justice was finishing his irate speech.
+
+"I'm going to lead this chase myself!" cried Brown. "I want The
+Coyote, and I'm going to get him. I raise that reward to a thousand on
+the spot, and I know the sheriff will back me up. Get out every man in
+town that can stick on a horse, and we'll catch him if we have to comb
+the hills and desert country till doomsday!"
+
+Already horsemen were gathering in the street outside. Feeling was
+high, for Dry Lake prided itself on its record of freedom from the
+molestation of outlaws. The rough element, too, was strong for a man
+hunt, or anything, for that matter, promising excitement.
+
+A quarter of an hour later Brown, who was accepted as the leader when
+emergencies involving the law arose, distributed his forces. He sent
+two posses of twenty men each north and northwest. A third posse of a
+dozen men started southward. Towns to the west were notified by
+telephone as was the sheriff's office. The sheriff said he would be on
+his way to Dry Lake in an hour. He was amazed that The Coyote should
+be in his territory. He, too, wanted the outlaw, and he praised Brown
+for his reward offer.
+
+Judson Brown himself led the posse of thirty men which took the east
+trail up the foothills. It was an hour past midnight. The moon had
+risen and was flooding the tumbled landscape with its cold, white
+light. From different vantage points on ridges high above, two men
+looked grimly down and saw the moving shadows of the man hunters as
+they took the trail.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+A CAPTURE
+
+
+Three hours after the posses scattered on their search for The Coyote,
+spurred by thoughts of the reward of a thousand dollars offered by San
+Jacinto county, and Judson Brown's declaration that the reward would
+be increased by the thousands more which Arizona had laid upon the
+fugitive's head, Rathburn smiled at the rosy dawn in supreme
+satisfaction.
+
+He had not lost his man's trail during the early morning hours. Time
+and again he had outwitted the man ahead when the latter had waited to
+scan the back trail for signs of pursuit; more than once he had gained
+ground when screened by timber growth close to the trail; every
+stretch of dust-filled trail had been taken advantage of, while the
+soft going underfoot had deadened the sound of his horse's flying
+hoofs.
+
+The bandit had traveled fast and he had kept steadily to the eastward.
+This last was what caused Rathburn to smile with satisfaction. The man
+for whose crime Rathburn was suspected was heading straight for
+Rathburn's own stamping ground--the far-distant desert range, which he
+knew from the low horizon in the south to the white-capped peaks in
+the north. To catch up with him would be but a matter of a few hours,
+Rathburn reflected contentedly.
+
+Nor had the posse gained upon the two men ahead. Brown's men, perhaps,
+did not have as excellent specimens of horseflesh as Rathburn and his
+quarry rode. Nor did they possess the trail knowledge, the tricks
+which Rathburn knew, and which the latter, more or less to his
+surprise, found that the man ahead knew. Whatever it was that caused
+that curling, sneering smile of contempt to play upon Rathburn's lips
+at intervals, it was not scorn of the riding ability of the man he was
+pursuing.
+
+Moreover, both men ahead were saving their horses' strength against a
+probable spurt by the posse at daylight. It would not be a hard matter
+to follow their trail by the bright light of broad day. So far as he
+could determine, Rathburn did not believe the man ahead knew he was
+followed by a solitary rider who was between him and the hounds of the
+law.
+
+Under the circumstances, the bandit would expect to be pursued by a
+number, Rathburn reasoned. He was ordering his pursuit on this theory,
+and he did not intend to take any more time than was absolutely
+necessary in catching up with the man ahead.
+
+Rathburn's horse had not been hard ridden the day preceding, nor for
+several days before that. He had journeyed westward by easy stages,
+taking his time, favoring his mount in anticipation of some unforeseen
+emergency which might require hard riding. And he well knew the
+extraordinary powers of speed and endurance which the animal
+possessed.
+
+He frowned as he thought of the brand. He had not been under the
+impression that the iron his horse wore was generally known to the
+authorities. He would have to hole-up somewhere in the hills before
+long and attend to that brand. As it was, it was a dead give-away as
+to his identity. He could thank Brown for this bit of information,
+anyway.
+
+With the dawn, Rathburn found it easier to keep on his man's trail
+without being seen himself. He gained considerable until he estimated
+that he was not more than a mile and a half, or two miles at most,
+behind.
+
+The sun was up when he reached the crest of the high ridge where was
+the tall pine and the sign which he had first seen the afternoon
+before.
+
+He hesitated, debating whether to let the printed notice remain with
+his penciled inscription about the Arizona reward on it, or to tear it
+down. Then he saw the man he was pursuing below on the trail. He moved
+swiftly out of sight down the eastern side of the ridge. But when he
+came to the next vantage point he discovered that his man had
+apparently seen him; for he was riding at a mad gallop on the trail
+which wound eastward along the edge of the hills.
+
+"Now's as good a time as any, hoss!" he cried to his mount as he drove
+in his spurs and dashed in swift pursuit.
+
+Down the winding trail plunged horse and rider. The dun slipped and
+slid on the hard surface of the steep declivities and finally emerged
+upon the more open path which the man ahead was following.
+
+Rathburn no longer made any attempt at concealment. He was after the
+man ahead, and, somewhere behind, a posse was in mad pursuit. If he
+were captured before he could overtake the bandit who was responsible
+for the robbery, the latter would very likely escape--was certain to
+make his get-away, in fact.
+
+Rathburn called upon his horse by voice and spur for all the speed
+there was in him. He could see the fugitive ahead urging his horse to
+its utmost. The race was on in earnest. Thus they came to a long
+stretch of open, level trail. Here Rathburn's horse began slowly to
+gain.
+
+The man ahead turned in his saddle, and Rathburn saw the glint of
+sunlight on dull metal. He brought out his own gun. But the other did
+not fire. He kept on, half-turned in the saddle, watching his pursuer
+keenly. Rathburn continued to gain upon him.
+
+They now were less than half a mile apart, and the fugitive suddenly
+turned his horse due north, straight toward the hills, and sent a
+volley of shots whistling in his pursuer's direction.
+
+Rathburn held his fire. The bullets flew wide of their mark, and he
+could see his man reloading as he rode. Rathburn now cut across,
+racing for the point where he thought the other would reach the hills.
+His horse rose to the emergency with a tremendous burst of speed. He
+was close enough now to shoot with a reasonable certainty of scoring a
+hit on his flying target. But he had no desire to kill, and he could
+not be certain, at that distance, of merely wounding his quarry. He
+also recoiled from the thought that he might accidently hit the
+other's splendid horse.
+
+Just ahead a thin line of straggling pines ranged down the gradual
+slope from the first low ridge of the hills for which they were
+heading. Rathburn swung north and gained the shelter of this screen
+just as the other rider again began firing. The trees now were between
+them, and each was an equal distance from the gentle slope of the
+ridge.
+
+Rathburn called upon his horse for a last, heartbreaking burst of
+speed and the dun made good. At the beginning of the slope to the
+ridge, Rathburn veered sharply to the right and burst through the
+trees a scant rod or two from his man. His gun was leveled straight at
+the other, who had been caught momentarily off his guard.
+
+"Drop it!" shouted Rathburn, racing toward him.
+
+The man's right hand fell to his side while he checked his horse with
+his left. Rathburn rode in close to him and they came to a halt.
+Rathburn's lips were curled in a smile of contempt. The other stared
+at him, white-faced, his eyes wide and inquiring. The fingers of his
+right hand relaxed, and the gun fell to the ground. Rathburn swung low
+in the saddle and scooped it up, thrusting it into a pocket of his
+coat.
+
+"Now beat it up over that ridge ahead," Rathburn ordered. "And be
+quick about it. That posse may be close behind us."
+
+The other's eyes lit up with surprise. "You--you're not an officer?"
+he stammered.
+
+"Shut up, you fool!" cried Rathburn. "You want to stay here an' talk
+when there's a score or two of men after us? I'm worse than an
+officer. Slope for that ridge now. Hurry!"
+
+The man put the steel to his horse, and they dashed up the slope,
+crossed the ridge, and found themselves in a thick growth of timber
+which covered a large area.
+
+"Pick your way into the middle of that patch of timber," snapped out
+Rathburn. "An' don't forget I'll be right close behind you. Get
+going--don't gape!"
+
+The captive's face flushed at the other's manner and the indubitable
+note of contempt in his voice. But he obeyed the instructions and
+pushed into the timber.
+
+When they had proceeded some distance Rathburn called a halt. "Ever
+been in this country before?" he demanded with a sneer.
+
+"Yes." The other was more composed now. He studied his captor
+curiously and seemed more at ease. Evidently he was heartened by the
+fact that Rathburn had said he was not an officer and he believed
+him.
+
+"I suppose you're after what I'm carrying on me," he said with a touch
+of bitterness. "I guess I'd have had as much chance as I've got now
+if I'd started shootin' even after you got the drop on me!"
+
+Rathburn laughed harshly. "You never had a chance from the start, if
+you only knew it," he jeered. "Why, you upstart, you're not entitled
+to any chance!"
+
+The other man's face darkened in swift anger. "Brave talk," he said
+sneeringly. "You've got me where you want me, so you can say
+anything."
+
+"I've got a pile to say," replied Rathburn shortly. "But this isn't
+the time or place to say it. We want to be good an' away out of that
+posse's path--an' quick."
+
+"You might as well take what you're after an' then each of us can look
+out for himself," was the hot retort.
+
+Rathburn looked at the man quizzically. "You've got more spunk than I
+thought," he mused.
+
+He stared at the other man closely. The bandit could not have been
+more than twenty-five or twenty-six. He was tall, well-built, blond.
+His hair and eyes were about the color of Rathburn's. But Rathburn
+particularly noted the man's face, and whatever it was he saw there
+caused him to shrug and frown deeply.
+
+"What's your name?" he demanded coldly.
+
+"Percy," sneeringly replied the other.
+
+"That's good enough for me," said Rathburn cheerfully. "All I need is
+a name to call you by. Now, Percy, if you're acquainted with this
+country in here an' can steer the way to where the posse'll be liable
+to overlook us you better be leading on. I see you've ditched your
+other gun somewhere--you had two."
+
+"So you want me to take you where you'll be safe so you can rob me,
+maybe shoot me down, an' then make your get-away," the other
+accused.
+
+Rathburn looked him straight in the eyes. "If you think I'm the kind
+of a man who'd shoot another down in cold blood when he was helpless
+you don't know much about human beings," he said slowly. "I have no
+intention of murdering you or harming you a-tall, if you're halfway
+careful. If you feel that it's against your principles to lead this
+expedition to temporary safety, we can turn back toward Dry Lake.
+We're going to do one thing or the other within one minute!"
+
+"Oh, come on," muttered the captive. He led the way through the timber
+to its western edge, then turned north in the shelter of the trees
+traversing a long, high, rocky ridge.
+
+"Our horses won't leave any tracks here," he called back. "Or maybe
+you don't care whether we leave any tracks or not," he added
+sarcastically.
+
+Rathburn spurred his horse alongside of him. "It doesn't make a bit of
+difference to me," he said. "You're the one that's got to be scared of
+that posse, Percy, not me. If it wasn't for one thing I'd take you
+right down there to meet 'em!"
+
+The other looked at him both in anger and perplexity. "Suppose you'd
+object to tellin' what that one thing is," he said savagely.
+
+"Well, it may be that I feel sorry for you," said Rathburn as if to
+himself. "An' it may be that I want credit for bringing you in without
+the help of any posse an' without them knowing it!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE REAL LOW-DOWN
+
+
+They rode on in silence. When they reached the north end of the ridge
+the man in the lead turned west on a slope studded with large boulders
+and rock outcroppings. There was considerable shale here, too, and
+they had to proceed cautiously in spots, both for fear of sliding down
+the shale and to prevent making much noise.
+
+"If they follow us up here, we can hear 'em before they get to us,"
+said the man who called himself Percy, with a shrug and a frowning
+look at his companion.
+
+Rathburn did not reply.
+
+They continued across the slope and descended into a large bowl or
+pocket, guarded by huge boulders and scattering trees on the slope
+above.
+
+"Guess it's safe to rest our horses here," said Percy. "We can hear
+'em coming either way; but I don't think they'll get up here."
+
+However, neither he nor Rathburn knew how many men Brown had at his
+command, nor did they know that the sheriff of the county, with two
+deputies, had raced to Dry Lake by automobile, procured horses, and
+hastened to join Brown on the east trail, which seemed the most likely
+route of escape for the outlaw.
+
+There was a spring in the pocket surrounded by a small meadow of good
+grass. The pair watered their horses, loosened their saddle-cinches,
+and permitted the animals to graze with reins dangling.
+
+Rathburn took his slicker pack from the rear of his saddle and spread
+it open on the ground.
+
+"Reckon it's safe to build a small fire here?" he asked cheerfully.
+"I'm powerful hungry, an' I've got some emergency provisions--being
+trail-broke."
+
+Percy, too, was hungry, as his eager look toward the pack testified.
+
+"I'll climb up to the top on the lower side an' keep an eye out while
+you fix some grub," he volunteered. "You needn't be scared of me
+jumping over the other side. There's a drop of about five hundred feet
+over there."
+
+"Go ahead and jump if you want," said Rathburn. "Me--I'd rather live.
+That's why I want to eat."
+
+While the other climbed to his lookout position Rathburn made a fire.
+Then he took a small frying pan and coffeepot, minus its handle, from
+the pack, removed the packages stuffed in them, and soon was making
+coffee, frying bacon, and warming up beans. This, with some hard
+biscuits and some sirup out of a bottle, constituted their meal, which
+Rathburn soon had ready.
+
+Again he looked closely at Percy's face as the latter scrambled down
+from his perch to appease his hunger.
+
+Suddenly he burst out laughing; but it was a belittling laugh, half
+sneering, which brought the blood to the face of the captive while
+Rathburn watched him closely.
+
+"If I had to-day's actions to do over again you mightn't be so
+tickled," said the man viciously.
+
+"I'm laughing to think how lucky you are for a rank beginner an'
+botcher!" said Rathburn as they began to eat. "You must have took a
+course in outlawing from some correspondence school," he continued.
+
+"Maybe you could have done better," hinted the other.
+
+"Quite likely I could," admitted Rathburn. "In the first place I'd
+have shut that back door after I came in so nobody could pot shot me
+from behind. Yes, I reckon I'd have done that."
+
+Percy glared at him thoughtfully.
+
+"Then I wouldn't have let myself get in line with the front and side
+windows," Rathburn taunted. "Lots of men are shot through windows.
+Ever hear of such a thing?"
+
+His listener didn't answer.
+
+"An' now that I think of it," Rathburn droned on, "I'd have lined
+those men up against the wall with their faces turned away from me.
+That puts 'em at more of a disadvantage, an' they can't see what's
+going on."
+
+Percy now was regarding him keenly.
+
+"Let's see," said Rathburn, with tantalizing slowness. "Oh, yes,
+Percy. I wouldn't have taken anything from the cash drawers but the
+bills. I don't like to take the time to monkey around with a lot of
+silver; besides, it sort of weights one down."
+
+He paused long enough to let that sink in, then continued: "The thing
+I'd have paid most of my attention to--excepting for keeping a
+watchful eye on the men against the wall an' the windows an'
+doors--would have been the safe. The big money's usually in the safe,
+an' the bartender can be induced to open the safe just as easy as he
+can be persuaded into opening the cash drawers. An' say, Percy, I'd
+never let a bartender get as close to me as you let that fellow get to
+you. He might start something, then you'd have to begin shootin' an'
+that would alarm the town an' ball up the program."
+
+"You talk like you'd had considerable experience," observed Percy
+warily.
+
+"Maybe so. Maybe I have. But if I have, I can say I've never pulled
+anything quite so raw as the way you pulled that stunt last night down
+in Dry Lake, Percy. That is the real low-down on that. You just
+naturally laid yourself open to attack from all quarters."
+
+His captive looked at him both respectfully and sheepishly.
+
+"An' there's only one reason why you got away with it," said Rathburn,
+his eyes narrowing.
+
+"Because I was lucky like you say, I suppose," sneeringly answered
+Percy.
+
+"No!" thundered Rathburn. "You got away with it because they thought
+you were The Coyote!"
+
+The captive started; stared at Rathburn with widened eyes.
+
+"That's why you got away with it," continued Rathburn in a hard voice.
+"An' you thought you'd cinch it when you told 'em before you went out
+that they could tell their funny judge you called!"
+
+Rathburn's eyes blazed with angry contempt. "Trading on somebody
+else's name," he mocked. "Trying to make out you was the goods, an' I
+believe they thought you was The Coyote, at that. Man, I saw the whole
+dirty business."
+
+Percy's face went white. However, his emotion was more anger than
+fear, and he was prey to an overpowering curiosity.
+
+"How do you know I _ain't_ The Coyote?" he asked shrewdly.
+
+Rathburn stared at him--stunned. Then he leaped to his feet and his
+gun flashed into his hand in a movement too swift for the eye to
+follow.
+
+"Go over there and look at the brand on my horse," he commanded.
+"Remember how that printed bill read that put it in your fool head to
+try an' masquerade as The Coyote, an' then read the brand on that
+horse!"
+
+The captive rose and without a look back walked to where Rathburn's
+horse was cropping the grass. The left side of the animal was toward
+him and for a few moments he stood looking with bulging eyes at the
+CC2 on the shoulder. Then he turned slowly.
+
+Rathburn's gaze burned into his, but a cool, deliberate light had come
+into his eyes.
+
+"So you're The Coyote!" Percy said quietly. "I should have recognized
+you."
+
+"Yes, I'm called The Coyote," said Rathburn, walking slowly toward
+him. "I'm the man they think robbed that joint down in Dry Lake last
+night. I'm the man they're looking for. I'm the man they want to make
+pay for your bungling work. That's the way it's gone for three years,
+Percy. I've been blamed for job after job that I didn't even know was
+pulled off till I heard they were looking for me on account of it. But
+this is one job they'll not be able to lay at my door; for I've got
+the man who's responsible an' I've got him red-handed!"
+
+"What're you going to do about it?" asked the other coolly.
+
+Again Rathburn's eyes blazed with rage. "Do? Why, I'm just naturally
+going to take you in all by my lonesome an' turn you over to the
+sheriff with my compliments."
+
+Rathburn cooled down as he said this, drew tobacco and papers from his
+shirt pocket, and proceeded to build a cigarette. He looked at his man
+queerly.
+
+"Now I reckon you know why I ain't got any idea of taking that money
+off you," he said.
+
+"They might not believe you," returned the other.
+
+"I know what you mean. You mean they might think I was putting up a
+job on 'em an' trying to shift the blame on somebody else. It can't be
+done, Percy. Listen to this: I was looking through the front window of
+that place last night when you held it up. Two men that work in the
+hotel down there came along an' looked in alongside of me after I
+warned 'em not to go in. I showed 'em this scar on my arm." He rolled
+back his left sleeve disclosing a scar on the forearm about three
+inches below the elbow.
+
+"I told 'em that scar was made by a bullet from The Coyote's gun,"
+Rathburn went on, pulling down his sleeve and drawing his right hand
+back to the gun he had replaced in its holster. "That scar _was_ made
+by The Coyote's gun. I shot myself in the arm by accident some few
+years ago. Now, here's the point: Those men will remember me an'
+remember that scar. The descriptions the sheriff of that county must
+have in his office will tell all about that scar. It won't be hard to
+identify me by it an' by the two men that stood out there by the
+window with me. So they'll know I didn't pull the robbery!"
+
+The other man shifted uneasily on his feet.
+
+"An' that ain't all, Percy," Rathburn continued. "Somebody saw me
+running up the street afterward because they took a couple of shots at
+me for luck. That'll dovetail with my story. I've never been known to
+use two guns. An' if they want any more proof all they'll have to do
+will be to stand you up in front of the men you had in line, dressed
+as you are with that black handkerchief over your face. That'll settle
+it. I reckon the sheriff will believe me an' give me a chance when he
+hears the facts, or I may not wait for a talk with him."
+
+"I take it you've got me right," said the captive, compressing his
+lips. "But if you're really The Coyote I've heard so much about,
+you'll give me my gun an' give me a chance to run for it!"
+
+Rathburn's laugh jarred on his ears. "Give you a chance an' take a
+chance myself on going to the gallows?"
+
+"The gallows!" exclaimed the other. "Oh--I see. But didn't you say you
+thought the sheriff would give you a chance if he met you an' heard
+your story? At that you don't have to stay around an' get taken back
+to Arizona now."
+
+"They hang men in this State," Rathburn interrupted.
+
+"But--there wasn't----" The other man faltered, staring.
+
+"One of those shots you fired at the lamp went wild, or glanced off
+something, an'----" Rathburn lifted his brows significantly.
+
+"Killed somebody!" cried the other.
+
+He staggered back just as a rattle of falling stones signified that
+horsemen were in the shale on the slope to eastward.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+WHERE TO HIDE
+
+
+For the space of several seconds Rathburn and his captive looked into
+each other's eyes. Rathburn's gaze was keen, alert, fired by the quick
+thinking he was doing. Stark terror showed in the other's look which
+gradually changed to one of haunting fear and indecision. Then his
+eyes became clear and he returned Rathburn's glance, cool and
+questioning.
+
+"Get your horse," ordered Rathburn, running to his own mount.
+
+In a twinkling he had tightened his cinch, caught up the reins, and
+vaulted into the saddle. His captive was at his side shortly
+afterward.
+
+"You're still in the lead," Rathburn snapped out; "unless you want to
+wait for 'em."
+
+The other whirled his horse, sent him flying for the western end of
+the pocket, with Rathburn close behind. They went up a steep, rocky
+trail, screened by boulders. When they reached the top of the west rim
+they looked back and saw four horsemen on the shale slope leading to
+the pocket. Brown evidently had split up his posse and was literally
+combing the hills for his quarry.
+
+"They'll know they're on the right trail when they see the remains of
+our dinner an' my pack down there," remarked Rathburn dryly.
+
+"But they haven't seen us yet," said Percy breathlessly. "If we can
+make Sunrise Cañon Trail we can lose 'em in the mountains--that is if
+_you_ want to lose 'em."
+
+"Where's the trail?" asked Rathburn.
+
+"'Bout five miles west. It's the only trail goin' up into the big
+mountains between here an' the other side of the Dry Lake range, an'
+it's a tough one."
+
+Rathburn quickly sized up the country ahead. He saw low and high
+ridges with towering mountains to the right, or north, of them. There
+were scattering pines on the slopes and patches of timber in the wide
+ravines, many of which were veritable valleys.
+
+"We'll run for it while they're getting in an' out of that hole," he
+suddenly decided with a click of his teeth. "Their horses are in no
+better shape than ours. Slope along."
+
+The other had dug in his spurs even before he got the order. They rode
+swiftly down the steep trail from the rim of the pocket and fled
+across an open space and up the slope of the first ridge.
+
+Rathburn looked back as they crossed it, but could see no sign of
+their pursuers. His face still was troubled; his gaze kept boring into
+the back of the man on the horse ahead of him. At times he muttered to
+himself.
+
+They galloped up the hard bed of a dry arroyo and swung westward
+across another rock-bound ridge, picking their way carefully among the
+boulders. Rathburn's face became more and more strained as he noted
+that the leader evidently knew the country they were in like a book.
+Rathburn, with the experience born of years spent in the open places,
+was able to keep his bearings.
+
+They had followed a course for some miles north of the main trail
+leading east, the trail by which he had first come into the locality.
+Then they had doubled back westward, some miles above that trail, of
+course, and now were heading almost due north again, in the direction
+of the mountains which did not appear to be far away. He surmised that
+they were nearly directly north of the ranch where he had had the meal
+with the girl and boy.
+
+At the top of the next ridge his guide pointed above them.
+
+"See that crack in the mountain?" he said.
+
+Rathburn nodded as he made out what appeared to be a gash in the steep
+side of a mountain north of them.
+
+"That's Sunrise Cañon," said the other quietly. "There's a trail up
+that cañon into the heart of the mountains where they couldn't catch
+us--or you, if you want to go alone--in a hundred years!"
+
+He stared steadily at Rathburn.
+
+"Mosey along, then," said Rathburn. "Let's get somewheres before our
+horses drop."
+
+They kept along the ridge until it was cut by a cañon. Here they
+descended and entered another long, narrow ravine which they
+negotiated at a gallop. At its upper end they again climbed a steep
+slope. Their horses were showing the strain of the hours of hard
+riding. Rathburn realized that they could go but a limited distance.
+But the members of the posse most assuredly must be in the same fix so
+far as their mounts were concerned.
+
+He decided that if they could get into the cañon unseen they would be
+able to rest their horses and remain secure for the night. Next
+morning they could continue on up into the hills, or slip back by a
+roundabout way to Dry Lake.
+
+His lips froze into a thin white line. He did not look at the man with
+him as they paused for a few moments under the trees which covered the
+top of the ridge and gazed at a long, gently sloping stretch of nearly
+open country. It was covered with clumps of trees at intervals, that
+reached to the dark, narrow opening in the mountains, marking the
+entrance to Sunrise Cañon and the trail to the fastnesses of the
+higher hills.
+
+"You can swing off here to the left an' down a wide valley to where
+there's a cut-off into Dry Lake," he heard his captive suggesting. "I
+don't see any sense in all this hard ridin' an' hidin' if you're goin'
+to turn me in."
+
+"We'll go on," growlingly replied Rathburn.
+
+They descended the ridge and entered the long, sloping valley, so wide
+that it virtually was a plain. They made good headway, although they
+favored their horses. They took advantage of the shelter provided by
+the occasional clumps of pines. The afternoon was drawing to a close
+with the sun dipping sharply toward the western hills when they came
+in sight of the entrance to the cañon. But with the first glimpse they
+checked their horses and turned into the shelter of some trees near
+by.
+
+"Beat us to it!" exclaimed Percy.
+
+"Four of 'em," said Rathburn, frowning. "Brown ain't taking any
+chances. He's a better man than I figured him out. An' there's more of
+'em!"
+
+He pointed westward where two riders were barely discernible on the
+crest of a ridge. They disappeared almost immediately in the timber
+below.
+
+"We'll turn back," Rathburn decided. "We'll ride with the trees
+between us an' the men up at the cañon, an' keep an eye out for the
+pair to the west. You might watch that side, an' I'll look out for the
+east an' south. C'mon, let's drift."
+
+The face of the man who called himself Percy was white and strained as
+they urged their tired mounts southward. They skirted the western end
+of the ridge by which they had gained the wide valley and continued
+on, carefully scanning the landscape in all directions for indications
+of pursuit. It was plain to them that they had been seen to leave the
+east trail early that morning. Brown and his men undoubtedly knew they
+had headed north, and the justice had immediately dispatched men to
+guard the entrance to the cañon trail into the mountains. Then they
+had begun a systematic search of the locality.
+
+This deduction was strengthened when Rathburn suddenly pointed toward
+the east. More riders were to be seen on the slope of the valley's
+side in that direction. Even as they looked, these riders, too,
+disappeared from view as they dropped down behind a rise of ground.
+
+The sun was going down fast. Already the red banners of the sunset
+were flaunted in the high western skies. The twilight would be upon
+them apace--the long-lasting, purple-veiled twilight of the altitudes.
+Then the night would close down with its canopy of stars.
+
+Rathburn looked speculatively at his companion. "We'll make a break
+for that clump of trees about a quarter of a mile ahead with all our
+horses have got left," he said, driving in his spurs.
+
+In a last mad dash which taxed every iota of strength and endurance
+left in their beasts they gained the shelter of the little patch of
+timber.
+
+"Here we'll wait," said Rathburn coolly as he dismounted.
+
+"What?" cried the other, staring at him incredulously. "We ain't quite
+surrounded yet. We haven't seen anybody in the south. That way may be
+open an' it's liable to be closed while we're stayin' here."
+
+"Get off your horse and unsaddle him," commanded Rathburn sternly.
+"The best place to hide from a posse is in the middle of it!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+TWO QUEER MOVES
+
+
+The captive complied with the order, looking at Rathburn in a peculiar
+way--half disgusted, half contemptuous. Indeed, he turned his back on
+the other, leaned against the slender trunk of a pine, and stared
+steadily into the south. He appeared much worried.
+
+The horses welcomed the chance to rest.
+
+Rathburn walked slowly back and forth the width of the patch of
+timber, vigilantly keeping watch. He paid no attention whatsoever to
+the man leaning against the tree. For all the interest he displayed he
+might have completely forgotten his very existence. In time this got
+on the other's nerves.
+
+"I believe you lied when you said there was a man killed down there
+last night," he said coolly.
+
+"I didn't say anybody was killed," Rathburn returned without looking
+in his direction. "You assumed that part of it."
+
+"Then you wanted me to think so," said the other in a loud voice. "You
+was tryin' to throw a scare into me!"
+
+Rathburn swung on his heel and stepped squarely in front of him. "I
+let you think that to show you what _might_ have happened," he said.
+"Such things have happened to me an' swelled the price on my head.
+Now, darn you, if you talk that loud again I'll choke your wind off!"
+
+The words came with sinister earnestness, but they seemed to rouse
+some dormant strain of extraordinary courage in the man to whom they
+were addressed.
+
+He suddenly leaped from the tree and struck out with all the force at
+his command.
+
+But Rathburn had anticipated the attack. He knocked the other's blow
+aside and drove his right straight to the jaw.
+
+"There's a little souvenir to show you that I mean business, Percy,"
+he panted.
+
+Percy came back to the attack with eyes gleaming with malice. Again he
+attempted to hit Rathburn, but the latter stepped aside with lightning
+swiftness and drove home another blow. He followed it up with a left
+and right and Percy sprawled his length on the grass.
+
+After a time he sat up, dazed. Rathburn was standing over him. But
+although he realized fully that he was not a match for Rathburn in
+physical combat, and doubtless was greatly his inferior with his gun,
+his spirit was undaunted.
+
+"You better finish me, or drag me in," he gritted; "for I'll get you,
+if I can. I don't know what your play is, but you've acted too queer
+to-day for me to believe you're on the square one way or the other."
+
+"You want some more, Percy?"
+
+"My name is Lamy," growlingly replied the other, as he rose
+cautiously.
+
+"Oh, o-h. Percy Lamy."
+
+"No, just Lamy. Lamy's my name, an' I ain't ashamed of it. You'd find
+it out--sooner or later--anyway, I--expect." He stammered during this
+speech as if he had just remembered something--remembered when it was
+too late.
+
+Rathburn noted the frown and the confused expression in Lamy's eyes.
+He turned abruptly and walked away.
+
+A few minutes later he came back to find Lamy sitting with his back
+to a tree, staring unseeing into the deepening twilight.
+
+"Lamy," he said harshly, "we're going to get away from this
+posse--maybe. Anyway, soon's it's dark we'll ride south. It's just
+possible we can leave 'em up here in the hills."
+
+"Suppose I refuse to go?"
+
+"Then I'll have to truss you up an' tie you to your horse, an' don't
+think I won't do it!" The ring of menace in Rathburn's voice convinced
+the other, but he made no comment.
+
+When darkness had fallen they saddled their mounts and started. They
+rode at a jog, keeping as much as possible in the shadow of the
+timber. Rathburn noticed that the valley gradually widened; he showed
+interest in his surroundings.
+
+Then, off to the left below them, he saw moving shadows. He called a
+halt at the next clump of trees. "Lamy, are there any horses running
+in here that you know of?" he asked.
+
+"There probably are," said Lamy sarcastically; "an' they've probably
+got riders on 'em."
+
+"No doubt," returned Rathburn gravely. "I just saw some shadows that
+looked like horses down to the left of us."
+
+"I expected they'd shut us off in the south," snapped out Lamy. "You
+gave 'em plenty of time."
+
+"We just naturally had to rest our horses," observed Rathburn. "As it
+is, they're not good for far, nor for any fast riding. Besides, I've
+changed my mind some since this morning."
+
+"So? I suppose you're goin' to give me a chance?" sneeringly inquired
+the other.
+
+He could see Rathburn's eyes in the twilight, and suddenly he shifted
+in his saddle uneasily. For Rathburn's gaze had narrowed; and it shot
+from his eyes steel blue with a flash of fire. His face had set in
+cold, grim lines. The whole nature of the man seemed to undergo a
+change. He radiated menace, contempt, cold resentment. The corners of
+his mouth twisted down sharply. His voice, as he spoke now, seemed
+edged like a knife.
+
+"Lamy, hand over that money!"
+
+Lamy's brows lifted in swift comprehension; a look of cunning came
+into his eyes--was followed by a gleam of hope, not unmixed with
+derision. He thrust his hands into his coat pockets and held out bills
+and silver to Rathburn who stuffed the plunder into his own pockets.
+
+"That all of it?" demanded Rathburn sharply. He made no effort to
+temper the tones of his voice.
+
+For answer Lamy dug into his trousers' pockets, under his chaps, and
+produced two more rolls of bills.
+
+"That's the chunk," he said with a sneering inflection in his voice.
+"If you want I'll stand a frisk."
+
+"No, I won't search you. I take it you're too sensible to lie!"
+
+"Thanks," replied Lamy dryly. "I suppose I'm free to go now, unless
+you figure you'd be safer by killin' me off."
+
+Anger, swift and uncontrollable, leaped into Rathburn's eyes. Then he
+laughed, softly and mirthlessly. "If I'd been minded to do for you, or
+had any such idea in my head, I'd have given it to you long before
+this," he said. "It's lucky for you, Lamy, that I'm pretty much the
+breed you thought I was."
+
+"Don't pose!" retorted Lamy hotly. "You intended to get that money and
+make me the goat if you could, from the start. If you'd had any idea
+of turnin' me over to Brown you'd have done that little thing, too,
+long before this."
+
+"Maybe so," Rathburn mused, staring at the other thoughtfully in the
+dim light of the stars. "Maybe I will yet. You're not out of this--an'
+neither am I. Those shadows down to the left are getting plainer.
+What's that long dark streak over there on the right?"
+
+"Those are trees," answered Lamy sneeringly.
+
+"Let's make for 'em," ordered Rathburn. "Don't forget you're still
+under orders, Lamy. An' don't overlook the fact that I'm more or less
+in earnest about things in general," he added significantly.
+
+They rode at a tangent for the dark shadow of the trees. At the edge
+of the timber ensued another long wait, with Rathburn uncommunicative,
+moodily pacing restlessly back and forth. The horses had another
+excellent opportunity to rest and the fagged animals took advantage of
+it.
+
+Once or twice Rathburn thought he glimpsed a light far down the
+valley, but he couldn't be sure. Neither could he be sure he saw the
+moving shadows on the opposite side of the wide valley again.
+
+The night wore into early morning and the moon added its cold radiance
+to the faint glow of the myriads of stars. Rathburn sensed the
+nearness of enemies. Several times he stopped before Lamy, who sat
+upon his saddle blanket with his back against a tree trunk and dozed.
+Rathburn had to fight off continual drowsiness.
+
+For long hours he walked along the edge of the pines. He dared not
+trust himself to sleep. He dared not trust Lamy to stand guard while
+he obtained some rest, and he knew that when the sun came up and the
+day began, he would be thoroughly awake again; for more than once he
+had gone two nights without sleep. Also, he assumed that the hunt
+would be less spirited during the night. Members of the posse would
+themselves be drowsy, but they could spell each other and in that way
+maintain their vigil and secure a few hours of rest.
+
+Rathburn's rage rose at frequent intervals as he thought of the
+predicament he was in through no fault of his own. More than once he
+glared malevolently at the sleeping Lamy; then the troubled look would
+come again to his eyes and he would resume his pacing, muttering to
+himself, staring into the blue veil of the night. Once he sat down and
+removed his right boot and sock in the darkness; shortly afterward he
+again began his pacing.
+
+He felt the pangs of hunger and shook his head savagely as he thought
+of the scanty supply of provisions he had been compelled to leave in
+the mountain pocket.
+
+His spirits revived as he thought of the horses. They would be fresh
+in the morning; and he intended that his horse should have a grain
+feed that day. Rathburn always thought of his horse first; and,
+although it might seem that he taxed the animal's powers to their
+utmost at times, he never went beyond a certain point. He had often
+said he would surrender to his pursuers rather than kill his mount in
+evading them.
+
+The first faint glimmer of the dawn was lighting the skies above the
+ridges to the eastward when he roused Lamy. He awoke with a start,
+stared sleepily at Rathburn, then got speedily to his feet.
+
+"You been awake all night?" he asked curiously.
+
+Rathburn nodded, looking at him closely. "Saddle up," he ordered.
+
+They rode southward at a canter in the shelter of the edge of the
+timber. When the eastern skies were rosy red and fast changing to
+gold with the advent of the sun they saw two things; a small ranch
+house about a mile southeast of them, and two riders some distance
+north.
+
+Rathburn reined in his mount. He looked at Lamy who met his gaze in
+defiance. Then Rathburn reached into his coat pocket with his right
+hand and drew out a gun.
+
+"Here's your shooting iron," he said, as he held the weapon out to
+Lamy.
+
+The other stared at him in astonishment.
+
+"Take it!" snapped out Rathburn. "Take it, or I may change my mind!"
+
+Lamy took the gun wonderingly, balanced it for a moment in his hand,
+and shoved it into his holster.
+
+Rathburn motioned toward the south and Lamy rode along at his side.
+They caught another glimpse of the horsemen in the north. As they drew
+opposite the ranch house, on the west or front side, they saw a woman
+leave it and walk the short distance to the barn and enter. At that
+moment both Rathburn and Lamy gave vent to low exclamations. They had
+caught sight of riders in the south and to the east. They appeared to
+be surrounded by the posse.
+
+Rathburn looked at Lamy soberly. However, it was Lamy who spoke first.
+"You said the best place to hide from a posse was in the middle of
+it," he said scornfully. "Why not leave the horses in the timber an'
+run for the house? Maybe it has a cellar."
+
+"I reckon that would be as good a move as any," replied Rathburn, to
+the other's surprise. "I'm game if you are."
+
+Lamy's eyes flamed with excitement as he turned his mount into the
+trees. They came to what looked like a bear pit or a prospect hole.
+It was partly filled with brush.
+
+"We can hide our saddles in there an' let the horses go," Lamy
+suggested. "There's a few horses runnin' in through here, an' they may
+join 'em."
+
+"You can do that with yours," said Rathburn grimly. "You seem to
+forget that the brand on this dun is pretty well known."
+
+He coolly tied his horse as Lamy followed his own suggestion, hid his
+saddle, and turned his mount loose.
+
+They moved back to the edge of the timber and waited until they could
+see no one in sight about the house or in any direction in the valley.
+Then they started on a run for the house.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+LEAVE IT TO ME
+
+
+Rathburn had recognized the ranch long before they came close to it.
+It was the place where he had stopped for a meal with the girl and the
+freckle-faced boy two days before--the day he had gone on into Dry
+Lake. He saw no sign of the girl or the boy or any one else as they
+reached the front door and hurried inside.
+
+Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lamy look hurriedly about and step
+into the kitchen. He followed him.
+
+Lamy grabbed part of a loaf of bread and some cold meat on a shelf
+above the kitchen table.
+
+"There's usually a cellar under the main room in these square houses,"
+he said, hurrying back into the larger room.
+
+Rathburn stepped after him, and Lamy pulled back the rug before the
+table and disclosed a trapdoor. He raised the door, held out the food
+to Rathburn, and whispered: "You better get down there. Take this grub
+an'----"
+
+"What's the matter? Isn't there room for both of us?" Rathburn put the
+question in a voice which conveyed surprise.
+
+"I thought it might be better if we--if we didn't both hide in the
+same place," whispered Lamy. "Then they'd only get one of us, an'
+whichever it was they'd think he was the one they wanted, see?" He
+appeared excited.
+
+Rathburn's eyes narrowed. His right hand darted to his gun in a flash,
+and the muzzle of the weapon was pressed into Lamy's ribs. "Get down
+there!" commanded Rathburn. "Get down."
+
+Lamy hesitated with a wild look in his eyes. The muzzle of Rathburn's
+gun pressed harder against his midriff. He dropped lightly into the
+cellar. Rathburn pulled the rug against the trapdoor as he followed,
+then let down the door, certain that the rug would fall into place.
+
+The pair sat upon some gunny sacks in the little cellar until their
+eyes became accustomed to the darkness; they could dimly see each
+other by the faint light which came to them through some cracks in the
+floor above.
+
+They heard steps at the rear of the house; then the pound of hoofs
+from in front. Rathburn saw Lamy staring at him fixedly with a puzzled
+look. He frowned at him. Rathburn still held his gun in his hand. Both
+had forgotten the food which Lamy had in his lap.
+
+"Say," whispered Lamy. "What was your idea in givin' me back my gun?"
+
+He moved closer to get the reply.
+
+"Shut up!" said Rathburn, cocking an ear toward the trapdoor.
+
+The sound of footsteps now was in the kitchen. They heard horses
+snorting and men dismounting at the front door. After a brief space
+there were light footsteps in the room above followed by the tramp of
+heavy boots.
+
+"Good morning, ma'am," came a deep voice.
+
+"Good morning," was the hesitating reply. Rathburn recognized the
+voice of the girl who had fed him.
+
+"Ma'am, I'm Sheriff Neal of San Jacinto County," continued the deep
+voice, as several feet shuffled slightly. "These men with me are
+members of my posse. Maybe you know Judge Brown?"
+
+"I--I've seen him," answered the girl.
+
+Rathburn could feel Lamy's knees shaking against him in excitement.
+
+"I believe we've met some time," Brown put in. Rathburn thought the
+justice's voice sounded tired.
+
+"Ma'am, we're looking for a man--or two men." It was the sheriff
+speaking again. "Have you seen any one around here this morning--any
+stranger, or strangers, I mean?"
+
+"Why, no," replied the girl with a breathless catch in her voice. "I
+haven't seen any one."
+
+"You're sure?"
+
+Rathburn frowned at the sheriff's tone, although he kept his eyes on
+Lamy's white face.
+
+He smiled as he remembered that the sheriff had mentioned two men.
+This doubtless was the cause of Lamy's agitation. Nor did he think
+Lamy had forgotten that he, Rathburn, had pointed out that he could
+prove he didn't rob the place in Dry Lake.
+
+"You're sure?" the sheriff asked again.
+
+"Why, yes," replied the girl. "I am sure."
+
+"Maybe she can get us some breakfast," said Brown hopefully.
+
+"Can you feed five men, ma'am?" asked the sheriff in a softer tone.
+
+"Just sit down, and I'll get you some breakfast," said the girl.
+
+The two men in the little cellar could hear some of the men taking
+chairs and one or two going out to look after the horses. The girl's
+light footsteps retreated into the kitchen.
+
+Rathburn smiled mysteriously at Lamy who was shivering with a case of
+nerves.
+
+"I can't understand who that was with him--or following him," came
+Brown's voice. "Somebody must have seen him getting away and set out
+on the trail while it was hot."
+
+"Either that or saw him beating it somewheres on the trail east of
+town an' took after him on suspicion," drawled the sheriff. "'Spect
+everybody around here has seen those reward notices you put out."
+
+"That's so," said Brown. "I had the right hunch when I got the tip
+he'd left his Arizona hangout, sheriff. I figured he'd head this way.
+Then he had the nerve--well, you know what happened in my office."
+
+The sheriff chuckled. Then he spoke angrily. "He can't pull any of his
+stunts in my territory," he said growlingly. "I'll hunt him down if I
+have to put every man I've got on the trail an' keep 'em there. I
+figure, though," he added hopefully, "that we've got him cornered in
+or around this valley. We traced 'em here, and we got sight of 'em
+yesterday. We'll have 'em before night!"
+
+"I hope so," said Brown grimly.
+
+"I've given orders to shoot to kill and not to miss," thundered the
+sheriff. "But I guess the rewards offered for him would kind of steady
+the aim of the man that got a crack at him."
+
+Rathburn's face went white, and his eyes shot fire as he listened to
+the sheriff's cruel laugh in which the others in the room above now
+joined.
+
+Lamy signaled that he wished to whisper in his ear, and Rathburn bent
+his head, although he kept the gun handy.
+
+"I'm not goin' to risk shootin' anybody if we should be found or
+cornered," Lamy whispered. "I thought you ought to know----"
+
+"If we're cornered you leave it to me," Rathburn came back. "I have
+reasons for everything I'm doing. An' don't forget that I'd rather be
+grabbed for this simple trick of yours in Dry Lake than for one or
+two jobs over in Arizona. If things go wrong keep your mouth
+shut--don't talk! If you start talking any time I'll try to kill
+you!"
+
+Lamy drew back from the ferocity in Rathburn's tone and manner. That
+menacing message was again in Rathburn's eyes.
+
+"Who's that boy out there?" the sheriff called sharply.
+
+"Go in and say how-do-you-do," came the girl's voice from the kitchen.
+"It's my brother, Frankie."
+
+"Come here, Frankie," said the sheriff.
+
+The pair below heard light footsteps on the floor above.
+
+"That's a fine crop of freckles you've got," said the sheriff.
+
+Rathburn saw Lamy put a hand to his face and make a grimace.
+
+"Listen, Frankie, did you see anybody around here this morning?" asked
+the sheriff.
+
+"Who--who you looking for?" asked the boy.
+
+Rathburn started; his body suddenly tensed.
+
+"I'm looking for an outlaw they call The Coyote," returned the
+sheriff. "Ever hear of him?"
+
+"Y-e-s. Ed brought home a notice about a reward for him."
+
+"That's the man we're after. Rides a dun-colored horse; tall,
+light-complexioned. Seen anybody like that around here?"
+
+"He was here day before yesterday," said the boy truthfully. "Sis gave
+him something to eat, an' he went on into town. He didn't seem like
+such a bad man to me. Told me never to lie."
+
+"He was here? Ate here?" The sheriff's voice was excited.
+
+Rathburn saw Lamy's eyes widen.
+
+"Frankie," the sheriff said soberly, "that Coyote went into town an'
+robbed a place. He's a bad, dangerous man no matter how he looks or
+what he says. Have you seen anybody that looked like him since?"
+
+The question was followed by a deep silence.
+
+Rathburn alert, his eyes gleaming, heard the sheriff rise.
+
+"Answer me, boy. I'm the sheriff of this county!"
+
+"'Tain't that--'tain't that," said the boy in a tremulous voice.
+"Only--I'd rather not tell, Mr. Sheriff."
+
+"You must answer me!" said the official sternly. "Have you seen any
+one around here--yesterday or this morning?"
+
+"Ye-e-s."
+
+"When?" demanded the sheriff. "Don't lie!"
+
+"This--this morning," stammered the boy.
+
+"Where? Tell me about it, quick."
+
+"Two men ran across from the timber to the house," replied the boy.
+"He--he said not to lie for him--but----"
+
+The sheriff stepped quickly to the kitchen door. "I thought you said
+no one had been around here, ma'am."
+
+"Why--I didn't see any one," came the girl's voice.
+
+"I saw 'em from the pasture," the boy confessed.
+
+"Then they're here!" cried the sheriff. "Search the house an' the
+barn!"
+
+In the dim, narrow cellar Rathburn was holding his gun aimed at Lamy's
+heart.
+
+"You remember what I said about keepin' your mouth shut?" he asked in
+a low voice, his steel-blue gaze boring into the other's eyes.
+
+Lamy gasped. Then he slowly nodded his head.
+
+"That's your bond!" said Rathburn, as tramping feet sounded
+overhead.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+CAUGHT IN THE CELLAR
+
+
+Rathburn rose and crouched under the trapdoor, gun in hand. Lamy
+watched him, breathless, perplexed, uncertain. They heard men running;
+then there were no sounds from above and a deathly stillness settled
+down.
+
+Slowly and with infinite care Rathburn raised the trapdoor an inch or
+two and listened intently. Lamy scrambled to his knees on the pile of
+gunny sacks; but Rathburn swung quickly upon him. They stared at each
+other in the semidarkness.
+
+"He said two," breathed Lamy, a curious look in his eyes.
+
+"Are you afraid?" mocked Rathburn. "It's me they want--don't worry. I
+may make a break for it, an' if I do there's likely to be powder
+burned. You can stay here an' get out when they take after me, if I
+go," said Rathburn, and the sneer in his voice caused Lamy to flush
+uncomfortably.
+
+Rathburn petted the gun in his hand. "But before I make a break I want
+to tell you something that I should have told you before this, when I
+had more time----"
+
+He bit off his speech as there came a sudden recurrence of the sounds
+in the house. The trapdoor closed down.
+
+"Where's the cellar?" came the sheriff's authoritative voice.
+
+Many feet tramped upon the floor above them. Then they heard the rug
+stripped back. There was an exclamation from the sheriff and the sound
+of moving feet suddenly was stilled.
+
+"Is there any one in the cellar?" the sheriff called.
+
+Silence--with Lamy pressing Rathburn's knee with a hand, and Rathburn
+smiling that queer, grim smile which conveyed so much, yet nothing
+which was tangible.
+
+"Get around here, you fellows," they heard the sheriff order.
+
+The sound of boots and spurs attested to the quickness with which his
+order was obeyed.
+
+Rathburn leaned down suddenly and with lightning swiftness jerked
+Lamy's gun from its holster near his side. He tossed the weapon to a
+corner of the dark cellar just as the sheriff's voice was heard
+again.
+
+"Coyote, if you're down there I'm not going to take a chance fumbling
+with that door. If you ain't there, then there won't be any harm in
+what I'm going to do. If I don't hear anything when I finish talking
+I'm going to give the signal to my men to start shooting through the
+floor--and I mean it. If anybody's down there it'd be good sense to
+flip up that door and crawl out hands first, an' those hands empty."
+
+"Sheriff, you're bluffing!" said Rathburn loudly.
+
+Then the sheriff spoke again in an exultant tone. "I figured it was
+the best hidin' place you could find, Coyote. You're right; I was sort
+of bluffing, but I might have changed my mind an' gone on through with
+it. We've got you dead to rights, Coyote; you haven't got a chance.
+There's seven of us now an' every man is ready to open up if you come
+out of there a-shooting."
+
+Rathburn slipped his gun back into his holster. He raised the trapdoor
+slowly until it tipped back on the floor leaving the opening into the
+cellar clear.
+
+"Two of 'em!" he heard some one exclaim.
+
+He looked up to accustom his eyes to the light and saw a dozen guns
+covering him.
+
+"Gentlemen, the landscape fairly bristles with artillery," he said
+amiably. "Who's the sheriff? And--there's Jud Brown. Who let you
+loose, Jud?"
+
+"I'm Sheriff Neal," interposed that individual, a slight, dark man
+with a bristly mustache. "Come out of there--hands free."
+
+"For the time being, eh, sheriff? I expect you figure on fixing those
+hands so they won't be free, eh? Well, all I've got to say is that I
+hope you won't spend the money foolishly, sheriff."
+
+Rathburn leaped lightly out of the cellar.
+
+"Keep that other man down there covered, too," snapped out Neal. "It's
+principle more than reward money that invites me, Coyote. Hand over
+your gun belt an' be careful how you unbuckle it."
+
+"Sheriff, it would be against my code of ethics to hand over my gun.
+It can't be done, sheriff; you'll have to come and get it."
+
+Neal hesitated, notwithstanding the fact that he had Rathburn covered
+and that several other guns were covering him. Then he stepped
+forward, never taking his eyes from Rathburn's, and secured the
+other's weapon.
+
+"That's better, sheriff," said Rathburn with a queer smile. "You can
+see how I have my pride an' little superstitions. No man has ever took
+a gun from me but what I've got it back! Thanks, sheriff."
+
+Lamy had come out of the cellar. Several of the men seemed to
+recognize him, but kept their silence with dubious looks in their
+eyes.
+
+"My guide, sheriff," said Rathburn, pointing gayly at Lamy. "He was
+very kind. He showed me around the country--me not being very well
+acquainted around here. I had to take his gun away from him an' sort
+of encourage him along with my own, but he did very nicely."
+
+"Just what I thought, Neal," said Brown. "This fellow took after him
+an' he captured him and made him lead him. Isn't that so?" he asked of
+Lamy.
+
+"Just a minute, Jud," Rathburn interrupted with a frown. "I can't let
+the importance of this momentous occasion be transferred to a
+subordinate. You must ask your questions of me, as I am the central
+figure in this affair."
+
+The cry of a girl startled them. She came running from the kitchen
+where she had fled when the sheriff announced his intention to shoot
+through the floor.
+
+"Ed!" she cried, running to Lamy and throwing her arms about him.
+"Oh--Ed!"
+
+"Who is he, ma'am?" asked the sheriff. "Your husband?"
+
+"He's my brother--Ed Lamy."
+
+"I can recommend him if you need a guide who knows the country,
+sheriff," said Rathburn genially. "I guess he had an idea of making
+trouble for me at first, but I had the drop on him an' he soon saw
+reason. I had to knock him down last night when he got fresh, but he
+did very well. Of course I had an advantage on my side." He nodded
+toward his gun which the official still held in his hand.
+
+"Did he make you guide him?" Neal asked Lamy, noting his empty
+holster.
+
+Rathburn turned so that he could look at his former captive.
+
+Lamy nodded. "Yes," he replied. "I didn't know what minute I was goin'
+to get shot in the back."
+
+Rathburn's eyes glowed with an amused light. "I didn't have any idea
+of shootin' him, sheriff; he was too valuable as my escort on the
+tour. I wonder if the lady could spare me a cup of coffee an' a
+biscuit?"
+
+He glimpsed the boy in the kitchen doorway behind the sheriff. "Hello,
+sonny," he called cheerfully. "Did you catch those freckles from your
+brother?"
+
+The boy gazed at him abashed. There were actually tears in the
+youngster's eyes. Ed Lamy and his sister moved into the kitchen and
+took the boy with them. The girl had nodded to the sheriff.
+
+"She'll get you something to eat," said Neal. "What have you got on
+you?" He stepped to Rathburn's side.
+
+"Ah--the frisk. I see you are a regulation officer, sheriff."
+Rathburn's tone fairly radiated politeness and good cheer. "The silver
+was rather heavy. It ain't my usual style to pack much silver,
+sheriff. There's more of the bills in my hip pockets. Don't suppose
+there's more'n a thousand in the whole bundle."
+
+The sheriff put the bills and silver on the table. He investigated all
+of Rathburn's pockets, returned him his tobacco, papers, and
+handkerchief, but kept a box of matches. Then he felt his prisoner's
+clothing to make sure that he had no weapons concealed; he also felt
+his boot tops.
+
+He looked at Rathburn with a gloating expression when he had finished;
+there was also a glint of admiration in the gaze he directed at him.
+
+"You size right up to the descriptions of you, Coyote," he reflected
+in a pleasant voice. "Too bad you couldn't have been in a better
+business. I'm glad I caught you, but I ain't any too--too--well, I
+might say any too proud of it. That may be pleasant for you to hear.
+But I ain't discounting your well-known ability, an' I want to warn
+you that I or any of my men will shoot you in your tracks if you
+start anything that looks suspiciouslike."
+
+Rathburn yawned. "Sheriff, your courtesy is very greatly appreciated.
+I only hope we will arrive in jail or somewhere soon where I can get
+some sleep. I'm all in."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+FREEDOM BEHIND BARS
+
+
+In the early afternoon the little cavalcade rode into Dry Lake.
+Rathburn was nodding in his saddle, nearly asleep.
+
+"We'll keep him here to-night till I can get the facts straight," he
+heard Sheriff Neal say to Brown.
+
+They dismounted at a small square stone building with bars on the
+windows. Then Rathburn was proudly led between a line of curious
+spectators into jail.
+
+Three rooms comprised Dry Lake's jail. The front of the building, for
+a depth of a third of the distance from the front to the rear, was
+divided into two of these rooms; one, the larger, being the main
+office, and the other, much smaller, being the constable's private
+office. The balance of the building was one large room, divided into
+two old-fashioned cages with iron and steel bars. The doors to these
+cages were on either side of the door into the front office and there
+was an aisle between the cages and the wall separating them from the
+offices.
+
+Rathburn was taken immediately to the cage on the left of the office
+door. Sheriff Neal hesitated as he stood in the cell with him, thought
+for a minute, then removed the handcuffs.
+
+"That's right fine of you, sheriff," said Rathburn sleepily, but
+cheerfully, nevertheless.
+
+"Oh, you'll be watched well enough," said Neal as he closed the barred
+door behind him and locked Rathburn in. "You'll find somebody around
+if you try to tear the place down."
+
+"That wasn't just what I was getting at, sheriff," said the prisoner
+with a glitter in his eyes. "I meant it was right fine of you to give
+me freedom behind the bars."
+
+Rathburn's taunting laugh rang in the official's ears as the latter
+pushed the men with him into the outer office. Rathburn listened,
+yawning, to the sheriff giving instructions that the prisoner be
+watched constantly.
+
+He looked about the cage which was separated from the other cell by a
+wall of sheet iron. It contained nothing except a bench and a stool.
+He pushed the bench against the stone wall at the rear and reclined
+upon it, using his coat for a pillow. Then he turned his face toward
+the wall, shading his eyes from the light, which filtered through two
+windows high in the wall beyond the bars on the left side by tipping
+his hat over his face.
+
+Immediately he fell asleep.
+
+The news that The Coyote had been captured, spread rapidly through the
+town and many came to the jail hoping they might be able to see the
+prisoner. All of these were denied admittance, but Sheriff Neal told
+the few who stated that they had been among the number the bandit had
+lined up at the point of his guns, that they would be called to
+identify The Coyote on the following day. He asked each if they were
+sure the bandit had two guns, and the reply in each case was in the
+affirmative.
+
+"That's funny," Neal muttered. "He only had one gun on him."
+
+"More'n likely the other's on his horse with his saddle," Brown
+pointed out. "I believe he left his horse somewheres an' made that
+fellow Lamy take him to the house thinking he could get something to
+eat there, and that they wouldn't be so likely to be seen in the open
+on foot. You got to remember that man's more or less clever."
+
+This explanation satisfied Neal, and in the minds of the men who had
+been in the resort when it was held up, there was no question as to
+the identity of the robber. Even if they had suspected otherwise it is
+doubtful if they would have acknowledged it because they considered it
+less of an ignominy to be held up by the notorious Coyote than by a
+bandit of lesser reputation.
+
+Thus did the bonds of evidence tighten about Rathburn while he slept
+through the late afternoon and the twilight.
+
+When he awoke a faint yellow light dimly illuminated his surroundings.
+He lay thinking for several minutes. He knew night had fallen and
+surmised that he had slept a full eight hours. He could tell this
+because he was fully awake and alert. He turned noiselessly on his
+bench and saw that the light came from a lamp burning near the door to
+the outer office.
+
+Rathburn could hear the hum of voices, and by listening intently,
+ascertained that two men were talking, one of whom was the sheriff. He
+could not recognize the voice of the other speaker as a voice he had
+ever heard before, and he could not hear what they were saying.
+
+He listened dully to the voices until he heard a horse's hoofs in
+front of the jail. He turned back with his face to the wall, and his
+hat tipped over his eyes, as a man entered the jail office with a
+stamp of boots and jingle of spurs.
+
+"Hello, constable," he heard the sheriff say. "What luck?"
+
+"Couldn't find the hoss," came a disgruntled voice. "Looked all
+afternoon an' till it got dark for him."
+
+"Confound it!" exclaimed Neal. "The horse must have been somewhere
+aroun' close. He sure didn't walk down the valley."
+
+"That's probably right," said the other. "I left a couple of your men
+out there to keep up searching when daylight comes. That feller Lamy
+showed us about where they left the hosses--his hoss an' The
+Coyote's--but they wasn't there. He said there was a bunch of wild
+hosses in the valley an' that they'd probably got away an' gone with
+'em. We saw the wild hosses, but we couldn't get anywhere near
+'em--couldn't get near enough to see if any of 'em was wearin' saddles
+or not. We had some chase while it lasted, I'll recite."
+
+"Did Lamy say how they came to leave their horses?" asked the sheriff
+in an annoyed tone.
+
+"It was The Coyote's orders. Thought they'd be safer in the middle of
+the posse or something like that. Made Lamy leave the hosses an' run
+for the house an' made him get down in the cellar with him. Don't know
+if he knew Lamy lived there or not, but reckon it wouldn't have made
+any difference."
+
+The sheriff was pacing the floor of the office as his footfalls
+attested. "I've ordered that Lamy in to-morrow. I've a lot more
+questions to ask him. Well, you might as well get a few winks,
+constable; Brown and the rest of 'em have hit the hay. Even the
+prisoner is tired out, and that's sayin' something for as tough a bird
+as he is. But I wish I had his horse. I've got to have his horse!"
+
+Rathburn was smiling at the wall. He heard Neal walk to the door and
+look in. Receding footsteps told him that the constable was leaving.
+For a time there was silence in the outer office.
+
+Rathburn sat up quietly and began easing off his right boot. The boot
+came slowly, very slowly, as Rathburn worked at it, careful not to
+make any noise. Then, just as it came free, the sheriff again strode
+to the door and looked in.
+
+He saw Rathburn yawning, as the boot dropped on the floor.
+
+Rathburn looked at the sheriff sleepily as the official strode into
+the aisle and peered in between the bars. He tipped the bootless foot
+back on its toes as he lifted his other foot and tugged at the boot.
+
+"That you, sheriff?" he asked with another yawn. "The lights are so
+bad I can't see good. Guess I'm a little groggy anyway. I was too
+danged tired when I went to sleep to take off my boots."
+
+"You've got another ten hours to sleep," said Neal with a scowl. "An'
+you'll have plenty of time to get rid of your saddle soreness. You'll
+ride in automobiles and trains for a while an' keep in out of the hot
+sun an' the wet."
+
+The sheriff laughed harshly at his own words.
+
+Rathburn let the other boot drop. "I expect I'll get something to eat
+now an' then, too?"
+
+"Feel hungry?" asked Neal.
+
+"Might chaw on a biscuit before I take another nap," yawned the
+prisoner.
+
+"I'll see if I can scare you up a bite," said the sheriff, leaving.
+
+Rathburn heard him say something to some one in front. Then the
+sheriff went out of the building. The other man came in and looked at
+Rathburn curiously.
+
+He was of medium build, with white hair and a face seamed and lined
+and red. Rathburn instantly recognized in his jailer a man of the
+desert--possibly of the border country.
+
+"So you're The Coyote," said the jailer in a rather high-pitched
+voice.
+
+Rathburn winked at him. "That's what they say," he replied.
+
+"You size up to him, all right," observed the man of the desert. "An'
+I can tell quick enough when I get a good look at you an' inspect your
+left forearm. I've had your descriptions in front of my eyes on paper
+an' from a dozen persons that knowed you for three years!"
+
+"You been trailing me?" asked Rathburn curiously.
+
+"I have; an' it ain't no credit to this bunch here that they got you,
+for I was headed in this direction myself an' arrived 'most as soon as
+you did."
+
+"You from Arizona?" asked Rathburn, grasping his right foot in his
+left hand.
+
+"I'm from Arizony an' Mexico an' a few other places," was the answer.
+"I've helped catch men like you before, Coyote."
+
+Rathburn frowned, still keeping his hand over his right foot. "I don't
+like that word, Coyote," he said softly, holding the other's gaze
+between the bars. "A coyote is a cowardly breed of animal, isn't it?"
+
+"An' a tricky one," said the jailer. "I ain't sayin' you're a coward;
+but you're tricky, an' that's bad enough."
+
+"Maybe so," agreed Rathburn. "Ah--here's our friend, his nibs, the
+sheriff. He went out to rustle me some grub. He wants to keep me fat
+for hanging!"
+
+His laugh rang through the jail, empty save for himself and the two
+officers. But the temporary jailer hesitated, looking at Rathburn's
+eyes, before he turned to the sheriff.
+
+"Open the door and I'll take it in to him," ordered the sheriff.
+"Can't get this stuff through the bars. You might keep him covered."
+
+The jailer's hand flew to his hip for his gun as he also brought up a
+large key on a ring. He unlocked the door to the cage and held it open
+while he kept his gun trained upon Rathburn.
+
+The sheriff entered and placed the food on the stool and a large bowl
+of coffee on the floor beside it. Then he backed out, watching
+Rathburn keenly as the latter sat on his bench with his right foot in
+his hand.
+
+When the door clanged shut and the key rattled in the lock, Rathburn
+let down his right foot, took two steps, and pulled the stool to the
+bench. He stepped back and secured the coffee. Then he began to eat
+and drink, keeping his right foot tipped on its toes, while the two
+officials watched him attentively.
+
+"Sheriff," said Rathburn suddenly, between bites on a huge meat
+sandwich, "could you let me have a stub of a lead pencil an' a sheet
+of paper to write a letter on?"
+
+"Easy enough," answered Neal. "Course, you know all mail that goes out
+of the jail is read by us before it's delivered--if it's delivered at
+all."
+
+"I'll chance it," snapped out Rathburn.
+
+As the sheriff left to get the writing materials, with the jailer
+following him, doubtless for a whispered confab as to what Rathburn
+might be wanting to write and its possible bearing on his capture, the
+prisoner hastily ran his left hand down into his right sock and with
+some difficulty withdrew a peculiar-shaped leather case about ten
+inches long and nearly the width of his foot. This he put within his
+shirt.
+
+When the officials returned he had finished his repast and was
+waiting for them near the bars with a smile of gratitude on his lips.
+
+"This may be a confession I'm going to write," he said, grinning at
+Neal. "It's going to take me a long time, I reckon, but you said I had
+something like ten hours for sleep, so I guess I can spare two or
+three for this effort at literary composition. I figure, sheriff, that
+this'll be my masterpiece."
+
+His look puzzled the sheriff as he took the pencil and paper through
+the bars and returned to his bunk. He drew up the stool and sat upon
+it. It was a little lower than the bench, so, putting his paper on the
+bench, he had a fairly good makeshift desk. He began to write
+steadily, and after a few minutes the sheriff and jailer retired to
+the office.
+
+It did not take Rathburn a quarter of an hour to write what he wished
+on the first of the several pieces of paper. He tore off what he had
+written, doubled it again and again into a small square, took out his
+sack of tobacco which he had been allowed to retain, and put it
+therein with the loose tobacco.
+
+Then he wrote for a few minutes on the second sheet of paper.
+
+When the sheriff looked in later he evidently was slowly and
+laboriously achieving a composition.
+
+Rathburn heard the sheriff go out of the front door a few minutes
+later. Instantly he was alert. He drew on his boots. He surmised that
+the sheriff had gone out for something to eat and, though he wasn't
+sure of this, it was true.
+
+"Oh, jailer!" he called amiably.
+
+The wrinkled face of the desert trailer appeared in the office
+doorway.
+
+Rathburn looked about from his seat on the stool. "This job ain't none
+too easy, as it is," he complained. "As a writer I'm a first-rate cow
+hand. Lemme take your knife to sharpen this pencil with. When I asked
+the sheriff for a stub of a pencil he took me at my word."
+
+"Sure I'll let you have my knife," said the jailer sarcastically. "How
+about my gun--want that, too?"
+
+"Oh, come on, old-timer," pleaded Rathburn. "The lead in this pencil's
+worn clean down into the wood."
+
+"Hand it over here an' I'll sharpen it," said the jailer, drawing his
+pocketknife.
+
+Rathburn walked to the bars and held out the pencil. An amiable smile
+played on his lips. "You'll have to excuse me," he said contritely. "I
+forgot it wasn't jail etiquette to ask for a knife. But I ain't had
+much experience in jail. Now according to his nibs, the sheriff, I'm
+in to get pretty well acquainted with 'em, eh?"
+
+He watched the jailer as he began sharpening the pencil.
+
+"Speaking of knives, now," he continued in a confiding tone, "I got in
+a ruckus down near the border once an' some gents started after me.
+One of 'em got pretty close--close enough to take some skin off my
+shoulder with a bullet. He just sort of compelled me to shoot back."
+
+"I suppose you killed him," observed the jailer, pausing in his work
+of sharpening the pencil.
+
+"I ain't saying," replied Rathburn. "Anyways I had a hole-up down
+there for a few days, an' as luck would have it, I had to put up with
+a Mexican. All that Mex would do was argue that a knife was better
+than a gun. He claimed it was sure and made no noise--those were his
+hardest talking points, an' I'll be danged if there isn't something in
+it.
+
+"But what I was gettin' at is that I didn't have nothing to do, an'
+that Mexican got me to practicing knife throwing. You know how slick
+those fellows are at throwing a blade. Well, in the couple of weeks
+that I hung aroun' there he coached me along till I could throw a
+knife as good as he could. He thought it was great sport, teaching me
+to throw a knife so good, that a way.
+
+"Since I left down there I've sort of practiced that knife-throwing
+business now and then, just for fun. Anyways I thought it was just for
+fun. But now I see, jailer, that it was my luck protecting me.
+Anything you learn is liable to prove handy some time. _Don't move an
+inch or I'll let you have it!_"
+
+Rathburn's hand snapped out of his shirt and up above his right
+shoulder.
+
+The man from the desert shuddered involuntarily as he saw the yellow
+light from the lamp play fitfully upon a keen, white blade.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+AGAINST HIS ETHICS
+
+
+Rathburn's eyes held the other's as completely as would have been the
+case if he were invested with a power to charm in some occult way.
+Moreover, every trace of his amiable, confiding smile was gone. His
+gaze was hard and cold and gleaming. His face was drawn into grim
+lines. When he spoke he talked smoothly, rapidly, and with an edge to
+his words which convinced his listener that he was in deadly earnest.
+
+"I'm not used to jails, my friend, an' I don't aim to stay here.
+You're not very far away an' these bars are wide enough for me to miss
+'em; but I don't think I could miss you."
+
+The jailer looked in horror at the gleaming knife which Rathburn held
+by its hilt with the blade pointing backward. The jailer was from the
+border; he knew the awful possibilities of a quick motion of the wrist
+in that position, a half turn of the knife as it streaked toward its
+target. He shuddered again.
+
+"Now just edge this way about two steps so your holster will be
+against the bars," Rathburn instructed. "I can drop you where you
+stand, reach through the bars an' drag you close if need be; but I'm
+banking on you having some good sense."
+
+The jailer, without moving the hands which held the pencil and his
+pocketknife, sidled up against the bars.
+
+Rathburn leaned forward. Keeping his right hand high and tipped back,
+ready for the throw, he reached out with his left, just through the
+bars, and secured the jailer's gun.
+
+"Now it's all off," he said quietly. "If the sheriff or anybody else
+comes before I get out of here I'm just naturally going to have to
+live up to the reputation for shooting that they've fastened on me.
+Unlock the door."
+
+The jailer wet his lips with his tongue. The pencil and pocketknife
+fell to the floor. Covered by his own gun, now in Rathburn's hand, he
+moved to the door, brought out his key, and opened it. Still keeping
+him covered, Rathburn backed to the bench, snatched up his coat, and
+walked out of the cage, motioning to the jailer to precede him into
+the office.
+
+There he slipped the gun in his holster and put on his coat. The
+jailer reckoned better than to try to leap upon him while he was thus
+engaged; the prisoner's speed with a six-gun was well known.
+
+Rathburn drew a peculiar leather case from within his shirt, put the
+knife in it, and stowed it away in a pocket. Then he turned on the
+jailer.
+
+"Maybe you think that was a mean trick--resorting to a knife," he said
+pleasantly; "but all is fair in love and war and when a man's in jail.
+You better sort of stand in one place while I look around a bit."
+
+He backed behind the desk in the big office, opened two or three
+drawers, and brought out a pair of handcuffs. He moved around in front
+of the jailer again.
+
+"Hold out your hands," he commanded. "That's it." He snapped the
+handcuffs on with one hand while he kept the other on the butt of his
+gun.
+
+"You don't seem to have much to say," he commented.
+
+"What's the use?" said the jailer. "I know when a man's got me dead to
+rights. But I'll be on your trail again, an' if I ever get within
+shootin' distance of you an' see you first, you'll never get another
+chance to pull a knife."
+
+"Well said," Rathburn admitted. "Now we understand each other. But I
+don't intend for you to ever get within shooting distance of me."
+
+Rathburn glanced casually about. "Now it seems to me," he resumed,
+"that most of these fellows who gum up their jail breaks make a
+mistake by hurrying. Suppose you just walk natural-like through that
+door and into the cage I just had the foresight to leave. That's
+it--right on in."
+
+He turned the key which the jailer had left in the lock. "Now you're
+all right unless you start hollering," said Rathburn.
+
+He stood quietly in the doorway between the office and the cages. The
+man from the desert studied him. He saw a variety of expressions flit
+over Rathburn's face--anger, determination, scorn, resolve. He was
+deliberately ignoring his opportunity to make his escape while
+conditions were propitious; he was waiting!
+
+Although the jailer felt the urge to cry out in an endeavor to make
+himself heard outside the jail and thus bring help, something in the
+bearing of the man standing in the doorway made him keenly curious to
+watch the drama which he knew must be enacted sooner or later before
+his eyes, for The Coyote was certainly waiting for the sheriff.
+
+Rathburn now drew the jailer's gun from his own holster and toyed with
+it to get its "feel" and balance. He dropped it back into the holster
+and in a wink of an eyelid it was back in his hand. The man from the
+desert gasped at the lightning rapidity of the draw. Time and again
+the gun virtually leaped from the holster into The Coyote's hand at
+his hip, ready to spit forth leaden death. The jailer drew a long
+breath. The man was accustoming himself to the weapon which had come
+into his possession, making sure of it. Now he again stood motionless
+in the doorway, waiting--waiting----
+
+Boots stamped upon the steps outside, and Rathburn drew back from the
+doorway in the aisle before the cages.
+
+The front door opened and a man entered.
+
+Both the man in the cage and the man in the aisle recognized the
+sheriff's step as Neal closed the door, paused for a look about the
+office, and then walked toward the door leading into the jail proper.
+
+The jailer opened his mouth to sound a warning, but something in
+Rathburn's gaze and posture held him silent. Rathburn's body was
+tense; his gaze was glued to the doorway; his right hand with its
+slim, brown, tapered fingers, hung above the gun at his side.
+
+The sheriff loomed in the doorway. Without a flicker of surprise in
+his eyes he took in the situation. His lids half closed as his lips
+tightened to a thin, white line. He met Rathburn's gaze and knew that
+he now faced The Coyote in the role which had won him his sinister
+reputation.
+
+"Did I mention to you that I wasn't used to jails, sheriff?" said
+Rathburn evenly, his words carrying crisp and clear. "I don't fancy
+'em. But I needed the sleep and the meal. Now I'm going. Do you
+recollect I said no one ever took my gun from me but what I got it
+back? I had to borrow this one from the gent in the cage. I'll take my
+gun, sheriff--_now!_"
+
+Neal had watched him closely. He saw that while he was speaking The
+Coyote did not for an instant relax his vigilance. The merest
+resemblance of a move would precipitate gun play.
+
+He turned abruptly, and with Rathburn following him closely, went
+into the private room off the jail office. He pointed to the other's
+gun which lay upon the flat desk where many had curiously inspected
+it.
+
+Rathburn took it in his left hand and ascertained at a glance that it
+wasn't loaded. Therefore he elected to carry it in his left hand.
+
+"I won't take a chance on feeding it right now, sheriff," he said.
+"Under the circumstances it would be right awkward. If you make up
+your mind to draw I'll have to depend on a strange gun."
+
+Sheriff Neal's eyes glittered; his lips parted just a little.
+
+"Now if you'll walk back toward the cage, sheriff," Rathburn prompted.
+"Correct--don't stumble."
+
+Neal backed slowly out of the door, through the second door into the
+aisle before the cages, watching Rathburn like a cat.
+
+Rathburn slipped his own weapon into his left hip pocket and with his
+left hand dug into his trousers pocket for the key to the cage. He
+didn't take his eyes from Neal's as he brought it out and inserted it
+in the lock. His right hand continued to hang above the gun he had
+taken from the jailer.
+
+"Sheriff," he said with a cold ring in his voice, "this may seem like
+an insult, but I'm goin' to ask you to unlock that cage and go in. You
+can take your time if you want, but I warn you fair that if any one
+should start coming up the steps outside I'll try to smoke you up."
+
+For answer Neal, with the glitter still in his eyes, stepped to the
+cage door, unlocked it, and swung it open.
+
+He took a step, whirled like a flash--and the deafening report of guns
+crashed and reverberated within the jail's walls.
+
+Neal staggered back within the cage, his gun clattering to the floor,
+his right hand dropping to his side.
+
+"If I hadn't been up against a strange gun I wouldn't have hit your
+finger, sheriff," said Rathburn mockingly. "I was shootin' at your
+gun."
+
+He shut the cage door quickly, locked it, and stuck the key in his
+pocket. Then he threw the jailer's gun in through the bars and thrust
+his own weapon in its holster.
+
+"I want you gentlemen inside, an' armed," he said laughingly. "If the
+jailer will be so good as to read what's written on the paper on the
+bench, he'll learn something to his advantage. Sheriff, you an' Brown
+were wrong in this, but the devil of it is you'll never know why."
+
+He left Neal pondering this cryptic sally, ran to the front door,
+opened it, and disappeared.
+
+Neal clutched his injured fingers and swore freely, although there was
+amazement in his eyes. He could have been killed like a rat in a trap
+if The Coyote had felt the whim.
+
+The man from the desert stepped to the bench and read on the sheet of
+paper:
+
+If anybody ever gets to read this they will know that what I said
+about learning to throw a knife is true. I can do it. I've carried
+that knife in a special case that would fit in my sock and boot for
+just such an emergency as came up to-night. But I never would have
+throwed it. It would be against my ethics.
+
+The man from the desert swore softly. Then he hurriedly picked up his
+gun and fired five shots to attract attention.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+A MAN AND HIS HORSE
+
+
+When Rathburn closed the outer door after him he plunged down the
+steps and into the shadows by the wall of the jail. Few lights showed
+in the town, for it was past midnight. He could see yellow beams
+streaming from the windows of the resort up the street, however, as he
+hesitated.
+
+He was mightily handicapped because he had no horse. A horse--his own
+horse, he felt--was necessary for his escape, but his horse was a long
+distance away.
+
+Rathburn stole across the street to the side on which the big resort
+was situated, and slipped behind a building just as the muffled
+reports came from within the jail. After a short interval, five more
+shots were heard, and Rathburn grinned as he realized that the jailer
+had fired the remaining bullets in his own and the sheriff's guns.
+
+He heard men running down the street. So he hurried up street behind
+the buildings until he reached the rear of the large resort, which was
+the place Lamy had held up.
+
+Peering through one of the rear windows he saw the room was deserted
+except for the man behind the bar. Even at that distance he could hear
+horses and men down the street. Doubtless they were crowding into the
+jail where the sheriff would insist upon being liberated at once so he
+could lead the chase and, as Rathburn had the key, this would result
+in a delay until another key could be found, or Brown, who probably
+had one, could be routed out.
+
+Rathburn thought of this as he looked through the window at the lonely
+bartender who evidently could not decide whether to close up and see
+what it all was about or not. But the thing which impressed Rathburn
+most was the presence of a pile of sandwiches and several cans of
+corned beef and sardines--emergency quick lunches for patrons--on the
+back bar. Also, he saw several gunny sacks on a box in the rear of the
+place almost under the window through which he was looking.
+
+Rathburn stepped to the door in sudden decision, threw it open, and
+walked in. His gun flashed into his hand. "Quiet!" was all he said to
+the stupefied bartender.
+
+He scooped up one of the sacks, darted behind the bar, brushed the
+sandwiches and most of the cans of corned beef and sardines into it,
+and then slung it over his left shoulder with his left hand.
+
+"The sheriff will return the money that was taken from here," he said
+coolly as he walked briskly to the front door. "Play the game safe;
+stay where you are!" he cautioned as he vanished through the door.
+
+There were no horses at the hitching rail, but he saw several down the
+street in front of the jail. Men were running back and forth across
+the street--after Brown, he surmised.
+
+Again he stole around to the rear of the resort; then he struck
+straight up into the timbered slope above the town, climbing rapidly
+afoot with the distant peaks and ridges as his guide.
+
+Some two hours after dawn he sat on the crest of a high ridge watching
+a rider come up the winding trail from eastward. He had seen other
+riders going in both directions from his concealment behind a screen
+of cedar bushes. He had watched them with no interest other than that
+exhibited by a whimsical smile. But he did not smile as he watched
+this rider. His eyes became keenly alert; his face was grim. His mind
+was made up.
+
+When the rider was nearing his ambush, Rathburn quickly scanned the
+empty stretch of trail to westward, then leaped down and confronted
+the horseman.
+
+Ed Lamy drew rein with an exclamation of surprise.
+
+"There's not much time, an' I don't hanker to be seen--afoot," said
+Rathburn quickly. "Where's my horse?"
+
+"He's in a pocket on a shale slope this side of the timber on a line
+from the house where you left him," replied Lamy readily. "Or you can
+have mine."
+
+"Don't want him," said Rathburn curtly. "You going in to see the
+sheriff?"
+
+Lamy nodded. "His orders. Say, Coyote----"
+
+"He'll probably meet you on the way," Rathburn interrupted with a
+sneer. "You can be figurin' out what to say to him. My saddle with the
+horse?"
+
+"It's hanging from a tree where you go into the pocket. Big limestone
+cliffs there below the shale. Say, Coyote, my sister an' kid brother
+was tellin' me about your visit that morning, an' I guess I
+understand----"
+
+"We can't stand here talkin'," Rathburn broke in, pulling the tobacco
+sack from his shirt pocket. He extracted a folded piece of paper.
+"Here's a note I wrote you in jail before I left. Read it on the way
+in when there's no one watching you. Maybe you'll learn something from
+it; maybe you won't. I expect you wanted money to fix that ranch up;
+but you'll get further by doing a little irrigating from up that
+stream than by trying to be a bandit. You just naturally ain't cut out
+for the part!"
+
+With these words he handed Lamy the note and bounded back up the
+slope. The screen of cedar bushes closed behind him as Lamy pushed on,
+looking back, wondering and confused, with heightened color in his
+face.
+
+It was late that night when Lamy returned to the little ranch house.
+Frankie had gone to bed, but his sister was waiting up for him with a
+meal and hot tea ready.
+
+He talked to his sister in a low voice while he ate. When he had
+finished he read the note for the third time; read it aloud, so his
+sister could hear.
+
+  "LAMY: I meant to take you back and give you up, for I was pretty
+  sore. Then I saw your resemblance to your small brother by the
+  freckles and eyes and I remembered he had said something about you
+  saying some decent things about me. I guess you thought they were
+  nice things, anyway.
+
+  "Then I thought maybe you got your ideas about easy money from
+  the stuff you'd heard about me, and I sort of felt kind of
+  responsible. I thought I'd teach you a lesson by flirting with
+  that posse and telling you that killing story to show you what
+  a man is up against in this game. I guess I can't get away
+  from it because they won't let me. But you don't have to start.
+  I was going to give you a good talking to before I let you go,
+  but I hadn't counted on the little kid in the house. I'm glad he
+  told the truth. He'll remember that. I gave you back your gun
+  because you hit the nail on the head when you said if I was
+  square I'd give it to you and let you make a run for it.
+
+  "I took the money off you so if they got us I could take the blame
+  and let you off. I can take the blame without hurting my
+  reputation, so don't worry. I'm not doing this so much for your
+  sake as for your kid brother and your sister. I figure you'd sort
+  of caught on when I heard they hadn't located my horse. That was a
+  good turn. Do me another by getting some sense. There's plenty of
+  us fellows that's quite capable to furnish the bad examples.
+
+                                                         "RATHBURN."
+
+The girl was crying softly with an arm about her brother's neck when
+he finished reading.
+
+"What--what are you going to do, Eddie?" she sobbed.
+
+"I'm goin' to irrigate!" said Ed Lamy with a new note in his voice.
+"I'm goin' to build a sure-enough ranch for us with this piece of
+paper for a corner stone!"
+
+Dawn was breaking over the mountains, strewing the gleaming peaks with
+warm rosettes of color. A clear sky, as deep and blue as any sea,
+arched its canopy above. Virgin stands of pine and fir marched up the
+steep slopes to fling their banners of green against the snow. Silver
+ribbons of streams laughed in the welcome sunlight.
+
+In a rock-walled gulch, far above the head of Sunrise Cañon, a fire
+was burning, its thin smoke streamer riding on a vagrant breeze. Near
+by lay a dun-colored horse on its side, tied fast. A man was squatting
+by the blaze.
+
+"I hate to have to do this, old hoss," the man crooned; "but we've got
+to change the pattern of that CC2 brand if we want to stick together,
+an' I reckon we want to stick."
+
+He thrust the running iron deeper into the glowing coals.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+THE WITNESS
+
+
+The morning was hardly two hours old, and the crisp air was stinging
+sweet with the tang of pine and fir, as Rathburn rode jauntily down
+the trail on the eastern slope of the divide and drew rein on the
+crest of a high ridge. As he looked below he whistled softly.
+
+"Juniper, hoss, there's folks down there plying a nefarious trade, a
+plumb dangerous trade," he mused, digging for the tobacco and brown
+papers in the pocket of his shirt. "I reckon they're carrying on in
+direct defiance of the law, hoss."
+
+The dun-colored mustang tossed his head impatiently, but his master
+ignored the animal's fretful desire to be off and dallied with tobacco
+and paper, fashioning a cigarette, lighting it, breathing thin smoke
+as his gray eyes squinted appraisingly at the scene below.
+
+Winding down into the foothills, in striking contrast to the dim
+trails higher up, was a well-used road. It evidently led from the
+saffron-tinted dump and gray buildings of a mine which showed on the
+side of a big, bald mountain to southward. At a point almost directly
+below the ridge where the man and horse stood, it crossed a small
+hogback and descended a steep slope between lines of jack pines,
+disappearing in the timber farther down.
+
+The gaze of the man on the ridge was concentrated on the bit of road
+which showed on the hogback and the slope beyond. A truck was
+laboriously climbing the ascent. But the watcher evidently was not so
+much concerned with the approach of the truck as with certain
+movements which were in progress on the hogback at the head of the
+grade.
+
+Three persons had dismounted from their horses behind the screen of
+timber. One, a tall man, had donned a long, black slicker and was
+tying a handkerchief about his face.
+
+"Juniper, hoss," said Rathburn, "what does that gent want that slicker
+on for? It ain't going to rain. An' how does he reckon to see onless
+maybe he's got holes cut in that there hanky?"
+
+A second man had made his way down the slope a short distance. He took
+advantage of the timber which screened him from sight of the driver of
+the oncoming truck.
+
+"I 'spect that's in case the truck driver should suddenly take it into
+his head to slide down backwards," said the observer, speaking his
+thoughts aloud in a musical, bass voice. "One in front, one behind;
+now how about the kid?"
+
+As if in answer to his question the third member of the party,
+evidently a boy, led the horses a short way up the hogback where a
+good view could be obtained of the road in both directions.
+
+The watcher grunted in approval. "One in front to do the stick-up, one
+behind to stop a retreat and get whatever it is they're after, and one
+on the lookout to see there ain't any unexpected guests. Couldn't have
+planned the lay any better ourselves, hoss."
+
+He was too far distant to interfere, even if he had had any desire to
+do so, which was doubtful from his interested and tolerant manner.
+Anyway it could have done no good to shout a warning, for the driver
+of the truck could not have heard anything above the roar of his
+machine, and the trio had gone about the preparations with dispatch.
+Already the truck was climbing the last steep pitch to the top of the
+hogback.
+
+The tall man in the black slicker and mask now quickly stepped forth
+from the edge of the timber. The watcher above saw his right hand and
+arm whip out level with his shoulders. There was a glint of morning
+sunlight and dull metal. The truck came to a jarring stop as the
+driver jammed on the brakes. Then the driver's hands went into the
+air.
+
+Stepping from the timber at the roadside behind the truck, the second
+man leaped upon the machine. The watcher grunted again as he saw that
+this man was also masked. The driver was disarmed and searched, then
+forced to clamber down from the truck into the road, where the man in
+the slicker kept him covered while the other quickly searched about
+the seat and cab of the truck. Then the second man released the brakes
+and dropped nimbly from the machine which plunged backward down the
+steep slope, crashed into the tree growth on one side of the road, and
+overturned.
+
+The boy mounted and led the other two horses down the hogback in the
+scanty timber to the head of the grade. There the man in the slicker
+and his companion joined him, mounted, and the trio rode quickly along
+the hogback in a southerly direction and disappeared on a blind rail
+into the forest.
+
+Rathburn rolled himself another cigarette with a grin as he watched
+the truck driver stand for some moments uncertainly in the road and
+then start rapidly down the slope toward his disabled machine.
+
+"C'mon, hoss," said the erstwhile spectator, turning his dun-colored
+mount again into the trail. "So far's I can make out, this is the only
+way down out of these tall mountains to the east, so we might as well
+get going. We ain't got no business south or west. We'll be just in
+time to get blamed for what's happened down there."
+
+Whatever there might be in the prospect, the rider did not permit it
+to have any influence on his cheerful mood. He drew in long breaths of
+the stimulating air and sniffed joyously at the fragrance of the
+murmuring forests which clothed the higher hills. Far below the timber
+would dwindle, the ridges would flatten into round knolls and lose
+their verdure; then would come the dust and lava slopes, and
+beyond--the desert.
+
+A wistful light came into the horseman's eyes. "Home, Juniper, hoss,"
+he said softly. "We've just got to have cactus an' water holes an'
+danged blistering heat in ours; and I don't care so much as the faded
+label off an empty tomato can if it's in California, or Arizona, or
+Nevada, so long as it's desert!"
+
+The trail he was following wound tortuously around ridges, through the
+timber, into ravines and cañons; now treading close upon the bank of a
+swift-running mountain stream in a narrow valley, and again seeking
+the higher places where there were rocks and fallen trees and other
+obstructions. An observer would have gleaned at once that the rider
+was not familiar with the trail or territory he traversed.
+
+So it was past noon when he finally reached the hogback where the
+outstanding event of the morning had taken place. The rider looked
+back up toward the divide and grinned as he rested his horse just
+above the scene of the holdup.
+
+"Don't reckon they'd have heard me if I'd hollered, or seen me if I'd
+waved," he mused. "They picked out a good spot for the dirty work," he
+concluded, looking about.
+
+Shortly afterward, as he was staring down at the tracks in the road,
+he smothered an exclamation. Then he dismounted, picked up two small
+objects from the dust at the point where the trio had started on
+their get-away, examined them with a puzzled expression, and thrust
+them into a pocket.
+
+"Queer," he ruminated; "mighty queer. If those silly things had been
+laying there in the road before the rumpus they'd have been tracked
+into the dust. But they was on _top_ of a perfectly good hoss track.
+An' it don't look like there's been anybody along here since."
+
+He continued down the road, descending the steep slope, and came to
+the overturned truck. At a glance he saw it had been used for hauling
+supplies, doubtless to the mine he had glimpsed on the slope of the
+high mountain to southward. Several kegs of nails, some hardware, and
+some sacks of cement were scattered in the road. He remembered that
+the man who had climbed on the truck had only searched the driver and
+the cab. Anything he might have taken must have been in a small
+package or it would have been discernible even at that long distance.
+
+"That outfit wasn't after no mine supplies," Rathburn reflected as he
+finished his brief inspection and again mounted. "An' they wasn't
+taking any chances on smoking anybody up or being followed too quick.
+Pretty work all around. An' here's the committee, hoss!"
+
+A touring car came careening around a turn in the road and raced
+toward him. He turned his horse to the side of the road and spoke to
+him as the animal, plainly unfamiliar with motor cars, snorted and
+shied.
+
+The car drew to a stop with a screeching of brakes. The horseman
+raised his hands as he saw two rifles leveled at him from the rear
+seat. There were five men in the car besides the driver. One of the
+men, who had been sitting in the front with the driver, leaped from
+the machine and strode toward the rider.
+
+"Calm that horse down an' climb out of that saddle," he commanded.
+"If you make any motions toward that gun you're packing, it'll make
+things simpler, in a way."
+
+The rider slipped from the saddle with a broad grin. "Right up to
+form," he sang cheerfully, although he kept his hands elevated while
+the other took his gun. "My hoss'll be calm enough now that that
+danged thing is shut off. You must be a sheriff to be flirting with
+the speed limit that way an' forgetting you've got a horn."
+
+"Where are you from an' where was you going?" demanded the other.
+
+"I'm from up in the mountains, but I'd never got where I was going if
+I hadn't seen you first the way you busted around that curve," was the
+cool reply.
+
+"Stranger," was the next comment in a tone of satisfaction. "Look
+here, friend, I'm Mannix, deputy from High Point. You'll sail smoother
+if you answer my questions straight."
+
+The deputy motioned to two men in the car. "Search him," he ordered.
+Then he stood back, six-shooter in hand.
+
+The stranger built a cigarette while the men were going through him.
+He lighted the weed and smiled quizzically while they examined the
+meager contents of the slicker pack on the rear of his saddle.
+
+"See you're packing a black slicker," said Mannix, pointing to the
+rough raincoat in which the pack was wrapped.
+
+"That's in case of rain," was the ready answer.
+
+"What's your name?" asked the deputy with a frown.
+
+"Rathburn."
+
+"Where was you heading?"
+
+"I was aiming in a general eastern direction," Rathburn replied in a
+drawl. "Is there any law against ridin' hosses in this here part of
+the country?"
+
+"Not at all," replied the deputy heartily. "An' there's no law against
+drivin' automobiles or trucks. But there's a law against stoppin' 'em
+with a gun."
+
+"So," said Rathburn. "You stopped because you saw my gun? An' I'm to
+blame, for it? If I'd known you were touchy about guns down here I'd
+have worn mine in my shirt."
+
+One of the other men from the car had joined the deputy. He was
+looking at Rathburn keenly. Mannix turned to him.
+
+"Look like him?" he asked.
+
+The man nodded. "About the same size and height."
+
+"This man was drivin' a truck up here that was stopped this morning,"
+said the deputy sternly to Rathburn. "He says you size up to one of
+the men that turned the trick--one of them that wore a black slicker
+like yours."
+
+Rathburn nodded pleasantly. "Exactly," he said with a smile. "I happen
+to be in the country an' I've got a black slicker. There you are;
+everything all proved up. An' yet there was somebody once told me it
+took brains to be a sheriff!"
+
+There was a glint in Rathburn's eyes as he uttered the last sentence.
+
+Instead of flying into a rage, Mannix laughed.
+
+"Don't kid yourself," he said grimly. "You're not the man who held up
+this truck driver."
+
+He gave Rathburn back his gun, to the latter's surprise. Then he waved
+toward Rathburn's horse.
+
+"Go ahead," he said, smiling. "General eastern direction, wasn't it?
+This road will take you clean to the desert, if you want to go that
+far. So long."
+
+He led the others back to the car which started off with a roar. It
+passed the truck and continued on up the road.
+
+Rathburn sat his horse and watched the automobile out of sight. His
+expression was one of deep perplexity.
+
+"By all the rules of the game that fellow should have held me as a
+suspect," he soliloquized. "Now he don't know me from a hoss thief--or
+does he?"
+
+He frowned and rode thoughtfully down the road in the direction from
+which the automobile had come.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE WELCOME
+
+
+The afternoon wore on as Rathburn followed the road at an easy jog. He
+quickened his pace somewhat when he passed through aisles in thick
+timber, and, despite his careless attitude in the saddle, he kept a
+sharp lookout at all times. For Rathburn was carrying some gold and
+bills in a belt under his shirt--which had been examined and returned
+to him at the order of the deputy--and he had no intention of being
+waylaid. Moreover, the man's natural bearing was one of constant
+alertness. He rode for more than two hours without seeing any one.
+
+"Strange," he observed aloud. "This road is used a lot, too. Maybe the
+morning's ceremonies has scared all the travelers into the brush."
+
+But, as he turned the next bend in the road, he saw a small cabin in a
+little clearing to the right.
+
+Spurred by a desire to obtain some much-needed information, he turned
+from the road into the clearing and rode up to the cabin. He doffed
+his broad-brimmed hat in haste as he saw a girl.
+
+"Ma'am, I'm a stranger in these woods an' I'm looking for an honest
+man or woman to guide me on my way," he said with a flashing smile.
+
+Instead of returning his smile with a gracious word of greeting, the
+girl regarded him gravely out of glowing, dark eyes.
+
+"Pretty!" he thought to himself. "Limping lizards, but she's pretty!"
+
+"Where are you from?" the girl asked soberly.
+
+"From yonder mountains, an' then some," he answered with a sweeping
+gesture.
+
+"You rode down this morning?"
+
+"I rode down this morning. Down from the toppermost top of the divide
+with the wind singing in my whiskers an' the birds warbling in my
+ears." He laughed gayly, for he appreciated her puzzled look. "I was
+wondering two things," he continued solemnly.
+
+"What might they be?" she asked doubtfully.
+
+"First: Why isn't there more travel on this good road?" he said. "I
+haven't seen a soul except yourself and a--a party in an automobile.
+Now on a road like this----"
+
+"Where did you meet the automobile?" she asked in a voice which he
+interpreted as eager.
+
+"Two hours an' some minutes back--and up. Near a truck which had had
+some trouble in the road. Perhaps you heard about it? Turned over on
+its side in collapse after some free-thinking gents turned their smoke
+wagons toward it."
+
+It was plain she was interested.
+
+"Did--is the automobile still there?" she inquired with a breathless
+catch in her voice.
+
+"Oh, no. After some of the passengers had had a little disrespectful
+conversation with me, it went on up the road. Are they scarce around
+here, ma'am--automobiles?"
+
+"Not exactly," she replied with a frown. "They truck ore and men and
+supplies to and from the mine every day. The reason you've seen so few
+people to-day is because it's Sunday."
+
+"Thank you," he said gallantly. "That answers my first question. You
+remember, I was wondering _two_ things?"
+
+Her lips trembled with a smile, but her eyes flashed with suspicion.
+
+"You will observe, ma'am, that I am not followed by any pack horses or
+heavily-laden burros," he went on gravely, although his eyes sparkled
+with good humor. "Nor is there anything much to speak of in this
+slicker pack on my saddle. I need some new smoking tobacco, some new
+shaving soap, some new hair cut, a bath, a dinner, and a bed--after
+I've put up my hoss."
+
+This time the girl laughed, and Rathburn was rewarded by the flashing
+gleam of two rows of pearls and eyes merry with mirth. But her
+reciprocating mood of cheerfulness was quickly spent.
+
+"You are only a mile and a half from High Point," she said hurriedly.
+"You can get what you want there."
+
+She retreated into the doorway, and Rathburn saw that the chance
+interview was at an end.
+
+"_Gracias_, as they say in the desert country," he said, saluting as
+he turned away. "It means thanks, ma'am."
+
+He looked back as he touched the mustang with his steel and saw her
+looking after him with a strange look in her eyes.
+
+"That gal looks half like she was scared, hoss," he reflected. "I
+wonder, now, if she got me wrong. Dang it! Maybe she thought I was
+trying to flirt with her. Well, maybe I was."
+
+He thrust a hand in a pocket and fingered the two objects he had
+picked up in the road at the scene of the holdup. Then he pulled his
+hat a bit forward over his eyes and increased his pace. The town, as
+he had half expected, came suddenly into sight around a sharp bend in
+the road.
+
+High Point consisted of some two-score structures, and only a cursory
+glance was needed to ascertain that it was the source of supplies and
+rendez-vous for entertainment of the several mines and all the miners
+and prospectors in the neighboring hills. Several fairly good roads
+and many trails led into it, and from it there was a main road of
+travel to the railroad on the edge of the desert in the east.
+
+Before he entered the dusty, single street, lined with small buildings
+flaunting false fronts, Rathburn recognized the signs of a foothill
+town where the hand of authority rested but lightly.
+
+He rode directly to the first hotel, the only two-story structure in
+town, and around to the rear where he put up his horse and left his
+saddle, chaps and slicker pack in the care of the barn man.
+
+He received instructions as to the location of the best barber shop
+and speedily wended his way there. He found Sunday was not observed in
+the barber shop, nor in the resort which adjoined it.
+
+"Any chance to get a bath here?" he asked one of the two barbers with
+a twinkle in his gray eyes.
+
+He expected a snort of astonishment and a sarcastic reply.
+
+"Sure. Want it first or after?"
+
+Rathburn eyed the barber suspiciously. Was the man poking fun at him?
+Well, he was not a stranger to repartee.
+
+"First or after what?" he asked, scowling.
+
+"Your shave and hair cut."
+
+Rathburn laughed. "I'll take it first--if you have it. An' if you
+have, I'll say this is a first-class barber shop."
+
+The barber led the way to a room in the rear of the place with a
+pleased grin.
+
+An hour or so later Rathburn, with the lower part of his face a shade
+paler than the upper half, his dark hair showing neatly under his
+broad-brimmed hat, his black riding boots glistening, and a satisfied
+smile on his face, sauntered out of the barber shop into the resort
+next door.
+
+A man was lighting the hanging lamps, and Rathburn looked about
+through a haze of tobacco smoke at a cluster of crowded gaming tables,
+a short bar, cigar counter, and at the motley throng which jammed the
+small room.
+
+He grinned as he read the sign over the cash register:
+
+
+FREE DRINKS TO-MORROW
+
+"Swiped in broad daylight from the grand old State of Texas," he
+murmured aloud to himself.
+
+Then he noticed a small restaurant in the rear of the place, separated
+from the main room by a partition, the upper part of which was glass.
+
+He made his way back, passed through the door, and took a seat at the
+counter which afforded him a view of the resort through the glass. He
+ordered a substantial meal and, while waiting for it to be served,
+studied with calculating eyes the scene in the next room.
+
+The men were mostly of the hills--miners constituting the majority. Of
+professional gamblers there were many, and there was also a plentiful
+sprinkling of that despicable species known as "boosters" whose
+business it is to sit in at the games in the interest of "the house;"
+to fleece the victims who occupy the few remaining seats.
+
+But now he saw a man who apparently was not a miner, or a prospector,
+nor yet a member of the professional gambling tribe. This was a tall
+man, very dark, sinewy. He wore a gun.
+
+At first Rathburn thought he might be a cow-puncher, for he wore
+riding boots, and had something of the air and bearing of a cowman;
+but he finally decided that this classification was inaccurate. An
+officer at one of the mines, perhaps; a forest ranger--no, he didn't
+wear the regalia of a ranger--Rathburn gave it up as his dinner was
+put before him on the counter.
+
+He fell to his meal eagerly, for he had had nothing to eat since early
+morning when he had broken camp high in the mountains to westward.
+Steak and French "fries" began quickly to disappear, along with many
+slices of bread and two cups of steaming coffee. Then Rathburn looked
+up, and to his surprise saw that the tall, dark man was standing near
+the glass, studying him intently out of scowling, black eyes.
+
+Rathburn looked at him coolly and steadily for a few moments and
+resumed his meal. But the other was inquisitive and Rathburn sensed,
+without again looking up, that he was being watched. Was this man,
+then, an aide of Mannix, the deputy? He doubted it.
+
+He finished his meal, paid his score with an added cheery word for the
+counter jumper, rose, entered the main room of the resort, and walked
+directly up to the dark man who still was observing him.
+
+"Was you thinking I was an old acquaintance of yours?" he asked
+pleasantly.
+
+The other's eyes narrowed, and Rathburn thought he detected a glow of
+recognition and satisfaction.
+
+"Did you have your bath?" sneeringly inquired the man.
+
+Rathburn's brows lifted. Then he smiled queerly. "I sure did. Why? Did
+I maybe keep you waiting? Was you next?"
+
+The other's eyes blazed with wrath. "Let me give you a tip, my friend;
+you ain't right well acquainted in this here locality, are you?"
+
+Rathburn now noted that they had attracted immediate attention. The
+tall, dark man, then, was a personage of importance. He noted another
+thing, too--rather, he realized it by instinct as well as by certain
+mannerisms. The man before him knew how to use the weapon which hung
+low on his right thigh.
+
+"If you mean was I born here, or do I live here, I'd say no," Rathburn
+drawled; "but I happen to be here at this precise time so I'd say I'm
+right well acquainted with it."
+
+A hush had come over the place. Interested faces were turned in their
+direction, and Rathburn sensed an ominous tremor of keen expectancy.
+The fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes tightened a bit.
+
+"This is a poor time for strangers to be hanging around," said the
+dark man in a loud voice. "The Dixie Queen pay-roll has been taking
+wings too often."
+
+The implication and the murmur from the spectators was not lost upon
+Rathburn. His lips tightened into a fine, white line.
+
+"Whoever you are, you've got more mouth than brains!" he said crisply
+in a voice which carried over the room.
+
+The effect of his words was electric. There was a sharp intaking of
+breath from the spectators. The dark man's face froze, and his eyes
+darted red. His right hand seemed to hang on the instant for the swoop
+to his gun. Rathburn appeared to be smiling queerly out of his eyes.
+Then came a sharp interruption.
+
+"Just a minute, Carlisle!"
+
+Rathburn recognized the voice of Mannix, and a moment later the deputy
+stepped between them.
+
+"What's the idea?" he asked coolly.
+
+"This gentleman you just called Carlisle seems to have appointed
+himself a reception committee to welcome me into the enterprising town
+of High Point," drawled Rathburn, with a laugh.
+
+Mannix turned on Carlisle with a scowl, and Carlisle shrugged
+impatiently, his eyes still glaring balefully at Rathburn.
+
+The deputy again confronted Rathburn. "Had your supper?" he asked.
+
+"Best steak I've had in two months," Rathburn replied cheerfully.
+
+"Horse taken care of?"
+
+"First thing." There was a note of derision in Rathburn's tone.
+"Service at the hotel barn is high grade."
+
+Mannix's eyes hardened before he spoke again. He hesitated, but when
+his words came they were clear-cut and stern.
+
+"Then come with me an' I'll show you where to sleep."
+
+"You mean in jail?" queried Rathburn.
+
+Mannix nodded coldly.
+
+"Sheriff," said Rathburn, in a peculiar tone, addressing the deputy
+but looking over his shoulder directly into Carlisle's eyes; "if
+there's one thing I'm noted for, it's for being a good guesser!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+THE DIXIE'S BOSS
+
+
+If Mannix expected any resistance from Rathburn he soon found that
+none was to materialize. The deputy, a short, rather stout man of
+perhaps thirty-nine, with bronzed features, clear, brown eyes, and a
+protruding jaw covered with a stubble of reddish-brown beard, was
+nevertheless wary of his prisoner. He had not yet obtained Rathburn's
+gun, and he recognized the unmistakable signs of a seasoned gunman in
+the lounging but graceful postures of his prisoner, in the way he
+moved his right hand, in the alertness of his eye. He frowned, for
+Rathburn was smiling. There was a quality to that smile which was not
+lost upon the doughty officer.
+
+"I take it you've got sense enough to come along easylike," he said,
+with just a hint of doubt in his voice.
+
+"Yes, I've been known to show some sense, sheriff; now that's a
+fact."
+
+"I'll have to ask you for your gun," said the deputy grimly.
+
+"I've never been known to hand over my gun, sheriff," drawled
+Rathburn. "Now that's another fact."
+
+Again the tension in the room was high. Others than Mannix, and
+probably Carlisle, had readily discerned in the gray-eyed stranger a
+certain menacing prowess which is much respected where weapons are the
+rule in unexpected emergencies. The crowd backed to the wall.
+
+The deputy wet his lips, and his face grew a shade paler. Then
+suddenly he went for his gun, as Rathburn dropped, like a shot, to the
+floor. There came the crack of Carlisle's pistol and a laugh from
+Rathburn. The deputy, gun in hand, stared at Rathburn who rose quickly
+to his feet. Then he thought to cover him. Rathburn raised his hands
+while Carlisle returned his own smoking weapon to its holster. Mannix
+turned and glared at Carlisle in perplexity.
+
+"I don't know what his game is, Mannix; but he could have drawn down
+on you in a wink and shot you in your tracks if he'd wanted to," said
+Carlisle.
+
+"So you were taking the play in your own hands," Mannix accused.
+
+The deputy looked at Rathburn angrily. Then he advanced and took the
+prisoner's six-shooter from him. He brought handcuffs out of his
+pockets.
+
+Rathburn's face went white. "If what Carlisle says is true, it doesn't
+look as if I was trying to get away, does it, sheriff?" he asked
+coldly.
+
+Mannix was thoughtful for a moment. "Well, come along," he ordered,
+thrusting the steel bracelets back into his pocket.
+
+"I'll go with you," Carlisle volunteered.
+
+"That's up to you," snapped out the deputy. "I ain't asking you to."
+
+The trio left the place as the spectators gazed after them in wonder.
+There was a hum of excited conversation as the deputy and his prisoner
+and Carlisle passed through the door.
+
+No word was spoken on the way to the small, two-room, one-story
+structure which served as a detention place for persons under arrest
+until they could be transferred to the county jail in the town where
+the railroad touched. Petty offenders served their sentences there,
+however.
+
+In the little front office of the jail, Rathburn looked with interest
+at some posters on the walls. One in particular claimed his
+attention, and he read it twice while the deputy was getting some keys
+and calling to the jailer, who evidently was on the other side of the
+barred door where the few cells and the "tank" were.
+
+This is what Rathburn read:
+
+                                 REWARD
+
+  Two thousand dollars will be paid for the capture of the bandits
+  who are responsible for the robberies of Dixie Mine messengers in
+  the last few months.
+
+                                     DIXIE MILLING & MINING CO.,
+                                           George Sautee, Manager.
+
+Rathburn now knew exactly what Carlisle had meant when he had referred
+to the Dixie pay-roll taking wings. He had, however, suspected it. The
+holdup of the truck driver also was explained. Rathburn smiled. It was
+a peculiar ruse for the mines manager to resort to. Could not the
+pay-roll be sent to the mines under armed guard? Rathburn's eyes were
+dreamy when he looked at the deputy.
+
+"All right, in you go," said Mannix, as the jailer unlocked the heavy,
+barred door from the inside.
+
+He led Rathburn to one of the single cells, of which there were six on
+one side of the jail room proper.
+
+"Maybe you'll be ready to talk in the morning," he said, as he locked
+his prisoner in.
+
+"Morning might be too late," Rathburn observed, taking tobacco and
+papers from his shirt pocket.
+
+"What do you mean by that?" Mannix asked sharply.
+
+"I might change my mind."
+
+"About talking, eh? Well, we'll find a way to make you change it back
+again."
+
+"You're a grateful cuss," said Rathburn, grinning.
+
+Mannix scowled. It was plain he was not sure of his man, although he
+was trying to convince himself that he was.
+
+"I don't get you," he said growlingly.
+
+"No? Didn't you hear that fellow Carlisle say I saved your life by not
+drawing?"
+
+"He'd have got you if you'd tried to draw. That's what he thought you
+was going to do. You saved your skin by grabbing the floor."
+
+Rathburn wet the paper of his cigarette and sealed the end. "I'm
+wondering," he mused, as he snapped a match into flame, with a thumb
+nail and lit the weed.
+
+"It's about time," said the deputy grimly.
+
+"I'm wondering," said Rathburn, in a soft voice, exhaling a thin
+streamer of smoke, "if he'd have got me."
+
+Mannix grunted, looked at him curiously, and then turned abruptly on
+his heel and left. Rathburn could not see the door, but he heard the
+big key grate in the lock, and then the jail room echoed to the clang
+of hard metal and the door swung shut again.
+
+Rathburn sat down on the bunk which was to serve as his bed. He smoked
+his brown-paper cigarette slowly and with great relish while he
+stared, not through the bars to where the dim light of a lamp showed,
+but straight at the opposite steel wall of his cell. His eyes were
+thoughtful, dreamy, his brow was puckered.
+
+"An' there's that," he muttered as he threw away the stub of his smoke
+and began to roll another. "Somebody's been playing the Dixie Queen
+for a meal ticket. That sign said 'robberies.' That means more'n one.
+The truck driver was the last. Two thousand reward. An' me headed for
+the desert where I belong. What stopped me? I reckon I know."
+
+He smiled grimly as he remembered the insolent challenge in Carlisle's
+eyes and the reference to the bath.
+
+After a time Rathburn stretched out on the bunk, pulled his hat over
+his face, and dozed.
+
+He sat up with a catlike movement as a persistent tapping on the bars
+of his cell reached his ears. Blinking in the half light he saw
+Carlisle's dark features.
+
+"Well, now's your chance to smoke me up good an' plenty an' get away
+with it," said Rathburn cheerfully. "I'm shy my gun which the sheriff
+has borrowed."
+
+"You figure he's just borrowed it?" sneeringly inquired Carlisle.
+
+Rathburn rose and surveyed his visitor. "I reckon I've got to tolerate
+you," he drawled. "I can't pick my company in here."
+
+"I've got your number," snarlingly replied Carlisle in a low voice.
+
+Rathburn sauntered close to the bars, rolling a cigarette.
+
+"If you have, Carlisle, you've got a winning number," he said evenly.
+
+"Whatever your play is here, I dunno," said Carlisle; "but you won't
+get away with it as easy as you did over the range in Dry Lake."
+
+Rathburn's eyes never flickered as he coolly lit his cigarette with a
+steady hand. "You're plumb full of information, eh, Carlisle?"
+
+"I was over there an' heard about how you stuck up that joint an'
+tried to blame it on some kid by the name of Lamy," said Carlisle,
+watching Rathburn closely.
+
+"You sure that was the way of it?" asked Rathburn casually.
+
+"No," replied the other. "I know the kid stuck up the joint an' you
+took the blame to keep him under cover. I don't know your reasons, but
+I guess you don't want the facts known. You broke jail. They ain't
+forgot _that_ over in Dry Lake. There's a reward out for you over
+there, an I wouldn't be surprised if there was some money on your head
+in Arizona, Coyote!"
+
+Rathburn's eyes were points of red between narrowed lids.
+
+"The Coyote!" said Carlisle in a hoarse voice of triumph. "An' the way
+it looks I'm the only one hereabouts that knows it."
+
+"I told you you was plumb full of information," said Rathburn.
+
+"The Coyote has a bit of a record, they tell me," Carlisle leered.
+"There's more'n one sheriff would pay a pretty price to get him safe,
+eh?"
+
+"Just what's your idea in telling _me_ all this, Carlisle; why don't
+you tell what you know to Mannix, say?"
+
+"Maybe I'm just teasing you along."
+
+"Not a chance, Carlisle. I know your breed."
+
+The other's face darkened, and his eyes glittered as he peered in
+through the bars.
+
+"What's _your_ breed?" he asked sneeringly.
+
+"I don't have to tell you that, Carlisle. You _know_!" said Rathburn
+with a taunting laugh.
+
+Carlisle struggled with his anger for a brief spell. Then he shrugged
+his shoulders.
+
+"I ain't going to poke at you in a cage," he said in a more civil
+tone; "an' I ain't going to tell anybody what I know. Remember that."
+
+"I ain't the forgetting kind," Rathburn flung after him as he walked
+swiftly away.
+
+Again Rathburn sat on the edge of the bunk and smoked and thought.
+After a time he went to sleep. The opening of his cell door woke him.
+It was Mannix.
+
+"Come to let me out, sheriff?" inquired Rathburn sleepily.
+
+The deputy looked at him keenly, opened the cage, and motioned to him
+to follow. Rathburn went with him out into the little office. It was
+broad day. Mannix picked up a pistol from his desk and extended it to
+Rathburn.
+
+"Here's your gun, Rathburn. You can go," he said, pressing his lips
+close together.
+
+"Well, now, sheriff, that's right kind of you," Rathburn drawled,
+concealing his astonishment.
+
+"Don't thank me," snapped out Mannix. "This gentleman asked me to set
+you loose."
+
+For the first time Rathburn looked squarely at the other man in the
+office--a thin man, with a cropped mustache, beady eyes, and a narrow
+face.
+
+The man was regarding him intently, and there seemed to be an amused
+expression in his eyes. He turned away from Rathburn's gaze.
+
+"I don't believe I've ever had the pleasure of meeting the gentleman,"
+said Rathburn agreeably.
+
+"That's George Sautee, manager of the Dixie Queen," said the deputy
+with a shrug.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+A COMMISSION
+
+
+Sautee rose and extended his hand with an affable smile. "Will you
+come to breakfast with me, Mr. Rathburn?"
+
+Rathburn took the hand with a curious side glance at Mannix. "I'm
+powerful hungry," he confessed; "an' I don't reckon I'd be showing the
+best of manners if I balked at havin' breakfast with the man that got
+me out of jail."
+
+"Quite right," admitted Sautee, winking at the deputy. "Well, perhaps
+I have my reasons. All right, Rathburn, let's be going."
+
+They walked out of the jail, and as they progressed up the street they
+were the cynosure of many wondering pairs of eyes; for the report had
+spread that the stranger who had been jailed was the bandit who had
+made away with the Dixie Queen pay-roll on several occasions, and that
+he was a gun fighter and a killer.
+
+They entered a restaurant just below the hotel, and Sautee led the way
+to a booth where they were assured comparative privacy.
+
+"Ham an' eggs," said Rathburn shortly when the waiter entered.
+
+Sautee smiled again. He was covertly inspecting the man across the
+table from him and evidently what he saw caused him to arrive at a
+satisfactory conclusion.
+
+He gave his order with a nod and a mild flourish of the hand,
+indicating that he would take the same.
+
+"Oh--waiter," called Rathburn. "Four eggs with mine."
+
+Sautee laughed. It was a peculiar laugh in that it seemed to convey
+little mirth. It was perfunctory.
+
+He gazed at Rathburn quizzically. "They tell me you're a gunman," he
+said in a low voice.
+
+Rathburn's brows shot up. "They? Who's they?"
+
+Sautee waved a hand impatiently. "I am the manager of the Dixie Queen.
+I have been around a bit, and I have eyes. I can see. I know the
+signals. I witnessed the play in the Red Feather last night."
+
+"That ain't a bad name for the place," Rathburn mused.
+
+"Just what do you suppose was my object in getting you out of jail?"
+Sautee asked seriously, leaning over the table and looking at Rathburn
+searchingly. "You said last night you were a good guesser."
+
+"But I didn't say I was good at riddles," drawled Rathburn.
+
+Sautee leaned back. For a moment there was a gleam of admiration in
+his eyes. Then they narrowed slightly.
+
+"The Dixie Queen has been robbed four times within the last year," he
+said soberly. "That represents considerable money. Yesterday I
+resorted to a ruse and sent the money up with a truck driver, but
+whoever is doing this thing must have got wise somehow, for the truck
+driver was held up, as you know, and the money taken."
+
+"Why not put an armed guard on that truck?" asked Rathburn with a
+yawn.
+
+"I had full confidence in that ruse, and I knew the man who drove the
+truck could be trusted. Besides, he didn't know what was inside the
+package."
+
+"How much did they get?" asked Rathburn sharply.
+
+"Twenty-two thousand eight hundred and seventy dollars in cash."
+
+Rathburn stared at the mine manager and whistled softly. "What's the
+sense in sending it up there at all?" he asked suddenly. "Why not pay
+off down here in town?"
+
+Sautee sighed with an air of resignation. "That's been argued several
+times," he complained. "The men demand their pay in cash. They want it
+at the mine, for more than half of them have refused to come down here
+for it. It is twenty-nine miles up there to the mine, and it would
+take all the trucks we've got and two days to bring them down here and
+take them back. Besides, if we got them down here it would be a week
+before we could get half of them back up there and at work again."
+
+"But why won't they take checks?" Rathburn demanded.
+
+"It would be the same proposition," Sautee explained. "There is a
+little village up there--pool room, soft-drink parlor, lunch room,
+store, and all that--and the men, or a large number of them, would
+want their checks cashed to make purchases and for spending money, and
+the cash would have to be transported so the business places could
+cash the checks. Then, there's another reason. All the mines over on
+this side of the mountains, clear down into the desert, have always
+paid in cash. This is an old district, and the matter of getting paid
+in cash has become a tradition. That's what the company is up against.
+We can refuse to do it, but all the other mines do it, and the Dixie
+Queen would soon have the reputation of being the only mine in the
+district that didn't pay in cash. The tradition is handed down from
+the old days when men were paid in gold. There was a time when a miner
+wouldn't take paper money in this country!"
+
+The waiter entered with the breakfast dishes and they began to eat.
+
+"Your mine owned by a stock company?" Rathburn inquired.
+
+"Certainly," replied Sautee. "All the mines here are. What mine
+isn't?"
+
+Rathburn ignored the question. "Stockholders live aroun' here?" he
+asked, between mouthfuls.
+
+"Oh--no, that is, not many," replied Sautee with a quick glance at his
+questioner. "This district is pretty well worked out. Most of our
+stockholders live in the Middle West and the East." He winked at
+Rathburn.
+
+"Any other mines been robbed?" Rathburn persisted.
+
+"No, that's the funny part of it. Still--no, it _isn't_ funny. We're
+working on the largest scale, and our pay-roll is, naturally, the
+largest. It furnishes the biggest incentive. In addition, the Dixie
+Queen is the farthest out from town, and there are many excellent
+spots for a holdup between town and the mine. Oh, don't look
+skeptical. I've tried trusted messengers by roundabout trails, and
+guards and all that. They even held up a convoy on one occasion. I've
+set traps. I've done everything. But now I've a new idea, and I
+believe it'll work."
+
+He finished his breakfast and stared steadily at Rathburn who didn't
+look up, but leisurely drank a second cup of coffee. Sautee noted the
+slim, tapered right hand of the man across the table from him, the
+clear, gray eyes, the unmistakable poise of a man who is absolutely
+and utterly confident and sure of himself. The mine manager's eyes
+glowed eagerly.
+
+"Yes?" asked Rathburn calmly.
+
+"I'm going to hire, or, rather, I'm going to _try_ to hire a man I
+believe is just as tough, just as clever, just as quick with his gun
+as the men who've been robbing the Dixie Queen. I'm going to hire him
+to carry the money to the mine!"
+
+"So _that's_ why you got me out of jail," said Rathburn, drawing the
+inevitable tobacco and papers from his shirt pocket.
+
+"Yes!" whispered Sautee eagerly. "I want you for the job!"
+
+"You ain't forgetting that I was suspected of that last job, are you?
+That's why I went to jail, I reckon."
+
+"You didn't have to go to jail unless you wanted to. You didn't have
+to stop in this town and invite arrest. Mannix let you go up there
+yesterday because he felt sure he could get you when he wanted you
+again, and he figured you'd make some break that would give him a clew
+to your pals, if you had any. You went to jail because you knew he
+didn't have anything on you."
+
+Sautee grinned in triumph.
+
+"How do you know I won't beat it with the money?" asked Rathburn.
+
+"I don't," said Sautee quickly. "But I'm taking a chance on it that
+you won't. I don't care who you are, what you are now, or what you've
+been; I don't care if you're an outlaw! I figure, Rathburn, that if I
+come out square and trust you with this mission and depend upon you to
+carry it out, that you'll play square with me. That's what I'm banking
+on--your own sense of squareness. You've got it, for I can see it in
+your eyes."
+
+"Who's Carlisle?" Rathburn asked dryly.
+
+Sautee frowned. "He's a--well, I guess you'd call him a sort of
+adventurer. I knew him down in Arizona. He follows the camps when
+they're good, and this one happens to be good right now, for we're
+improving the property. That's how he happened to come up here about a
+year ago. Then, when the first robbery occurred, I engaged him as a
+sort of special agent. He didn't make any progress, so I let him go.
+Since then he's been out and in, gambling, prospecting, anything--he's
+a fast man with his gun, and he has some claims here which he is
+developing on a small scale and trying to sell."
+
+Rathburn nodded but made no comment.
+
+"Will you take the job?" Sautee asked anxiously.
+
+"What do you want me to do?"
+
+"I want you to carry a sum of money to the mine. I'm not going to tell
+you how much, but it will be considerable. The money which was stolen
+yesterday was for the pay-off to-day. I've got to get the cash for the
+men up there quick. They all know about the holdup, so there's no
+grumbling--yet. But there will be if they don't have their money
+pretty quick. We want to pay off to-morrow. I could go with a guard,
+but to tell you the truth, Rathburn, it's got to a point where I can't
+trust a soul."
+
+"Why not Mannix?" asked Rathburn sharply.
+
+Sautee shook his head; his beady, black eyes glowed, and he stroked
+his chin.
+
+"There's another sorrowful point," he explained. "I tell you we're up
+against it here, Rathburn. The Dixie Queen people and most of the
+other mines are fighting the present county administration as a matter
+of policy. They want certain changes, and--well, keep this to
+yourself--privileges. Mannix has been instructed by the sheriff of
+this county that he is not here to act as a guard for the Dixie
+Queen. See?"
+
+Rathburn frowned and built another cigarette.
+
+"If you'll carry this package of money up to the Dixie Queen for me,
+Rathburn, I'll pay you five hundred dollars. Then, if you want to stay
+and act as our messenger right along, we'll make a deal. But I'd like
+to have you do this this time--make this one trip, anyway, I mean.
+They may try to stop you. If they do I don't believe they can get away
+with it. I'm banking on your ability to get through, and I think the
+proposition will appeal to you in a sporting way if for no other
+reason. Will you do it?" Sautee's eyes were eager.
+
+"Yes," said Rathburn shortly, tossing away his cigarette.
+
+Sautee held out his hand. "Go to the hotel and engage a room," he
+instructed. "Be in your room at nine o'clock to-night. Do not tell any
+one of our deal. I'll get your room number from the register. I'll
+bring the package of money to you between nine o'clock and midnight.
+Now, Rathburn, maybe I'm mistaken in you; but I go a whole lot by what
+I see in a man's eyes. You may have a hard record, but I'm staking my
+faith in men on you!"
+
+"I'll be there," Rathburn promised.
+
+He left Sautee at the entrance to the restaurant and strolled around
+the hotel barn to see that his horse was being taken care of properly.
+He found that the barn man was indeed looking after the dun in
+excellent shape. Rathburn spent a short time with his mount, petting
+him and rubbing his glossy coat with his hands. Then he took his
+slicker pack and started for the hotel.
+
+As he reached the street he saw a girl on a horse talking with a man
+on the sidewalk. The girl was leaning over, and the man evidently was
+delivering a harangue. He was gesticulating wildly, and Rathburn could
+see that the girl was cowering. He paused on the hotel porch as the
+man stepped away from the horse and looked his way. He recognized
+Carlisle.
+
+Then the girl rode down the street and Rathburn started with surprise
+as he saw she was the girl from the cabin up the road who had directed
+him to town the day before. He remembered the two objects he had
+picked up in the road after the holdup and felt in his pocket to make
+sure they were there. Then he entered the hotel.
+
+"Have you a room?" he asked the clerk pleasantly.
+
+"Yes. More rooms than anything else to-day since the Sunday crowd's
+gone."
+
+Rathburn wrote his name upon the register.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+IN THE NIGHT
+
+
+Rathburn avoided the Red Feather resort during the morning. Instead of
+walking about the streets or sitting in the hotel lobby or his room,
+he cultivated the acquaintance of the barn man, and because he knew
+horses--_all_ about horses--he soon had the man's attention and
+respect.
+
+Although Rathburn suspected that he already had a reputation in the
+town, he did not know that Carlisle was steadily adding to that
+reputation through the medium of veiled hints dropped here and there
+until a majority of the population was convinced that a desperate man
+was in their midst, and that Mannix had permitted him to go free for
+certain secret reasons.
+
+Thus a web of mystery and suspicion was cleverly woven about
+Rathburn's movements.
+
+It was not until afternoon, however, that Rathburn began to realize on
+his intimacy with the barn man. Then they began to talk of trails, and
+for more than an hour the barn man, caught in the spell of Rathburn's
+personality, divulged the secret of the trails leading to and from the
+Dixie Queen.
+
+"The best trail, an' the straightest, if you should ever want to go up
+there an' look at the mine like you say," said the barn man, "hits
+into the timber behind the first cabin to the left above town."
+
+Rathburn nodded smilingly. It was the cabin where he had first seen
+the girl.
+
+"It's 'bout twenty-nine miles to the mine by the road," the man
+explained; "but that trail will take you there in less'n twenty. Well,
+maybe twenty or twenty-one. Or you can go up the road till you get to
+the big hogback--that's where they held up the truck driver
+yesterday--and cut straight up the hill from the south end."
+
+"I guess those are the best trails from what you say," was Rathburn's
+yawning comment.
+
+"Them's the best," the other added. "There's another trail going out
+below town that follows southeast along a big ridge, but that trail's
+as far as the road. When you goin' up?"
+
+"I dunno," replied Rathburn noncommittally. "Say, I guess I know where
+that cabin is on the left side of the road going up. I stopped at a
+cabin up there coming down an' asked a gal how far it was to
+town----"
+
+"That's it," said the barn man. "That's the one. Trail starts right
+back of that cabin."
+
+Rathburn yawned again. "Smart-lookin' gal," he observed, digging for
+his tobacco and papers. "Who is she?"
+
+"That's Joe Carlisle's sister. Anyway, he says she is. There's been
+some talk. Carlisle lives there when he ain't out in the hills or on a
+gamblin' trip to some other town."
+
+"I see. Well, old-timer, I ain't hung on the feed bag since morning,
+an' I'm going on a still hunt for some grub."
+
+Rathburn went to the Red Feather for his dinner. He was thoughtful
+through the meal and kept an eye out for Carlisle, but didn't see him.
+During the remainder of the afternoon he hung about the Red Feather
+and other resorts, but did not see Carlisle.
+
+That evening, as he was returning to the hotel, he met Mannix. The
+deputy looked at him with a scowl in which there was a mixture of
+curiosity. Rathburn suddenly remembered what Sautee had said about his
+company being on the outs with the county administration. If such was
+the case, Rathburn reflected, how did it come that Sautee had been
+able to effect his release so easily?
+
+He stopped as he drew alongside of the deputy. "This man Sautee," he
+drawled, looking Mannix square in the eye; "he must have a good drag
+with the county seat, eh?"
+
+The deputy's scowl deepened. "He didn't get you out by word of
+mouth alone," he said sharply. "I haven't got anything on you,
+Rathburn--yet."
+
+Rathburn smiled. "I reckon you're a sheriff after my own heart," he
+said enigmatically, and moved on.
+
+Mannix looked back after him for a moment, then continued on his way.
+
+Rathburn had dinner that night at the hotel, and it was during the
+course of a number of pleasantries with the waitress, who thought he
+was looking for work, that he ascertained that Sautee had a little
+two-room building at the lower end of the street, the front half of
+which served as an office and the rear half as living quarters.
+
+At nine o'clock he went to his room. He lighted the oil lamp, pulled
+down the window shade, sat down in a chair to one side of the door to
+wait. An hour passed with no sound save occasional footfalls in the
+hall and the drone of the wind in the trees outside.
+
+Another hour had nearly been consumed in waiting when Rathburn heard
+some one coming up the stairs. The footfalls were soft, catlike. He
+could hardly hear them, and it was this fact which made him instantly
+alert. The footfalls now sounded in the hallway. They were nearer his
+room. He rose; stepped close to the side of the door. Then came a
+soft knock.
+
+Rathburn suddenly opened the door, and Sautee started back, blinking
+his eyes. The mines manager peered about the room, then entered
+swiftly.
+
+"You rather startled me," he accused with a forced smile.
+
+Rathburn closed the door softly and turned the key in the lock.
+
+"I'm just taking natural precautions," he explained.
+
+Sautee shook his head and put a finger to his lips. "Not so loud," he
+warned. "These walls"--he waved a hand about--"are all ears."
+
+He took a package from beneath his coat and handed it to Rathburn.
+"Put it in your shirt," he instructed. "Deliver it to the office at
+the mine and take the bookkeeper's receipt. Then report to my office
+here in town. I wish you luck, and I want you to know that I have the
+utmost confidence in you."
+
+"You keep such large sums on hand all the time?" Rathburn asked,
+putting the package in his shirt. He was mindful of the fact that a
+similar sum had been stolen the day before from the truck driver.
+
+"There's a private bank here," answered Sautee frowningly. "He let me
+have it, but he's already sent to the county seat for more cash which
+will come by auto express to-morrow, probably. Anyway, the bank'll get
+most of this back, so their cash won't be short long."
+
+Rathburn nodded. "Let's see," he suggested. "There was a little item
+of five hundred between us for my serving--am I right?"
+
+"There is such an item," snapped out Sautee; "when you've delivered."
+
+"Of course," replied Rathburn. "I couldn't expect to be paid in
+advance. I'm to deliver the money at the mine and report to you for
+the five hundred."
+
+"Exactly," said Sautee. "Which way you figure on going up?" he asked
+curiously.
+
+"Don't know much about the trails," Rathburn answered. "An' it
+mightn't attract suspicion if I just struck right out on the road."
+
+Sautee shrugged. "Well, that's up to you," he said. "Keep your eye
+peeled. I don't think any one knows I drew that money from the bank,
+but I didn't think any one knew I stuck that package under the truck
+driver's seat, either."
+
+He turned toward the door.
+
+"There's just one other little matter," said Rathburn softly. "You see
+nobody knows anything about this deal but you an' me. Maybe it would
+be best for my own protection that you scribbled something on a piece
+of paper to show what our arrangement is."
+
+Sautee scowled again, hesitated, then smiled. He drew an envelope from
+a pocket, extracted its contents, tore it open at each end, and wrote
+on the blank side:
+
+  Due Rathburn five hundred dollars when he has delivered package
+  intrusted to him by me at the Dixie Queen mine office.
+
+  GEORGE SAUTEE.
+
+Rathburn nodded in satisfaction as he took the slip of paper and
+tucked it into his shirt pocket. The wording of the note was a bit
+complicated, but it bore Sautee's signature. It was at least evidence
+that there _had_ been an agreement.
+
+"Everything set?" asked Sautee.
+
+"All cinched up an' ready to go," replied Rathburn.
+
+"How soon you going to start?" asked Sautee as he unlocked the door.
+
+"By midnight," Rathburn answered.
+
+Sautee held out his hand before he slipped out of the door and was
+gone.
+
+Rathburn quickly busied himself with his slicker pack. He took out a
+gun which he changed for the gun in his holster. Then he stuck his
+regular gun into his waistband on the left. He took out the package
+and examined it. It was sealed at each end. Then Rathburn did a queer
+thing. He cut the string and paper near the seals and removed the
+small box within. He next emptied the box of its paper-wrapped
+contents and substituted the first thing of equal weight which he
+could lay his hands on--a moleskin glove which was among the things in
+the slicker pack. He replaced the box in its wrappings and drew from
+one of his pockets a small bottle of glue.
+
+"First time I ever stole anything from a hotel desk," he muttered to
+himself as he glued the paper back into place; "but I sure had the
+proper hunch when I grabbed this."
+
+Next he retied the string, adding a piece from his slicker pack to
+offset the shortness where it had been cut. When he had finished the
+package looked exactly as it had in the first place. It would take a
+close inspection to learn that it had been tampered with. The original
+contents of the package he thrust into his hat and pulled the hat well
+down on his head.
+
+Then he extinguished the light and made his way downstairs and out the
+lobby into the street. He went quickly around to the barn where he
+astonished the man in charge by saddling his horse and riding out
+without a word of explanation other than to toss him a five-dollar
+bill from the saddle.
+
+"See you again to-morrow--maybe," he called, grinning, as he rode into
+the night.
+
+When Rathburn had passed behind the hotel and several other buildings
+on the same side of the street and gained the road leading westward
+toward the hogback, a slim shadow darted out of the trees, mounted a
+horse concealed some distance behind the barn, and slipped into a worn
+trail which nearly paralleled the road going west.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+QUICK TURNS
+
+
+As he rode westward along the road at a swinging lope, Rathburn made
+no apparent effort to conceal his movements. The night sky was bright
+with stars, and, although the moon was not up, the road was clearly
+outlined through the marching stands of timber as he swung upward past
+the cabin where he had met the girl said to be Carlisle's sister.
+
+Rathburn could not forget the look on the girl's face when she had
+asked him about the activities of the officer in the automobile. Nor
+could he forget the expression in her eyes during her altercation with
+Carlisle that day.
+
+After he had passed the cabin, Rathburn checked his pace and proceeded
+more slowly up the long stretches of road to the hogback. On the
+hogback he began to take advantage of the screen of timber on the
+lower side of the road, and to ride more cautiously. However, to any
+one who might have been watching, his movements still would have been
+easily discernible, and it would have appeared that he wasn't quite
+sure of himself. Twice he turned off at what he appeared to think was
+the beginning of a trail, and both times he again turned back to the
+road.
+
+Then, as he reached the south end of the hogback where the trail left
+the road and cut straight across to the mine, two horsemen broke from
+the timber, and Rathburn reined in his horse as the guns which covered
+him glinted.
+
+The taller of the pair of night riders kept him covered with two guns
+while the other rode in close and jerked the weapon from his holster.
+
+"C'mon with the package!" said this man in a hoarse voice. "We won't
+take a chance on you. If you make any kind of a break you'll get it
+where it'll do most good."
+
+There was a sneering inflection in the voice.
+
+Rathburn's hand, as it moved downward toward his shirt, hovered an
+instant above where his good gun was stuck in his waistband, out of
+sight under the skirt of his coat; then it moved to the open shirt at
+his throat. He drew out the package and held it out toward the other.
+
+The man closed in and snatched the package, glancing at it in the dim
+starlight.
+
+"Now back the way you came an' don't invite no shootin'!" was the
+brief command.
+
+Rathburn whirled his horse and drove in his spurs. As he fled from the
+scene a harsh laugh came to his ears from behind. Then utter silence
+save for the pounding of his horse's hoofs in the hard road back down
+the hogback.
+
+"Jog along, hoss," Rathburn crooned as he sped down the long slopes
+toward town; "maybe we're peggin' things wrong, an' if it turns out
+that way we've a powerful long ways to go."
+
+It lacked a few minutes of being two hours after midnight when he
+reached the Carlisle cabin. There he reined in his horse, dismounted
+in the shadow of the timber, and crept to a window. The moon had risen
+and was bathing the hills in a ghostly light in which every object
+stood out clear-cut and easily distinguishable. Rathburn peered into
+the two front windows, but could see nothing. Then, from a side window
+into which the moonlight filtered, he made out a bedroom. It was not
+occupied. From the other side of the cabin he saw another bedroom,
+and it, too, was unoccupied.
+
+"Nobody home," he muttered cheerfully as he ran for his horse.
+
+In another minute he was again speeding down the road toward town. He
+slacked his pace as he reached the upper end of the short main street.
+The street was dark save for two beams of yellow light, one of which
+shone from a window of the jail office and the other from the front of
+the Red Feather resort.
+
+He walked his horse down the street past the jail and the resort and
+almost to the end of the line of buildings where he arrived before the
+small, one-story, two-room structure which was Sautee's office and
+abode.
+
+The place was dark. Rathburn dismounted and led his horse into the
+dark shadow at the side of the little building. Then he went around to
+the front, and, drawing his gun from his waistband, he rapped smartly
+on the door with its butt and dropped it into his holster.
+
+There was no movement within, and Rathburn rapped again and tried the
+door. It was locked.
+
+A match flared into flame somewhere beyond the front room. A glow of
+light followed. Rathburn, looking through the front window, saw a door
+open wide and made out the form of Sautee as the mines manager came
+forward to the front door.
+
+"Who is it?" Sautee called cautiously.
+
+"Rathburn."
+
+After a moment a key turned in the lock and the door opened part way.
+Rathburn pushed his way in.
+
+"Why--didn't you _go_?" asked Sautee in excited tones.
+
+"Lock the door an' come in the other room," whispered Rathburn. "I've
+got something to tell you that'll knock you for a goal."
+
+Sautee hurriedly locked the door, and, as he turned to lead the way
+into the other room, Rathburn deftly extracted the key.
+
+In the light from the lamp in the bedroom Sautee swung on his visitor
+and looked at him keenly. The mines manager was fully dressed, and the
+bed was made. It was evident that he had merely dozed on top of the
+covers with his clothes on. These things Rathburn noted even as Sautee
+surveyed him with a frown.
+
+"Well, what is it?" snapped out Sautee.
+
+Rathburn blinked in the light. "I--I was held up," he said sheepishly.
+
+The mines manager stared. First he stared into Rathburn's eyes, and
+then he glanced to the gun in the holster on his thigh.
+
+"Couldn't have been very much afraid of you," he said sneeringly. "I
+see they didn't even take your gun."
+
+"It all come from my not knowin' enough about the trails, I guess,"
+Rathburn explained lamely. "Got me on the far end of the hogback. Two
+of 'em. Had their guns in my face before I knew it. Couldn't have
+drawed if I wanted to. They'd have shot me out of the saddle in a
+wink. All I could do was hand over the package an' beat it."
+
+"And they said you were a gunman," said Sautee in derision. "How do
+_I_ know anybody stopped you and robbed you? Maybe you've come back
+here with that story to cover up the theft of the money. I guess I
+made a mistake in ever thinking of trusting a man of your caliber."
+
+"I was afraid of that," said Rathburn. "I was afraid if anything like
+this was to happen you might think I was lying and was taking the
+money myself. But I fooled 'em, Mr. Sautee," he finished in triumph.
+
+"What's that?" Sautee asked sharply.
+
+"Look here," cried Rathburn excitedly as he took off his hat and
+recovered the package he had put in it before starting toward the
+mine.
+
+He held up the package. "I was scared they might get wise an' get the
+drop on me," he said. "So I opened the package an' took out what was
+in it and put it in my hat. They got the original package, all right,
+but it was stuffed with an old glove of mine. Here's the money. I
+didn't go right on to the mine for fear they'd find out their mistake
+an' pot me from the timber. This is the money you gave me, minus the
+seals an' the string an' box. I wanted you to see that I was on the
+square."
+
+Sautee's eyes were bulging. "Give me that," he gulped out.
+
+"Why--don't you want me to take it to the mine?" asked Rathburn in
+surprise.
+
+"Hand that over," ordered Sautee, reaching for the package.
+
+Rathburn drew away. "All right, Mr. Sautee," he said in a complaining
+voice. "If you don't want me to go through with the job you can back
+down, I guess. We'll just make sure the money's here, though."
+
+Sautee leaped toward him.
+
+"Give me that package!" he cried angrily. "Do you hear me?"
+
+Rathburn warded him off, keeping the package at arm's length away.
+
+"Just hold your horses," he said coldly. "I reckon I know what I'm
+doing. You don't trust me now, an' I ain't goin' to take any chances
+with you. I'm goin' to open this an' show you that the money's there,
+that's all; I'm goin' to show you that I'm giving you back what you
+gave me all fair an' square."
+
+Sautee's face was ashen. His voice trembled as he spoke again: "Hand
+it over and get out of here. I've had enough trouble with you. I'll
+take your word for it."
+
+But Rathburn was undoing the paper wrappings.
+
+Again Sautee made a leap, but this time he met Rathburn's left fist
+and staggered back, dropping into a chair. Rathburn looked at him
+coldly.
+
+"Funny you're so anxious to take my word for things now, when a minute
+ago you said you couldn't know but what I'd told that holdup story for
+a blind so's I could get away with--_this_!"
+
+The wrappings fell away, revealing a wad of blank paper.
+
+Rathburn's face froze. Sautee stared white-faced at what the other
+held in his hand. Then a peculiar glint came into his eyes and he
+looked at Rathburn narrowly.
+
+"So that's the way of it," he said sarcastically.
+
+Rathburn stuffed the paper into a pocket. Then he pulled a chair in
+front of the mines manager and sat down. He took out paper and tobacco
+from his shirt pocket and began to fashion a cigarette.
+
+"It sure looks bad for me, doesn't it, Mr. Sautee?" he asked as he
+snapped a match into flame.
+
+"I thought you were going to return the money," Sautee said
+sneeringly.
+
+"It looks bad two ways," Rathburn went on as if he hadn't heard the
+other's comment. "First, if that package the holdups got had contained
+the money you could have swore it was a put-up job. I'd have had to
+beat it fast. Now, when I find that the package you gave to me was
+full of blank paper, you can say that I framed the holdup story and
+changed the money for paper in the bargain."
+
+Sautee's eyes were glowing. "An' you'll have to beat it, after all,"
+he jeered.
+
+"So it would seem," mused Rathburn. "I fooled 'em, an' to all
+appearances I fooled myself, although maybe I _did_ take a peep into
+that package when I changed it in my room, Mr. Sautee."
+
+The mines manager shifted in his chair; but he stared defiantly at
+Rathburn.
+
+"You'd have a hard time proving anything," he said grimly.
+
+"That's the trouble," Rathburn admitted. "I'd sort of have to depend
+on you. I was thinkin' maybe you double crossed me to make 'em think
+_I_ was carrying the money while you sneaked it up some other way, Mr.
+Sautee."
+
+"You can think what you want to," said Sautee. "But you better start
+moving. If I was you, I'd get as far away from this town and Mannix as
+I could by daylight."
+
+Rathburn's manner underwent a lightning change as he threw away his
+partly finished cigarette.
+
+"You're right," he said crisply. "It's time to start moving, Sautee."
+
+He rose, and his right hand moved incredibly fast. Sautee gasped as he
+looked into the bore of Rathburn's gun. He could hardly realize that
+Rathburn had drawn.
+
+"I fooled the night riders twice," explained Rathburn with a peculiar
+smile. "First, when I let 'em get the wrong package, an' again when I
+let 'em get the wrong gun. This gun an' I work together like clock
+ticks when necessary. I'll have to ask you to fork over the money that
+you drew from the bank an' that should have been in that package,
+Sautee."
+
+Rathburn's eyes had narrowed and hardened; his words were cold and
+menacing--deadly in their absolute sincerity.
+
+"What--what do you mean?" stammered the mines manager.
+
+"I take it you're not deaf," snapped out Rathburn. "Maybe you don't
+know it, Sautee, but so help me, you're takin' a chance by acting like
+you didn't get me."
+
+Sautee's thin face was twitching in a spasm of commingled rage and
+fear.
+
+"The Coyote!" he breathed.
+
+"Who told you that?" demanded Rathburn on the instant.
+
+Sautee gripped the sides of his chair, and his face went a shade more
+pallid.
+
+"Carlisle," he confessed in a strained voice.
+
+Rathburn laughed, and the mines manager shivered as he heard.
+
+"Now, Sautee, we'll quit beatin' around the bush," Rathburn said
+through his teeth. "We'll get down to business together, or I'll begin
+to search your place here. But if I have to search, I'll search alone.
+There ain't so much chance of a shot bein' heard way up the street;
+an' there ain't much chance of me bein' caught on that hoss of mine if
+I don't want to get caught. Also, I'm beginning to feel like I was in
+a hurry. Fork over that money!"
+
+Sautee looked just an instant longer into the eyes of the man towering
+over him. Then he rose, shaking, dry-lipped, and knelt down by the
+head of the bed. He lifted a piece of the carpet, opened a small
+trapdoor, reached inside, and brought out a bundle of bank notes.
+Rathburn took the money from him.
+
+Sautee still was kneeling as he heard Rathburn walk lightly to the
+front door and insert the key in the lock. He tried to cry out, but
+the effort resulted only in a croak in his throat. He heard the door
+close softly.
+
+"The Coyote!" he mumbled, passing a hand across his forehead.
+
+The echoes of galloping hoofs came to him as he scrambled to his feet
+and staggered toward the door.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+APPEAL TO THE LAW
+
+
+For some moments Sautee stood in the darkened doorway staring up the
+moonlit street. The echoes of Rathburn's flight had died away. The
+town was still. Sautee did not cry out, although he had recovered a
+considerable measure of his composure. He listened intently and
+finally grunted with satisfaction.
+
+"Up the road," he muttered. "That means he is making for the pass over
+the mountains."
+
+He walked hurriedly through his office into the living room. There he
+stood for a spell beside the table on which burned the lamp. His brows
+were knit into a heavy frown. He seemed debating a question in his
+mind. He tapped with nervous fingers on the table top.
+
+"Pshaw," he said aloud, his face darkening. "He's an outlaw."
+
+He put on his coat and dropped an automatic pistol into a side pocket.
+After another moment of hesitation he blew out the light and walked
+quickly out of the place, locking the door after him.
+
+He hurried up the street to the jail. He found the jailer dozing in
+the little front office and did not attempt to disturb him. From the
+jail he hurried another short distance up the street and turned in at
+a little house located some distance back from the sidewalk. He
+knocked loudly on the door, and after a brief wait repeated the
+performance.
+
+A light showed, and the front door opened. Mannix, the deputy, looked
+out.
+
+"Let me in," said Sautee briefly. "There's been another robbery."
+
+Mannix swung the door wide and stepped aside. He wore an ulster over
+his night clothes, and his bare feet were thrust into slippers. He
+scowled at the mines manager as he shut the door.
+
+"More of the company's money gone?" he asked with a touch of sarcasm
+in his voice.
+
+Sautee nodded. "Some twenty-odd thousand," he said soberly; "and I
+believe the man that got it is responsible for the holdups that have
+been pulled off around here."
+
+"Who got it?" Mannix asked quickly.
+
+"Rathburn," Sautee announced.
+
+Mannix smiled in undisgusted contempt. "Your own fault," he pointed
+out. "Wouldn't give me a chance to investigate. Said you had a scheme
+that would show him up one way or the other. Wouldn't let me in on it,
+an' I was fool enough to let you have a try, although I don't believe
+I could have held him anyhow."
+
+"Just it," said Sautee. "Wouldn't have done any good to keep him in
+jail, and I thought I had a two-way scheme that would either show him
+up, as you say, or get me an excellent messenger. I intrusted Rathburn
+with a package to carry to the mines office. He's a gunman, a
+desperado, probably a killer, and I thought it would appeal to him to
+be put in a place of trust. If he fell down--then I figured you'd be
+able to get him like you said you could."
+
+Mannix snorted. "After tryin' a fool scheme you want to shift the
+business on _my_ shoulders, eh? Well, Sautee, you've never shown much
+confidence in my ability, an' you don't have to show any now. It looks
+to me as if the finishing of this play is all up to you."
+
+"Oh, no, it isn't," said Sautee confidently. "You'll be most mighty
+glad to take out after him."
+
+"Suppose you wait an' see how quick I start," Mannix retorted angrily.
+"What's the matter? Didn't he carry out your orders? I suppose you
+gave him a bundle of money to make off with. Sautee, I believe you're
+a fool!"
+
+The mines manager winced and then frowned. "I gave him the money to
+carry to the mine," he confessed without flinching. "He came back with
+a story about being held up, and when he saw that I didn't believe him
+and intended to turn him back to you, he pulled a gun on me and made
+his get-away. He lit out through town for the road to the hogback and
+the pass over the mountains."
+
+Mannix laughed harshly. "You're clever, Sautee; there's no getting
+away from how clever you are. Now you want me to go chasing up to the
+hogback to head him off. Well, I'm tellin' you that I don't know where
+he's gone, an' I ain't starting out after him at any two o'clock in
+the morning. If you'd have kept your nose out of this he'd still be
+all safe an' quiet in jail. That's final, so you might as well clear
+out an' give me a chance to get some sleep."
+
+Sautee merely smiled after this speech from the disgusted deputy.
+
+"Since I intrusted Rathburn with that job I've found out something
+about him which takes the case out of my hands entirely," he said with
+a smirk. "I don't care if you don't start after him till day after
+to-morrow. But if your chief--the sheriff--finds out that you didn't
+hit the trail to-night he'll likely ask you for your badge!"
+
+"Are you threatening me?" Mannix demanded loudly.
+
+"No, I'm only stating facts," Sautee replied stoutly. "That man who
+calls himself Rathburn is The Coyote!"
+
+Mannix didn't start. He appeared hardly interested. Only the keen,
+penetrating quality of the steady gaze he directed at the mines
+manager betrayed the fact that his faculties were aroused.
+
+"The Coyote hit back for Arizona after that deal he was mixed up in
+over in Dry Lake, across the range," he said with conviction.
+
+"Oh, he did?" Sautee sneered openly. "Well, you had him in jail last
+night, and you can probably get him again, if you start right out
+after him."
+
+"What makes you think this fellow Rathburn is The Coyote?" demanded
+Mannix.
+
+"Carlisle knows him by sight, and he told me."
+
+"Then why didn't you tell me?" the deputy asked sternly.
+
+"Because Carlisle didn't tell me until after I told him what I'd
+done," Sautee evaded. "Then I didn't have the--ah--nerve, under the
+circumstances, to come to you with the news. At that, I thought he
+might go through with it."
+
+Mannix swore softly. "Giving a pay-roll messenger's job to a man who's
+got a price on his head a mile long!" he exclaimed savagely. "Why
+didn't Carlisle come to me?"
+
+Sautee shrugged. "I'm not responsible for Carlisle. Maybe he didn't
+feel sure of it, and maybe he's just naturally jealous of The Coyote
+and wants to bring him in himself. Carlisle is a gunman, as you know,
+and a good one."
+
+"I know it," snapped out Mannix; "and I know both Carlisle an' you are
+a pair of bunglers. I guess you wanted to show me up, but you've gone
+about it in a way that won't get you anything nor hurt me, I'll see to
+that."
+
+Sautee smiled as the deputy hurried out of the room.
+
+In a few minutes Mannix returned fully dressed and carrying a rifle.
+The deputy's face was severe, and his eyes burned with the fire of the
+man hunt. He signaled impatiently to the mine manager to follow him.
+As they walked across the little porch and around to the rear of the
+house where Mannix kept his car the deputy talked fast.
+
+"I'm goin' up to the hogback. He ain't had start enough to get up
+there yet on a horse, an' I'll beat him to it. It'll be daylight in
+about two hours, an' I'll be there till daylight. If you think you can
+do it, get out some of the men an' cover the trails to the mine on
+horses. He might try to get over that way. Then you better take your
+car and go up to the mine by the road as fast as you can to tell 'em
+to be on the lookout. Watch out on the hogback, for I'll be up there,
+parked with my lights out."
+
+He had reached his small garage when he finished giving his
+instructions, and Sautee, with a promise to do as he had been told as
+quickly as possible, ran down the street toward the Red Feather, where
+a light still shone.
+
+The news that The Coyote and Rathburn were one and the same, and that
+he had robbed the mining company that night and was probably
+responsible for the other holdups, created an immediate sensation
+among the few gamblers in the resort. Sautee added to the excitement
+by quoting rewards at random, and the forming of two posses to comb
+the trails to the mine and beyond was under way at once.
+
+Sautee ran to his office and got out his small car. He stopped at the
+Red Feather and took one of the men from the mine with him. He
+stopped again when he reached the Carlisle cabin, pounded on the
+doors, and looked in the windows. But the place was deserted, and
+Sautee's features were wreathed in perplexity as he went back to his
+car.
+
+"That's queer," he said as he climbed into his seat.
+
+"What's that?" asked the man beside him.
+
+But Sautee's answer was drowned in the roar of the motor as he sped up
+the road toward the hogback and the mine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+A CAPTURE
+
+
+When Rathburn rode away from Sautee's quarters he galloped up the
+street straight for the road which led west out of town. He pulled his
+horse down to a trot when he reached the Carlisle cabin and made
+another brief inspection which showed that the place was deserted.
+Then he struck into the trail behind the cabin and began the ascent
+toward the Dixie Queen.
+
+He rode slowly through the timber, depending upon his mount to keep to
+the dim trail, but in the open stretches in meadows and on the crest
+of ridges where the timber thinned, he made better time. On this
+occasion one would not have noted an attitude of uncertainty about his
+manner or movements. He had paid strict attention to the barn man's
+description of this trail, and he had determined general directions
+the day before. Rathburn was not a stranger to the art of following
+new trails; nor was he the kind to become confused in a locality with
+which he was not familiar unless he became absolutely lost. In this
+instance it would be a hard matter to become lost, for the ridges rose
+steadily upward toward the summits of the high mountains, the town was
+in the narrow valley below, and the foothills ranged down to the
+desert in the east.
+
+He was halfway to the mine when he saw the gleam of an automobile's
+lights in the road far below.
+
+"Sautee got busy right quick," he said aloud. "I 'spect they're
+hustlin' up to head me off at the hogback. They're figuring I'd try to
+go back the way I come in."
+
+He smiled grimly in the soft moonlight, and his gaze turned toward the
+east, where the stars glowed over the shadowy reaches of desert which
+he could not see, but the very thought of which stirred something in
+his soul.
+
+Then he pushed on up the trail toward the mine. For more than an hour
+he rode, and then, when he came to the crest of a ridge just below the
+Dixie Queen, he saw the lights of an automobile in the road to the
+right of him.
+
+"Now what?" he ejaculated. "They ain't figurin' I'd come up here!"
+
+He sat his horse with features again wreathed in perplexity. He
+scowled at the approaching gleam of light. In the direction of the
+hogback he could see nothing. Nor could he see the horsemen already on
+the trail below him and on the ridge trail to eastward.
+
+The little mine village was directly below him. The few buildings
+huddled together below the big mine dump were dark. The mine
+buildings, too, were dark. A faint glow showed in the east--harbinger
+of the dawn.
+
+The left side of the automobile was toward him when it stopped in the
+little street below. A man climbed out and walked around in front of
+the car, and Rathburn grunted in recognition as he made out the
+familiar form of Sautee, the mine manager.
+
+He saw Sautee and another leave the car and walk toward a building at
+the lower end of the street. He could see them fairly well in the
+moonlight and realized that in a comparatively short time it would be
+daylight. He turned his horse down the slope.
+
+When he reached the rear of the few buildings which formed the mining
+village, catering to the wants of the Dixie Queen workers, Rathburn
+edged along to the lower end where he left his horse in the shadow of
+a building directly across from the one which Sautee and his companion
+had entered, and in the windows of which a light now shone.
+
+He stole across the street. Peering in one of the windows he saw that
+the room was an office. Sautee was standing before a desk, talking to
+another man. Rathburn quickly surmised that this man had accompanied
+Sautee from the town. Even as he looked, Sautee finished his speech by
+striking a palm with his fist, and his companion strode toward the
+door.
+
+Rathburn darted around the side of the building into the shadow as the
+man came out and hurried up a wide road toward the mine buildings
+above. Then Rathburn ran around to the front of the building and
+quietly opened the door.
+
+Sautee had seated himself at the desk, and he swung about in his chair
+as he heard the door open. He looked again into the black bore of
+Rathburn's gun. His eyes bulged, and this time they shone with genuine
+terror.
+
+"It was sure in the pictures for us to meet again, Sautee," said
+Rathburn easily. "Our business wasn't finished. We ain't through
+yet."
+
+"There isn't any more money," Sautee gasped out. "There's no money up
+here at all."
+
+"Oh, yes, there is," said Rathburn with a mirthless smile. "There's
+twenty-odd thousand dollars in my right-hand coat pocket. Now I wonder
+what you've got in yours. It don't stand to reason you'd start out
+this time without a gun. Stand up!"
+
+Sautee rose. His face was ashen. He held his hands high as Rathburn
+pressed his weapon against his chest and relieved him of the automatic
+which he carried. Rathburn felt his other pockets and then smiled
+agreeably. He tossed the automatic on the desk.
+
+"All right, we'll get goin'," he announced, indicating the open door.
+"We'll have to hurry, for I take it you've sent for somebody from the
+mine."
+
+"Where are we going?" asked Sautee without moving.
+
+"We're goin' for a little mornin' walk, if you act reasonable,"
+replied Rathburn. "That was my intention. But if you don't want to
+go----"
+
+He shrugged, and as Sautee looked fixedly at him, he cocked his gun.
+
+Sautee hurried toward the door with Rathburn following him closely.
+When they were outside Rathburn directed Sautee across the street.
+When they reached Rathburn's horse Rathburn quickly mounted and
+motioned to the mines manager to precede him into the timber behind
+the little village. When they gained the shelter of the timber they
+gradually circled around until they struck a trail which led up above
+the mine. They started up this, Sautee leading the way on foot with
+Rathburn following on his horse and keeping his gun trained on the
+mines manager's back.
+
+"Don't worry," Rathburn crooned. "I won't shoot you in the back,
+Sautee. That wouldn't be accordin' to my ethics. But I'd have to stop
+you if you made a break to leave the present company."
+
+Sautee plodded on, his breath coming in gasps, the perspiration
+standing out on his forehead.
+
+The trail joined with another well-worn path a short distance above
+the mine. The eastern sky now was light, and Rathburn saw a stone
+building above them. He also saw that they were on the steep slope of
+the big mountain on which the Dixie Queen was located, and that there
+was a rift in this mountain to the left which indicated the presence
+of a pass there.
+
+In a few minutes they reached the stone building. It had an iron door
+across which was painted the legend:
+
+  DANGER POWDER--DYNAMITE KEEP AWAY
+
+Rathburn dismounted and tossed the reins over his horse's head so the
+animal would stand.
+
+"That place looks like a natural jail," he commented.
+
+"It's the mine's powder house," said Sautee, wiping his wet forehead.
+
+"Sure," Rathburn rejoined, "that's just what it is. I expect there's
+enough powder in there to blow half this mountain off."
+
+He walked to the door and took out his gun as he examined the
+padlock.
+
+"What are you going to do?" asked Sautee excitedly.
+
+"I'm goin' to blow the lock off," said Rathburn coolly.
+
+"Don't do it!" cried Sautee. "There's high-percentage dynamite in
+there and T N T caps that we use on road work--dozens of boxes of it.
+You might set it off!"
+
+Rathburn looked at the quaking mine manager speculatively. "That's
+right," he said finally, turning aside to grin to himself. "I guess
+any little jar might start it workin'. It goes off easy, I've heard."
+
+"There are caps and detonators in there, too," said Sautee quickly.
+"You might shoot into them some way, you never can tell. Well, it
+would be as bad for you as for me." He uttered the last sentence in a
+note of triumph.
+
+Rathburn was looking at the far-flung view below. He turned a hard
+gaze on Sautee. "What difference do you suppose it would make to me if
+that stuff in there goes off?" he demanded in a harsh voice. "Look
+down there!"
+
+Sautee looked and drew in his breath with a gasp.
+
+In the clear light of the blossoming dawn the whole panorama of the
+lower mountain country was spread out before them. To the left, under
+the towering peaks of the divide, the rounded crest of the hogback was
+discernible, and a black spot marked the location of Mannix's
+automobile.
+
+"There's a car over there," said Rathburn, noting the direction of
+Sautee's gaze.
+
+Almost directly below them a number of mounted men filed over a ridge
+and again disappeared in the timber. Off to the right more horsemen
+were to be seen.
+
+"Looks like there was a posse or two out this morning," said Rathburn
+in a forbidding voice. "I reckon I ain't such a fool as not to know
+who they're lookin' for, Sautee. Now maybe you can figure out why I
+ain't as scared of that powder house as you are."
+
+"I can stop them!" cried Sautee in a shaking voice.
+
+"Sure," Rathburn agreed. "You can say you lied about me takin' the
+money----"
+
+"I'll tell 'em you gave it back!" said Sautee hoarsely. "I'll tell 'em
+you brought it on up to the mine and that it's in the safe. I'll
+square it----"
+
+"But you can't square the rewards that are out for The Coyote," said
+Rathburn sternly. "You've stepped into a bigger game than you
+thought, Sautee, an' it's got plumb out of your hands."
+
+He turned on the mine manager fiercely. "Whatever happens, remember
+this: Once a man gets a bad reputation in a country like this or the
+country I come from, he's got it for keeps. He can't get away from it
+no matter how he acts or what he does. Mine has drove me away from the
+place where I belong; it's followed me here; I can't lose it; an' the
+way things has been going, by glory, I don't know if I _want_ to lose
+it!"
+
+Sautee cowered back under the fierceness in Rathburn's manner.
+
+"An' you can tell 'em, if you ever have a chance to talk again, that I
+earned my reputation square! I ain't involved nobody else, an' I ain't
+stole from any poor people, an' I never threw my gun down on a man who
+didn't start for his first."
+
+The deadly earnestness and the note of regret in Rathburn's tone
+caused Sautee to forget his uneasiness temporarily and stare at the
+man in wonder. Rathburn's eyes were narrowed, his gaze was steel blue,
+and his face was drawn into hard, grim lines as he looked out upon the
+far-flung, glorious vista below them, broken here and there by the
+movement of mounted men.
+
+"Maybe I--I----" Sautee faltered in his speech. His words seemed
+impotent in the face of Rathburn's deadly seriousness.
+
+Rathburn turned abruptly to the powder house door.
+
+"Wait!" cried Sautee.
+
+The mines manager dug frantically into his pockets and drew out a
+bunch of keys.
+
+"There are some locks on this property to which there are only two
+keys," he explained nervously. "This is one of them, and I carry the
+second key. Here!"
+
+He held out the key ring with one key extended.
+
+Rathburn thrust his gun back into its holster and took the keys. In a
+moment he had unlocked the padlock and swung open the iron door,
+exposing case after case of high explosive within the stone
+structure.
+
+Sautee was staring at him in dire apprehension.
+
+Rathburn pointed toward the rift in the mountain on the left above
+them. Sautee looked and saw a man and a boy riding down the trail.
+
+"That looks to me like the man that held me up last night," said
+Rathburn. "He looks like one of the men, anyway. Maybe he's found out
+he didn't get much, eh? Maybe he's coming back because he didn't have
+enough to make a get-away with. Maybe he thinks he was double crossed
+or something."
+
+Sautee's features were working in a spasm of fear and worry. Suddenly
+he turned on Rathburn.
+
+"Why don't you get away?" he asked in eager pleading. "That trail will
+take you out of the mountains and down into the desert country. You're
+from the desert, aren't you? You can make it. You've made a good haul.
+Go! It'll be better for me and all of us!"
+
+Rathburn laughed bitterly. "I can't go because I'm a worse fool than
+you are," he said acridly. "Get in there. Sneaking lizards, man, can't
+you see I'm tempted to put a shot into one of them boxes and blow us
+both to kingdom come?"
+
+Sautee shrank back into the powder house, and Rathburn slammed the
+door.
+
+As Rathburn snapped the padlock and thrust the keys into his pocket
+his eyes again sought the trail to the left above him. No one was in
+sight. The man and the boy had disappeared in a bend or depression in
+the trail.
+
+But when he looked down toward the hogback he saw a car coming up the
+road toward the mine. A number of horsemen had taken its place on the
+hogback.
+
+Rathburn ran for his horse.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+A SECOND CAPTURE
+
+
+Rathburn rode straight up the trail which led from the powder house
+toward the pass over the big mountain. His eyes were gleaming with
+satisfaction, but several times they clouded with doubt, and he felt
+the bank notes in his coat pocket. Each time, however, he would shake
+his head and push on up the trail with renewed energy.
+
+Looking backward and downward, he could see the posses gathering in
+the street of the mine village. He sensed the excitement which had
+followed the sudden disappearance of Sautee and smiled grimly. He saw
+that the automobile from the hogback had reached the village. Scores
+of men were clustered about it. He knew Mannix was taking personal
+charge of the man hunt; but there was a chance to get away!
+
+He looked wistfully eastward. Somewhere off there, beyond the rolling
+foothills, was the desert. He thrilled. It had been there he had made
+his first mistake. Goaded by the loss of his small cattle ranch he had
+taken revenge on the man who had foreclosed on him and others in a
+similar predicament. He had held up the bank and restored a small
+measure of the losses. Even then the profit of the unscrupulous money
+lender had been enormous.
+
+But the law had marked Rathburn. The gunmen who were jealous of his
+reputation as an expert at the draw had forced him to fall back upon
+that draw to protect his life. Thus he had been driven to obtain a
+living in the best way he could, and something in the dangerous,
+uncertain life of the outlaw had appealed to his wild blood.
+
+Sautee had said the money in his pocket was a good haul. Why not? He
+looked again to eastward. Over the big mountain--into the timber--a
+circling back--a straight cut east----
+
+He knew he could do it. He had evaded posses before--posses composed
+of trained men who were accustomed to take the man trail. It would
+actually be rare sport to play with the crowd below. His left hand
+dropped idly into his coat pocket, and he started as he fingered what
+was there. Then his brow became furrowed, and he scowled.
+
+"Maybe I ain't such a good guesser after all," he muttered. "Maybe I'm
+just what I told Sautee--a fool."
+
+He caught sight of a man and a boy above him. Another instant and they
+were lost to view.
+
+Rathburn suddenly put the spurs to his horse, and the dun surged up
+the steep trail. As he rode, Rathburn took his rawhide lariat from its
+place on the saddle. At a point above where the trail twisted about a
+huge outcropping of rock he turned off, dismounted, and crept to the
+top of the rocks. Quickly he surveyed the trail above. Then he slipped
+back down to his horse, got in the saddle, and took up a position just
+at the lower end of the outcropping, some little distance back from
+the trail and above it. He held the lariat ready in his hands.
+
+He sat his horse quietly--listening. The wind had died with the dawn,
+and there was no sound in the hills. The sun was mounting in the sky
+to eastward. Rathburn looked out over the timbered slopes below with
+wistful eyes. Suddenly his gaze became alert. The sound of horses upon
+the rocky trail above the outcropping came to his ears.
+
+Gradually the sound became more and more distinct. He could hear the
+hoofs of the horses striking against the rock of the trail. He shook
+out the noose of his rope, and it sang as it whirled in the air.
+
+The head of a horse had hardly pushed past the rock when Rathburn's
+noose went swirling downward and dropped true over its target. The man
+in the saddle loosed a string of curses as he felt the rawhide lariat
+tighten about his arms and chest. His horse shied, and he was dragged
+from the saddle, landing on his feet, but falling instantly.
+
+The second horse reared back, and Rathburn's gun covered the boy in
+the saddle. Rathburn, keeping tight hold on the rope hand over hand,
+and retaining his gun in his right hand at the same time, ran down the
+short pitch. The boy's horse became still, and while the youth stared
+Rathburn trussed up the first rider and then stood off to look at
+him.
+
+"Just takin' a mornin' ride, Carlisle?" he asked cheerfully. "Or did
+you forget something? Don't make any false moves, kid. I ain't in a
+playful mood."
+
+The boy continued to stare, but Carlisle's face was black with rage,
+and curses flowed from his lips.
+
+"That won't get you anything," Rathburn said coolly. "You might better
+be doin' some tall thinking instead of cussing. You ain't got the
+cards stacked for this deal, Carlisle."
+
+"What's your game?" Carlisle managed to get out.
+
+"It's a deep one," Rathburn replied dryly. "An' it's too complicated
+to tell you now. I'm goin' to give you a chance to do the thinking I
+mentioned a while back. I ain't takin' your gun or your horse. The
+only thing I'm takin' is a chance, an' I ain't takin' it on _your_
+account."
+
+For an instant Rathburn's eyes burned with fury. Then he dragged
+Carlisle into the shelter of the rocks, to the side of the trail, and
+tied his horse near by. Mounting, he motioned to the boy to ride down
+the trail ahead of him. He looked at the big hat and the overalls the
+boy wore. The youth looked wildly about and then drove the spurs into
+his mount and dashed down the trail with Rathburn close behind,
+calling to him to take it easy.
+
+Just as they reached a spot directly above the powder house the boy
+reined in his horse. Rathburn saw he was looking down at the turbulent
+scene in the street of the little village below the mine. Then the boy
+swayed in the saddle, and Rathburn had just time to fling himself to
+the ground and catch the senseless form in his arms as it toppled.
+
+He put his burden down on the grass beside the trail and led his horse
+into the timber and tied him. Next he picked up the boy and made his
+way down to the powder house. The shouts of many men came to him from
+far below. He succeeded in getting out the keys and unlocking the
+padlock which secured the door of the powder house. Then he opened the
+door, covered the frightened mine manager with his gun, and carried
+his burden in with one arm.
+
+"One of the accomplices," he said briefly to Sautee, as he put the lad
+down and loosened the shirt at the throat. "He'll come around in a
+minute."
+
+Sautee's eyes were popping from his head. He leaned back upon the
+cases of dynamite and passed a clammy hand over his brow.
+
+"I've got Carlisle, too," said Rathburn. "Takin' it all around from
+under it ain't a bad morning's haul."
+
+Sautee now stared at him with a new look in his eyes--a look in which
+doubt struggled with terror.
+
+"I don't believe you _are_ The Coyote!" he blurted out.
+
+"Who do you reckon I might be, if I ain't?" Rathburn asked quietly.
+
+"You might be some kind of a deputy or something."
+
+Rathburn laughed harshly. "It just happens I'm the man some folks call
+The Coyote," he said. "I don't like the name, but it was wished on me,
+an' I can't seem to shake it off. If I wasn't the man you think I am
+you wouldn't be in such a tight fix, Sautee."
+
+Rathburn's words conveyed a subtle menace which was not lost on the
+mine manager. Sautee cringed and rubbed his hands in his nervous
+tension.
+
+"What are you going to do?" he asked.
+
+"Listen!" exclaimed Rathburn.
+
+From below came the echoes of shouts and other sounds which conveyed
+the intelligence that a large body of men was on the move up to the
+mine and the mountain slope above.
+
+"They're after me," said Rathburn bitterly. "They think I stole the
+pay-rolls. They can't get me, Sautee--not alive. An' if they get me
+the other way I'm goin' to see to it somehow that I don't get blamed
+for these jobs up here. Now, do you begin to see daylight?"
+
+Sautee wet his dry lips. The figure on the floor stirred. The shouts
+from below sounded more distinct.
+
+Rathburn's gun leaped into his hand. "You better start hoping the
+shootin' don't begin till we understand each other, Sautee," he said
+grimly. "We've come to the show-down!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+QUICK FACTS
+
+
+Disregarding the sounds which continued to come from below, Rathburn
+stood, gun in hand, regarding Sautee with a grim countenance and a
+cold look in his keen, gray eyes.
+
+"I saw that truck driver held up, Sautee. I was on a ridge below the
+divide. I saw the tall man in the black slicker, his pardner, an' the
+boy. I didn't figure it would do any good to tell Mannix I'd taken in
+the show, an' I was on my way to the desert. I'd be there now if
+Carlisle hadn't overstepped the mark in that Red Feather place."
+
+Sautee pricked up his ears. "You let them arrest you," he said.
+"Why----"
+
+"Because I knew Mannix didn't know who I was an' didn't have anything
+on me," said Rathburn quickly. "An' I got peevish at Carlisle an'
+plumb suspicious when he tried to make things look bad for me right
+there at the start. I began to wise up to the whole lay when you got
+me out of jail."
+
+Sautee's face went white again.
+
+"Your fine explanations of why you couldn't get that money up to the
+mine were thin as water, Sautee. You could get that money up there if
+you wanted to, an' when you asked me to carry the package to the mine
+it was a dead out-an'-out give-away. I reckon you didn't play me to
+have any sense, an' I don't think you gave Carlisle credit for havin'
+the brains of a jack rabbit, either."
+
+Rathburn laughed as the mine manager stared at mention of Carlisle's
+name again.
+
+"Don't worry," he said contemptuously. "I know it was Carlisle who
+held me up. I take it he figured that you'd actually put money in that
+package. Wouldn't be surprised if it was him that you got to try that
+stunt. An' he started away with the package as soon as he got it
+instead of sneakin' back home to split with you. He double crossed you
+an' you double crossed him an' me. Now I'm double crossing the two of
+you."
+
+Sautee's look had changed to one of anger. He glared at Rathburn,
+forgetting his predicament.
+
+"You'd have a fine time proving any of this nonsense," he found the
+courage to say.
+
+"I'm not only goin' to prove what I've said so far, but I'm goin' to
+prove that these robberies were a put-up job between you an' Carlisle,
+with somebody helping you," said Rathburn. "I've been in the mining
+game myself, Sautee, but in our country men spend their lives hunting
+metal to make some bunch of stockholders rich. Maybe they get
+something out of it themselves, an' maybe they don't; but they're
+square, an' the men that run the mines are square 'most always. Anyway
+they develop properties, an' that's more'n you're doing. You're not
+doing this camp any good. You're bleeding the mine an' the company,
+too."
+
+"And I suppose you--The Coyote--are taking a hand in this business as
+a matter of principle," sneeringly replied Sautee.
+
+"I didn't take a hand," Rathburn pointed out sternly. "You an'
+Carlisle forced a hand on me, an' I'm goin' to play it out. I've
+another reason, too," he added mysteriously.
+
+"Did you say you had Carlisle?" Sautee asked in feigned anxiety.
+
+"I've got him dead to rights," replied Rathburn shortly, taking some
+paper and a pencil from a pocket.
+
+Sautee looked at him curiously as he started to write on the paper.
+"Going to write it all out and leave it?" he asked sneeringly.
+
+"I'm going to put it outside the powder house in a place where Mannix
+or some of the others will be sure to find it," was the puzzling
+answer.
+
+"I suppose they'll believe it quicker if it's in writing," said Sautee
+bravely.
+
+Rathburn finished writing, folded the paper, and placed it in the
+left-hand pocket of his coat. He carefully put away the pencil. His
+next act caused Sautee real concern.
+
+Using a drill which was there for the purpose, evidently, Rathburn
+broke open a box of dynamite caps and a box of dynamite. A single coil
+of fuse was lying on a box. He quickly affixed the cap to a stick of
+the dynamite and crimped on a two-foot length of fuse. Then he moved
+the opened box of dynamite to the doorway and struck the stick with
+cap and fuse attached into it.
+
+"There," he said, evidently greatly satisfied with his work. "That
+fuse will burn about two minutes----" He paused. "That's too long," he
+concluded.
+
+Perspiration again stood out on Sautee's forehead as he watched
+Rathburn cut off a foot of the fuse.
+
+"That's better," said Rathburn with a queer smile. "That'll burn about
+a minute. Time enough."
+
+Sautee stared in horrified fascination at the foot of fuse which stuck
+straight out from the box of dynamite in the doorway. "What--what are
+you going to do?" he gasped out.
+
+"Listen, Sautee," said Rathburn coolly. "When that stick of powder
+explodes it'll set off the box an' the other boxes, an' instead of a
+powder house here there'll be a big hole in the side of the
+mountain."
+
+"Man--man--you're not going to do--_that_!" Sautee's words came in a
+hoarse whisper.
+
+"I reckon that's what I'm goin' to have to do," said Rathburn as he
+bent over the form on the floor of the powder house.
+
+The boy's eyes were open and were staring into Rathburn's.
+
+Rathburn lifted him to his feet, where he stood unsteadily. Again the
+gun was in Rathburn's hand.
+
+"This party is goin' to leave us," he said to the frightened mine
+manager. "I'm goin' to step just outside for a minute. It's your
+chance to make a break, Sautee; but if you try it I'll send a bullet
+into that cap. Maybe you heard somewhere that I can shoot tolerably
+well," he concluded in his drawl.
+
+Sautee gripped the sides of the boxes piled behind him.
+
+Rathburn led the boy outside and said quickly: "Just what is this man
+Carlisle to you?"
+
+A look of fear, remorse, dejection--all commingled and pleading--came
+into the dark eyes that looked up into his.
+
+Rathburn didn't wait for a verbal answer.
+
+"Your horse is just up the trail a piece," he said hurriedly. "Get up
+there--go up behind the powder house, so the men below can't see you.
+Swing off into the timber to the left and get down out of here. I'll
+keep their attention. Go home."
+
+He waited a moment until he saw that his instructions were being
+carried out, then he leaped again to the doorway of the powder house.
+
+Sautee's face was livid, and his teeth were chattering. Rathburn took
+a match from his shirt pocket.
+
+"Stop!" screamed Sautee. "I'll talk. You were right. It was a
+frame-up. I'll tell everything--_everything_!"
+
+The perspiration was streaming from his face, and his voice shook with
+terror.
+
+"You'll have a chance to talk in less than a minute," said Rathburn
+calmly.
+
+A chorus of shouts came from the trail just below the powder house as
+a number of men came into view.
+
+Rathburn stepped in front of the door with the match in his left hand
+and his gun in his right.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+THE SHOW-DOWN
+
+
+A wild chorus of yells greeted him. He had surmised that the men had
+seen him coming back down the trail to the powder house with his human
+burden. Now he called Sautee into view. They would most naturally
+assume that it was the mine manager he had been carrying.
+
+"Come to the door where they can see you," he called to Sautee.
+
+The ring in his voice brought Sautee, white-faced and shivering, to
+the doorway beside Rathburn.
+
+Another round of yells followed the mine manager's appearance. Then
+there was a sudden stillness. Rathburn saw that the crowd was made up
+mostly of miners. They paused in the wide place in the trail just
+below the powder house, and Mannix pushed to the fore.
+
+"I want you, Coyote," he called sternly.
+
+"Now, don't you think I know it?" replied Rathburn in a voice which
+carried to all the members of the mob. "You don't want me for robbing
+this mine, Mannix; you want me for something you don't know anything
+about--because I've got a record. Wait a minute!"
+
+He shot out the words as the mob pushed a step forward.
+
+"If you fellows take a couple more steps in this direction I'll put a
+bullet into this box of dynamite!"
+
+The movement stopped instantly. Men stared up at him breathlessly, for
+they realized that he meant what he said.
+
+Mannix's face was pale, but his eyes glowed with determination.
+
+"Do you think it's worth it, Coyote?" he asked.
+
+"Step up here, Mannix, an' listen to what this fellow has to say," was
+Rathburn's reply. "Men," he called in a loud voice, "I'm lookin' to
+you to give your mine boss an' your deputy sheriff a fair deal."
+
+There was a murmur among the men. Mannix, after a moment of
+hesitation, stepped forward.
+
+Rathburn swung on Sautee. "Tell him!" he commanded in a voice which
+stung like the crack of a whip on still air.
+
+"I--I had a hand in the business," said Sautee frantically. "It was
+Carlisle and me. We--we framed the robberies."
+
+Mannix's eyes narrowed.
+
+"Tell him where I got that money last night," Rathburn thundered.
+"Tell him, Sautee, or, so help me, I'll drill a hole through you!"
+
+Sautee cowered before the deadly ferocity in Rathburn's voice. "I had
+it in the--office--downtown," he stammered. "There was blank paper in
+that package, Mannix. Let him go--let him go, Mannix, or we'll all be
+killed!" Sautee cried.
+
+Rathburn was looking steadily at the deputy. "Carlisle is roped an'
+tied up the trail by the big rocks," he said. "Send up there for him
+an' bring him down here."
+
+Several of the men who were mounted spurred their horses up the steep
+trail. There was utter silence now among the men. Mannix, too, was
+cool and collected. He had not drawn his gun. He surveyed the quaking
+Sautee with a look of extreme contempt. The mine manager's nerves had
+gone to pieces before Rathburn's menacing personality. All he cared
+for now was his life. The black reputation he had given to Rathburn
+led him to believe that the man could not be depended upon, and that
+he was liable to carry out his threat and blow them all to bits. He
+wet his lips with a feverish tongue.
+
+"Where's the money you an' Carlisle got away with?" demanded Mannix.
+
+"I've got all I took," whined Sautee. "I'll give it back. I don't know
+what Carlisle's done with his. It was his scheme, anyway; he proposed
+it when he hit this country a year ago."
+
+"And the other man----" suggested Mannix.
+
+"Mike Reynolds," cried Sautee. "But he was only in on the truck driver
+deal and--last night. Let The Coyote go, Mannix----"
+
+Then Sautee, in a frenzy of fear, an easy prey to the seriousness of
+the situation and his shattered nerves, told everything. He explained
+how it had been Carlisle who proposed getting Rathburn out of jail and
+making him the goat. He told of the worthless contents of the package
+he had given Rathburn to carry to the mine, how they had planned to
+rob him on the way and thus put him in a situation where he would have
+to get out of the country. He explained how Carlisle had pointed out
+that they had a club over Rathburn's head in their knowledge of his
+real identity. He complained that Carlisle had intended to double
+cross him, and how he had double crossed Carlisle in turn. He ended
+with a whining plea for consideration at the hands of Mannix.
+
+The men with Carlisle came down the trail. Carlisle was astride his
+own horse. His gun was in his holster.
+
+"We've got you, you outlaw!" he cried as he flung himself from the
+saddle and strode up to Rathburn, Mannix, and Sautee.
+
+Rathburn's eyes had narrowed until they were slits through which his
+cold, hard gaze centered upon Carlisle. His attitude had changed. Even
+his posture was suddenly different. There was a long breath from the
+men behind Mannix. It was a tense moment. They could see the menace in
+Rathburn's manner, and they could see that Carlisle was fighting mad.
+
+"Ain't you a little free with your language, Carlisle?" drawled
+Rathburn.
+
+"You know who he is?" Carlisle cried to Mannix. "He's The Coyote--an
+outlaw an' a killer with a price a mile long on his head----"
+
+"But I ain't never sneaked any miners' pay-rolls, Carlisle," Rathburn
+broke in with a sneering inflection in his voice. "What'd you do with
+Mike Reynolds? He was with you last night, wasn't he?"
+
+Carlisle's jaw snapped shut. He swung on Rathburn with eyes darting
+red. Then his gaze flashed to the cringing Sautee.
+
+"You--you rat----"
+
+Rathburn stepped before Sautee. "You haven't any quarrel with him,
+Carlisle," he said evenly; "your quarrel, if you've got one, is with
+me. I outguessed you, that's all. You ain't plumb clever, Carlisle.
+You ought to be in a more genteel business. I just naturally figured
+out the play an' made Sautee talk, that's all. I ain't the only gent
+Mannix is wanting--there's _three_ of us here!"
+
+Carlisle's face was purple and working in spasms of rage. He realized
+instantly that Rathburn had spoken the truth.
+
+"It was his scheme from the start!" shrilled Sautee from the
+protection of Rathburn's broad shoulders.
+
+Then the mine manager, unable to longer stand the strain, collapsed on
+the ground, groaning.
+
+"Underhanded!" Carlisle shot through his teeth as Mannix stepped back.
+"An' I heard The Coyote was a go-getter. By guns, I believe you're
+yellow!"
+
+"You've got a chance to try an' finish what you started in the Red
+Feather the day I got here, Carlisle," said Rathburn in ringing tones.
+"If you think I'm yellow--draw!"
+
+A second's hesitation--two figures in identical postures under the
+morning sun--a vagrant breeze murmuring in the timber.
+
+Then two movements, quick as lightning--too fast for the eye to
+follow--and the roar of guns.
+
+Rathburn stepped back, his weapon smoking at his hip, as Carlisle
+swayed for a moment and then crumpled upon the ground. Rathburn
+quickly drew the piece of paper from his left pocket and the roll of
+bills from his right. He put the note with the bills and tossed the
+roll to Mannix. Then he stepped back to the doorway.
+
+"Join your men, Mannix," he said quietly.
+
+Mannix thrust the money into a pocket and stood for several seconds
+looking directly into Rathburn's eyes. A curious expression was on the
+deputy's face, partly wonder, partly admiration, partly doubt. Then he
+turned abruptly upon his heel and walked back to the gaping men.
+
+Sautee struggled to his feet. Rathburn motioned to him to join the
+others, and he staggered down to them.
+
+Then Rathburn coolly lit a match and touched it to the fuse sticking
+out from the box of dynamite.
+
+There was a wild yell of terror, and the mob tumbled down the trail as
+Rathburn ran for the trail above the powder house. The men had
+disappeared when he turned. His gun leaped into his hand and he
+fired--once, twice, three times--the fourth shot cut the burning fuse,
+and with a sharp intaking of breath, he ran for his horse, mounted,
+and rode into the timber along the trail.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+FILED!
+
+
+Rathburn picked his way slowly through the timber around to the
+southeast and then directly down toward the town. It was slow going,
+and the man seemed to relish this fact. His face was thoughtful,
+wistful, a bit grave. He occasionally patted his horse's neck.
+
+"We're on our way home, old hoss," he said softly. "Seems like we just
+_had_ to stop off here."
+
+He fingered two small objects in his coat pocket.
+
+"I wonder," he murmured. "I wonder if I could be mistaken."
+
+He turned west after a time and rode carefully until he gained a worn
+trail. This he followed down toward town, and in half an hour he
+dismounted in the timber behind a small cabin at the side of the road
+to the hogback.
+
+Rathburn went to the rear door and knocked. He received no answer, but
+sounds came to him through an open window. He opened the door softly
+and stole inside. There was no one in the kitchen. The sounds came
+from another room. He passed on into a bedroom and turned into another
+bedroom where he saw a figure in overalls lying on the bed. A great
+mass of dark hair covered the pillow. The form shook with sobs.
+
+Rathburn laid a gentle hand upon the shoulder, and the face, which was
+quickly turned to him, was the face of a girl--the girl he had first
+seen when coming into the town, the girl who had been sitting the
+horse listening to Carlisle's tirade, the girl the barn man had said
+was supposed to be Carlisle's sister.
+
+"They don't know you were up there," said Rathburn softly. "Your boy's
+clothes fooled them, if they saw you at all. They probably thought I
+was carrying Sautee down the trail, for they found Sautee up there in
+the powder house with me."
+
+The girl sobbed again. Her eyes were red with weeping.
+
+"Listen, ma'am," said Rathburn gently. "I picked these up from the
+road the day the truck driver was held up." He brought out two
+hairpins from his coat pocket.
+
+"It set me to thinking, ma'am, an' was one reason why I stayed over
+here to find out what was goin' on. Maybe I've done wrong, ma'am, but
+I was hoping I'd be doin' you a favor. I saw the look in your eyes the
+day Carlisle was talkin' to you when you was on the hoss. I know you
+helped him in his holdups, dressed like a boy, but I figured you
+didn't do it because you wanted to."
+
+"No--no--no!" sobbed the girl.
+
+"All right; fine, little girl. No one knows anything about it but me,
+an' I'm goin' away. But, listen, girlie, just what was Carlisle to
+you?"
+
+A spasm of weeping shook the girl. "Nothing I could help," she sobbed.
+"He--I had to do as he said--because--oh, I hate him. I hate him!"
+
+"There, there," soothed Rathburn. "I suspected as much, girlie."
+
+"He made my father a bad man," sobbed the girl; "an' made me go with
+him or my father would have to go--to--to go----"
+
+"Never mind, girlie," Rathburn interrupted softly. "I don't want to
+hear the story. Just keep it to yourself an' start all over. It ain't
+a bad world, girlie, an' there's more good men in it than there's bad.
+Now, you can begin to live and be happy like you ought. Carlisle won't
+worry you no more."
+
+She raised her head and looked at him out of startled eyes in which
+there was a ray of hope.
+
+"You say--he won't--worry me----"
+
+"Not at all, girlie. He walked into his own trap. I'm goin', girlie.
+So long, an' good luck."
+
+He took her hand and pressed it, and under the spell of his smile the
+hope came into her welling eyes.
+
+"Good-by," he called from the doorway.
+
+She was smiling faintly through her tears when he slipped out.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Deputy Sheriff Mannix was sitting in his little office alone. It was
+nearly sunset. A faint glow of crimson shot across the carpet.
+
+Mannix was scowling thoughtfully. On the desk before him were two
+pieces of paper. One of them was a reward notice publishing the fact
+that The Coyote was wanted and that five thousand dollars would be
+paid by the State of Arizona for his capture, dead or alive.
+
+Mannix picked up the second piece of paper and again read the words
+penciled upon it:
+
+  I am taking out of this money belonging to the Dixie Queen the
+  five hundred dollars Sautee promised me for carrying the money to
+  the mine, and the two thousand dollars reward offered for the
+  capture of those who had been robbing the Dixie Queen. I expect
+  that shortly after this gets into the proper hands Sautee will be
+  in jail, and he will be handy to tell you this is all O. K.
+
+RATHBURN.
+
+Mannix took up the reward notice, put it with the note, and jammed the
+two pieces of paper into an obscure pigeonhole in his desk.
+
+"Filed!" he said aloud.
+
+Then he rose with a peculiar smile, went out upon the little porch,
+and stared toward the east where the reflection of the sunset cast a
+rosy glow over the foothills leading down to the desert.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+THE PRODIGAL
+
+
+With face upraised to the breath of air which stirred across the bare
+black lava hills, Rathburn leaned forward in the saddle eagerly, while
+his dun-colored horse stood patiently, seemingly in accord with his
+master's mood. A merciless sun beat down from a hot, cloudless sky.
+
+Below, stretching in endless miles was the desert--a sinister,
+forbidding land of desolate distances, marked only by slender yucca
+palms, mesquite, dusty greasewood, an occasional clump of green palo
+verde, the slim fingers of the ocatilla, the high "forks" of the giant
+sahuara, and clumps of la cholla cactus, looking like apple orchards
+in full bloom.
+
+Yet the man's gaze fell for a moment lovingly on each species of
+cactus and desert vegetation; his look was that which dwells in the
+homesick eyes of a traveler when he sees his native land from the deck
+of an inbound ship.
+
+"Hoss, we're home!" he said aloud, while the animal pricked up its
+ears.
+
+Then he looked off to the left, where the blue outlines of a low range
+of mountains wavered in the heat like a mirage.
+
+"Imagination Range," he said moodily.
+
+He tickled the dun with his spurs and trotted along the crest of the
+lava ridge. At its eastern terminus he swung down into the desert and
+struck straight east in the direction of Imagination Range. The
+desert's surface between the lava ridge and the higher hills of the
+range to eastward was cut by dry washes and arroyos and miniature
+ridges studded with giant cactus.
+
+On the top of one of these high rises the horseman suddenly reined in
+his mount and stared into the south. "There's trouble--an' spelled
+with a capital T!" he ejaculated.
+
+The gaze in his keen gray eyes centered upon a number of riders
+speeding their horses over the tumbled section of desert below him to
+his right. He made out two divisions of horsemen. One group was some
+distance ahead of the other. Even as he stared down at them, its group
+separated, and some rode for Imagination Range, while others hastened
+toward the lava hills, or due north in his direction. The second group
+halted for a brief spell, evidently for a conference, and then its
+members also divided and started in swift pursuit of the men ahead.
+
+The watcher on the top of the rise frowned.
+
+"Out of here, hoss," he said sharply. "This ain't our day for
+visitors."
+
+He pushed on eastward, increasing its pace, but losing time in
+skirting the frequent bits of high ground. As he rode down into a deep
+arroyo, a horseman came galloping into its lower end and raced almost
+upon him before seeing him. His hand darted like lightning to his gun,
+and the weapon snapped into aim at his hip. The horseman came to a
+rearing halt, reins dangling, his hands held high, his eyes bulging
+from their sockets.
+
+"Rathburn!" he exclaimed.
+
+"The same," said the man with the gun. "What's all the disturbance
+down there?"
+
+"Bob Long is chasing us," the other answered with a nervous grin.
+
+"As I remember it," drawled Rathburn, "Bob Long is the sheriff of
+Mesquite County. You boys sure ain't been misbehaving?"
+
+"It's worse than that," said the fugitive, staring doubtfully at his
+questioner. "The stage driver's dead. Had a notion the boss was
+foolin' when he told him to reach up for the bugs in the air."
+
+"Who does the boss happen to be in this case?"
+
+The man hesitated.
+
+"Take your time," said Rathburn sarcastically; "there's nobody after
+you but the sheriff, an' he probably won't be along for a minute or
+two."
+
+"It won't do _you_ no good for him to find us here," said the other
+boldly.
+
+Rathburn's eyes blazed. "I reckon you're forgettin' that Bob Long
+knows I travel alone," he said hotly. "He savvys I don't travel with a
+crowd. I ain't found it necessary so far, an' I ain't aiming to start.
+I counted eight in your gang--to hold up one stage, eh?" He concluded
+with a sneer, while the other shifted nervously in his saddle and cast
+a quick look back over his shoulder. There seemed no one there.
+
+"You needn't be lookin' around," Rathburn said coldly. "You're goin'
+to stay here till you answer my question, if all the sheriffs in
+Arizona come ridin' up meanwhile. Who's headin' your gang?"
+
+"That ain't professional," the fugitive grumbled. "You're just the
+same as one of us."
+
+Then, seeing the look that came into Rathburn's eyes, he said hastily:
+"Mike Eagen planned the lay."
+
+"I guessed it," said Rathburn in a tone of contempt. "Well, you better
+slope while you've still got a chance."
+
+He motioned to the man to go, and the latter rode at a gallop up the
+arroyo and out of sight. Rathburn's face wore a worried scowl, as he
+slid his gun into its holster, whirled his horse, and speedily climbed
+the east side of the arroyo.
+
+From a vantage point he caught sight again of the horsemen racing up
+from the south. They were much nearer, and he could readily make out
+the members of the sheriff's posse. He had had experience with posses
+before.
+
+Striking around the crest of the high ground which formed the east
+side of the arroyo, he again raced toward the range of mountains in
+the east, taking advantage of every bit of cover which offered
+concealment from the riders approaching at top speed from the south.
+
+Occasional glances made it plain that the sheriff was sending, or
+personally bringing, most of his posse east in the direction of the
+mountains, presumably in the hope of cutting off the outlaws from
+seeking refuge in the hills. But the mountains were Rathburn's goal as
+well as the goal of a majority of Mike Eagen's band, though for
+totally different reasons. He refused to change his direction,
+although by going north, the stout, speedy dun could doubtless
+outdistance the posse before the afternoon was spent.
+
+Rathburn's teeth snapped shut, his jaw squared, and his eyes narrowed,
+as he saw indubitable signs that he had been detected. Two of the
+posse were waving their arms and dashing in his direction. At that
+distance they could not identify him, but under the circumstances such
+identification was unnecessary. His presence there, riding like mad,
+was certain to convince the pursuers that he was one of the gang
+responsible for the stage job. This was obvious.
+
+For good reasons, Rathburn did not want it generally known that he was
+back in a country where he had spent most of his life, and where he
+was branded as a desperate outlaw with a big price on his head.
+Consequently, seeing that the sheriff's men were out to get him, he
+abandoned all attempt at concealment, drove in his spurs, gave the dun
+horse its head, and raced for the mountains.
+
+Other members of the posse who were farther to the east caught the
+signals of the two who were in hot pursuit of Rathburn, and they
+dashed north to cut him off. The outlaws had disappeared, and Rathburn
+shook his head savagely, as he realized they had sought cover when
+they saw the chase was directed at one man. Without having had a hand
+in the holdup of the stage, he had arrived on the spot just in time to
+draw the fire of the authorities. And fire it was now; for the men
+behind him had begun shooting in the hope of a chance hit at the
+distance.
+
+A scant mile separated him from his goal. He came to a level stretch
+which was almost a mass of green because of the clumps of palo verde.
+Here he urged the dun to its utmost, outdistanced the pair in his
+rear, and gained on the men riding from the south, almost ahead of
+him. He swerved a bit to the north and cut straight for a notch in the
+mountains. He smiled, as he approached it, and saw a narrow defile
+leading into the hills. He gained it in a final, heartbreaking burst
+of speed on the part of his mount. As he dashed into the cañon,
+bullets sang past him and over his head. Then a cry of amazement came
+to his ears.
+
+"It's The Coyote!" a man was yelling. "Rathburn's back!"
+
+He dashed into the shelter of the defile, a grim smile playing on his
+lips. He had been recognized. His face hardened. He rounded a huge
+boulder, checked his horse, and dismounted. He could hear the pound of
+hoofs in the entrance of the narrow cañon. A rider came into view
+below.
+
+Rathburn leaned out from the protection of the boulder. His lips were
+pressed into a fine, white line, and there was a look of haunted worry
+in his eyes. His gun flashed in his hand. The rider saw him and
+yelled, spurring his horse. Then Rathburn's gun swung quickly upward.
+A sharp report sounded, like a crash of thunder in the narrow confines
+of the cañon, and its echoes reverberated through the hills.
+
+The rider toppled in his saddle and fell to the floor of the cañon.
+His horse came to a snorting stop, reins dangling, all four legs
+braced. The hoof-beats instantly were stilled. A silence, complete and
+sinister, reigned in the defile.
+
+Rathburn slipped his smoking gun into his holster and mounted
+noiselessly. Then he walked his horse slowly up the cañon, sitting
+sidewise in the saddle to keep a vigil on the trail behind. A minute
+later he heard a volley of shots below, the signal to all the
+scattered members of the posse to race to the entrance of the cañon.
+He increased his pace, broke his gun, extracted the empty shell, and
+inserted a fresh cartridge in its place.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+THE DESERT CODE
+
+
+Keeping to the trail, Rathburn mounted higher and higher and spoke
+continually to his horse in a crooning tone of encouragement. His face
+was drawn in grim lines, his eyes were constantly alert, his very
+posture in the saddle showed that his nerves were at high tension.
+
+He ignored dim paths which occasionally led off to the left or right
+in rifts in the sheer, black walls of the narrow cañon. No sound came
+to him from below. He knew the posse would have to proceed with the
+utmost caution, for the sheriff and his men could not be sure that
+they would not encounter him at some bend in the trail. They would be
+expecting shots from every boulder; for Rathburn had let them know he
+had no intention of being taken easily or alive.
+
+The afternoon wore on, with Rathburn steadily penetrating the very
+heart of Imagination Range. Finally he swung out of the cañon trail
+and took a dim path to the right. He dismounted and walked back to rub
+off the scars left by his horse's shoes on the rock floor of the side
+trail. Satisfied that he would leave the members of the posse confused
+as to which side trail he had taken, he returned to his horse,
+mounted, and proceeded up the narrow trail leading to the top of the
+range to the south of the deep cañon.
+
+In the western sky the sun was low when he rode down the crest of the
+range. The mountains were devoid of vegetation, bleak and bare and
+black. The lava rock seemed to absorb the heat of the sun and throw
+it in the rider's face. But Rathburn didn't appear to mind it.
+
+He crossed the backbone of the range and began the descent on the
+eastern side. But he descended only a short distance before he swung
+out of the saddle. From the slicker pack on the rear of his saddle he
+took a pair of heavy leather gloves. He cut these open in the palms
+with his pocketknife and then tied them about the shoes on his horse's
+hind feet. The dun was only shod behind.
+
+Again he mounted, and this time he turned to the south and rode down a
+long slope of lava rock. He grunted with satisfaction, as he looked
+behind and saw that the leather prevented the shoes on his mount's
+hind feet from leaving their mark. He was completely obliterating his
+trail--leaving nothing for the posse to follow, if they should trace
+him to the top of the range.
+
+He walked his horse slowly, for the dun did not like the idea of the
+leather tied to its hoofs. In less than two miles the leather was worn
+through upon the hard rock, and he got down and removed the remnants.
+He straightened up and looked out over the vista of the desert.
+
+The western sky was a sea of gold. Far to southward a curl of smoke
+rose upward, marking the course of a railroad and a town. Rathburn
+looked long in this direction, with a dreamy, wistful light in his
+eyes. Close at hand vegetation appeared upon the slopes of the hills.
+His gaze darted here and there along the ridges below him, and his
+parted lips and eager attitude showed unmistakably that he was
+familiar with every rod of the locality in which he found himself.
+
+Again he climbed into the saddle and turned off to the left, entering
+a cañon. For better than half a mile he proceeded down this way, then
+he rode eastward again, winding in and out in a network of cañons
+until he came to the rock-ribbed crest of a ridge which overlooked an
+oasis in the desert hills. There was green vegetation where the water
+from a spring seeped into the floor of the cañon below him. The spring
+was nothing more than a huge cup in the rock which had caught the
+water from the spring rains and filled. Above the spring was a small
+cabin, and Rathburn saw that the cabin door was open.
+
+Hurriedly he rode down a trail to the right which circled around into
+the cañon from its lower end. As he galloped toward the spring, a
+figure appeared in the doorway of the cabin. Rathburn waved an arm and
+dismounted at the spring. He led his horse to drink, as the man came
+walking toward him from the cabin. He compelled the dun to drink
+slowly; first a swallow, now two, then a few more; finally he drew the
+horse away from the water.
+
+"You can have some more a little later," he said cheerfully. "Hello,
+Joe Price!"
+
+The man walked up to him without a great show of surprise and held out
+his hand. He was bareheaded, and the hair which hung down to his
+shoulders was snow-white. The face was seamed and lined, burned by the
+sun of three score Arizona summers, and the small, blue eyes
+twinkled.
+
+"Hang me with a busted shoe string if it ain't Rathburn," said the old
+man. "Why, boy, you're just in time for supper. Put your horse up
+behind the cabin an' get in at the table. She's a big country, all
+full of cactus; but the old man's got grub left!"
+
+Rathburn laughed, rinsed his mouth out with water he dipped from the
+spring in a battered tin cup, and took a swallow before he replied.
+
+"Joe, there's two things I want--grub an' gaff. I know you've got
+grub, or you wouldn't be here; but I don't know if you're any good at
+the gaff any more."
+
+The old man scrutinized him. "You look some older," he said finally.
+"Not much of the wild, galootin' kid left in you, I 'spect. But don't
+go gettin' fresh with me, or I'll clout you one with my prospectin'
+pick. Go 'long now; put up your horse an' hustle inside. If you want
+to wash up, I guess you can--bein' a visitor."
+
+Rathburn chuckled, as he led his horse around behind the cabin, where
+two burros were, and unsaddled him. Before he entered the cabin he
+stood for a moment looking up the ridge down which he had come. The
+old man watched him, but made no comment. As Rathburn sat down to the
+table, however, he spoke.
+
+"I kin hear anybody comin' down that trail over the ridge, while
+they're a mile away," he said simply without looking up.
+
+Rathburn flashed a look of admiration at the old man.
+
+The glow of the sunset lit the hills with crimson fire, and a light
+breeze stirred with the advent of the long, colorful desert twilight.
+They ate in silence, washing down the hardy food with long drafts of
+strong coffee. The old man asked no questions of his friend. He knew
+that in time Rathburn would talk. A man's business in that desolate
+land of dreadful distances was his own, save such of it as he wanted
+to tell. It was the desert code.
+
+Supper over, they went out to a little bench in front of the cabin.
+There Joe Price lit his pipe, and Rathburn rolled a cigarette.
+
+For some time they smoked in silence. The purple twilight drifted
+over the hills, and the breeze freshened in welcome relief to the heat
+of the day.
+
+"Joe, I just had to come back," said Rathburn softly. "Something's
+wrong with me. You wouldn't think I'd get homesick this way, after all
+the trouble I've had here, would you?"
+
+The old man removed his pipe. "Anybody here in particular you want to
+see?" he asked slowly.
+
+Rathburn shrugged. "You're always gettin' right down to cases first
+hand off an' running," he complained. "Of course there's folks I want
+to see. I want to see you, for instance."
+
+"I don't reckon you'd be ridin' any terrible great distance an' takin'
+chances by the handful just to see me, boy," said Price. "But I ain't
+tryin' to pry into your affairs. You don't have to answer any of the
+fool questions I ask you--you know that. I'm an old man an' gettin'
+childish."
+
+Rathburn laughed. "I can believe that when I find you still putterin'
+around up here where there ain't even a sign of mineral," he chided.
+
+"There's gold right under your feet," said the old man stoutly. "I'll
+have a payin' vein opened up here in less'n three months."
+
+"I hope so, Joe. There's nobody I'd like more to see make a big strike
+than you. You were my dad's friend, an' you've been mine. I haven't
+got many friends, Joe."
+
+"But them you've got is good ones," said Price quickly. "How long you
+been away?"
+
+"About eight months," Rathburn replied with a frown.
+
+"It's hard to get away from the desert," mused the old man. "It's in
+your blood. If you leave here for good you've just naturally got to
+take something along with you from here--something that's a part of
+the desert, you might say."
+
+Rathburn looked keenly at the face of his friend. But the old man was
+regarding his pipe, as if he had never until that moment seen it.
+
+"I ran into a posse chasin' a gang that robbed a stage on the way over
+here this noon," Rathburn said presently.
+
+Price's interest quickened, but he made no sign. "They saw you?" he
+asked.
+
+"Couldn't help it," Rathburn grumbled. "Took after me. I had to drop
+one of 'em with a bullet in the shoulder to slow 'em up in the long
+cañon over on the other side."
+
+"Know any of the gang?" Price asked.
+
+"Met one. Threw down my gun on him. He told me Mike Eagen was runnin'
+the works."
+
+Price nodded. "I reckon Mike's been pullin' quite a few stunts while
+you been away."
+
+"An' I've been gettin' the blame for 'em more'n likely," said Rathburn
+in indignation.
+
+Price nodded again. "Might be so," he commented.
+
+Rathburn looked up at him in understanding. "They'll have me mixed up
+with this stage holdup," he said earnestly. "From what I gathered they
+killed the driver, an' they'll say that was my part."
+
+"That's the trouble, boy," said the old miner. "If a fellow's handy
+with his gun somebody's sure to get jealous of him an' make him draw.
+If he gets his man because he has to, he's a killer. When he's known
+as a killer he ain't got a chance. You _had_ to drop the two men you
+dropped aroun' here, boy; but they ain't forgettin' it."
+
+"Bob Long was headin' that posse," said Rathburn thoughtfully.
+
+"An' Bob Long's a sticker when he hits out on a man's trail," said
+Price. "Still, I guess you'd be safe in here for a while. There ain't
+many knows this place."
+
+"I don't figure on stayin' here long, Joe," said Rathburn.
+
+"I didn't think you did," said Price.
+
+"I'll have to get goin'--hit for new country an' never know when I may
+run up against the law in a quarter where I ain't expecting it; always
+sneaking along--like the coyote. It was Mike Eagen who gave me that
+name, Joe."
+
+Rathburn's voice was low and vibrant, and the old man felt the
+menacing quality in it.
+
+"What's more," Rathburn went on, "I'm always remembering that he's
+back here, getting away with his dirty tricks, shoving the blame off
+on me, some way or other, when the chase gets too hot."
+
+For some time the old man was silent. When he spoke he put an arm
+about Rathburn's shoulder.
+
+"Boy, before you get worse mixed up than you are, there's a place you
+ought to visit aroun' here," he said in a fatherly tone.
+
+Rathburn shrugged and stared up at the night sky which was blossoming
+with stars.
+
+"It would be a right smart risk," Price went on, "for they'd maybe
+think to drop aroun' that way on a lookout for you; but I reckon
+before you do much more, you better drop in at the Mallory place."
+
+Rathburn rose abruptly. "I guess that's what I came up here to hear
+you say," he said irritably. "But I don't reckon it can be done, Joe.
+I haven't any business there."
+
+"How do you know, boy? Maybe you ain't bein' right fair."
+
+"Seems to me it would look better for me to stay away."
+
+"They don't _have_ to see you," urged the old man. "The Mallory place
+is a good fifteen miles from Hope, close up against the mountains.
+Boy, don't you think you better make sure?"
+
+The wistful, yearning look was back in Rathburn's eyes. His right hand
+rested upon the butt of his gun. The other held his forgotten
+cigarette. He turned and looked into the old man's eyes.
+
+"Joe, you said something about takin' something from the desert if I
+left it. You're right. But it can't be, Joe. This thing has killed my
+chances!"
+
+The gun seemed to leap from its holster into his hand at his hip of
+its own accord. The old miner's brows lifted in astonishment at the
+draw.
+
+"If I was you I wouldn't be much scared who I met on the way down to
+the Mallory place if I didn't meet too many of 'em at once," he said
+with a smile.
+
+"I--I couldn't wear it--there," Rathburn faltered.
+
+"Well, leave it hangin' on a handy peg, boy," said the old man
+cheerfully.
+
+Rathburn jammed the gun back into its holster and walked around to his
+horse. He led the animal down to drink and then returned and saddled.
+
+"You goin' on to-night?" asked Price casually.
+
+"I'm takin' a ride," Rathburn confessed.
+
+"You ain't takin' my advice at the same time, are you?" asked Price,
+pretending to be greatly concerned.
+
+Rathburn mounted and looked down upon him in the faint light of the
+stars.
+
+"Joe Price, you're a wise old desert rat, an' I'm a young fool," he
+said with a twinkle in his gray eyes. "If Bob Long happens this way
+give him my regards an' tell him they got the reward notices over in
+California all right, for I saw 'em stuck up over there. So long."
+
+The old miner called out after him and watched him ride down the cañon
+and disappear in the shadows. Nor was he the only watcher; for, high
+on the ridge above, another man touched his horse with his spurs and
+started down the west side of the range, as Rathburn vanished.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+A NIGHT SUMMONS
+
+
+In two hours Rathburn came to a fence about a small ranch. Cattle were
+grazing on the sparse feed within the inclosure, and he saw a clump of
+trees marking the site of a house.
+
+He rode around the fence until he came to a gate. There was a light
+shining from two of the windows of the house. He passed through the
+gate, and, as he approached the house from the side, he saw two
+figures on the porch. He halted in the shelter of the trees, and, as
+one of the figures crossed the beam of light which shone out the door,
+he saw that it was a man. He obtained a fleeting look at the man's
+face. He was comparatively young, not bad looking, with blue eyes and
+a small, close-cropped, sandy mustache.
+
+Rathburn scratched his head in an effort to place the man. He seemed
+vaguely familiar. Rathburn was sure he had seen him somewhere. But he
+gave up the futile effort to identify him when he saw that the other
+figure on the porch was that of a girl.
+
+Dismounting, he led his horse around to the rear and put him in a
+corral near the barn. He surmised that it was about ten o'clock. As he
+walked toward the front of the house, again he heard the sputtering of
+a small motor car; then he saw the path of light from its headlights
+go streaking across the desert in the direction of the town to
+southward. The front door closed, and all was still.
+
+Rathburn hesitated for several moments, then he stamped up the porch
+steps and knocked at the door. It was opened by a girl. She held a
+lighted lamp in her hand. When she saw Rathburn standing, hat in
+hand, before her, her dark eyes widened, and she nearly dropped the
+lamp. He stepped forward quickly and took it from her.
+
+"Roger!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "You--here?"
+
+"I'm here, Laura," he said quietly. "I'm home on a--a visit."
+
+"I heard you were back," she faltered. "Mr. Doane--that is--a
+gentleman from town told me he had heard you were back. But----"
+
+She scanned his face closely and peered beyond him into the shadows
+with visible concern.
+
+"Roger, come in quickly," she invited, stepping back from the door.
+
+With a faint smile he entered and closed the door after him. He put
+the lamp down on the table in what was evidently the sitting room of
+the small house. He looked about him with the air of one who sees
+familiar surroundings, but is embarrassed by them.
+
+"Some one been tellin' you the details of my arrival?" he asked with
+an effort to appear casual.
+
+"I heard you were in some trouble, Roger." The girl continued to stare
+at him with a queer expression in her fine eyes--part sorrow, part
+concern, part gladness.
+
+"I'm not a stranger to trouble these days, Laura," he said soberly.
+
+There was a sob in the girl's throat, but she recovered herself at
+once.
+
+"Have you eaten?" she asked quickly.
+
+"Up at Joe Price's place," he replied. "All fed and chipper."
+
+There was not much confidence in his tone or manner. As the girl
+lowered her gaze, he looked at her hungrily; his eyes feasted on the
+coils of dark hair, her long, black lashes, the curve of her cheek
+and her delicate color, the full, ruby lips, and the small, quivering
+chin. She was in the throes of a strong emotion.
+
+"I'm sorry, Laura, if--you didn't want me to come," he said
+unsteadily.
+
+"Oh, Roger! Of course we want you to come. It's been so long since we
+saw you. And you've--you've gone through so much."
+
+She raised her eyes, and the expression which he saw in their depths
+caused him to look away and to bite his lips.
+
+"There's a lot of it I wish I could undo, Laura; an' there's a lot
+more of it I couldn't help, an' maybe some I--I--wasn't----" He
+paused. He couldn't bring himself to say anything in extenuation of
+himself and his acts in the presence of this girl. It might sound as
+if he were playing for her sympathy, he thought to himself.
+
+"Roger, I know you haven't done all the things I've heard about," she
+said bravely. "And there's always a chance. You're a man. You can find
+a way out. If the trails seem all twisted and tangled, you can use a
+compass--your own conscience, Roger. You still have that."
+
+"How did you happen to mention the trails bein' all mixed up like
+that?" he asked curiously.
+
+"Why--I don't know. Isn't that the way it seems?"
+
+Rathburn looked away with a frown. "You come near hittin' the nail on
+the head, Laura."
+
+"Oh, then you _are_ beginning to think!" she said eagerly.
+
+"I've done nothing but think for months," Rathburn confessed.
+
+She looked at him searchingly. Then her eyes dropped to the black
+butt of the gun in the holster strapped to his right thigh. She
+shuddered slightly.
+
+"You came from the west, Roger?" she asked.
+
+"Yes," he replied shortly. "From where there's water an' timber an'
+flowers an' grass--but they had my number there, just the same as
+they've got it here. I'm a marked man, Laura Mallory."
+
+She leaned upon the table with one hand; the other she held upon her
+breast.
+
+"Are--are they--after you, Roger?" she asked in a low, anxious tone.
+
+"As usual," he answered with a vague laugh. "Laura, I didn't come here
+to bother you with my troubles; I come here just to see _you_."
+
+The girl colored. "I know, Roger. We've known each other a long
+time--since we were children. You wouldn't like it for me not to show
+any concern over your troubles, would you?"
+
+"I wish we could talk about something else," said Rathburn. "I can't
+stay long."
+
+Laura Mallory looked worried. "May I ask where you plan to go,
+Roger?"
+
+"I'm not sure. I only know I wanted to come back, an' I came. I hadn't
+any fixed plans, an' I wasn't expecting the reception I got." His face
+clouded. Then he looked straight into the girl's eyes. "I hit this
+country this morning," he said steadily. "The first folks I saw was
+some men ridin' in my direction up between the lava hills and the
+range. Then things began to happen."
+
+She nodded brightly. "I believe you," she said simply.
+
+Rathburn smiled. "You aways did that, Laura, an' I ain't never been
+much of a hand at lying."
+
+"Roger," she said quickly, "if they all knew you as well as I think I
+know you----"
+
+"They wouldn't believe," he interrupted. "They call me The Coyote,
+an' they'll have me live up to the name whether I want to or not," he
+added bitterly.
+
+"But, Roger, you're forgetting what I said about the trails and the
+compass."
+
+"No, Laura, I'm not, but there's another force besides the big
+lodestone that's affectin' that compass."
+
+"Roger, you're thinking of an enemy!"
+
+He did not answer her. His face appeared grim, almost haggard, in the
+yellow rays of the lamplight.
+
+"Roger, you once promised me anything I might ask," she said softly.
+
+"An' all you have to do is ask," he answered, taking a step toward
+her.
+
+"I'm going to ask you for something, Roger," she said without looking
+at him. "Maybe you'll think it's--it's too much that I ask." She
+glanced up at him doubtfully.
+
+"What is it, Laura?" he insisted.
+
+"I want your gun, Roger," she whispered.
+
+He straightened and stared at her in startled wonder. "But, Laura--a
+man in my position--why--why--where would I be at?"
+
+"Maybe if you gave it to me it would help you find a way out, Roger,"
+she pleaded earnestly.
+
+Rathburn looked into her eyes and thrilled. Then without a word he
+unbuckled his cartridge belt which held his holstered gun, untied the
+strap about his thigh and laid the belt with the weapon upon the
+table.
+
+"Roger!" said the girl. The sob again was in her voice. She reached
+out and placed a hand upon his arm.
+
+An elderly man appeared in the doorway from the kitchen.
+
+"Father, this is Roger," said the girl hurriedly. "He's back."
+
+"What's that? Roger, eh? You mean Rathburn is here?"
+
+The old man peered at the visitor from the doorway, his lean face
+twitching. He stroked his gray beard in indecision. His blue eyes
+looked long at Rathburn, then at the girl, and lastly at the gun and
+belt on the table.
+
+"Well, hello, Rathburn," he said finally, advancing into the room. He
+held out a hand which Rathburn grasped.
+
+"Did you eat yet?" asked Mallory.
+
+"In the hills with Joe Price," replied Rathburn. "But I'm just as much
+obliged."
+
+"Yes, of course," Mallory muttered. "With Joe, eh? He ain't been down
+in months. How is he?"
+
+"Looks good as a gold mine an' thinks he's found one," said Rathburn,
+looking at the girl's father curiously.
+
+"That's what keeps him up," Mallory asserted loudly. "He'll never get
+old as long as he thinks he's got a mine corralled. He ought to try
+stock raisin' for a while. You look older, Rathburn--more filled out.
+Are you still cutting 'em high, wide, an' handsome?"
+
+Rathburn's face clouded.
+
+"Roger's starting new, dad," the girl interposed.
+
+Mallory stared keenly at the younger man. He started to speak, but was
+interrupted by the sound of horses outside the house.
+
+Rathburn whirled toward the door, took a step, and stopped in his
+tracks. The girl's hands flew to the sides of her face, and her eyes
+widened with apprehension.
+
+"I'll go see who it is," said Mallory with a quick look at Rathburn.
+
+He hastened out into the kitchen, and a moment later they heard the
+kitchen door open. There was a murmur of voices. The girl stared at
+Rathburn breathlessly, while he tapped with his slim fingers upon the
+top of the table.
+
+Then Mallory came in. "Somebody to see you," he said to Rathburn.
+
+Rathburn looked once at the white-faced girl and followed her father
+out into the kitchen. She heard them speak in an undertone, and then
+Rathburn came back into the room.
+
+"I ain't much elated over my visitor," he said slowly. "I wish you
+hadn't asked me what you did until--well, until this caller had come
+an' gone."
+
+She looked straight into his eyes in an agony of dread.
+
+"Who is it, Roger?" she asked, wetting her lips.
+
+"Mike Eagen is out there," he answered calmly.
+
+She drew a quick breath, while he waited. Then he turned on his heel
+and started for the kitchen door.
+
+"Roger!" she called.
+
+He swung about and eyed her questioningly. She pointed at the heavy
+belt and gun on the table.
+
+"Take it," she whispered.
+
+He buckled on the belt and tied down the end of the holster so it
+could not slip if he should draw the weapon within it. Then he made
+his way into the kitchen and out of the rear door. Laura Mallory sank
+into a chair, sobbing.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+GUNMEN
+
+
+For a moment Rathburn waited at the kitchen door. He heard Mallory
+going upstairs from the next room. All was still outside, save for the
+stamping of several horses. Then he suddenly opened the door and
+stepped out. There was no sound or movement, as he accustomed his eyes
+to the dim light without. He moved across the threshold and walked
+straight to a bulky figure standing beside a large horse.
+
+"You want to see me, Eagen?" he asked coldly.
+
+"Watch out there, Eagen!" came Mallory's voice in a strident tone from
+a window above them. "I've got you covered with this Winchester!"
+
+Both Rathburn and Eagen looked up and saw Mallory leaning out of a
+window over the kitchen, and the stock of a rifle was snug against his
+cheek and shoulder.
+
+"Acts like he's scared you can't take care of yourself," said Eagen
+with a sneer. "The way you ditched that posse to-day I didn't think
+you needed a bodyguard."
+
+"I don't," Rathburn retorted. "The old man is acting on his own hook.
+You was watching the sport to-day?"
+
+"Couldn't help it," said Eagen. "It was me an' some of the boys they
+was after. You sort of helped us out by coming along an' attracting
+their attention. I pegged you when I saw you ride for it, an' I knew
+they wouldn't get you."
+
+"You mean you hid an' let me stand the gaff," said Rathburn
+scornfully. "That's your style, Eagen. You're plumb afraid to come out
+from under cover."
+
+He noted that there were three men with Eagen. They were quietly
+sitting their horses some little distance behind their leader.
+
+Eagen muttered something, and Rathburn could see his face working with
+rage. Then Eagen's coarse features underwent a change, and he grinned,
+his teeth flashing white under his small, black mustache.
+
+"Look here, Rathburn, there's no use in you an' me being on the outs,"
+he said in an undertone. "We've got something in common."
+
+"You've made a mistake already," Rathburn interrupted sharply. "We
+haven't a thing in common I know of, Eagen, unless it's a gun
+apiece."
+
+"Maybe you think that's all we need," said Eagen hoarsely; "an' if
+that's the way you feel you won't find me backin' down when you start
+something. Just now I ain't forgetting that crazy fool with that rifle
+up there."
+
+"You didn't come here for a gun play, Eagen," said Rathburn. "You
+ain't plumb loco _every_ way. I take it you saw me makin' for this
+place an' followed me here. What do you want?"
+
+"I want to talk business," said Eagen with a hopeful note in his
+voice; "but you won't let me get started."
+
+"An' I won't have dealings with you," said Rathburn crisply.
+
+"That's what you think," sneered Eagen. "But you're in a tight corner,
+an' we can help you out. Long said to-day, I heard just now, that he'd
+put every deputy he had an' every man he could swear in as a special
+on your trail, and he'd get you."
+
+"The thing that I can't see," drawled Rathburn, "is what that's got
+to do with you. I suppose you're here as a missionary to tip me off.
+Thanks."
+
+Eagen had calmed down. He stepped closer to Rathburn and spoke in a
+low tone.
+
+"Here's the lay: They're after you, an' they're after us. I know
+you're no stool pigeon, an' I know I ain't takin' a chance when I tell
+you that we've got a big job comin' up--one that'll get us a pretty
+roll. It takes nerve to pull it off, even though certain things will
+make it easier. You might just as well be in on it. You can make it a
+last job an' blow these parts for good. You don't have to come in, of
+course; but it'll be worth your while. You've got the name, an' you
+might as well have what goes with it. I'll let you head the outfit an'
+shoot square all the way."
+
+Rathburn laughed scornfully. "When I heard you was out here, Eagen, I
+guessed it was something like this that brought you here. Maybe you're
+statin' facts as to this job which, you say, is coming up. But you
+lied when you said you'd shoot square, Eagen. I wouldn't trust you as
+far as you could throw a bull by the tail, an' there's half a dozen
+other reasons why you an' me couldn't be pardners!"
+
+Eagen stepped back with a snarl of rage. "I don't reckon you're
+entitled to what rep you've got!" he blurted hoarsely. "Right down
+under the skin, Rathburn, I believe you're soft!"
+
+"That's puttin' it up to me all fair an' square," Rathburn replied
+evenly. "I'll give it right back to you, Eagen."
+
+"Get that gun out of the window."
+
+"Mallory."
+
+"Right here, Rathburn, an' all set," came Mallory's voice.
+
+"Get that gun out of the window."
+
+"What's that? Don't you see there's three of 'em? You----"
+
+"Get that gun out of the window!" rang Rathburn's voice.
+
+"Let him play with it," Eagen said harshly.
+
+Mallory withdrew from the window, as Eagen reached for his left
+stirrup and swung into the saddle.
+
+"I see you ain't takin' it," Rathburn called to him with a jeering
+laugh.
+
+"An' I ain't forgettin' it?" Eagen shouted, as he drove in his spurs.
+
+His three companions galloped after him, and Rathburn caught sight of
+a dark-skinned face, a pair of beady, black eyes, and the long,
+drooping mustaches of one of the men.
+
+"Gomez!" he exclaimed to himself. "Eagen's takin' up with the
+Mexicans."
+
+Mallory appeared in the kitchen door, holding a lamp above his head.
+"What'd he want?" he demanded of Rathburn.
+
+"More'n he got," answered Rathburn shortly. Then he saw Laura Mallory
+standing behind her father.
+
+"I mean to say he made a little proposition that I had to turn down,"
+he amended, with a direct glance at the girl. "An' now I've got to do
+some more ridin'."
+
+"You leavin' to-night?" asked Mallory in surprise. "We can put you up
+here, Rathburn, an' I'll keep an eye out for visitors."
+
+"And we'd have 'em afore mornin'," said Rathburn grimly. "Eagen will
+see to it that Bob Long knows I was out here, right pronto. But I aim
+to stop any posses from botherin' around your place. If there's one
+thing I don't want to do, Mallory, it's make any trouble for you."
+
+The girl came walking toward him and touched his arm.
+
+"What are you going to do, Roger?" she asked in an anxious voice.
+
+"I'm goin' straight into Hope," Rathburn replied.
+
+"But, Roger," the girl faltered, "won't that mean--mean----"
+
+"A show-down? Maybe so. I ain't side-steppin' it."
+
+A world of worry showed in the girl's eyes. "Roger, why don't you go
+away?" she asked hesitatingly. "Things could be worse, and maybe in
+time they would become better. Folks forget, Roger."
+
+For a moment Rathburn's hand rested on hers, as he looked down at
+her.
+
+"There's two ways of forgettin', girlie," he said soberly. "An' I
+don't want 'em to forget me the wrong way."
+
+"But, Roger, promise me you won't--won't--turn your gun against a man,
+Roger. It would make things so much worse. It would leave--nothing
+now. Don't you see? It takes courage to avoid what seems to be the
+inevitable. That terrible skill which is yours, the trick in this hand
+on mine, is your worst enemy. Oh, Roger, if you'd never learned to
+throw a gun!"
+
+"It isn't that," he told her gently. "It isn't what you think at all.
+I'd rather cut off that right hand than have it raised unfairly
+against a single living thing. They call me a gunman, girlie, an' I
+reckon I am. But I'm not a killer. There's a difference between the
+two, an' sometimes I think it's that difference that's makin' all the
+trouble. I'm still tryin' to steer by that thing you call the compass,
+an' that's why I've got to go to town."
+
+He stepped away from her, waved a farewell to Mallory, who was
+watching the scene with a puzzled expression, and ran for his horse. A
+minute later the ringing hoof beats of his mount were dying in the
+still night.
+
+Laura Mallory swayed, and her father hurried to her with the lamp and
+put his arm about her.
+
+"What's it all about, sweetie?" he asked complainingly.
+
+"Nothing, daddy, nothing--only I love him."
+
+A puff of wind blew out the light in the lamp, and father and daughter
+stood with arms about each other under the dancing stars.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+THE SHERIFF'S PLIGHT
+
+
+Riding slowly Rathburn kept well in toward the range and proceeded
+cautiously. This wasn't alone a safety measure, for he wished to favor
+his horse. The dun had been hard ridden in the spurt to gain the
+mountains ahead of the posse. He had been rested at Price's cabin, to
+be sure, and also at the Mallory ranch; but now Rathburn had a ride of
+fifteen miles to the town of Hope, and he did not know how much riding
+he might have to do next day.
+
+When a scant three miles from Hope, he halted, loosened the saddle
+cinch, and rested his horse, while he himself reclined on the ground
+and smoked innumerable cigarettes. He was in a thoughtful mood,
+serious and somewhat puzzled. The recollection of Eagen's proposition
+caused him to frown frequently. Then a wistful light would glow in his
+eyes, and he thought of Laura Mallory. This would be succeeded by
+another frown, and then his eyes would narrow, and the smile that men
+had come to fear would tremble on his lips.
+
+He was again in the saddle with the first faint glimmer of the
+approaching dawn. He covered the distance into Hope at a swinging lope
+and rode in behind a row of neat, yellow-brick buildings which formed
+the east side of one block on the short main street.
+
+Securing his horse behind a building midway of the rear of the block,
+he entered one of the buildings through a back door. It proved to be
+a combination pool room and soft-drink bar. No one was in the place
+except the porter who was cleaning up. Rathburn noted that the man
+showed no evidences of knowing him, although this was Rathburn's home
+town.
+
+"Kind of early, ain't you, boss?" grinned the porter. "Maybe you're
+lookin' for something to start the day with." He winked broadly.
+
+Rathburn nodded and walked over to the bar.
+
+"Just get in?" asked the porter, as he put out a bottle of white
+liquor and glanced at the dust on Rathburn's clothes.
+
+"Just in," replied Rathburn, pouring and tossing off one drink.
+"Where's everybody? Too early for 'em?"
+
+"Well, it's about an hour too early on the average, unless there's
+been an all-night game," replied the porter, putting the bottle away,
+as his customer declined a second drink. "But then there ain't very
+many in town right now. Everybody's out after the reward money."
+
+Rathburn lifted his brows.
+
+"Say," exclaimed the porter eagerly, "you didn't see any men ridin'
+looselike, when you was coming in, did you?"
+
+Rathburn shook his head. "What's all this you're tryin' to chirp into
+my ear?" he asked.
+
+"Well, Bob Long, the sheriff, has got all his deputies out except just
+the jailer--there ain't anybody much in jail now, anyway--an' all the
+other men he could pin a star on, lookin' for a gang that held up the
+stage from Sunshine yesterday mornin', shot the stage driver dead, an'
+made off with an express package full of money. There's a big reward
+out for the man that's leadin' the gang. He's called The Coyote. Used
+to live here. He's a bad one."
+
+"Sheriff out, too?" Rathburn asked, showing great interest.
+
+"Sure. Come back in early last night an' got more men. They're tryin'
+to surround Imagination Range, I guess. That's where this Coyote an'
+his gang are supposed to be hanging out. The sheriff don't care so
+much for the fellers that's with him, I guess, but he sure does want
+this Coyote person. He told everybody to let the gang go if they had
+to, but to get the leader."
+
+Rathburn looked through the front windows with a quizzical smile on
+his lips. The sun was shining in the deserted street.
+
+"How many men has the sheriff got?" he inquired casually.
+
+"Most two hundred, I guess. They're scattered all over the range, an'
+a lot of 'em has hit over on the other side. They think The Coyote
+crossed the range an' is makin' east."
+
+"Well, maybe he has, an' maybe he hasn't," Rathburn observed. "The
+best place to hide from a posse is in the middle of it."
+
+The porter looked at him, then burst into a loud laugh. "I guess you
+said something that time, pardner. In the middle of it, eh?" He went
+about his work, chuckling, while Rathburn walked to a front window and
+stood looking out.
+
+A few minutes later he stepped quickly back into a corner, as a small
+automobile raced up the street. He sauntered to the rear door, passed
+out with a pleasant word to the porter, and when he gained the open,
+hurried up behind the buildings the length of the block. There he
+turned to the left and walked rapidly to a large stone building. He
+went around on the east side and entered a door on the ground floor.
+He found himself in a hallway, and on his left was a door, on the
+glazed glass of the upper half of which was the gold lettering:
+"Sheriff's Office."
+
+After a moment's hesitation he opened the door quickly and went in. A
+man standing before an open roll-top desk turned and regarded the
+early-morning visitor. He was a small man, but of wiry build. His eyes
+were gray, and he wore a small, brown mustache. He had a firm chin,
+and his face was well tanned. He was holding a paper in his hands, and
+the paper remained as steady as a rock in his grasp. His eyes bored
+straight and unflinchingly into Rathburn's. He showed no surprise, no
+concern. He made no move toward the pair of guns in the holsters of
+the belt which reposed on top of his desk. He spoke first.
+
+"Have you come to give yourself up, Rathburn?"
+
+"Hardly that, sheriff," replied Rathburn cheerfully. "I arrived in
+town this morning after most of the population had moved to the desert
+and the country aroun' Imagination. I didn't think I was goin' to be
+lucky enough to catch you in till I saw you arrive in that flivver.
+Are you back for more recruits?"
+
+The sheriff continued to hold the paper without moving.
+
+"When you first started to talk, Rathburn, I thought maybe bravado had
+brought you here to make a grand-stand play," he said coolly. "But I
+see you're not as foolhardy as some might think. I always gave you
+credit for being clever."
+
+"Thanks, Sheriff Long," said Rathburn dryly. "There's a few
+preliminaries we've got to get over, so----"
+
+His gun leaped into his hand and instantly covered the official. He
+stepped to the end of the desk, reached over and appropriated the belt
+with the two guns with his left hand. He tossed the belt and weapons
+to a vacant chair.
+
+"Now, sheriff, I didn't come lookin' for a cell like you hinted; I
+drifted in for a bit of information."
+
+"This is headquarters for that article, especially if it's about
+yourself," said Long, dropping the paper on his desk and sitting down
+in the chair before it.
+
+"What all have you got against me?" frowned Rathburn.
+
+"Nothing much," said the sheriff with biting sarcasm; "just a few
+killings, highway robbery, a bank stick-up, two or three gaming houses
+looted, and a stage holdup. Enough to keep you in the Big House for
+ninety-nine years and then hang you."
+
+Rathburn nodded. "You're sure an ambitious man, sheriff. The killings
+now--there was White and Moran, that you know about, an' a skunk over
+in California named Carlisle, that you don't know about, I guess. I
+couldn't get away from those shootings, sheriff."
+
+"How about Simpson and Manley?" countered the official scornfully.
+
+"Not on my list," said Rathburn quickly. "I heard I was given credit
+for those affairs, but I wasn't a member of the party where they were
+snuffed out."
+
+"If you can make a jury believe that, you're in the clear," said Long.
+"But how about that stage driver yesterday morning?"
+
+Rathburn's face darkened. "I got in from the west just in time to
+stumble on that gang of rats," he flared. "That's how your men came to
+see me. The chase happened to come in my direction, that's all."
+
+"If you can prove that, you're all right again," the sheriff pointed
+out. "The law will go halfway with you, Rathburn."
+
+"An' I probably wouldn't be able to prove it," said Rathburn bitterly.
+"Those other things--the bank job an' the gamblin' stick-ups--I was
+younger then, sheriff, an' no one can say that that bank sharp didn't
+do me dirt."
+
+"If you can show a good, reasonable doubt in those other cases,
+Rathburn, I know the court would show leniency if the jury found you
+guilty on the counts you just mentioned," said the sheriff earnestly.
+"I'm minded to believe you, so far as yesterday's work was concerned.
+I have an idea or two myself, but I haven't been able to get a good
+line on my man. He's too tricky. Of course I'm not going to urge you
+to do anything against your will. I appreciate your position. You're a
+fugitive, but you have your liberty. Perhaps you can get away clean,
+though I doubt it. But there's that chance, and you've naturally got
+to take it into consideration. And you're not _sure_ of anything if
+you go to trial on the charges there are against you. But it would
+count like sixty in your favor, Rathburn, if you'd give yourself up."
+
+Rathburn stared at the official speculatively. His thoughts flashed
+back along the years to the time when he and Laura Mallory had played
+together as children. He thought of what she had said the night before
+about the compass. He shifted uneasily on his feet.
+
+"Funny thing, sheriff, but I had some such fool notion," he
+confessed.
+
+"It takes nerve, Rathburn, for a man who is wanted to walk in and give
+up his gun," said the sheriff quietly.
+
+"I was thinking of something else," said Rathburn. "An' I've got to
+think some more about this that you've sort of put in my head."
+
+"How much time do you want, Rathburn?" asked Long.
+
+Rathburn scowled. "Our positions haven't changed," he said curtly.
+"I'm still the man you're lookin' for. I'll have to do my thinkin' on
+my own hook, I reckon."
+
+"Just as you say," Long said gravely. "Go over what I've told you
+carefully and don't make any more false moves while you're making up
+your mind. You wounded one of my men yesterday."
+
+"I shot high on purpose," Rathburn pointed out. "I didn't aim to be
+corralled just then."
+
+"I know you did," was the sheriff's rejoinder. "I know you could have
+killed him. I gave you credit for it."
+
+"You give me credit for quite a few things, sheriff," said Rathburn
+whimsically. "An' now you'll have to give me credit for bein' plumb
+cautious. It ain't my intention to have my thinking spell disturbed."
+
+His gun flashed in his hand.
+
+"I'll have to ask you to go inside an' occupy one of your own cells,
+sheriff, while I'm wanderin' around an' debatin' the subject."
+
+"I know you too well, Rathburn," said the sheriff with a grim smile.
+"I'm not armed, and I don't intend to obey you. If you intend to shoot
+you might just as well start!"
+
+Rathburn gazed at him coolly for a moment; then he shoved his gun in
+its holster and leaped.
+
+Quick as he was, Long was quicker. The sheriff was out of his chair in
+a twinkling, and he made a flying tackle, grasping Rathburn about the
+legs. The two fell to the floor and rolled over and over in their
+struggles.
+
+Although Rathburn was the larger man, the sheriff seemed made of steel
+wire. He twisted out of Rathburn's holds, one after another. In one
+great effort he freed himself and leaped to his feet. Rathburn was up
+instantly. Long drove a straight right that grazed Rathburn's jaw and
+staggered him, but Rathburn blocked the next blow and succeeded in
+upper-cutting his left to the sheriff's chin.
+
+They went into another clinch, and the sheriff got the better of the
+close fighting. Rathburn's face was bleeding, where it had been cut on
+a leg of the chair, when they were struggling on the floor. The feel
+of trickling crimson drove him mad. He threw Long off in an amazing
+burst of strength and then sent his right to the sheriff's jaw with
+all the force he could put into it.
+
+Long dropped to the floor, and Rathburn raised him and carried him to
+a door leading into the jail proper. As he drew open the door, he drew
+his gun and threw it down on the astonished jailer who was dozing in
+the little office outside the bars.
+
+"Open up!" Rathburn commanded.
+
+The jailer hastened to obey, as he saw the appearance of Rathburn's
+face and the dangerous look in his eyes.
+
+Rathburn compelled him at the point of his gun to lead the way to a
+cell in the rear, unlock it, and go inside. Rathburn pushed Long, who
+was regaining his senses, in after him and took the jailer's keys.
+
+"Tell Long I'm thinkin' over what he told me," he said to the jailer,
+as he locked them in.
+
+Then he hurried back to the entrance, locked it, and tossed the keys
+in through the bars.
+
+He wet his handkerchief with ice water from a tank in Long's office,
+wiped his face clean, and left the building.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+A NEW COUNT
+
+
+As Rathburn wended his way to an obscure restaurant on a side street
+of the little town which was the county seat of Mesquite County, his
+thoughts were busy with what he had learned from the sheriff. He knew
+the official had been right when he said that it would react in
+Rathburn's favor if he gave himself up. Some of the counts on which he
+would be indicted undoubtedly would be quashed; others he might
+disprove. There was a chance that he might get off lightly; in any
+event he would have to spend a number of years in prison.
+
+Rathburn looked up at the bright sky. At the end of the street he
+could see the desert, and far beyond, the blue outlines of the
+mountains. It seemed to him that the sunshine was brighter on this
+deadly morning when he struggled with troubled thoughts. Having always
+lived in the open, liberty meant everything to him.
+
+But constantly his thoughts reverted to Laura Mallory. What did she
+expect of him? What would she think if he were to give himself up? Her
+talk of the compass--his conscience--bothered him. Why should she say
+such a thing if she didn't feel more than a friendly interest in him?
+Did she care for him then?
+
+Rathburn laughed mirthlessly, as he entered the eating house. There
+was no doubt of it--he was a fool. He continued to think, as he ate;
+by the time he had finished he found himself in a bad mental state.
+He wiped some moisture from his forehead, as he left the restaurant.
+For a moment he felt panicky. He was wavering!
+
+The tenor of his thoughts caused him to abandon his caution. He turned
+the corner by the State Bank of Hope and walked boldly down the
+street. Few pedestrians were about. None took any special notice of
+him, and none recognized him. He turned in at the resort he had
+visited when he first arrived that morning.
+
+He started, as he entered the place. A deep frown gathered on his
+face. Gomez, Eagen's Mexican henchman, was at the bar. At first
+Rathburn feigned ignorance of the Mexican's presence; but Gomez smiled
+at him, his white teeth glistening against his swarthy skin.
+
+Rathburn marveled at the audacity of the Mexican, who undoubtedly was
+one of those who had held up the stage the day before, in coming
+boldly into town. Then he recollected that the sheriff had mentioned
+he had an idea of who was responsible for that job, but had been
+unable to get a line on his man. Eagen and his gang were evidently
+well covered up. If such were the case, Eagen himself might be in
+town.
+
+It was because he thought he might learn something from Gomez that he
+finally acknowledged the fellow's greeting by a nod.
+
+The Mexican left the bar and walked up to him.
+
+"We are not afraid to come in town, Mr. Coyote," he murmured.
+
+"Drop that name," said Rathburn sharply in an undertone. "Is Eagen
+here?"
+
+"He is here," replied Gomez with another display of his white teeth.
+"You want to see him? He is up talking with Mr. Doane."
+
+Doane! Rathburn remembered the name instantly as being the same which
+had been spoken by Laura Mallory the night before. He remembered, too,
+the man who had been there and who had driven away to town in the
+little car. He surmised that this man had been Doane; and it had been
+he who had brought the information of Rathburn's arrival and the
+posse's pursuit to the girl.
+
+"You want to see him?" asked Gomez craftily.
+
+Rathburn had a consuming aversion for the wily Mexican. He hated the
+shifty look in his eyes and his oily tongue.
+
+"Not yet," he answered shortly.
+
+"He will be here maybe," said Gomez eagerly. "It is you change your
+mind?"
+
+Rathburn scowled. The Mexican then knew all about the proposition
+Eagen had made to him the night before. Perhaps he could get more
+information from him than he had suspected.
+
+"What job is it Eagen is planning?" he asked in a low voice.
+
+There were several men at the bar now, and both Rathburn and the
+Mexican were keeping an eye upon them.
+
+"Oh, that he will have to tell you himself when you are ready," Gomez
+replied.
+
+Rathburn snorted in keen disgust. But Gomez sidled up to him.
+
+"You go to the Mallory rancho last night," he whispered. "You are not
+the only one there last night." His smile flashed again, as Rathburn
+looked at him quickly.
+
+"There was another there before," he continued; "Mr. Doane. He goes
+there, too. You have been away a long time, and Mr. Doane take the
+advantage."
+
+Rathburn's eyes were narrowing, and the Mexican evidently took his
+face for an encouraging sign.
+
+"Mr. Doane--he is not lucky at cards," continued Gomez. "He like to
+play, and he play lots; but not too well. Maybe he have more luck in
+love--while you are away."
+
+"What do you mean?" asked Rathburn through his teeth.
+
+"Oh, you do not know?" The Mexican raised his black brows. "While you
+are away, Mr. Doane make hay while the sun shine bright. He was there
+much. He was there last night before you. He tries hard to steal your
+señorita before you come, and he will try to keep her now." He winked
+slyly.
+
+Rathburn suddenly grasped him by the throat. "What are you tryin' to
+say?" he asked sternly, shaking the Mexican like a rat.
+
+Gomez broke away, his black eyes darting fire. "You are a fool!" he
+exclaimed. "You get nothing. Even your woman, she is stole right under
+your eyes. Doane, he goes there, and he gets her. She fall for him
+fast. Then she talks to you with sugar in her mouth, and you believe.
+Bah! You think the Señorita Mallory----"
+
+Rathburn's open palm crashed against the Mexican's mouth.
+
+"Don't speak her name, you greaser!"
+
+Gomez staggered back under the force of the slap. His eyes were pin
+points of fire. He raised his right hand to his mouth and then to the
+brim of his sombrero. His breath came in hissing gasps, as the hatred
+blazed in his glittering eyes.
+
+Rathburn's face was white under its heavy coating of tan. He saw the
+few men at the bar turn and look in their direction, and he realized
+instinctively that these men were gamblers and shady characters who
+were probably friends of Eagen and his gang.
+
+"I give you my regards," cried Gomez in a frenzy of rage. "You--gringo!"
+
+His right hand tipped his sombrero in a lightning move, and there was
+a flash in the sunlight filtering through the back windows, as
+Rathburn's gun barked at his hip.
+
+Gomez crumpled backward to the floor, as the knife dropped from his
+grasp at the beginning of the throw.
+
+Rathburn, still holding his smoking gun ready, walked rapidly past the
+men at the bar and gained the open through the door at the rear.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+THE COMPASS FAILS
+
+
+In the alley behind the buildings fronting on the main street,
+Rathburn paused in indecision, while he shoved his gun into the
+holster on his thigh. He had known by the look in Gomez's eyes that he
+was going to throw a knife. Instinct had caused him to watch the
+Mexican's right hand, and, in the instant when Gomez had secured the
+knife from his hat and snapped back his hand for the throw, Rathburn
+had drawn and fired. He knew well the dexterity of a man of Gomez's
+stamp with a knife. The gun route was the only chance to protect his
+life. But Rathburn realized, too, that he had shot to kill!
+
+He had been incensed by the Mexican's subtle insinuations--maddened by
+the way he leered when he spoke Laura Mallory's name. He had virtually
+been driven to it. Even now he could not see how he could have avoided
+it.
+
+Securing his horse, Rathburn rode swiftly around a back street to a
+small barn on the edge of the desert. He ordered his mount watered and
+fed. He had known the man who owned this barn, but the individual who
+attended to his horse was a new employee. He sat in the little front
+office which also served as the quarters of the night man, while his
+horse was being looked after. He had not removed his saddle.
+
+Rathburn's thoughts dwelt on what Gomez had said. There was no
+question but that the Mexican had taken liberties in saying what he
+did, but there was more than a glimmer of truth in his statements.
+Rathburn had seen the man leaving Laura Mallory on the porch of the
+Mallory ranch house. She had mentioned a man named Doane as having
+brought word that he, Rathburn, was back in the country and in more
+trouble. Now Gomez had identified this visitor as Doane, the man who
+had been calling on Laura Mallory regularly. Rathburn's brows wrinkled
+at the thought. But why not? What hold had he upon her? It certainly
+wasn't within his rights to resent the fact that another man had found
+the girl attractive. But, to his increasing torment, he found that he
+_did_ resent it; he couldn't help it!
+
+Suddenly he remembered that Gomez had said Eagen was paying a call on
+Doane. What could Eagen have to do with Doane which would warrant his
+visiting him early in the morning? Rathburn recalled that Gomez had
+intimated that Doane liked to play cards. Was the man then a
+professional gambler? But no, Gomez had said he did not play well.
+
+Rathburn tried to recollect where he had seen this man Doane before.
+The blond face and mustache were vaguely familiar. Again he strove to
+place the man without result.
+
+He shrugged his shoulders, drew out his gun, and replaced the empty
+shell with a fresh cartridge. He dropped the weapon back into his
+holster and went outside to see about his horse. The dun still was
+feeding. Rathburn contented himself with looking over his saddle and
+readjusting the small slicker pack on its rear. Then he paced the
+length of the barn, frowning in a thoughtful mood.
+
+There was only one thing he was reasonably sure of; no one around the
+town knew that he was the outlaw known as The Coyote. He had not seen
+anybody he knew except the sheriff, and that official was safely out
+of the way for the present. Gomez had mentioned his name when they had
+first met, but he had not been heard save by Rathburn. Therefore, if
+they were looking for the man who had shot down Gomez, they were
+merely looking for a man measuring up to his description; and Rathburn
+doubted if anything would be done until the authorities had been
+notified. Visitors to the sheriff's office would find Long out and
+would assume that he had not returned from the chase in the hills. It
+might be another hour before the sheriff's predicament was discovered.
+And in that hour----
+
+Rathburn caught himself up with another shrug. He was falling a prey
+to his former hopeless trend of thought. Resentment was swelling
+within him again, and he struggled to put it down. Perhaps it would be
+safer to yield to the inclination to take a chance on the courts.
+
+It was after nine o'clock when he rode out of the barn. He proceeded
+straight toward the main street of the town. He was struggling
+with a half-formed resolve; summoning courage by shutting out all
+recollections save that of Laura Mallory's apparently earnest remark
+about the compass.
+
+Reaching the main street, he started to turn the corner at the bank
+building when he suddenly checked his horse and stared at two people
+walking up the opposite side of the street. Rathburn recognized the
+girl immediately. She was Laura Mallory. A moment later he caught a
+glimpse of the man's face, as he half turned toward Rathburn,
+laughing. He had taken Laura's arm. It was Doane!
+
+The realization that Laura had come to town and was in the company of
+Doane stunned Rathburn. More than anything else it had the effect of
+convincing him that Gomez had been right when he had hinted that
+Doane was successful in love. Hadn't she told him to take his gun when
+Eagen had been waiting for him? Had she thought, perhaps, that there
+would be gun play, and that Eagen might emerge the victor, thus
+assuring her that he, Rathburn, would bother her no more?
+
+Rathburn's eyes narrowed, and his face froze, as he watched Laura and
+Doane out of sight up the street. He knew now why he had had to come
+back. There was nothing left--nothing but his dreams, his sinister
+reputation, and his gun!
+
+He looked about in a different way from that in which he had first
+surveyed the street, now showing life. His gaze encountered the bank
+building. The door was open. The bank doubtless opened at nine
+o'clock. He remembered that this was so. A second of indecision, then
+he moved in front of the bank. He dismounted, flung the reins over the
+dun's head, and entered briskly.
+
+Two men were behind the screens of the two cages. Rathburn approached
+a window and nodded to the man behind it. Then his gun leaped into his
+hand, and he covered the pair.
+
+"Reach high an' hard!" he commanded. "An' quick!"
+
+The men in the cages hesitated; but the look in Rathburn's eyes
+convinced them, and they raised their hands over their heads. Rathburn
+leaped to the ledge outside the window and climbed nimbly over the
+wire network of the cage. Then he dropped to the floor inside.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+FAST WORK
+
+
+Quickly and methodically Rathburn went about his work. His face was
+drawn and pale, but his eyes glittered with a deadly earnestness which
+was not lost upon the two men who obeyed his orders without question.
+The very boldness of his intrepid undertaking must have convinced them
+that here was no common bandit. He herded them back toward the vault
+at the point of his gun. Then he ordered them into the vault.
+
+"Now then," he said crisply, "you know what I'm after. Trot it out!"
+
+One of the men, evidently an assistant cashier or head teller, who was
+in charge, opened a compartment of the inner safe and pulled out a
+drawer. Rathburn could see the packages of bills. He looked quickly
+about and saw a pile of empty coin sacks on a shelf.
+
+"Fill two of those large sacks," he instructed the other man.
+
+The clerk hastened to carry out his orders and jammed package after
+package of bills into one of the largest of the coin sacks. Both men
+were white-faced and frightened. They did not try to delay the
+proceedings. Rathburn looked dangerous; and what was more sinister, he
+went about his nefarious business in a cool, calm, confident manner.
+He did not look like the Rathburn who had visited Laura Mallory the
+night before, nor the Rathburn who had talked with the sheriff. In
+this critical moment he was in look, mood, and gesture The Coyote at
+his worst--worthy of all the terrible things that had been whispered
+about him.
+
+It may be that the bank employees suspected as much. It may be that
+they didn't believe it would be possible for the outlaw to make his
+get-away in broad daylight, and it was certain that they stood in
+mighty fear of him. They cowered back, pale and shaking, as he calmly
+took the sack, heavy with its weight of bank notes of healthy
+denomination, and stepped to the entrance to the big vault.
+
+"When they come an' let you out," said Rathburn, "you can tell them
+that the gent who helped himself to the berries in the cash box is
+just beginnin' to cash in on the reputation that's been wished on
+him!"
+
+He smiled grimly, as he swung the light, inner door of the vault shut
+and clamped down the lever. He slid his gun into its holster and,
+carrying the sack of loot, walked out of the door of the second cage
+toward the main entrance of the bank. As he reached the door, a man
+came up the steps. Rathburn recognized Doane, and his lips curled in a
+snarl. It was the first time Doane had come face to face with him, but
+the man started back in surprise.
+
+"Rathburn!" he exclaimed.
+
+Rathburn hesitated. His first feeling of instinctive animosity fled.
+He scowled in a swift effort to place the man, and the thought that in
+an indirect way Doane was partly responsible for what had come to pass
+flashed through his tortured brain. This brought swift comprehension
+of his immediate danger. Now that he had taken the decisive step he
+would have to call upon all his resources of courage and cunning to
+protect his liberty. The die had been cast!
+
+He hurried past Doane, swung into the saddle, and rode at a swift
+pace around the corner, leaving Doane standing on the steps of the
+bank, staring after him with an expression of amazement on his face.
+
+Rathburn knew it would be but a matter of a very few minutes before
+the knowledge that the State Bank of Hope had been held up and
+robbed--would be common property in the town. The very boldness of the
+robbery had insured its success, for none would dream that a lone
+bandit would have the nerve to come into town in broad daylight, hold
+up the bank, and attempt to run for it across the open, burning spaces
+of the desert. But he was not aware of the coincidence which would
+make the news of the robbery known sooner than he expected.
+
+At the end of the side street he struck boldly across the desert,
+driving in his spurs and urging the gallant dun to its top speed. In a
+matter of minutes he was out of view of the town--a speck bobbing amid
+the clumps of mesquite, palo verde, and cactus. He raced for the
+mountains in the northwest.
+
+There was another element of uncertainty which entered into the
+probability of quick pursuit, as he had shrewdly divined. It might be
+some time before the sheriff's predicament was discovered. Meanwhile
+most of the male population was scouring the vicinity of Imagination
+Range looking for him, and there would be no one to lead a second
+posse until the sheriff was liberated. There was nothing in sight
+behind him toward town except the vista of dry desert vegetation
+swimming in the heat. Rathburn rode on with a feeling of security, so
+far as trouble from that quarter was concerned.
+
+His thoughts were in a turmoil, and he passed a shaking hand over his
+damp brow. The resentment had given way to grim decision and
+determination. Well, he had shown them what The Coyote could do. They
+would remember that job; they could lay that at his door. The proceeds
+would carry him a long way. They had given him his reputation, and he
+would make the game worth the candle!
+
+The old fierce defiance of misguided youth was in his veins. He felt a
+wild exultation seize him. Doubt and all problems were set aside. His
+eyes glowed with a reckless light, as he raced on toward the blue
+hills.
+
+Doane had known him--had called him by name. Therefore Doane knew he
+was The Coyote--the outlaw with a price on his head. So much the
+better. He _wanted_ them to know!
+
+The sun was at its zenith, as he passed above the Mallory place. He
+did not once turn his head and look down upon it. His jaw was squared,
+his lips pressed tight, as he guided his horse into the winding
+foothills of the range. In a narrow cañon he dismounted and undid his
+slicker pack. When he again tied it behind the saddle it contained the
+bag which held the bank notes he had taken that morning. He pushed on
+in the early afternoon.
+
+He now rode with more caution. The fact that he had not seen any
+members of the posses which were scouring the hills, he accredited to
+ignorance on their part of the fact that he had been at the Mallory
+ranch the night before and had gone into town. These things they had
+hardly had time to learn. More than likely they had assumed that he
+had crossed the mountains, and it was possible that most of the men on
+the hunt were on the east side of the range. He became more and more
+convinced of this as the afternoon wore on, but he did not relax his
+vigilance. His face had clouded.
+
+"We made a mistake, hoss," he muttered, "in not remembering to hunt up
+Mike Eagen first thing."
+
+In the quick moves following his sudden momentous decision, he had
+forgotten Eagen. This fact now bothered him. He had a score to settle
+with Eagen on general principles. This did not mean that he
+necessarily would have to shoot Eagen down; but he wanted Eagen to
+hear straight out what he thought of him. It might be a long time
+before he could gratify that desire after the events of this day.
+
+Slowly he proceeded, not once venturing upon a high spot until he had
+investigated by crawling to a vantage point on his hands and knees. It
+was sundown when he saw the first riders. Two were farther down the
+slopes to westward, and several more were far to eastward. It was true
+then that Long had thrown a cordon about the section of the mountains
+which he had been seen to enter the day before.
+
+However, Rathburn's knowledge of the range and the secrets of the
+mountain trails gave him a distinct advantage over the inexperienced
+members of the posses. True, there were deputies and some others who
+were experienced; but they were in the minority.
+
+Rathburn realized that the sheriff must have been released some hours
+before, and that his escapade of the morning would stimulate the man
+hunt. The rewards would be increased, and every able-bodied man in
+Hope would doubtless join in the scramble for the reward money. He was
+satisfied that Sheriff Long's order would be to "shoot on sight!"
+
+On the very crest of the range he paused in the shelter of the rocks.
+There still was a fair chance for him to get away clean to eastward.
+The sheriff had not had time to get more men over there, and by making
+a break into the southeast and then cutting straight to the east,
+there was a strong possibility that he would succeed in circling
+around the posse and effect his escape.
+
+But something was drawing him to Joe Price! He did not quite
+understand that it was the desire to confide in and confess to his
+friend what had actuated his choice of moral trails. But the yearning
+was there, and he was yielding to it. He conjectured shrewdly that
+Long might not dream that he would have the temerity again to enter
+the very district where he was being sought. It was his belief that
+the best place to hide from a posse was in the midst of it!
+
+It was this confidence, almost as much as his skill in trailing, which
+enabled him to gain a point above Joe Price's cabin in the early
+twilight. He waited patiently until the curtain of night had fallen,
+and the stars had replaced the fading banners of the sunset, before he
+slipped down a steep slope and walked his horse into the cañon below
+the old miner's abode.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+THE COMPASS WAVERS
+
+
+Joe Price regarded Rathburn with a curious look in his eyes when he
+beheld him in the doorway of his cabin. He stepped swiftly to the one
+window, which was over the table, and dropped the burlap shade. Then
+he closed the door.
+
+"So they've been here?" asked Rathburn.
+
+"What else could you expect?" replied Price testily. "They're combin'
+these hills for you." He looked at Rathburn keenly, but Rathburn only
+smiled.
+
+"That's not news to me," he said quietly; "I've percolated through
+their lines twice."
+
+"Stay here," said Price, "and I'll look after your horse--or were you
+hidin' up all day?"
+
+"No such luck," answered Rathburn grimly.
+
+The old man looked at him curiously; then he went out of the door,
+closing it carefully after him.
+
+Rathburn found cold food, put it on the table, and sat down to eat.
+When Price returned he had finished. The old miner sat down in a chair
+opposite Rathburn.
+
+"Now, out with it," he said. "Something has happened. I can see it in
+the way you look an' act. What's up?"
+
+Rathburn carefully rolled a brown-paper cigarette, snapped a match
+into flame, and lit it before he replied. He was half smiling.
+
+"I held up the State Bank of Hope this mornin' an' extracted a bag of
+perfectedly good bills," he announced. "Didn't bother with the counter
+money. Made 'em serve me from the vault."
+
+Joe Price's eyelids did not even flicker.
+
+"Any idear what you got?" he asked.
+
+"Not whatsoever," replied Rathburn coolly; "but the smallest I saw on
+top of the package was a fifty."
+
+Price nodded. "You got plenty," he said.
+
+Rathburn scowled. He had expected some kind of an outbreak--at least a
+remonstrance from his old friend. He glanced about uneasily and then
+glared defiance at Price.
+
+"It had to come, Joe," he asserted. "There wasn't any way out of it.
+What's more, I killed that greased pard of Eagen's, Gomez."
+
+"How so?" queried Price.
+
+"Well, I'll tell _you_, Joe, but I don't expect it to go any further.
+He said something about Laura Mallory an' a man named Doane, an' I
+didn't like it. I slapped him. Then he went for a knife he had in his
+hat."
+
+The old man nodded again. "I see," he said simply. "You shot him. Not
+a bad riddance. How did you come to rob the bank, Rathburn?"
+
+Rathburn's gaze again shifted uneasily. Then he rose with a burning
+look at Price, walked up and down the slanting length of the cabin,
+and halted before the old miner.
+
+"Joe," he said in a tremulous voice, "it's the last ditch. I can't get
+away from it. I thought I could tell you--an old friend--the whole
+story, but I can't, Joe. That's the devil of it! There's something
+wrong with me. I reckon I'm one of those fellows who just had
+everything mapped out for him. I had some trouble, Joe, an' it's
+started something--something I can't control. They _had_ to remember
+me, an' I gave them something to remember me by!"
+
+"Who do you mean by 'they,' Rathburn?" asked the miner.
+
+"Sheriff Long an' the others," said Rathburn quickly. "There wasn't a
+chance for me. Why, I was thinking of giving myself up only this
+morning. Joe, it ain't in the pictures--not after I let Gomez have it.
+Even after I stopped Gomez I had an idea that I could face the music.
+Besides, Joe, there's more to this than you think. They call me The
+Coyote, an', Joe, so help me, from now on I am!"
+
+"Did you stop at the Mallory place?" asked Price quietly.
+
+Rathburn did not reply at once. With agony in his eyes he looked at
+his old friend, and suddenly he bristled:
+
+"I might as well never have gone there," he flung out. "I see now I
+wasn't wanted. I found out as much from Gomez. He told me about
+Laura's affair with that fellow Doane. But what could I expect? I
+wasn't entitled to no thought from her, an' I should have known as
+much. I'm just a plain fool--a worse one now than I was before."
+
+Joe Price's faded blue eyes glowed with comprehension.
+
+"You thought Laura had put you off, so you gave in an' robbed the
+bank, Rathburn, an' just naturally made a mess of things when you had
+a chance," said the old man stoutly. "That ain't actin' with a lick of
+sense. You wasn't gettin' square with anybody, an' you wasn't doin'
+that girl right by takin' the word of Gomez."
+
+"I saw the two of them, her an' Doane, in Hope this morning, walkin'
+down the street, arm in arm, laughing--probably over me," Rathburn
+replied bitterly. "I've got eyes, and I can put two an' two together.
+I'm only The Coyote with her, and I'll _be_ The Coyote. She took my
+gun an' then gave it back when Mike Eagen showed up, thinkin' maybe
+there'd be gun play, an' I'd get mine."
+
+"Now you shet up!" shrilled Price. "I reckon you've lost all the
+brains you ever did have? Do you think Laura would keep your gun,
+knowin' there might be trouble, an' you wouldn't have any way to
+protect yourself? Don't you suppose she knows you're as fast as Eagen?
+She's no fool, if you are. But, if you've got to stay the fool, you
+better be lightin' out with your winnings. An' you're not takin' the
+bank's money, either."
+
+"What do you mean by that?" scowled Rathburn, who had been thoughtful
+while his friend was speaking.
+
+"I had money in that bank, Rathburn, an' so did Mallory, an' there's a
+lot more of us----"
+
+"I'll give you back your money," Rathburn growled. "Anyway, they're
+protected by insurance, an' the insurance people can hunt me till
+doomsday--I guess." He was cooling off rapidly.
+
+"Maybe they are," said Price, "an' maybe they ain't. But it ain't
+goin' to help you none the way you're goin' to feel about it later, no
+matter who loses it."
+
+Rathburn was pacing the room, frowning. Twice he started to speak, but
+the words failed to come. Then he put a question. "Who is this man
+Doane? He knew me, for I met him when I was comin' out of the bank,
+an' he called me by name."
+
+"Doane is cashier of the bank down at Hope. He was likely just comin'
+to work when you met him."
+
+Rathburn stared with an incredulous expression. "You're sure?" But
+even as he put the question, Rathburn placed his man.
+
+"I'm dead certain on it," declared Price.
+
+Rathburn sat down heavily and took his hat in his hand.
+
+"That makes it different," he said dully, as if to himself. "Maybe
+she's stuck on him for his money, an' maybe she's stuck on him because
+he's a good guy. Maybe this thing would hurt him."
+
+"Oh, I don't think they'd blame him," said Price with a note of
+consolation in his voice; "an' he probably wouldn't lose nothin'."
+
+"But she might think--it might be that she----" Rathburn swung his hat
+to his head and rose. He walked toward the door, but Joe Price got in
+his way.
+
+"Where you goin'?" he asked.
+
+"To the Mallory ranch!"
+
+"You can't get there!" said Price hoarsely, pushing him back.
+
+"I've got to get there!" answered Rathburn grimly, pushing the old man
+aside. "I must see Laura."
+
+"You got here just by luck," Price pointed out. "An' there's more men
+in by now. Maybe they know you're here. But wait till I get your
+horse--he's hid."
+
+"Get him," Rathburn commanded.
+
+After a moment's hesitation Price went out the door, and he returned
+almost instantly. He walked to the table and blew out the light. "Go
+to the door an' see," he urged in an excited voice.
+
+Rathburn hurried out. High on the mountain above the cañon a fire was
+burning.
+
+"It's the signal," Price whispered in his ear.
+
+"Joe, do me a last favor," said Rathburn in a queer voice. "Get me my
+hoss before it's too late!"
+
+The old man obediently slipped into the shadows behind the cabin.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+GUNS IN THE NIGHT
+
+
+When Joe Price returned, leading Rathburn's horse which he had fed and
+watered, and turned over the reins, he spoke swiftly in a low voice:
+
+"They'll be watchin' hard for you down the cañon, boy. Bob Long's sure
+to mean business this 'ere time."
+
+"Well, I know it," said Rathburn with a low, mirthless laugh. "I
+locked him in his own jail this mornin' to get a clean chance to
+decide to give myself up. Then, when the chance came--well, he surely
+thinks now that I put him away to cover my tracks. I expect the boys
+have got their shootin' orders."
+
+"Listen!" whispered Price excitedly. "Wait till I get my own horse,
+an' I'll strike east across the hump. That'll start 'em after me
+maybe--sure it will, Rathburn! They'll think I'm you, see, an' light
+right out after me."
+
+Rathburn laid one hand on the old man's shoulder and put the other
+over Joe's mouth.
+
+"Joe, you're all excited--plumb unreasonable excited. You know I
+wouldn't let you do that. Now don't hand me more worries than I've
+got. Be good, Joe." He patted Price's shoulder, then swung into the
+saddle.
+
+The old miner looked up at him, his face showing strangely white in
+the dim starlight, pierced by the fire on the peak.
+
+"I didn't tell 'em you'd been here, Roger; don't forget that!"
+
+"I knew that, Joe," Rathburn chuckled. "So long."
+
+Swiftly he rode down the little meadow below the spring into the deep
+shadows of the cañon which led down a steep trail to the desert.
+Presently he checked his pace until he was walking the gallant dun. He
+wished to avoid as much noise as possible, and to save the horse for a
+final spurt down nine miles of desert to the Mallory ranch from the
+mouth of the cañon--providing he got out.
+
+For two reasons he had deliberately chosen this route: it was
+shortest, and it offered the best going. He must save the dun's
+strength. Rathburn knew the limits of his splendid mount; knew they
+had almost been reached; knew there was just enough left in the horse
+to make the ranch without killing him. The Coyote would surrender
+before he would kill his horse to effect his escape or gain an
+objective!
+
+Thus they slipped down the narrow cañon, with the desert stars
+gleaming white above the lava hills of Imagination Range, while the
+fire glowed on the peak above Joe Price's cabin. Rathburn's face was
+pale under his tan; his thoughts were in a turmoil, but his lips were
+pressed into a fine line that denoted an unwavering determination. Had
+Sheriff Bob Long seen his face at this time he might have glimpsed
+another angle of Rathburn's many-sided character--an angle which would
+have given him pause.
+
+Rathburn looked behind, and his eyes narrowed. Two fires were burning
+on the peak.
+
+Already the watchers were cognizant of his latest move and were
+signaling to those who might be below. He wondered vaguely why they
+had not surrounded Joe Price's cabin while he had been there. Then he
+realized he had been there hardly long enough for his pursuers to get
+there in any number. Suddenly his thoughts were broken into by a
+streak of red in the cañon depths below him. He swerved close against
+the rock wall, drew his gun, and, speaking to the dun, drove in his
+spurs.
+
+A short distance below he could see the faint glow of the starlight
+night and knew he was near the cañon's mouth. There were more streaks
+of red, and bullets whistled past him. Then Rathburn raised his gun
+and sent half its deadly contents crashing down into the trail ahead.
+
+There followed a few moments of quiet, broken only by the harsh,
+ringing pound of his mount's hoofs. Rathburn could see open country
+just ahead. Then a flash of fire came from almost under him, and the
+big dun lunged into the air, half twisting, and came down upon some
+object under its hoofs. The dun bounded on in great leaps, literally
+flying through the air, as Rathburn thrilled with the knowledge that
+the horse had knocked down the man who had sought to kill him.
+
+From above came sharp reports, and the blackness of the high cañon
+walls was streaked with spurts of flame. Leaden death hurled itself
+into the rock trail behind him. Then he was out of the cañon, riding
+like mad through the white desert night toward his goal--the Mallory
+ranch!
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Laura Mallory stood on the porch of the little ranch house, staring
+out across the dimly lit spaces of desert. A worried look appeared in
+her eyes. The front door was open, and in the small sitting room her
+father was reading under a shaded lamp at the table. At times the
+worried look in the girl's eyes would change to one of wistfulness,
+and twice the tears welled.
+
+Presently she straightened and listened intently, looking into the
+south instead of northwest. Her ears, keen as are those of the desert
+born, had caught a sound--a succession of faint sounds--in the still
+night air. Gradually the sound became more and more distinct, and the
+worried expression of her face increased. She hurried into the sitting
+room.
+
+"Father, Fred Doane is coming out from town," she said breathlessly.
+"Do you suppose they've got him?"
+
+"Maybe so, girlie," said the old man. "It was a bold business, an'
+what could you expect?"
+
+"Oh, I don't know. I can't seem to understand. All this trouble is
+coming so suddenly. Father, are you sure you heard Roger refuse to aid
+that man Eagen in some shady scheme last night?"
+
+"Ab-so-lutely," declared Mallory. "I've been wondering, daughter, if
+he didn't turn Eagen down because he had this scheme of his own."
+
+The purr of a motor came to them from outside, and Laura, hastily
+wiping her eyes with a small handkerchief, went slowly out.
+
+"Laura!" cried Fred Doane, as he came up the steps, holding out his
+hands.
+
+"What--what is it, Fred?" she faltered. "Have they caught----"
+
+"Not yet," said Doane briskly, as Mallory appeared in the door. "An'
+they probably won't get him. He's clever, that fellow."
+
+The bank cashier indulged in a frown, but he was plainly nervous.
+
+"Then what news do you bring here?" Mallory demanded. "Did you come to
+tell us he'd got away clean?"
+
+"Why, not--not exactly," said Doane. "I meant to tell you that, of
+course, but I also want to have a little talk with Laura. Can I see
+you alone, Laura, for a few minutes?"
+
+"Oh, _that's_ it," snorted Mallory, as he stamped back into the
+house.
+
+"You have something to tell me you don't want father to hear?" asked
+the girl in a worried voice.
+
+"Laura, there's something I must tell you right away," said Doane
+nervously, leading her to the shadow of the far end of the porch.
+There he turned and faced her, taking her hands.
+
+"Laura, you must have seen it for a long time. You could hardly help
+but see it. I love you, Laura--I love you with all my heart, and I
+want you to be my wife."
+
+The girl drew back in astonishment.
+
+"But why do you have to tell me this so suddenly?" she asked, her
+color coming and going.
+
+"Because I want you to marry me, Laura, to-night!" he said.
+
+Again he reached for her hands. "Please, Laura," he pleaded. "It means
+so much to me. Don't you care for me, sweetheart? I've been led to
+think you did, and I intended to tell you soon, but all this
+trouble--this terrible trouble to-day--has nearly driven me mad. I'm
+afraid I'll go mad, Laura, if I don't have something else to think
+about. Oh, Laura, marry me and help me out of this big trouble."
+
+"Fred!" exclaimed the girl, startled by his passion of pleading.
+"Fred, I've never tried to make you think I cared for you. And
+now--well, I'd have to have a long time to think it over. How would it
+help you out of trouble, Fred? Tell me that."
+
+"By helping me forget--by helping me forget that our bank is ruined!
+By saving my mind! By keeping me from going mad! By----"
+
+"Fred you must not talk so. That robbery has unnerved you for the time
+being, that's all. You're excited and so----"
+
+"I'm more than excited," he declared, trying to put his hands on her
+shoulders. "I'm about--about--_gone_! Laura, marry me to-night, and
+we'll go somewhere--we'll go somewhere right from here, from this
+ranch--go a long way and get married in the morning. Then we can stay
+away for a short time till I get to be myself again."
+
+"No, Fred," replied the girl in convincing tones, "I can't. It would
+be asking too much even if I loved you. Come inside, and I'll make you
+some strong tea. You can talk to father and me and regain control of
+yourself."
+
+There was a moment of silence. Mallory with the lamp had come to the
+door at the sound of Doane's loud voice. He was looking at them. Then
+out of the night came the pound of hoofs. There was no mistaking the
+sound.
+
+Doane whirled around, as a rider came out of the sea of mesquite and
+greasewood and flung himself from the saddle in front of the porch.
+The bank cashier turned toward Mallory. His face was haggard. He
+seemed to sway, as the rider came stamping up the steps. He darted for
+the door, but had hardly got inside before the rider caught him and
+made him face about. Mallory hurried in with the lamp, followed by the
+girl.
+
+Doane was quailing before the new arrival. Both cried out, as they saw
+it was Eagen who had broken out so suddenly. Eagen towered above the
+shrinking Doane.
+
+"So you thought you'd double cross me, did you, eh?" came Eagen's
+harsh voice, and he slapped Doane in the face.
+
+Doane went red, then white. For a moment intense hatred and anger
+flashed in his eyes, but he made no move to avenge the insult. Slowly
+the light in his eyes died again to fear, as he realized his
+inability to cope with this man of strength.
+
+"Here, Eagen, you can't come into my house and act like that," said
+Mallory stoutly, putting the lamp on the table.
+
+Laura still stood in the doorway, stunned by the rapid and extraordinary
+turn of events. Eagen turned on Mallory with a snarl.
+
+"Shut up, you old fool! Don't butt in where you ain't wanted, an' on
+something you don't know anything about."
+
+"I know you're in my house!" Mallory retorted sternly.
+
+"I'll only be here a minute," said Eagen with a sneer. "I'm goin' out
+of your house, an' I'm goin' to drag this sneaking cur out with
+me--out on the solid ground an' give him what's comin' to him. An'
+then," he added in a terrible voice; "I'm goin' to go out an' get his
+pardner--Rathburn, The Coyote--get him when the others can't come
+within a mile of him!"
+
+"You can't take this man out of my house when he is my guest!"
+thundered Mallory.
+
+"No?" asked Eagen contemptuously. "Well, you watch an' see! If you try
+to stop me you'll stop lead!"
+
+He leaped forward and grasped Doane by the shoulder, jerked him
+forward, and stepped backward himself. He turned, dragging his victim,
+then stopped dead in his tracks with a hissing intake of breath.
+Rathburn was standing quietly in the doorway.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+THE LOOT
+
+
+In the heat of the threats and counterthreats which had been in
+progress, none of the occupants of the room had heard the newest
+arrival thunder up to the porch and leap from the saddle to the
+steps.
+
+Eagen was dumfounded by Rathburn's sudden appearance. He saw that the
+girl was standing now in a front corner of the room, with her hands
+crossed on her breast, a look of horror in her eyes. Slowly Eagen
+recovered and loosed his hold on Doane, who staggered weakly to the
+table and leaned upon it. Eagen's sneer returned to his thick lips,
+and his narrowed gaze traveled quickly to a sack which Rathburn held
+in his left hand. Eagen's eyes shone with fury.
+
+"Come here to fix up the divvy!" he choked. "I knew it was a put-up
+job between you an' Doane, an' I figured you'd maybe meet aroun' here
+where Doane would be sure to come to try an' take this woman with
+him."
+
+Rathburn eyed him calmly. There was something of a deadly calm in his
+very posture, as he stood just within the threshold. He looked past
+Eagen to Doane. Then he tossed the sack on the table.
+
+"Here's the money I took this morning, Doane," he said in matter-of-fact
+tones. "I came here to turn it over to you."
+
+With bulging eyes Doane stared at him.
+
+Eagen laughed loudly. "That's rich! Tryin' to make me think you was
+goin' to give it _all_ to him? Don't you figure, Mr. Coyote, that I
+can throw my rope aroun' a simple scheme like you an' that shivering
+rat over by the table cooked up? That's why you turned down my little
+proposition last night. It was this same deal--only, _me_, an' Doane
+there was goin' to put it over. You figured I'd cut you out of your
+divvy, an' you figured right; he suspected I might double cross him,
+an' maybe he was right, too. So he cooked it up with you to pull the
+robbery, thinkin' you'd be more likely to go through an' give him his
+end. But the pair of you figured too many points when you thought I
+wouldn't catch on."
+
+"That was what your proposition was to be, was it?" asked Rathburn
+pleasantly. "Rob the bank? Why, I didn't need a gang to rob the bank,
+Eagen, an' I didn't have anybody in with me. The trouble with you is
+that you've got too much imagination."
+
+The drawl in which Rathburn concluded his speech drove Eagen to a
+frenzy.
+
+"You lie, Rathburn!"
+
+Rathburn smiled. "I might as well tell you that I intended to get away
+with that money that's on the table, Eagen. That's what I took it for.
+I'm making this little statement because something's liable to happen
+to one, or both of us. I didn't know Doane was cashier of the bank
+when I took it. I only recently learned that fact. Then I brought it
+back to turn over to him, not so much on his account as on account of
+Miss Mallory. I understand Doane is a very good friend of Miss
+Mallory. I wouldn't want his bank hurt for that reason."
+
+It was Laura Mallory who cried out at this. She walked toward
+Rathburn, although he did not look at her.
+
+"Why did you do it, Roger?" she asked in a trembling voice.
+
+"I can't tell you _that_, ma'am," he said.
+
+"But I know!" she cried. "I've guessed it. You saw Mr. Doane and me
+together in Hope to-day and remembered he was at the ranch last night,
+and----"
+
+"Don't say any more, Laura!" Rathburn commanded sternly.
+
+"Be still, daughter; it's best," said Mallory.
+
+"Neither she, nor you, nor Doane, nor all of you together can talk me
+out of it!" roared Eagen. "It was a frame-up!"
+
+In the deadly stillness that followed, Laura Mallory shrank back from
+the sight of two gunmen looking steadily into each other's eyes, their
+hands ready for the lightning draw--each waiting for the merest
+suggestion of the beginning of a move on the part of the other to get
+his weapon into action. But the draws did not come. The pregnant
+silence was broken by the thundering roll of many horses galloping
+into the yard about the house.
+
+"There!" yelled Eagen in a voice of triumph. "There's your sweet
+little posse, Coyote!"
+
+"I expected to see Bob Long when I came down here!" said Rathburn
+coolly, looking at Laura Mallory for the first time.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+THE TEST OF A MAN
+
+
+Several men stamped across the porch to the jingle of spur chains.
+Others broke in through the back door and entered the kitchen. Sheriff
+Bob Long appeared at the door, with two guns leveled.
+
+"You're covered from both doors and all the windows, Rathburn!" he
+said sharply.
+
+"That's almost just what I thought, sheriff," Rathburn drawled.
+
+Long stepped into the room, shoving his guns into their holsters. Many
+other guns were covering Rathburn.
+
+"What's the meaning of all this, anyway?" demanded Long with a puzzled
+expression on his face. His eyes widened, as he saw the bag of money
+on the table. "Is that the money that was taken from your bank this
+morning Mr. Doane?" he asked sharply.
+
+Doane nodded weakly. The sheriff looked at Rathburn curiously.
+
+"You brought it back? You was up to Joe Price's place."
+
+"Yes, I brought it back, sheriff," said Rathburn cheerfully.
+
+"Well, I'll be frank and tell you, Rathburn, that if you expect
+leniency after what happened this morning you might just as well give
+up that idea. Any man can change his mind when he sees he can't get
+away."
+
+"That's up to you, sheriff," replied Rathburn, taking tobacco and
+papers from his shirt pocket. "As I was just tellin' our friend, Mr.
+Eagen, I brought it back on purpose, an' I expected to see you when I
+got here. I came near not gettin' here at that."
+
+"You took a long chance," scowled Long. "But it won't get you much now
+at this stage of the game--especially after the way you led me to
+believe this morning that you were thinking of giving yourself up."
+
+Eagen's laugh startled them.
+
+"He brought it back to give it up an' himself, too?" he jeered. "He
+brought it back, sheriff, because he an' that rat of a Doane planned
+this thing. Coyote got away with the money an' came back here to divvy
+up with Doane. Didn't Doane make the same kind of a proposition to me?
+Didn't he tell me he was short in his accounts, an' it could be
+covered up if the bank was robbed, for then he could say more money
+was took than really was? I'll say he did. An' I was goin' to see if
+he'd go through with it, an' then I was going to wise you up so we
+could get him cold."
+
+With knitted brows the sheriff stared at Eagen, then looked at the
+white-faced Doane.
+
+"Tell him I'm tellin' the truth!" shouted Eagen at the shaking bank
+cashier. "You can't get out of it."
+
+There was a tense moment.
+
+Doane shook his head weakly; he was a picture of guilt.
+
+"He got scared I wouldn't go through with the play, sheriff," Eagen
+continued. "Thought maybe I'd make off with all the kale. So he framed
+it with Rathburn, an' I caught 'em about to divide it here."
+
+"He lies!" screamed Doane. "I didn't frame it with Rathburn. I can
+prove it. That man"--he pointed a shaking finger at Eagen--"has come
+to me with threats and made me take securities I knew were stolen.
+There's some of them in the bank now. Some of the stuff he took from
+the stage driver yesterday is there! He's pulled job after job----"
+
+Eagen, recovering from his amazement at the man's outbreak, leaped and
+drove his powerful fist against Doane's jaw, knocking him nearly the
+length of the room, where he crashed with his head against the stones
+of the fireplace. Eagen turned quickly. His eyes were blazing red.
+
+"You're the man!" he yelled wrathfully. "You're the yellow Coyote----"
+
+His right hand went to his gun, as there came a crashing report. He
+staggered back, trying to get out the weapon which had not left his
+holster. He sank down to his knees, still glaring death at the man
+above him, still fumbling at his gun. Then he lurched forward on his
+face.
+
+Rathburn flipped his smoking pistol so that its barrel landed in his
+hand. Then he tendered it, butt foremost, to Sheriff Bob Long. Long
+took it and threw it on the table, looking first at Rathburn, then at
+the dead man on the floor. He waved toward the doors and windows.
+
+"You boys can draw back," he ordered.
+
+Mallory stepped to the fallen Doane. The man's face had set in a white
+cast. He felt his heart.
+
+"He did for him," he said, rising.
+
+Laura Mallory came walking slowly up to the sheriff. Her face was
+ghastly after what she had witnessed.
+
+"Sheriff Long," she said in a voice strangely calm, "we heard
+Eagen"--she shuddered, as she mentioned the name--"ask Roger--ask Mr.
+Rathburn last night to help with some job that would get them a lot
+of money. It may be that--that--Fred did plan such a thing. I'm sorry
+to say it, but Fred had seemed awfully nervous lately, and to-night he
+came to me and asked me to run away with him--at once. He seemed
+horribly afraid of something. Anyway, Roger refused to go in with
+Eagen, and an examination of Fred's books will tell all."
+
+She hesitated. Then she spoke slowly and softly.
+
+"I know why Roger robbed the bank and----"
+
+"Stop, Laura!" cried Rathburn.
+
+"No," said Laura firmly; "you may be going to prison."
+
+He put out one hand in protest.
+
+Turning again to the sheriff she said:
+
+"Roger did go to town last night, intending to give himself up. I knew
+he was going to do it by the way he looked at me. But to-day he saw me
+with Mr. Doane, and maybe he's heard things for which there was no
+warrant. Anyway, I know he thought I--I--was in love with Fred."
+
+"Laura--please!" Rathburn pleaded.
+
+"And to-night," said the girl in triumph, "he heard Fred was cashier
+of the bank he'd robbed, and he brought the money back because he
+thought the robbery would hurt Fred and in that way hurt me!"
+
+Rathburn turned appealingly to the sheriff. "Let's go," he urged.
+
+"He robbed that bank because he thought I had betrayed his trust,
+Sheriff Long!" cried Laura, her eyes shining.
+
+"Are we going, Long?" cried Rathburn in an agony.
+
+The sheriff stepped to the door and called to some of his men who
+entered and bore the bodies of Doane and Eagen out of the sitting
+room. Then he took the money sack from the table and indicated to
+Rathburn to follow him, as he went out of the door. Rathburn went
+after him quickly, and the girl ran to the porch. Rathburn drew back
+with a cry, as he reached the porch. Just beyond the steps a horse was
+lying on its side.
+
+"My--my hoss!" he cried wonderingly.
+
+He leaped down beside the dead beast. Then he saw crimson upon the
+animal's shoulder, as a little gleam of light came from the door.
+
+"That was why he jumped on the trail. He was hit. He carried me all
+this way with a bullet in him an' then dropped! One of Long's men shot
+him."
+
+Rathburn looked about vacantly. Then he sank down and buried his face
+on the shoulder of the dun, as Sheriff Long turned away. Laura Mallory
+stepped quickly to the side of the sheriff and touched his arm.
+
+"Is he as bad as you think, sheriff?"
+
+Long scowled at her in the dim light from the door, took out a thick,
+black cigar, bit the end off savagely, and began to chew it. He walked
+abruptly out to where some of his men were standing by their horses,
+and he said something in an undertone. When he returned, Rathburn had
+taken the saddle and bridle off the dead horse and was throwing the
+leather on the porch.
+
+"Yours, dad," he called to Mallory; "I wouldn't use 'em again if I
+could." Then he turned to the sheriff. "All right, Bob."
+
+"Come inside," said Long gruffly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+TEN MILES' START
+
+
+When they were in the sitting room the sheriff confronted Rathburn.
+
+"This has been a queer case for me," he said slowly, with an attempt
+at harshness. "I knew Eagen was up to a lot of dirty work, but I never
+could fasten anything on him till to-night. I'll get some of the rest
+of the gang now. Doane showed in his face that he was guilty. Those
+things don't worry me none. But _you_ are the hardest character I ever
+had to handle, Rathburn!"
+
+"I don't figure on givin' you any more trouble, sheriff," Rathburn
+assured him, smiling.
+
+"That's the puzzle of it!" Long exploded. "That puts it up to me. I
+know you had reason for giving Gomez his, and I know this girl
+wouldn't lie about the other. But--well, I don't get you a-tall,
+Rathburn, and that's a fact. Something tells me I've got to give you a
+chance, and if I knew what tells me this I'd wring its neck!"
+
+He stepped close to Rathburn and looked him straight in the eye.
+
+"Take one of Mallory's horses. He's got some good ones. I give you ten
+miles in any direction. If you can make it--it's your candy. But
+remember, Rathburn, I'm going to try to stop you!"
+
+He walked swiftly out of the door, leaving Rathburn staring at the
+smiling girl.
+
+Laura stepped close to him and nodded. Rathburn shook his head.
+
+"I can't see where I've got the right to give Long any more
+trouble."
+
+"But he isn't letting you go, Roger. He's putting it up to you, and he
+means what he says when he declares he'll try to get you."
+
+"If he does, he'll probably get me," mused Rathburn.
+
+"But maybe he won't get _us_, Roger."
+
+"Us?"
+
+"You and I, Roger. Listen! There's a land 'way up north, Roger. I've
+read about it. It's past the desert and the mountains and the
+plains--in another country! And there's a river there, Roger--a river
+they call Peace River. I've always loved the name. We'll go there,
+Roger, you and I--and father can come later."
+
+She looked up at him with shining eyes and put her arms about his
+neck, and she saw the unbelievable wonder in his face. The man
+trembled. Then he took her and held her and kissed her, time after
+time.
+
+"Joe Price said I could never be satisfied away from the desert unless
+I took along something that was of it," he muttered hoarsely; "I
+wonder----"
+
+"Yes, Roger, he meant me."
+
+"We can't make it," he said softly. "Not the two of us--but Laura,
+girlie, _this_ is worth the game!"
+
+"Yes we can, Roger," she said eagerly. "Think! We can be married when
+we've left the desert. It's not quite ten miles to Boxall Cañon. We
+can go up Boxall over the range and cross Death Flat."
+
+"I was thinking of that, sweetheart," he replied. "But no horse can
+get up Boxall, an' if he did he couldn't get across Death Flat. Few
+men have crossed that stretch. It's well named. I might try it alone;
+but you--no, Laura. It just ain't in the pictures!"
+
+"We don't need horses, Roger. You've forgotten the burros. They'll
+kill any horse on the desert, won't they? We can take two or three
+loaded with food and water."
+
+"But it's miles and miles an' then some--an' it all looks alike."
+
+"But when we've reached the other side, Roger?"
+
+He drew away from her and stepped to the door. He could not see or
+hear anything. When he turned and again approached her, his face was
+white. He looked at Mallory, who was standing with a look of
+stupefaction on his lined face.
+
+"Wait!" he said and stepped into another room. In a few moments he was
+back, holding a money belt in his hands. He took out gold and bills
+and deposited the money on the table.
+
+The others stared.
+
+"There's about six thousand there, Mallory. It's gamblin' money. Turn
+it in to the bank to make or help out Doane's shortage. I've got just
+twenty-five hundred left which I earned in a better way."
+
+"Daddy, get the burros!" cried the girl. "We're going!"
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Sheriff Bob Long looked down from a ledge above a narrow, deep,
+boulder-strewn, awe-inspiring cañon and drew in his breath sharply.
+Below he saw two human beings and three animals.
+
+"I knew he'd try it," Long said wonderingly to himself. "I thought
+he'd try it afoot. But the girl! And they're going to try to cross
+Death Flat!"
+
+His look of wonder increased, and he made no move toward the weapons
+in his holsters.
+
+"I wonder now," he mused. "Can they make it? I wonder----"
+
+He scowled and looked about with a frowning stare. His gaze again
+shifted downward. Suddenly he shrugged and put the wrong end of his
+unlighted cigar in his mouth.
+
+"That's the queerest cigar I ever had," he growled, as he made his way
+to his horse. "It won't stay lit because it wants to be swallowed."
+
+He mounted and rode slowly back toward the far-reaching stretches of
+desert. Once he halted and turned in his saddle for a backward look.
+
+"He had the makings of the worst bad man this country ever saw," he
+muttered aloud. "Now, if that woman and another country--but first
+they've got to get across."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+On the western edge of a great, ghastly plain of white, in which a
+deceiving, distant glow was mirrored in the desert dawn, two figures,
+a man and a girl, stood hand in hand. Three shaggy burros, heavily
+laden, stood behind them. The burros saw not the Death Flat ahead, for
+they were asleep.
+
+And the man and the girl saw not the frightful white, as of powdered
+skulls, bare, sinister, sunbaked, but a vision of a little house in a
+fragrant green meadow, with golden fields on either side of a peaceful
+river, and forests ranging up to distant hills.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+TO THE READER
+
+If you have enjoyed this book, you will be glad to know that there are
+many others just as well written, just as interesting, to be had in
+the Chelsea House Popular Copyright Novels.
+
+The stories which we will publish in this line have never appeared in
+book form before, and they are without question the best value in the
+way of cloth-bound books that has been offered to the reading public
+in many years.
+
+CHELSEA HOUSE
+
+79 Seventh Avenue--New York City
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Coyote, by James Roberts
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+<head>
+<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1" />
+<title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of The Coyote, by James Roberts.</title>
+
+<style type="text/css">
+    @media screen     {
+      hr.pb           {margin:30px 0; width:100%; border:none;border-top:thin dashed silver;}
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+    hr.minor          {width: 40%; border:none; border-bottom:1px solid silver; clear:both; margin: 1em auto;}
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+
+<pre>
+
+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Coyote, by James Roberts
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Coyote
+       A Western Story
+
+Author: James Roberts
+
+Release Date: August 3, 2009 [EBook #29602]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COYOTE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+
+</pre>
+
+
+<h1>THE COYOTE</h1>
+<hr class='pb' />
+<table style="margin: auto; border: double; border-collapse:collapse; width:320px;" summary="">
+<tr><td>
+<p class='tp' style='margin-top:10px;font-size:2.4em;margin-bottom:20px;'>THE COYOTE</p>
+<p class='tp' style='font-size:1.4em;margin-bottom:30px;margin-top:15px;'>A Western Story</p>
+<p class='tp' style='font-size:1.4em;'>By JAMES ROBERTS</p>
+<div style='margin:60px auto; text-align:center;'><img alt='emblem' src='images/illus-emb.png' /></div>
+<p class='tp' style='font-size:smaller;'>CHELSEA HOUSE</p>
+<p class='tp' style='margin-bottom:10px;font-size:smaller;'>79 SEVENTH AVENUE&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;NEW YORK CITY</p>
+</td></tr>
+</table>
+<hr class='pb' />
+<p class='center'>The Coyote</p>
+<hr class='minor' />
+<p class='center'>Copyright, 1925, by CHELSEA HOUSE</p>
+<hr class='minor' />
+<p class='center'>(Printed in the United States of America)<br />
+</p>
+<p class='center'>All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign<br />
+languages, including the Scandinavian.</p>
+<hr class='pb' />
+<h3>CONTENTS</h3>
+<table border='0' cellpadding='2' cellspacing='0' summary='Contents' style='margin:1em auto;'>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'><span style='font-size:0.8em'>CHAPTER</span></td>
+  <td />
+  <td valign='top' align='right'><span style='font-size:0.8em'>PAGE</span></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>I.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>Rewards Offered</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_I_REWARDS_OFFERED'>11</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>II.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>A Boy and a Girl</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_II_A_BOY_AND_A_GIRL'>17</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>III.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>The Law</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_III_THE_LAW'>24</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>IV.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>&#8220;I Knew He Lied!&#8221;</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_IV_I_KNEW_HE_LIED'>32</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>V.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>A Capture</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_V_A_CAPTURE'>38</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>VI.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>The Real Low-Down</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_VI_THE_REAL_LOWDOWN'>45</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>VII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>Where to Hide</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_VII_WHERE_TO_HIDE'>52</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>VIII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>Two Queer Moves</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_VIII_TWO_QUEER_MOVES'>57</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>IX.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>Leave It to Me</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_IX_LEAVE_IT_TO_ME'>65</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>X.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>Caught in the Cellar</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_X_CAUGHT_IN_THE_CELLAR'>71</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XI.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>Freedom Behind Bars</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XI_FREEDOM_BEHIND_BARS'>77</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>Against His Ethics</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XII_AGAINST_HIS_ETHICS'>87</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XIII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>A Man and His Horse</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIII_A_MAN_AND_HIS_HORSE'>93</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XIV.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>The Witness</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIV_THE_WITNESS'>98</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XV.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>The Welcome</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XV_THE_WELCOME'>106</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XVI.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>The Dixie&#8217;s Boss</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XVI_THE_DIXIES_BOSS'>114</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XVII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>A Commission</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XVII_A_COMMISSION'>121</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XVIII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>In the Night</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XVIII_IN_THE_NIGHT'>129</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XIX.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>Quick Turns</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XIX_QUICK_TURNS'>136</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XX.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>Appeal to the Law</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XX_APPEAL_TO_THE_LAW'>145</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXI.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>A Capture</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXI_A_CAPTURE'>151</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>A Second Capture</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXII_A_SECOND_CAPTURE'>160</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXIII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>Quick Facts</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIII_QUICK_FACTS'>165</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXIV.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>The Show-down</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIV_THE_SHOWDOWN'>170</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXV.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>Filed!</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXV_FILED'>175</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXVI.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>The Prodigal</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVI_THE_PRODIGAL'>179</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXVII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>The Desert Code</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVII_THE_DESERT_CODE'>185</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXVIII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>A Night Summons</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXVIII_A_NIGHT_SUMMONS'>194</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXIX.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>Gunmen</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXIX_GUNMEN'>201</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXX.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>The Sheriff&#8217;s Plight</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXX_THE_SHERIFFS_PLIGHT'>207</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXXI.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>A New Count</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXI_A_NEW_COUNT'>215</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXXII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>The Compass Fails</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXII_THE_COMPASS_FAILS'>220</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXXIII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>Fast Work</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXIII_FAST_WORK'>224</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXXIV.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>The Compass Wavers</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXIV_THE_COMPASS_WAVERS'>230</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXXV.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>Guns in the Night</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXV_GUNS_IN_THE_NIGHT'>235</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXXVI.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>The Loot</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXVI_THE_LOOT'>242</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXXVII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>The Test of a Man</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXVII_THE_TEST_OF_A_MAN'>245</a></td>
+</tr>
+<tr>
+  <td valign='top' class='chalgn'>XXXVIII.</td>
+  <td valign='top' align='left' style='padding-right:4em;'><span class='smcap'>Ten Miles&#8217; Start</span></td>
+  <td valign='bottom' align='right'><a href='#CHAPTER_XXXVIII_TEN_MILES_START'>250</a></td>
+</tr>
+</table>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_11' name='page_11'></a>11</span></div>
+<hr class='pb' />
+<p style='text-align:center;margin-top:1.5em;margin-bottom:1em'>THE COYOTE</p>
+<div class='chsp'>
+<a name='CHAPTER_I_REWARDS_OFFERED' id='CHAPTER_I_REWARDS_OFFERED'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER I</h2>
+<h3>REWARDS OFFERED</h3>
+</div>
+<p>The sign on the tree attracted the man&#8217;s attention
+while he was still far down the slope. He could
+see the tall pine on the crest of the ridge above
+a veritable landmark in that country of stunted timber,
+and the square of paper, tacked to its trunk
+under the lowest branches, gleamed white against
+the background of vivid green.</p>
+<p>The air was clear, and every detail of the landscape&ndash;&ndash;the
+red rocks, the saffron-colored slopes, the
+green pines and firs and buck brush, the white cliffs&ndash;&ndash;everything
+within sight for miles stood out, clean-cut
+in the brilliant sunshine which flooded the empty
+land under a cloudless sky.</p>
+<p>When the man, mounted on a lean, dun-colored
+horse, first looked up at a turn of the narrow trail
+and saw the sign, he grunted. Then he frowned
+and looked back along the way he had come with
+a glowing light of reflection in his gray eyes. He
+was a tall man, slim and muscular, clean-shaven, his
+face and hands bronzed by sun and wind, and his
+face open and good-natured. A shock of blond
+hair showed where his gray, wide-brimmed, high-crowned
+hat was pushed back from his high forehead.</p>
+<p>His dress, though typical of the country which
+he traversed, was distinctive, or it might have been
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_12' name='page_12'></a>12</span>
+a certain natural grace that made it seem so. He
+wore a light-gray, soft shirt made of French flannel,
+a dark-blue silk scarf, leather chaps over olive-drab
+khaki trousers, black, hand-sewed riding boots which
+displayed their polish despite a coating of fine dust,
+silver spurs, and, strapped to his right thigh, was
+a worn leather holster, natural color, from which
+protruded the black butt of a six-gun.</p>
+<p>On the back of his saddle was tied a black
+slicker, the raincoat of the open country, which
+bulged with a medium-sized pack done up within it.</p>
+<p>One would have taken him to be thirty, perhaps
+a year or two more when his face was serious;
+but when he smiled, that is, when he smiled naturally,
+he looked little more in years than a youth who has
+just attained his majority.</p>
+<p>When he smiled the other smile&ndash;&ndash;the smile he
+now expressed as he looked up the slope toward
+the tall pine with the white square of paper on its
+trunk&ndash;&ndash;one would have forgotten the smile because
+of the sinister, steel-blue look in his eyes, and the
+direct, piercing quality of his gaze.</p>
+<p>He walked his horse up the winding trail. His
+right foot was clear of the stirrup, and he swung
+it idly. His left hand, in which he held the reins,
+rested lightly on the horn of his saddle, and his
+right gripped the cantle at his back. He hummed
+a ditty of the desert, but his gaze, keen and alert,
+continually sought the open stretches of trail above
+him, and at regular intervals flashed back along
+the way he had come.</p>
+<p>In time he reached the top of the ridge and
+pulled up his horse near the tree bearing the poster.
+He dismounted and walked slowly up a little grade
+to where he could the better read the legend on the
+paper.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_13' name='page_13'></a>13</span></div>
+<p>It was printed in large letters, but recent rain
+had somewhat faded it.</p>
+<p class='center'>FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD<br />
+This will be paid for<br />
+THE COYOTE<br />
+dead or alive, by San Jacinto County.<br />
+JUDSON BROWN, J. P.,<br />
+Dry Lake.</p>
+<p>This man is tall and light in complexion,
+gray or blue eyes, good teeth, his horse said
+branded
+CC<span style='font-size:smaller'>2</span>
+keeps himself neat, dangerous
+with gun, squints when mad. Bring him in
+and get the money.</p>
+<p>The man swore softly as he read the last sentence.
+&#8220;Bring him in an&#8217; get the money,&#8221; he said snortingly.
+&#8220;You&#8217;d think they was talkin&#8217; about a locoed
+steer that just had to be roped an&#8217; drug, or shot
+an&#8217; hauled. Bring him in an&#8217; get the money!&#8221;</p>
+<p>There was genuine indignation in his tone as
+he repeated the offensive sentence.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, it can&#8217;t be me,&#8221; he said facetiously, aloud.
+&#8220;My name&#8217;s Rathburn&ndash;&ndash;a right good name.&#8221; His
+eyes clouded. &#8220;A right good name till they began
+to tamper with it,&#8221; he muttered with a frown as
+he lit a cigarette he had built while perusing the
+placard.</p>
+<p>He took the stub of a lead pencil from the pocket
+of his shirt. For some moments he reflected, staring
+at the sign on the tree trunk. Then he laboriously
+printed on its lower edge:</p>
+<p>Five thousand dollars more from the State
+of Arizona if you can get it.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_14' name='page_14'></a>14</span></div>
+<p>Rathburn surveyed his work with a grin, replacing
+the pencil in his shirt pocket. Then he stepped
+back and drew his gun. He seemed on the point
+of sending a half dozen bullets through the paper
+when he suddenly shook his head, glanced hurriedly
+about him, and shoved the weapon back into its
+sheath.</p>
+<p>He walked quickly to his horse, swung into the
+saddle, and started down the trail on the western
+side of the ridge.</p>
+<p>Below him he saw a far-flung vista of rounded,
+yellow hills, spotted with the green of small pines
+and firs. The ground was hard, dry, and gravelly.
+There were boulders a-plenty, and long, sharp-edged
+outcroppings of hard rock of a reddish hue. There
+was no sign of habitation to be glimpsed from the
+trail leading down from the high ridge which he
+had crossed. He continually looked about him with
+the interested air of a man who is venturing into a
+new locality with which he is not familiar.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Dry Lake!&#8221; he exclaimed, while his horse pricked
+up its ears at the familiar voice. &#8220;Good name for
+it, if it&#8217;s anywhere in <i>this</i> country. Hoss, I don&#8217;t
+know when we&#8217;re goin&#8217; to drink again. I didn&#8217;t
+figure on hittin&#8217; a desert up here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He rode on at a brisk jog, down and down the
+winding trail. Then it led across a number of the
+round, low hills, ever westward.</p>
+<p>As the afternoon wore on, more green brightened
+the landscape and patches of grass appeared. Then
+they came upon a small stream trickling down from
+the higher slopes to northward where horse and
+rider drank their fill and rested in a quiet, secluded
+meadow off the trail.</p>
+<p>The man&#8217;s face was a study as he lay back upon
+the grass in the cool shade of a clump of pines.
+Whimsical and wistful, it was occasionally lit by
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_15' name='page_15'></a>15</span>
+a peculiar smile which carried a hint of sadness.
+His eyes half closed, dreamily. The smoke from
+his cigarette curled upward in a thin spiral in the
+still air of the altitudes. His horse, with reins
+dangling and saddle cinch loosened, cropped the
+grass which carpeted the meadow.</p>
+<p>Finally the man arose, tightened the cinch in an
+absent manner, mounted, and rode back to the trail
+to continue on his way. At the top of the next
+ridge he halted, looking at a little ranch which
+lay in a wide valley a mile or two north of the
+thread of trail which he could see winding westward.
+The place looked poor, poverty-stricken, despite
+the small field of living green south of the
+house and the few head of cattle grazing along
+the banks of a little stream which wound through
+the valley.</p>
+<p>For some time the rider sat his horse motionless,
+frowning in indecision. Then he touched the dun
+lightly with his spurs, left the trail, and struck off
+to the north, following the ridge. He kept his
+gaze focused on the little ranch. The only sign
+of life which he saw was a heavily-burdened clothesline
+flapping in the idle breeze which at this point
+was wafted down from the mountains.</p>
+<p>When he was almost directly above the small
+house he turned his mount down the slope and
+gaining the floor of the valley, rode at a gallop
+for the house. His right hand now rested on his
+thigh near the holstered gun.</p>
+<p>As he brought his horse to a stop near the front
+of the house a girl appeared in the doorway. He
+looked at her in pleased surprise. Then his hat
+swept low in a gesture of courtesy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ma&#8217;am, I&#8217;ve found this to be a country of scattered
+habitations,&#8221; he said in a musical bass. &#8220;So
+when I glimpsed your abode from yonder hills I
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_16' name='page_16'></a>16</span>
+said to myself, &#8216;Rathburn, you&#8217;re most powerful
+hungry; maybe you better pay a call.&#8217;&#8221;</p>
+<p>His eyes were glowing with an amused light,
+and a pleasant smile played upon his lips.</p>
+<p>The girl, who had listened curiously, now laughed
+in welcome. &#8220;There aren&#8217;t many places between
+here and Dry Lake,&#8221; she said; &#8220;and I guess it
+would be a pretty hot ride to-day. You can water
+your horse&ndash;&ndash;and feed him at the barn, if you wish&ndash;&ndash;and
+I&#8217;ll get you something to eat, if you&#8217;re not
+particular.&#8221; Her eyes danced merrily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ma&#8217;am!&#8221; he exclaimed, with mock severity, &#8220;I
+quit bein&#8217; particular when I was&ndash;&ndash;when I was as
+young as that youngster.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A boy of ten or twelve had appeared beside the
+girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Young man, what&#8217;re those dirt-looking spots on
+your face?&#8221; asked the stranger, frowning with his
+eyes but smiling with his lips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They <i>ain&#8217;t</i> dirt spots!&#8221; returned the boy with
+spirit, advancing a step.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No?&#8221; said the man, feigning intense astonishment.
+&#8220;What <i>are</i> they?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re freckles,&#8221; answered the boy stoutly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh&ndash;&ndash;oh, <i>that&#8217;s</i> what they are,&#8221; said the stranger
+with a delighted laugh. &#8220;Won&#8217;t they wash off?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Naw. You can&#8217;t fool me. You knew what they
+were!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, now, maybe so,&#8221; observed the man as the
+girl laughingly turned inside.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Grub&#8217;ll be ready by time you are,&#8221; she called
+back to him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll show you where to put your horse,&#8221; said the
+boy as the man looked searchingly up and down the
+valley.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_17' name='page_17'></a>17</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_II_A_BOY_AND_A_GIRL' id='CHAPTER_II_A_BOY_AND_A_GIRL'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER II</h2>
+<h3>A BOY AND A GIRL</h3>
+</div>
+<p>When Rathburn had put up his horse, after
+giving him a light feed of grain in the barn,
+he followed the boy to the rear of the house where
+he found water, soap, and a towel on a bench, above
+which hung a small mirror.</p>
+<p>The boy left him there, and he soon washed and
+combed his hair. The girl opened the rear door
+for him and he walked through the little kitchen
+into a small front room where a table was set for
+him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure, ma&#8217;am, I didn&#8217;t figure on causing you so
+much trouble,&#8221; he said with a smile. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t
+expect anything but a snack, an&#8217; here you&#8217;ve gone
+an&#8217; fixed a regular dinner&ndash;&ndash;this time of day, too.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;My experience with men in this country has
+taught me that when they&#8217;re hungry, they&#8217;re hungry,&#8221;
+replied the girl. &#8220;And it wasn&#8217;t much trouble.
+Those beans were in the oven and already warm. I
+just had to make the coffee. I was expecting my
+brother.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t see any men around the place,&#8221; he said,
+beginning to eat. &#8220;If I had I&#8217;d have made myself
+known to them before coming to the house. Where
+is he&ndash;&ndash;out with the cattle?&#8221;</p>
+<p>He saw her gaze was troubled. &#8220;I don&#8217;t know
+just where he is&ndash;&ndash;to-day,&#8221; she confessed. &#8220;He goes
+away and sometimes doesn&#8217;t come back for a day
+or two.&#8221; She stood in the doorway.</p>
+<p>Rathburn noted her trim, slim figure and her
+wealth of chestnut hair. She was pretty and capable.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_18' name='page_18'></a>18</span>
+He surmised that her parents were dead, although
+he could not ascribe the reason for this deduction.
+Evidently the boy was a younger brother. He wondered
+if the older brother would return before he
+finished eating.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How far is it to Dry Lake?&#8221; he asked casually.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh&ndash;&ndash;why, didn&#8217;t you come from there?&#8221; She
+seemed surprised.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No. I came from over to eastward.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But it&#8217;s miles and miles to any place east of
+here, isn&#8217;t it?&#8221; she asked, puzzled. &#8220;You must have
+had a long ride.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A ghost of a frown played on his brows. Then
+he laughed. &#8220;Yes, miss, I&#8217;ve been ridin&#8217; some,&#8221; he
+confessed. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t know how far it was to anywhere
+or I mightn&#8217;t have come in this direction.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She looked at him wonderingly, and again he
+thought he saw a troubled look in her eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re going to Dry Lake?&#8221; she asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; he said shortly, and a grim note crept
+into his voice. &#8220;It&#8217;s west of here, ain&#8217;t it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;About fifteen or eighteen miles,&#8221; she answered.
+&#8220;The trail leads there from the lower end of this
+valley&ndash;&ndash;the same trail you came on, I guess. Are
+you a cow-puncher?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t I look like one, miss?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, you do and&ndash;&ndash;you don&#8217;t.&#8221; She was confused
+by the quality of his smile. But his eyes
+seemed to glow at her kindly, with a cheerful,
+amused light&ndash;&ndash;altogether honest and friendly. She
+lowered her gaze and flushed despite herself.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My vocation, miss&ndash;&ndash;you&#8217;re too young an&#8217; pretty
+to be called ma&#8217;am, if you&#8217;ll excuse me for saying
+so&ndash;&ndash;is a peculiar one. I&#8217;ve punched cows, yes; I&#8217;ve
+prospected an&#8217; worked a bit in the mines. I&#8217;ve
+scared the wolf from the &#8216;Welcome&#8217; mat by standing
+off the boys at green-topped tables, an&#8217; once I&ndash;&ndash;I&ndash;&ndash;worked
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_19' name='page_19'></a>19</span>
+on a sort of farm.&#8221; He appeared apologetic
+as he confessed this last. &#8220;I guess I wasn&#8217;t cut
+out for a farm hand, miss.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She laughed at this. &#8220;Are you going to work
+in Dry Lake?&#8221; she asked, sobering.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, now, that is a question,&#8221; he returned,
+draining his cup of the last of the coffee.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll get you some more,&#8221; she said quickly, taking
+his cup. &#8220;Dry Lake isn&#8217;t a very big place, you
+know.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just how big <i>is</i> Dry Lake?&#8221; he asked when she
+returned from the kitchen with more coffee for him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Only a hundred or two. But the men from
+miles and miles go there because&ndash;&ndash;because there are
+places there where they can stand the wolf off at
+the green-topped tables and&ndash;&ndash;drink.&#8221; The troubled
+look was in her eyes again. &#8220;Sometimes the wolf
+catches up with them before they get home,&#8221; she
+added, smiling faintly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s not a safe system,&#8221; he said thoughtfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But you might get work in Dry Lake,&#8221; she
+said hopefully. &#8220;You&ndash;&ndash;you look capable. The cattlemen
+from back in the hills go there and they&#8217;re
+nearly always looking for men, I&#8217;ve heard. You
+might meet some of them and get a job.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He beamed upon her. &#8220;I&#8217;ve always heard that
+a woman gave a man encouragement an&#8217; ambition,
+if she was a good one,&#8221; he mused. &#8220;You&#8217;ve almost
+got me thinking I&#8217;d better go straight to work.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why&ndash;&ndash;didn&#8217;t&ndash;&ndash;wasn&#8217;t that your intention?&#8221; she
+asked wonderingly.</p>
+<p>His face clouded. &#8220;It ain&#8217;t always so easy for
+me to do what I want to do, miss,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&ndash;&ndash;you
+see&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221; He broke off his speech with a frown.
+&#8220;This is a queer country, miss,&#8221; he said earnestly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I know,&#8221; she said eagerly. &#8220;I&#8217;ll bet you&#8217;re
+an&ndash;&ndash;an officer!&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_20' name='page_20'></a>20</span></div>
+<p>Then he laughed. It was the spontaneous laugh
+of youth, vibrant, compelling, mirth-inspiring.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Say, miss, if there&#8217;s one thing I ain&#8217;t tackled yet,
+it&#8217;s being an officer,&#8221; he chuckled as he finished his
+repast.</p>
+<p>She smiled vaguely, studying him under her long,
+dark lashes. The boy came into the room, holding
+his hands behind him, and stood with his sturdy
+legs braced apart, staring at Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There he is now!&#8221; Rathburn exclaimed. &#8220;Did
+you try to wash the freckles off?&#8221; he queried with
+a wink.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know who <i>you</i> are!&#8221; said the boy. There was
+admiration and awe in his wide eyes.</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked at him closely, his brows wrinkling.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I do,&#8221; said the boy, nodding. &#8220;Did he
+tell you who he is, sis?&#8221; he asked, looking at the
+girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now, Frankie, we don&#8217;t care who the man is,&#8221;
+she reproved. &#8220;He was hungry and he&#8217;s welcome.
+What&#8217;s the matter with you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess you&#8217;d be surprised if you knew as much
+as I do,&#8221; the boy boasted. &#8220;I guess you&#8217;d be surprised
+all right. I do.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve been surprised more than once at things
+you knew,&#8221; the girl said with a laugh.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, but I guess you&#8217;d be surprised all right
+if you knew who <i>he</i> is,&#8221; cried the boy, pointing at
+Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come, now, young fellow, don&#8217;t be getting all
+het up here,&#8221; said Rathburn slowly, drawing tobacco
+and papers from his shirt pocket. &#8220;What do you
+find to do with yourself around here?&#8221;</p>
+<p>But the youngster was not to be diverted from
+his topic. &#8220;I was lookin&#8217; at your horse,&#8221; he said,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_21' name='page_21'></a>21</span>
+his eyes shining. &#8220;That&#8217;s how I know for sure
+an&#8217; certain who you are.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn gazed at the boy sternly as he touched
+a match to his brown-paper cigarette. &#8220;My horse
+is all right, ain&#8217;t he?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure he is,&#8221; said the boy eagerly. &#8220;I bet he
+can go some, too. He&#8217;d have to go for you to
+have him, wouldn&#8217;t he? You&#8217;re The Coyote!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn continued to smile with an amused tolerance.
+But the girl gave a start; her hands flew
+to her breast, and she stared at the man with wide-open
+eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Frankie! What are you saying?&#8221; she exclaimed.</p>
+<p>The boy triumphantly brought his hands from behind
+his back. He held out a poster.</p>
+<p>&#8220;His horse has got CC2 for a brand, just like it
+says in this bill Ed brought from town!&#8221; he cried.
+&#8220;He&#8217;s The Coyote, all right. But I won&#8217;t tell,&#8221; he
+added quickly, looking at Rathburn.</p>
+<p>The man avoided the girl&#8217;s eyes. The boy laid
+the poster on the table where she could read it again,
+word for word.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tall&ndash;&ndash;light in complexion&ndash;&ndash;gray or blue eyes&ndash;&ndash;good
+teeth&ndash;&ndash;horse branded CC2&ndash;&ndash;dangerous&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>And this man was tall and blond, with gray eyes.
+Five hundred dollars reward!</p>
+<p>&#8220;I won&#8217;t tell anybody you&#8217;ve been here,&#8221; the boy
+continued. &#8220;We won&#8217;t tell, will we, sis?&#8221; He
+looked at the girl imploringly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My brother Ed says what you want you take,&#8221;
+said the boy, gazing at the man in admiration. &#8220;An&#8217;
+he says you don&#8217;t rob anybody that can&#8217;t afford it!
+He says the banks are insured an&#8217; you&#8217;ve been a
+friend to more&#8217;n one that&#8217;s just gettin&#8217; a start in
+the cattle. I won&#8217;t tell anybody you&#8217;ve been here,
+an&#8217; I won&#8217;t let sis tell anybody, either!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn was smiling wistfully. &#8220;Always tell
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_22' name='page_22'></a>22</span>
+the truth, sonny,&#8221; he said in a low voice. &#8220;Don&#8217;t
+forget that. I wouldn&#8217;t want you to lie for me.
+Any man that would want you to lie for him
+wouldn&#8217;t be a man a-tall, son. See?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But old Brown, the judge, or the sheriff might
+come along an&#8217; want to know if you&#8217;d been here!&#8221;
+said the boy in breathless excitement.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then tell &#8217;em the truth,&#8221; said Rathburn smilingly.
+&#8220;Tell &#8217;em a man with a horse branded CC2 was here
+an&#8217; kidded you about your freckles, had something
+to eat, an&#8217; rode away. Don&#8217;t lie, sonny, no matter
+what happens.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl took a step toward the table. &#8220;You&ndash;&ndash;<i>are</i>&ndash;&ndash;The
+Coyote?&#8221; she asked in a whisper.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My name is Rathburn, miss,&#8221; he replied cheerfully.
+&#8220;In some ways I&#8217;m a lot like the man described
+in that reward notice. An&#8217; I&#8217;m riding a
+dun-colored horse branded CC2. I don&#8217;t like that
+monicker, Coyote, or I might &#8217;fess up to it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then&ndash;&ndash;if you&#8217;re him&ndash;&ndash;you&#8217;re an outlaw!&#8221; she
+stammered.</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s dreamy look shifted to the boy who
+was staring at him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ll grow up to be quite a man, son,&#8221; he said
+in a fatherly tone. &#8220;Those freckles mean a tough
+skin. A weak sort of skin tans quick an&#8217; the
+toughest just sunburns. You&#8217;re halfway between.
+That&#8217;s all right for freckles; but it don&#8217;t go in life.
+It&#8217;s best to be on one side or the other, an&#8217; the
+right side&#8217;s the best for most folks.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He rose and went for his hat. Then he extracted
+a roll of bills from a hip pocket and laid a five-dollar
+note on the table.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That meal was worth it,&#8221; he said to the girl
+with a smile.</p>
+<p>She shook her head. &#8220;I&ndash;&ndash;I couldn&#8217;t take it,&#8221; she
+said.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_23' name='page_23'></a>23</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s clean money, miss. I earned it circumventin&#8217;
+three of the most ornery card sharps in
+Arizona.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She continued to shake her head. &#8220;You do not
+understand,&#8221; she murmured. &#8220;It&ndash;&ndash;it wouldn&#8217;t make
+any difference. We couldn&#8217;t take money from a
+stranger who came to us&ndash;&ndash;hungry. It wouldn&#8217;t
+make any difference who you were.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Aw, we need it, sis!&#8221; blurted out the boy. &#8220;The
+Coyote&#8217;s all right. He wouldn&#8217;t lie to us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn laughed and, stepping to the boy, ran
+his fingers in his hair. &#8220;I guess I&#8217;ve made a friend,&#8221;
+he said in a wistful voice. Then he picked up
+the bill on the table and stuffed it into the boy&#8217;s
+pocket. His eyes encountered the poster again and
+they clouded. He turned away from it.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Miss, you&#8217;ll let me thank you&ndash;&ndash;sure.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She nodded, retreating a few paces.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then I&#8217;ll be going,&#8221; he said, stepping to the door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;To&ndash;&ndash;to Dry Lake?&#8221; she found the voice to ask.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes. To Dry Lake.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He left the house and in a few minutes reappeared
+from the direction of the barn, riding his dun-colored
+horse. He did not stop, but galloped down
+the valley, waving a hand in farewell which the boy
+answered.</p>
+<p>The day was nearly spent. The sun was low in
+the west, sliding down like a ball of gold toward
+the rim of the blue mountains. A stiff breeze had
+sprung up, driving the heat before it. At the lower
+end of the valley Rathburn found the trail he had
+left when he detoured to the ranch. He turned
+westward upon it, put spurs to his horse, and sped
+toward town.</p>
+<p>It was just as well that the girl could not see
+the look which came to his face as he rode into the
+sunset.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_24' name='page_24'></a>24</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_III_THE_LAW' id='CHAPTER_III_THE_LAW'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER III</h2>
+<h3>THE LAW</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Night had descended when Rathburn came in
+sight of the little town on the edge of the
+foothills. He rode slowly toward it, staring moodily
+at the flickering lights between interlaced branches
+which waved and weaved in the wind blowing down
+from the mountains. In all the distance he had
+traveled from the lonely ranch where he had met
+the girl and the boy he had encountered no one.
+He surmised that the trail to the desert hills to eastward
+was not a popular one.</p>
+<p>As he neared the town he saw that it consisted
+of one main street with buildings clustered about it,
+and numerous shacks scattered in the lee of the
+hills. There were trees close to the eastern end of
+the street which he was approaching, and when he
+reached these trees he dismounted, led his horse into
+the shadows, and tied it.</p>
+<p>He walked down the main street, which was illuminated
+only by the stars and the yellow gleams of
+light from windows on either side.</p>
+<p>There were several resorts, and one in particular
+seemed the most popular. Rathburn glanced in
+through the door of this place as he passed and
+saw that it consisted of a bar and numerous tables,
+where games were in progress. He did not stop
+but continued on his way.</p>
+<p>Few people were on the street; none of them
+took any especial notice of him. Several doors
+below the largest resort which he had so casually
+investigated, he came to a small, one-story, white-painted
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_25' name='page_25'></a>25</span>
+building, which, save for the door and window
+in its front, looked like a huge box.</p>
+<p>Across the glass in the door was lettered in gold:</p>
+<table summary=''><tr><td>
+<p class='cg'><span class='smcap'>JUDSON BROWN</span><br />
+Justice of the Peace<br />
+Notary Public</p>
+</td></tr></table>
+<p>A dim light shone within, and, peering through
+the window, Rathburn saw that this light came from
+a lamp in a second room behind the little front office.</p>
+<p>He looked up and down the street and saw but
+two pedestrians, both walking up the other side of
+the thoroughfare with their back to him. He tried
+the door stealthily, found it unlocked, and stepped
+quickly inside. Three strides took him to the door
+of the inside room.</p>
+<p>A man looked up from a small table where he
+was engaged in writing. He was a stout man, large
+of countenance, with small black eyes under bushy
+brows which were black, although his hair was gray.
+He scowled heavily at the intruder who failed to
+remove his hat, and who stood, with feet well apart,
+in the doorway, a whimsical smile playing on his lips.</p>
+<p>In a sweeping glance Rathburn saw that the room
+contained a bed, wardrobe closet, several chairs, and
+other articles of furniture and decoration of a bedroom
+and living room. His eyes flashed back to
+the burly man sitting at the table, pen poised, coolly
+surveying him with a frown.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Your name Jud Brown?&#8221; he asked, stepping inside
+the room and to the side of the door toward
+the table where he could not be seen from the street.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m <i>Judge</i> Brown,&#8221; replied the large man testily.
+&#8220;You should have knocked before you came in,
+but now you&#8217;re here, state your business as quickly
+as possible.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_26' name='page_26'></a>26</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s a businesslike tone that I admire to hear,
+Brown,&#8221; drawled Rathburn. &#8220;You&#8217;ll excuse my not
+callin&#8217; you judge. I&#8217;m afraid when you find out
+who I am you&#8217;d think I was kiddin&#8217; you!&#8221;</p>
+<p>He smiled amiably while the justice glared angrily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re drunk!&#8221; flared Brown. &#8220;The best thing
+you can do is get out of here&ndash;&ndash;quick.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked pained. &#8220;First you ask me to
+state my business an&#8217; now you tell me to get out,&#8221;
+he complained. &#8220;You might as well know that I
+never touch likker,&#8221; he added convincingly.</p>
+<p>Brown was studying him intently with a puzzled
+look on his face. &#8220;Well,&#8221; he said finally, with a
+show of irritation, &#8220;what do you want?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want you to tell me the why an&#8217; the wherefores
+of this document,&#8221; said Rathburn sternly as he drew
+a folded piece of paper from a pocket and spread
+it out on the table before the astonished gaze of
+the justice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s one of a number I saw tacked on trees
+on the east trail out of here,&#8221; continued Rathburn,
+frowning. &#8220;What&#8217;s it all about, Brown?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The pen in the hand of the justice suddenly began
+to waver as the hand trembled. Then Brown dropped
+it, squared away his chair, and looked grimly at his
+nocturnal visitor. For some moments his gaze was
+concentrated on Rathburn&#8217;s face. Then he slowly
+read the poster offering a reward of five hundred
+dollars for The Coyote. He wet his lips with his
+tongue.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So I was right!&#8221; he exclaimed. &#8220;You <i>were</i>
+headed in this direction. I&#8217;m assuming that you&#8217;re
+The Coyote!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And you&#8217;re assuming what&#8217;s the bare, untarnished
+truth,&#8221; said Rathburn. &#8220;I&#8217;m The Coyote you&#8217;ve
+offered five hundred for, an&#8217; who&#8217;ll bring another
+five hundred in several counties in Arizona, not to
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_27' name='page_27'></a>27</span>
+mention five thousand that the State of Arizona has
+tossed into the pot. I suppose I&#8217;m worth at least
+ten thousand as I stand here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That would be cheap for a man of your reputation!&#8221;
+said the justice bravely. &#8220;We don&#8217;t want you
+across the line in California, Coyote. We won&#8217;t
+put up with your depredations, and if you murder
+one of our citizens you&#8217;ll hang!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s chilling laugh hung upon the justice&#8217;s
+words. &#8220;You&#8217;re side-stepping the point,&#8221; he said
+suddenly in crisp tones that were like the crack
+of a whiplash. &#8220;You&#8217;re anticipating events, Jud.
+That&#8217;s my complaint&ndash;&ndash;that&#8217;s my business here with
+you.&#8221; He brought his right palm down upon the
+table smartly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; now that I&#8217;m here, Jud, you&#8217;re sure goin&#8217;
+to listen!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t threaten me!&#8221; cried the justice. &#8220;There
+are a hundred men within call and they&#8217;d make short
+work of you if they got their hands on you. Darn
+your ornery hide, I&#8217;m holding the winning cards in
+this game!&#8221; he concluded excitedly.</p>
+<p>Rathburn was smiling at him; and it was not his
+natural smile. It gave the justice pause as he looked
+up into those narrowed gray eyes, shot with a steel-blue
+light. Rathburn&#8217;s right hand and wrist moved
+with incredible swiftness, and Brown found himself
+staring into the black bore of a six-gun. Still he
+saw the eyes above the weapon. His face blanched.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There are six winning cards in my right hand,&#8221;
+Rathburn said slowly. &#8220;You can start shoutin&#8217; for
+those hundred men you mentioned just as soon as
+you want. Brown, it&#8217;s you an&#8217; your kind that&#8217;s
+made me desperate&ndash;&ndash;dangerous, like you said in that
+printed notice. I won&#8217;t fool with you or any other
+man on earth!&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_28' name='page_28'></a>28</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;What&ndash;&ndash;what did you come here for?&#8221; stammered
+the justice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;To get away from&ndash;&ndash;from back there in that
+cactus-bordered country of black, lava hills where I
+was born an&#8217; where I belong!&#8221; said Rathburn grimly,
+sliding into a chair on the opposite side of the table
+from Brown.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Listen to me! I was driven out. I&#8217;ve ridden
+for a week with the idea of gettin&#8217; where I wasn&#8217;t
+known an&#8217; where I could maybe get a fresh start,
+and here I find a reward notice staring me in the
+face from the top of the first hill I cross after
+leaving Arizona. I&#8217;ve never been here before; I&#8217;ve
+done nothing to molest you or your town; but you
+sic the pack on me first off an&#8217; hand-running, without
+any reason, except that you&#8217;ve <i>heard</i> things about
+me, I reckon.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Brown nodded his head as Rathburn finished. A
+measure of composure returned to him. His eyes
+gleamed with cunning as he remembered that his
+front door was unlocked and some one might by
+chance come in. But he again felt troubled as he
+conjectured what might happen in such event.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You cannot blame me,&#8221; he said to Rathburn.
+&#8220;You&#8217;ve robbed, and you&#8217;re a killer&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what you <i>hear</i>?&#8221; thundered Rathburn. &#8220;I
+admit several robberies&ndash;&ndash;holdups of crooked, gambling
+joints like you&#8217;ve got in this town, an&#8217; petty-larceny
+bankers who robbed poor stockmen with
+sanction of the law. I&#8217;ve killed one man who had
+it coming to him. But I&#8217;ve shouldered the blame
+for every killing an&#8217; every robbery that&#8217;s been
+staged in the desert country for the last three years.
+&#8216;The Coyote did it,&#8217; is what they say, an&#8217; the crooks
+an&#8217; gunmen that turned the deal go free. I&#8217;m talking
+to you, Brown, as man to man&ndash;&ndash;a thing I&#8217;ve
+never done with any mouthpiece of the law before.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_29' name='page_29'></a>29</span>
+I&#8217;m trying to show you how you an&#8217; your kind can
+make a man an outlaw an&#8217; keep him one till somebody
+shoots him down. I&#8217;m sore, Brown, because
+I know that one of these days I&#8217;m going to get
+it myself!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The justice saw that the man was in deadly earnest.
+He saw the hand resting on the table tighten its
+grip upon the gun.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t know all these things,&#8221; he said hastily.
+&#8220;I had to judge by what I heard&ndash;&ndash;and read. Why
+didn&#8217;t you make all this known to the Arizona
+authorities?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn laughed harshly. &#8220;Because I&#8217;d be framed
+clear across the board,&#8221; he said jeeringly. &#8220;It&#8217;s the
+law! It&#8217;s as much of a crime to rob a thieving
+gambler or a snake of a whisky runner or peddler
+as it is to rob a home! I&#8217;ve had to rob to live!
+An&#8217; all the while there&#8217;s been the makings of one
+of the hardest-lookin&#8217; bad men that this Southwest
+country ever saw in me. And, now that I think
+of it, why the devil I&#8217;ve held off I don&#8217;t know!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Brown was moved by the sincerity of the man.
+He saw in Rathburn&#8217;s eyes that he was speaking
+the gospel truth. He saw something else in those
+eyes&ndash;&ndash;the yearning of a homeless, friendless man,
+stamped with the stigma of outlawry, rebelling
+against the forces which were against him, relentlessly
+hunting him down.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You say you came here to start over?&#8221; he asked
+curiously. &#8220;How do I know you won&#8217;t walk right
+out of this office and turn a trick right here in
+this very town?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t know it, that&#8217;s the devil of it!&#8221; exclaimed
+Rathburn. &#8220;An&#8217; there&#8217;s no use in my telling
+you I won&#8217;t, for you wouldn&#8217;t take my word
+for it. You&#8217;ve got me pegged for a gun-fightin&#8217;
+bandit of first water an&#8217; clear crystal, an&#8217; I won&#8217;t
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_30' name='page_30'></a>30</span>
+try to wise you up because it wouldn&#8217;t do any good.
+Now that you know I&#8217;m in this country, you&#8217;ll
+blame the first wrong thing that happens on to me.
+I&#8217;ve got no business here talking to you. I&#8217;m wasting
+my breath. You&#8217;ll have to find out from somebody
+besides me that I was telling you the truth,
+an&#8217; I reckon that coincidence ain&#8217;t in the pictures.
+Where&#8217;s your handcuffs?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The justice stared at him, startled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where&#8217;s your handcuffs?&#8221; insisted Rathburn
+angrily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;In the drawer of my desk out in front,&#8221; replied
+Brown.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Go an&#8217; get &#8217;em an&#8217; bring &#8217;em here,&#8221; Rathburn
+commanded. &#8220;I&#8217;ll keep my drop on you under cover.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Brown rose and went to his desk in the front
+room while Rathburn watched him in the doorway
+with his gun held under his coat.</p>
+<p>When the justice returned to the inside room
+Rathburn moved a chair close against one of the
+bedposts. He compelled Brown to sit in the chair,
+put his hands around between the supports in the
+back, and about the bedpost. He handcuffed him
+in that position.</p>
+<p>Drawing a bandanna handkerchief from a pocket
+he swiftly gagged the justice. Then he rummaged
+about the room until he found a piece of rope tied
+about a pack in the bottom of the wardrobe. With
+this he secured Brown&#8217;s ankles to the front legs of
+the chair.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There!&#8221; he said, standing back to view his handiwork.
+&#8220;You&#8217;re pretty well trussed up. I ain&#8217;t
+trusting you any more than you&#8217;d trust me, an&#8217; I
+don&#8217;t figure on you raising any hue an&#8217; cry before
+I can get along on my way.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The eyes of the justice were rolling as he struggled
+in vain to speak.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_31' name='page_31'></a>31</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Never mind,&#8221; said Rathburn. &#8220;I reckon I know
+what you want to say. Under the circumstances,
+the same being so much on my side, you&#8217;d say you
+believed me an&#8217; all that. But I took a chance in
+coming here to tell you what I did an&#8217; I never aim
+to take more&#8217;n one chance in a day. So long.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_32' name='page_32'></a>32</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_IV_I_KNEW_HE_LIED' id='CHAPTER_IV_I_KNEW_HE_LIED'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER IV</h2>
+<h3>&#8220;I KNEW HE LIED!&#8221;</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Rathburn extinguished the light in the lamp,
+walked swiftly to the front door, and outside.
+Closing the door softly he turned back up the street.
+He sauntered along slowly, debating his next move.
+Evidently the town was the last for many miles in
+the mountainous country east and north. Westward
+he would come upon many towns as the country
+became more and more densely populated toward the
+coast. Northwestward he would be able to keep
+within the arm of the mountains and still be in
+touch with civilization. But he would have to make
+some changes in his attire and fix that brand on
+his horse.</p>
+<p>Instinctively his course brought him to the big
+resort he had noticed upon his arrival. The entrance
+doors had been closed against the chill of
+the night, but he could see the interior of the place
+through one of the windows despite the coating of
+dust upon the glass.</p>
+<p>As he peered within he stiffened to alert attention
+and a light oath escaped him. Walking swiftly from
+a rear door was a tall man, the lower part of his
+face concealed by a black handkerchief. He held a
+gun in each hand and was covering the score or
+more patrons of the place who had risen from the
+tables, or stepped back from the bar, with their
+hands held high above their heads.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Keep &#8217;em there an&#8217; you&#8217;ll be all right,&#8221; the
+masked man was saying in a loud voice which carried
+to Rathburn through cracks in the window
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_33' name='page_33'></a>33</span>
+glass. &#8220;Line up down there, now&ndash;&ndash;you hear me?
+Line up!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The patrons lined up, keeping their faces toward
+the bandit.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If anybody gets to acting uneasylike it&#8217;ll be the
+signal for me to start shootin&#8217;&ndash;&ndash;understand?&#8221; came
+the holdup&#8217;s menacing voice as he moved around
+behind the bar.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Open both cash drawers,&#8221; he ordered the servitor
+in the white apron. He covered the bartender with
+one gun while he kept the other pointed in the
+direction of the men standing in line.</p>
+<p>Obeying instructions, the bartender took the bills
+from the cash drawers and laid them before the
+bandit on the bar. He then made several piles of
+silver near the bills, walking to and from the drawers
+of the big cash register. Continuing to do as he
+was told, he stuffed the bank notes and silver into
+the masked man&#8217;s pockets, one gun&#8217;s muzzle against
+his breast, the other holding the men in line at bay.</p>
+<p>Rathburn heard footsteps on the walk close to
+him. He whirled and saw two men about to enter
+the resort. &#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t go in there,&#8221; he said sharply
+in a low voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Eh&ndash;&ndash;what&#8217;s that?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The two men paused, looking at him questioningly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t go in there,&#8221; Rathburn repeated.
+&#8220;Come here an&#8217; take a look.&#8221;</p>
+<p>One of the men stepped to his side and peered
+curiously through the window.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bill!&#8221; he whispered excitedly. &#8220;Look here. It&#8217;s
+a holdup!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The other man looked over his shoulder. He swore
+softly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll bet it&#8217;s The Coyote!&#8221; said the first man
+in an awed voice.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_34' name='page_34'></a>34</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Probably is,&#8221; said Rathburn sneeringly. &#8220;They
+say he was heading this way.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Good place to stay out of&ndash;&ndash;if it&#8217;s <i>him</i>,&#8221; declared
+the second man.</p>
+<p>Rathburn suddenly pulled back his left sleeve. &#8220;See
+that?&#8221; he said, pointing to his left forearm.</p>
+<p>The two men stared at the bared forearm in the
+yellow light which shone through the dust-stained
+window. They saw a scar about three inches below
+the elbow.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Looks like a bullet made that,&#8221; one of the men
+observed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re right,&#8221; said Rathburn, letting down his
+shirt sleeve. &#8220;A bullet from The Coyote&#8217;s gun left
+that mark.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The men looked at him wonderingly and respectfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You boys live here?&#8221; asked Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; was the reply. &#8220;We work in the Pine
+Knot Hotel an&#8217; stables. You from the hills?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yep,&#8221; answered Rathburn. &#8220;Cow-puncher an&#8217;
+horseshoer an&#8217; one thing an&#8217; another. What&#8217;s he
+doing now?&#8221; He again turned his attention to the
+scene within the resort, as did the two men with
+him.</p>
+<p>The bandit was backing away from the bar toward
+the rear of the room, still keeping his guns
+thrust out before him, menacing the men who stood
+with uplifted hands.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You can tell your funny judge that I called!&#8221;
+he sang out as he reached the rear door. &#8220;An&#8217; now,
+gents,&#8221; he continued in an excited voice, &#8220;it won&#8217;t
+go well with the man that tries to get out this back
+way too soon.&#8221;</p>
+<p>As he ceased speaking his guns roared. The
+two large hanging lamps, suspended from the ceiling
+in the center, went out to the accompaniment of
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_35' name='page_35'></a>35</span>
+shattered glass crashing on the floor. The three
+smaller lamps above the back bar next were cut to
+splinters by bullets and the place was in total darkness.</p>
+<p>Then there was silence, save for the sound of
+a horse&#8217;s hoofs coming from somewhere behind the
+building.</p>
+<p>Rathburn drew back from the window as a match
+flared within and his two companions moved toward
+the front door. He stole around the corner of the
+building and started on a run for the rear. He
+stopped when he heard a horse galloping toward the
+east end of the street behind the buildings which
+lined that side. He hurried behind two buildings
+which did not extend as far as the resort and
+hastened up the street. He did not once look back.</p>
+<p>Behind him he heard shouts and men running in
+the street. He increased his pace until he was
+running swiftly for the trees where he had left his
+horse. From above he caught the dying echoes of
+hoofs flying on the trail up the foothills by which
+he had come early that night.</p>
+<p>The cries down the street increased, a gun barked,
+and bullets whined over his head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The locoed fools!&#8221; he panted. &#8220;Didn&#8217;t they hear
+that fellow ride away?&#8221;</p>
+<p>But the shooting evidently was of a promiscuous
+nature, for he heard more shots around by the rear
+of the place where the robbery had been committed.
+No more bullets were fired in his direction as he
+darted into the black shadows of the trees.</p>
+<p>He quickly untied his horse, mounted, rode in
+the shelter of the timber to the east trail, and began
+the ascent, urging his horse to its fastest walking
+gait up the hard trail. The fleeing bandit&#8217;s sounds
+of retreat no longer came to his ears, but he kept
+on, scanning the open stretches of trail above in
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_36' name='page_36'></a>36</span>
+the starlight, a disparaging smile playing upon his
+lips.</p>
+<p>Back in the little town excitement was at a high
+pitch. Extra lamps had been lighted in the resort
+where a big crowd had gathered. Several men ran
+to the office of Judson Brown, justice of the peace,
+while others went in search of the constable.</p>
+<p>When Brown failed to answer the summons at
+his door, some one discovered it was not locked,
+and the little group of men trooped in to find the
+justice gagged and handcuffed to his bed. They
+lighted the lamp and removed the gag. Then acting
+upon his instructions they took a bunch of keys
+from his pocket and unlocked the handcuffs.</p>
+<p>He stood, boiling with rage, while they alternately
+hurled questions at him and told him of the holdup.</p>
+<p>He ignored their questions as to how he came
+to be bound and gagged and demanded more details
+of the robbery.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We took him to be The Coyote,&#8221; said the spokesman
+of the group. He had been one of the men
+the bandit had lined up. &#8220;He was tall, an&#8217; blue or
+gray eyes, an&#8217;&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;A puncher from up north picked him out through
+the window,&#8221; spoke up one of the men who had
+encountered Rathburn outside the resort. &#8220;He&#8217;d
+been shot in the forearm by him once&ndash;&ndash;showed us
+the scar. The robber was The Coyote, all right.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Certainly it was him!&#8221; roared Brown. &#8220;He
+came in here, tied me up after pulling a gun on
+me, an&#8217; threatening to kill me, practically, so he
+wouldn&#8217;t have any trouble pulling his trick. Tried
+to steer me off by saying he didn&#8217;t come here to
+make any trouble. I knew he lied!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The constable came in as the justice was finishing
+his irate speech.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to lead this chase myself!&#8221; cried
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_37' name='page_37'></a>37</span>
+Brown. &#8220;I want The Coyote, and I&#8217;m going to
+get him. I raise that reward to a thousand on the
+spot, and I know the sheriff will back me up. Get
+out every man in town that can stick on a horse,
+and we&#8217;ll catch him if we have to comb the hills
+and desert country till doomsday!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Already horsemen were gathering in the street outside.
+Feeling was high, for Dry Lake prided itself
+on its record of freedom from the molestation of
+outlaws. The rough element, too, was strong for
+a man hunt, or anything, for that matter, promising
+excitement.</p>
+<p>A quarter of an hour later Brown, who was accepted
+as the leader when emergencies involving the
+law arose, distributed his forces. He sent two
+posses of twenty men each north and northwest.
+A third posse of a dozen men started southward.
+Towns to the west were notified by telephone as
+was the sheriff&#8217;s office. The sheriff said he would
+be on his way to Dry Lake in an hour. He was
+amazed that The Coyote should be in his territory.
+He, too, wanted the outlaw, and he praised Brown
+for his reward offer.</p>
+<p>Judson Brown himself led the posse of thirty men
+which took the east trail up the foothills. It was
+an hour past midnight. The moon had risen and
+was flooding the tumbled landscape with its cold,
+white light. From different vantage points on ridges
+high above, two men looked grimly down and saw
+the moving shadows of the man hunters as they
+took the trail.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_38' name='page_38'></a>38</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_V_A_CAPTURE' id='CHAPTER_V_A_CAPTURE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER V</h2>
+<h3>A CAPTURE</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Three hours after the posses scattered on their
+search for The Coyote, spurred by thoughts of
+the reward of a thousand dollars offered by San
+Jacinto county, and Judson Brown&#8217;s declaration that
+the reward would be increased by the thousands more
+which Arizona had laid upon the fugitive&#8217;s head,
+Rathburn smiled at the rosy dawn in supreme satisfaction.</p>
+<p>He had not lost his man&#8217;s trail during the early
+morning hours. Time and again he had outwitted
+the man ahead when the latter had waited to scan
+the back trail for signs of pursuit; more than once
+he had gained ground when screened by timber
+growth close to the trail; every stretch of dust-filled
+trail had been taken advantage of, while the
+soft going underfoot had deadened the sound of
+his horse&#8217;s flying hoofs.</p>
+<p>The bandit had traveled fast and he had kept
+steadily to the eastward. This last was what caused
+Rathburn to smile with satisfaction. The man for
+whose crime Rathburn was suspected was heading
+straight for Rathburn&#8217;s own stamping ground&ndash;&ndash;the
+far-distant desert range, which he knew from the
+low horizon in the south to the white-capped peaks
+in the north. To catch up with him would be but
+a matter of a few hours, Rathburn reflected contentedly.</p>
+<p>Nor had the posse gained upon the two men ahead.
+Brown&#8217;s men, perhaps, did not have as excellent
+specimens of horseflesh as Rathburn and his quarry
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_39' name='page_39'></a>39</span>
+rode. Nor did they possess the trail knowledge,
+the tricks which Rathburn knew, and which the latter,
+more or less to his surprise, found that the
+man ahead knew. Whatever it was that caused that
+curling, sneering smile of contempt to play upon
+Rathburn&#8217;s lips at intervals, it was not scorn of the
+riding ability of the man he was pursuing.</p>
+<p>Moreover, both men ahead were saving their
+horses&#8217; strength against a probable spurt by the posse
+at daylight. It would not be a hard matter to follow
+their trail by the bright light of broad day. So far
+as he could determine, Rathburn did not believe the
+man ahead knew he was followed by a solitary rider
+who was between him and the hounds of the law.</p>
+<p>Under the circumstances, the bandit would expect
+to be pursued by a number, Rathburn reasoned. He
+was ordering his pursuit on this theory, and he did
+not intend to take any more time than was absolutely
+necessary in catching up with the man ahead.</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s horse had not been hard ridden the day
+preceding, nor for several days before that. He had
+journeyed westward by easy stages, taking his time,
+favoring his mount in anticipation of some unforeseen
+emergency which might require hard riding.
+And he well knew the extraordinary powers of speed
+and endurance which the animal possessed.</p>
+<p>He frowned as he thought of the brand. He had
+not been under the impression that the iron his horse
+wore was generally known to the authorities. He
+would have to hole-up somewhere in the hills before
+long and attend to that brand. As it was, it was a
+dead give-away as to his identity. He could thank
+Brown for this bit of information, anyway.</p>
+<p>With the dawn, Rathburn found it easier to keep
+on his man&#8217;s trail without being seen himself. He
+gained considerable until he estimated that he was not
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_40' name='page_40'></a>40</span>
+more than a mile and a half, or two miles at most,
+behind.</p>
+<p>The sun was up when he reached the crest of the
+high ridge where was the tall pine and the sign which
+he had first seen the afternoon before.</p>
+<p>He hesitated, debating whether to let the printed
+notice remain with his penciled inscription about the
+Arizona reward on it, or to tear it down. Then he
+saw the man he was pursuing below on the trail.
+He moved swiftly out of sight down the eastern side
+of the ridge. But when he came to the next vantage
+point he discovered that his man had apparently seen
+him; for he was riding at a mad gallop on the trail
+which wound eastward along the edge of the hills.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now&#8217;s as good a time as any, hoss!&#8221; he cried to
+his mount as he drove in his spurs and dashed in
+swift pursuit.</p>
+<p>Down the winding trail plunged horse and rider.
+The dun slipped and slid on the hard surface of the
+steep declivities and finally emerged upon the more
+open path which the man ahead was following.</p>
+<p>Rathburn no longer made any attempt at concealment.
+He was after the man ahead, and, somewhere
+behind, a posse was in mad pursuit. If he were captured
+before he could overtake the bandit who was
+responsible for the robbery, the latter would very
+likely escape&ndash;&ndash;was certain to make his get-away, in
+fact.</p>
+<p>Rathburn called upon his horse by voice and spur
+for all the speed there was in him. He could see the
+fugitive ahead urging his horse to its utmost. The
+race was on in earnest. Thus they came to a long
+stretch of open, level trail. Here Rathburn&#8217;s horse
+began slowly to gain.</p>
+<p>The man ahead turned in his saddle, and Rathburn
+saw the glint of sunlight on dull metal. He brought
+out his own gun. But the other did not fire. He
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_41' name='page_41'></a>41</span>
+kept on, half-turned in the saddle, watching his pursuer
+keenly. Rathburn continued to gain upon him.</p>
+<p>They now were less than half a mile apart, and
+the fugitive suddenly turned his horse due north,
+straight toward the hills, and sent a volley of shots
+whistling in his pursuer&#8217;s direction.</p>
+<p>Rathburn held his fire. The bullets flew wide of
+their mark, and he could see his man reloading as he
+rode. Rathburn now cut across, racing for the point
+where he thought the other would reach the hills.
+His horse rose to the emergency with a tremendous
+burst of speed. He was close enough now to shoot
+with a reasonable certainty of scoring a hit on his
+flying target. But he had no desire to kill, and he
+could not be certain, at that distance, of merely
+wounding his quarry. He also recoiled from the
+thought that he might accidently hit the other&#8217;s splendid
+horse.</p>
+<p>Just ahead a thin line of straggling pines ranged
+down the gradual slope from the first low ridge of
+the hills for which they were heading. Rathburn
+swung north and gained the shelter of this screen
+just as the other rider again began firing. The trees
+now were between them, and each was an equal distance
+from the gentle slope of the ridge.</p>
+<p>Rathburn called upon his horse for a last, heartbreaking
+burst of speed and the dun made good.
+At the beginning of the slope to the ridge, Rathburn
+veered sharply to the right and burst through the
+trees a scant rod or two from his man. His gun
+was leveled straight at the other, who had been caught
+momentarily off his guard.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Drop it!&#8221; shouted Rathburn, racing toward him.</p>
+<p>The man&#8217;s right hand fell to his side while he
+checked his horse with his left. Rathburn rode in
+close to him and they came to a halt. Rathburn&#8217;s lips
+were curled in a smile of contempt. The other stared
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_42' name='page_42'></a>42</span>
+at him, white-faced, his eyes wide and inquiring.
+The fingers of his right hand relaxed, and the gun
+fell to the ground. Rathburn swung low in the
+saddle and scooped it up, thrusting it into a pocket of
+his coat.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now beat it up over that ridge ahead,&#8221; Rathburn
+ordered. &#8220;And be quick about it. That posse may
+be close behind us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The other&#8217;s eyes lit up with surprise. &#8220;You&ndash;&ndash;you&#8217;re
+not an officer?&#8221; he stammered.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Shut up, you fool!&#8221; cried Rathburn. &#8220;You want
+to stay here an&#8217; talk when there&#8217;s a score or two of
+men after us? I&#8217;m worse than an officer. Slope for
+that ridge now. Hurry!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The man put the steel to his horse, and they dashed
+up the slope, crossed the ridge, and found themselves
+in a thick growth of timber which covered a large
+area.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Pick your way into the middle of that patch of
+timber,&#8221; snapped out Rathburn. &#8220;An&#8217; don&#8217;t forget
+I&#8217;ll be right close behind you. Get going&ndash;&ndash;don&#8217;t
+gape!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The captive&#8217;s face flushed at the other&#8217;s manner
+and the indubitable note of contempt in his voice.
+But he obeyed the instructions and pushed into the
+timber.</p>
+<p>When they had proceeded some distance Rathburn
+called a halt. &#8220;Ever been in this country before?&#8221;
+he demanded with a sneer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes.&#8221; The other was more composed now. He
+studied his captor curiously and seemed more at ease.
+Evidently he was heartened by the fact that Rathburn
+had said he was not an officer and he believed
+him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I suppose you&#8217;re after what I&#8217;m carrying on me,&#8221;
+he said with a touch of bitterness. &#8220;I guess I&#8217;d have
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_43' name='page_43'></a>43</span>
+had as much chance as I&#8217;ve got now if I&#8217;d started
+shootin&#8217; even after you got the drop on me!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn laughed harshly. &#8220;You never had a
+chance from the start, if you only knew it,&#8221; he
+jeered. &#8220;Why, you upstart, you&#8217;re not entitled to
+any chance!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The other man&#8217;s face darkened in swift anger.
+&#8220;Brave talk,&#8221; he said sneeringly. &#8220;You&#8217;ve got me
+where you want me, so you can say anything.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got a pile to say,&#8221; replied Rathburn shortly.
+&#8220;But this isn&#8217;t the time or place to say it. We want
+to be good an&#8217; away out of that posse&#8217;s path&ndash;&ndash;an&#8217;
+quick.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You might as well take what you&#8217;re after an&#8217; then
+each of us can look out for himself,&#8221; was the hot
+retort.</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked at the man quizzically. &#8220;You&#8217;ve
+got more spunk than I thought,&#8221; he mused.</p>
+<p>He stared at the other man closely. The bandit
+could not have been more than twenty-five or twenty-six.
+He was tall, well-built, blond. His hair and
+eyes were about the color of Rathburn&#8217;s. But Rathburn
+particularly noted the man&#8217;s face, and whatever
+it was he saw there caused him to shrug and frown
+deeply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s your name?&#8221; he demanded coldly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Percy,&#8221; sneeringly replied the other.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s good enough for me,&#8221; said Rathburn
+cheerfully. &#8220;All I need is a name to call you by.
+Now, Percy, if you&#8217;re acquainted with this country
+in here an&#8217; can steer the way to where the posse&#8217;ll
+be liable to overlook us you better be leading on. I
+see you&#8217;ve ditched your other gun somewhere&ndash;&ndash;you
+had two.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;So you want me to take you where you&#8217;ll be
+safe so you can rob me, maybe shoot me down, an&#8217;
+then make your get-away,&#8221; the other accused.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_44' name='page_44'></a>44</span></div>
+<p>Rathburn looked him straight in the eyes. &#8220;If
+you think I&#8217;m the kind of a man who&#8217;d shoot another
+down in cold blood when he was helpless you don&#8217;t
+know much about human beings,&#8221; he said slowly. &#8220;I
+have no intention of murdering you or harming you
+a-tall, if you&#8217;re halfway careful. If you feel that it&#8217;s
+against your principles to lead this expedition to
+temporary safety, we can turn back toward Dry
+Lake. We&#8217;re going to do one thing or the other
+within one minute!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, come on,&#8221; muttered the captive. He led the
+way through the timber to its western edge, then
+turned north in the shelter of the trees traversing a
+long, high, rocky ridge.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Our horses won&#8217;t leave any tracks here,&#8221; he
+called back. &#8220;Or maybe you don&#8217;t care whether we
+leave any tracks or not,&#8221; he added sarcastically.</p>
+<p>Rathburn spurred his horse alongside of him. &#8220;It
+doesn&#8217;t make a bit of difference to me,&#8221; he said.
+&#8220;You&#8217;re the one that&#8217;s got to be scared of that posse,
+Percy, not me. If it wasn&#8217;t for one thing I&#8217;d take
+you right down there to meet &#8217;em!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The other looked at him both in anger and perplexity.
+&#8220;Suppose you&#8217;d object to tellin&#8217; what that
+one thing is,&#8221; he said savagely.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, it may be that I feel sorry for you,&#8221; said
+Rathburn as if to himself. &#8220;An&#8217; it may be that I
+want credit for bringing you in without the help of
+any posse an&#8217; without them knowing it!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_45' name='page_45'></a>45</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_VI_THE_REAL_LOWDOWN' id='CHAPTER_VI_THE_REAL_LOWDOWN'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER VI</h2>
+<h3>THE REAL LOW-DOWN</h3>
+</div>
+<p>They rode on in silence. When they reached the
+north end of the ridge the man in the lead turned
+west on a slope studded with large boulders and rock
+outcroppings. There was considerable shale here,
+too, and they had to proceed cautiously in spots,
+both for fear of sliding down the shale and to prevent
+making much noise.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If they follow us up here, we can hear &#8217;em before
+they get to us,&#8221; said the man who called himself
+Percy, with a shrug and a frowning look at his
+companion.</p>
+<p>Rathburn did not reply.</p>
+<p>They continued across the slope and descended
+into a large bowl or pocket, guarded by huge boulders
+and scattering trees on the slope above.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Guess it&#8217;s safe to rest our horses here,&#8221; said
+Percy. &#8220;We can hear &#8217;em coming either way; but
+I don&#8217;t think they&#8217;ll get up here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>However, neither he nor Rathburn knew how many
+men Brown had at his command, nor did they know
+that the sheriff of the county, with two deputies, had
+raced to Dry Lake by automobile, procured horses,
+and hastened to join Brown on the east trail, which
+seemed the most likely route of escape for the outlaw.</p>
+<p>There was a spring in the pocket surrounded by a
+small meadow of good grass. The pair watered
+their horses, loosened their saddle-cinches, and permitted
+the animals to graze with reins dangling.</p>
+<p>Rathburn took his slicker pack from the rear of
+his saddle and spread it open on the ground.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_46' name='page_46'></a>46</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Reckon it&#8217;s safe to build a small fire here?&#8221; he
+asked cheerfully. &#8220;I&#8217;m powerful hungry, an&#8217; I&#8217;ve
+got some emergency provisions&ndash;&ndash;being trail-broke.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Percy, too, was hungry, as his eager look toward
+the pack testified.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll climb up to the top on the lower side an&#8217;
+keep an eye out while you fix some grub,&#8221; he volunteered.
+&#8220;You needn&#8217;t be scared of me jumping over
+the other side. There&#8217;s a drop of about five hundred
+feet over there.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Go ahead and jump if you want,&#8221; said Rathburn.
+&#8220;Me&ndash;&ndash;I&#8217;d rather live. That&#8217;s why I want to eat.&#8221;</p>
+<p>While the other climbed to his lookout position
+Rathburn made a fire. Then he took a small frying
+pan and coffeepot, minus its handle, from the pack,
+removed the packages stuffed in them, and soon was
+making coffee, frying bacon, and warming up beans.
+This, with some hard biscuits and some sirup out of
+a bottle, constituted their meal, which Rathburn soon
+had ready.</p>
+<p>Again he looked closely at Percy&#8217;s face as the
+latter scrambled down from his perch to appease his
+hunger.</p>
+<p>Suddenly he burst out laughing; but it was a belittling
+laugh, half sneering, which brought the
+blood to the face of the captive while Rathburn
+watched him closely.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If I had to-day&#8217;s actions to do over again you
+mightn&#8217;t be so tickled,&#8221; said the man viciously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m laughing to think how lucky you are for a
+rank beginner an&#8217; botcher!&#8221; said Rathburn as they
+began to eat. &#8220;You must have took a course in outlawing
+from some correspondence school,&#8221; he continued.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe you could have done better,&#8221; hinted the
+other.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Quite likely I could,&#8221; admitted Rathburn. &#8220;In
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_47' name='page_47'></a>47</span>
+the first place I&#8217;d have shut that back door after I
+came in so nobody could pot shot me from behind.
+Yes, I reckon I&#8217;d have done that.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Percy glared at him thoughtfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then I wouldn&#8217;t have let myself get in line with
+the front and side windows,&#8221; Rathburn taunted.
+&#8220;Lots of men are shot through windows. Ever hear
+of such a thing?&#8221;</p>
+<p>His listener didn&#8217;t answer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; now that I think of it,&#8221; Rathburn droned
+on, &#8220;I&#8217;d have lined those men up against the wall
+with their faces turned away from me. That puts
+&#8217;em at more of a disadvantage, an&#8217; they can&#8217;t see
+what&#8217;s going on.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Percy now was regarding him keenly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s see,&#8221; said Rathburn, with tantalizing slowness.
+&#8220;Oh, yes, Percy. I wouldn&#8217;t have taken anything
+from the cash drawers but the bills. I don&#8217;t
+like to take the time to monkey around with a lot
+of silver; besides, it sort of weights one down.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He paused long enough to let that sink in, then
+continued: &#8220;The thing I&#8217;d have paid most of my
+attention to&ndash;&ndash;excepting for keeping a watchful eye
+on the men against the wall an&#8217; the windows an&#8217;
+doors&ndash;&ndash;would have been the safe. The big money&#8217;s
+usually in the safe, an&#8217; the bartender can be induced
+to open the safe just as easy as he can be persuaded
+into opening the cash drawers. An&#8217; say, Percy, I&#8217;d
+never let a bartender get as close to me as you let
+that fellow get to you. He might start something,
+then you&#8217;d have to begin shootin&#8217; an&#8217; that would
+alarm the town an&#8217; ball up the program.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You talk like you&#8217;d had considerable experience,&#8221;
+observed Percy warily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe so. Maybe I have. But if I have, I can
+say I&#8217;ve never pulled anything quite so raw as the
+way you pulled that stunt last night down in Dry
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_48' name='page_48'></a>48</span>
+Lake, Percy. That is the real low-down on that.
+You just naturally laid yourself open to attack from
+all quarters.&#8221;</p>
+<p>His captive looked at him both respectfully and
+sheepishly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; there&#8217;s only one reason why you got away
+with it,&#8221; said Rathburn, his eyes narrowing.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Because I was lucky like you say, I suppose,&#8221;
+sneeringly answered Percy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No!&#8221; thundered Rathburn. &#8220;You got away with
+it because they thought you were The Coyote!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The captive started; stared at Rathburn with
+widened eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s why you got away with it,&#8221; continued
+Rathburn in a hard voice. &#8220;An&#8217; you thought you&#8217;d
+cinch it when you told &#8217;em before you went out
+that they could tell their funny judge you called!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s eyes blazed with angry contempt.
+&#8220;Trading on somebody else&#8217;s name,&#8221; he mocked.
+&#8220;Trying to make out you was the goods, an&#8217; I believe
+they thought you was The Coyote, at that.
+Man, I saw the whole dirty business.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Percy&#8217;s face went white. However, his emotion
+was more anger than fear, and he was prey to an
+overpowering curiosity.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How do you know I <i>ain&#8217;t</i> The Coyote?&#8221; he asked
+shrewdly.</p>
+<p>Rathburn stared at him&ndash;&ndash;stunned. Then he leaped
+to his feet and his gun flashed into his hand in a
+movement too swift for the eye to follow.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Go over there and look at the brand on my horse,&#8221;
+he commanded. &#8220;Remember how that printed bill
+read that put it in your fool head to try an&#8217; masquerade
+as The Coyote, an&#8217; then read the brand on that
+horse!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The captive rose and without a look back walked
+to where Rathburn&#8217;s horse was cropping the grass.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_49' name='page_49'></a>49</span>
+The left side of the animal was toward him and for
+a few moments he stood looking with bulging eyes
+at the CC2 on the shoulder. Then he turned slowly.</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s gaze burned into his, but a cool, deliberate
+light had come into his eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So you&#8217;re The Coyote!&#8221; Percy said quietly. &#8220;I
+should have recognized you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I&#8217;m called The Coyote,&#8221; said Rathburn,
+walking slowly toward him. &#8220;I&#8217;m the man they
+think robbed that joint down in Dry Lake last night.
+I&#8217;m the man they&#8217;re looking for. I&#8217;m the man they
+want to make pay for your bungling work. That&#8217;s
+the way it&#8217;s gone for three years, Percy. I&#8217;ve been
+blamed for job after job that I didn&#8217;t even know
+was pulled off till I heard they were looking for me
+on account of it. But this is one job they&#8217;ll not be
+able to lay at my door; for I&#8217;ve got the man who&#8217;s
+responsible an&#8217; I&#8217;ve got him red-handed!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;re you going to do about it?&#8221; asked the
+other coolly.</p>
+<p>Again Rathburn&#8217;s eyes blazed with rage. &#8220;Do?
+Why, I&#8217;m just naturally going to take you in all
+by my lonesome an&#8217; turn you over to the sheriff
+with my compliments.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn cooled down as he said this, drew
+tobacco and papers from his shirt pocket, and proceeded
+to build a cigarette. He looked at his man
+queerly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now I reckon you know why I ain&#8217;t got any
+idea of taking that money off you,&#8221; he said.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They might not believe you,&#8221; returned the other.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know what you mean. You mean they might
+think I was putting up a job on &#8217;em an&#8217; trying
+to shift the blame on somebody else. It can&#8217;t be
+done, Percy. Listen to this: I was looking through
+the front window of that place last night when you
+held it up. Two men that work in the hotel down
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_50' name='page_50'></a>50</span>
+there came along an&#8217; looked in alongside of me
+after I warned &#8217;em not to go in. I showed &#8217;em this
+scar on my arm.&#8221; He rolled back his left sleeve
+disclosing a scar on the forearm about three inches
+below the elbow.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I told &#8217;em that scar was made by a bullet from
+The Coyote&#8217;s gun,&#8221; Rathburn went on, pulling down
+his sleeve and drawing his right hand back to the
+gun he had replaced in its holster. &#8220;That scar
+<i>was</i> made by The Coyote&#8217;s gun. I shot myself in
+the arm by accident some few years ago. Now,
+here&#8217;s the point: Those men will remember me an&#8217;
+remember that scar. The descriptions the sheriff
+of that county must have in his office will tell
+all about that scar. It won&#8217;t be hard to identify
+me by it an&#8217; by the two men that stood out there
+by the window with me. So they&#8217;ll know I didn&#8217;t
+pull the robbery!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The other man shifted uneasily on his feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; that ain&#8217;t all, Percy,&#8221; Rathburn continued.
+&#8220;Somebody saw me running up the street afterward
+because they took a couple of shots at me for
+luck. That&#8217;ll dovetail with my story. I&#8217;ve never
+been known to use two guns. An&#8217; if they want
+any more proof all they&#8217;ll have to do will be to
+stand you up in front of the men you had in line,
+dressed as you are with that black handkerchief
+over your face. That&#8217;ll settle it. I reckon the
+sheriff will believe me an&#8217; give me a chance when
+he hears the facts, or I may not wait for a talk
+with him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I take it you&#8217;ve got me right,&#8221; said the captive,
+compressing his lips. &#8220;But if you&#8217;re really The
+Coyote I&#8217;ve heard so much about, you&#8217;ll give me
+my gun an&#8217; give me a chance to run for it!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s laugh jarred on his ears. &#8220;Give you
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_51' name='page_51'></a>51</span>
+a chance an&#8217; take a chance myself on going to the
+gallows?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;The gallows!&#8221; exclaimed the other. &#8220;Oh&ndash;&ndash;I see.
+But didn&#8217;t you say you thought the sheriff would
+give you a chance if he met you an&#8217; heard your
+story? At that you don&#8217;t have to stay around
+an&#8217; get taken back to Arizona now.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;They hang men in this State,&#8221; Rathburn interrupted.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But&ndash;&ndash;there wasn&#8217;t&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221; The other man faltered,
+staring.</p>
+<p>&#8220;One of those shots you fired at the lamp went
+wild, or glanced off something, an&#8217;&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221; Rathburn
+lifted his brows significantly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Killed somebody!&#8221; cried the other.</p>
+<p>He staggered back just as a rattle of falling
+stones signified that horsemen were in the shale on
+the slope to eastward.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_52' name='page_52'></a>52</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_VII_WHERE_TO_HIDE' id='CHAPTER_VII_WHERE_TO_HIDE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER VII</h2>
+<h3>WHERE TO HIDE</h3>
+</div>
+<p>For the space of several seconds Rathburn and
+his captive looked into each other&#8217;s eyes. Rathburn&#8217;s
+gaze was keen, alert, fired by the quick
+thinking he was doing. Stark terror showed in
+the other&#8217;s look which gradually changed to one
+of haunting fear and indecision. Then his eyes
+became clear and he returned Rathburn&#8217;s glance,
+cool and questioning.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get your horse,&#8221; ordered Rathburn, running to
+his own mount.</p>
+<p>In a twinkling he had tightened his cinch, caught
+up the reins, and vaulted into the saddle. His
+captive was at his side shortly afterward.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re still in the lead,&#8221; Rathburn snapped out;
+&#8220;unless you want to wait for &#8217;em.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The other whirled his horse, sent him flying for
+the western end of the pocket, with Rathburn close
+behind. They went up a steep, rocky trail, screened
+by boulders. When they reached the top of the
+west rim they looked back and saw four horsemen
+on the shale slope leading to the pocket. Brown
+evidently had split up his posse and was literally
+combing the hills for his quarry.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;ll know they&#8217;re on the right trail when
+they see the remains of our dinner an&#8217; my pack
+down there,&#8221; remarked Rathburn dryly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But they haven&#8217;t seen us yet,&#8221; said Percy breathlessly.
+&#8220;If we can make Sunrise Ca&ntilde;on Trail we
+can lose &#8217;em in the mountains&ndash;&ndash;that is if <i>you</i> want
+to lose &#8217;em.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_53' name='page_53'></a>53</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Where&#8217;s the trail?&#8221; asked Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8217;Bout five miles west. It&#8217;s the only trail goin&#8217;
+up into the big mountains between here an&#8217; the
+other side of the Dry Lake range, an&#8217; it&#8217;s a tough
+one.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn quickly sized up the country ahead. He
+saw low and high ridges with towering mountains
+to the right, or north, of them. There were scattering
+pines on the slopes and patches of timber in
+the wide ravines, many of which were veritable
+valleys.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll run for it while they&#8217;re getting in an&#8217;
+out of that hole,&#8221; he suddenly decided with a click
+of his teeth. &#8220;Their horses are in no better shape
+than ours. Slope along.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The other had dug in his spurs even before he
+got the order. They rode swiftly down the steep
+trail from the rim of the pocket and fled across
+an open space and up the slope of the first ridge.</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked back as they crossed it, but
+could see no sign of their pursuers. His face
+still was troubled; his gaze kept boring into the
+back of the man on the horse ahead of him. At
+times he muttered to himself.</p>
+<p>They galloped up the hard bed of a dry arroyo
+and swung westward across another rock-bound
+ridge, picking their way carefully among the boulders.
+Rathburn&#8217;s face became more and more strained as
+he noted that the leader evidently knew the country
+they were in like a book. Rathburn, with the experience
+born of years spent in the open places,
+was able to keep his bearings.</p>
+<p>They had followed a course for some miles north
+of the main trail leading east, the trail by which
+he had first come into the locality. Then they had
+doubled back westward, some miles above that
+trail, of course, and now were heading almost due
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_54' name='page_54'></a>54</span>
+north again, in the direction of the mountains which
+did not appear to be far away. He surmised that
+they were nearly directly north of the ranch where
+he had had the meal with the girl and boy.</p>
+<p>At the top of the next ridge his guide pointed
+above them.</p>
+<p>&#8220;See that crack in the mountain?&#8221; he said.</p>
+<p>Rathburn nodded as he made out what appeared
+to be a gash in the steep side of a mountain north
+of them.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s Sunrise Ca&ntilde;on,&#8221; said the other quietly.
+&#8220;There&#8217;s a trail up that ca&ntilde;on into the heart of the
+mountains where they couldn&#8217;t catch us&ndash;&ndash;or you, if
+you want to go alone&ndash;&ndash;in a hundred years!&#8221;</p>
+<p>He stared steadily at Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mosey along, then,&#8221; said Rathburn. &#8220;Let&#8217;s get
+somewheres before our horses drop.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They kept along the ridge until it was cut by a
+ca&ntilde;on. Here they descended and entered another
+long, narrow ravine which they negotiated at a
+gallop. At its upper end they again climbed a steep
+slope. Their horses were showing the strain of
+the hours of hard riding. Rathburn realized that
+they could go but a limited distance. But the
+members of the posse most assuredly must be in
+the same fix so far as their mounts were concerned.</p>
+<p>He decided that if they could get into the ca&ntilde;on
+unseen they would be able to rest their horses and
+remain secure for the night. Next morning
+they could continue on up into the hills, or slip back
+by a roundabout way to Dry Lake.</p>
+<p>His lips froze into a thin white line. He did
+not look at the man with him as they paused for
+a few moments under the trees which covered the
+top of the ridge and gazed at a long, gently sloping
+stretch of nearly open country. It was covered
+with clumps of trees at intervals, that reached to
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_55' name='page_55'></a>55</span>
+the dark, narrow opening in the mountains, marking
+the entrance to Sunrise Ca&ntilde;on and the trail
+to the fastnesses of the higher hills.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You can swing off here to the left an&#8217; down a
+wide valley to where there&#8217;s a cut-off into Dry
+Lake,&#8221; he heard his captive suggesting. &#8220;I don&#8217;t
+see any sense in all this hard ridin&#8217; an&#8217; hidin&#8217;
+if you&#8217;re goin&#8217; to turn me in.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll go on,&#8221; growlingly replied Rathburn.</p>
+<p>They descended the ridge and entered the long,
+sloping valley, so wide that it virtually was a plain.
+They made good headway, although they favored
+their horses. They took advantage of the shelter
+provided by the occasional clumps of pines. The
+afternoon was drawing to a close with the sun
+dipping sharply toward the western hills when they
+came in sight of the entrance to the ca&ntilde;on. But
+with the first glimpse they checked their horses
+and turned into the shelter of some trees near by.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Beat us to it!&#8221; exclaimed Percy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Four of &#8217;em,&#8221; said Rathburn, frowning. &#8220;Brown
+ain&#8217;t taking any chances. He&#8217;s a better man than
+I figured him out. An&#8217; there&#8217;s more of &#8217;em!&#8221;</p>
+<p>He pointed westward where two riders were barely
+discernible on the crest of a ridge. They disappeared
+almost immediately in the timber below.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll turn back,&#8221; Rathburn decided. &#8220;We&#8217;ll
+ride with the trees between us an&#8217; the men up at
+the ca&ntilde;on, an&#8217; keep an eye out for the pair to the
+west. You might watch that side, an&#8217; I&#8217;ll look out
+for the east an&#8217; south. C&#8217;mon, let&#8217;s drift.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The face of the man who called himself Percy was
+white and strained as they urged their tired mounts
+southward. They skirted the western end of the
+ridge by which they had gained the wide valley
+and continued on, carefully scanning the landscape
+in all directions for indications of pursuit. It was
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_56' name='page_56'></a>56</span>
+plain to them that they had been seen to leave
+the east trail early that morning. Brown and his
+men undoubtedly knew they had headed north, and
+the justice had immediately dispatched men to guard
+the entrance to the ca&ntilde;on trail into the mountains.
+Then they had begun a systematic search of the
+locality.</p>
+<p>This deduction was strengthened when Rathburn
+suddenly pointed toward the east. More riders were
+to be seen on the slope of the valley&#8217;s side in that
+direction. Even as they looked, these riders, too,
+disappeared from view as they dropped down behind
+a rise of ground.</p>
+<p>The sun was going down fast. Already the red
+banners of the sunset were flaunted in the high
+western skies. The twilight would be upon them
+apace&ndash;&ndash;the long-lasting, purple-veiled twilight of the
+altitudes. Then the night would close down with
+its canopy of stars.</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked speculatively at his companion.
+&#8220;We&#8217;ll make a break for that clump of trees about
+a quarter of a mile ahead with all our horses have
+got left,&#8221; he said, driving in his spurs.</p>
+<p>In a last mad dash which taxed every iota of
+strength and endurance left in their beasts they
+gained the shelter of the little patch of timber.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Here we&#8217;ll wait,&#8221; said Rathburn coolly as he
+dismounted.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What?&#8221; cried the other, staring at him incredulously.
+&#8220;We ain&#8217;t quite surrounded yet. We
+haven&#8217;t seen anybody in the south. That way may
+be open an&#8217; it&#8217;s liable to be closed while we&#8217;re stayin&#8217;
+here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get off your horse and unsaddle him,&#8221; commanded
+Rathburn sternly. &#8220;The best place to hide
+from a posse is in the middle of it!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_57' name='page_57'></a>57</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_VIII_TWO_QUEER_MOVES' id='CHAPTER_VIII_TWO_QUEER_MOVES'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER VIII</h2>
+<h3>TWO QUEER MOVES</h3>
+</div>
+<p>The captive complied with the order, looking
+at Rathburn in a peculiar way&ndash;&ndash;half disgusted,
+half contemptuous. Indeed, he turned his back on
+the other, leaned against the slender trunk of a
+pine, and stared steadily into the south. He appeared
+much worried.</p>
+<p>The horses welcomed the chance to rest.</p>
+<p>Rathburn walked slowly back and forth the width
+of the patch of timber, vigilantly keeping watch.
+He paid no attention whatsoever to the man leaning
+against the tree. For all the interest he displayed
+he might have completely forgotten his very existence.
+In time this got on the other&#8217;s nerves.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I believe you lied when you said there was a
+man killed down there last night,&#8221; he said coolly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t say anybody was killed,&#8221; Rathburn returned
+without looking in his direction. &#8220;You assumed
+that part of it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then you wanted me to think so,&#8221; said the other
+in a loud voice. &#8220;You was tryin&#8217; to throw a scare
+into me!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn swung on his heel and stepped squarely
+in front of him. &#8220;I let you think that to show
+you what <i>might</i> have happened,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Such
+things have happened to me an&#8217; swelled the price
+on my head. Now, darn you, if you talk that
+loud again I&#8217;ll choke your wind off!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The words came with sinister earnestness, but
+they seemed to rouse some dormant strain of extraordinary
+courage in the man to whom they were
+addressed.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_58' name='page_58'></a>58</span></div>
+<p>He suddenly leaped from the tree and struck out
+with all the force at his command.</p>
+<p>But Rathburn had anticipated the attack. He
+knocked the other&#8217;s blow aside and drove his right
+straight to the jaw.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a little souvenir to show you that I
+mean business, Percy,&#8221; he panted.</p>
+<p>Percy came back to the attack with eyes gleaming
+with malice. Again he attempted to hit Rathburn,
+but the latter stepped aside with lightning swiftness
+and drove home another blow. He followed it up
+with a left and right and Percy sprawled his length
+on the grass.</p>
+<p>After a time he sat up, dazed. Rathburn was
+standing over him. But although he realized fully
+that he was not a match for Rathburn in physical
+combat, and doubtless was greatly his inferior with
+his gun, his spirit was undaunted.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You better finish me, or drag me in,&#8221; he gritted;
+&#8220;for I&#8217;ll get you, if I can. I don&#8217;t know what
+your play is, but you&#8217;ve acted too queer to-day
+for me to believe you&#8217;re on the square one way
+or the other.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You want some more, Percy?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;My name is Lamy,&#8221; growlingly replied the other,
+as he rose cautiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, o-h. Percy Lamy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, just Lamy. Lamy&#8217;s my name, an&#8217; I ain&#8217;t
+ashamed of it. You&#8217;d find it out&ndash;&ndash;sooner or later&ndash;&ndash;anyway,
+I&ndash;&ndash;expect.&#8221; He stammered during this
+speech as if he had just remembered something&ndash;&ndash;remembered
+when it was too late.</p>
+<p>Rathburn noted the frown and the confused
+expression in Lamy&#8217;s eyes. He turned abruptly
+and walked away.</p>
+<p>A few minutes later he came back to find Lamy
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_59' name='page_59'></a>59</span>
+sitting with his back to a tree, staring unseeing
+into the deepening twilight.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lamy,&#8221; he said harshly, &#8220;we&#8217;re going to get
+away from this posse&ndash;&ndash;maybe. Anyway, soon&#8217;s it&#8217;s
+dark we&#8217;ll ride south. It&#8217;s just possible we can
+leave &#8217;em up here in the hills.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Suppose I refuse to go?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then I&#8217;ll have to truss you up an&#8217; tie you to
+your horse, an&#8217; don&#8217;t think I won&#8217;t do it!&#8221; The
+ring of menace in Rathburn&#8217;s voice convinced the
+other, but he made no comment.</p>
+<p>When darkness had fallen they saddled their
+mounts and started. They rode at a jog, keeping
+as much as possible in the shadow of the timber.
+Rathburn noticed that the valley gradually widened;
+he showed interest in his surroundings.</p>
+<p>Then, off to the left below them, he saw moving
+shadows. He called a halt at the next clump of
+trees. &#8220;Lamy, are there any horses running in
+here that you know of?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There probably are,&#8221; said Lamy sarcastically;
+&#8220;an&#8217; they&#8217;ve probably got riders on &#8217;em.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No doubt,&#8221; returned Rathburn gravely. &#8220;I just
+saw some shadows that looked like horses down to
+the left of us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I expected they&#8217;d shut us off in the south,&#8221;
+snapped out Lamy. &#8220;You gave &#8217;em plenty of time.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;We just naturally had to rest our horses,&#8221; observed
+Rathburn. &#8220;As it is, they&#8217;re not good for
+far, nor for any fast riding. Besides, I&#8217;ve changed
+my mind some since this morning.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;So? I suppose you&#8217;re goin&#8217; to give me a chance?&#8221;
+sneeringly inquired the other.</p>
+<p>He could see Rathburn&#8217;s eyes in the twilight,
+and suddenly he shifted in his saddle uneasily. For
+Rathburn&#8217;s gaze had narrowed; and it shot from
+his eyes steel blue with a flash of fire. His face
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_60' name='page_60'></a>60</span>
+had set in cold, grim lines. The whole nature of
+the man seemed to undergo a change. He radiated
+menace, contempt, cold resentment. The corners
+of his mouth twisted down sharply. His voice,
+as he spoke now, seemed edged like a knife.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lamy, hand over that money!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lamy&#8217;s brows lifted in swift comprehension; a
+look of cunning came into his eyes&ndash;&ndash;was followed
+by a gleam of hope, not unmixed with derision.
+He thrust his hands into his coat pockets and held
+out bills and silver to Rathburn who stuffed the
+plunder into his own pockets.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That all of it?&#8221; demanded Rathburn sharply.
+He made no effort to temper the tones of his
+voice.</p>
+<p>For answer Lamy dug into his trousers&#8217; pockets,
+under his chaps, and produced two more rolls of
+bills.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the chunk,&#8221; he said with a sneering inflection
+in his voice. &#8220;If you want I&#8217;ll stand a
+frisk.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, I won&#8217;t search you. I take it you&#8217;re too
+sensible to lie!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Thanks,&#8221; replied Lamy dryly. &#8220;I suppose I&#8217;m
+free to go now, unless you figure you&#8217;d be safer
+by killin&#8217; me off.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Anger, swift and uncontrollable, leaped into Rathburn&#8217;s
+eyes. Then he laughed, softly and mirthlessly.
+&#8220;If I&#8217;d been minded to do for you, or had
+any such idea in my head, I&#8217;d have given it to
+you long before this,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It&#8217;s lucky for
+you, Lamy, that I&#8217;m pretty much the breed you
+thought I was.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t pose!&#8221; retorted Lamy hotly. &#8220;You intended
+to get that money and make me the goat
+if you could, from the start. If you&#8217;d had any
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_61' name='page_61'></a>61</span>
+idea of turnin&#8217; me over to Brown you&#8217;d have done
+that little thing, too, long before this.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe so,&#8221; Rathburn mused, staring at the other
+thoughtfully in the dim light of the stars. &#8220;Maybe
+I will yet. You&#8217;re not out of this&ndash;&ndash;an&#8217; neither am I.
+Those shadows down to the left are getting plainer.
+What&#8217;s that long dark streak over there on the
+right?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Those are trees,&#8221; answered Lamy sneeringly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s make for &#8217;em,&#8221; ordered Rathburn. &#8220;Don&#8217;t
+forget you&#8217;re still under orders, Lamy. An&#8217; don&#8217;t
+overlook the fact that I&#8217;m more or less in earnest
+about things in general,&#8221; he added significantly.</p>
+<p>They rode at a tangent for the dark shadow
+of the trees. At the edge of the timber ensued another
+long wait, with Rathburn uncommunicative,
+moodily pacing restlessly back and forth. The
+horses had another excellent opportunity to rest and
+the fagged animals took advantage of it.</p>
+<p>Once or twice Rathburn thought he glimpsed
+a light far down the valley, but he couldn&#8217;t be
+sure. Neither could he be sure he saw the moving
+shadows on the opposite side of the wide valley
+again.</p>
+<p>The night wore into early morning and the moon
+added its cold radiance to the faint glow of the
+myriads of stars. Rathburn sensed the nearness
+of enemies. Several times he stopped before Lamy,
+who sat upon his saddle blanket with his back against
+a tree trunk and dozed. Rathburn had to fight off
+continual drowsiness.</p>
+<p>For long hours he walked along the edge of the
+pines. He dared not trust himself to sleep. He
+dared not trust Lamy to stand guard while he
+obtained some rest, and he knew that when the
+sun came up and the day began, he would be
+thoroughly awake again; for more than once he had
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_62' name='page_62'></a>62</span>
+gone two nights without sleep. Also, he assumed
+that the hunt would be less spirited during the
+night. Members of the posse would themselves be
+drowsy, but they could spell each other and in that
+way maintain their vigil and secure a few hours
+of rest.</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s rage rose at frequent intervals as he
+thought of the predicament he was in through no
+fault of his own. More than once he glared
+malevolently at the sleeping Lamy; then the troubled
+look would come again to his eyes and he would
+resume his pacing, muttering to himself, staring into
+the blue veil of the night. Once he sat down
+and removed his right boot and sock in the darkness;
+shortly afterward he again began his pacing.</p>
+<p>He felt the pangs of hunger and shook his head
+savagely as he thought of the scanty supply of
+provisions he had been compelled to leave in the
+mountain pocket.</p>
+<p>His spirits revived as he thought of the horses.
+They would be fresh in the morning; and he intended
+that his horse should have a grain feed that
+day. Rathburn always thought of his horse first;
+and, although it might seem that he taxed the animal&#8217;s
+powers to their utmost at times, he never
+went beyond a certain point. He had often said
+he would surrender to his pursuers rather than kill
+his mount in evading them.</p>
+<p>The first faint glimmer of the dawn was lighting
+the skies above the ridges to the eastward when
+he roused Lamy. He awoke with a start, stared
+sleepily at Rathburn, then got speedily to his feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You been awake all night?&#8221; he asked curiously.</p>
+<p>Rathburn nodded, looking at him closely. &#8220;Saddle
+up,&#8221; he ordered.</p>
+<p>They rode southward at a canter in the shelter of
+the edge of the timber. When the eastern skies
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_63' name='page_63'></a>63</span>
+were rosy red and fast changing to gold with the
+advent of the sun they saw two things; a small
+ranch house about a mile southeast of them, and
+two riders some distance north.</p>
+<p>Rathburn reined in his mount. He looked at
+Lamy who met his gaze in defiance. Then Rathburn
+reached into his coat pocket with his right
+hand and drew out a gun.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Here&#8217;s your shooting iron,&#8221; he said, as he held
+the weapon out to Lamy.</p>
+<p>The other stared at him in astonishment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Take it!&#8221; snapped out Rathburn. &#8220;Take it, or
+I may change my mind!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lamy took the gun wonderingly, balanced it for
+a moment in his hand, and shoved it into his holster.</p>
+<p>Rathburn motioned toward the south and Lamy
+rode along at his side. They caught another glimpse
+of the horsemen in the north. As they drew opposite
+the ranch house, on the west or front side,
+they saw a woman leave it and walk the short distance
+to the barn and enter. At that moment both
+Rathburn and Lamy gave vent to low exclamations.
+They had caught sight of riders in the south
+and to the east. They appeared to be surrounded by
+the posse.</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked at Lamy soberly. However, it
+was Lamy who spoke first. &#8220;You said the best
+place to hide from a posse was in the middle of
+it,&#8221; he said scornfully. &#8220;Why not leave the horses
+in the timber an&#8217; run for the house? Maybe it has
+a cellar.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I reckon that would be as good a move as
+any,&#8221; replied Rathburn, to the other&#8217;s surprise. &#8220;I&#8217;m
+game if you are.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lamy&#8217;s eyes flamed with excitement as he turned
+his mount into the trees. They came to what looked
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_64' name='page_64'></a>64</span>
+like a bear pit or a prospect hole. It was partly
+filled with brush.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We can hide our saddles in there an&#8217; let the
+horses go,&#8221; Lamy suggested. &#8220;There&#8217;s a few horses
+runnin&#8217; in through here, an&#8217; they may join &#8217;em.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You can do that with yours,&#8221; said Rathburn
+grimly. &#8220;You seem to forget that the brand on
+this dun is pretty well known.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He coolly tied his horse as Lamy followed his
+own suggestion, hid his saddle, and turned his
+mount loose.</p>
+<p>They moved back to the edge of the timber and
+waited until they could see no one in sight about
+the house or in any direction in the valley. Then
+they started on a run for the house.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_65' name='page_65'></a>65</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_IX_LEAVE_IT_TO_ME' id='CHAPTER_IX_LEAVE_IT_TO_ME'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER IX</h2>
+<h3>LEAVE IT TO ME</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Rathburn had recognized the ranch long before
+they came close to it. It was the place
+where he had stopped for a meal with the girl and
+the freckle-faced boy two days before&ndash;&ndash;the day he
+had gone on into Dry Lake. He saw no sign
+of the girl or the boy or any one else as they
+reached the front door and hurried inside.</p>
+<p>Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lamy look
+hurriedly about and step into the kitchen. He
+followed him.</p>
+<p>Lamy grabbed part of a loaf of bread and some
+cold meat on a shelf above the kitchen table.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s usually a cellar under the main room
+in these square houses,&#8221; he said, hurrying back into
+the larger room.</p>
+<p>Rathburn stepped after him, and Lamy pulled
+back the rug before the table and disclosed a trapdoor.
+He raised the door, held out the food to
+Rathburn, and whispered: &#8220;You better get down
+there. Take this grub an&#8217;&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the matter? Isn&#8217;t there room for both
+of us?&#8221; Rathburn put the question in a voice which
+conveyed surprise.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I thought it might be better if we&ndash;&ndash;if we didn&#8217;t
+both hide in the same place,&#8221; whispered Lamy.
+&#8220;Then they&#8217;d only get one of us, an&#8217; whichever it
+was they&#8217;d think he was the one they wanted, see?&#8221;
+He appeared excited.</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s eyes narrowed. His right hand darted
+to his gun in a flash, and the muzzle of the weapon
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_66' name='page_66'></a>66</span>
+was pressed into Lamy&#8217;s ribs. &#8220;Get down there!&#8221;
+commanded Rathburn. &#8220;Get down.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lamy hesitated with a wild look in his eyes.
+The muzzle of Rathburn&#8217;s gun pressed harder against
+his midriff. He dropped lightly into the cellar.
+Rathburn pulled the rug against the trapdoor as
+he followed, then let down the door, certain that
+the rug would fall into place.</p>
+<p>The pair sat upon some gunny sacks in the little
+cellar until their eyes became accustomed to the
+darkness; they could dimly see each other by the
+faint light which came to them through some cracks
+in the floor above.</p>
+<p>They heard steps at the rear of the house; then
+the pound of hoofs from in front. Rathburn saw
+Lamy staring at him fixedly with a puzzled look.
+He frowned at him. Rathburn still held his gun
+in his hand. Both had forgotten the food which
+Lamy had in his lap.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Say,&#8221; whispered Lamy. &#8220;What was your idea
+in givin&#8217; me back my gun?&#8221;</p>
+<p>He moved closer to get the reply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Shut up!&#8221; said Rathburn, cocking an ear toward
+the trapdoor.</p>
+<p>The sound of footsteps now was in the kitchen.
+They heard horses snorting and men dismounting
+at the front door. After a brief space there were
+light footsteps in the room above followed by the
+tramp of heavy boots.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Good morning, ma&#8217;am,&#8221; came a deep voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Good morning,&#8221; was the hesitating reply. Rathburn
+recognized the voice of the girl who had fed him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ma&#8217;am, I&#8217;m Sheriff Neal of San Jacinto County,&#8221;
+continued the deep voice, as several feet shuffled
+slightly. &#8220;These men with me are members of my
+posse. Maybe you know Judge Brown?&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_67' name='page_67'></a>67</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;I&ndash;&ndash;I&#8217;ve seen him,&#8221; answered the girl.</p>
+<p>Rathburn could feel Lamy&#8217;s knees shaking against
+him in excitement.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I believe we&#8217;ve met some time,&#8221; Brown put in.
+Rathburn thought the justice&#8217;s voice sounded tired.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ma&#8217;am, we&#8217;re looking for a man&ndash;&ndash;or two men.&#8221;
+It was the sheriff speaking again. &#8220;Have you seen
+any one around here this morning&ndash;&ndash;any stranger,
+or strangers, I mean?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why, no,&#8221; replied the girl with a breathless
+catch in her voice. &#8220;I haven&#8217;t seen any one.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re sure?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn frowned at the sheriff&#8217;s tone, although
+he kept his eyes on Lamy&#8217;s white face.</p>
+<p>He smiled as he remembered that the sheriff
+had mentioned two men. This doubtless was the
+cause of Lamy&#8217;s agitation. Nor did he think Lamy
+had forgotten that he, Rathburn, had pointed out
+that he could prove he didn&#8217;t rob the place in Dry
+Lake.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re sure?&#8221; the sheriff asked again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why, yes,&#8221; replied the girl. &#8220;I am sure.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe she can get us some breakfast,&#8221; said
+Brown hopefully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Can you feed five men, ma&#8217;am?&#8221; asked the
+sheriff in a softer tone.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just sit down, and I&#8217;ll get you some breakfast,&#8221;
+said the girl.</p>
+<p>The two men in the little cellar could hear some
+of the men taking chairs and one or two going
+out to look after the horses. The girl&#8217;s light footsteps
+retreated into the kitchen.</p>
+<p>Rathburn smiled mysteriously at Lamy who was
+shivering with a case of nerves.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t understand who that was with him&ndash;&ndash;or
+following him,&#8221; came Brown&#8217;s voice. &#8220;Somebody
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_68' name='page_68'></a>68</span>
+must have seen him getting away and set
+out on the trail while it was hot.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Either that or saw him beating it somewheres
+on the trail east of town an&#8217; took after him on
+suspicion,&#8221; drawled the sheriff. &#8220;&#8217;Spect everybody
+around here has seen those reward notices you put
+out.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s so,&#8221; said Brown. &#8220;I had the right hunch
+when I got the tip he&#8217;d left his Arizona hangout,
+sheriff. I figured he&#8217;d head this way. Then he
+had the nerve&ndash;&ndash;well, you know what happened in
+my office.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The sheriff chuckled. Then he spoke angrily.
+&#8220;He can&#8217;t pull any of his stunts in my territory,&#8221;
+he said growlingly. &#8220;I&#8217;ll hunt him down if I have
+to put every man I&#8217;ve got on the trail an&#8217; keep
+&#8217;em there. I figure, though,&#8221; he added hopefully,
+&#8220;that we&#8217;ve got him cornered in or around this
+valley. We traced &#8217;em here, and we got sight
+of &#8217;em yesterday. We&#8217;ll have &#8217;em before night!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I hope so,&#8221; said Brown grimly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve given orders to shoot to kill and not to
+miss,&#8221; thundered the sheriff. &#8220;But I guess the
+rewards offered for him would kind of steady the
+aim of the man that got a crack at him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s face went white, and his eyes shot
+fire as he listened to the sheriff&#8217;s cruel laugh in
+which the others in the room above now joined.</p>
+<p>Lamy signaled that he wished to whisper in his
+ear, and Rathburn bent his head, although he kept
+the gun handy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not goin&#8217; to risk shootin&#8217; anybody if we
+should be found or cornered,&#8221; Lamy whispered. &#8220;I
+thought you ought to know&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;If we&#8217;re cornered you leave it to me,&#8221; Rathburn
+came back. &#8220;I have reasons for everything I&#8217;m
+doing. An&#8217; don&#8217;t forget that I&#8217;d rather be grabbed
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_69' name='page_69'></a>69</span>
+for this simple trick of yours in Dry Lake than
+for one or two jobs over in Arizona. If things
+go wrong keep your mouth shut&ndash;&ndash;don&#8217;t talk! If
+you start talking any time I&#8217;ll try to kill you!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lamy drew back from the ferocity in Rathburn&#8217;s
+tone and manner. That menacing message was again
+in Rathburn&#8217;s eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who&#8217;s that boy out there?&#8221; the sheriff called
+sharply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Go in and say how-do-you-do,&#8221; came the girl&#8217;s
+voice from the kitchen. &#8220;It&#8217;s my brother, Frankie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come here, Frankie,&#8221; said the sheriff.</p>
+<p>The pair below heard light footsteps on the floor
+above.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s a fine crop of freckles you&#8217;ve got,&#8221; said
+the sheriff.</p>
+<p>Rathburn saw Lamy put a hand to his face and
+make a grimace.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Listen, Frankie, did you see anybody around here
+this morning?&#8221; asked the sheriff.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who&ndash;&ndash;who you looking for?&#8221; asked the boy.</p>
+<p>Rathburn started; his body suddenly tensed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m looking for an outlaw they call The Coyote,&#8221;
+returned the sheriff. &#8220;Ever hear of him?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Y-e-s. Ed brought home a notice about a reward
+for him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the man we&#8217;re after. Rides a dun-colored horse;
+tall, light-complexioned. Seen anybody
+like that around here?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He was here day before yesterday,&#8221; said the boy
+truthfully. &#8220;Sis gave him something to eat, an&#8217;
+he went on into town. He didn&#8217;t seem like such
+a bad man to me. Told me never to lie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He was here? Ate here?&#8221; The sheriff&#8217;s voice
+was excited.</p>
+<p>Rathburn saw Lamy&#8217;s eyes widen.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Frankie,&#8221; the sheriff said soberly, &#8220;that Coyote
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_70' name='page_70'></a>70</span>
+went into town an&#8217; robbed a place. He&#8217;s a bad,
+dangerous man no matter how he looks or what
+he says. Have you seen anybody that looked like
+him since?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The question was followed by a deep silence.</p>
+<p>Rathburn alert, his eyes gleaming, heard the sheriff
+rise.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Answer me, boy. I&#8217;m the sheriff of this county!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;&#8217;Tain&#8217;t that&ndash;&ndash;&#8217;tain&#8217;t that,&#8221; said the boy in a
+tremulous voice. &#8220;Only&ndash;&ndash;I&#8217;d rather not tell, Mr.
+Sheriff.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You must answer me!&#8221; said the official sternly.
+&#8220;Have you seen any one around here&ndash;&ndash;yesterday or
+this morning?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ye-e-s.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;When?&#8221; demanded the sheriff. &#8220;Don&#8217;t lie!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;This&ndash;&ndash;this morning,&#8221; stammered the boy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where? Tell me about it, quick.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Two men ran across from the timber to the
+house,&#8221; replied the boy. &#8220;He&ndash;&ndash;he said not to lie
+for him&ndash;&ndash;but&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>The sheriff stepped quickly to the kitchen door.
+&#8220;I thought you said no one had been around here,
+ma&#8217;am.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why&ndash;&ndash;I didn&#8217;t see any one,&#8221; came the girl&#8217;s
+voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I saw &#8217;em from the pasture,&#8221; the boy confessed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then they&#8217;re here!&#8221; cried the sheriff. &#8220;Search
+the house an&#8217; the barn!&#8221;</p>
+<p>In the dim, narrow cellar Rathburn was holding
+his gun aimed at Lamy&#8217;s heart.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You remember what I said about keepin&#8217; your
+mouth shut?&#8221; he asked in a low voice, his steel-blue
+gaze boring into the other&#8217;s eyes.</p>
+<p>Lamy gasped. Then he slowly nodded his head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s your bond!&#8221; said Rathburn, as tramping
+feet sounded overhead.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_71' name='page_71'></a>71</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_X_CAUGHT_IN_THE_CELLAR' id='CHAPTER_X_CAUGHT_IN_THE_CELLAR'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER X</h2>
+<h3>CAUGHT IN THE CELLAR</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Rathburn rose and crouched under the trapdoor,
+gun in hand. Lamy watched him, breathless,
+perplexed, uncertain. They heard men running;
+then there were no sounds from above and a deathly
+stillness settled down.</p>
+<p>Slowly and with infinite care Rathburn raised the
+trapdoor an inch or two and listened intently. Lamy
+scrambled to his knees on the pile of gunny sacks;
+but Rathburn swung quickly upon him. They stared
+at each other in the semidarkness.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He said two,&#8221; breathed Lamy, a curious look
+in his eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Are you afraid?&#8221; mocked Rathburn. &#8220;It&#8217;s me
+they want&ndash;&ndash;don&#8217;t worry. I may make a break for
+it, an&#8217; if I do there&#8217;s likely to be powder burned.
+You can stay here an&#8217; get out when they take after
+me, if I go,&#8221; said Rathburn, and the sneer in his
+voice caused Lamy to flush uncomfortably.</p>
+<p>Rathburn petted the gun in his hand. &#8220;But before
+I make a break I want to tell you something that
+I should have told you before this, when I had more
+time&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>He bit off his speech as there came a sudden
+recurrence of the sounds in the house. The trapdoor
+closed down.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where&#8217;s the cellar?&#8221; came the sheriff&#8217;s authoritative
+voice.</p>
+<p>Many feet tramped upon the floor above them.
+Then they heard the rug stripped back. There was
+an exclamation from the sheriff and the sound of
+moving feet suddenly was stilled.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_72' name='page_72'></a>72</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Is there any one in the cellar?&#8221; the sheriff called.</p>
+<p>Silence&ndash;&ndash;with Lamy pressing Rathburn&#8217;s knee with
+a hand, and Rathburn smiling that queer, grim
+smile which conveyed so much, yet nothing which
+was tangible.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get around here, you fellows,&#8221; they heard the
+sheriff order.</p>
+<p>The sound of boots and spurs attested to the
+quickness with which his order was obeyed.</p>
+<p>Rathburn leaned down suddenly and with lightning
+swiftness jerked Lamy&#8217;s gun from its holster near
+his side. He tossed the weapon to a corner of the
+dark cellar just as the sheriff&#8217;s voice was heard
+again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Coyote, if you&#8217;re down there I&#8217;m not going to
+take a chance fumbling with that door. If you
+ain&#8217;t there, then there won&#8217;t be any harm in what
+I&#8217;m going to do. If I don&#8217;t hear anything when
+I finish talking I&#8217;m going to give the signal to
+my men to start shooting through the floor&ndash;&ndash;and
+I mean it. If anybody&#8217;s down there it&#8217;d be good
+sense to flip up that door and crawl out hands first,
+an&#8217; those hands empty.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sheriff, you&#8217;re bluffing!&#8221; said Rathburn loudly.</p>
+<p>Then the sheriff spoke again in an exultant tone.
+&#8220;I figured it was the best hidin&#8217; place you could
+find, Coyote. You&#8217;re right; I was sort of bluffing,
+but I might have changed my mind an&#8217; gone on
+through with it. We&#8217;ve got you dead to rights,
+Coyote; you haven&#8217;t got a chance. There&#8217;s seven of
+us now an&#8217; every man is ready to open up if you
+come out of there a-shooting.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn slipped his gun back into his holster.
+He raised the trapdoor slowly until it tipped back
+on the floor leaving the opening into the cellar clear.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Two of &#8217;em!&#8221; he heard some one exclaim.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_73' name='page_73'></a>73</span></div>
+<p>He looked up to accustom his eyes to the light
+and saw a dozen guns covering him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Gentlemen, the landscape fairly bristles with artillery,&#8221;
+he said amiably. &#8220;Who&#8217;s the sheriff? And&ndash;&ndash;there&#8217;s
+Jud Brown. Who let you loose, Jud?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m Sheriff Neal,&#8221; interposed that individual,
+a slight, dark man with a bristly mustache. &#8220;Come
+out of there&ndash;&ndash;hands free.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;For the time being, eh, sheriff? I expect you figure
+on fixing those hands so they won&#8217;t be free,
+eh? Well, all I&#8217;ve got to say is that I hope you
+won&#8217;t spend the money foolishly, sheriff.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn leaped lightly out of the cellar.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Keep that other man down there covered, too,&#8221;
+snapped out Neal. &#8220;It&#8217;s principle more than reward
+money that invites me, Coyote. Hand over your
+gun belt an&#8217; be careful how you unbuckle it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sheriff, it would be against my code of ethics
+to hand over my gun. It can&#8217;t be done, sheriff;
+you&#8217;ll have to come and get it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Neal hesitated, notwithstanding the fact that he
+had Rathburn covered and that several other guns
+were covering him. Then he stepped forward, never
+taking his eyes from Rathburn&#8217;s, and secured the
+other&#8217;s weapon.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s better, sheriff,&#8221; said Rathburn with a
+queer smile. &#8220;You can see how I have my pride
+an&#8217; little superstitions. No man has ever took a
+gun from me but what I&#8217;ve got it back! Thanks,
+sheriff.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lamy had come out of the cellar. Several of
+the men seemed to recognize him, but kept their
+silence with dubious looks in their eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My guide, sheriff,&#8221; said Rathburn, pointing gayly
+at Lamy. &#8220;He was very kind. He showed me
+around the country&ndash;&ndash;me not being very well acquainted
+around here. I had to take his gun away
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_74' name='page_74'></a>74</span>
+from him an&#8217; sort of encourage him along with
+my own, but he did very nicely.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just what I thought, Neal,&#8221; said Brown. &#8220;This
+fellow took after him an&#8217; he captured him and made
+him lead him. Isn&#8217;t that so?&#8221; he asked of Lamy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just a minute, Jud,&#8221; Rathburn interrupted with
+a frown. &#8220;I can&#8217;t let the importance of this momentous
+occasion be transferred to a subordinate.
+You must ask your questions of me, as I am the
+central figure in this affair.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The cry of a girl startled them. She came running
+from the kitchen where she had fled when
+the sheriff announced his intention to shoot through
+the floor.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ed!&#8221; she cried, running to Lamy and throwing
+her arms about him. &#8220;Oh&ndash;&ndash;Ed!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who is he, ma&#8217;am?&#8221; asked the sheriff. &#8220;Your
+husband?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s my brother&ndash;&ndash;Ed Lamy.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can recommend him if you need a guide who
+knows the country, sheriff,&#8221; said Rathburn genially.
+&#8220;I guess he had an idea of making trouble for me
+at first, but I had the drop on him an&#8217; he soon
+saw reason. I had to knock him down last night
+when he got fresh, but he did very well. Of course
+I had an advantage on my side.&#8221; He nodded toward
+his gun which the official still held in his hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did he make you guide him?&#8221; Neal asked Lamy,
+noting his empty holster.</p>
+<p>Rathburn turned so that he could look at his
+former captive.</p>
+<p>Lamy nodded. &#8220;Yes,&#8221; he replied. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t know
+what minute I was goin&#8217; to get shot in the back.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s eyes glowed with an amused light. &#8220;I
+didn&#8217;t have any idea of shootin&#8217; him, sheriff; he
+was too valuable as my escort on the tour. I wonder
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_75' name='page_75'></a>75</span>
+if the lady could spare me a cup of coffee an&#8217; a
+biscuit?&#8221;</p>
+<p>He glimpsed the boy in the kitchen doorway behind
+the sheriff. &#8220;Hello, sonny,&#8221; he called cheerfully.
+&#8220;Did you catch those freckles from your
+brother?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The boy gazed at him abashed. There were actually
+tears in the youngster&#8217;s eyes. Ed Lamy and
+his sister moved into the kitchen and took the
+boy with them. The girl had nodded to the sheriff.</p>
+<p>&#8220;She&#8217;ll get you something to eat,&#8221; said Neal.
+&#8220;What have you got on you?&#8221; He stepped to Rathburn&#8217;s
+side.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ah&ndash;&ndash;the frisk. I see you are a regulation officer,
+sheriff.&#8221; Rathburn&#8217;s tone fairly radiated politeness
+and good cheer. &#8220;The silver was rather heavy. It
+ain&#8217;t my usual style to pack much silver, sheriff.
+There&#8217;s more of the bills in my hip pockets. Don&#8217;t
+suppose there&#8217;s more&#8217;n a thousand in the whole
+bundle.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The sheriff put the bills and silver on the table.
+He investigated all of Rathburn&#8217;s pockets, returned
+him his tobacco, papers, and handkerchief, but kept
+a box of matches. Then he felt his prisoner&#8217;s clothing
+to make sure that he had no weapons concealed;
+he also felt his boot tops.</p>
+<p>He looked at Rathburn with a gloating expression
+when he had finished; there was also a glint
+of admiration in the gaze he directed at him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You size right up to the descriptions of you,
+Coyote,&#8221; he reflected in a pleasant voice. &#8220;Too
+bad you couldn&#8217;t have been in a better business.
+I&#8217;m glad I caught you, but I ain&#8217;t any too&ndash;&ndash;too&ndash;&ndash;well,
+I might say any too proud of it. That may
+be pleasant for you to hear. But I ain&#8217;t discounting
+your well-known ability, an&#8217; I want to warn you
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_76' name='page_76'></a>76</span>
+that I or any of my men will shoot you in your
+tracks if you start anything that looks suspiciouslike.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn yawned. &#8220;Sheriff, your courtesy is very
+greatly appreciated. I only hope we will arrive in
+jail or somewhere soon where I can get some sleep.
+I&#8217;m all in.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_77' name='page_77'></a>77</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XI_FREEDOM_BEHIND_BARS' id='CHAPTER_XI_FREEDOM_BEHIND_BARS'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XI</h2>
+<h3>FREEDOM BEHIND BARS</h3>
+</div>
+<p>In the early afternoon the little cavalcade rode into
+Dry Lake. Rathburn was nodding in his saddle,
+nearly asleep.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ll keep him here to-night till I can get the
+facts straight,&#8221; he heard Sheriff Neal say to Brown.</p>
+<p>They dismounted at a small square stone building
+with bars on the windows. Then Rathburn was
+proudly led between a line of curious spectators
+into jail.</p>
+<p>Three rooms comprised Dry Lake&#8217;s jail. The
+front of the building, for a depth of a third of the
+distance from the front to the rear, was divided
+into two of these rooms; one, the larger, being the
+main office, and the other, much smaller, being the
+constable&#8217;s private office. The balance of the building
+was one large room, divided into two old-fashioned
+cages with iron and steel bars. The
+doors to these cages were on either side of the
+door into the front office and there was an aisle
+between the cages and the wall separating them
+from the offices.</p>
+<p>Rathburn was taken immediately to the cage on
+the left of the office door. Sheriff Neal hesitated
+as he stood in the cell with him, thought for a
+minute, then removed the handcuffs.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s right fine of you, sheriff,&#8221; said Rathburn
+sleepily, but cheerfully, nevertheless.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you&#8217;ll be watched well enough,&#8221; said Neal
+as he closed the barred door behind him and locked
+Rathburn in. &#8220;You&#8217;ll find somebody around if
+you try to tear the place down.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_78' name='page_78'></a>78</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;That wasn&#8217;t just what I was getting at, sheriff,&#8221;
+said the prisoner with a glitter in his eyes. &#8220;I
+meant it was right fine of you to give me freedom
+behind the bars.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s taunting laugh rang in the official&#8217;s
+ears as the latter pushed the men with him into
+the outer office. Rathburn listened, yawning, to the
+sheriff giving instructions that the prisoner be watched
+constantly.</p>
+<p>He looked about the cage which was separated
+from the other cell by a wall of sheet iron. It
+contained nothing except a bench and a stool. He
+pushed the bench against the stone wall at the
+rear and reclined upon it, using his coat for a
+pillow. Then he turned his face toward the wall,
+shading his eyes from the light, which filtered
+through two windows high in the wall beyond the
+bars on the left side by tipping his hat over his face.</p>
+<p>Immediately he fell asleep.</p>
+<p>The news that The Coyote had been captured,
+spread rapidly through the town and many came
+to the jail hoping they might be able to see the
+prisoner. All of these were denied admittance, but
+Sheriff Neal told the few who stated that they
+had been among the number the bandit had lined
+up at the point of his guns, that they would be
+called to identify The Coyote on the following day.
+He asked each if they were sure the bandit had
+two guns, and the reply in each case was in the
+affirmative.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s funny,&#8221; Neal muttered. &#8220;He only had one
+gun on him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;More&#8217;n likely the other&#8217;s on his horse with his
+saddle,&#8221; Brown pointed out. &#8220;I believe he left
+his horse somewheres an&#8217; made that fellow Lamy
+take him to the house thinking he could get something
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_79' name='page_79'></a>79</span>
+to eat there, and that they wouldn&#8217;t be so
+likely to be seen in the open on foot. You got to
+remember that man&#8217;s more or less clever.&#8221;</p>
+<p>This explanation satisfied Neal, and in the minds
+of the men who had been in the resort when it was
+held up, there was no question as to the identity
+of the robber. Even if they had suspected otherwise
+it is doubtful if they would have acknowledged
+it because they considered it less of an ignominy
+to be held up by the notorious Coyote than by a
+bandit of lesser reputation.</p>
+<p>Thus did the bonds of evidence tighten about
+Rathburn while he slept through the late afternoon
+and the twilight.</p>
+<p>When he awoke a faint yellow light dimly illuminated
+his surroundings. He lay thinking for
+several minutes. He knew night had fallen and
+surmised that he had slept a full eight hours. He
+could tell this because he was fully awake and
+alert. He turned noiselessly on his bench and saw
+that the light came from a lamp burning near the
+door to the outer office.</p>
+<p>Rathburn could hear the hum of voices, and by
+listening intently, ascertained that two men were
+talking, one of whom was the sheriff. He could
+not recognize the voice of the other speaker as a
+voice he had ever heard before, and he could not
+hear what they were saying.</p>
+<p>He listened dully to the voices until he heard
+a horse&#8217;s hoofs in front of the jail. He turned
+back with his face to the wall, and his hat tipped
+over his eyes, as a man entered the jail office with
+a stamp of boots and jingle of spurs.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hello, constable,&#8221; he heard the sheriff say. &#8220;What
+luck?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Couldn&#8217;t find the hoss,&#8221; came a disgruntled
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_80' name='page_80'></a>80</span>
+voice. &#8220;Looked all afternoon an&#8217; till it got dark
+for him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Confound it!&#8221; exclaimed Neal. &#8220;The horse must
+have been somewhere aroun&#8217; close. He sure didn&#8217;t
+walk down the valley.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s probably right,&#8221; said the other. &#8220;I left
+a couple of your men out there to keep up searching
+when daylight comes. That feller Lamy showed
+us about where they left the hosses&ndash;&ndash;his hoss an&#8217;
+The Coyote&#8217;s&ndash;&ndash;but they wasn&#8217;t there. He said
+there was a bunch of wild hosses in the valley
+an&#8217; that they&#8217;d probably got away an&#8217; gone with
+&#8217;em. We saw the wild hosses, but we couldn&#8217;t
+get anywhere near &#8217;em&ndash;&ndash;couldn&#8217;t get near enough
+to see if any of &#8217;em was wearin&#8217; saddles or not.
+We had some chase while it lasted, I&#8217;ll recite.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did Lamy say how they came to leave their
+horses?&#8221; asked the sheriff in an annoyed tone.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It was The Coyote&#8217;s orders. Thought they&#8217;d
+be safer in the middle of the posse or something
+like that. Made Lamy leave the hosses an&#8217; run
+for the house an&#8217; made him get down in the cellar
+with him. Don&#8217;t know if he knew Lamy lived
+there or not, but reckon it wouldn&#8217;t have made
+any difference.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The sheriff was pacing the floor of the office
+as his footfalls attested. &#8220;I&#8217;ve ordered that Lamy
+in to-morrow. I&#8217;ve a lot more questions to ask
+him. Well, you might as well get a few winks,
+constable; Brown and the rest of &#8217;em have hit
+the hay. Even the prisoner is tired out, and that&#8217;s
+sayin&#8217; something for as tough a bird as he is.
+But I wish I had his horse. I&#8217;ve got to have his
+horse!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn was smiling at the wall. He heard
+Neal walk to the door and look in. Receding footsteps
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_81' name='page_81'></a>81</span>
+told him that the constable was leaving. For
+a time there was silence in the outer office.</p>
+<p>Rathburn sat up quietly and began easing off his
+right boot. The boot came slowly, very slowly, as
+Rathburn worked at it, careful not to make any
+noise. Then, just as it came free, the sheriff again
+strode to the door and looked in.</p>
+<p>He saw Rathburn yawning, as the boot dropped
+on the floor.</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked at the sheriff sleepily as the
+official strode into the aisle and peered in between
+the bars. He tipped the bootless foot back on its
+toes as he lifted his other foot and tugged at the
+boot.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That you, sheriff?&#8221; he asked with another yawn.
+&#8220;The lights are so bad I can&#8217;t see good. Guess
+I&#8217;m a little groggy anyway. I was too danged tired
+when I went to sleep to take off my boots.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve got another ten hours to sleep,&#8221; said
+Neal with a scowl. &#8220;An&#8217; you&#8217;ll have plenty of
+time to get rid of your saddle soreness. You&#8217;ll
+ride in automobiles and trains for a while an&#8217; keep
+in out of the hot sun an&#8217; the wet.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The sheriff laughed harshly at his own words.</p>
+<p>Rathburn let the other boot drop. &#8220;I expect
+I&#8217;ll get something to eat now an&#8217; then, too?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Feel hungry?&#8221; asked Neal.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Might chaw on a biscuit before I take another
+nap,&#8221; yawned the prisoner.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll see if I can scare you up a bite,&#8221; said the
+sheriff, leaving.</p>
+<p>Rathburn heard him say something to some one
+in front. Then the sheriff went out of the building.
+The other man came in and looked at Rathburn
+curiously.</p>
+<p>He was of medium build, with white hair and
+a face seamed and lined and red. Rathburn instantly
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_82' name='page_82'></a>82</span>
+recognized in his jailer a man of the desert&ndash;&ndash;possibly
+of the border country.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So you&#8217;re The Coyote,&#8221; said the jailer in a
+rather high-pitched voice.</p>
+<p>Rathburn winked at him. &#8220;That&#8217;s what they
+say,&#8221; he replied.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You size up to him, all right,&#8221; observed the
+man of the desert. &#8220;An&#8217; I can tell quick enough
+when I get a good look at you an&#8217; inspect your
+left forearm. I&#8217;ve had your descriptions in front
+of my eyes on paper an&#8217; from a dozen persons that
+knowed you for three years!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You been trailing me?&#8221; asked Rathburn curiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I have; an&#8217; it ain&#8217;t no credit to this bunch here
+that they got you, for I was headed in this direction
+myself an&#8217; arrived &#8217;most as soon as you did.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You from Arizona?&#8221; asked Rathburn, grasping
+his right foot in his left hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m from Arizony an&#8217; Mexico an&#8217; a few other
+places,&#8221; was the answer. &#8220;I&#8217;ve helped catch men
+like you before, Coyote.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn frowned, still keeping his hand over
+his right foot. &#8220;I don&#8217;t like that word, Coyote,&#8221;
+he said softly, holding the other&#8217;s gaze between the
+bars. &#8220;A coyote is a cowardly breed of animal,
+isn&#8217;t it?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; a tricky one,&#8221; said the jailer. &#8220;I ain&#8217;t
+sayin&#8217; you&#8217;re a coward; but you&#8217;re tricky, an&#8217; that&#8217;s
+bad enough.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe so,&#8221; agreed Rathburn. &#8220;Ah&ndash;&ndash;here&#8217;s our
+friend, his nibs, the sheriff. He went out to rustle
+me some grub. He wants to keep me fat for
+hanging!&#8221;</p>
+<p>His laugh rang through the jail, empty save
+for himself and the two officers. But the temporary
+jailer hesitated, looking at Rathburn&#8217;s eyes, before
+he turned to the sheriff.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_83' name='page_83'></a>83</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Open the door and I&#8217;ll take it in to him,&#8221; ordered
+the sheriff. &#8220;Can&#8217;t get this stuff through the bars.
+You might keep him covered.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The jailer&#8217;s hand flew to his hip for his gun
+as he also brought up a large key on a ring. He
+unlocked the door to the cage and held it open
+while he kept his gun trained upon Rathburn.</p>
+<p>The sheriff entered and placed the food on the
+stool and a large bowl of coffee on the floor beside
+it. Then he backed out, watching Rathburn keenly
+as the latter sat on his bench with his right foot
+in his hand.</p>
+<p>When the door clanged shut and the key rattled
+in the lock, Rathburn let down his right foot, took
+two steps, and pulled the stool to the bench. He
+stepped back and secured the coffee. Then he began
+to eat and drink, keeping his right foot tipped on
+its toes, while the two officials watched him attentively.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sheriff,&#8221; said Rathburn suddenly, between bites
+on a huge meat sandwich, &#8220;could you let me have
+a stub of a lead pencil an&#8217; a sheet of paper to
+write a letter on?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Easy enough,&#8221; answered Neal. &#8220;Course, you
+know all mail that goes out of the jail is read
+by us before it&#8217;s delivered&ndash;&ndash;if it&#8217;s delivered at all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll chance it,&#8221; snapped out Rathburn.</p>
+<p>As the sheriff left to get the writing materials,
+with the jailer following him, doubtless for a whispered
+confab as to what Rathburn might be wanting
+to write and its possible bearing on his capture,
+the prisoner hastily ran his left hand down into
+his right sock and with some difficulty withdrew
+a peculiar-shaped leather case about ten inches long
+and nearly the width of his foot. This he put within
+his shirt.</p>
+<p>When the officials returned he had finished his
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_84' name='page_84'></a>84</span>
+repast and was waiting for them near the bars
+with a smile of gratitude on his lips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;This may be a confession I&#8217;m going to write,&#8221;
+he said, grinning at Neal. &#8220;It&#8217;s going to take me
+a long time, I reckon, but you said I had something
+like ten hours for sleep, so I guess I can spare
+two or three for this effort at literary composition.
+I figure, sheriff, that this&#8217;ll be my masterpiece.&#8221;</p>
+<p>His look puzzled the sheriff as he took the pencil
+and paper through the bars and returned to his
+bunk. He drew up the stool and sat upon it. It
+was a little lower than the bench, so, putting his
+paper on the bench, he had a fairly good makeshift
+desk. He began to write steadily, and after
+a few minutes the sheriff and jailer retired to the
+office.</p>
+<p>It did not take Rathburn a quarter of an hour
+to write what he wished on the first of the several
+pieces of paper. He tore off what he had written,
+doubled it again and again into a small square,
+took out his sack of tobacco which he had been
+allowed to retain, and put it therein with the loose
+tobacco.</p>
+<p>Then he wrote for a few minutes on the second
+sheet of paper.</p>
+<p>When the sheriff looked in later he evidently was
+slowly and laboriously achieving a composition.</p>
+<p>Rathburn heard the sheriff go out of the front
+door a few minutes later. Instantly he was alert.
+He drew on his boots. He surmised that the sheriff
+had gone out for something to eat and, though he
+wasn&#8217;t sure of this, it was true.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, jailer!&#8221; he called amiably.</p>
+<p>The wrinkled face of the desert trailer appeared
+in the office doorway.</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked about from his seat on the stool.
+&#8220;This job ain&#8217;t none too easy, as it is,&#8221; he complained.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_85' name='page_85'></a>85</span>
+&#8220;As a writer I&#8217;m a first-rate cow hand.
+Lemme take your knife to sharpen this pencil with.
+When I asked the sheriff for a stub of a pencil
+he took me at my word.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure I&#8217;ll let you have my knife,&#8221; said the jailer
+sarcastically. &#8220;How about my gun&ndash;&ndash;want that, too?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, come on, old-timer,&#8221; pleaded Rathburn.
+&#8220;The lead in this pencil&#8217;s worn clean down into the
+wood.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hand it over here an&#8217; I&#8217;ll sharpen it,&#8221; said the
+jailer, drawing his pocketknife.</p>
+<p>Rathburn walked to the bars and held out the
+pencil. An amiable smile played on his lips. &#8220;You&#8217;ll
+have to excuse me,&#8221; he said contritely. &#8220;I forgot
+it wasn&#8217;t jail etiquette to ask for a knife. But I
+ain&#8217;t had much experience in jail. Now according
+to his nibs, the sheriff, I&#8217;m in to get pretty well
+acquainted with &#8217;em, eh?&#8221;</p>
+<p>He watched the jailer as he began sharpening the
+pencil.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Speaking of knives, now,&#8221; he continued in a
+confiding tone, &#8220;I got in a ruckus down near the
+border once an&#8217; some gents started after me. One
+of &#8217;em got pretty close&ndash;&ndash;close enough to take some
+skin off my shoulder with a bullet. He just sort
+of compelled me to shoot back.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I suppose you killed him,&#8221; observed the jailer,
+pausing in his work of sharpening the pencil.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I ain&#8217;t saying,&#8221; replied Rathburn. &#8220;Anyways
+I had a hole-up down there for a few days, an&#8217;
+as luck would have it, I had to put up with a
+Mexican. All that Mex would do was argue that
+a knife was better than a gun. He claimed it
+was sure and made no noise&ndash;&ndash;those were his hardest
+talking points, an&#8217; I&#8217;ll be danged if there isn&#8217;t something
+in it.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But what I was gettin&#8217; at is that I didn&#8217;t have
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_86' name='page_86'></a>86</span>
+nothing to do, an&#8217; that Mexican got me to practicing
+knife throwing. You know how slick those fellows
+are at throwing a blade. Well, in the couple of
+weeks that I hung aroun&#8217; there he coached me
+along till I could throw a knife as good as he
+could. He thought it was great sport, teaching
+me to throw a knife so good, that a way.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Since I left down there I&#8217;ve sort of practiced
+that knife-throwing business now and then, just
+for fun. Anyways I thought it was just for fun.
+But now I see, jailer, that it was my luck protecting
+me. Anything you learn is liable to prove handy
+some time. <i>Don&#8217;t move an inch or I&#8217;ll let you
+have it!</i>&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s hand snapped out of his shirt and up
+above his right shoulder.</p>
+<p>The man from the desert shuddered involuntarily
+as he saw the yellow light from the lamp play
+fitfully upon a keen, white blade.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_87' name='page_87'></a>87</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XII_AGAINST_HIS_ETHICS' id='CHAPTER_XII_AGAINST_HIS_ETHICS'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XII</h2>
+<h3>AGAINST HIS ETHICS</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s eyes held the other&#8217;s as completely
+as would have been the case if he were invested
+with a power to charm in some occult way. Moreover,
+every trace of his amiable, confiding smile
+was gone. His gaze was hard and cold and gleaming.
+His face was drawn into grim lines. When
+he spoke he talked smoothly, rapidly, and with an
+edge to his words which convinced his listener that
+he was in deadly earnest.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not used to jails, my friend, an&#8217; I don&#8217;t
+aim to stay here. You&#8217;re not very far away an&#8217;
+these bars are wide enough for me to miss &#8217;em;
+but I don&#8217;t think I could miss you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The jailer looked in horror at the gleaming knife
+which Rathburn held by its hilt with the blade
+pointing backward. The jailer was from the border;
+he knew the awful possibilities of a quick motion of
+the wrist in that position, a half turn of the knife
+as it streaked toward its target. He shuddered again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now just edge this way about two steps so
+your holster will be against the bars,&#8221; Rathburn
+instructed. &#8220;I can drop you where you stand,
+reach through the bars an&#8217; drag you close if need
+be; but I&#8217;m banking on you having some good
+sense.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The jailer, without moving the hands which held
+the pencil and his pocketknife, sidled up against the
+bars.</p>
+<p>Rathburn leaned forward. Keeping his right hand
+high and tipped back, ready for the throw, he reached
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_88' name='page_88'></a>88</span>
+out with his left, just through the bars, and secured
+the jailer&#8217;s gun.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now it&#8217;s all off,&#8221; he said quietly. &#8220;If the sheriff
+or anybody else comes before I get out of here
+I&#8217;m just naturally going to have to live up to the
+reputation for shooting that they&#8217;ve fastened on me.
+Unlock the door.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The jailer wet his lips with his tongue. The
+pencil and pocketknife fell to the floor. Covered
+by his own gun, now in Rathburn&#8217;s hand, he moved
+to the door, brought out his key, and opened it.
+Still keeping him covered, Rathburn backed to the
+bench, snatched up his coat, and walked out of the
+cage, motioning to the jailer to precede him into
+the office.</p>
+<p>There he slipped the gun in his holster and put
+on his coat. The jailer reckoned better than to try
+to leap upon him while he was thus engaged; the
+prisoner&#8217;s speed with a six-gun was well known.</p>
+<p>Rathburn drew a peculiar leather case from within
+his shirt, put the knife in it, and stowed it away
+in a pocket. Then he turned on the jailer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe you think that was a mean trick&ndash;&ndash;resorting
+to a knife,&#8221; he said pleasantly; &#8220;but all is fair in
+love and war and when a man&#8217;s in jail. You better
+sort of stand in one place while I look around a bit.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He backed behind the desk in the big office,
+opened two or three drawers, and brought out a pair
+of handcuffs. He moved around in front of the
+jailer again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hold out your hands,&#8221; he commanded. &#8220;That&#8217;s
+it.&#8221; He snapped the handcuffs on with one hand
+while he kept the other on the butt of his gun.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You don&#8217;t seem to have much to say,&#8221; he commented.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the use?&#8221; said the jailer. &#8220;I know when
+a man&#8217;s got me dead to rights. But I&#8217;ll be on your
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_89' name='page_89'></a>89</span>
+trail again, an&#8217; if I ever get within shootin&#8217; distance
+of you an&#8217; see you first, you&#8217;ll never get another
+chance to pull a knife.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well said,&#8221; Rathburn admitted. &#8220;Now we understand
+each other. But I don&#8217;t intend for you to
+ever get within shooting distance of me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn glanced casually about. &#8220;Now it seems
+to me,&#8221; he resumed, &#8220;that most of these fellows who
+gum up their jail breaks make a mistake by hurrying.
+Suppose you just walk natural-like through that
+door and into the cage I just had the foresight to
+leave. That&#8217;s it&ndash;&ndash;right on in.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He turned the key which the jailer had left in the
+lock. &#8220;Now you&#8217;re all right unless you start hollering,&#8221;
+said Rathburn.</p>
+<p>He stood quietly in the doorway between the office
+and the cages. The man from the desert studied
+him. He saw a variety of expressions flit over
+Rathburn&#8217;s face&ndash;&ndash;anger, determination, scorn, resolve.
+He was deliberately ignoring his opportunity
+to make his escape while conditions were propitious;
+he was waiting!</p>
+<p>Although the jailer felt the urge to cry out in an
+endeavor to make himself heard outside the jail and
+thus bring help, something in the bearing of the man
+standing in the doorway made him keenly curious to
+watch the drama which he knew must be enacted
+sooner or later before his eyes, for The Coyote was
+certainly waiting for the sheriff.</p>
+<p>Rathburn now drew the jailer&#8217;s gun from his own
+holster and toyed with it to get its &#8220;feel&#8221; and balance.
+He dropped it back into the holster and in a
+wink of an eyelid it was back in his hand. The man
+from the desert gasped at the lightning rapidity of
+the draw. Time and again the gun virtually leaped
+from the holster into The Coyote&#8217;s hand at his hip,
+ready to spit forth leaden death. The jailer drew a
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_90' name='page_90'></a>90</span>
+long breath. The man was accustoming himself to
+the weapon which had come into his possession, making
+sure of it. Now he again stood motionless in
+the doorway, waiting&ndash;&ndash;waiting&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;</p>
+<p>Boots stamped upon the steps outside, and Rathburn
+drew back from the doorway in the aisle before
+the cages.</p>
+<p>The front door opened and a man entered.</p>
+<p>Both the man in the cage and the man in the aisle
+recognized the sheriff&#8217;s step as Neal closed the door,
+paused for a look about the office, and then walked
+toward the door leading into the jail proper.</p>
+<p>The jailer opened his mouth to sound a warning,
+but something in Rathburn&#8217;s gaze and posture held
+him silent. Rathburn&#8217;s body was tense; his gaze
+was glued to the doorway; his right hand with its
+slim, brown, tapered fingers, hung above the gun at
+his side.</p>
+<p>The sheriff loomed in the doorway. Without a
+flicker of surprise in his eyes he took in the situation.
+His lids half closed as his lips tightened to a thin,
+white line. He met Rathburn&#8217;s gaze and knew that
+he now faced The Coyote in the role which had won
+him his sinister reputation.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did I mention to you that I wasn&#8217;t used to jails,
+sheriff?&#8221; said Rathburn evenly, his words carrying
+crisp and clear. &#8220;I don&#8217;t fancy &#8217;em. But I needed
+the sleep and the meal. Now I&#8217;m going. Do you
+recollect I said no one ever took my gun from me
+but what I got it back? I had to borrow this one
+from the gent in the cage. I&#8217;ll take my gun, sheriff&ndash;&ndash;<i>now!</i>&#8221;</p>
+<p>Neal had watched him closely. He saw that while
+he was speaking The Coyote did not for an instant
+relax his vigilance. The merest resemblance of a
+move would precipitate gun play.</p>
+<p>He turned abruptly, and with Rathburn following
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_91' name='page_91'></a>91</span>
+him closely, went into the private room off the jail
+office. He pointed to the other&#8217;s gun which lay upon
+the flat desk where many had curiously inspected it.</p>
+<p>Rathburn took it in his left hand and ascertained
+at a glance that it wasn&#8217;t loaded. Therefore he
+elected to carry it in his left hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I won&#8217;t take a chance on feeding it right now,
+sheriff,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Under the circumstances it would
+be right awkward. If you make up your mind to
+draw I&#8217;ll have to depend on a strange gun.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sheriff Neal&#8217;s eyes glittered; his lips parted just
+a little.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now if you&#8217;ll walk back toward the cage, sheriff,&#8221;
+Rathburn prompted. &#8220;Correct&ndash;&ndash;don&#8217;t stumble.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Neal backed slowly out of the door, through the
+second door into the aisle before the cages, watching
+Rathburn like a cat.</p>
+<p>Rathburn slipped his own weapon into his left hip
+pocket and with his left hand dug into his trousers
+pocket for the key to the cage. He didn&#8217;t take his
+eyes from Neal&#8217;s as he brought it out and inserted it
+in the lock. His right hand continued to hang above
+the gun he had taken from the jailer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sheriff,&#8221; he said with a cold ring in his voice,
+&#8220;this may seem like an insult, but I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to ask
+you to unlock that cage and go in. You can take
+your time if you want, but I warn you fair that if
+any one should start coming up the steps outside I&#8217;ll
+try to smoke you up.&#8221;</p>
+<p>For answer Neal, with the glitter still in his eyes,
+stepped to the cage door, unlocked it, and swung it
+open.</p>
+<p>He took a step, whirled like a flash&ndash;&ndash;and the
+deafening report of guns crashed and reverberated
+within the jail&#8217;s walls.</p>
+<p>Neal staggered back within the cage, his gun clattering
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_92' name='page_92'></a>92</span>
+to the floor, his right hand dropping to his
+side.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If I hadn&#8217;t been up against a strange gun I
+wouldn&#8217;t have hit your finger, sheriff,&#8221; said Rathburn
+mockingly. &#8220;I was shootin&#8217; at your gun.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He shut the cage door quickly, locked it, and stuck
+the key in his pocket. Then he threw the jailer&#8217;s
+gun in through the bars and thrust his own weapon
+in its holster.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want you gentlemen inside, an&#8217; armed,&#8221; he said
+laughingly. &#8220;If the jailer will be so good as to read
+what&#8217;s written on the paper on the bench, he&#8217;ll learn
+something to his advantage. Sheriff, you an&#8217; Brown
+were wrong in this, but the devil of it is you&#8217;ll never
+know why.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He left Neal pondering this cryptic sally, ran to the
+front door, opened it, and disappeared.</p>
+<p>Neal clutched his injured fingers and swore freely,
+although there was amazement in his eyes. He could
+have been killed like a rat in a trap if The Coyote had
+felt the whim.</p>
+<p>The man from the desert stepped to the bench and
+read on the sheet of paper:</p>
+<p>If anybody ever gets to read this they will
+know that what I said about learning to throw
+a knife is true. I can do it. I&#8217;ve carried that
+knife in a special case that would fit in my sock
+and boot for just such an emergency as came up
+to-night. But I never would have throwed it.
+It would be against my ethics.</p>
+<p>The man from the desert swore softly. Then he
+hurriedly picked up his gun and fired five shots to
+attract attention.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_93' name='page_93'></a>93</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XIII_A_MAN_AND_HIS_HORSE' id='CHAPTER_XIII_A_MAN_AND_HIS_HORSE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIII</h2>
+<h3>A MAN AND HIS HORSE</h3>
+</div>
+<p>When Rathburn closed the outer door after him
+he plunged down the steps and into the shadows
+by the wall of the jail. Few lights showed in
+the town, for it was past midnight. He could see
+yellow beams streaming from the windows of the
+resort up the street, however, as he hesitated.</p>
+<p>He was mightily handicapped because he had no
+horse. A horse&ndash;&ndash;his own horse, he felt&ndash;&ndash;was necessary
+for his escape, but his horse was a long distance
+away.</p>
+<p>Rathburn stole across the street to the side on
+which the big resort was situated, and slipped behind
+a building just as the muffled reports came from
+within the jail. After a short interval, five more
+shots were heard, and Rathburn grinned as he realized
+that the jailer had fired the remaining bullets
+in his own and the sheriff&#8217;s guns.</p>
+<p>He heard men running down the street. So he
+hurried up street behind the buildings until he
+reached the rear of the large resort, which was the
+place Lamy had held up.</p>
+<p>Peering through one of the rear windows he saw
+the room was deserted except for the man behind
+the bar. Even at that distance he could hear horses
+and men down the street. Doubtless they were
+crowding into the jail where the sheriff would insist
+upon being liberated at once so he could lead the
+chase and, as Rathburn had the key, this would result
+in a delay until another key could be found, or
+Brown, who probably had one, could be routed out.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_94' name='page_94'></a>94</span></div>
+<p>Rathburn thought of this as he looked through the
+window at the lonely bartender who evidently could
+not decide whether to close up and see what it all
+was about or not. But the thing which impressed
+Rathburn most was the presence of a pile of sandwiches
+and several cans of corned beef and sardines&ndash;&ndash;emergency
+quick lunches for patrons&ndash;&ndash;on the back
+bar. Also, he saw several gunny sacks on a box in
+the rear of the place almost under the window
+through which he was looking.</p>
+<p>Rathburn stepped to the door in sudden decision,
+threw it open, and walked in. His gun flashed into
+his hand. &#8220;Quiet!&#8221; was all he said to the stupefied
+bartender.</p>
+<p>He scooped up one of the sacks, darted behind the
+bar, brushed the sandwiches and most of the cans of
+corned beef and sardines into it, and then slung it
+over his left shoulder with his left hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The sheriff will return the money that was taken
+from here,&#8221; he said coolly as he walked briskly to
+the front door. &#8220;Play the game safe; stay where
+you are!&#8221; he cautioned as he vanished through the
+door.</p>
+<p>There were no horses at the hitching rail, but he
+saw several down the street in front of the jail. Men
+were running back and forth across the street&ndash;&ndash;after
+Brown, he surmised.</p>
+<p>Again he stole around to the rear of the resort;
+then he struck straight up into the timbered slope
+above the town, climbing rapidly afoot with the distant
+peaks and ridges as his guide.</p>
+<p>Some two hours after dawn he sat on the crest of
+a high ridge watching a rider come up the winding
+trail from eastward. He had seen other riders
+going in both directions from his concealment behind
+a screen of cedar bushes. He had watched them
+with no interest other than that exhibited by a whimsical
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_95' name='page_95'></a>95</span>
+smile. But he did not smile as he watched this
+rider. His eyes became keenly alert; his face was
+grim. His mind was made up.</p>
+<p>When the rider was nearing his ambush, Rathburn
+quickly scanned the empty stretch of trail to westward,
+then leaped down and confronted the horseman.</p>
+<p>Ed Lamy drew rein with an exclamation of surprise.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s not much time, an&#8217; I don&#8217;t hanker to be
+seen&ndash;&ndash;afoot,&#8221; said Rathburn quickly. &#8220;Where&#8217;s my
+horse?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;s in a pocket on a shale slope this side of the
+timber on a line from the house where you left him,&#8221;
+replied Lamy readily. &#8220;Or you can have mine.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t want him,&#8221; said Rathburn curtly. &#8220;You
+going in to see the sheriff?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Lamy nodded. &#8220;His orders. Say, Coyote&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;ll probably meet you on the way,&#8221; Rathburn
+interrupted with a sneer. &#8220;You can be figurin&#8217; out
+what to say to him. My saddle with the horse?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s hanging from a tree where you go into the
+pocket. Big limestone cliffs there below the shale.
+Say, Coyote, my sister an&#8217; kid brother was tellin&#8217; me
+about your visit that morning, an&#8217; I guess I understand&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;We can&#8217;t stand here talkin&#8217;,&#8221; Rathburn broke in,
+pulling the tobacco sack from his shirt pocket. He
+extracted a folded piece of paper. &#8220;Here&#8217;s a note
+I wrote you in jail before I left. Read it on the way
+in when there&#8217;s no one watching you. Maybe you&#8217;ll
+learn something from it; maybe you won&#8217;t. I expect
+you wanted money to fix that ranch up; but you&#8217;ll
+get further by doing a little irrigating from up that
+stream than by trying to be a bandit. You just
+naturally ain&#8217;t cut out for the part!&#8221;</p>
+<p>With these words he handed Lamy the note and
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_96' name='page_96'></a>96</span>
+bounded back up the slope. The screen of cedar
+bushes closed behind him as Lamy pushed on, looking
+back, wondering and confused, with heightened
+color in his face.</p>
+<p>It was late that night when Lamy returned to the
+little ranch house. Frankie had gone to bed, but his
+sister was waiting up for him with a meal and hot
+tea ready.</p>
+<p>He talked to his sister in a low voice while he
+ate. When he had finished he read the note for the
+third time; read it aloud, so his sister could hear.</p>
+<blockquote>
+<p>&#8220;<span class='smcap'>Lamy</span>: I meant to take you back and give
+you up, for I was pretty sore. Then I saw your
+resemblance to your small brother by the freckles
+and eyes and I remembered he had said something
+about you saying some decent things about
+me. I guess you thought they were nice things,
+anyway.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then I thought maybe you got your ideas
+about easy money from the stuff you&#8217;d heard
+about me, and I sort of felt kind of responsible.
+I thought I&#8217;d teach you a lesson by flirting with
+that posse and telling you that killing story to
+show you what a man is up against in this game.
+I guess I can&#8217;t get away from it because they
+won&#8217;t let me. But you don&#8217;t have to start. I
+was going to give you a good talking to before
+I let you go, but I hadn&#8217;t counted on the little
+kid in the house. I&#8217;m glad he told the truth.
+He&#8217;ll remember that. I gave you back your gun
+because you hit the nail on the head when you
+said if I was square I&#8217;d give it to you and let
+you make a run for it.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I took the money off you so if they got us I
+could take the blame and let you off. I can take
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_97' name='page_97'></a>97</span>
+the blame without hurting my reputation, so
+don&#8217;t worry. I&#8217;m not doing this so much for
+your sake as for your kid brother and your
+sister. I figure you&#8217;d sort of caught on when I
+heard they hadn&#8217;t located my horse. That was
+a good turn. Do me another by getting some
+sense. There&#8217;s plenty of us fellows that&#8217;s quite
+capable to furnish the bad examples.</p>
+<p class='ralign'>&#8220;<span class='smcap'>Rathburn</span>.&#8221;</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>The girl was crying softly with an arm about her
+brother&#8217;s neck when he finished reading.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&ndash;&ndash;what are you going to do, Eddie?&#8221; she
+sobbed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to irrigate!&#8221; said Ed Lamy with a new
+note in his voice. &#8220;I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to build a sure-enough
+ranch for us with this piece of paper for a corner
+stone!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Dawn was breaking over the mountains, strewing
+the gleaming peaks with warm rosettes of color. A
+clear sky, as deep and blue as any sea, arched its
+canopy above. Virgin stands of pine and fir marched
+up the steep slopes to fling their banners of green
+against the snow. Silver ribbons of streams laughed
+in the welcome sunlight.</p>
+<p>In a rock-walled gulch, far above the head of
+Sunrise Ca&ntilde;on, a fire was burning, its thin smoke
+streamer riding on a vagrant breeze. Near by lay a
+dun-colored horse on its side, tied fast. A man was
+squatting by the blaze.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I hate to have to do this, old hoss,&#8221; the man
+crooned; &#8220;but we&#8217;ve got to change the pattern of
+that CC2 brand if we want to stick together, an&#8217; I
+reckon we want to stick.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He thrust the running iron deeper into the glowing
+coals.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_98' name='page_98'></a>98</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XIV_THE_WITNESS' id='CHAPTER_XIV_THE_WITNESS'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIV</h2>
+<h3>THE WITNESS</h3>
+</div>
+<p>The morning was hardly two hours old, and the
+crisp air was stinging sweet with the tang of
+pine and fir, as Rathburn rode jauntily down the trail
+on the eastern slope of the divide and drew rein on
+the crest of a high ridge. As he looked below he
+whistled softly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Juniper, hoss, there&#8217;s folks down there plying a
+nefarious trade, a plumb dangerous trade,&#8221; he mused,
+digging for the tobacco and brown papers in the
+pocket of his shirt. &#8220;I reckon they&#8217;re carrying on in
+direct defiance of the law, hoss.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The dun-colored mustang tossed his head impatiently,
+but his master ignored the animal&#8217;s fretful
+desire to be off and dallied with tobacco and paper,
+fashioning a cigarette, lighting it, breathing thin
+smoke as his gray eyes squinted appraisingly at the
+scene below.</p>
+<p>Winding down into the foothills, in striking contrast
+to the dim trails higher up, was a well-used
+road. It evidently led from the saffron-tinted dump
+and gray buildings of a mine which showed on the
+side of a big, bald mountain to southward. At a
+point almost directly below the ridge where the man
+and horse stood, it crossed a small hogback and
+descended a steep slope between lines of jack pines,
+disappearing in the timber farther down.</p>
+<p>The gaze of the man on the ridge was concentrated
+on the bit of road which showed on the hogback and
+the slope beyond. A truck was laboriously climbing
+the ascent. But the watcher evidently was not so
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_99' name='page_99'></a>99</span>
+much concerned with the approach of the truck as
+with certain movements which were in progress on
+the hogback at the head of the grade.</p>
+<p>Three persons had dismounted from their horses
+behind the screen of timber. One, a tall man, had
+donned a long, black slicker and was tying a handkerchief
+about his face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Juniper, hoss,&#8221; said Rathburn, &#8220;what does that
+gent want that slicker on for? It ain&#8217;t going to rain.
+An&#8217; how does he reckon to see onless maybe he&#8217;s got
+holes cut in that there hanky?&#8221;</p>
+<p>A second man had made his way down the slope a
+short distance. He took advantage of the timber
+which screened him from sight of the driver of the
+oncoming truck.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I &#8217;spect that&#8217;s in case the truck driver should
+suddenly take it into his head to slide down backwards,&#8221;
+said the observer, speaking his thoughts
+aloud in a musical, bass voice. &#8220;One in front, one
+behind; now how about the kid?&#8221;</p>
+<p>As if in answer to his question the third member
+of the party, evidently a boy, led the horses a short
+way up the hogback where a good view could be
+obtained of the road in both directions.</p>
+<p>The watcher grunted in approval. &#8220;One in front
+to do the stick-up, one behind to stop a retreat and
+get whatever it is they&#8217;re after, and one on the lookout
+to see there ain&#8217;t any unexpected guests. Couldn&#8217;t
+have planned the lay any better ourselves, hoss.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He was too far distant to interfere, even if he had
+had any desire to do so, which was doubtful from his
+interested and tolerant manner. Anyway it could
+have done no good to shout a warning, for the
+driver of the truck could not have heard anything
+above the roar of his machine, and the trio had gone
+about the preparations with dispatch. Already the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_100' name='page_100'></a>100</span>
+truck was climbing the last steep pitch to the top of
+the hogback.</p>
+<p>The tall man in the black slicker and mask now
+quickly stepped forth from the edge of the timber.
+The watcher above saw his right hand and arm whip
+out level with his shoulders. There was a glint of
+morning sunlight and dull metal. The truck came to
+a jarring stop as the driver jammed on the brakes.
+Then the driver&#8217;s hands went into the air.</p>
+<p>Stepping from the timber at the roadside behind
+the truck, the second man leaped upon the machine.
+The watcher grunted again as he saw that this man
+was also masked. The driver was disarmed and
+searched, then forced to clamber down from the truck
+into the road, where the man in the slicker kept him
+covered while the other quickly searched about the
+seat and cab of the truck. Then the second man
+released the brakes and dropped nimbly from the
+machine which plunged backward down the steep
+slope, crashed into the tree growth on one side of
+the road, and overturned.</p>
+<p>The boy mounted and led the other two horses
+down the hogback in the scanty timber to the head
+of the grade. There the man in the slicker and his
+companion joined him, mounted, and the trio rode
+quickly along the hogback in a southerly direction
+and disappeared on a blind rail into the forest.</p>
+<p>Rathburn rolled himself another cigarette with a
+grin as he watched the truck driver stand for some
+moments uncertainly in the road and then start rapidly
+down the slope toward his disabled machine.</p>
+<p>&#8220;C&#8217;mon, hoss,&#8221; said the erstwhile spectator, turning
+his dun-colored mount again into the trail. &#8220;So
+far&#8217;s I can make out, this is the only way down out
+of these tall mountains to the east, so we might as
+well get going. We ain&#8217;t got no business south or
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_101' name='page_101'></a>101</span>
+west. We&#8217;ll be just in time to get blamed for what&#8217;s
+happened down there.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Whatever there might be in the prospect, the rider
+did not permit it to have any influence on his cheerful
+mood. He drew in long breaths of the stimulating
+air and sniffed joyously at the fragrance of the
+murmuring forests which clothed the higher hills.
+Far below the timber would dwindle, the ridges
+would flatten into round knolls and lose their verdure;
+then would come the dust and lava slopes, and
+beyond&ndash;&ndash;the desert.</p>
+<p>A wistful light came into the horseman&#8217;s eyes.
+&#8220;Home, Juniper, hoss,&#8221; he said softly. &#8220;We&#8217;ve just
+got to have cactus an&#8217; water holes an&#8217; danged blistering
+heat in ours; and I don&#8217;t care so much as the
+faded label off an empty tomato can if it&#8217;s in California,
+or Arizona, or Nevada, so long as it&#8217;s desert!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The trail he was following wound tortuously
+around ridges, through the timber, into ravines and
+ca&ntilde;ons; now treading close upon the bank of a swift-running
+mountain stream in a narrow valley, and
+again seeking the higher places where there were rocks
+and fallen trees and other obstructions. An observer
+would have gleaned at once that the rider was not
+familiar with the trail or territory he traversed.</p>
+<p>So it was past noon when he finally reached the
+hogback where the outstanding event of the morning
+had taken place. The rider looked back up toward
+the divide and grinned as he rested his horse just
+above the scene of the holdup.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t reckon they&#8217;d have heard me if I&#8217;d hollered,
+or seen me if I&#8217;d waved,&#8221; he mused. &#8220;They picked
+out a good spot for the dirty work,&#8221; he concluded,
+looking about.</p>
+<p>Shortly afterward, as he was staring down at the
+tracks in the road, he smothered an exclamation.
+Then he dismounted, picked up two small objects
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_102' name='page_102'></a>102</span>
+from the dust at the point where the trio had started
+on their get-away, examined them with a puzzled expression,
+and thrust them into a pocket.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Queer,&#8221; he ruminated; &#8220;mighty queer. If those
+silly things had been laying there in the road before
+the rumpus they&#8217;d have been tracked into the dust.
+But they was on <i>top</i> of a perfectly good hoss track.
+An&#8217; it don&#8217;t look like there&#8217;s been anybody along here
+since.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He continued down the road, descending the steep
+slope, and came to the overturned truck. At a glance
+he saw it had been used for hauling supplies, doubtless
+to the mine he had glimpsed on the slope of the
+high mountain to southward. Several kegs of nails,
+some hardware, and some sacks of cement were scattered
+in the road. He remembered that the man
+who had climbed on the truck had only searched the
+driver and the cab. Anything he might have taken
+must have been in a small package or it would have
+been discernible even at that long distance.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That outfit wasn&#8217;t after no mine supplies,&#8221; Rathburn
+reflected as he finished his brief inspection and
+again mounted. &#8220;An&#8217; they wasn&#8217;t taking any chances
+on smoking anybody up or being followed too quick.
+Pretty work all around. An&#8217; here&#8217;s the committee,
+hoss!&#8221;</p>
+<p>A touring car came careening around a turn in the
+road and raced toward him. He turned his horse to
+the side of the road and spoke to him as the animal,
+plainly unfamiliar with motor cars, snorted and shied.</p>
+<p>The car drew to a stop with a screeching of brakes.
+The horseman raised his hands as he saw two rifles
+leveled at him from the rear seat. There were five
+men in the car besides the driver. One of the men,
+who had been sitting in the front with the driver,
+leaped from the machine and strode toward the rider.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Calm that horse down an&#8217; climb out of that saddle,&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_103' name='page_103'></a>103</span>
+he commanded. &#8220;If you make any motions
+toward that gun you&#8217;re packing, it&#8217;ll make things
+simpler, in a way.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The rider slipped from the saddle with a broad
+grin. &#8220;Right up to form,&#8221; he sang cheerfully, although
+he kept his hands elevated while the other
+took his gun. &#8220;My hoss&#8217;ll be calm enough now that
+that danged thing is shut off. You must be a sheriff
+to be flirting with the speed limit that way an&#8217; forgetting
+you&#8217;ve got a horn.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where are you from an&#8217; where was you going?&#8221;
+demanded the other.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m from up in the mountains, but I&#8217;d never got
+where I was going if I hadn&#8217;t seen you first the way
+you busted around that curve,&#8221; was the cool reply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Stranger,&#8221; was the next comment in a tone of
+satisfaction. &#8220;Look here, friend, I&#8217;m Mannix, deputy
+from High Point. You&#8217;ll sail smoother if you answer
+my questions straight.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The deputy motioned to two men in the car.
+&#8220;Search him,&#8221; he ordered. Then he stood back, six-shooter
+in hand.</p>
+<p>The stranger built a cigarette while the men were
+going through him. He lighted the weed and smiled
+quizzically while they examined the meager contents
+of the slicker pack on the rear of his saddle.</p>
+<p>&#8220;See you&#8217;re packing a black slicker,&#8221; said Mannix,
+pointing to the rough raincoat in which the pack was
+wrapped.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s in case of rain,&#8221; was the ready answer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s your name?&#8221; asked the deputy with a
+frown.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Rathburn.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where was you heading?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I was aiming in a general eastern direction,&#8221;
+Rathburn replied in a drawl. &#8220;Is there any law
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_104' name='page_104'></a>104</span>
+against ridin&#8217; hosses in this here part of the country?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not at all,&#8221; replied the deputy heartily. &#8220;An&#8217;
+there&#8217;s no law against drivin&#8217; automobiles or trucks.
+But there&#8217;s a law against stoppin&#8217; &#8217;em with a gun.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;So,&#8221; said Rathburn. &#8220;You stopped because you
+saw my gun? An&#8217; I&#8217;m to blame, for it? If I&#8217;d
+known you were touchy about guns down here I&#8217;d
+have worn mine in my shirt.&#8221;</p>
+<p>One of the other men from the car had joined the
+deputy. He was looking at Rathburn keenly. Mannix
+turned to him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Look like him?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+<p>The man nodded. &#8220;About the same size and
+height.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;This man was drivin&#8217; a truck up here that was
+stopped this morning,&#8221; said the deputy sternly to
+Rathburn. &#8220;He says you size up to one of the men
+that turned the trick&ndash;&ndash;one of them that wore a black
+slicker like yours.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn nodded pleasantly. &#8220;Exactly,&#8221; he said
+with a smile. &#8220;I happen to be in the country an&#8217;
+I&#8217;ve got a black slicker. There you are; everything
+all proved up. An&#8217; yet there was somebody once
+told me it took brains to be a sheriff!&#8221;</p>
+<p>There was a glint in Rathburn&#8217;s eyes as he uttered
+the last sentence.</p>
+<p>Instead of flying into a rage, Mannix laughed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t kid yourself,&#8221; he said grimly. &#8220;You&#8217;re
+not the man who held up this truck driver.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He gave Rathburn back his gun, to the latter&#8217;s
+surprise. Then he waved toward Rathburn&#8217;s horse.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Go ahead,&#8221; he said, smiling. &#8220;General eastern
+direction, wasn&#8217;t it? This road will take you clean
+to the desert, if you want to go that far. So long.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He led the others back to the car which started
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_105' name='page_105'></a>105</span>
+off with a roar. It passed the truck and continued on
+up the road.</p>
+<p>Rathburn sat his horse and watched the automobile
+out of sight. His expression was one of deep
+perplexity.</p>
+<p>&#8220;By all the rules of the game that fellow should
+have held me as a suspect,&#8221; he soliloquized. &#8220;Now
+he don&#8217;t know me from a hoss thief&ndash;&ndash;or does he?&#8221;</p>
+<p>He frowned and rode thoughtfully down the road
+in the direction from which the automobile had come.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_106' name='page_106'></a>106</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XV_THE_WELCOME' id='CHAPTER_XV_THE_WELCOME'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XV</h2>
+<h3>THE WELCOME</h3>
+</div>
+<p>The afternoon wore on as Rathburn followed the
+road at an easy jog. He quickened his pace
+somewhat when he passed through aisles in thick
+timber, and, despite his careless attitude in the saddle,
+he kept a sharp lookout at all times. For Rathburn
+was carrying some gold and bills in a belt under
+his shirt&ndash;&ndash;which had been examined and returned
+to him at the order of the deputy&ndash;&ndash;and he had no
+intention of being waylaid. Moreover, the man&#8217;s
+natural bearing was one of constant alertness. He
+rode for more than two hours without seeing any
+one.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Strange,&#8221; he observed aloud. &#8220;This road is used
+a lot, too. Maybe the morning&#8217;s ceremonies has
+scared all the travelers into the brush.&#8221;</p>
+<p>But, as he turned the next bend in the road, he
+saw a small cabin in a little clearing to the right.</p>
+<p>Spurred by a desire to obtain some much-needed
+information, he turned from the road into the clearing
+and rode up to the cabin. He doffed his broad-brimmed
+hat in haste as he saw a girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ma&#8217;am, I&#8217;m a stranger in these woods an&#8217; I&#8217;m
+looking for an honest man or woman to guide me
+on my way,&#8221; he said with a flashing smile.</p>
+<p>Instead of returning his smile with a gracious
+word of greeting, the girl regarded him gravely out
+of glowing, dark eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Pretty!&#8221; he thought to himself. &#8220;Limping lizards,
+but she&#8217;s pretty!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where are you from?&#8221; the girl asked soberly.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_107' name='page_107'></a>107</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;From yonder mountains, an&#8217; then some,&#8221; he
+answered with a sweeping gesture.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You rode down this morning?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I rode down this morning. Down from the toppermost
+top of the divide with the wind singing in
+my whiskers an&#8217; the birds warbling in my ears.&#8221;
+He laughed gayly, for he appreciated her puzzled
+look. &#8220;I was wondering two things,&#8221; he continued
+solemnly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What might they be?&#8221; she asked doubtfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;First: Why isn&#8217;t there more travel on this good
+road?&#8221; he said. &#8220;I haven&#8217;t seen a soul except yourself
+and a&ndash;&ndash;a party in an automobile. Now on a
+road like this&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where did you meet the automobile?&#8221; she asked
+in a voice which he interpreted as eager.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Two hours an&#8217; some minutes back&ndash;&ndash;and up.
+Near a truck which had had some trouble in the
+road. Perhaps you heard about it? Turned over
+on its side in collapse after some free-thinking gents
+turned their smoke wagons toward it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It was plain she was interested.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did&ndash;&ndash;is the automobile still there?&#8221; she inquired
+with a breathless catch in her voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, no. After some of the passengers had had
+a little disrespectful conversation with me, it went on
+up the road. Are they scarce around here, ma&#8217;am&ndash;&ndash;automobiles?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not exactly,&#8221; she replied with a frown. &#8220;They
+truck ore and men and supplies to and from the mine
+every day. The reason you&#8217;ve seen so few people
+to-day is because it&#8217;s Sunday.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Thank you,&#8221; he said gallantly. &#8220;That answers
+my first question. You remember, I was wondering
+<i>two</i> things?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Her lips trembled with a smile, but her eyes flashed
+with suspicion.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_108' name='page_108'></a>108</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;You will observe, ma&#8217;am, that I am not followed
+by any pack horses or heavily-laden burros,&#8221; he went
+on gravely, although his eyes sparkled with good
+humor. &#8220;Nor is there anything much to speak of in
+this slicker pack on my saddle. I need some new
+smoking tobacco, some new shaving soap, some new
+hair cut, a bath, a dinner, and a bed&ndash;&ndash;after I&#8217;ve put
+up my hoss.&#8221;</p>
+<p>This time the girl laughed, and Rathburn was rewarded
+by the flashing gleam of two rows of pearls
+and eyes merry with mirth. But her reciprocating
+mood of cheerfulness was quickly spent.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You are only a mile and a half from High
+Point,&#8221; she said hurriedly. &#8220;You can get what you
+want there.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She retreated into the doorway, and Rathburn saw
+that the chance interview was at an end.</p>
+<p>&#8220;<i>Gracias</i>, as they say in the desert country,&#8221; he
+said, saluting as he turned away. &#8220;It means thanks,
+ma&#8217;am.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He looked back as he touched the mustang with
+his steel and saw her looking after him with a
+strange look in her eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That gal looks half like she was scared, hoss,&#8221;
+he reflected. &#8220;I wonder, now, if she got me wrong.
+Dang it! Maybe she thought I was trying to flirt
+with her. Well, maybe I was.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He thrust a hand in a pocket and fingered the two
+objects he had picked up in the road at the scene of
+the holdup. Then he pulled his hat a bit forward
+over his eyes and increased his pace. The town, as
+he had half expected, came suddenly into sight
+around a sharp bend in the road.</p>
+<p>High Point consisted of some two-score structures,
+and only a cursory glance was needed to ascertain
+that it was the source of supplies and rendez-vous
+for entertainment of the several mines and all
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_109' name='page_109'></a>109</span>
+the miners and prospectors in the neighboring hills.
+Several fairly good roads and many trails led into it,
+and from it there was a main road of travel to the
+railroad on the edge of the desert in the east.</p>
+<p>Before he entered the dusty, single street, lined
+with small buildings flaunting false fronts, Rathburn
+recognized the signs of a foothill town where the
+hand of authority rested but lightly.</p>
+<p>He rode directly to the first hotel, the only two-story
+structure in town, and around to the rear where
+he put up his horse and left his saddle, chaps and
+slicker pack in the care of the barn man.</p>
+<p>He received instructions as to the location of the
+best barber shop and speedily wended his way there.
+He found Sunday was not observed in the barber
+shop, nor in the resort which adjoined it.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Any chance to get a bath here?&#8221; he asked one of
+the two barbers with a twinkle in his gray eyes.</p>
+<p>He expected a snort of astonishment and a sarcastic
+reply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure. Want it first or after?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn eyed the barber suspiciously. Was the
+man poking fun at him? Well, he was not a stranger
+to repartee.</p>
+<p>&#8220;First or after what?&#8221; he asked, scowling.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Your shave and hair cut.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn laughed. &#8220;I&#8217;ll take it first&ndash;&ndash;if you have
+it. An&#8217; if you have, I&#8217;ll say this is a first-class barber
+shop.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The barber led the way to a room in the rear of
+the place with a pleased grin.</p>
+<p>An hour or so later Rathburn, with the lower part
+of his face a shade paler than the upper half, his
+dark hair showing neatly under his broad-brimmed
+hat, his black riding boots glistening, and a satisfied
+smile on his face, sauntered out of the barber shop
+into the resort next door.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_110' name='page_110'></a>110</span></div>
+<p>A man was lighting the hanging lamps, and Rathburn
+looked about through a haze of tobacco smoke
+at a cluster of crowded gaming tables, a short bar,
+cigar counter, and at the motley throng which
+jammed the small room.</p>
+<p>He grinned as he read the sign over the cash
+register:</p>
+<p>FREE DRINKS TO-MORROW</p>
+<p>&#8220;Swiped in broad daylight from the grand old
+State of Texas,&#8221; he murmured aloud to himself.</p>
+<p>Then he noticed a small restaurant in the rear of
+the place, separated from the main room by a partition,
+the upper part of which was glass.</p>
+<p>He made his way back, passed through the door,
+and took a seat at the counter which afforded him a
+view of the resort through the glass. He ordered a
+substantial meal and, while waiting for it to be
+served, studied with calculating eyes the scene in the
+next room.</p>
+<p>The men were mostly of the hills&ndash;&ndash;miners constituting
+the majority. Of professional gamblers
+there were many, and there was also a plentiful
+sprinkling of that despicable species known as
+&#8220;boosters&#8221; whose business it is to sit in at the games
+in the interest of &#8220;the house;&#8221; to fleece the victims
+who occupy the few remaining seats.</p>
+<p>But now he saw a man who apparently was not a
+miner, or a prospector, nor yet a member of the professional
+gambling tribe. This was a tall man, very
+dark, sinewy. He wore a gun.</p>
+<p>At first Rathburn thought he might be a cow-puncher,
+for he wore riding boots, and had something
+of the air and bearing of a cowman; but he
+finally decided that this classification was inaccurate.
+An officer at one of the mines, perhaps; a forest
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_111' name='page_111'></a>111</span>
+ranger&ndash;&ndash;no, he didn&#8217;t wear the regalia of a ranger&ndash;&ndash;Rathburn
+gave it up as his dinner was put before
+him on the counter.</p>
+<p>He fell to his meal eagerly, for he had had nothing
+to eat since early morning when he had broken
+camp high in the mountains to westward. Steak and
+French &#8220;fries&#8221; began quickly to disappear, along with
+many slices of bread and two cups of steaming coffee.
+Then Rathburn looked up, and to his surprise
+saw that the tall, dark man was standing near the
+glass, studying him intently out of scowling, black
+eyes.</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked at him coolly and steadily for a
+few moments and resumed his meal. But the other
+was inquisitive and Rathburn sensed, without again
+looking up, that he was being watched. Was this
+man, then, an aide of Mannix, the deputy? He
+doubted it.</p>
+<p>He finished his meal, paid his score with an added
+cheery word for the counter jumper, rose, entered
+the main room of the resort, and walked directly up
+to the dark man who still was observing him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Was you thinking I was an old acquaintance of
+yours?&#8221; he asked pleasantly.</p>
+<p>The other&#8217;s eyes narrowed, and Rathburn thought
+he detected a glow of recognition and satisfaction.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did you have your bath?&#8221; sneeringly inquired the
+man.</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s brows lifted. Then he smiled queerly.
+&#8220;I sure did. Why? Did I maybe keep you waiting?
+Was you next?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The other&#8217;s eyes blazed with wrath. &#8220;Let me give
+you a tip, my friend; you ain&#8217;t right well acquainted
+in this here locality, are you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn now noted that they had attracted immediate
+attention. The tall, dark man, then, was a
+personage of importance. He noted another thing,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_112' name='page_112'></a>112</span>
+too&ndash;&ndash;rather, he realized it by instinct as well as by
+certain mannerisms. The man before him knew how
+to use the weapon which hung low on his right thigh.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you mean was I born here, or do I live here,
+I&#8217;d say no,&#8221; Rathburn drawled; &#8220;but I happen to be
+here at this precise time so I&#8217;d say I&#8217;m right well
+acquainted with it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A hush had come over the place. Interested faces
+were turned in their direction, and Rathburn sensed
+an ominous tremor of keen expectancy. The fine
+wrinkles at the corners of his eyes tightened a bit.</p>
+<p>&#8220;This is a poor time for strangers to be hanging
+around,&#8221; said the dark man in a loud voice. &#8220;The
+Dixie Queen pay-roll has been taking wings too
+often.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The implication and the murmur from the spectators
+was not lost upon Rathburn. His lips tightened
+into a fine, white line.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Whoever you are, you&#8217;ve got more mouth than
+brains!&#8221; he said crisply in a voice which carried over
+the room.</p>
+<p>The effect of his words was electric. There was
+a sharp intaking of breath from the spectators. The
+dark man&#8217;s face froze, and his eyes darted red. His
+right hand seemed to hang on the instant for the
+swoop to his gun. Rathburn appeared to be smiling
+queerly out of his eyes. Then came a sharp interruption.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just a minute, Carlisle!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn recognized the voice of Mannix, and a
+moment later the deputy stepped between them.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the idea?&#8221; he asked coolly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;This gentleman you just called Carlisle seems to
+have appointed himself a reception committee to welcome
+me into the enterprising town of High Point,&#8221;
+drawled Rathburn, with a laugh.</p>
+<p>Mannix turned on Carlisle with a scowl, and Carlisle
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_113' name='page_113'></a>113</span>
+shrugged impatiently, his eyes still glaring balefully
+at Rathburn.</p>
+<p>The deputy again confronted Rathburn. &#8220;Had
+your supper?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Best steak I&#8217;ve had in two months,&#8221; Rathburn
+replied cheerfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Horse taken care of?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;First thing.&#8221; There was a note of derision in
+Rathburn&#8217;s tone. &#8220;Service at the hotel barn is high
+grade.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mannix&#8217;s eyes hardened before he spoke again.
+He hesitated, but when his words came they were
+clear-cut and stern.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then come with me an&#8217; I&#8217;ll show you where to
+sleep.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You mean in jail?&#8221; queried Rathburn.</p>
+<p>Mannix nodded coldly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sheriff,&#8221; said Rathburn, in a peculiar tone, addressing
+the deputy but looking over his shoulder directly
+into Carlisle&#8217;s eyes; &#8220;if there&#8217;s one thing I&#8217;m
+noted for, it&#8217;s for being a good guesser!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_114' name='page_114'></a>114</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XVI_THE_DIXIES_BOSS' id='CHAPTER_XVI_THE_DIXIES_BOSS'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XVI</h2>
+<h3>THE DIXIE&#8217;S BOSS</h3>
+</div>
+<p>If Mannix expected any resistance from Rathburn
+he soon found that none was to materialize. The
+deputy, a short, rather stout man of perhaps thirty-nine,
+with bronzed features, clear, brown eyes, and a
+protruding jaw covered with a stubble of reddish-brown
+beard, was nevertheless wary of his prisoner.
+He had not yet obtained Rathburn&#8217;s gun, and he
+recognized the unmistakable signs of a seasoned gunman
+in the lounging but graceful postures of his
+prisoner, in the way he moved his right hand, in the
+alertness of his eye. He frowned, for Rathburn was
+smiling. There was a quality to that smile which
+was not lost upon the doughty officer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I take it you&#8217;ve got sense enough to come along
+easylike,&#8221; he said, with just a hint of doubt in his
+voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I&#8217;ve been known to show some sense, sheriff;
+now that&#8217;s a fact.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll have to ask you for your gun,&#8221; said the deputy
+grimly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve never been known to hand over my gun,
+sheriff,&#8221; drawled Rathburn. &#8220;Now that&#8217;s another
+fact.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Again the tension in the room was high. Others
+than Mannix, and probably Carlisle, had readily
+discerned in the gray-eyed stranger a certain menacing
+prowess which is much respected where weapons
+are the rule in unexpected emergencies. The crowd
+backed to the wall.</p>
+<p>The deputy wet his lips, and his face grew a shade
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_115' name='page_115'></a>115</span>
+paler. Then suddenly he went for his gun, as Rathburn
+dropped, like a shot, to the floor. There came
+the crack of Carlisle&#8217;s pistol and a laugh from Rathburn.
+The deputy, gun in hand, stared at Rathburn
+who rose quickly to his feet. Then he thought to
+cover him. Rathburn raised his hands while Carlisle
+returned his own smoking weapon to its holster.
+Mannix turned and glared at Carlisle in perplexity.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t know what his game is, Mannix; but he
+could have drawn down on you in a wink and shot
+you in your tracks if he&#8217;d wanted to,&#8221; said Carlisle.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So you were taking the play in your own hands,&#8221;
+Mannix accused.</p>
+<p>The deputy looked at Rathburn angrily. Then he
+advanced and took the prisoner&#8217;s six-shooter from
+him. He brought handcuffs out of his pockets.</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s face went white. &#8220;If what Carlisle
+says is true, it doesn&#8217;t look as if I was trying to get
+away, does it, sheriff?&#8221; he asked coldly.</p>
+<p>Mannix was thoughtful for a moment. &#8220;Well,
+come along,&#8221; he ordered, thrusting the steel bracelets
+back into his pocket.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll go with you,&#8221; Carlisle volunteered.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s up to you,&#8221; snapped out the deputy. &#8220;I
+ain&#8217;t asking you to.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The trio left the place as the spectators gazed after
+them in wonder. There was a hum of excited conversation
+as the deputy and his prisoner and Carlisle
+passed through the door.</p>
+<p>No word was spoken on the way to the small, two-room,
+one-story structure which served as a detention
+place for persons under arrest until they could be
+transferred to the county jail in the town where the
+railroad touched. Petty offenders served their sentences
+there, however.</p>
+<p>In the little front office of the jail, Rathburn
+looked with interest at some posters on the walls.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_116' name='page_116'></a>116</span>
+One in particular claimed his attention, and he read
+it twice while the deputy was getting some keys and
+calling to the jailer, who evidently was on the other
+side of the barred door where the few cells and the
+&#8220;tank&#8221; were.</p>
+<p>This is what Rathburn read:</p>
+<blockquote>
+<p class='center'><span style='font-weight:bold'>REWARD</span></p>
+<p>Two thousand dollars will be paid for the
+capture of the bandits who are responsible for
+the robberies of Dixie Mine messengers in the
+last few months.</p>
+<p class='ralign'><span class='smcap'>Dixie Milling &amp; Mining Co</span>.,<span class='rindent4'>&nbsp;</span><br />
+George Sautee, Manager.<span class='rindent2'>&nbsp;</span></p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Rathburn now knew exactly what Carlisle had
+meant when he had referred to the Dixie pay-roll
+taking wings. He had, however, suspected it. The
+holdup of the truck driver also was explained. Rathburn
+smiled. It was a peculiar ruse for the mines
+manager to resort to. Could not the pay-roll be sent
+to the mines under armed guard? Rathburn&#8217;s eyes
+were dreamy when he looked at the deputy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;All right, in you go,&#8221; said Mannix, as the jailer
+unlocked the heavy, barred door from the inside.</p>
+<p>He led Rathburn to one of the single cells, of
+which there were six on one side of the jail room
+proper.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe you&#8217;ll be ready to talk in the morning,&#8221; he
+said, as he locked his prisoner in.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Morning might be too late,&#8221; Rathburn observed,
+taking tobacco and papers from his shirt pocket.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What do you mean by that?&#8221; Mannix asked
+sharply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I might change my mind.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;About talking, eh? Well, we&#8217;ll find a way to
+make you change it back again.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_117' name='page_117'></a>117</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re a grateful cuss,&#8221; said Rathburn, grinning.</p>
+<p>Mannix scowled. It was plain he was not sure of
+his man, although he was trying to convince himself
+that he was.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t get you,&#8221; he said growlingly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No? Didn&#8217;t you hear that fellow Carlisle say I
+saved your life by not drawing?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He&#8217;d have got you if you&#8217;d tried to draw. That&#8217;s
+what he thought you was going to do. You saved
+your skin by grabbing the floor.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn wet the paper of his cigarette and sealed
+the end. &#8220;I&#8217;m wondering,&#8221; he mused, as he snapped
+a match into flame, with a thumb nail and lit the
+weed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s about time,&#8221; said the deputy grimly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m wondering,&#8221; said Rathburn, in a soft voice,
+exhaling a thin streamer of smoke, &#8220;if he&#8217;d have got
+me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mannix grunted, looked at him curiously, and then
+turned abruptly on his heel and left. Rathburn could
+not see the door, but he heard the big key grate in
+the lock, and then the jail room echoed to the clang
+of hard metal and the door swung shut again.</p>
+<p>Rathburn sat down on the bunk which was to serve
+as his bed. He smoked his brown-paper cigarette
+slowly and with great relish while he stared, not
+through the bars to where the dim light of a
+lamp showed, but straight at the opposite steel wall
+of his cell. His eyes were thoughtful, dreamy,
+his brow was puckered.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; there&#8217;s that,&#8221; he muttered as he threw away
+the stub of his smoke and began to roll another.
+&#8220;Somebody&#8217;s been playing the Dixie Queen for a
+meal ticket. That sign said &#8216;robberies.&#8217; That means
+more&#8217;n one. The truck driver was the last. Two
+thousand reward. An&#8217; me headed for the desert
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_118' name='page_118'></a>118</span>
+where I belong. What stopped me? I reckon I
+know.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He smiled grimly as he remembered the insolent
+challenge in Carlisle&#8217;s eyes and the reference to the
+bath.</p>
+<p>After a time Rathburn stretched out on the bunk,
+pulled his hat over his face, and dozed.</p>
+<p>He sat up with a catlike movement as a persistent
+tapping on the bars of his cell reached his ears.
+Blinking in the half light he saw Carlisle&#8217;s dark
+features.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, now&#8217;s your chance to smoke me up good
+an&#8217; plenty an&#8217; get away with it,&#8221; said Rathburn
+cheerfully. &#8220;I&#8217;m shy my gun which the sheriff has
+borrowed.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You figure he&#8217;s just borrowed it?&#8221; sneeringly
+inquired Carlisle.</p>
+<p>Rathburn rose and surveyed his visitor. &#8220;I
+reckon I&#8217;ve got to tolerate you,&#8221; he drawled. &#8220;I
+can&#8217;t pick my company in here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got your number,&#8221; snarlingly replied Carlisle
+in a low voice.</p>
+<p>Rathburn sauntered close to the bars, rolling a
+cigarette.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you have, Carlisle, you&#8217;ve got a winning
+number,&#8221; he said evenly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Whatever your play is here, I dunno,&#8221; said
+Carlisle; &#8220;but you won&#8217;t get away with it as easy
+as you did over the range in Dry Lake.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s eyes never flickered as he coolly lit
+his cigarette with a steady hand. &#8220;You&#8217;re plumb
+full of information, eh, Carlisle?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I was over there an&#8217; heard about how you stuck
+up that joint an&#8217; tried to blame it on some kid
+by the name of Lamy,&#8221; said Carlisle, watching
+Rathburn closely.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_119' name='page_119'></a>119</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;You sure that was the way of it?&#8221; asked Rathburn
+casually.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; replied the other. &#8220;I know the kid stuck
+up the joint an&#8217; you took the blame to keep him
+under cover. I don&#8217;t know your reasons, but I
+guess you don&#8217;t want the facts known. You broke
+jail. They ain&#8217;t forgot <i>that</i> over in Dry Lake.
+There&#8217;s a reward out for you over there, an I
+wouldn&#8217;t be surprised if there was some money on
+your head in Arizona, Coyote!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s eyes were points of red between narrowed
+lids.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The Coyote!&#8221; said Carlisle in a hoarse voice of
+triumph. &#8220;An&#8217; the way it looks I&#8217;m the only one
+hereabouts that knows it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I told you you was plumb full of information,&#8221;
+said Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The Coyote has a bit of a record, they tell me,&#8221;
+Carlisle leered. &#8220;There&#8217;s more&#8217;n one sheriff would
+pay a pretty price to get him safe, eh?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just what&#8217;s your idea in telling <i>me</i> all this,
+Carlisle; why don&#8217;t you tell what you know to
+Mannix, say?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe I&#8217;m just teasing you along.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not a chance, Carlisle. I know your breed.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The other&#8217;s face darkened, and his eyes glittered
+as he peered in through the bars.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s <i>your</i> breed?&#8221; he asked sneeringly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t have to tell you that, Carlisle. You
+<i>know</i>!&#8221; said Rathburn with a taunting laugh.</p>
+<p>Carlisle struggled with his anger for a brief
+spell. Then he shrugged his shoulders.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I ain&#8217;t going to poke at you in a cage,&#8221; he said
+in a more civil tone; &#8220;an&#8217; I ain&#8217;t going to tell anybody
+what I know. Remember that.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I ain&#8217;t the forgetting kind,&#8221; Rathburn flung after
+him as he walked swiftly away.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_120' name='page_120'></a>120</span></div>
+<p>Again Rathburn sat on the edge of the bunk
+and smoked and thought. After a time he went to
+sleep. The opening of his cell door woke him. It
+was Mannix.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come to let me out, sheriff?&#8221; inquired Rathburn
+sleepily.</p>
+<p>The deputy looked at him keenly, opened the
+cage, and motioned to him to follow. Rathburn
+went with him out into the little office. It was
+broad day. Mannix picked up a pistol from his
+desk and extended it to Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Here&#8217;s your gun, Rathburn. You can go,&#8221; he
+said, pressing his lips close together.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, now, sheriff, that&#8217;s right kind of you,&#8221;
+Rathburn drawled, concealing his astonishment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t thank me,&#8221; snapped out Mannix. &#8220;This
+gentleman asked me to set you loose.&#8221;</p>
+<p>For the first time Rathburn looked squarely at
+the other man in the office&ndash;&ndash;a thin man, with a
+cropped mustache, beady eyes, and a narrow face.</p>
+<p>The man was regarding him intently, and there
+seemed to be an amused expression in his eyes.
+He turned away from Rathburn&#8217;s gaze.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t believe I&#8217;ve ever had the pleasure of
+meeting the gentleman,&#8221; said Rathburn agreeably.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s George Sautee, manager of the Dixie
+Queen,&#8221; said the deputy with a shrug.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_121' name='page_121'></a>121</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XVII_A_COMMISSION' id='CHAPTER_XVII_A_COMMISSION'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XVII</h2>
+<h3>A COMMISSION</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Sautee rose and extended his hand with an
+affable smile. &#8220;Will you come to breakfast
+with me, Mr. Rathburn?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn took the hand with a curious side glance
+at Mannix. &#8220;I&#8217;m powerful hungry,&#8221; he confessed;
+&#8220;an&#8217; I don&#8217;t reckon I&#8217;d be showing the best of
+manners if I balked at havin&#8217; breakfast with the
+man that got me out of jail.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Quite right,&#8221; admitted Sautee, winking at the
+deputy. &#8220;Well, perhaps I have my reasons. All
+right, Rathburn, let&#8217;s be going.&#8221;</p>
+<p>They walked out of the jail, and as they progressed
+up the street they were the cynosure of
+many wondering pairs of eyes; for the report had
+spread that the stranger who had been jailed was
+the bandit who had made away with the Dixie
+Queen pay-roll on several occasions, and that he
+was a gun fighter and a killer.</p>
+<p>They entered a restaurant just below the hotel,
+and Sautee led the way to a booth where they were
+assured comparative privacy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ham an&#8217; eggs,&#8221; said Rathburn shortly when the
+waiter entered.</p>
+<p>Sautee smiled again. He was covertly inspecting
+the man across the table from him and evidently
+what he saw caused him to arrive at a satisfactory
+conclusion.</p>
+<p>He gave his order with a nod and a mild flourish
+of the hand, indicating that he would take the
+same.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_122' name='page_122'></a>122</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Oh&ndash;&ndash;waiter,&#8221; called Rathburn. &#8220;Four eggs with
+mine.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee laughed. It was a peculiar laugh in that
+it seemed to convey little mirth. It was perfunctory.</p>
+<p>He gazed at Rathburn quizzically. &#8220;They tell
+me you&#8217;re a gunman,&#8221; he said in a low voice.</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s brows shot up. &#8220;They? Who&#8217;s they?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee waved a hand impatiently. &#8220;I am the
+manager of the Dixie Queen. I have been around
+a bit, and I have eyes. I can see. I know the
+signals. I witnessed the play in the Red Feather last
+night.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That ain&#8217;t a bad name for the place,&#8221; Rathburn
+mused.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just what do you suppose was my object in
+getting you out of jail?&#8221; Sautee asked seriously,
+leaning over the table and looking at Rathburn
+searchingly. &#8220;You said last night you were a good
+guesser.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But I didn&#8217;t say I was good at riddles,&#8221; drawled
+Rathburn.</p>
+<p>Sautee leaned back. For a moment there was
+a gleam of admiration in his eyes. Then they
+narrowed slightly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The Dixie Queen has been robbed four times
+within the last year,&#8221; he said soberly. &#8220;That represents
+considerable money. Yesterday I resorted to
+a ruse and sent the money up with a truck driver,
+but whoever is doing this thing must have got
+wise somehow, for the truck driver was held up,
+as you know, and the money taken.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why not put an armed guard on that truck?&#8221;
+asked Rathburn with a yawn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I had full confidence in that ruse, and I knew
+the man who drove the truck could be trusted.
+Besides, he didn&#8217;t know what was inside the package.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_123' name='page_123'></a>123</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;How much did they get?&#8221; asked Rathburn
+sharply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Twenty-two thousand eight hundred and seventy
+dollars in cash.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn stared at the mine manager and whistled
+softly. &#8220;What&#8217;s the sense in sending it up there
+at all?&#8221; he asked suddenly. &#8220;Why not pay off
+down here in town?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee sighed with an air of resignation. &#8220;That&#8217;s
+been argued several times,&#8221; he complained. &#8220;The
+men demand their pay in cash. They want it at
+the mine, for more than half of them have refused
+to come down here for it. It is twenty-nine miles
+up there to the mine, and it would take all the
+trucks we&#8217;ve got and two days to bring them down
+here and take them back. Besides, if we got them
+down here it would be a week before we could
+get half of them back up there and at work again.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But why won&#8217;t they take checks?&#8221; Rathburn
+demanded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It would be the same proposition,&#8221; Sautee explained.
+&#8220;There is a little village up there&ndash;&ndash;pool
+room, soft-drink parlor, lunch room, store, and all
+that&ndash;&ndash;and the men, or a large number of them,
+would want their checks cashed to make purchases
+and for spending money, and the cash would have
+to be transported so the business places could cash
+the checks. Then, there&#8217;s another reason. All the
+mines over on this side of the mountains, clear
+down into the desert, have always paid in cash.
+This is an old district, and the matter of getting
+paid in cash has become a tradition. That&#8217;s what
+the company is up against. We can refuse to do
+it, but all the other mines do it, and the Dixie
+Queen would soon have the reputation of being the
+only mine in the district that didn&#8217;t pay in cash.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_124' name='page_124'></a>124</span>
+The tradition is handed down from the old days
+when men were paid in gold. There was a time
+when a miner wouldn&#8217;t take paper money in this
+country!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The waiter entered with the breakfast dishes and
+they began to eat.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Your mine owned by a stock company?&#8221; Rathburn
+inquired.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Certainly,&#8221; replied Sautee. &#8220;All the mines here
+are. What mine isn&#8217;t?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn ignored the question. &#8220;Stockholders live
+aroun&#8217; here?&#8221; he asked, between mouthfuls.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh&ndash;&ndash;no, that is, not many,&#8221; replied Sautee with
+a quick glance at his questioner. &#8220;This district is
+pretty well worked out. Most of our stockholders
+live in the Middle West and the East.&#8221; He winked
+at Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Any other mines been robbed?&#8221; Rathburn persisted.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, that&#8217;s the funny part of it. Still&ndash;&ndash;no, it <i>isn&#8217;t</i>
+funny. We&#8217;re working on the largest scale, and
+our pay-roll is, naturally, the largest. It furnishes
+the biggest incentive. In addition, the Dixie Queen
+is the farthest out from town, and there are many
+excellent spots for a holdup between town and
+the mine. Oh, don&#8217;t look skeptical. I&#8217;ve tried
+trusted messengers by roundabout trails, and guards
+and all that. They even held up a convoy on one
+occasion. I&#8217;ve set traps. I&#8217;ve done everything.
+But now I&#8217;ve a new idea, and I believe it&#8217;ll work.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He finished his breakfast and stared steadily at
+Rathburn who didn&#8217;t look up, but leisurely drank
+a second cup of coffee. Sautee noted the slim,
+tapered right hand of the man across the table from
+him, the clear, gray eyes, the unmistakable poise
+of a man who is absolutely and utterly confident
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_125' name='page_125'></a>125</span>
+and sure of himself. The mine manager&#8217;s eyes
+glowed eagerly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes?&#8221; asked Rathburn calmly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to hire, or, rather, I&#8217;m going to <i>try</i>
+to hire a man I believe is just as tough, just as
+clever, just as quick with his gun as the men
+who&#8217;ve been robbing the Dixie Queen. I&#8217;m going
+to hire him to carry the money to the mine!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;So <i>that&#8217;s</i> why you got me out of jail,&#8221; said Rathburn,
+drawing the inevitable tobacco and papers from
+his shirt pocket.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes!&#8221; whispered Sautee eagerly. &#8220;I want you for
+the job!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You ain&#8217;t forgetting that I was suspected of
+that last job, are you? That&#8217;s why I went to
+jail, I reckon.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You didn&#8217;t have to go to jail unless you wanted
+to. You didn&#8217;t have to stop in this town and
+invite arrest. Mannix let you go up there yesterday
+because he felt sure he could get you when he
+wanted you again, and he figured you&#8217;d make some
+break that would give him a clew to your pals,
+if you had any. You went to jail because you
+knew he didn&#8217;t have anything on you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee grinned in triumph.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How do you know I won&#8217;t beat it with the
+money?&#8221; asked Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t,&#8221; said Sautee quickly. &#8220;But I&#8217;m taking
+a chance on it that you won&#8217;t. I don&#8217;t care who
+you are, what you are now, or what you&#8217;ve been;
+I don&#8217;t care if you&#8217;re an outlaw! I figure, Rathburn,
+that if I come out square and trust you
+with this mission and depend upon you to carry
+it out, that you&#8217;ll play square with me. That&#8217;s what
+I&#8217;m banking on&ndash;&ndash;your own sense of squareness.
+You&#8217;ve got it, for I can see it in your eyes.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who&#8217;s Carlisle?&#8221; Rathburn asked dryly.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_126' name='page_126'></a>126</span></div>
+<p>Sautee frowned. &#8220;He&#8217;s a&ndash;&ndash;well, I guess you&#8217;d
+call him a sort of adventurer. I knew him down
+in Arizona. He follows the camps when they&#8217;re
+good, and this one happens to be good right now,
+for we&#8217;re improving the property. That&#8217;s how he
+happened to come up here about a year ago. Then,
+when the first robbery occurred, I engaged him as
+a sort of special agent. He didn&#8217;t make any progress,
+so I let him go. Since then he&#8217;s been out and in,
+gambling, prospecting, anything&ndash;&ndash;he&#8217;s a fast man
+with his gun, and he has some claims here which
+he is developing on a small scale and trying to sell.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn nodded but made no comment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Will you take the job?&#8221; Sautee asked anxiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What do you want me to do?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want you to carry a sum of money to the
+mine. I&#8217;m not going to tell you how much, but
+it will be considerable. The money which was
+stolen yesterday was for the pay-off to-day. I&#8217;ve
+got to get the cash for the men up there quick.
+They all know about the holdup, so there&#8217;s no
+grumbling&ndash;&ndash;yet. But there will be if they don&#8217;t
+have their money pretty quick. We want to pay
+off to-morrow. I could go with a guard, but to
+tell you the truth, Rathburn, it&#8217;s got to a point
+where I can&#8217;t trust a soul.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why not Mannix?&#8221; asked Rathburn sharply.</p>
+<p>Sautee shook his head; his beady, black eyes
+glowed, and he stroked his chin.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s another sorrowful point,&#8221; he explained.
+&#8220;I tell you we&#8217;re up against it here, Rathburn. The
+Dixie Queen people and most of the other mines
+are fighting the present county administration as a
+matter of policy. They want certain changes, and&ndash;&ndash;well,
+keep this to yourself&ndash;&ndash;privileges. Mannix has
+been instructed by the sheriff of this county that he
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_127' name='page_127'></a>127</span>
+is not here to act as a guard for the Dixie Queen.
+See?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn frowned and built another cigarette.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you&#8217;ll carry this package of money up to
+the Dixie Queen for me, Rathburn, I&#8217;ll pay you five
+hundred dollars. Then, if you want to stay and
+act as our messenger right along, we&#8217;ll make a
+deal. But I&#8217;d like to have you do this this time&ndash;&ndash;make
+this one trip, anyway, I mean. They may
+try to stop you. If they do I don&#8217;t believe they
+can get away with it. I&#8217;m banking on your ability
+to get through, and I think the proposition will
+appeal to you in a sporting way if for no other
+reason. Will you do it?&#8221; Sautee&#8217;s eyes were eager.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; said Rathburn shortly, tossing away his
+cigarette.</p>
+<p>Sautee held out his hand. &#8220;Go to the hotel and
+engage a room,&#8221; he instructed. &#8220;Be in your room
+at nine o&#8217;clock to-night. Do not tell any one of
+our deal. I&#8217;ll get your room number from the
+register. I&#8217;ll bring the package of money to you
+between nine o&#8217;clock and midnight. Now, Rathburn,
+maybe I&#8217;m mistaken in you; but I go a whole
+lot by what I see in a man&#8217;s eyes. You may have a
+hard record, but I&#8217;m staking my faith in men
+on you!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll be there,&#8221; Rathburn promised.</p>
+<p>He left Sautee at the entrance to the restaurant
+and strolled around the hotel barn to see that his
+horse was being taken care of properly. He found
+that the barn man was indeed looking after the
+dun in excellent shape. Rathburn spent a short
+time with his mount, petting him and rubbing his
+glossy coat with his hands. Then he took his slicker
+pack and started for the hotel.</p>
+<p>As he reached the street he saw a girl on a
+horse talking with a man on the sidewalk. The girl
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_128' name='page_128'></a>128</span>
+was leaning over, and the man evidently was delivering
+a harangue. He was gesticulating wildly, and
+Rathburn could see that the girl was cowering. He
+paused on the hotel porch as the man stepped away
+from the horse and looked his way. He recognized
+Carlisle.</p>
+<p>Then the girl rode down the street and Rathburn
+started with surprise as he saw she was the girl
+from the cabin up the road who had directed him
+to town the day before. He remembered the two
+objects he had picked up in the road after the
+holdup and felt in his pocket to make sure they
+were there. Then he entered the hotel.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Have you a room?&#8221; he asked the clerk pleasantly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes. More rooms than anything else to-day
+since the Sunday crowd&#8217;s gone.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn wrote his name upon the register.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_129' name='page_129'></a>129</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XVIII_IN_THE_NIGHT' id='CHAPTER_XVIII_IN_THE_NIGHT'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XVIII</h2>
+<h3>IN THE NIGHT</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Rathburn avoided the Red Feather resort during
+the morning. Instead of walking about the
+streets or sitting in the hotel lobby or his room,
+he cultivated the acquaintance of the barn man,
+and because he knew horses&ndash;&ndash;<i>all</i> about horses&ndash;&ndash;he
+soon had the man&#8217;s attention and respect.</p>
+<p>Although Rathburn suspected that he already had
+a reputation in the town, he did not know that
+Carlisle was steadily adding to that reputation through
+the medium of veiled hints dropped here and there
+until a majority of the population was convinced
+that a desperate man was in their midst, and that
+Mannix had permitted him to go free for certain
+secret reasons.</p>
+<p>Thus a web of mystery and suspicion was cleverly
+woven about Rathburn&#8217;s movements.</p>
+<p>It was not until afternoon, however, that Rathburn
+began to realize on his intimacy with the
+barn man. Then they began to talk of trails, and
+for more than an hour the barn man, caught in
+the spell of Rathburn&#8217;s personality, divulged the
+secret of the trails leading to and from the Dixie
+Queen.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The best trail, an&#8217; the straightest, if you should
+ever want to go up there an&#8217; look at the mine
+like you say,&#8221; said the barn man, &#8220;hits into the
+timber behind the first cabin to the left above town.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn nodded smilingly. It was the cabin
+where he had first seen the girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s &#8217;bout twenty-nine miles to the mine by the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_130' name='page_130'></a>130</span>
+road,&#8221; the man explained; &#8220;but that trail will take
+you there in less&#8217;n twenty. Well, maybe twenty or
+twenty-one. Or you can go up the road till you
+get to the big hogback&ndash;&ndash;that&#8217;s where they held up
+the truck driver yesterday&ndash;&ndash;and cut straight up the
+hill from the south end.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guess those are the best trails from what you
+say,&#8221; was Rathburn&#8217;s yawning comment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Them&#8217;s the best,&#8221; the other added. &#8220;There&#8217;s
+another trail going out below town that follows
+southeast along a big ridge, but that trail&#8217;s as far
+as the road. When you goin&#8217; up?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I dunno,&#8221; replied Rathburn noncommittally. &#8220;Say,
+I guess I know where that cabin is on the left
+side of the road going up. I stopped at a cabin
+up there coming down an&#8217; asked a gal how far it
+was to town&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s it,&#8221; said the barn man. &#8220;That&#8217;s the one.
+Trail starts right back of that cabin.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn yawned again. &#8220;Smart-lookin&#8217; gal,&#8221; he
+observed, digging for his tobacco and papers. &#8220;Who
+is she?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s Joe Carlisle&#8217;s sister. Anyway, he says
+she is. There&#8217;s been some talk. Carlisle lives there
+when he ain&#8217;t out in the hills or on a gamblin&#8217;
+trip to some other town.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I see. Well, old-timer, I ain&#8217;t hung on the
+feed bag since morning, an&#8217; I&#8217;m going on a still
+hunt for some grub.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn went to the Red Feather for his dinner.
+He was thoughtful through the meal and kept an
+eye out for Carlisle, but didn&#8217;t see him. During
+the remainder of the afternoon he hung about the
+Red Feather and other resorts, but did not see
+Carlisle.</p>
+<p>That evening, as he was returning to the hotel,
+he met Mannix. The deputy looked at him with
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_131' name='page_131'></a>131</span>
+a scowl in which there was a mixture of curiosity.
+Rathburn suddenly remembered what Sautee had
+said about his company being on the outs with the
+county administration. If such was the case, Rathburn
+reflected, how did it come that Sautee had
+been able to effect his release so easily?</p>
+<p>He stopped as he drew alongside of the deputy.
+&#8220;This man Sautee,&#8221; he drawled, looking Mannix
+square in the eye; &#8220;he must have a good drag
+with the county seat, eh?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The deputy&#8217;s scowl deepened. &#8220;He didn&#8217;t get
+you out by word of mouth alone,&#8221; he said sharply.
+&#8220;I haven&#8217;t got anything on you, Rathburn&ndash;&ndash;yet.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn smiled. &#8220;I reckon you&#8217;re a sheriff after
+my own heart,&#8221; he said enigmatically, and moved on.</p>
+<p>Mannix looked back after him for a moment,
+then continued on his way.</p>
+<p>Rathburn had dinner that night at the hotel, and
+it was during the course of a number of pleasantries
+with the waitress, who thought he was looking for
+work, that he ascertained that Sautee had a little
+two-room building at the lower end of the street,
+the front half of which served as an office and the
+rear half as living quarters.</p>
+<p>At nine o&#8217;clock he went to his room. He lighted
+the oil lamp, pulled down the window shade, sat
+down in a chair to one side of the door to wait.
+An hour passed with no sound save occasional footfalls
+in the hall and the drone of the wind in the
+trees outside.</p>
+<p>Another hour had nearly been consumed in waiting
+when Rathburn heard some one coming up the stairs.
+The footfalls were soft, catlike. He could hardly
+hear them, and it was this fact which made him
+instantly alert. The footfalls now sounded in the
+hallway. They were nearer his room. He rose;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_132' name='page_132'></a>132</span>
+stepped close to the side of the door. Then came
+a soft knock.</p>
+<p>Rathburn suddenly opened the door, and Sautee
+started back, blinking his eyes. The mines manager
+peered about the room, then entered swiftly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You rather startled me,&#8221; he accused with a
+forced smile.</p>
+<p>Rathburn closed the door softly and turned the
+key in the lock.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m just taking natural precautions,&#8221; he explained.</p>
+<p>Sautee shook his head and put a finger to his
+lips. &#8220;Not so loud,&#8221; he warned. &#8220;These walls&#8221;&ndash;&ndash;he
+waved a hand about&ndash;&ndash;&#8220;are all ears.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He took a package from beneath his coat and
+handed it to Rathburn. &#8220;Put it in your shirt,&#8221; he
+instructed. &#8220;Deliver it to the office at the mine
+and take the bookkeeper&#8217;s receipt. Then report to
+my office here in town. I wish you luck, and I
+want you to know that I have the utmost confidence
+in you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You keep such large sums on hand all the time?&#8221;
+Rathburn asked, putting the package in his shirt.
+He was mindful of the fact that a similar sum
+had been stolen the day before from the truck
+driver.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a private bank here,&#8221; answered Sautee
+frowningly. &#8220;He let me have it, but he&#8217;s already
+sent to the county seat for more cash which will
+come by auto express to-morrow, probably. Anyway,
+the bank&#8217;ll get most of this back, so their
+cash won&#8217;t be short long.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn nodded. &#8220;Let&#8217;s see,&#8221; he suggested.
+&#8220;There was a little item of five hundred between
+us for my serving&ndash;&ndash;am I right?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;There is such an item,&#8221; snapped out Sautee;
+&#8220;when you&#8217;ve delivered.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_133' name='page_133'></a>133</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Of course,&#8221; replied Rathburn. &#8220;I couldn&#8217;t expect
+to be paid in advance. I&#8217;m to deliver the money
+at the mine and report to you for the five hundred.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Exactly,&#8221; said Sautee. &#8220;Which way you figure
+on going up?&#8221; he asked curiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t know much about the trails,&#8221; Rathburn
+answered. &#8220;An&#8217; it mightn&#8217;t attract suspicion if I
+just struck right out on the road.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee shrugged. &#8220;Well, that&#8217;s up to you,&#8221; he
+said. &#8220;Keep your eye peeled. I don&#8217;t think any
+one knows I drew that money from the bank, but
+I didn&#8217;t think any one knew I stuck that package
+under the truck driver&#8217;s seat, either.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He turned toward the door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s just one other little matter,&#8221; said Rathburn
+softly. &#8220;You see nobody knows anything about
+this deal but you an&#8217; me. Maybe it would be best
+for my own protection that you scribbled something
+on a piece of paper to show what our arrangement
+is.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee scowled again, hesitated, then smiled. He
+drew an envelope from a pocket, extracted its contents,
+tore it open at each end, and wrote on the
+blank side:</p>
+<blockquote>
+<p>Due Rathburn five hundred dollars when he
+has delivered package intrusted to him by me
+at the Dixie Queen mine office.</p>
+<p><span class='smcap'>George Sautee.</span></p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Rathburn nodded in satisfaction as he took the
+slip of paper and tucked it into his shirt pocket.
+The wording of the note was a bit complicated, but
+it bore Sautee&#8217;s signature. It was at least evidence
+that there <i>had</i> been an agreement.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Everything set?&#8221; asked Sautee.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_134' name='page_134'></a>134</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;All cinched up an&#8217; ready to go,&#8221; replied Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How soon you going to start?&#8221; asked Sautee
+as he unlocked the door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;By midnight,&#8221; Rathburn answered.</p>
+<p>Sautee held out his hand before he slipped out of
+the door and was gone.</p>
+<p>Rathburn quickly busied himself with his slicker
+pack. He took out a gun which he changed for the
+gun in his holster. Then he stuck his regular gun
+into his waistband on the left. He took out the
+package and examined it. It was sealed at each
+end. Then Rathburn did a queer thing. He cut
+the string and paper near the seals and removed
+the small box within. He next emptied the box
+of its paper-wrapped contents and substituted the
+first thing of equal weight which he could lay his
+hands on&ndash;&ndash;a moleskin glove which was among the
+things in the slicker pack. He replaced the box
+in its wrappings and drew from one of his pockets
+a small bottle of glue.</p>
+<p>&#8220;First time I ever stole anything from a hotel
+desk,&#8221; he muttered to himself as he glued the paper
+back into place; &#8220;but I sure had the proper hunch
+when I grabbed this.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Next he retied the string, adding a piece from
+his slicker pack to offset the shortness where it had
+been cut. When he had finished the package looked
+exactly as it had in the first place. It would take
+a close inspection to learn that it had been tampered
+with. The original contents of the package he
+thrust into his hat and pulled the hat well down
+on his head.</p>
+<p>Then he extinguished the light and made his
+way downstairs and out the lobby into the street.
+He went quickly around to the barn where he astonished
+the man in charge by saddling his horse
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_135' name='page_135'></a>135</span>
+and riding out without a word of explanation other
+than to toss him a five-dollar bill from the saddle.</p>
+<p>&#8220;See you again to-morrow&ndash;&ndash;maybe,&#8221; he called,
+grinning, as he rode into the night.</p>
+<p>When Rathburn had passed behind the hotel
+and several other buildings on the same side of
+the street and gained the road leading westward
+toward the hogback, a slim shadow darted out
+of the trees, mounted a horse concealed some distance
+behind the barn, and slipped into a worn trail
+which nearly paralleled the road going west.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_136' name='page_136'></a>136</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XIX_QUICK_TURNS' id='CHAPTER_XIX_QUICK_TURNS'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XIX</h2>
+<h3>QUICK TURNS</h3>
+</div>
+<p>As he rode westward along the road at a swinging
+lope, Rathburn made no apparent effort to
+conceal his movements. The night sky was bright
+with stars, and, although the moon was not up,
+the road was clearly outlined through the marching
+stands of timber as he swung upward past the cabin
+where he had met the girl said to be Carlisle&#8217;s sister.</p>
+<p>Rathburn could not forget the look on the girl&#8217;s
+face when she had asked him about the activities
+of the officer in the automobile. Nor could he
+forget the expression in her eyes during her altercation
+with Carlisle that day.</p>
+<p>After he had passed the cabin, Rathburn checked
+his pace and proceeded more slowly up the long
+stretches of road to the hogback. On the hogback
+he began to take advantage of the screen of timber
+on the lower side of the road, and to ride more
+cautiously. However, to any one who might have
+been watching, his movements still would have been
+easily discernible, and it would have appeared that
+he wasn&#8217;t quite sure of himself. Twice he turned
+off at what he appeared to think was the beginning
+of a trail, and both times he again turned back
+to the road.</p>
+<p>Then, as he reached the south end of the hogback
+where the trail left the road and cut straight
+across to the mine, two horsemen broke from the
+timber, and Rathburn reined in his horse as the
+guns which covered him glinted.</p>
+<p>The taller of the pair of night riders kept him
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_137' name='page_137'></a>137</span>
+covered with two guns while the other rode in
+close and jerked the weapon from his holster.</p>
+<p>&#8220;C&#8217;mon with the package!&#8221; said this man in a
+hoarse voice. &#8220;We won&#8217;t take a chance on you.
+If you make any kind of a break you&#8217;ll get it
+where it&#8217;ll do most good.&#8221;</p>
+<p>There was a sneering inflection in the voice.</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s hand, as it moved downward toward
+his shirt, hovered an instant above where his good
+gun was stuck in his waistband, out of sight under
+the skirt of his coat; then it moved to the open shirt
+at his throat. He drew out the package and held
+it out toward the other.</p>
+<p>The man closed in and snatched the package,
+glancing at it in the dim starlight.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now back the way you came an&#8217; don&#8217;t invite no
+shootin&#8217;!&#8221; was the brief command.</p>
+<p>Rathburn whirled his horse and drove in his
+spurs. As he fled from the scene a harsh laugh
+came to his ears from behind. Then utter silence
+save for the pounding of his horse&#8217;s hoofs in the
+hard road back down the hogback.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Jog along, hoss,&#8221; Rathburn crooned as he sped
+down the long slopes toward town; &#8220;maybe we&#8217;re
+peggin&#8217; things wrong, an&#8217; if it turns out that way
+we&#8217;ve a powerful long ways to go.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It lacked a few minutes of being two hours
+after midnight when he reached the Carlisle cabin.
+There he reined in his horse, dismounted in the
+shadow of the timber, and crept to a window. The
+moon had risen and was bathing the hills in a
+ghostly light in which every object stood out clear-cut
+and easily distinguishable. Rathburn peered into
+the two front windows, but could see nothing. Then,
+from a side window into which the moonlight filtered,
+he made out a bedroom. It was not occupied.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_138' name='page_138'></a>138</span>
+From the other side of the cabin he saw another
+bedroom, and it, too, was unoccupied.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Nobody home,&#8221; he muttered cheerfully as he ran
+for his horse.</p>
+<p>In another minute he was again speeding down
+the road toward town. He slacked his pace as he
+reached the upper end of the short main street.
+The street was dark save for two beams of yellow
+light, one of which shone from a window of the
+jail office and the other from the front of the
+Red Feather resort.</p>
+<p>He walked his horse down the street past the
+jail and the resort and almost to the end of the
+line of buildings where he arrived before the small,
+one-story, two-room structure which was Sautee&#8217;s
+office and abode.</p>
+<p>The place was dark. Rathburn dismounted and
+led his horse into the dark shadow at the side of
+the little building. Then he went around to the
+front, and, drawing his gun from his waistband, he
+rapped smartly on the door with its butt and dropped
+it into his holster.</p>
+<p>There was no movement within, and Rathburn
+rapped again and tried the door. It was locked.</p>
+<p>A match flared into flame somewhere beyond the
+front room. A glow of light followed. Rathburn,
+looking through the front window, saw a door open
+wide and made out the form of Sautee as the
+mines manager came forward to the front door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who is it?&#8221; Sautee called cautiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Rathburn.&#8221;</p>
+<p>After a moment a key turned in the lock and
+the door opened part way. Rathburn pushed his
+way in.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why&ndash;&ndash;didn&#8217;t you <i>go</i>?&#8221; asked Sautee in excited
+tones.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Lock the door an&#8217; come in the other room,&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_139' name='page_139'></a>139</span>
+whispered Rathburn. &#8220;I&#8217;ve got something to tell
+you that&#8217;ll knock you for a goal.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee hurriedly locked the door, and, as he
+turned to lead the way into the other room, Rathburn
+deftly extracted the key.</p>
+<p>In the light from the lamp in the bedroom Sautee
+swung on his visitor and looked at him keenly.
+The mines manager was fully dressed, and the
+bed was made. It was evident that he had merely
+dozed on top of the covers with his clothes on.
+These things Rathburn noted even as Sautee surveyed
+him with a frown.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, what is it?&#8221; snapped out Sautee.</p>
+<p>Rathburn blinked in the light. &#8220;I&ndash;&ndash;I was held
+up,&#8221; he said sheepishly.</p>
+<p>The mines manager stared. First he stared into
+Rathburn&#8217;s eyes, and then he glanced to the gun
+in the holster on his thigh.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Couldn&#8217;t have been very much afraid of you,&#8221; he
+said sneeringly. &#8220;I see they didn&#8217;t even take your
+gun.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It all come from my not knowin&#8217; enough about
+the trails, I guess,&#8221; Rathburn explained lamely.
+&#8220;Got me on the far end of the hogback. Two of
+&#8217;em. Had their guns in my face before I knew it.
+Couldn&#8217;t have drawed if I wanted to. They&#8217;d have
+shot me out of the saddle in a wink. All I could
+do was hand over the package an&#8217; beat it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And they said you were a gunman,&#8221; said Sautee
+in derision. &#8220;How do <i>I</i> know anybody stopped you
+and robbed you? Maybe you&#8217;ve come back here
+with that story to cover up the theft of the money.
+I guess I made a mistake in ever thinking of trusting
+a man of your caliber.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I was afraid of that,&#8221; said Rathburn. &#8220;I was
+afraid if anything like this was to happen you
+might think I was lying and was taking the money
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_140' name='page_140'></a>140</span>
+myself. But I fooled &#8217;em, Mr. Sautee,&#8221; he finished
+in triumph.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s that?&#8221; Sautee asked sharply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Look here,&#8221; cried Rathburn excitedly as he took
+off his hat and recovered the package he had put
+in it before starting toward the mine.</p>
+<p>He held up the package. &#8220;I was scared they
+might get wise an&#8217; get the drop on me,&#8221; he said.
+&#8220;So I opened the package an&#8217; took out what was in
+it and put it in my hat. They got the original
+package, all right, but it was stuffed with an old
+glove of mine. Here&#8217;s the money. I didn&#8217;t go
+right on to the mine for fear they&#8217;d find out their
+mistake an&#8217; pot me from the timber. This is the
+money you gave me, minus the seals an&#8217; the string
+an&#8217; box. I wanted you to see that I was on the
+square.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee&#8217;s eyes were bulging. &#8220;Give me that,&#8221; he
+gulped out.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why&ndash;&ndash;don&#8217;t you want me to take it to the mine?&#8221;
+asked Rathburn in surprise.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hand that over,&#8221; ordered Sautee, reaching for
+the package.</p>
+<p>Rathburn drew away. &#8220;All right, Mr. Sautee,&#8221;
+he said in a complaining voice. &#8220;If you don&#8217;t want
+me to go through with the job you can back down,
+I guess. We&#8217;ll just make sure the money&#8217;s here,
+though.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee leaped toward him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Give me that package!&#8221; he cried angrily. &#8220;Do
+you hear me?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn warded him off, keeping the package
+at arm&#8217;s length away.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just hold your horses,&#8221; he said coldly. &#8220;I
+reckon I know what I&#8217;m doing. You don&#8217;t trust
+me now, an&#8217; I ain&#8217;t goin&#8217; to take any chances with
+you. I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to open this an&#8217; show you that
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_141' name='page_141'></a>141</span>
+the money&#8217;s there, that&#8217;s all; I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to show you
+that I&#8217;m giving you back what you gave me all
+fair an&#8217; square.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee&#8217;s face was ashen. His voice trembled as
+he spoke again: &#8220;Hand it over and get out of
+here. I&#8217;ve had enough trouble with you. I&#8217;ll take
+your word for it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>But Rathburn was undoing the paper wrappings.</p>
+<p>Again Sautee made a leap, but this time he met
+Rathburn&#8217;s left fist and staggered back, dropping
+into a chair. Rathburn looked at him coldly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Funny you&#8217;re so anxious to take my word for
+things now, when a minute ago you said you
+couldn&#8217;t know but what I&#8217;d told that holdup story
+for a blind so&#8217;s I could get away with&ndash;&ndash;<i>this</i>!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The wrappings fell away, revealing a wad of blank
+paper.</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s face froze. Sautee stared white-faced
+at what the other held in his hand. Then a peculiar
+glint came into his eyes and he looked at Rathburn
+narrowly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So that&#8217;s the way of it,&#8221; he said sarcastically.</p>
+<p>Rathburn stuffed the paper into a pocket. Then
+he pulled a chair in front of the mines manager and
+sat down. He took out paper and tobacco from his
+shirt pocket and began to fashion a cigarette.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It sure looks bad for me, doesn&#8217;t it, Mr. Sautee?&#8221;
+he asked as he snapped a match into flame.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I thought you were going to return the money,&#8221;
+Sautee said sneeringly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It looks bad two ways,&#8221; Rathburn went on as if
+he hadn&#8217;t heard the other&#8217;s comment. &#8220;First, if
+that package the holdups got had contained the
+money you could have swore it was a put-up job.
+I&#8217;d have had to beat it fast. Now, when I find
+that the package you gave to me was full of
+blank paper, you can say that I framed the holdup
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_142' name='page_142'></a>142</span>
+story and changed the money for paper in the
+bargain.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee&#8217;s eyes were glowing. &#8220;An&#8217; you&#8217;ll have to
+beat it, after all,&#8221; he jeered.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So it would seem,&#8221; mused Rathburn. &#8220;I fooled
+&#8217;em, an&#8217; to all appearances I fooled myself, although
+maybe I <i>did</i> take a peep into that package when I
+changed it in my room, Mr. Sautee.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The mines manager shifted in his chair; but he
+stared defiantly at Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;d have a hard time proving anything,&#8221; he
+said grimly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the trouble,&#8221; Rathburn admitted. &#8220;I&#8217;d
+sort of have to depend on you. I was thinkin&#8217;
+maybe you double crossed me to make &#8217;em think
+<i>I</i> was carrying the money while you sneaked it up
+some other way, Mr. Sautee.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You can think what you want to,&#8221; said Sautee.
+&#8220;But you better start moving. If I was you, I&#8217;d
+get as far away from this town and Mannix as I
+could by daylight.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s manner underwent a lightning change
+as he threw away his partly finished cigarette.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re right,&#8221; he said crisply. &#8220;It&#8217;s time to start
+moving, Sautee.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He rose, and his right hand moved incredibly
+fast. Sautee gasped as he looked into the bore of
+Rathburn&#8217;s gun. He could hardly realize that Rathburn
+had drawn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I fooled the night riders twice,&#8221; explained Rathburn
+with a peculiar smile. &#8220;First, when I let &#8217;em
+get the wrong package, an&#8217; again when I let &#8217;em
+get the wrong gun. This gun an&#8217; I work together
+like clock ticks when necessary. I&#8217;ll have to ask
+you to fork over the money that you drew from
+the bank an&#8217; that should have been in that package,
+Sautee.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_143' name='page_143'></a>143</span></div>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s eyes had narrowed and hardened; his
+words were cold and menacing&ndash;&ndash;deadly in their
+absolute sincerity.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&ndash;&ndash;what do you mean?&#8221; stammered the mines
+manager.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I take it you&#8217;re not deaf,&#8221; snapped out Rathburn.
+&#8220;Maybe you don&#8217;t know it, Sautee, but so
+help me, you&#8217;re takin&#8217; a chance by acting like you
+didn&#8217;t get me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee&#8217;s thin face was twitching in a spasm of
+commingled rage and fear.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The Coyote!&#8221; he breathed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who told you that?&#8221; demanded Rathburn on
+the instant.</p>
+<p>Sautee gripped the sides of his chair, and his
+face went a shade more pallid.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Carlisle,&#8221; he confessed in a strained voice.</p>
+<p>Rathburn laughed, and the mines manager shivered
+as he heard.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now, Sautee, we&#8217;ll quit beatin&#8217; around the bush,&#8221;
+Rathburn said through his teeth. &#8220;We&#8217;ll get down
+to business together, or I&#8217;ll begin to search your
+place here. But if I have to search, I&#8217;ll search
+alone. There ain&#8217;t so much chance of a shot bein&#8217;
+heard way up the street; an&#8217; there ain&#8217;t much
+chance of me bein&#8217; caught on that hoss of mine
+if I don&#8217;t want to get caught. Also, I&#8217;m beginning
+to feel like I was in a hurry. Fork over that
+money!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee looked just an instant longer into the
+eyes of the man towering over him. Then he
+rose, shaking, dry-lipped, and knelt down by the
+head of the bed. He lifted a piece of the carpet,
+opened a small trapdoor, reached inside, and brought
+out a bundle of bank notes. Rathburn took the
+money from him.</p>
+<p>Sautee still was kneeling as he heard Rathburn
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_144' name='page_144'></a>144</span>
+walk lightly to the front door and insert the key
+in the lock. He tried to cry out, but the effort
+resulted only in a croak in his throat. He heard
+the door close softly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The Coyote!&#8221; he mumbled, passing a hand across
+his forehead.</p>
+<p>The echoes of galloping hoofs came to him as he
+scrambled to his feet and staggered toward the door.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_145' name='page_145'></a>145</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XX_APPEAL_TO_THE_LAW' id='CHAPTER_XX_APPEAL_TO_THE_LAW'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XX</h2>
+<h3>APPEAL TO THE LAW</h3>
+</div>
+<p>For some moments Sautee stood in the darkened
+doorway staring up the moonlit street. The
+echoes of Rathburn&#8217;s flight had died away. The
+town was still. Sautee did not cry out, although
+he had recovered a considerable measure of his
+composure. He listened intently and finally grunted
+with satisfaction.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Up the road,&#8221; he muttered. &#8220;That means he is
+making for the pass over the mountains.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He walked hurriedly through his office into the
+living room. There he stood for a spell beside the
+table on which burned the lamp. His brows were
+knit into a heavy frown. He seemed debating a
+question in his mind. He tapped with nervous
+fingers on the table top.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Pshaw,&#8221; he said aloud, his face darkening. &#8220;He&#8217;s
+an outlaw.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He put on his coat and dropped an automatic
+pistol into a side pocket. After another moment of
+hesitation he blew out the light and walked quickly
+out of the place, locking the door after him.</p>
+<p>He hurried up the street to the jail. He found
+the jailer dozing in the little front office and did
+not attempt to disturb him. From the jail he hurried
+another short distance up the street and turned in
+at a little house located some distance back from
+the sidewalk. He knocked loudly on the door, and
+after a brief wait repeated the performance.</p>
+<p>A light showed, and the front door opened. Mannix,
+the deputy, looked out.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_146' name='page_146'></a>146</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Let me in,&#8221; said Sautee briefly. &#8220;There&#8217;s been
+another robbery.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mannix swung the door wide and stepped aside.
+He wore an ulster over his night clothes, and his
+bare feet were thrust into slippers. He scowled at
+the mines manager as he shut the door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;More of the company&#8217;s money gone?&#8221; he asked
+with a touch of sarcasm in his voice.</p>
+<p>Sautee nodded. &#8220;Some twenty-odd thousand,&#8221; he
+said soberly; &#8220;and I believe the man that got it is
+responsible for the holdups that have been pulled
+off around here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who got it?&#8221; Mannix asked quickly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Rathburn,&#8221; Sautee announced.</p>
+<p>Mannix smiled in undisgusted contempt. &#8220;Your
+own fault,&#8221; he pointed out. &#8220;Wouldn&#8217;t give me a
+chance to investigate. Said you had a scheme that
+would show him up one way or the other. Wouldn&#8217;t
+let me in on it, an&#8217; I was fool enough to let you
+have a try, although I don&#8217;t believe I could have
+held him anyhow.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just it,&#8221; said Sautee. &#8220;Wouldn&#8217;t have done any
+good to keep him in jail, and I thought I had a
+two-way scheme that would either show him up,
+as you say, or get me an excellent messenger. I
+intrusted Rathburn with a package to carry to the
+mines office. He&#8217;s a gunman, a desperado, probably
+a killer, and I thought it would appeal to him
+to be put in a place of trust. If he fell down&ndash;&ndash;then
+I figured you&#8217;d be able to get him like you
+said you could.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mannix snorted. &#8220;After tryin&#8217; a fool scheme
+you want to shift the business on <i>my</i> shoulders, eh?
+Well, Sautee, you&#8217;ve never shown much confidence
+in my ability, an&#8217; you don&#8217;t have to show any
+now. It looks to me as if the finishing of this
+play is all up to you.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_147' name='page_147'></a>147</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, no, it isn&#8217;t,&#8221; said Sautee confidently. &#8220;You&#8217;ll
+be most mighty glad to take out after him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Suppose you wait an&#8217; see how quick I start,&#8221;
+Mannix retorted angrily. &#8220;What&#8217;s the matter?
+Didn&#8217;t he carry out your orders? I suppose you
+gave him a bundle of money to make off with.
+Sautee, I believe you&#8217;re a fool!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The mines manager winced and then frowned.
+&#8220;I gave him the money to carry to the mine,&#8221; he
+confessed without flinching. &#8220;He came back with
+a story about being held up, and when he saw that
+I didn&#8217;t believe him and intended to turn him back
+to you, he pulled a gun on me and made his get-away.
+He lit out through town for the road to
+the hogback and the pass over the mountains.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mannix laughed harshly. &#8220;You&#8217;re clever, Sautee;
+there&#8217;s no getting away from how clever you are.
+Now you want me to go chasing up to the hogback
+to head him off. Well, I&#8217;m tellin&#8217; you that
+I don&#8217;t know where he&#8217;s gone, an&#8217; I ain&#8217;t starting
+out after him at any two o&#8217;clock in the morning.
+If you&#8217;d have kept your nose out of this he&#8217;d
+still be all safe an&#8217; quiet in jail. That&#8217;s final, so
+you might as well clear out an&#8217; give me a chance
+to get some sleep.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee merely smiled after this speech from the
+disgusted deputy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Since I intrusted Rathburn with that job I&#8217;ve
+found out something about him which takes the
+case out of my hands entirely,&#8221; he said with a
+smirk. &#8220;I don&#8217;t care if you don&#8217;t start after him
+till day after to-morrow. But if your chief&ndash;&ndash;the
+sheriff&ndash;&ndash;finds out that you didn&#8217;t hit the trail to-night
+he&#8217;ll likely ask you for your badge!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Are you threatening me?&#8221; Mannix demanded
+loudly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, I&#8217;m only stating facts,&#8221; Sautee replied stoutly.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_148' name='page_148'></a>148</span>
+&#8220;That man who calls himself Rathburn is The
+Coyote!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mannix didn&#8217;t start. He appeared hardly interested.
+Only the keen, penetrating quality of the
+steady gaze he directed at the mines manager betrayed
+the fact that his faculties were aroused.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The Coyote hit back for Arizona after that
+deal he was mixed up in over in Dry Lake, across
+the range,&#8221; he said with conviction.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, he did?&#8221; Sautee sneered openly. &#8220;Well,
+you had him in jail last night, and you can probably
+get him again, if you start right out after
+him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What makes you think this fellow Rathburn is
+The Coyote?&#8221; demanded Mannix.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Carlisle knows him by sight, and he told me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then why didn&#8217;t you tell me?&#8221; the deputy asked
+sternly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Because Carlisle didn&#8217;t tell me until after I
+told him what I&#8217;d done,&#8221; Sautee evaded. &#8220;Then I
+didn&#8217;t have the&ndash;&ndash;ah&ndash;&ndash;nerve, under the circumstances,
+to come to you with the news. At that, I thought
+he might go through with it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mannix swore softly. &#8220;Giving a pay-roll messenger&#8217;s
+job to a man who&#8217;s got a price on his
+head a mile long!&#8221; he exclaimed savagely. &#8220;Why
+didn&#8217;t Carlisle come to me?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee shrugged. &#8220;I&#8217;m not responsible for Carlisle.
+Maybe he didn&#8217;t feel sure of it, and maybe
+he&#8217;s just naturally jealous of The Coyote and wants
+to bring him in himself. Carlisle is a gunman, as
+you know, and a good one.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know it,&#8221; snapped out Mannix; &#8220;and I know
+both Carlisle an&#8217; you are a pair of bunglers. I guess
+you wanted to show me up, but you&#8217;ve gone about
+it in a way that won&#8217;t get you anything nor hurt
+me, I&#8217;ll see to that.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_149' name='page_149'></a>149</span></div>
+<p>Sautee smiled as the deputy hurried out of the
+room.</p>
+<p>In a few minutes Mannix returned fully dressed
+and carrying a rifle. The deputy&#8217;s face was severe,
+and his eyes burned with the fire of the man
+hunt. He signaled impatiently to the mine manager
+to follow him. As they walked across the little
+porch and around to the rear of the house where
+Mannix kept his car the deputy talked fast.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m goin&#8217; up to the hogback. He ain&#8217;t had start
+enough to get up there yet on a horse, an&#8217; I&#8217;ll
+beat him to it. It&#8217;ll be daylight in about two
+hours, an&#8217; I&#8217;ll be there till daylight. If you think
+you can do it, get out some of the men an&#8217; cover
+the trails to the mine on horses. He might try
+to get over that way. Then you better take your
+car and go up to the mine by the road as fast
+as you can to tell &#8217;em to be on the lookout. Watch
+out on the hogback, for I&#8217;ll be up there, parked with
+my lights out.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He had reached his small garage when he finished
+giving his instructions, and Sautee, with a promise
+to do as he had been told as quickly as possible,
+ran down the street toward the Red Feather, where
+a light still shone.</p>
+<p>The news that The Coyote and Rathburn were
+one and the same, and that he had robbed the
+mining company that night and was probably responsible
+for the other holdups, created an immediate
+sensation among the few gamblers in the resort.
+Sautee added to the excitement by quoting rewards
+at random, and the forming of two posses to comb
+the trails to the mine and beyond was under way
+at once.</p>
+<p>Sautee ran to his office and got out his small
+car. He stopped at the Red Feather and took one
+of the men from the mine with him. He stopped
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_150' name='page_150'></a>150</span>
+again when he reached the Carlisle cabin, pounded
+on the doors, and looked in the windows. But
+the place was deserted, and Sautee&#8217;s features were
+wreathed in perplexity as he went back to his car.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s queer,&#8221; he said as he climbed into his
+seat.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s that?&#8221; asked the man beside him.</p>
+<p>But Sautee&#8217;s answer was drowned in the roar
+of the motor as he sped up the road toward the
+hogback and the mine.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_151' name='page_151'></a>151</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXI_A_CAPTURE' id='CHAPTER_XXI_A_CAPTURE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXI</h2>
+<h3>A CAPTURE</h3>
+</div>
+<p>When Rathburn rode away from Sautee&#8217;s
+quarters he galloped up the street straight
+for the road which led west out of town. He
+pulled his horse down to a trot when he reached
+the Carlisle cabin and made another brief inspection
+which showed that the place was deserted. Then
+he struck into the trail behind the cabin and began
+the ascent toward the Dixie Queen.</p>
+<p>He rode slowly through the timber, depending
+upon his mount to keep to the dim trail, but in
+the open stretches in meadows and on the crest
+of ridges where the timber thinned, he made better
+time. On this occasion one would not have
+noted an attitude of uncertainty about his manner
+or movements. He had paid strict attention to the
+barn man&#8217;s description of this trail, and he had
+determined general directions the day before. Rathburn
+was not a stranger to the art of following new
+trails; nor was he the kind to become confused in
+a locality with which he was not familiar unless
+he became absolutely lost. In this instance it would
+be a hard matter to become lost, for the ridges
+rose steadily upward toward the summits of the
+high mountains, the town was in the narrow valley
+below, and the foothills ranged down to the desert
+in the east.</p>
+<p>He was halfway to the mine when he saw the
+gleam of an automobile&#8217;s lights in the road far
+below.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sautee got busy right quick,&#8221; he said aloud. &#8220;I
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_152' name='page_152'></a>152</span>
+&#8217;spect they&#8217;re hustlin&#8217; up to head me off at the hogback.
+They&#8217;re figuring I&#8217;d try to go back the way
+I come in.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He smiled grimly in the soft moonlight, and his
+gaze turned toward the east, where the stars glowed
+over the shadowy reaches of desert which he could
+not see, but the very thought of which stirred something
+in his soul.</p>
+<p>Then he pushed on up the trail toward the mine.
+For more than an hour he rode, and then, when
+he came to the crest of a ridge just below the
+Dixie Queen, he saw the lights of an automobile
+in the road to the right of him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now what?&#8221; he ejaculated. &#8220;They ain&#8217;t figurin&#8217;
+I&#8217;d come up here!&#8221;</p>
+<p>He sat his horse with features again wreathed
+in perplexity. He scowled at the approaching gleam
+of light. In the direction of the hogback he could
+see nothing. Nor could he see the horsemen already
+on the trail below him and on the ridge trail
+to eastward.</p>
+<p>The little mine village was directly below him.
+The few buildings huddled together below the big
+mine dump were dark. The mine buildings, too,
+were dark. A faint glow showed in the east&ndash;&ndash;harbinger
+of the dawn.</p>
+<p>The left side of the automobile was toward him
+when it stopped in the little street below. A man
+climbed out and walked around in front of the
+car, and Rathburn grunted in recognition as he
+made out the familiar form of Sautee, the mine
+manager.</p>
+<p>He saw Sautee and another leave the car and
+walk toward a building at the lower end of the
+street. He could see them fairly well in the moonlight
+and realized that in a comparatively short time
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_153' name='page_153'></a>153</span>
+it would be daylight. He turned his horse down
+the slope.</p>
+<p>When he reached the rear of the few buildings
+which formed the mining village, catering to the
+wants of the Dixie Queen workers, Rathburn edged
+along to the lower end where he left his horse in
+the shadow of a building directly across from the
+one which Sautee and his companion had entered,
+and in the windows of which a light now shone.</p>
+<p>He stole across the street. Peering in one of
+the windows he saw that the room was an office.
+Sautee was standing before a desk, talking to another
+man. Rathburn quickly surmised that this
+man had accompanied Sautee from the town. Even
+as he looked, Sautee finished his speech by striking
+a palm with his fist, and his companion strode toward
+the door.</p>
+<p>Rathburn darted around the side of the building
+into the shadow as the man came out and hurried
+up a wide road toward the mine buildings above.
+Then Rathburn ran around to the front of the
+building and quietly opened the door.</p>
+<p>Sautee had seated himself at the desk, and he
+swung about in his chair as he heard the door
+open. He looked again into the black bore of
+Rathburn&#8217;s gun. His eyes bulged, and this time
+they shone with genuine terror.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It was sure in the pictures for us to meet again,
+Sautee,&#8221; said Rathburn easily. &#8220;Our business wasn&#8217;t
+finished. We ain&#8217;t through yet.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;There isn&#8217;t any more money,&#8221; Sautee gasped
+out. &#8220;There&#8217;s no money up here at all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, yes, there is,&#8221; said Rathburn with a mirthless
+smile. &#8220;There&#8217;s twenty-odd thousand dollars
+in my right-hand coat pocket. Now I wonder what
+you&#8217;ve got in yours. It don&#8217;t stand to reason you&#8217;d
+start out this time without a gun. Stand up!&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_154' name='page_154'></a>154</span></div>
+<p>Sautee rose. His face was ashen. He held his
+hands high as Rathburn pressed his weapon against
+his chest and relieved him of the automatic which
+he carried. Rathburn felt his other pockets and then
+smiled agreeably. He tossed the automatic on the
+desk.</p>
+<p>&#8220;All right, we&#8217;ll get goin&#8217;,&#8221; he announced, indicating
+the open door. &#8220;We&#8217;ll have to hurry, for
+I take it you&#8217;ve sent for somebody from the mine.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where are we going?&#8221; asked Sautee without
+moving.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re goin&#8217; for a little mornin&#8217; walk, if you
+act reasonable,&#8221; replied Rathburn. &#8220;That was my
+intention. But if you don&#8217;t want to go&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>He shrugged, and as Sautee looked fixedly at
+him, he cocked his gun.</p>
+<p>Sautee hurried toward the door with Rathburn
+following him closely. When they were outside
+Rathburn directed Sautee across the street. When
+they reached Rathburn&#8217;s horse Rathburn quickly
+mounted and motioned to the mines manager to
+precede him into the timber behind the little village.
+When they gained the shelter of the timber they
+gradually circled around until they struck a trail
+which led up above the mine. They started up
+this, Sautee leading the way on foot with Rathburn
+following on his horse and keeping his gun
+trained on the mines manager&#8217;s back.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t worry,&#8221; Rathburn crooned. &#8220;I won&#8217;t shoot
+you in the back, Sautee. That wouldn&#8217;t be accordin&#8217;
+to my ethics. But I&#8217;d have to stop you if
+you made a break to leave the present company.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee plodded on, his breath coming in gasps,
+the perspiration standing out on his forehead.</p>
+<p>The trail joined with another well-worn path a
+short distance above the mine. The eastern sky
+now was light, and Rathburn saw a stone building
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_155' name='page_155'></a>155</span>
+above them. He also saw that they were on the
+steep slope of the big mountain on which the Dixie
+Queen was located, and that there was a rift in
+this mountain to the left which indicated the presence
+of a pass there.</p>
+<p>In a few minutes they reached the stone building.
+It had an iron door across which was painted the
+legend:</p>
+<blockquote>
+<p>DANGER
+POWDER&ndash;&ndash;DYNAMITE
+KEEP AWAY</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p>Rathburn dismounted and tossed the reins over
+his horse&#8217;s head so the animal would stand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That place looks like a natural jail,&#8221; he commented.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the mine&#8217;s powder house,&#8221; said Sautee, wiping
+his wet forehead.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; Rathburn rejoined, &#8220;that&#8217;s just what it
+is. I expect there&#8217;s enough powder in there to blow
+half this mountain off.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He walked to the door and took out his gun as
+he examined the padlock.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What are you going to do?&#8221; asked Sautee excitedly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to blow the lock off,&#8221; said Rathburn
+coolly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t do it!&#8221; cried Sautee. &#8220;There&#8217;s high-percentage
+dynamite in there and T N T caps that we
+use on road work&ndash;&ndash;dozens of boxes of it. You
+might set it off!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked at the quaking mine manager
+speculatively. &#8220;That&#8217;s right,&#8221; he said finally, turning
+aside to grin to himself. &#8220;I guess any little jar
+might start it workin&#8217;. It goes off easy, I&#8217;ve heard.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;There are caps and detonators in there, too,&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_156' name='page_156'></a>156</span>
+said Sautee quickly. &#8220;You might shoot into them
+some way, you never can tell. Well, it would be as
+bad for you as for me.&#8221; He uttered the last sentence
+in a note of triumph.</p>
+<p>Rathburn was looking at the far-flung view below.
+He turned a hard gaze on Sautee. &#8220;What difference
+do you suppose it would make to me if that stuff in
+there goes off?&#8221; he demanded in a harsh voice.
+&#8220;Look down there!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee looked and drew in his breath with a gasp.</p>
+<p>In the clear light of the blossoming dawn the
+whole panorama of the lower mountain country was
+spread out before them. To the left, under the
+towering peaks of the divide, the rounded crest of
+the hogback was discernible, and a black spot marked
+the location of Mannix&#8217;s automobile.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a car over there,&#8221; said Rathburn, noting
+the direction of Sautee&#8217;s gaze.</p>
+<p>Almost directly below them a number of mounted
+men filed over a ridge and again disappeared in the
+timber. Off to the right more horsemen were to
+be seen.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Looks like there was a posse or two out this
+morning,&#8221; said Rathburn in a forbidding voice. &#8220;I
+reckon I ain&#8217;t such a fool as not to know who
+they&#8217;re lookin&#8217; for, Sautee. Now maybe you can
+figure out why I ain&#8217;t as scared of that powder
+house as you are.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can stop them!&#8221; cried Sautee in a shaking voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure,&#8221; Rathburn agreed. &#8220;You can say you lied
+about me takin&#8217; the money&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll tell &#8217;em you gave it back!&#8221; said Sautee
+hoarsely. &#8220;I&#8217;ll tell &#8217;em you brought it on up to the
+mine and that it&#8217;s in the safe. I&#8217;ll square it&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But you can&#8217;t square the rewards that are out for
+The Coyote,&#8221; said Rathburn sternly. &#8220;You&#8217;ve
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_157' name='page_157'></a>157</span>
+stepped into a bigger game than you thought, Sautee,
+an&#8217; it&#8217;s got plumb out of your hands.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He turned on the mine manager fiercely. &#8220;Whatever
+happens, remember this: Once a man gets a
+bad reputation in a country like this or the country
+I come from, he&#8217;s got it for keeps. He can&#8217;t get
+away from it no matter how he acts or what he
+does. Mine has drove me away from the place
+where I belong; it&#8217;s followed me here; I can&#8217;t lose
+it; an&#8217; the way things has been going, by glory, I
+don&#8217;t know if I <i>want</i> to lose it!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee cowered back under the fierceness in Rathburn&#8217;s
+manner.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; you can tell &#8217;em, if you ever have a chance
+to talk again, that I earned my reputation square!
+I ain&#8217;t involved nobody else, an&#8217; I ain&#8217;t stole from
+any poor people, an&#8217; I never threw my gun down on
+a man who didn&#8217;t start for his first.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The deadly earnestness and the note of regret in
+Rathburn&#8217;s tone caused Sautee to forget his uneasiness
+temporarily and stare at the man in wonder.
+Rathburn&#8217;s eyes were narrowed, his gaze was steel
+blue, and his face was drawn into hard, grim lines
+as he looked out upon the far-flung, glorious vista
+below them, broken here and there by the movement
+of mounted men.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe I&ndash;&ndash;I&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221; Sautee faltered in his speech.
+His words seemed impotent in the face of Rathburn&#8217;s
+deadly seriousness.</p>
+<p>Rathburn turned abruptly to the powder house
+door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wait!&#8221; cried Sautee.</p>
+<p>The mines manager dug frantically into his pockets
+and drew out a bunch of keys.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There are some locks on this property to which
+there are only two keys,&#8221; he explained nervously.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_158' name='page_158'></a>158</span>
+&#8220;This is one of them, and I carry the second key.
+Here!&#8221;</p>
+<p>He held out the key ring with one key extended.</p>
+<p>Rathburn thrust his gun back into its holster and
+took the keys. In a moment he had unlocked the
+padlock and swung open the iron door, exposing case
+after case of high explosive within the stone structure.</p>
+<p>Sautee was staring at him in dire apprehension.</p>
+<p>Rathburn pointed toward the rift in the mountain
+on the left above them. Sautee looked and saw a
+man and a boy riding down the trail.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That looks to me like the man that held me up
+last night,&#8221; said Rathburn. &#8220;He looks like one of
+the men, anyway. Maybe he&#8217;s found out he didn&#8217;t
+get much, eh? Maybe he&#8217;s coming back because he
+didn&#8217;t have enough to make a get-away with. Maybe
+he thinks he was double crossed or something.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee&#8217;s features were working in a spasm of
+fear and worry. Suddenly he turned on Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why don&#8217;t you get away?&#8221; he asked in eager
+pleading. &#8220;That trail will take you out of the mountains
+and down into the desert country. You&#8217;re from
+the desert, aren&#8217;t you? You can make it. You&#8217;ve
+made a good haul. Go! It&#8217;ll be better for me and
+all of us!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn laughed bitterly. &#8220;I can&#8217;t go because I&#8217;m
+a worse fool than you are,&#8221; he said acridly. &#8220;Get
+in there. Sneaking lizards, man, can&#8217;t you see I&#8217;m
+tempted to put a shot into one of them boxes and
+blow us both to kingdom come?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee shrank back into the powder house, and
+Rathburn slammed the door.</p>
+<p>As Rathburn snapped the padlock and thrust the
+keys into his pocket his eyes again sought the trail to
+the left above him. No one was in sight. The man
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_159' name='page_159'></a>159</span>
+and the boy had disappeared in a bend or depression
+in the trail.</p>
+<p>But when he looked down toward the hogback he
+saw a car coming up the road toward the mine. A
+number of horsemen had taken its place on the hogback.</p>
+<p>Rathburn ran for his horse.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_160' name='page_160'></a>160</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXII_A_SECOND_CAPTURE' id='CHAPTER_XXII_A_SECOND_CAPTURE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXII</h2>
+<h3>A SECOND CAPTURE</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Rathburn rode straight up the trail which led
+from the powder house toward the pass over the
+big mountain. His eyes were gleaming with satisfaction,
+but several times they clouded with doubt,
+and he felt the bank notes in his coat pocket. Each
+time, however, he would shake his head and push
+on up the trail with renewed energy.</p>
+<p>Looking backward and downward, he could see
+the posses gathering in the street of the mine village.
+He sensed the excitement which had followed the
+sudden disappearance of Sautee and smiled grimly.
+He saw that the automobile from the hogback had
+reached the village. Scores of men were clustered
+about it. He knew Mannix was taking personal
+charge of the man hunt; but there was a chance to
+get away!</p>
+<p>He looked wistfully eastward. Somewhere off
+there, beyond the rolling foothills, was the desert.
+He thrilled. It had been there he had made his first
+mistake. Goaded by the loss of his small cattle
+ranch he had taken revenge on the man who had
+foreclosed on him and others in a similar predicament.
+He had held up the bank and restored a small
+measure of the losses. Even then the profit of the
+unscrupulous money lender had been enormous.</p>
+<p>But the law had marked Rathburn. The gunmen
+who were jealous of his reputation as an expert at
+the draw had forced him to fall back upon that draw
+to protect his life. Thus he had been driven to obtain
+a living in the best way he could, and something
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_161' name='page_161'></a>161</span>
+in the dangerous, uncertain life of the outlaw had
+appealed to his wild blood.</p>
+<p>Sautee had said the money in his pocket was a
+good haul. Why not? He looked again to eastward.
+Over the big mountain&ndash;&ndash;into the timber&ndash;&ndash;a
+circling back&ndash;&ndash;a straight cut east&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;</p>
+<p>He knew he could do it. He had evaded posses
+before&ndash;&ndash;posses composed of trained men who were
+accustomed to take the man trail. It would actually
+be rare sport to play with the crowd below. His left
+hand dropped idly into his coat pocket, and he started
+as he fingered what was there. Then his brow became
+furrowed, and he scowled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe I ain&#8217;t such a good guesser after all,&#8221; he
+muttered. &#8220;Maybe I&#8217;m just what I told Sautee&ndash;&ndash;a
+fool.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He caught sight of a man and a boy above him.
+Another instant and they were lost to view.</p>
+<p>Rathburn suddenly put the spurs to his horse, and
+the dun surged up the steep trail. As he rode, Rathburn
+took his rawhide lariat from its place on the
+saddle. At a point above where the trail twisted
+about a huge outcropping of rock he turned off, dismounted,
+and crept to the top of the rocks. Quickly
+he surveyed the trail above. Then he slipped back
+down to his horse, got in the saddle, and took up a
+position just at the lower end of the outcropping,
+some little distance back from the trail and above it.
+He held the lariat ready in his hands.</p>
+<p>He sat his horse quietly&ndash;&ndash;listening. The wind had
+died with the dawn, and there was no sound in the
+hills. The sun was mounting in the sky to eastward.
+Rathburn looked out over the timbered slopes below
+with wistful eyes. Suddenly his gaze became alert.
+The sound of horses upon the rocky trail above the
+outcropping came to his ears.</p>
+<p>Gradually the sound became more and more distinct.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_162' name='page_162'></a>162</span>
+He could hear the hoofs of the horses striking
+against the rock of the trail. He shook out the
+noose of his rope, and it sang as it whirled in the air.</p>
+<p>The head of a horse had hardly pushed past the
+rock when Rathburn&#8217;s noose went swirling downward
+and dropped true over its target. The man in
+the saddle loosed a string of curses as he felt the
+rawhide lariat tighten about his arms and chest. His
+horse shied, and he was dragged from the saddle,
+landing on his feet, but falling instantly.</p>
+<p>The second horse reared back, and Rathburn&#8217;s gun
+covered the boy in the saddle. Rathburn, keeping
+tight hold on the rope hand over hand, and retaining
+his gun in his right hand at the same time, ran down
+the short pitch. The boy&#8217;s horse became still, and
+while the youth stared Rathburn trussed up the first
+rider and then stood off to look at him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just takin&#8217; a mornin&#8217; ride, Carlisle?&#8221; he asked
+cheerfully. &#8220;Or did you forget something? Don&#8217;t
+make any false moves, kid. I ain&#8217;t in a playful
+mood.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The boy continued to stare, but Carlisle&#8217;s face was
+black with rage, and curses flowed from his lips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That won&#8217;t get you anything,&#8221; Rathburn said
+coolly. &#8220;You might better be doin&#8217; some tall thinking
+instead of cussing. You ain&#8217;t got the cards
+stacked for this deal, Carlisle.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s your game?&#8221; Carlisle managed to get out.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a deep one,&#8221; Rathburn replied dryly. &#8220;An&#8217;
+it&#8217;s too complicated to tell you now. I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to
+give you a chance to do the thinking I mentioned a
+while back. I ain&#8217;t takin&#8217; your gun or your horse.
+The only thing I&#8217;m takin&#8217; is a chance, an&#8217; I ain&#8217;t
+takin&#8217; it on <i>your</i> account.&#8221;</p>
+<p>For an instant Rathburn&#8217;s eyes burned with fury.
+Then he dragged Carlisle into the shelter of the rocks,
+to the side of the trail, and tied his horse near by.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_163' name='page_163'></a>163</span>
+Mounting, he motioned to the boy to ride down the
+trail ahead of him. He looked at the big hat and the
+overalls the boy wore. The youth looked wildly
+about and then drove the spurs into his mount and
+dashed down the trail with Rathburn close behind,
+calling to him to take it easy.</p>
+<p>Just as they reached a spot directly above the powder
+house the boy reined in his horse. Rathburn saw
+he was looking down at the turbulent scene in the
+street of the little village below the mine. Then the
+boy swayed in the saddle, and Rathburn had just
+time to fling himself to the ground and catch the
+senseless form in his arms as it toppled.</p>
+<p>He put his burden down on the grass beside the
+trail and led his horse into the timber and tied him.
+Next he picked up the boy and made his way down
+to the powder house. The shouts of many men came
+to him from far below. He succeeded in getting out
+the keys and unlocking the padlock which secured the
+door of the powder house. Then he opened the door,
+covered the frightened mine manager with his gun,
+and carried his burden in with one arm.</p>
+<p>&#8220;One of the accomplices,&#8221; he said briefly to Sautee,
+as he put the lad down and loosened the shirt at the
+throat. &#8220;He&#8217;ll come around in a minute.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee&#8217;s eyes were popping from his head. He
+leaned back upon the cases of dynamite and passed a
+clammy hand over his brow.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got Carlisle, too,&#8221; said Rathburn. &#8220;Takin&#8217;
+it all around from under it ain&#8217;t a bad morning&#8217;s
+haul.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee now stared at him with a new look in his
+eyes&ndash;&ndash;a look in which doubt struggled with terror.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t believe you <i>are</i> The Coyote!&#8221; he blurted
+out.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who do you reckon I might be, if I ain&#8217;t?&#8221; Rathburn
+asked quietly.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_164' name='page_164'></a>164</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;You might be some kind of a deputy or something.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn laughed harshly. &#8220;It just happens I&#8217;m
+the man some folks call The Coyote,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I
+don&#8217;t like the name, but it was wished on me, an&#8217; I
+can&#8217;t seem to shake it off. If I wasn&#8217;t the man you
+think I am you wouldn&#8217;t be in such a tight fix,
+Sautee.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s words conveyed a subtle menace which
+was not lost on the mine manager. Sautee cringed
+and rubbed his hands in his nervous tension.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What are you going to do?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Listen!&#8221; exclaimed Rathburn.</p>
+<p>From below came the echoes of shouts and other
+sounds which conveyed the intelligence that a large
+body of men was on the move up to the mine and
+the mountain slope above.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;re after me,&#8221; said Rathburn bitterly. &#8220;They
+think I stole the pay-rolls. They can&#8217;t get me, Sautee&ndash;&ndash;not
+alive. An&#8217; if they get me the other way I&#8217;m
+goin&#8217; to see to it somehow that I don&#8217;t get blamed
+for these jobs up here. Now, do you begin to see
+daylight?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee wet his dry lips. The figure on the floor
+stirred. The shouts from below sounded more distinct.</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s gun leaped into his hand. &#8220;You better
+start hoping the shootin&#8217; don&#8217;t begin till we understand
+each other, Sautee,&#8221; he said grimly. &#8220;We&#8217;ve
+come to the show-down!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_165' name='page_165'></a>165</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXIII_QUICK_FACTS' id='CHAPTER_XXIII_QUICK_FACTS'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIII</h2>
+<h3>QUICK FACTS</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Disregarding the sounds which continued to
+come from below, Rathburn stood, gun in hand,
+regarding Sautee with a grim countenance and a cold
+look in his keen, gray eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I saw that truck driver held up, Sautee. I was
+on a ridge below the divide. I saw the tall man in
+the black slicker, his pardner, an&#8217; the boy. I didn&#8217;t
+figure it would do any good to tell Mannix I&#8217;d taken
+in the show, an&#8217; I was on my way to the desert. I&#8217;d
+be there now if Carlisle hadn&#8217;t overstepped the mark
+in that Red Feather place.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee pricked up his ears. &#8220;You let them arrest
+you,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Why&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Because I knew Mannix didn&#8217;t know who I was
+an&#8217; didn&#8217;t have anything on me,&#8221; said Rathburn
+quickly. &#8220;An&#8217; I got peevish at Carlisle an&#8217; plumb
+suspicious when he tried to make things look bad for
+me right there at the start. I began to wise up to
+the whole lay when you got me out of jail.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee&#8217;s face went white again.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Your fine explanations of why you couldn&#8217;t get
+that money up to the mine were thin as water,
+Sautee. You could get that money up there if you
+wanted to, an&#8217; when you asked me to carry the package
+to the mine it was a dead out-an&#8217;-out give-away.
+I reckon you didn&#8217;t play me to have any sense, an&#8217; I
+don&#8217;t think you gave Carlisle credit for havin&#8217; the
+brains of a jack rabbit, either.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn laughed as the mine manager stared at
+mention of Carlisle&#8217;s name again.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_166' name='page_166'></a>166</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t worry,&#8221; he said contemptuously. &#8220;I know it
+was Carlisle who held me up. I take it he figured that
+you&#8217;d actually put money in that package. Wouldn&#8217;t
+be surprised if it was him that you got to try that
+stunt. An&#8217; he started away with the package as soon
+as he got it instead of sneakin&#8217; back home to split
+with you. He double crossed you an&#8217; you double
+crossed him an&#8217; me. Now I&#8217;m double crossing the
+two of you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee&#8217;s look had changed to one of anger. He
+glared at Rathburn, forgetting his predicament.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;d have a fine time proving any of this nonsense,&#8221;
+he found the courage to say.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not only goin&#8217; to prove what I&#8217;ve said so far,
+but I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to prove that these robberies were a
+put-up job between you an&#8217; Carlisle, with somebody
+helping you,&#8221; said Rathburn. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been in the mining
+game myself, Sautee, but in our country men
+spend their lives hunting metal to make some bunch
+of stockholders rich. Maybe they get something out
+of it themselves, an&#8217; maybe they don&#8217;t; but they&#8217;re
+square, an&#8217; the men that run the mines are square
+&#8217;most always. Anyway they develop properties, an&#8217;
+that&#8217;s more&#8217;n you&#8217;re doing. You&#8217;re not doing this
+camp any good. You&#8217;re bleeding the mine an&#8217; the
+company, too.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And I suppose you&ndash;&ndash;The Coyote&ndash;&ndash;are taking a
+hand in this business as a matter of principle,&#8221; sneeringly
+replied Sautee.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t take a hand,&#8221; Rathburn pointed out
+sternly. &#8220;You an&#8217; Carlisle forced a hand on me, an&#8217;
+I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to play it out. I&#8217;ve another reason, too,&#8221;
+he added mysteriously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did you say you had Carlisle?&#8221; Sautee asked in
+feigned anxiety.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got him dead to rights,&#8221; replied Rathburn
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_167' name='page_167'></a>167</span>
+shortly, taking some paper and a pencil from a
+pocket.</p>
+<p>Sautee looked at him curiously as he started to
+write on the paper. &#8220;Going to write it all out and
+leave it?&#8221; he asked sneeringly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to put it outside the powder house in a
+place where Mannix or some of the others will be
+sure to find it,&#8221; was the puzzling answer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I suppose they&#8217;ll believe it quicker if it&#8217;s in writing,&#8221;
+said Sautee bravely.</p>
+<p>Rathburn finished writing, folded the paper, and
+placed it in the left-hand pocket of his coat. He
+carefully put away the pencil. His next act caused
+Sautee real concern.</p>
+<p>Using a drill which was there for the purpose, evidently,
+Rathburn broke open a box of dynamite caps
+and a box of dynamite. A single coil of fuse was
+lying on a box. He quickly affixed the cap to a
+stick of the dynamite and crimped on a two-foot
+length of fuse. Then he moved the opened box of
+dynamite to the doorway and struck the stick with
+cap and fuse attached into it.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There,&#8221; he said, evidently greatly satisfied with
+his work. &#8220;That fuse will burn about two minutes&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;
+He paused. &#8220;That&#8217;s too long,&#8221; he concluded.</p>
+<p>Perspiration again stood out on Sautee&#8217;s forehead
+as he watched Rathburn cut off a foot of the fuse.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s better,&#8221; said Rathburn with a queer smile.
+&#8220;That&#8217;ll burn about a minute. Time enough.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee stared in horrified fascination at the foot
+of fuse which stuck straight out from the box of
+dynamite in the doorway. &#8220;What&ndash;&ndash;what are you
+going to do?&#8221; he gasped out.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Listen, Sautee,&#8221; said Rathburn coolly. &#8220;When
+that stick of powder explodes it&#8217;ll set off the box an&#8217;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_168' name='page_168'></a>168</span>
+the other boxes, an&#8217; instead of a powder house here
+there&#8217;ll be a big hole in the side of the mountain.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Man&ndash;&ndash;man&ndash;&ndash;you&#8217;re not going to do&ndash;&ndash;<i>that</i>!&#8221;
+Sautee&#8217;s words came in a hoarse whisper.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I reckon that&#8217;s what I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to have to do,&#8221;
+said Rathburn as he bent over the form on the floor
+of the powder house.</p>
+<p>The boy&#8217;s eyes were open and were staring into
+Rathburn&#8217;s.</p>
+<p>Rathburn lifted him to his feet, where he stood
+unsteadily. Again the gun was in Rathburn&#8217;s hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;This party is goin&#8217; to leave us,&#8221; he said to the
+frightened mine manager. &#8220;I&#8217;m goin&#8217; to step just
+outside for a minute. It&#8217;s your chance to make a
+break, Sautee; but if you try it I&#8217;ll send a bullet into
+that cap. Maybe you heard somewhere that I can
+shoot tolerably well,&#8221; he concluded in his drawl.</p>
+<p>Sautee gripped the sides of the boxes piled behind
+him.</p>
+<p>Rathburn led the boy outside and said quickly:
+&#8220;Just what is this man Carlisle to you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>A look of fear, remorse, dejection&ndash;&ndash;all commingled
+and pleading&ndash;&ndash;came into the dark eyes that
+looked up into his.</p>
+<p>Rathburn didn&#8217;t wait for a verbal answer.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Your horse is just up the trail a piece,&#8221; he said
+hurriedly. &#8220;Get up there&ndash;&ndash;go up behind the powder
+house, so the men below can&#8217;t see you. Swing off
+into the timber to the left and get down out of here.
+I&#8217;ll keep their attention. Go home.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He waited a moment until he saw that his instructions
+were being carried out, then he leaped again to
+the doorway of the powder house.</p>
+<p>Sautee&#8217;s face was livid, and his teeth were chattering.
+Rathburn took a match from his shirt pocket.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Stop!&#8221; screamed Sautee. &#8220;I&#8217;ll talk. You were
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_169' name='page_169'></a>169</span>
+right. It was a frame-up. I&#8217;ll tell everything&ndash;&ndash;<i>everything</i>!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The perspiration was streaming from his face, and
+his voice shook with terror.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ll have a chance to talk in less than a minute,&#8221;
+said Rathburn calmly.</p>
+<p>A chorus of shouts came from the trail just below
+the powder house as a number of men came into
+view.</p>
+<p>Rathburn stepped in front of the door with the
+match in his left hand and his gun in his right.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_170' name='page_170'></a>170</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXIV_THE_SHOWDOWN' id='CHAPTER_XXIV_THE_SHOWDOWN'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIV</h2>
+<h3>THE SHOW-DOWN</h3>
+</div>
+<p>A wild chorus of yells greeted him. He had
+surmised that the men had seen him coming
+back down the trail to the powder house with his human
+burden. Now he called Sautee into view. They
+would most naturally assume that it was the mine
+manager he had been carrying.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come to the door where they can see you,&#8221; he
+called to Sautee.</p>
+<p>The ring in his voice brought Sautee, white-faced
+and shivering, to the doorway beside Rathburn.</p>
+<p>Another round of yells followed the mine manager&#8217;s
+appearance. Then there was a sudden stillness.
+Rathburn saw that the crowd was made up
+mostly of miners. They paused in the wide place
+in the trail just below the powder house, and Mannix
+pushed to the fore.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want you, Coyote,&#8221; he called sternly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now, don&#8217;t you think I know it?&#8221; replied Rathburn
+in a voice which carried to all the members of
+the mob. &#8220;You don&#8217;t want me for robbing this
+mine, Mannix; you want me for something you
+don&#8217;t know anything about&ndash;&ndash;because I&#8217;ve got a record.
+Wait a minute!&#8221;</p>
+<p>He shot out the words as the mob pushed a step
+forward.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you fellows take a couple more steps in this
+direction I&#8217;ll put a bullet into this box of dynamite!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The movement stopped instantly. Men stared up
+at him breathlessly, for they realized that he meant
+what he said.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_171' name='page_171'></a>171</span></div>
+<p>Mannix&#8217;s face was pale, but his eyes glowed with
+determination.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Do you think it&#8217;s worth it, Coyote?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Step up here, Mannix, an&#8217; listen to what this
+fellow has to say,&#8221; was Rathburn&#8217;s reply. &#8220;Men,&#8221;
+he called in a loud voice, &#8220;I&#8217;m lookin&#8217; to you to give
+your mine boss an&#8217; your deputy sheriff a fair deal.&#8221;</p>
+<p>There was a murmur among the men. Mannix,
+after a moment of hesitation, stepped forward.</p>
+<p>Rathburn swung on Sautee. &#8220;Tell him!&#8221; he commanded
+in a voice which stung like the crack of a
+whip on still air.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&ndash;&ndash;I had a hand in the business,&#8221; said Sautee
+frantically. &#8220;It was Carlisle and me. We&ndash;&ndash;we
+framed the robberies.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mannix&#8217;s eyes narrowed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell him where I got that money last night,&#8221;
+Rathburn thundered. &#8220;Tell him, Sautee, or, so help
+me, I&#8217;ll drill a hole through you!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Sautee cowered before the deadly ferocity in Rathburn&#8217;s
+voice. &#8220;I had it in the&ndash;&ndash;office&ndash;&ndash;downtown,&#8221;
+he stammered. &#8220;There was blank paper in that package,
+Mannix. Let him go&ndash;&ndash;let him go, Mannix, or
+we&#8217;ll all be killed!&#8221; Sautee cried.</p>
+<p>Rathburn was looking steadily at the deputy.
+&#8220;Carlisle is roped an&#8217; tied up the trail by the big
+rocks,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Send up there for him an&#8217; bring
+him down here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Several of the men who were mounted spurred
+their horses up the steep trail. There was utter silence
+now among the men. Mannix, too, was cool
+and collected. He had not drawn his gun. He surveyed
+the quaking Sautee with a look of extreme
+contempt. The mine manager&#8217;s nerves had gone to
+pieces before Rathburn&#8217;s menacing personality. All
+he cared for now was his life. The black reputation
+he had given to Rathburn led him to believe that the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_172' name='page_172'></a>172</span>
+man could not be depended upon, and that he was
+liable to carry out his threat and blow them all to
+bits. He wet his lips with a feverish tongue.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where&#8217;s the money you an&#8217; Carlisle got away
+with?&#8221; demanded Mannix.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got all I took,&#8221; whined Sautee. &#8220;I&#8217;ll give it
+back. I don&#8217;t know what Carlisle&#8217;s done with his.
+It was his scheme, anyway; he proposed it when he
+hit this country a year ago.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And the other man&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221; suggested Mannix.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mike Reynolds,&#8221; cried Sautee. &#8220;But he was only
+in on the truck driver deal and&ndash;&ndash;last night. Let The
+Coyote go, Mannix&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then Sautee, in a frenzy of fear, an easy prey to
+the seriousness of the situation and his shattered
+nerves, told everything. He explained how it had
+been Carlisle who proposed getting Rathburn out of
+jail and making him the goat. He told of the worthless
+contents of the package he had given Rathburn
+to carry to the mine, how they had planned to rob
+him on the way and thus put him in a situation where
+he would have to get out of the country. He explained
+how Carlisle had pointed out that they had a
+club over Rathburn&#8217;s head in their knowledge of his
+real identity. He complained that Carlisle had intended
+to double cross him, and how he had double
+crossed Carlisle in turn. He ended with a whining
+plea for consideration at the hands of Mannix.</p>
+<p>The men with Carlisle came down the trail. Carlisle
+was astride his own horse. His gun was in his
+holster.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;ve got you, you outlaw!&#8221; he cried as he
+flung himself from the saddle and strode up to Rathburn,
+Mannix, and Sautee.</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s eyes had narrowed until they were slits
+through which his cold, hard gaze centered upon
+Carlisle. His attitude had changed. Even his posture
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_173' name='page_173'></a>173</span>
+was suddenly different. There was a long
+breath from the men behind Mannix. It was a tense
+moment. They could see the menace in Rathburn&#8217;s
+manner, and they could see that Carlisle was fighting
+mad.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ain&#8217;t you a little free with your language, Carlisle?&#8221;
+drawled Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You know who he is?&#8221; Carlisle cried to Mannix.
+&#8220;He&#8217;s The Coyote&ndash;&ndash;an outlaw an&#8217; a killer with a
+price a mile long on his head&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But I ain&#8217;t never sneaked any miners&#8217; pay-rolls,
+Carlisle,&#8221; Rathburn broke in with a sneering inflection
+in his voice. &#8220;What&#8217;d you do with Mike Reynolds?
+He was with you last night, wasn&#8217;t he?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Carlisle&#8217;s jaw snapped shut. He swung on Rathburn
+with eyes darting red. Then his gaze flashed
+to the cringing Sautee.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&ndash;&ndash;you rat&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn stepped before Sautee. &#8220;You haven&#8217;t
+any quarrel with him, Carlisle,&#8221; he said evenly; &#8220;your
+quarrel, if you&#8217;ve got one, is with me. I outguessed
+you, that&#8217;s all. You ain&#8217;t plumb clever, Carlisle.
+You ought to be in a more genteel business. I just
+naturally figured out the play an&#8217; made Sautee talk,
+that&#8217;s all. I ain&#8217;t the only gent Mannix is wanting&ndash;&ndash;there&#8217;s
+<i>three</i> of us here!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Carlisle&#8217;s face was purple and working in spasms
+of rage. He realized instantly that Rathburn had
+spoken the truth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It was his scheme from the start!&#8221; shrilled Sautee
+from the protection of Rathburn&#8217;s broad shoulders.</p>
+<p>Then the mine manager, unable to longer stand the
+strain, collapsed on the ground, groaning.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Underhanded!&#8221; Carlisle shot through his teeth
+as Mannix stepped back. &#8220;An&#8217; I heard The Coyote
+was a go-getter. By guns, I believe you&#8217;re yellow!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve got a chance to try an&#8217; finish what you
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_174' name='page_174'></a>174</span>
+started in the Red Feather the day I got here, Carlisle,&#8221;
+said Rathburn in ringing tones. &#8220;If you think
+I&#8217;m yellow&ndash;&ndash;draw!&#8221;</p>
+<p>A second&#8217;s hesitation&ndash;&ndash;two figures in identical
+postures under the morning sun&ndash;&ndash;a vagrant breeze
+murmuring in the timber.</p>
+<p>Then two movements, quick as lightning&ndash;&ndash;too fast
+for the eye to follow&ndash;&ndash;and the roar of guns.</p>
+<p>Rathburn stepped back, his weapon smoking at his
+hip, as Carlisle swayed for a moment and then
+crumpled upon the ground. Rathburn quickly drew
+the piece of paper from his left pocket and the roll
+of bills from his right. He put the note with the
+bills and tossed the roll to Mannix. Then he stepped
+back to the doorway.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Join your men, Mannix,&#8221; he said quietly.</p>
+<p>Mannix thrust the money into a pocket and stood
+for several seconds looking directly into Rathburn&#8217;s
+eyes. A curious expression was on the deputy&#8217;s
+face, partly wonder, partly admiration, partly doubt.
+Then he turned abruptly upon his heel and walked
+back to the gaping men.</p>
+<p>Sautee struggled to his feet. Rathburn motioned
+to him to join the others, and he staggered down to
+them.</p>
+<p>Then Rathburn coolly lit a match and touched it
+to the fuse sticking out from the box of dynamite.</p>
+<p>There was a wild yell of terror, and the mob
+tumbled down the trail as Rathburn ran for the trail
+above the powder house. The men had disappeared
+when he turned. His gun leaped into his hand and
+he fired&ndash;&ndash;once, twice, three times&ndash;&ndash;the fourth shot
+cut the burning fuse, and with a sharp intaking of
+breath, he ran for his horse, mounted, and rode into
+the timber along the trail.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_175' name='page_175'></a>175</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXV_FILED' id='CHAPTER_XXV_FILED'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXV</h2>
+<h3>FILED!</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Rathburn picked his way slowly through the
+timber around to the southeast and then directly
+down toward the town. It was slow going, and the
+man seemed to relish this fact. His face was
+thoughtful, wistful, a bit grave. He occasionally
+patted his horse&#8217;s neck.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We&#8217;re on our way home, old hoss,&#8221; he said softly.
+&#8220;Seems like we just <i>had</i> to stop off here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He fingered two small objects in his coat pocket.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wonder,&#8221; he murmured. &#8220;I wonder if I could
+be mistaken.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He turned west after a time and rode carefully
+until he gained a worn trail. This he followed down
+toward town, and in half an hour he dismounted in
+the timber behind a small cabin at the side of the
+road to the hogback.</p>
+<p>Rathburn went to the rear door and knocked. He
+received no answer, but sounds came to him through
+an open window. He opened the door softly and
+stole inside. There was no one in the kitchen. The
+sounds came from another room. He passed on into
+a bedroom and turned into another bedroom where
+he saw a figure in overalls lying on the bed. A great
+mass of dark hair covered the pillow. The form
+shook with sobs.</p>
+<p>Rathburn laid a gentle hand upon the shoulder,
+and the face, which was quickly turned to him, was
+the face of a girl&ndash;&ndash;the girl he had first seen when
+coming into the town, the girl who had been sitting
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_176' name='page_176'></a>176</span>
+the horse listening to Carlisle&#8217;s tirade, the girl the
+barn man had said was supposed to be Carlisle&#8217;s
+sister.</p>
+<p>&#8220;They don&#8217;t know you were up there,&#8221; said Rathburn
+softly. &#8220;Your boy&#8217;s clothes fooled them, if
+they saw you at all. They probably thought I was
+carrying Sautee down the trail, for they found
+Sautee up there in the powder house with me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl sobbed again. Her eyes were red with
+weeping.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Listen, ma&#8217;am,&#8221; said Rathburn gently. &#8220;I picked
+these up from the road the day the truck driver was
+held up.&#8221; He brought out two hairpins from his
+coat pocket.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It set me to thinking, ma&#8217;am, an&#8217; was one reason
+why I stayed over here to find out what was goin&#8217;
+on. Maybe I&#8217;ve done wrong, ma&#8217;am, but I was
+hoping I&#8217;d be doin&#8217; you a favor. I saw the look in
+your eyes the day Carlisle was talkin&#8217; to you when
+you was on the hoss. I know you helped him in his
+holdups, dressed like a boy, but I figured you didn&#8217;t
+do it because you wanted to.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No&ndash;&ndash;no&ndash;&ndash;no!&#8221; sobbed the girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;All right; fine, little girl. No one knows anything
+about it but me, an&#8217; I&#8217;m goin&#8217; away. But,
+listen, girlie, just what was Carlisle to you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>A spasm of weeping shook the girl. &#8220;Nothing I
+could help,&#8221; she sobbed. &#8220;He&ndash;&ndash;I had to do as he
+said&ndash;&ndash;because&ndash;&ndash;oh, I hate him. I hate him!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;There, there,&#8221; soothed Rathburn. &#8220;I suspected as
+much, girlie.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He made my father a bad man,&#8221; sobbed the
+girl; &#8220;an&#8217; made me go with him or my father would
+have to go&ndash;&ndash;to&ndash;&ndash;to go&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Never mind, girlie,&#8221; Rathburn interrupted softly.
+&#8220;I don&#8217;t want to hear the story. Just keep it to yourself
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_177' name='page_177'></a>177</span>
+an&#8217; start all over. It ain&#8217;t a bad world, girlie,
+an&#8217; there&#8217;s more good men in it than there&#8217;s bad.
+Now, you can begin to live and be happy like you
+ought. Carlisle won&#8217;t worry you no more.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She raised her head and looked at him out of
+startled eyes in which there was a ray of hope.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You say&ndash;&ndash;he won&#8217;t&ndash;&ndash;worry me&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not at all, girlie. He walked into his own trap.
+I&#8217;m goin&#8217;, girlie. So long, an&#8217; good luck.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He took her hand and pressed it, and under the
+spell of his smile the hope came into her welling
+eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Good-by,&#8221; he called from the doorway.</p>
+<p>She was smiling faintly through her tears when he
+slipped out.</p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>Deputy Sheriff Mannix was sitting in his little
+office alone. It was nearly sunset. A faint glow of
+crimson shot across the carpet.</p>
+<p>Mannix was scowling thoughtfully. On the desk
+before him were two pieces of paper. One of them
+was a reward notice publishing the fact that The
+Coyote was wanted and that five thousand dollars
+would be paid by the State of Arizona for his capture,
+dead or alive.</p>
+<p>Mannix picked up the second piece of paper and
+again read the words penciled upon it:</p>
+<blockquote>
+<p>I am taking out of this money belonging to
+the Dixie Queen the five hundred dollars Sautee
+promised me for carrying the money to the mine,
+and the two thousand dollars reward offered for
+the capture of those who had been robbing the
+Dixie Queen. I expect that shortly after this
+gets into the proper hands Sautee will be in jail,
+and he will be handy to tell you this is all O. K.</p>
+</blockquote>
+<p><span class='smcap'>Rathburn</span>.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_178' name='page_178'></a>178</span></div>
+<p>Mannix took up the reward notice, put it with the
+note, and jammed the two pieces of paper into an
+obscure pigeonhole in his desk.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Filed!&#8221; he said aloud.</p>
+<p>Then he rose with a peculiar smile, went out upon
+the little porch, and stared toward the east where
+the reflection of the sunset cast a rosy glow over the
+foothills leading down to the desert.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_179' name='page_179'></a>179</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXVI_THE_PRODIGAL' id='CHAPTER_XXVI_THE_PRODIGAL'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXVI</h2>
+<h3>THE PRODIGAL</h3>
+</div>
+<p>With face upraised to the breath of air which
+stirred across the bare black lava hills, Rathburn
+leaned forward in the saddle eagerly, while his
+dun-colored horse stood patiently, seemingly in accord
+with his master&#8217;s mood. A merciless sun beat
+down from a hot, cloudless sky.</p>
+<p>Below, stretching in endless miles was the desert&ndash;&ndash;a
+sinister, forbidding land of desolate distances,
+marked only by slender yucca palms, mesquite, dusty
+greasewood, an occasional clump of green palo verde,
+the slim fingers of the ocatilla, the high &#8220;forks&#8221; of
+the giant sahuara, and clumps of la cholla cactus,
+looking like apple orchards in full bloom.</p>
+<p>Yet the man&#8217;s gaze fell for a moment lovingly on
+each species of cactus and desert vegetation; his look
+was that which dwells in the homesick eyes of a
+traveler when he sees his native land from the deck
+of an inbound ship.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hoss, we&#8217;re home!&#8221; he said aloud, while the
+animal pricked up its ears.</p>
+<p>Then he looked off to the left, where the blue outlines
+of a low range of mountains wavered in the
+heat like a mirage.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Imagination Range,&#8221; he said moodily.</p>
+<p>He tickled the dun with his spurs and trotted
+along the crest of the lava ridge. At its eastern
+terminus he swung down into the desert and struck
+straight east in the direction of Imagination Range.
+The desert&#8217;s surface between the lava ridge and the
+higher hills of the range to eastward was cut by dry
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_180' name='page_180'></a>180</span>
+washes and arroyos and miniature ridges studded
+with giant cactus.</p>
+<p>On the top of one of these high rises the horseman
+suddenly reined in his mount and stared into the
+south. &#8220;There&#8217;s trouble&ndash;&ndash;an&#8217; spelled with a capital
+T!&#8221; he ejaculated.</p>
+<p>The gaze in his keen gray eyes centered upon a
+number of riders speeding their horses over the tumbled
+section of desert below him to his right. He
+made out two divisions of horsemen. One group
+was some distance ahead of the other. Even as he
+stared down at them, its group separated, and some
+rode for Imagination Range, while others hastened
+toward the lava hills, or due north in his direction.
+The second group halted for a brief spell, evidently
+for a conference, and then its members also divided
+and started in swift pursuit of the men ahead.</p>
+<p>The watcher on the top of the rise frowned.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Out of here, hoss,&#8221; he said sharply. &#8220;This ain&#8217;t
+our day for visitors.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He pushed on eastward, increasing its pace, but
+losing time in skirting the frequent bits of high
+ground. As he rode down into a deep arroyo, a
+horseman came galloping into its lower end and
+raced almost upon him before seeing him. His hand
+darted like lightning to his gun, and the weapon
+snapped into aim at his hip. The horseman came to
+a rearing halt, reins dangling, his hands held high,
+his eyes bulging from their sockets.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Rathburn!&#8221; he exclaimed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;The same,&#8221; said the man with the gun. &#8220;What&#8217;s
+all the disturbance down there?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bob Long is chasing us,&#8221; the other answered with
+a nervous grin.</p>
+<p>&#8220;As I remember it,&#8221; drawled Rathburn, &#8220;Bob Long
+is the sheriff of Mesquite County. You boys sure
+ain&#8217;t been misbehaving?&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_181' name='page_181'></a>181</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s worse than that,&#8221; said the fugitive, staring
+doubtfully at his questioner. &#8220;The stage driver&#8217;s
+dead. Had a notion the boss was foolin&#8217; when he
+told him to reach up for the bugs in the air.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who does the boss happen to be in this case?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The man hesitated.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Take your time,&#8221; said Rathburn sarcastically;
+&#8220;there&#8217;s nobody after you but the sheriff, an&#8217; he
+probably won&#8217;t be along for a minute or two.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It won&#8217;t do <i>you</i> no good for him to find us here,&#8221;
+said the other boldly.</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s eyes blazed. &#8220;I reckon you&#8217;re forgettin&#8217;
+that Bob Long knows I travel alone,&#8221; he said
+hotly. &#8220;He savvys I don&#8217;t travel with a crowd. I
+ain&#8217;t found it necessary so far, an&#8217; I ain&#8217;t aiming to
+start. I counted eight in your gang&ndash;&ndash;to hold up one
+stage, eh?&#8221; He concluded with a sneer, while the
+other shifted nervously in his saddle and cast a quick
+look back over his shoulder. There seemed no one
+there.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You needn&#8217;t be lookin&#8217; around,&#8221; Rathburn said
+coldly. &#8220;You&#8217;re goin&#8217; to stay here till you answer
+my question, if all the sheriffs in Arizona come
+ridin&#8217; up meanwhile. Who&#8217;s headin&#8217; your gang?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That ain&#8217;t professional,&#8221; the fugitive grumbled.
+&#8220;You&#8217;re just the same as one of us.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Then, seeing the look that came into Rathburn&#8217;s
+eyes, he said hastily: &#8220;Mike Eagen planned the lay.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I guessed it,&#8221; said Rathburn in a tone of contempt.
+&#8220;Well, you better slope while you&#8217;ve still got
+a chance.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He motioned to the man to go, and the latter
+rode at a gallop up the arroyo and out of sight.
+Rathburn&#8217;s face wore a worried scowl, as he slid his
+gun into its holster, whirled his horse, and speedily
+climbed the east side of the arroyo.</p>
+<p>From a vantage point he caught sight again of
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_182' name='page_182'></a>182</span>
+the horsemen racing up from the south. They were
+much nearer, and he could readily make out the
+members of the sheriff&#8217;s posse. He had had experience
+with posses before.</p>
+<p>Striking around the crest of the high ground which
+formed the east side of the arroyo, he again raced
+toward the range of mountains in the east, taking advantage
+of every bit of cover which offered concealment
+from the riders approaching at top speed from
+the south.</p>
+<p>Occasional glances made it plain that the sheriff
+was sending, or personally bringing, most of his
+posse east in the direction of the mountains, presumably
+in the hope of cutting off the outlaws from
+seeking refuge in the hills. But the mountains were
+Rathburn&#8217;s goal as well as the goal of a majority of
+Mike Eagen&#8217;s band, though for totally different reasons.
+He refused to change his direction, although
+by going north, the stout, speedy dun could doubtless
+outdistance the posse before the afternoon was spent.</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s teeth snapped shut, his jaw squared,
+and his eyes narrowed, as he saw indubitable signs
+that he had been detected. Two of the posse were
+waving their arms and dashing in his direction. At
+that distance they could not identify him, but under
+the circumstances such identification was unnecessary.
+His presence there, riding like mad, was certain to
+convince the pursuers that he was one of the gang
+responsible for the stage job. This was obvious.</p>
+<p>For good reasons, Rathburn did not want it generally
+known that he was back in a country where
+he had spent most of his life, and where he was
+branded as a desperate outlaw with a big price on
+his head. Consequently, seeing that the sheriff&#8217;s
+men were out to get him, he abandoned all attempt at
+concealment, drove in his spurs, gave the dun horse
+its head, and raced for the mountains.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_183' name='page_183'></a>183</span></div>
+<p>Other members of the posse who were farther to
+the east caught the signals of the two who were in
+hot pursuit of Rathburn, and they dashed north to
+cut him off. The outlaws had disappeared, and
+Rathburn shook his head savagely, as he realized
+they had sought cover when they saw the chase was
+directed at one man. Without having had a hand in
+the holdup of the stage, he had arrived on the spot
+just in time to draw the fire of the authorities. And
+fire it was now; for the men behind him had begun
+shooting in the hope of a chance hit at the distance.</p>
+<p>A scant mile separated him from his goal. He
+came to a level stretch which was almost a mass of
+green because of the clumps of palo verde. Here he
+urged the dun to its utmost, outdistanced the pair
+in his rear, and gained on the men riding from the
+south, almost ahead of him. He swerved a bit to
+the north and cut straight for a notch in the mountains.
+He smiled, as he approached it, and saw a
+narrow defile leading into the hills. He gained it in
+a final, heartbreaking burst of speed on the part of
+his mount. As he dashed into the ca&ntilde;on, bullets
+sang past him and over his head. Then a cry of
+amazement came to his ears.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s The Coyote!&#8221; a man was yelling. &#8220;Rathburn&#8217;s
+back!&#8221;</p>
+<p>He dashed into the shelter of the defile, a grim
+smile playing on his lips. He had been recognized.
+His face hardened. He rounded a huge boulder,
+checked his horse, and dismounted. He could hear
+the pound of hoofs in the entrance of the narrow
+ca&ntilde;on. A rider came into view below.</p>
+<p>Rathburn leaned out from the protection of the
+boulder. His lips were pressed into a fine, white line,
+and there was a look of haunted worry in his eyes.
+His gun flashed in his hand. The rider saw him
+and yelled, spurring his horse. Then Rathburn&#8217;s
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_184' name='page_184'></a>184</span>
+gun swung quickly upward. A sharp report sounded,
+like a crash of thunder in the narrow confines of the
+ca&ntilde;on, and its echoes reverberated through the hills.</p>
+<p>The rider toppled in his saddle and fell to the
+floor of the ca&ntilde;on. His horse came to a snorting
+stop, reins dangling, all four legs braced. The hoof-beats
+instantly were stilled. A silence, complete and
+sinister, reigned in the defile.</p>
+<p>Rathburn slipped his smoking gun into his holster
+and mounted noiselessly. Then he walked his horse
+slowly up the ca&ntilde;on, sitting sidewise in the saddle to
+keep a vigil on the trail behind. A minute later he
+heard a volley of shots below, the signal to all the
+scattered members of the posse to race to the entrance
+of the ca&ntilde;on. He increased his pace, broke
+his gun, extracted the empty shell, and inserted a
+fresh cartridge in its place.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_185' name='page_185'></a>185</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXVII_THE_DESERT_CODE' id='CHAPTER_XXVII_THE_DESERT_CODE'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXVII</h2>
+<h3>THE DESERT CODE</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Keeping to the trail, Rathburn mounted higher
+and higher and spoke continually to his horse in
+a crooning tone of encouragement. His face was
+drawn in grim lines, his eyes were constantly alert,
+his very posture in the saddle showed that his nerves
+were at high tension.</p>
+<p>He ignored dim paths which occasionally led off
+to the left or right in rifts in the sheer, black walls
+of the narrow ca&ntilde;on. No sound came to him from
+below. He knew the posse would have to proceed
+with the utmost caution, for the sheriff and his men
+could not be sure that they would not encounter him
+at some bend in the trail. They would be expecting
+shots from every boulder; for Rathburn had let
+them know he had no intention of being taken easily
+or alive.</p>
+<p>The afternoon wore on, with Rathburn steadily
+penetrating the very heart of Imagination Range.
+Finally he swung out of the ca&ntilde;on trail and took a
+dim path to the right. He dismounted and walked
+back to rub off the scars left by his horse&#8217;s shoes on
+the rock floor of the side trail. Satisfied that he
+would leave the members of the posse confused as
+to which side trail he had taken, he returned to his
+horse, mounted, and proceeded up the narrow trail
+leading to the top of the range to the south of the
+deep ca&ntilde;on.</p>
+<p>In the western sky the sun was low when he rode
+down the crest of the range. The mountains were
+devoid of vegetation, bleak and bare and black. The
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_186' name='page_186'></a>186</span>
+lava rock seemed to absorb the heat of the sun and
+throw it in the rider&#8217;s face. But Rathburn didn&#8217;t
+appear to mind it.</p>
+<p>He crossed the backbone of the range and began
+the descent on the eastern side. But he descended
+only a short distance before he swung out of the
+saddle. From the slicker pack on the rear of his
+saddle he took a pair of heavy leather gloves. He
+cut these open in the palms with his pocketknife and
+then tied them about the shoes on his horse&#8217;s hind
+feet. The dun was only shod behind.</p>
+<p>Again he mounted, and this time he turned to the
+south and rode down a long slope of lava rock. He
+grunted with satisfaction, as he looked behind and
+saw that the leather prevented the shoes on his
+mount&#8217;s hind feet from leaving their mark. He was
+completely obliterating his trail&ndash;&ndash;leaving nothing for
+the posse to follow, if they should trace him to the
+top of the range.</p>
+<p>He walked his horse slowly, for the dun did not
+like the idea of the leather tied to its hoofs. In less
+than two miles the leather was worn through upon
+the hard rock, and he got down and removed the
+remnants. He straightened up and looked out over
+the vista of the desert.</p>
+<p>The western sky was a sea of gold. Far to southward
+a curl of smoke rose upward, marking the
+course of a railroad and a town. Rathburn looked
+long in this direction, with a dreamy, wistful light in
+his eyes. Close at hand vegetation appeared upon
+the slopes of the hills. His gaze darted here and
+there along the ridges below him, and his parted lips
+and eager attitude showed unmistakably that he was
+familiar with every rod of the locality in which he
+found himself.</p>
+<p>Again he climbed into the saddle and turned off to
+the left, entering a ca&ntilde;on. For better than half a
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_187' name='page_187'></a>187</span>
+mile he proceeded down this way, then he rode eastward
+again, winding in and out in a network of
+ca&ntilde;ons until he came to the rock-ribbed crest of a
+ridge which overlooked an oasis in the desert hills.
+There was green vegetation where the water from
+a spring seeped into the floor of the ca&ntilde;on below
+him. The spring was nothing more than a huge cup
+in the rock which had caught the water from the
+spring rains and filled. Above the spring was a
+small cabin, and Rathburn saw that the cabin door
+was open.</p>
+<p>Hurriedly he rode down a trail to the right which
+circled around into the ca&ntilde;on from its lower end.
+As he galloped toward the spring, a figure appeared
+in the doorway of the cabin. Rathburn waved an
+arm and dismounted at the spring. He led his horse
+to drink, as the man came walking toward him from
+the cabin. He compelled the dun to drink slowly;
+first a swallow, now two, then a few more; finally he
+drew the horse away from the water.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You can have some more a little later,&#8221; he said
+cheerfully. &#8220;Hello, Joe Price!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The man walked up to him without a great show
+of surprise and held out his hand. He was bareheaded,
+and the hair which hung down to his shoulders
+was snow-white. The face was seamed and
+lined, burned by the sun of three score Arizona summers,
+and the small, blue eyes twinkled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hang me with a busted shoe string if it ain&#8217;t
+Rathburn,&#8221; said the old man. &#8220;Why, boy, you&#8217;re
+just in time for supper. Put your horse up behind
+the cabin an&#8217; get in at the table. She&#8217;s a big country,
+all full of cactus; but the old man&#8217;s got grub
+left!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn laughed, rinsed his mouth out with
+water he dipped from the spring in a battered tin
+cup, and took a swallow before he replied.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_188' name='page_188'></a>188</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Joe, there&#8217;s two things I want&ndash;&ndash;grub an&#8217; gaff.
+I know you&#8217;ve got grub, or you wouldn&#8217;t be here;
+but I don&#8217;t know if you&#8217;re any good at the gaff any
+more.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The old man scrutinized him. &#8220;You look some
+older,&#8221; he said finally. &#8220;Not much of the wild,
+galootin&#8217; kid left in you, I &#8217;spect. But don&#8217;t go
+gettin&#8217; fresh with me, or I&#8217;ll clout you one with my
+prospectin&#8217; pick. Go &#8217;long now; put up your horse
+an&#8217; hustle inside. If you want to wash up, I guess
+you can&ndash;&ndash;bein&#8217; a visitor.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn chuckled, as he led his horse around behind
+the cabin, where two burros were, and unsaddled
+him. Before he entered the cabin he stood
+for a moment looking up the ridge down which he
+had come. The old man watched him, but made no
+comment. As Rathburn sat down to the table, however,
+he spoke.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I kin hear anybody comin&#8217; down that trail over
+the ridge, while they&#8217;re a mile away,&#8221; he said simply
+without looking up.</p>
+<p>Rathburn flashed a look of admiration at the old
+man.</p>
+<p>The glow of the sunset lit the hills with crimson
+fire, and a light breeze stirred with the advent of the
+long, colorful desert twilight. They ate in silence,
+washing down the hardy food with long drafts of
+strong coffee. The old man asked no questions of his
+friend. He knew that in time Rathburn would talk.
+A man&#8217;s business in that desolate land of dreadful
+distances was his own, save such of it as he wanted
+to tell. It was the desert code.</p>
+<p>Supper over, they went out to a little bench in
+front of the cabin. There Joe Price lit his pipe, and
+Rathburn rolled a cigarette.</p>
+<p>For some time they smoked in silence. The purple
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_189' name='page_189'></a>189</span>
+twilight drifted over the hills, and the breeze freshened
+in welcome relief to the heat of the day.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Joe, I just had to come back,&#8221; said Rathburn
+softly. &#8220;Something&#8217;s wrong with me. You wouldn&#8217;t
+think I&#8217;d get homesick this way, after all the trouble
+I&#8217;ve had here, would you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The old man removed his pipe. &#8220;Anybody here in
+particular you want to see?&#8221; he asked slowly.</p>
+<p>Rathburn shrugged. &#8220;You&#8217;re always gettin&#8217; right
+down to cases first hand off an&#8217; running,&#8221; he complained.
+&#8220;Of course there&#8217;s folks I want to see. I
+want to see you, for instance.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t reckon you&#8217;d be ridin&#8217; any terrible great
+distance an&#8217; takin&#8217; chances by the handful just to see
+me, boy,&#8221; said Price. &#8220;But I ain&#8217;t tryin&#8217; to pry into
+your affairs. You don&#8217;t have to answer any of the
+fool questions I ask you&ndash;&ndash;you know that. I&#8217;m an old
+man an&#8217; gettin&#8217; childish.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn laughed. &#8220;I can believe that when I find
+you still putterin&#8217; around up here where there ain&#8217;t
+even a sign of mineral,&#8221; he chided.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s gold right under your feet,&#8221; said the old
+man stoutly. &#8220;I&#8217;ll have a payin&#8217; vein opened up here
+in less&#8217;n three months.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I hope so, Joe. There&#8217;s nobody I&#8217;d like more to
+see make a big strike than you. You were my dad&#8217;s
+friend, an&#8217; you&#8217;ve been mine. I haven&#8217;t got many
+friends, Joe.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But them you&#8217;ve got is good ones,&#8221; said Price
+quickly. &#8220;How long you been away?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;About eight months,&#8221; Rathburn replied with a
+frown.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s hard to get away from the desert,&#8221; mused the
+old man. &#8220;It&#8217;s in your blood. If you leave here for
+good you&#8217;ve just naturally got to take something
+along with you from here&ndash;&ndash;something that&#8217;s a part
+of the desert, you might say.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_190' name='page_190'></a>190</span></div>
+<p>Rathburn looked keenly at the face of his friend.
+But the old man was regarding his pipe, as if he had
+never until that moment seen it.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I ran into a posse chasin&#8217; a gang that robbed a
+stage on the way over here this noon,&#8221; Rathburn
+said presently.</p>
+<p>Price&#8217;s interest quickened, but he made no sign.
+&#8220;They saw you?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Couldn&#8217;t help it,&#8221; Rathburn grumbled. &#8220;Took
+after me. I had to drop one of &#8217;em with a bullet in
+the shoulder to slow &#8217;em up in the long ca&ntilde;on over
+on the other side.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Know any of the gang?&#8221; Price asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Met one. Threw down my gun on him. He told
+me Mike Eagen was runnin&#8217; the works.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Price nodded. &#8220;I reckon Mike&#8217;s been pullin&#8217;
+quite a few stunts while you been away.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; I&#8217;ve been gettin&#8217; the blame for &#8217;em more&#8217;n
+likely,&#8221; said Rathburn in indignation.</p>
+<p>Price nodded again. &#8220;Might be so,&#8221; he commented.</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked up at him in understanding.
+&#8220;They&#8217;ll have me mixed up with this stage holdup,&#8221;
+he said earnestly. &#8220;From what I gathered they
+killed the driver, an&#8217; they&#8217;ll say that was my part.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the trouble, boy,&#8221; said the old miner. &#8220;If
+a fellow&#8217;s handy with his gun somebody&#8217;s sure to get
+jealous of him an&#8217; make him draw. If he gets his
+man because he has to, he&#8217;s a killer. When he&#8217;s
+known as a killer he ain&#8217;t got a chance. You <i>had</i> to
+drop the two men you dropped aroun&#8217; here, boy; but
+they ain&#8217;t forgettin&#8217; it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Bob Long was headin&#8217; that posse,&#8221; said Rathburn
+thoughtfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; Bob Long&#8217;s a sticker when he hits out on a
+man&#8217;s trail,&#8221; said Price. &#8220;Still, I guess you&#8217;d be
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_191' name='page_191'></a>191</span>
+safe in here for a while. There ain&#8217;t many knows
+this place.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t figure on stayin&#8217; here long, Joe,&#8221; said
+Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t think you did,&#8221; said Price.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll have to get goin&#8217;&ndash;&ndash;hit for new country an&#8217;
+never know when I may run up against the law in a
+quarter where I ain&#8217;t expecting it; always sneaking
+along&ndash;&ndash;like the coyote. It was Mike Eagen who
+gave me that name, Joe.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s voice was low and vibrant, and the old
+man felt the menacing quality in it.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s more,&#8221; Rathburn went on, &#8220;I&#8217;m always
+remembering that he&#8217;s back here, getting away with
+his dirty tricks, shoving the blame off on me, some
+way or other, when the chase gets too hot.&#8221;</p>
+<p>For some time the old man was silent. When he
+spoke he put an arm about Rathburn&#8217;s shoulder.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Boy, before you get worse mixed up than you are,
+there&#8217;s a place you ought to visit aroun&#8217; here,&#8221; he
+said in a fatherly tone.</p>
+<p>Rathburn shrugged and stared up at the night sky
+which was blossoming with stars.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It would be a right smart risk,&#8221; Price went on,
+&#8220;for they&#8217;d maybe think to drop aroun&#8217; that way on
+a lookout for you; but I reckon before you do much
+more, you better drop in at the Mallory place.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn rose abruptly. &#8220;I guess that&#8217;s what I
+came up here to hear you say,&#8221; he said irritably.
+&#8220;But I don&#8217;t reckon it can be done, Joe. I haven&#8217;t
+any business there.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;How do you know, boy? Maybe you ain&#8217;t bein&#8217;
+right fair.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Seems to me it would look better for me to stay
+away.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;They don&#8217;t <i>have</i> to see you,&#8221; urged the old man.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_192' name='page_192'></a>192</span>
+&#8220;The Mallory place is a good fifteen miles from
+Hope, close up against the mountains. Boy, don&#8217;t
+you think you better make sure?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The wistful, yearning look was back in Rathburn&#8217;s
+eyes. His right hand rested upon the butt of his
+gun. The other held his forgotten cigarette. He
+turned and looked into the old man&#8217;s eyes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Joe, you said something about takin&#8217; something
+from the desert if I left it. You&#8217;re right. But it
+can&#8217;t be, Joe. This thing has killed my chances!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The gun seemed to leap from its holster into his
+hand at his hip of its own accord. The old miner&#8217;s
+brows lifted in astonishment at the draw.</p>
+<p>&#8220;If I was you I wouldn&#8217;t be much scared who I
+met on the way down to the Mallory place if I
+didn&#8217;t meet too many of &#8217;em at once,&#8221; he said with
+a smile.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&ndash;&ndash;I couldn&#8217;t wear it&ndash;&ndash;there,&#8221; Rathburn faltered.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, leave it hangin&#8217; on a handy peg, boy,&#8221; said
+the old man cheerfully.</p>
+<p>Rathburn jammed the gun back into its holster and
+walked around to his horse. He led the animal
+down to drink and then returned and saddled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You goin&#8217; on to-night?&#8221; asked Price casually.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m takin&#8217; a ride,&#8221; Rathburn confessed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You ain&#8217;t takin&#8217; my advice at the same time, are
+you?&#8221; asked Price, pretending to be greatly concerned.</p>
+<p>Rathburn mounted and looked down upon him in
+the faint light of the stars.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Joe Price, you&#8217;re a wise old desert rat, an&#8217; I&#8217;m a
+young fool,&#8221; he said with a twinkle in his gray eyes.
+&#8220;If Bob Long happens this way give him my regards
+an&#8217; tell him they got the reward notices over
+in California all right, for I saw &#8217;em stuck up over
+there. So long.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_193' name='page_193'></a>193</span></div>
+<p>The old miner called out after him and watched
+him ride down the ca&ntilde;on and disappear in the shadows.
+Nor was he the only watcher; for, high on the
+ridge above, another man touched his horse with his
+spurs and started down the west side of the range,
+as Rathburn vanished.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_194' name='page_194'></a>194</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXVIII_A_NIGHT_SUMMONS' id='CHAPTER_XXVIII_A_NIGHT_SUMMONS'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXVIII</h2>
+<h3>A NIGHT SUMMONS</h3>
+</div>
+<p>In two hours Rathburn came to a fence about a
+small ranch. Cattle were grazing on the sparse
+feed within the inclosure, and he saw a clump of
+trees marking the site of a house.</p>
+<p>He rode around the fence until he came to a gate.
+There was a light shining from two of the windows
+of the house. He passed through the gate, and, as
+he approached the house from the side, he saw two
+figures on the porch. He halted in the shelter of the
+trees, and, as one of the figures crossed the beam of
+light which shone out the door, he saw that it was a
+man. He obtained a fleeting look at the man&#8217;s face.
+He was comparatively young, not bad looking, with
+blue eyes and a small, close-cropped, sandy mustache.</p>
+<p>Rathburn scratched his head in an effort to place
+the man. He seemed vaguely familiar. Rathburn
+was sure he had seen him somewhere. But he gave
+up the futile effort to identify him when he saw that
+the other figure on the porch was that of a girl.</p>
+<p>Dismounting, he led his horse around to the rear
+and put him in a corral near the barn. He surmised
+that it was about ten o&#8217;clock. As he walked toward
+the front of the house, again he heard the sputtering
+of a small motor car; then he saw the path of light
+from its headlights go streaking across the desert in
+the direction of the town to southward. The front
+door closed, and all was still.</p>
+<p>Rathburn hesitated for several moments, then he
+stamped up the porch steps and knocked at the door.
+It was opened by a girl. She held a lighted lamp in
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_195' name='page_195'></a>195</span>
+her hand. When she saw Rathburn standing, hat in
+hand, before her, her dark eyes widened, and she
+nearly dropped the lamp. He stepped forward quickly
+and took it from her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Roger!&#8221; she exclaimed breathlessly. &#8220;You&ndash;&ndash;here?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m here, Laura,&#8221; he said quietly. &#8220;I&#8217;m home on
+a&ndash;&ndash;a visit.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I heard you were back,&#8221; she faltered. &#8220;Mr.
+Doane&ndash;&ndash;that is&ndash;&ndash;a gentleman from town told me he
+had heard you were back. But&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>She scanned his face closely and peered beyond
+him into the shadows with visible concern.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Roger, come in quickly,&#8221; she invited, stepping
+back from the door.</p>
+<p>With a faint smile he entered and closed the door
+after him. He put the lamp down on the table in
+what was evidently the sitting room of the small
+house. He looked about him with the air of one who
+sees familiar surroundings, but is embarrassed by
+them.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Some one been tellin&#8217; you the details of my arrival?&#8221;
+he asked with an effort to appear casual.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I heard you were in some trouble, Roger.&#8221; The
+girl continued to stare at him with a queer expression
+in her fine eyes&ndash;&ndash;part sorrow, part concern, part
+gladness.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not a stranger to trouble these days, Laura,&#8221;
+he said soberly.</p>
+<p>There was a sob in the girl&#8217;s throat, but she recovered
+herself at once.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Have you eaten?&#8221; she asked quickly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Up at Joe Price&#8217;s place,&#8221; he replied. &#8220;All fed and
+chipper.&#8221;</p>
+<p>There was not much confidence in his tone or
+manner. As the girl lowered her gaze, he looked at
+her hungrily; his eyes feasted on the coils of dark
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_196' name='page_196'></a>196</span>
+hair, her long, black lashes, the curve of her cheek
+and her delicate color, the full, ruby lips, and the
+small, quivering chin. She was in the throes of a
+strong emotion.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m sorry, Laura, if&ndash;&ndash;you didn&#8217;t want me to
+come,&#8221; he said unsteadily.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, Roger! Of course we want you to come.
+It&#8217;s been so long since we saw you. And you&#8217;ve&ndash;&ndash;you&#8217;ve
+gone through so much.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She raised her eyes, and the expression which he
+saw in their depths caused him to look away and to
+bite his lips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s a lot of it I wish I could undo, Laura;
+an&#8217; there&#8217;s a lot more of it I couldn&#8217;t help, an&#8217; maybe
+some I&ndash;&ndash;I&ndash;&ndash;wasn&#8217;t&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221; He paused. He couldn&#8217;t
+bring himself to say anything in extenuation of himself
+and his acts in the presence of this girl. It
+might sound as if he were playing for her sympathy,
+he thought to himself.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Roger, I know you haven&#8217;t done all the things I&#8217;ve
+heard about,&#8221; she said bravely. &#8220;And there&#8217;s always
+a chance. You&#8217;re a man. You can find a way out.
+If the trails seem all twisted and tangled, you can
+use a compass&ndash;&ndash;your own conscience, Roger. You
+still have that.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;How did you happen to mention the trails bein&#8217;
+all mixed up like that?&#8221; he asked curiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why&ndash;&ndash;I don&#8217;t know. Isn&#8217;t that the way it
+seems?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked away with a frown. &#8220;You come
+near hittin&#8217; the nail on the head, Laura.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, then you <i>are</i> beginning to think!&#8221; she said
+eagerly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve done nothing but think for months,&#8221; Rathburn
+confessed.</p>
+<p>She looked at him searchingly. Then her eyes
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_197' name='page_197'></a>197</span>
+dropped to the black butt of the gun in the holster
+strapped to his right thigh. She shuddered slightly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You came from the west, Roger?&#8221; she asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes,&#8221; he replied shortly. &#8220;From where there&#8217;s
+water an&#8217; timber an&#8217; flowers an&#8217; grass&ndash;&ndash;but they had
+my number there, just the same as they&#8217;ve got it
+here. I&#8217;m a marked man, Laura Mallory.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She leaned upon the table with one hand; the
+other she held upon her breast.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Are&ndash;&ndash;are they&ndash;&ndash;after you, Roger?&#8221; she asked in
+a low, anxious tone.</p>
+<p>&#8220;As usual,&#8221; he answered with a vague laugh.
+&#8220;Laura, I didn&#8217;t come here to bother you with my
+troubles; I come here just to see <i>you</i>.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl colored. &#8220;I know, Roger. We&#8217;ve known
+each other a long time&ndash;&ndash;since we were children. You
+wouldn&#8217;t like it for me not to show any concern over
+your troubles, would you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wish we could talk about something else,&#8221; said
+Rathburn. &#8220;I can&#8217;t stay long.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Laura Mallory looked worried. &#8220;May I ask where
+you plan to go, Roger?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m not sure. I only know I wanted to come
+back, an&#8217; I came. I hadn&#8217;t any fixed plans, an&#8217; I
+wasn&#8217;t expecting the reception I got.&#8221; His face
+clouded. Then he looked straight into the girl&#8217;s eyes.
+&#8220;I hit this country this morning,&#8221; he said steadily.
+&#8220;The first folks I saw was some men ridin&#8217; in my
+direction up between the lava hills and the range.
+Then things began to happen.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She nodded brightly. &#8220;I believe you,&#8221; she said
+simply.</p>
+<p>Rathburn smiled. &#8220;You aways did that, Laura,
+an&#8217; I ain&#8217;t never been much of a hand at lying.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Roger,&#8221; she said quickly, &#8220;if they all knew you
+as well as I think I know you&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;They wouldn&#8217;t believe,&#8221; he interrupted. &#8220;They
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_198' name='page_198'></a>198</span>
+call me The Coyote, an&#8217; they&#8217;ll have me live up to the
+name whether I want to or not,&#8221; he added bitterly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But, Roger, you&#8217;re forgetting what I said about
+the trails and the compass.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, Laura, I&#8217;m not, but there&#8217;s another force besides
+the big lodestone that&#8217;s affectin&#8217; that compass.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Roger, you&#8217;re thinking of an enemy!&#8221;</p>
+<p>He did not answer her. His face appeared grim,
+almost haggard, in the yellow rays of the lamplight.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Roger, you once promised me anything I might
+ask,&#8221; she said softly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; all you have to do is ask,&#8221; he answered, taking
+a step toward her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m going to ask you for something, Roger,&#8221; she
+said without looking at him. &#8220;Maybe you&#8217;ll think it&#8217;s&ndash;&ndash;it&#8217;s
+too much that I ask.&#8221; She glanced up at him
+doubtfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What is it, Laura?&#8221; he insisted.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want your gun, Roger,&#8221; she whispered.</p>
+<p>He straightened and stared at her in startled wonder.
+&#8220;But, Laura&ndash;&ndash;a man in my position&ndash;&ndash;why&ndash;&ndash;why&ndash;&ndash;where
+would I be at?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe if you gave it to me it would help you
+find a way out, Roger,&#8221; she pleaded earnestly.</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked into her eyes and thrilled. Then
+without a word he unbuckled his cartridge belt which
+held his holstered gun, untied the strap about his
+thigh and laid the belt with the weapon upon the
+table.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Roger!&#8221; said the girl. The sob again was in her
+voice. She reached out and placed a hand upon his
+arm.</p>
+<p>An elderly man appeared in the doorway from the
+kitchen.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Father, this is Roger,&#8221; said the girl hurriedly.
+&#8220;He&#8217;s back.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_199' name='page_199'></a>199</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s that? Roger, eh? You mean Rathburn
+is here?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The old man peered at the visitor from the doorway,
+his lean face twitching. He stroked his gray
+beard in indecision. His blue eyes looked long at
+Rathburn, then at the girl, and lastly at the gun and
+belt on the table.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, hello, Rathburn,&#8221; he said finally, advancing
+into the room. He held out a hand which Rathburn
+grasped.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did you eat yet?&#8221; asked Mallory.</p>
+<p>&#8220;In the hills with Joe Price,&#8221; replied Rathburn.
+&#8220;But I&#8217;m just as much obliged.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, of course,&#8221; Mallory muttered. &#8220;With Joe,
+eh? He ain&#8217;t been down in months. How is he?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Looks good as a gold mine an&#8217; thinks he&#8217;s found
+one,&#8221; said Rathburn, looking at the girl&#8217;s father
+curiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what keeps him up,&#8221; Mallory asserted
+loudly. &#8220;He&#8217;ll never get old as long as he thinks he&#8217;s
+got a mine corralled. He ought to try stock raisin&#8217;
+for a while. You look older, Rathburn&ndash;&ndash;more filled
+out. Are you still cutting &#8217;em high, wide, an&#8217; handsome?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s face clouded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Roger&#8217;s starting new, dad,&#8221; the girl interposed.</p>
+<p>Mallory stared keenly at the younger man. He
+started to speak, but was interrupted by the sound
+of horses outside the house.</p>
+<p>Rathburn whirled toward the door, took a step,
+and stopped in his tracks. The girl&#8217;s hands flew to
+the sides of her face, and her eyes widened with apprehension.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll go see who it is,&#8221; said Mallory with a quick
+look at Rathburn.</p>
+<p>He hastened out into the kitchen, and a moment
+later they heard the kitchen door open. There was a
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_200' name='page_200'></a>200</span>
+murmur of voices. The girl stared at Rathburn
+breathlessly, while he tapped with his slim fingers
+upon the top of the table.</p>
+<p>Then Mallory came in. &#8220;Somebody to see you,&#8221;
+he said to Rathburn.</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked once at the white-faced girl and
+followed her father out into the kitchen. She heard
+them speak in an undertone, and then Rathburn
+came back into the room.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I ain&#8217;t much elated over my visitor,&#8221; he said
+slowly. &#8220;I wish you hadn&#8217;t asked me what you did
+until&ndash;&ndash;well, until this caller had come an&#8217; gone.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She looked straight into his eyes in an agony of
+dread.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who is it, Roger?&#8221; she asked, wetting her lips.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mike Eagen is out there,&#8221; he answered calmly.</p>
+<p>She drew a quick breath, while he waited. Then
+he turned on his heel and started for the kitchen
+door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Roger!&#8221; she called.</p>
+<p>He swung about and eyed her questioningly. She
+pointed at the heavy belt and gun on the table.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Take it,&#8221; she whispered.</p>
+<p>He buckled on the belt and tied down the end of
+the holster so it could not slip if he should draw the
+weapon within it. Then he made his way into the
+kitchen and out of the rear door. Laura Mallory
+sank into a chair, sobbing.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_201' name='page_201'></a>201</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXIX_GUNMEN' id='CHAPTER_XXIX_GUNMEN'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXIX</h2>
+<h3>GUNMEN</h3>
+</div>
+<p>For a moment Rathburn waited at the kitchen
+door. He heard Mallory going upstairs from
+the next room. All was still outside, save for the
+stamping of several horses. Then he suddenly opened
+the door and stepped out. There was no sound or
+movement, as he accustomed his eyes to the dim
+light without. He moved across the threshold and
+walked straight to a bulky figure standing beside a
+large horse.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You want to see me, Eagen?&#8221; he asked coldly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Watch out there, Eagen!&#8221; came Mallory&#8217;s voice
+in a strident tone from a window above them. &#8220;I&#8217;ve
+got you covered with this Winchester!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Both Rathburn and Eagen looked up and saw
+Mallory leaning out of a window over the kitchen,
+and the stock of a rifle was snug against his cheek
+and shoulder.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Acts like he&#8217;s scared you can&#8217;t take care of yourself,&#8221;
+said Eagen with a sneer. &#8220;The way you
+ditched that posse to-day I didn&#8217;t think you needed
+a bodyguard.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t,&#8221; Rathburn retorted. &#8220;The old man is
+acting on his own hook. You was watching the
+sport to-day?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Couldn&#8217;t help it,&#8221; said Eagen. &#8220;It was me an&#8217;
+some of the boys they was after. You sort of
+helped us out by coming along an&#8217; attracting their
+attention. I pegged you when I saw you ride for it,
+an&#8217; I knew they wouldn&#8217;t get you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You mean you hid an&#8217; let me stand the gaff,&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_202' name='page_202'></a>202</span>
+said Rathburn scornfully. &#8220;That&#8217;s your style,
+Eagen. You&#8217;re plumb afraid to come out from under
+cover.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He noted that there were three men with Eagen.
+They were quietly sitting their horses some little distance
+behind their leader.</p>
+<p>Eagen muttered something, and Rathburn could
+see his face working with rage. Then Eagen&#8217;s
+coarse features underwent a change, and he grinned,
+his teeth flashing white under his small, black mustache.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Look here, Rathburn, there&#8217;s no use in you an&#8217;
+me being on the outs,&#8221; he said in an undertone.
+&#8220;We&#8217;ve got something in common.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;ve made a mistake already,&#8221; Rathburn interrupted
+sharply. &#8220;We haven&#8217;t a thing in common I
+know of, Eagen, unless it&#8217;s a gun apiece.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe you think that&#8217;s all we need,&#8221; said Eagen
+hoarsely; &#8220;an&#8217; if that&#8217;s the way you feel you won&#8217;t
+find me backin&#8217; down when you start something.
+Just now I ain&#8217;t forgetting that crazy fool with that
+rifle up there.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You didn&#8217;t come here for a gun play, Eagen,&#8221;
+said Rathburn. &#8220;You ain&#8217;t plumb loco <i>every</i> way.
+I take it you saw me makin&#8217; for this place an&#8217; followed
+me here. What do you want?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I want to talk business,&#8221; said Eagen with a hopeful
+note in his voice; &#8220;but you won&#8217;t let me get
+started.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; I won&#8217;t have dealings with you,&#8221; said Rathburn
+crisply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s what you think,&#8221; sneered Eagen. &#8220;But
+you&#8217;re in a tight corner, an&#8217; we can help you out.
+Long said to-day, I heard just now, that he&#8217;d put
+every deputy he had an&#8217; every man he could swear
+in as a special on your trail, and he&#8217;d get you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;The thing that I can&#8217;t see,&#8221; drawled Rathburn,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_203' name='page_203'></a>203</span>
+&#8220;is what that&#8217;s got to do with you. I suppose you&#8217;re
+here as a missionary to tip me off. Thanks.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Eagen had calmed down. He stepped closer to
+Rathburn and spoke in a low tone.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Here&#8217;s the lay: They&#8217;re after you, an&#8217; they&#8217;re
+after us. I know you&#8217;re no stool pigeon, an&#8217; I know
+I ain&#8217;t takin&#8217; a chance when I tell you that we&#8217;ve got
+a big job comin&#8217; up&ndash;&ndash;one that&#8217;ll get us a pretty roll.
+It takes nerve to pull it off, even though certain
+things will make it easier. You might just as well
+be in on it. You can make it a last job an&#8217; blow
+these parts for good. You don&#8217;t have to come in, of
+course; but it&#8217;ll be worth your while. You&#8217;ve got
+the name, an&#8217; you might as well have what goes with
+it. I&#8217;ll let you head the outfit an&#8217; shoot square all
+the way.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn laughed scornfully. &#8220;When I heard you
+was out here, Eagen, I guessed it was something like
+this that brought you here. Maybe you&#8217;re statin&#8217;
+facts as to this job which, you say, is coming up.
+But you lied when you said you&#8217;d shoot square,
+Eagen. I wouldn&#8217;t trust you as far as you could
+throw a bull by the tail, an&#8217; there&#8217;s half a dozen other
+reasons why you an&#8217; me couldn&#8217;t be pardners!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Eagen stepped back with a snarl of rage. &#8220;I don&#8217;t
+reckon you&#8217;re entitled to what rep you&#8217;ve got!&#8221; he
+blurted hoarsely. &#8220;Right down under the skin,
+Rathburn, I believe you&#8217;re soft!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s puttin&#8217; it up to me all fair an&#8217; square,&#8221;
+Rathburn replied evenly. &#8220;I&#8217;ll give it right back to
+you, Eagen.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get that gun out of the window.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Mallory.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Right here, Rathburn, an&#8217; all set,&#8221; came Mallory&#8217;s
+voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get that gun out of the window.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_204' name='page_204'></a>204</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s that? Don&#8217;t you see there&#8217;s three of &#8217;em?
+You&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get that gun out of the window!&#8221; rang Rathburn&#8217;s
+voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Let him play with it,&#8221; Eagen said harshly.</p>
+<p>Mallory withdrew from the window, as Eagen
+reached for his left stirrup and swung into the
+saddle.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I see you ain&#8217;t takin&#8217; it,&#8221; Rathburn called to him
+with a jeering laugh.</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; I ain&#8217;t forgettin&#8217; it?&#8221; Eagen shouted, as he
+drove in his spurs.</p>
+<p>His three companions galloped after him, and
+Rathburn caught sight of a dark-skinned face, a pair
+of beady, black eyes, and the long, drooping mustaches
+of one of the men.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Gomez!&#8221; he exclaimed to himself. &#8220;Eagen&#8217;s
+takin&#8217; up with the Mexicans.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Mallory appeared in the kitchen door, holding a
+lamp above his head. &#8220;What&#8217;d he want?&#8221; he demanded
+of Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;More&#8217;n he got,&#8221; answered Rathburn shortly.
+Then he saw Laura Mallory standing behind her
+father.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I mean to say he made a little proposition that
+I had to turn down,&#8221; he amended, with a direct
+glance at the girl. &#8220;An&#8217; now I&#8217;ve got to do some
+more ridin&#8217;.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You leavin&#8217; to-night?&#8221; asked Mallory in surprise.
+&#8220;We can put you up here, Rathburn, an&#8217; I&#8217;ll keep
+an eye out for visitors.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;And we&#8217;d have &#8217;em afore mornin&#8217;,&#8221; said Rathburn
+grimly. &#8220;Eagen will see to it that Bob Long
+knows I was out here, right pronto. But I aim
+to stop any posses from botherin&#8217; around your place.
+If there&#8217;s one thing I don&#8217;t want to do, Mallory,
+it&#8217;s make any trouble for you.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_205' name='page_205'></a>205</span></div>
+<p>The girl came walking toward him and touched
+his arm.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What are you going to do, Roger?&#8221; she asked
+in an anxious voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m goin&#8217; straight into Hope,&#8221; Rathburn replied.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But, Roger,&#8221; the girl faltered, &#8220;won&#8217;t that mean&ndash;&ndash;mean&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;A show-down? Maybe so. I ain&#8217;t side-steppin&#8217;
+it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A world of worry showed in the girl&#8217;s eyes.
+&#8220;Roger, why don&#8217;t you go away?&#8221; she asked hesitatingly.
+&#8220;Things could be worse, and maybe in
+time they would become better. Folks forget,
+Roger.&#8221;</p>
+<p>For a moment Rathburn&#8217;s hand rested on hers,
+as he looked down at her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s two ways of forgettin&#8217;, girlie,&#8221; he said
+soberly. &#8220;An&#8217; I don&#8217;t want &#8217;em to forget me
+the wrong way.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But, Roger, promise me you won&#8217;t&ndash;&ndash;won&#8217;t&ndash;&ndash;turn
+your gun against a man, Roger. It would
+make things so much worse. It would leave&ndash;&ndash;nothing
+now. Don&#8217;t you see? It takes courage
+to avoid what seems to be the inevitable. That
+terrible skill which is yours, the trick in this hand
+on mine, is your worst enemy. Oh, Roger, if you&#8217;d
+never learned to throw a gun!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;It isn&#8217;t that,&#8221; he told her gently. &#8220;It isn&#8217;t
+what you think at all. I&#8217;d rather cut off that right
+hand than have it raised unfairly against a single
+living thing. They call me a gunman, girlie, an&#8217;
+I reckon I am. But I&#8217;m not a killer. There&#8217;s a
+difference between the two, an&#8217; sometimes I think
+it&#8217;s that difference that&#8217;s makin&#8217; all the trouble. I&#8217;m
+still tryin&#8217; to steer by that thing you call the compass,
+an&#8217; that&#8217;s why I&#8217;ve got to go to town.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He stepped away from her, waved a farewell to
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_206' name='page_206'></a>206</span>
+Mallory, who was watching the scene with a puzzled
+expression, and ran for his horse. A minute later
+the ringing hoof beats of his mount were dying
+in the still night.</p>
+<p>Laura Mallory swayed, and her father hurried
+to her with the lamp and put his arm about her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s it all about, sweetie?&#8221; he asked complainingly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Nothing, daddy, nothing&ndash;&ndash;only I love him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>A puff of wind blew out the light in the lamp,
+and father and daughter stood with arms about
+each other under the dancing stars.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_207' name='page_207'></a>207</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXX_THE_SHERIFFS_PLIGHT' id='CHAPTER_XXX_THE_SHERIFFS_PLIGHT'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXX</h2>
+<h3>THE SHERIFF&#8217;S PLIGHT</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Riding slowly Rathburn kept well in toward
+the range and proceeded cautiously. This wasn&#8217;t
+alone a safety measure, for he wished to favor
+his horse. The dun had been hard ridden in the
+spurt to gain the mountains ahead of the posse. He
+had been rested at Price&#8217;s cabin, to be sure, and
+also at the Mallory ranch; but now Rathburn had
+a ride of fifteen miles to the town of Hope, and
+he did not know how much riding he might have
+to do next day.</p>
+<p>When a scant three miles from Hope, he halted,
+loosened the saddle cinch, and rested his horse,
+while he himself reclined on the ground and smoked
+innumerable cigarettes. He was in a thoughtful
+mood, serious and somewhat puzzled. The recollection
+of Eagen&#8217;s proposition caused him to frown
+frequently. Then a wistful light would glow in
+his eyes, and he thought of Laura Mallory. This
+would be succeeded by another frown, and then his
+eyes would narrow, and the smile that men had
+come to fear would tremble on his lips.</p>
+<p>He was again in the saddle with the first faint
+glimmer of the approaching dawn. He covered
+the distance into Hope at a swinging lope and rode
+in behind a row of neat, yellow-brick buildings
+which formed the east side of one block on the
+short main street.</p>
+<p>Securing his horse behind a building midway
+of the rear of the block, he entered one of the
+buildings through a back door. It proved to be a
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_208' name='page_208'></a>208</span>
+combination pool room and soft-drink bar. No one
+was in the place except the porter who was cleaning
+up. Rathburn noted that the man showed no
+evidences of knowing him, although this was Rathburn&#8217;s
+home town.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Kind of early, ain&#8217;t you, boss?&#8221; grinned the
+porter. &#8220;Maybe you&#8217;re lookin&#8217; for something to
+start the day with.&#8221; He winked broadly.</p>
+<p>Rathburn nodded and walked over to the bar.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just get in?&#8221; asked the porter, as he put out
+a bottle of white liquor and glanced at the dust
+on Rathburn&#8217;s clothes.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just in,&#8221; replied Rathburn, pouring and tossing
+off one drink. &#8220;Where&#8217;s everybody? Too early
+for &#8217;em?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, it&#8217;s about an hour too early on the average,
+unless there&#8217;s been an all-night game,&#8221; replied the
+porter, putting the bottle away, as his customer declined
+a second drink. &#8220;But then there ain&#8217;t very
+many in town right now. Everybody&#8217;s out after
+the reward money.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn lifted his brows.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Say,&#8221; exclaimed the porter eagerly, &#8220;you didn&#8217;t
+see any men ridin&#8217; looselike, when you was coming
+in, did you?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn shook his head. &#8220;What&#8217;s all this you&#8217;re
+tryin&#8217; to chirp into my ear?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, Bob Long, the sheriff, has got all his
+deputies out except just the jailer&ndash;&ndash;there ain&#8217;t anybody
+much in jail now, anyway&ndash;&ndash;an&#8217; all the other
+men he could pin a star on, lookin&#8217; for a gang
+that held up the stage from Sunshine yesterday
+mornin&#8217;, shot the stage driver dead, an&#8217; made off
+with an express package full of money. There&#8217;s a
+big reward out for the man that&#8217;s leadin&#8217; the gang.
+He&#8217;s called The Coyote. Used to live here. He&#8217;s a
+bad one.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_209' name='page_209'></a>209</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Sheriff out, too?&#8221; Rathburn asked, showing great
+interest.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sure. Come back in early last night an&#8217; got
+more men. They&#8217;re tryin&#8217; to surround Imagination
+Range, I guess. That&#8217;s where this Coyote an&#8217; his
+gang are supposed to be hanging out. The sheriff
+don&#8217;t care so much for the fellers that&#8217;s with him,
+I guess, but he sure does want this Coyote person.
+He told everybody to let the gang go if they had to,
+but to get the leader.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked through the front windows with
+a quizzical smile on his lips. The sun was shining
+in the deserted street.</p>
+<p>&#8220;How many men has the sheriff got?&#8221; he inquired
+casually.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Most two hundred, I guess. They&#8217;re scattered
+all over the range, an&#8217; a lot of &#8217;em has hit over
+on the other side. They think The Coyote crossed
+the range an&#8217; is makin&#8217; east.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, maybe he has, an&#8217; maybe he hasn&#8217;t,&#8221; Rathburn
+observed. &#8220;The best place to hide from a
+posse is in the middle of it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The porter looked at him, then burst into a loud
+laugh. &#8220;I guess you said something that time,
+pardner. In the middle of it, eh?&#8221; He went about
+his work, chuckling, while Rathburn walked to a
+front window and stood looking out.</p>
+<p>A few minutes later he stepped quickly back into
+a corner, as a small automobile raced up the street.
+He sauntered to the rear door, passed out with a
+pleasant word to the porter, and when he gained
+the open, hurried up behind the buildings the length
+of the block. There he turned to the left and
+walked rapidly to a large stone building. He went
+around on the east side and entered a door on the
+ground floor. He found himself in a hallway, and
+on his left was a door, on the glazed glass of the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_210' name='page_210'></a>210</span>
+upper half of which was the gold lettering: &#8220;Sheriff&#8217;s
+Office.&#8221;</p>
+<p>After a moment&#8217;s hesitation he opened the door
+quickly and went in. A man standing before an
+open roll-top desk turned and regarded the early-morning
+visitor. He was a small man, but of wiry
+build. His eyes were gray, and he wore a small,
+brown mustache. He had a firm chin, and his face
+was well tanned. He was holding a paper in his
+hands, and the paper remained as steady as a rock
+in his grasp. His eyes bored straight and unflinchingly
+into Rathburn&#8217;s. He showed no surprise, no
+concern. He made no move toward the pair of
+guns in the holsters of the belt which reposed on
+top of his desk. He spoke first.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Have you come to give yourself up, Rathburn?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Hardly that, sheriff,&#8221; replied Rathburn cheerfully.
+&#8220;I arrived in town this morning after most
+of the population had moved to the desert and the
+country aroun&#8217; Imagination. I didn&#8217;t think I was
+goin&#8217; to be lucky enough to catch you in till I saw
+you arrive in that flivver. Are you back for more
+recruits?&#8221;</p>
+<p>The sheriff continued to hold the paper without
+moving.</p>
+<p>&#8220;When you first started to talk, Rathburn, I
+thought maybe bravado had brought you here to
+make a grand-stand play,&#8221; he said coolly. &#8220;But I
+see you&#8217;re not as foolhardy as some might think.
+I always gave you credit for being clever.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Thanks, Sheriff Long,&#8221; said Rathburn dryly.
+&#8220;There&#8217;s a few preliminaries we&#8217;ve got to get over,
+so&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>His gun leaped into his hand and instantly covered
+the official. He stepped to the end of the
+desk, reached over and appropriated the belt with
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_211' name='page_211'></a>211</span>
+the two guns with his left hand. He tossed the
+belt and weapons to a vacant chair.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now, sheriff, I didn&#8217;t come lookin&#8217; for a cell
+like you hinted; I drifted in for a bit of information.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;This is headquarters for that article, especially
+if it&#8217;s about yourself,&#8221; said Long, dropping the
+paper on his desk and sitting down in the chair
+before it.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What all have you got against me?&#8221; frowned
+Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Nothing much,&#8221; said the sheriff with biting
+sarcasm; &#8220;just a few killings, highway robbery,
+a bank stick-up, two or three gaming houses looted,
+and a stage holdup. Enough to keep you in the
+Big House for ninety-nine years and then hang you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn nodded. &#8220;You&#8217;re sure an ambitious
+man, sheriff. The killings now&ndash;&ndash;there was White
+and Moran, that you know about, an&#8217; a skunk over
+in California named Carlisle, that you don&#8217;t know
+about, I guess. I couldn&#8217;t get away from those
+shootings, sheriff.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;How about Simpson and Manley?&#8221; countered the
+official scornfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not on my list,&#8221; said Rathburn quickly. &#8220;I
+heard I was given credit for those affairs, but I
+wasn&#8217;t a member of the party where they were
+snuffed out.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you can make a jury believe that, you&#8217;re in
+the clear,&#8221; said Long. &#8220;But how about that stage
+driver yesterday morning?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s face darkened. &#8220;I got in from the
+west just in time to stumble on that gang of rats,&#8221;
+he flared. &#8220;That&#8217;s how your men came to see me.
+The chase happened to come in my direction,
+that&#8217;s all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you can prove that, you&#8217;re all right again,&#8221;
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_212' name='page_212'></a>212</span>
+the sheriff pointed out. &#8220;The law will go halfway
+with you, Rathburn.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;An&#8217; I probably wouldn&#8217;t be able to prove it,&#8221;
+said Rathburn bitterly. &#8220;Those other things&ndash;&ndash;the
+bank job an&#8217; the gamblin&#8217; stick-ups&ndash;&ndash;I was younger
+then, sheriff, an&#8217; no one can say that that bank
+sharp didn&#8217;t do me dirt.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;If you can show a good, reasonable doubt in
+those other cases, Rathburn, I know the court would
+show leniency if the jury found you guilty on the
+counts you just mentioned,&#8221; said the sheriff earnestly.
+&#8220;I&#8217;m minded to believe you, so far as yesterday&#8217;s
+work was concerned. I have an idea or two myself,
+but I haven&#8217;t been able to get a good line
+on my man. He&#8217;s too tricky. Of course I&#8217;m not
+going to urge you to do anything against your
+will. I appreciate your position. You&#8217;re a fugitive,
+but you have your liberty. Perhaps you can get
+away clean, though I doubt it. But there&#8217;s that
+chance, and you&#8217;ve naturally got to take it into
+consideration. And you&#8217;re not <i>sure</i> of anything if
+you go to trial on the charges there are against
+you. But it would count like sixty in your favor,
+Rathburn, if you&#8217;d give yourself up.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn stared at the official speculatively. His
+thoughts flashed back along the years to the time
+when he and Laura Mallory had played together as
+children. He thought of what she had said the
+night before about the compass. He shifted uneasily
+on his feet.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Funny thing, sheriff, but I had some such fool
+notion,&#8221; he confessed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It takes nerve, Rathburn, for a man who is
+wanted to walk in and give up his gun,&#8221; said the
+sheriff quietly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I was thinking of something else,&#8221; said Rathburn.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_213' name='page_213'></a>213</span>
+&#8220;An&#8217; I&#8217;ve got to think some more about this
+that you&#8217;ve sort of put in my head.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;How much time do you want, Rathburn?&#8221; asked
+Long.</p>
+<p>Rathburn scowled. &#8220;Our positions haven&#8217;t
+changed,&#8221; he said curtly. &#8220;I&#8217;m still the man you&#8217;re
+lookin&#8217; for. I&#8217;ll have to do my thinkin&#8217; on my own
+hook, I reckon.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Just as you say,&#8221; Long said gravely. &#8220;Go
+over what I&#8217;ve told you carefully and don&#8217;t make
+any more false moves while you&#8217;re making up your
+mind. You wounded one of my men yesterday.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I shot high on purpose,&#8221; Rathburn pointed out.
+&#8220;I didn&#8217;t aim to be corralled just then.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know you did,&#8221; was the sheriff&#8217;s rejoinder. &#8220;I
+know you could have killed him. I gave you credit
+for it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You give me credit for quite a few things,
+sheriff,&#8221; said Rathburn whimsically. &#8220;An&#8217; now
+you&#8217;ll have to give me credit for bein&#8217; plumb cautious.
+It ain&#8217;t my intention to have my thinking
+spell disturbed.&#8221;</p>
+<p>His gun flashed in his hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll have to ask you to go inside an&#8217; occupy one
+of your own cells, sheriff, while I&#8217;m wanderin&#8217;
+around an&#8217; debatin&#8217; the subject.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know you too well, Rathburn,&#8221; said the sheriff
+with a grim smile. &#8220;I&#8217;m not armed, and I don&#8217;t
+intend to obey you. If you intend to shoot you
+might just as well start!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn gazed at him coolly for a moment;
+then he shoved his gun in its holster and leaped.</p>
+<p>Quick as he was, Long was quicker. The sheriff
+was out of his chair in a twinkling, and he made
+a flying tackle, grasping Rathburn about the legs.
+The two fell to the floor and rolled over and over
+in their struggles.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_214' name='page_214'></a>214</span></div>
+<p>Although Rathburn was the larger man, the sheriff
+seemed made of steel wire. He twisted out of
+Rathburn&#8217;s holds, one after another. In one great
+effort he freed himself and leaped to his feet.
+Rathburn was up instantly. Long drove a straight
+right that grazed Rathburn&#8217;s jaw and staggered
+him, but Rathburn blocked the next blow and succeeded
+in upper-cutting his left to the sheriff&#8217;s chin.</p>
+<p>They went into another clinch, and the sheriff
+got the better of the close fighting. Rathburn&#8217;s
+face was bleeding, where it had been cut on a leg
+of the chair, when they were struggling on the
+floor. The feel of trickling crimson drove him
+mad. He threw Long off in an amazing burst
+of strength and then sent his right to the sheriff&#8217;s
+jaw with all the force he could put into it.</p>
+<p>Long dropped to the floor, and Rathburn raised
+him and carried him to a door leading into the jail
+proper. As he drew open the door, he drew his
+gun and threw it down on the astonished jailer who
+was dozing in the little office outside the bars.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Open up!&#8221; Rathburn commanded.</p>
+<p>The jailer hastened to obey, as he saw the appearance
+of Rathburn&#8217;s face and the dangerous look in
+his eyes.</p>
+<p>Rathburn compelled him at the point of his gun
+to lead the way to a cell in the rear, unlock it,
+and go inside. Rathburn pushed Long, who was
+regaining his senses, in after him and took the
+jailer&#8217;s keys.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell Long I&#8217;m thinkin&#8217; over what he told me,&#8221;
+he said to the jailer, as he locked them in.</p>
+<p>Then he hurried back to the entrance, locked it,
+and tossed the keys in through the bars.</p>
+<p>He wet his handkerchief with ice water from a
+tank in Long&#8217;s office, wiped his face clean, and left
+the building.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_215' name='page_215'></a>215</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXXI_A_NEW_COUNT' id='CHAPTER_XXXI_A_NEW_COUNT'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXI</h2>
+<h3>A NEW COUNT</h3>
+</div>
+<p>As Rathburn wended his way to an obscure
+restaurant on a side street of the little town
+which was the county seat of Mesquite County, his
+thoughts were busy with what he had learned
+from the sheriff. He knew the official had been
+right when he said that it would react in Rathburn&#8217;s
+favor if he gave himself up. Some of the counts
+on which he would be indicted undoubtedly would
+be quashed; others he might disprove. There was
+a chance that he might get off lightly; in any event
+he would have to spend a number of years in
+prison.</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked up at the bright sky. At the
+end of the street he could see the desert, and far
+beyond, the blue outlines of the mountains. It
+seemed to him that the sunshine was brighter on
+this deadly morning when he struggled with troubled
+thoughts. Having always lived in the open, liberty
+meant everything to him.</p>
+<p>But constantly his thoughts reverted to Laura
+Mallory. What did she expect of him? What
+would she think if he were to give himself up?
+Her talk of the compass&ndash;&ndash;his conscience&ndash;&ndash;bothered
+him. Why should she say such a thing if she
+didn&#8217;t feel more than a friendly interest in him?
+Did she care for him then?</p>
+<p>Rathburn laughed mirthlessly, as he entered the
+eating house. There was no doubt of it&ndash;&ndash;he was
+a fool. He continued to think, as he ate; by the
+time he had finished he found himself in a bad
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_216' name='page_216'></a>216</span>
+mental state. He wiped some moisture from his
+forehead, as he left the restaurant. For a moment
+he felt panicky. He was wavering!</p>
+<p>The tenor of his thoughts caused him to abandon
+his caution. He turned the corner by the State
+Bank of Hope and walked boldly down the street.
+Few pedestrians were about. None took any special
+notice of him, and none recognized him. He turned
+in at the resort he had visited when he first arrived
+that morning.</p>
+<p>He started, as he entered the place. A deep
+frown gathered on his face. Gomez, Eagen&#8217;s Mexican
+henchman, was at the bar. At first Rathburn
+feigned ignorance of the Mexican&#8217;s presence; but
+Gomez smiled at him, his white teeth glistening
+against his swarthy skin.</p>
+<p>Rathburn marveled at the audacity of the Mexican,
+who undoubtedly was one of those who had held
+up the stage the day before, in coming boldly into
+town. Then he recollected that the sheriff had mentioned
+he had an idea of who was responsible for
+that job, but had been unable to get a line on his
+man. Eagen and his gang were evidently well
+covered up. If such were the case, Eagen himself
+might be in town.</p>
+<p>It was because he thought he might learn something
+from Gomez that he finally acknowledged the
+fellow&#8217;s greeting by a nod.</p>
+<p>The Mexican left the bar and walked up to him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;We are not afraid to come in town, Mr. Coyote,&#8221;
+he murmured.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Drop that name,&#8221; said Rathburn sharply in an
+undertone. &#8220;Is Eagen here?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He is here,&#8221; replied Gomez with another display
+of his white teeth. &#8220;You want to see him?
+He is up talking with Mr. Doane.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Doane! Rathburn remembered the name instantly
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_217' name='page_217'></a>217</span>
+as being the same which had been spoken by Laura
+Mallory the night before. He remembered, too, the
+man who had been there and who had driven away
+to town in the little car. He surmised that this
+man had been Doane; and it had been he who had
+brought the information of Rathburn&#8217;s arrival and
+the posse&#8217;s pursuit to the girl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You want to see him?&#8221; asked Gomez craftily.</p>
+<p>Rathburn had a consuming aversion for the wily
+Mexican. He hated the shifty look in his eyes
+and his oily tongue.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not yet,&#8221; he answered shortly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He will be here maybe,&#8221; said Gomez eagerly. &#8220;It
+is you change your mind?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn scowled. The Mexican then knew
+all about the proposition Eagen had made to him
+the night before. Perhaps he could get more information
+from him than he had suspected.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What job is it Eagen is planning?&#8221; he asked
+in a low voice.</p>
+<p>There were several men at the bar now, and
+both Rathburn and the Mexican were keeping an
+eye upon them.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, that he will have to tell you himself when
+you are ready,&#8221; Gomez replied.</p>
+<p>Rathburn snorted in keen disgust. But Gomez
+sidled up to him.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You go to the Mallory rancho last night,&#8221; he
+whispered. &#8220;You are not the only one there last
+night.&#8221; His smile flashed again, as Rathburn looked
+at him quickly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There was another there before,&#8221; he continued;
+&#8220;Mr. Doane. He goes there, too. You have been
+away a long time, and Mr. Doane take the advantage.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s eyes were narrowing, and the Mexican
+evidently took his face for an encouraging sign.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_218' name='page_218'></a>218</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Mr. Doane&ndash;&ndash;he is not lucky at cards,&#8221; continued
+Gomez. &#8220;He like to play, and he play lots; but
+not too well. Maybe he have more luck in love&ndash;&ndash;while
+you are away.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What do you mean?&#8221; asked Rathburn through
+his teeth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, you do not know?&#8221; The Mexican raised
+his black brows. &#8220;While you are away, Mr. Doane
+make hay while the sun shine bright. He was
+there much. He was there last night before you.
+He tries hard to steal your se&ntilde;orita before you
+come, and he will try to keep her now.&#8221; He winked
+slyly.</p>
+<p>Rathburn suddenly grasped him by the throat.
+&#8220;What are you tryin&#8217; to say?&#8221; he asked sternly,
+shaking the Mexican like a rat.</p>
+<p>Gomez broke away, his black eyes darting fire.
+&#8220;You are a fool!&#8221; he exclaimed. &#8220;You get nothing.
+Even your woman, she is stole right under your
+eyes. Doane, he goes there, and he gets her. She
+fall for him fast. Then she talks to you with
+sugar in her mouth, and you believe. Bah! You
+think the Se&ntilde;orita Mallory&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s open palm crashed against the Mexican&#8217;s
+mouth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t speak her name, you greaser!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Gomez staggered back under the force of the slap.
+His eyes were pin points of fire. He raised his
+right hand to his mouth and then to the brim of his
+sombrero. His breath came in hissing gasps, as
+the hatred blazed in his glittering eyes.</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s face was white under its heavy coating
+of tan. He saw the few men at the bar turn
+and look in their direction, and he realized instinctively
+that these men were gamblers and shady
+characters who were probably friends of Eagen and
+his gang.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_219' name='page_219'></a>219</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;I give you my regards,&#8221; cried Gomez in a frenzy
+of rage. &#8220;You&ndash;&ndash;gringo!&#8221;</p>
+<p>His right hand tipped his sombrero in a lightning
+move, and there was a flash in the sunlight filtering
+through the back windows, as Rathburn&#8217;s gun barked
+at his hip.</p>
+<p>Gomez crumpled backward to the floor, as the
+knife dropped from his grasp at the beginning of
+the throw.</p>
+<p>Rathburn, still holding his smoking gun ready,
+walked rapidly past the men at the bar and gained
+the open through the door at the rear.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_220' name='page_220'></a>220</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXXII_THE_COMPASS_FAILS' id='CHAPTER_XXXII_THE_COMPASS_FAILS'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXII</h2>
+<h3>THE COMPASS FAILS</h3>
+</div>
+<p>In the alley behind the buildings fronting on the
+main street, Rathburn paused in indecision, while
+he shoved his gun into the holster on his thigh. He
+had known by the look in Gomez&#8217;s eyes that he was
+going to throw a knife. Instinct had caused him to
+watch the Mexican&#8217;s right hand, and, in the instant
+when Gomez had secured the knife from his
+hat and snapped back his hand for the throw, Rathburn
+had drawn and fired. He knew well the
+dexterity of a man of Gomez&#8217;s stamp with a knife.
+The gun route was the only chance to protect his
+life. But Rathburn realized, too, that he had shot to
+kill!</p>
+<p>He had been incensed by the Mexican&#8217;s subtle
+insinuations&ndash;&ndash;maddened by the way he leered when
+he spoke Laura Mallory&#8217;s name. He had virtually
+been driven to it. Even now he could not see how
+he could have avoided it.</p>
+<p>Securing his horse, Rathburn rode swiftly around
+a back street to a small barn on the edge of the
+desert. He ordered his mount watered and fed.
+He had known the man who owned this barn,
+but the individual who attended to his horse was
+a new employee. He sat in the little front office
+which also served as the quarters of the night man,
+while his horse was being looked after. He had
+not removed his saddle.</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s thoughts dwelt on what Gomez had
+said. There was no question but that the Mexican
+had taken liberties in saying what he did, but there
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_221' name='page_221'></a>221</span>
+was more than a glimmer of truth in his statements.
+Rathburn had seen the man leaving Laura
+Mallory on the porch of the Mallory ranch house.
+She had mentioned a man named Doane as having
+brought word that he, Rathburn, was back in the
+country and in more trouble. Now Gomez had
+identified this visitor as Doane, the man who had
+been calling on Laura Mallory regularly. Rathburn&#8217;s
+brows wrinkled at the thought. But why
+not? What hold had he upon her? It certainly
+wasn&#8217;t within his rights to resent the fact that
+another man had found the girl attractive. But,
+to his increasing torment, he found that he <i>did</i> resent
+it; he couldn&#8217;t help it!</p>
+<p>Suddenly he remembered that Gomez had said
+Eagen was paying a call on Doane. What could
+Eagen have to do with Doane which would warrant
+his visiting him early in the morning? Rathburn
+recalled that Gomez had intimated that Doane liked
+to play cards. Was the man then a professional
+gambler? But no, Gomez had said he did not
+play well.</p>
+<p>Rathburn tried to recollect where he had seen
+this man Doane before. The blond face and mustache
+were vaguely familiar. Again he strove to
+place the man without result.</p>
+<p>He shrugged his shoulders, drew out his gun,
+and replaced the empty shell with a fresh cartridge.
+He dropped the weapon back into his holster and
+went outside to see about his horse. The dun still
+was feeding. Rathburn contented himself with looking
+over his saddle and readjusting the small slicker
+pack on its rear. Then he paced the length of the
+barn, frowning in a thoughtful mood.</p>
+<p>There was only one thing he was reasonably sure
+of; no one around the town knew that he was the
+outlaw known as The Coyote. He had not seen
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_222' name='page_222'></a>222</span>
+anybody he knew except the sheriff, and that official
+was safely out of the way for the present. Gomez
+had mentioned his name when they had first met,
+but he had not been heard save by Rathburn. Therefore,
+if they were looking for the man who had
+shot down Gomez, they were merely looking for a
+man measuring up to his description; and Rathburn
+doubted if anything would be done until the authorities
+had been notified. Visitors to the sheriff&#8217;s
+office would find Long out and would assume that
+he had not returned from the chase in the hills.
+It might be another hour before the sheriff&#8217;s predicament
+was discovered. And in that hour&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;</p>
+<p>Rathburn caught himself up with another shrug.
+He was falling a prey to his former hopeless trend
+of thought. Resentment was swelling within him
+again, and he struggled to put it down. Perhaps
+it would be safer to yield to the inclination to take
+a chance on the courts.</p>
+<p>It was after nine o&#8217;clock when he rode out of the
+barn. He proceeded straight toward the main street
+of the town. He was struggling with a half-formed
+resolve; summoning courage by shutting out all recollections
+save that of Laura Mallory&#8217;s apparently
+earnest remark about the compass.</p>
+<p>Reaching the main street, he started to turn the
+corner at the bank building when he suddenly checked
+his horse and stared at two people walking up the
+opposite side of the street. Rathburn recognized
+the girl immediately. She was Laura Mallory. A
+moment later he caught a glimpse of the man&#8217;s face,
+as he half turned toward Rathburn, laughing. He
+had taken Laura&#8217;s arm. It was Doane!</p>
+<p>The realization that Laura had come to town
+and was in the company of Doane stunned Rathburn.
+More than anything else it had the effect
+of convincing him that Gomez had been right when
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_223' name='page_223'></a>223</span>
+he had hinted that Doane was successful in love.
+Hadn&#8217;t she told him to take his gun when Eagen
+had been waiting for him? Had she thought, perhaps,
+that there would be gun play, and that Eagen
+might emerge the victor, thus assuring her that he,
+Rathburn, would bother her no more?</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s eyes narrowed, and his face froze,
+as he watched Laura and Doane out of sight up
+the street. He knew now why he had had to come
+back. There was nothing left&ndash;&ndash;nothing but his
+dreams, his sinister reputation, and his gun!</p>
+<p>He looked about in a different way from that
+in which he had first surveyed the street, now showing
+life. His gaze encountered the bank building.
+The door was open. The bank doubtless opened
+at nine o&#8217;clock. He remembered that this was so.
+A second of indecision, then he moved in front
+of the bank. He dismounted, flung the reins over
+the dun&#8217;s head, and entered briskly.</p>
+<p>Two men were behind the screens of the two
+cages. Rathburn approached a window and nodded
+to the man behind it. Then his gun leaped into
+his hand, and he covered the pair.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Reach high an&#8217; hard!&#8221; he commanded. &#8220;An&#8217;
+quick!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The men in the cages hesitated; but the look in
+Rathburn&#8217;s eyes convinced them, and they raised their
+hands over their heads. Rathburn leaped to the
+ledge outside the window and climbed nimbly over
+the wire network of the cage. Then he dropped
+to the floor inside.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_224' name='page_224'></a>224</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXXIII_FAST_WORK' id='CHAPTER_XXXIII_FAST_WORK'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXIII</h2>
+<h3>FAST WORK</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Quickly and methodically Rathburn went about
+his work. His face was drawn and pale, but
+his eyes glittered with a deadly earnestness which
+was not lost upon the two men who obeyed his orders
+without question. The very boldness of his
+intrepid undertaking must have convinced them that
+here was no common bandit. He herded them
+back toward the vault at the point of his gun. Then
+he ordered them into the vault.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now then,&#8221; he said crisply, &#8220;you know what I&#8217;m
+after. Trot it out!&#8221;</p>
+<p>One of the men, evidently an assistant cashier
+or head teller, who was in charge, opened a compartment
+of the inner safe and pulled out a drawer.
+Rathburn could see the packages of bills. He looked
+quickly about and saw a pile of empty coin sacks
+on a shelf.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Fill two of those large sacks,&#8221; he instructed
+the other man.</p>
+<p>The clerk hastened to carry out his orders and
+jammed package after package of bills into one of
+the largest of the coin sacks. Both men were white-faced
+and frightened. They did not try to delay
+the proceedings. Rathburn looked dangerous; and
+what was more sinister, he went about his nefarious
+business in a cool, calm, confident manner. He
+did not look like the Rathburn who had visited
+Laura Mallory the night before, nor the Rathburn
+who had talked with the sheriff. In this critical
+moment he was in look, mood, and gesture The
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_225' name='page_225'></a>225</span>
+Coyote at his worst&ndash;&ndash;worthy of all the terrible
+things that had been whispered about him.</p>
+<p>It may be that the bank employees suspected as
+much. It may be that they didn&#8217;t believe it would
+be possible for the outlaw to make his get-away in
+broad daylight, and it was certain that they stood
+in mighty fear of him. They cowered back, pale and
+shaking, as he calmly took the sack, heavy with its
+weight of bank notes of healthy denomination, and
+stepped to the entrance to the big vault.</p>
+<p>&#8220;When they come an&#8217; let you out,&#8221; said Rathburn,
+&#8220;you can tell them that the gent who helped
+himself to the berries in the cash box is just beginnin&#8217;
+to cash in on the reputation that&#8217;s been wished on
+him!&#8221;</p>
+<p>He smiled grimly, as he swung the light, inner
+door of the vault shut and clamped down the lever.
+He slid his gun into its holster and, carrying the
+sack of loot, walked out of the door of the second
+cage toward the main entrance of the bank. As
+he reached the door, a man came up the steps.
+Rathburn recognized Doane, and his lips curled
+in a snarl. It was the first time Doane had come
+face to face with him, but the man started back in
+surprise.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Rathburn!&#8221; he exclaimed.</p>
+<p>Rathburn hesitated. His first feeling of instinctive
+animosity fled. He scowled in a swift effort to
+place the man, and the thought that in an indirect
+way Doane was partly responsible for what had
+come to pass flashed through his tortured brain.
+This brought swift comprehension of his immediate
+danger. Now that he had taken the decisive step
+he would have to call upon all his resources of
+courage and cunning to protect his liberty. The die
+had been cast!</p>
+<p>He hurried past Doane, swung into the saddle,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_226' name='page_226'></a>226</span>
+and rode at a swift pace around the corner, leaving
+Doane standing on the steps of the bank, staring
+after him with an expression of amazement on his
+face.</p>
+<p>Rathburn knew it would be but a matter of a
+very few minutes before the knowledge that the
+State Bank of Hope had been held up and robbed&ndash;&ndash;would
+be common property in the town. The very
+boldness of the robbery had insured its success,
+for none would dream that a lone bandit would
+have the nerve to come into town in broad daylight,
+hold up the bank, and attempt to run for it across
+the open, burning spaces of the desert. But he was
+not aware of the coincidence which would make the
+news of the robbery known sooner than he expected.</p>
+<p>At the end of the side street he struck boldly
+across the desert, driving in his spurs and urging
+the gallant dun to its top speed. In a matter of minutes
+he was out of view of the town&ndash;&ndash;a speck bobbing
+amid the clumps of mesquite, palo verde, and
+cactus. He raced for the mountains in the northwest.</p>
+<p>There was another element of uncertainty which
+entered into the probability of quick pursuit, as he
+had shrewdly divined. It might be some time before
+the sheriff&#8217;s predicament was discovered. Meanwhile
+most of the male population was scouring
+the vicinity of Imagination Range looking for him,
+and there would be no one to lead a second posse
+until the sheriff was liberated. There was nothing
+in sight behind him toward town except the vista
+of dry desert vegetation swimming in the heat.
+Rathburn rode on with a feeling of security, so
+far as trouble from that quarter was concerned.</p>
+<p>His thoughts were in a turmoil, and he passed
+a shaking hand over his damp brow. The resentment
+had given way to grim decision and determination.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_227' name='page_227'></a>227</span>
+Well, he had shown them what The Coyote
+could do. They would remember that job; they
+could lay that at his door. The proceeds would
+carry him a long way. They had given him his
+reputation, and he would make the game worth the
+candle!</p>
+<p>The old fierce defiance of misguided youth was
+in his veins. He felt a wild exultation seize him.
+Doubt and all problems were set aside. His eyes
+glowed with a reckless light, as he raced on toward
+the blue hills.</p>
+<p>Doane had known him&ndash;&ndash;had called him by name.
+Therefore Doane knew he was The Coyote&ndash;&ndash;the
+outlaw with a price on his head. So much the better.
+He <i>wanted</i> them to know!</p>
+<p>The sun was at its zenith, as he passed above the
+Mallory place. He did not once turn his head
+and look down upon it. His jaw was squared, his
+lips pressed tight, as he guided his horse into the
+winding foothills of the range. In a narrow ca&ntilde;on
+he dismounted and undid his slicker pack. When
+he again tied it behind the saddle it contained the
+bag which held the bank notes he had taken that
+morning. He pushed on in the early afternoon.</p>
+<p>He now rode with more caution. The fact that
+he had not seen any members of the posses which
+were scouring the hills, he accredited to ignorance
+on their part of the fact that he had been at the
+Mallory ranch the night before and had gone into
+town. These things they had hardly had time to
+learn. More than likely they had assumed that he
+had crossed the mountains, and it was possible
+that most of the men on the hunt were on the
+east side of the range. He became more and more
+convinced of this as the afternoon wore on, but
+he did not relax his vigilance. His face had clouded.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_228' name='page_228'></a>228</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;We made a mistake, hoss,&#8221; he muttered, &#8220;in
+not remembering to hunt up Mike Eagen first thing.&#8221;</p>
+<p>In the quick moves following his sudden momentous
+decision, he had forgotten Eagen. This fact
+now bothered him. He had a score to settle with
+Eagen on general principles. This did not mean
+that he necessarily would have to shoot Eagen down;
+but he wanted Eagen to hear straight out what he
+thought of him. It might be a long time before
+he could gratify that desire after the events of
+this day.</p>
+<p>Slowly he proceeded, not once venturing upon a
+high spot until he had investigated by crawling to a
+vantage point on his hands and knees. It was
+sundown when he saw the first riders. Two were
+farther down the slopes to westward, and several
+more were far to eastward. It was true then that
+Long had thrown a cordon about the section of
+the mountains which he had been seen to enter the
+day before.</p>
+<p>However, Rathburn&#8217;s knowledge of the range and
+the secrets of the mountain trails gave him a distinct
+advantage over the inexperienced members of the
+posses. True, there were deputies and some others
+who were experienced; but they were in the minority.</p>
+<p>Rathburn realized that the sheriff must have been
+released some hours before, and that his escapade
+of the morning would stimulate the man hunt. The
+rewards would be increased, and every able-bodied
+man in Hope would doubtless join in the scramble
+for the reward money. He was satisfied that Sheriff
+Long&#8217;s order would be to &#8220;shoot on sight!&#8221;</p>
+<p>On the very crest of the range he paused in
+the shelter of the rocks. There still was a fair
+chance for him to get away clean to eastward.
+The sheriff had not had time to get more men over
+there, and by making a break into the southeast
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_229' name='page_229'></a>229</span>
+and then cutting straight to the east, there was a
+strong possibility that he would succeed in circling
+around the posse and effect his escape.</p>
+<p>But something was drawing him to Joe Price!
+He did not quite understand that it was the desire
+to confide in and confess to his friend what had
+actuated his choice of moral trails. But the yearning
+was there, and he was yielding to it. He conjectured
+shrewdly that Long might not dream that
+he would have the temerity again to enter the
+very district where he was being sought. It was
+his belief that the best place to hide from a posse
+was in the midst of it!</p>
+<p>It was this confidence, almost as much as his
+skill in trailing, which enabled him to gain a point
+above Joe Price&#8217;s cabin in the early twilight. He
+waited patiently until the curtain of night had
+fallen, and the stars had replaced the fading banners
+of the sunset, before he slipped down a steep slope
+and walked his horse into the ca&ntilde;on below the old
+miner&#8217;s abode.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_230' name='page_230'></a>230</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXXIV_THE_COMPASS_WAVERS' id='CHAPTER_XXXIV_THE_COMPASS_WAVERS'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXIV</h2>
+<h3>THE COMPASS WAVERS</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Joe Price regarded Rathburn with a curious
+look in his eyes when he beheld him in the
+doorway of his cabin. He stepped swiftly to the
+one window, which was over the table, and dropped
+the burlap shade. Then he closed the door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So they&#8217;ve been here?&#8221; asked Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What else could you expect?&#8221; replied Price
+testily. &#8220;They&#8217;re combin&#8217; these hills for you.&#8221; He
+looked at Rathburn keenly, but Rathburn only smiled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s not news to me,&#8221; he said quietly; &#8220;I&#8217;ve
+percolated through their lines twice.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Stay here,&#8221; said Price, &#8220;and I&#8217;ll look after your
+horse&ndash;&ndash;or were you hidin&#8217; up all day?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No such luck,&#8221; answered Rathburn grimly.</p>
+<p>The old man looked at him curiously; then he
+went out of the door, closing it carefully after him.</p>
+<p>Rathburn found cold food, put it on the table,
+and sat down to eat. When Price returned he had
+finished. The old miner sat down in a chair opposite
+Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Now, out with it,&#8221; he said. &#8220;Something has
+happened. I can see it in the way you look an&#8217;
+act. What&#8217;s up?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn carefully rolled a brown-paper cigarette,
+snapped a match into flame, and lit it before he
+replied. He was half smiling.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I held up the State Bank of Hope this mornin&#8217;
+an&#8217; extracted a bag of perfectedly good bills,&#8221; he
+announced. &#8220;Didn&#8217;t bother with the counter money.
+Made &#8217;em serve me from the vault.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_231' name='page_231'></a>231</span></div>
+<p>Joe Price&#8217;s eyelids did not even flicker.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Any idear what you got?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not whatsoever,&#8221; replied Rathburn coolly; &#8220;but
+the smallest I saw on top of the package was a
+fifty.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Price nodded. &#8220;You got plenty,&#8221; he said.</p>
+<p>Rathburn scowled. He had expected some kind
+of an outbreak&ndash;&ndash;at least a remonstrance from his
+old friend. He glanced about uneasily and then
+glared defiance at Price.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It had to come, Joe,&#8221; he asserted. &#8220;There
+wasn&#8217;t any way out of it. What&#8217;s more, I killed
+that greased pard of Eagen&#8217;s, Gomez.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;How so?&#8221; queried Price.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, I&#8217;ll tell <i>you</i>, Joe, but I don&#8217;t expect it to
+go any further. He said something about Laura
+Mallory an&#8217; a man named Doane, an&#8217; I didn&#8217;t like
+it. I slapped him. Then he went for a knife he
+had in his hat.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The old man nodded again. &#8220;I see,&#8221; he said
+simply. &#8220;You shot him. Not a bad riddance. How
+did you come to rob the bank, Rathburn?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn&#8217;s gaze again shifted uneasily. Then
+he rose with a burning look at Price, walked up
+and down the slanting length of the cabin, and
+halted before the old miner.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Joe,&#8221; he said in a tremulous voice, &#8220;it&#8217;s the last
+ditch. I can&#8217;t get away from it. I thought I could
+tell you&ndash;&ndash;an old friend&ndash;&ndash;the whole story, but I can&#8217;t,
+Joe. That&#8217;s the devil of it! There&#8217;s something
+wrong with me. I reckon I&#8217;m one of those fellows
+who just had everything mapped out for him. I
+had some trouble, Joe, an&#8217; it&#8217;s started something&ndash;&ndash;something
+I can&#8217;t control. They <i>had</i> to remember
+me, an&#8217; I gave them something to remember me by!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Who do you mean by &#8216;they,&#8217; Rathburn?&#8221; asked
+the miner.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_232' name='page_232'></a>232</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Sheriff Long an&#8217; the others,&#8221; said Rathburn
+quickly. &#8220;There wasn&#8217;t a chance for me. Why, I
+was thinking of giving myself up only this morning.
+Joe, it ain&#8217;t in the pictures&ndash;&ndash;not after I let Gomez
+have it. Even after I stopped Gomez I had an idea
+that I could face the music. Besides, Joe, there&#8217;s
+more to this than you think. They call me The
+Coyote, an&#8217;, Joe, so help me, from now on I am!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Did you stop at the Mallory place?&#8221; asked Price
+quietly.</p>
+<p>Rathburn did not reply at once. With agony in
+his eyes he looked at his old friend, and suddenly
+he bristled:</p>
+<p>&#8220;I might as well never have gone there,&#8221; he
+flung out. &#8220;I see now I wasn&#8217;t wanted. I found
+out as much from Gomez. He told me about Laura&#8217;s
+affair with that fellow Doane. But what could I
+expect? I wasn&#8217;t entitled to no thought from her,
+an&#8217; I should have known as much. I&#8217;m just a
+plain fool&ndash;&ndash;a worse one now than I was before.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Joe Price&#8217;s faded blue eyes glowed with comprehension.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You thought Laura had put you off, so you
+gave in an&#8217; robbed the bank, Rathburn, an&#8217; just
+naturally made a mess of things when you had a
+chance,&#8221; said the old man stoutly. &#8220;That ain&#8217;t
+actin&#8217; with a lick of sense. You wasn&#8217;t gettin&#8217;
+square with anybody, an&#8217; you wasn&#8217;t doin&#8217; that girl
+right by takin&#8217; the word of Gomez.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I saw the two of them, her an&#8217; Doane, in Hope
+this morning, walkin&#8217; down the street, arm in arm,
+laughing&ndash;&ndash;probably over me,&#8221; Rathburn replied bitterly.
+&#8220;I&#8217;ve got eyes, and I can put two an&#8217; two
+together. I&#8217;m only The Coyote with her, and I&#8217;ll <i>be</i>
+The Coyote. She took my gun an&#8217; then gave it
+back when Mike Eagen showed up, thinkin&#8217; maybe
+there&#8217;d be gun play, an&#8217; I&#8217;d get mine.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_233' name='page_233'></a>233</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Now you shet up!&#8221; shrilled Price. &#8220;I reckon
+you&#8217;ve lost all the brains you ever did have? Do
+you think Laura would keep your gun, knowin&#8217;
+there might be trouble, an&#8217; you wouldn&#8217;t have any
+way to protect yourself? Don&#8217;t you suppose she
+knows you&#8217;re as fast as Eagen? She&#8217;s no fool,
+if you are. But, if you&#8217;ve got to stay the fool,
+you better be lightin&#8217; out with your winnings. An&#8217;
+you&#8217;re not takin&#8217; the bank&#8217;s money, either.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;What do you mean by that?&#8221; scowled Rathburn,
+who had been thoughtful while his friend was
+speaking.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I had money in that bank, Rathburn, an&#8217; so
+did Mallory, an&#8217; there&#8217;s a lot more of us&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll give you back your money,&#8221; Rathburn
+growled. &#8220;Anyway, they&#8217;re protected by insurance,
+an&#8217; the insurance people can hunt me till doomsday&ndash;&ndash;I
+guess.&#8221; He was cooling off rapidly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe they are,&#8221; said Price, &#8220;an&#8217; maybe they
+ain&#8217;t. But it ain&#8217;t goin&#8217; to help you none the
+way you&#8217;re goin&#8217; to feel about it later, no matter
+who loses it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn was pacing the room, frowning. Twice
+he started to speak, but the words failed to come.
+Then he put a question. &#8220;Who is this man Doane?
+He knew me, for I met him when I was comin&#8217;
+out of the bank, an&#8217; he called me by name.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Doane is cashier of the bank down at Hope.
+He was likely just comin&#8217; to work when you met
+him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn stared with an incredulous expression.
+&#8220;You&#8217;re sure?&#8221; But even as he put the question,
+Rathburn placed his man.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m dead certain on it,&#8221; declared Price.</p>
+<p>Rathburn sat down heavily and took his hat in
+his hand.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That makes it different,&#8221; he said dully, as if to
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_234' name='page_234'></a>234</span>
+himself. &#8220;Maybe she&#8217;s stuck on him for his money,
+an&#8217; maybe she&#8217;s stuck on him because he&#8217;s a good
+guy. Maybe this thing would hurt him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I don&#8217;t think they&#8217;d blame him,&#8221; said Price
+with a note of consolation in his voice; &#8220;an&#8217; he
+probably wouldn&#8217;t lose nothin&#8217;.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But she might think&ndash;&ndash;it might be that she&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;
+Rathburn swung his hat to his head and rose. He
+walked toward the door, but Joe Price got in his
+way.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Where you goin&#8217;?&#8221; he asked.</p>
+<p>&#8220;To the Mallory ranch!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You can&#8217;t get there!&#8221; said Price hoarsely, pushing
+him back.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ve got to get there!&#8221; answered Rathburn grimly,
+pushing the old man aside. &#8220;I must see Laura.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You got here just by luck,&#8221; Price pointed out.
+&#8220;An&#8217; there&#8217;s more men in by now. Maybe they
+know you&#8217;re here. But wait till I get your horse&ndash;&ndash;he&#8217;s
+hid.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Get him,&#8221; Rathburn commanded.</p>
+<p>After a moment&#8217;s hesitation Price went out the
+door, and he returned almost instantly. He walked
+to the table and blew out the light. &#8220;Go to the
+door an&#8217; see,&#8221; he urged in an excited voice.</p>
+<p>Rathburn hurried out. High on the mountain
+above the ca&ntilde;on a fire was burning.</p>
+<p>&#8220;It&#8217;s the signal,&#8221; Price whispered in his ear.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Joe, do me a last favor,&#8221; said Rathburn in a
+queer voice. &#8220;Get me my hoss before it&#8217;s too late!&#8221;</p>
+<p>The old man obediently slipped into the shadows
+behind the cabin.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_235' name='page_235'></a>235</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXXV_GUNS_IN_THE_NIGHT' id='CHAPTER_XXXV_GUNS_IN_THE_NIGHT'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXV</h2>
+<h3>GUNS IN THE NIGHT</h3>
+</div>
+<p>When Joe Price returned, leading Rathburn&#8217;s
+horse which he had fed and watered, and
+turned over the reins, he spoke swiftly in a low
+voice:</p>
+<p>&#8220;They&#8217;ll be watchin&#8217; hard for you down the ca&ntilde;on,
+boy. Bob Long&#8217;s sure to mean business this &#8217;ere
+time.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, I know it,&#8221; said Rathburn with a low,
+mirthless laugh. &#8220;I locked him in his own jail
+this mornin&#8217; to get a clean chance to decide to
+give myself up. Then, when the chance came&ndash;&ndash;well,
+he surely thinks now that I put him away
+to cover my tracks. I expect the boys have got
+their shootin&#8217; orders.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Listen!&#8221; whispered Price excitedly. &#8220;Wait till
+I get my own horse, an&#8217; I&#8217;ll strike east across the
+hump. That&#8217;ll start &#8217;em after me maybe&ndash;&ndash;sure it
+will, Rathburn! They&#8217;ll think I&#8217;m you, see, an&#8217; light
+right out after me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn laid one hand on the old man&#8217;s shoulder
+and put the other over Joe&#8217;s mouth.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Joe, you&#8217;re all excited&ndash;&ndash;plumb unreasonable excited.
+You know I wouldn&#8217;t let you do that.
+Now don&#8217;t hand me more worries than I&#8217;ve got.
+Be good, Joe.&#8221; He patted Price&#8217;s shoulder, then
+swung into the saddle.</p>
+<p>The old miner looked up at him, his face showing
+strangely white in the dim starlight, pierced by
+the fire on the peak.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I didn&#8217;t tell &#8217;em you&#8217;d been here, Roger; don&#8217;t forget
+that!&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_236' name='page_236'></a>236</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;I knew that, Joe,&#8221; Rathburn chuckled. &#8220;So
+long.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Swiftly he rode down the little meadow below
+the spring into the deep shadows of the ca&ntilde;on
+which led down a steep trail to the desert. Presently
+he checked his pace until he was walking the gallant
+dun. He wished to avoid as much noise as possible,
+and to save the horse for a final spurt down nine
+miles of desert to the Mallory ranch from the
+mouth of the ca&ntilde;on&ndash;&ndash;providing he got out.</p>
+<p>For two reasons he had deliberately chosen this
+route: it was shortest, and it offered the best going.
+He must save the dun&#8217;s strength. Rathburn knew
+the limits of his splendid mount; knew they had
+almost been reached; knew there was just enough
+left in the horse to make the ranch without killing
+him. The Coyote would surrender before he would
+kill his horse to effect his escape or gain an objective!</p>
+<p>Thus they slipped down the narrow ca&ntilde;on, with
+the desert stars gleaming white above the lava hills
+of Imagination Range, while the fire glowed on the
+peak above Joe Price&#8217;s cabin. Rathburn&#8217;s face was
+pale under his tan; his thoughts were in a turmoil,
+but his lips were pressed into a fine line that denoted
+an unwavering determination. Had Sheriff Bob
+Long seen his face at this time he might have
+glimpsed another angle of Rathburn&#8217;s many-sided
+character&ndash;&ndash;an angle which would have given him
+pause.</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked behind, and his eyes narrowed.
+Two fires were burning on the peak.</p>
+<p>Already the watchers were cognizant of his latest
+move and were signaling to those who might be
+below. He wondered vaguely why they had not
+surrounded Joe Price&#8217;s cabin while he had been there.
+Then he realized he had been there hardly long
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_237' name='page_237'></a>237</span>
+enough for his pursuers to get there in any number.
+Suddenly his thoughts were broken into by a streak
+of red in the ca&ntilde;on depths below him. He swerved
+close against the rock wall, drew his gun, and,
+speaking to the dun, drove in his spurs.</p>
+<p>A short distance below he could see the faint
+glow of the starlight night and knew he was near
+the ca&ntilde;on&#8217;s mouth. There were more streaks of
+red, and bullets whistled past him. Then Rathburn
+raised his gun and sent half its deadly contents
+crashing down into the trail ahead.</p>
+<p>There followed a few moments of quiet, broken
+only by the harsh, ringing pound of his mount&#8217;s
+hoofs. Rathburn could see open country just ahead.
+Then a flash of fire came from almost under him,
+and the big dun lunged into the air, half twisting,
+and came down upon some object under its hoofs.
+The dun bounded on in great leaps, literally flying
+through the air, as Rathburn thrilled with the knowledge
+that the horse had knocked down the man who
+had sought to kill him.</p>
+<p>From above came sharp reports, and the blackness
+of the high ca&ntilde;on walls was streaked with spurts of
+flame. Leaden death hurled itself into the rock
+trail behind him. Then he was out of the ca&ntilde;on,
+riding like mad through the white desert night toward
+his goal&ndash;&ndash;the Mallory ranch!</p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>Laura Mallory stood on the porch of the little
+ranch house, staring out across the dimly lit spaces
+of desert. A worried look appeared in her eyes.
+The front door was open, and in the small sitting
+room her father was reading under a shaded lamp
+at the table. At times the worried look in the girl&#8217;s
+eyes would change to one of wistfulness, and twice
+the tears welled.</p>
+<p>Presently she straightened and listened intently,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_238' name='page_238'></a>238</span>
+looking into the south instead of northwest. Her
+ears, keen as are those of the desert born, had caught
+a sound&ndash;&ndash;a succession of faint sounds&ndash;&ndash;in the still
+night air. Gradually the sound became more and
+more distinct, and the worried expression of her
+face increased. She hurried into the sitting room.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Father, Fred Doane is coming out from town,&#8221;
+she said breathlessly. &#8220;Do you suppose they&#8217;ve got
+him?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Maybe so, girlie,&#8221; said the old man. &#8220;It was
+a bold business, an&#8217; what could you expect?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, I don&#8217;t know. I can&#8217;t seem to understand.
+All this trouble is coming so suddenly. Father, are
+you sure you heard Roger refuse to aid that man
+Eagen in some shady scheme last night?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Ab-so-lutely,&#8221; declared Mallory. &#8220;I&#8217;ve been
+wondering, daughter, if he didn&#8217;t turn Eagen down
+because he had this scheme of his own.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The purr of a motor came to them from outside,
+and Laura, hastily wiping her eyes with a
+small handkerchief, went slowly out.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Laura!&#8221; cried Fred Doane, as he came up the
+steps, holding out his hands.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&ndash;&ndash;what is it, Fred?&#8221; she faltered. &#8220;Have
+they caught&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Not yet,&#8221; said Doane briskly, as Mallory appeared
+in the door. &#8220;An&#8217; they probably won&#8217;t get
+him. He&#8217;s clever, that fellow.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The bank cashier indulged in a frown, but he
+was plainly nervous.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Then what news do you bring here?&#8221; Mallory
+demanded. &#8220;Did you come to tell us he&#8217;d got away
+clean?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why, not&ndash;&ndash;not exactly,&#8221; said Doane. &#8220;I meant
+to tell you that, of course, but I also want to
+have a little talk with Laura. Can I see you alone,
+Laura, for a few minutes?&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_239' name='page_239'></a>239</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;Oh, <i>that&#8217;s</i> it,&#8221; snorted Mallory, as he stamped
+back into the house.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You have something to tell me you don&#8217;t want
+father to hear?&#8221; asked the girl in a worried voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Laura, there&#8217;s something I must tell you right
+away,&#8221; said Doane nervously, leading her to the
+shadow of the far end of the porch. There he
+turned and faced her, taking her hands.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Laura, you must have seen it for a long time.
+You could hardly help but see it. I love you,
+Laura&ndash;&ndash;I love you with all my heart, and I want
+you to be my wife.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The girl drew back in astonishment.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But why do you have to tell me this so suddenly?&#8221;
+she asked, her color coming and going.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Because I want you to marry me, Laura, to-night!&#8221;
+he said.</p>
+<p>Again he reached for her hands. &#8220;Please, Laura,&#8221;
+he pleaded. &#8220;It means so much to me. Don&#8217;t
+you care for me, sweetheart? I&#8217;ve been led to
+think you did, and I intended to tell you soon, but
+all this trouble&ndash;&ndash;this terrible trouble to-day&ndash;&ndash;has
+nearly driven me mad. I&#8217;m afraid I&#8217;ll go mad,
+Laura, if I don&#8217;t have something else to think
+about. Oh, Laura, marry me and help me out of
+this big trouble.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Fred!&#8221; exclaimed the girl, startled by his passion
+of pleading. &#8220;Fred, I&#8217;ve never tried to make you
+think I cared for you. And now&ndash;&ndash;well, I&#8217;d have
+to have a long time to think it over. How would
+it help you out of trouble, Fred? Tell me that.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;By helping me forget&ndash;&ndash;by helping me forget that
+our bank is ruined! By saving my mind! By
+keeping me from going mad! By&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Fred you must not talk so. That robbery has
+unnerved you for the time being, that&#8217;s all. You&#8217;re
+excited and so&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_240' name='page_240'></a>240</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;m more than excited,&#8221; he declared, trying to
+put his hands on her shoulders. &#8220;I&#8217;m about&ndash;&ndash;about&ndash;&ndash;<i>gone</i>!
+Laura, marry me to-night, and we&#8217;ll go
+somewhere&ndash;&ndash;we&#8217;ll go somewhere right from here,
+from this ranch&ndash;&ndash;go a long way and get married in
+the morning. Then we can stay away for a short
+time till I get to be myself again.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;No, Fred,&#8221; replied the girl in convincing tones,
+&#8220;I can&#8217;t. It would be asking too much even if
+I loved you. Come inside, and I&#8217;ll make you some
+strong tea. You can talk to father and me and
+regain control of yourself.&#8221;</p>
+<p>There was a moment of silence. Mallory with
+the lamp had come to the door at the sound of
+Doane&#8217;s loud voice. He was looking at them.
+Then out of the night came the pound of hoofs.
+There was no mistaking the sound.</p>
+<p>Doane whirled around, as a rider came out of
+the sea of mesquite and greasewood and flung himself
+from the saddle in front of the porch. The
+bank cashier turned toward Mallory. His face was
+haggard. He seemed to sway, as the rider came
+stamping up the steps. He darted for the door,
+but had hardly got inside before the rider caught
+him and made him face about. Mallory hurried in
+with the lamp, followed by the girl.</p>
+<p>Doane was quailing before the new arrival. Both
+cried out, as they saw it was Eagen who had broken
+out so suddenly. Eagen towered above the shrinking
+Doane.</p>
+<p>&#8220;So you thought you&#8217;d double cross me, did you,
+eh?&#8221; came Eagen&#8217;s harsh voice, and he slapped Doane
+in the face.</p>
+<p>Doane went red, then white. For a moment intense
+hatred and anger flashed in his eyes, but
+he made no move to avenge the insult. Slowly
+the light in his eyes died again to fear, as he
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_241' name='page_241'></a>241</span>
+realized his inability to cope with this man of
+strength.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Here, Eagen, you can&#8217;t come into my house and
+act like that,&#8221; said Mallory stoutly, putting the lamp
+on the table.</p>
+<p>Laura still stood in the doorway, stunned by the
+rapid and extraordinary turn of events. Eagen
+turned on Mallory with a snarl.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Shut up, you old fool! Don&#8217;t butt in where
+you ain&#8217;t wanted, an&#8217; on something you don&#8217;t know
+anything about.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know you&#8217;re in my house!&#8221; Mallory retorted
+sternly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I&#8217;ll only be here a minute,&#8221; said Eagen with a
+sneer. &#8220;I&#8217;m goin&#8217; out of your house, an&#8217; I&#8217;m goin&#8217;
+to drag this sneaking cur out with me&ndash;&ndash;out on the
+solid ground an&#8217; give him what&#8217;s comin&#8217; to him.
+An&#8217; then,&#8221; he added in a terrible voice; &#8220;I&#8217;m goin&#8217;
+to go out an&#8217; get his pardner&ndash;&ndash;Rathburn, The Coyote&ndash;&ndash;get
+him when the others can&#8217;t come within a mile
+of him!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You can&#8217;t take this man out of my house when
+he is my guest!&#8221; thundered Mallory.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No?&#8221; asked Eagen contemptuously. &#8220;Well, you
+watch an&#8217; see! If you try to stop me you&#8217;ll stop
+lead!&#8221;</p>
+<p>He leaped forward and grasped Doane by the
+shoulder, jerked him forward, and stepped backward
+himself. He turned, dragging his victim, then
+stopped dead in his tracks with a hissing intake
+of breath. Rathburn was standing quietly in the
+doorway.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_242' name='page_242'></a>242</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXXVI_THE_LOOT' id='CHAPTER_XXXVI_THE_LOOT'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXVI</h2>
+<h3>THE LOOT</h3>
+</div>
+<p>In the heat of the threats and counterthreats which
+had been in progress, none of the occupants of
+the room had heard the newest arrival thunder up
+to the porch and leap from the saddle to the steps.</p>
+<p>Eagen was dumfounded by Rathburn&#8217;s sudden
+appearance. He saw that the girl was standing now
+in a front corner of the room, with her hands
+crossed on her breast, a look of horror in her eyes.
+Slowly Eagen recovered and loosed his hold on
+Doane, who staggered weakly to the table and
+leaned upon it. Eagen&#8217;s sneer returned to his thick
+lips, and his narrowed gaze traveled quickly to a
+sack which Rathburn held in his left hand. Eagen&#8217;s
+eyes shone with fury.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come here to fix up the divvy!&#8221; he choked.
+&#8220;I knew it was a put-up job between you an&#8217;
+Doane, an&#8217; I figured you&#8217;d maybe meet aroun&#8217;
+here where Doane would be sure to come to try
+an&#8217; take this woman with him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn eyed him calmly. There was something
+of a deadly calm in his very posture, as he stood
+just within the threshold. He looked past Eagen to
+Doane. Then he tossed the sack on the table.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Here&#8217;s the money I took this morning, Doane,&#8221;
+he said in matter-of-fact tones. &#8220;I came here to
+turn it over to you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>With bulging eyes Doane stared at him.</p>
+<p>Eagen laughed loudly. &#8220;That&#8217;s rich! Tryin&#8217; to
+make me think you was goin&#8217; to give it <i>all</i> to him?
+Don&#8217;t you figure, Mr. Coyote, that I can throw
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_243' name='page_243'></a>243</span>
+my rope aroun&#8217; a simple scheme like you an&#8217; that
+shivering rat over by the table cooked up? That&#8217;s
+why you turned down my little proposition last night.
+It was this same deal&ndash;&ndash;only, <i>me</i>, an&#8217; Doane there
+was goin&#8217; to put it over. You figured I&#8217;d cut you
+out of your divvy, an&#8217; you figured right; he suspected
+I might double cross him, an&#8217; maybe he was
+right, too. So he cooked it up with you to pull the
+robbery, thinkin&#8217; you&#8217;d be more likely to go through
+an&#8217; give him his end. But the pair of you figured
+too many points when you thought I wouldn&#8217;t
+catch on.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That was what your proposition was to be,
+was it?&#8221; asked Rathburn pleasantly. &#8220;Rob the bank?
+Why, I didn&#8217;t need a gang to rob the bank, Eagen,
+an&#8217; I didn&#8217;t have anybody in with me. The trouble
+with you is that you&#8217;ve got too much imagination.&#8221;</p>
+<p>The drawl in which Rathburn concluded his
+speech drove Eagen to a frenzy.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You lie, Rathburn!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn smiled. &#8220;I might as well tell you that
+I intended to get away with that money that&#8217;s on
+the table, Eagen. That&#8217;s what I took it for. I&#8217;m
+making this little statement because something&#8217;s liable
+to happen to one, or both of us. I didn&#8217;t know
+Doane was cashier of the bank when I took it.
+I only recently learned that fact. Then I brought
+it back to turn over to him, not so much on his
+account as on account of Miss Mallory. I understand
+Doane is a very good friend of Miss Mallory.
+I wouldn&#8217;t want his bank hurt for that reason.&#8221;</p>
+<p>It was Laura Mallory who cried out at this. She
+walked toward Rathburn, although he did not look
+at her.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Why did you do it, Roger?&#8221; she asked in a
+trembling voice.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t tell you <i>that</i>, ma&#8217;am,&#8221; he said.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_244' name='page_244'></a>244</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;But I know!&#8221; she cried. &#8220;I&#8217;ve guessed it. You
+saw Mr. Doane and me together in Hope to-day
+and remembered he was at the ranch last night,
+and&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Don&#8217;t say any more, Laura!&#8221; Rathburn commanded
+sternly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Be still, daughter; it&#8217;s best,&#8221; said Mallory.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Neither she, nor you, nor Doane, nor all of you
+together can talk me out of it!&#8221; roared Eagen. &#8220;It
+was a frame-up!&#8221;</p>
+<p>In the deadly stillness that followed, Laura Mallory
+shrank back from the sight of two gunmen looking
+steadily into each other&#8217;s eyes, their hands ready
+for the lightning draw&ndash;&ndash;each waiting for the merest
+suggestion of the beginning of a move on the part
+of the other to get his weapon into action. But
+the draws did not come. The pregnant silence was
+broken by the thundering roll of many horses galloping
+into the yard about the house.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There!&#8221; yelled Eagen in a voice of triumph.
+&#8220;There&#8217;s your sweet little posse, Coyote!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I expected to see Bob Long when I came down
+here!&#8221; said Rathburn coolly, looking at Laura Mallory
+for the first time.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_245' name='page_245'></a>245</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXXVII_THE_TEST_OF_A_MAN' id='CHAPTER_XXXVII_THE_TEST_OF_A_MAN'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXVII</h2>
+<h3>THE TEST OF A MAN</h3>
+</div>
+<p>Several men stamped across the porch to the
+jingle of spur chains. Others broke in through
+the back door and entered the kitchen. Sheriff Bob
+Long appeared at the door, with two guns leveled.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re covered from both doors and all the
+windows, Rathburn!&#8221; he said sharply.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s almost just what I thought, sheriff,&#8221; Rathburn
+drawled.</p>
+<p>Long stepped into the room, shoving his guns into
+their holsters. Many other guns were covering
+Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;What&#8217;s the meaning of all this, anyway?&#8221; demanded
+Long with a puzzled expression on his face.
+His eyes widened, as he saw the bag of money
+on the table. &#8220;Is that the money that was taken
+from your bank this morning Mr. Doane?&#8221; he asked
+sharply.</p>
+<p>Doane nodded weakly. The sheriff looked at
+Rathburn curiously.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You brought it back? You was up to Joe Price&#8217;s
+place.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, I brought it back, sheriff,&#8221; said Rathburn
+cheerfully.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Well, I&#8217;ll be frank and tell you, Rathburn, that
+if you expect leniency after what happened this
+morning you might just as well give up that idea.
+Any man can change his mind when he sees he can&#8217;t
+get away.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s up to you, sheriff,&#8221; replied Rathburn,
+taking tobacco and papers from his shirt pocket.
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_246' name='page_246'></a>246</span>
+&#8220;As I was just tellin&#8217; our friend, Mr. Eagen, I
+brought it back on purpose, an&#8217; I expected to see
+you when I got here. I came near not gettin&#8217;
+here at that.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You took a long chance,&#8221; scowled Long. &#8220;But
+it won&#8217;t get you much now at this stage of the
+game&ndash;&ndash;especially after the way you led me to believe
+this morning that you were thinking of giving yourself
+up.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Eagen&#8217;s laugh startled them.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He brought it back to give it up an&#8217; himself,
+too?&#8221; he jeered. &#8220;He brought it back, sheriff,
+because he an&#8217; that rat of a Doane planned this
+thing. Coyote got away with the money an&#8217; came
+back here to divvy up with Doane. Didn&#8217;t Doane
+make the same kind of a proposition to me? Didn&#8217;t
+he tell me he was short in his accounts, an&#8217; it
+could be covered up if the bank was robbed, for
+then he could say more money was took than really
+was? I&#8217;ll say he did. An&#8217; I was goin&#8217; to see
+if he&#8217;d go through with it, an&#8217; then I was going
+to wise you up so we could get him cold.&#8221;</p>
+<p>With knitted brows the sheriff stared at Eagen,
+then looked at the white-faced Doane.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Tell him I&#8217;m tellin&#8217; the truth!&#8221; shouted Eagen
+at the shaking bank cashier. &#8220;You can&#8217;t get out
+of it.&#8221;</p>
+<p>There was a tense moment.</p>
+<p>Doane shook his head weakly; he was a picture
+of guilt.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He got scared I wouldn&#8217;t go through with the
+play, sheriff,&#8221; Eagen continued. &#8220;Thought maybe
+I&#8217;d make off with all the kale. So he framed it
+with Rathburn, an&#8217; I caught &#8217;em about to divide it
+here.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;He lies!&#8221; screamed Doane. &#8220;I didn&#8217;t frame it
+with Rathburn. I can prove it. That man&#8221;&ndash;&ndash;he
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_247' name='page_247'></a>247</span>
+pointed a shaking finger at Eagen&ndash;&ndash;&#8220;has come to
+me with threats and made me take securities I knew
+were stolen. There&#8217;s some of them in the bank
+now. Some of the stuff he took from the stage
+driver yesterday is there! He&#8217;s pulled job after
+job&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>Eagen, recovering from his amazement at the
+man&#8217;s outbreak, leaped and drove his powerful fist
+against Doane&#8217;s jaw, knocking him nearly the length
+of the room, where he crashed with his head against
+the stones of the fireplace. Eagen turned quickly.
+His eyes were blazing red.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You&#8217;re the man!&#8221; he yelled wrathfully. &#8220;You&#8217;re
+the yellow Coyote&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>His right hand went to his gun, as there came
+a crashing report. He staggered back, trying to
+get out the weapon which had not left his holster.
+He sank down to his knees, still glaring death at
+the man above him, still fumbling at his gun. Then
+he lurched forward on his face.</p>
+<p>Rathburn flipped his smoking pistol so that its
+barrel landed in his hand. Then he tendered it, butt
+foremost, to Sheriff Bob Long. Long took it and
+threw it on the table, looking first at Rathburn, then
+at the dead man on the floor. He waved toward the
+doors and windows.</p>
+<p>&#8220;You boys can draw back,&#8221; he ordered.</p>
+<p>Mallory stepped to the fallen Doane. The man&#8217;s
+face had set in a white cast. He felt his heart.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He did for him,&#8221; he said, rising.</p>
+<p>Laura Mallory came walking slowly up to the
+sheriff. Her face was ghastly after what she had
+witnessed.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Sheriff Long,&#8221; she said in a voice strangely
+calm, &#8220;we heard Eagen&#8221;&ndash;&ndash;she shuddered, as she
+mentioned the name&ndash;&ndash;&#8220;ask Roger&ndash;&ndash;ask Mr. Rathburn
+last night to help with some job that would
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_248' name='page_248'></a>248</span>
+get them a lot of money. It may be that&ndash;&ndash;that&ndash;&ndash;Fred
+did plan such a thing. I&#8217;m sorry to say it, but
+Fred had seemed awfully nervous lately, and to-night
+he came to me and asked me to run away with him&ndash;&ndash;at
+once. He seemed horribly afraid of something.
+Anyway, Roger refused to go in with Eagen, and an
+examination of Fred&#8217;s books will tell all.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She hesitated. Then she spoke slowly and softly.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I know why Roger robbed the bank and&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Stop, Laura!&#8221; cried Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;No,&#8221; said Laura firmly; &#8220;you may be going to
+prison.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He put out one hand in protest.</p>
+<p>Turning again to the sheriff she said:</p>
+<p>&#8220;Roger did go to town last night, intending to
+give himself up. I knew he was going to do it by
+the way he looked at me. But to-day he saw me
+with Mr. Doane, and maybe he&#8217;s heard things for
+which there was no warrant. Anyway, I know he
+thought I&ndash;&ndash;I&ndash;&ndash;was in love with Fred.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Laura&ndash;&ndash;please!&#8221; Rathburn pleaded.</p>
+<p>&#8220;And to-night,&#8221; said the girl in triumph, &#8220;he
+heard Fred was cashier of the bank he&#8217;d robbed, and
+he brought the money back because he thought the
+robbery would hurt Fred and in that way hurt me!&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn turned appealingly to the sheriff. &#8220;Let&#8217;s
+go,&#8221; he urged.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He robbed that bank because he thought I had
+betrayed his trust, Sheriff Long!&#8221; cried Laura, her
+eyes shining.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Are we going, Long?&#8221; cried Rathburn in an
+agony.</p>
+<p>The sheriff stepped to the door and called to some
+of his men who entered and bore the bodies of
+Doane and Eagen out of the sitting room. Then he
+took the money sack from the table and indicated to
+Rathburn to follow him, as he went out of the
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_249' name='page_249'></a>249</span>
+door. Rathburn went after him quickly, and the
+girl ran to the porch. Rathburn drew back with
+a cry, as he reached the porch. Just beyond the
+steps a horse was lying on its side.</p>
+<p>&#8220;My&ndash;&ndash;my hoss!&#8221; he cried wonderingly.</p>
+<p>He leaped down beside the dead beast. Then he
+saw crimson upon the animal&#8217;s shoulder, as a little
+gleam of light came from the door.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That was why he jumped on the trail. He was
+hit. He carried me all this way with a bullet in him
+an&#8217; then dropped! One of Long&#8217;s men shot him.&#8221;</p>
+<p>Rathburn looked about vacantly. Then he sank
+down and buried his face on the shoulder of the
+dun, as Sheriff Long turned away. Laura Mallory
+stepped quickly to the side of the sheriff and touched
+his arm.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Is he as bad as you think, sheriff?&#8221;</p>
+<p>Long scowled at her in the dim light from the door,
+took out a thick, black cigar, bit the end off savagely,
+and began to chew it. He walked abruptly out to
+where some of his men were standing by their
+horses, and he said something in an undertone. When
+he returned, Rathburn had taken the saddle and
+bridle off the dead horse and was throwing the
+leather on the porch.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yours, dad,&#8221; he called to Mallory; &#8220;I wouldn&#8217;t
+use &#8217;em again if I could.&#8221; Then he turned to the
+sheriff. &#8220;All right, Bob.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Come inside,&#8221; said Long gruffly.</p>
+<hr class='toprule' />
+<div class='chsp'>
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_250' name='page_250'></a>250</span>
+<a name='CHAPTER_XXXVIII_TEN_MILES_START' id='CHAPTER_XXXVIII_TEN_MILES_START'></a>
+<h2>CHAPTER XXXVIII</h2>
+<h3>TEN MILES&#8217; START</h3>
+</div>
+<p>When they were in the sitting room the sheriff
+confronted Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;This has been a queer case for me,&#8221; he said
+slowly, with an attempt at harshness. &#8220;I knew
+Eagen was up to a lot of dirty work, but I never
+could fasten anything on him till to-night. I&#8217;ll get
+some of the rest of the gang now. Doane showed
+in his face that he was guilty. Those things don&#8217;t
+worry me none. But <i>you</i> are the hardest character
+I ever had to handle, Rathburn!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I don&#8217;t figure on givin&#8217; you any more trouble,
+sheriff,&#8221; Rathburn assured him, smiling.</p>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the puzzle of it!&#8221; Long exploded. &#8220;That
+puts it up to me. I know you had reason for giving
+Gomez his, and I know this girl wouldn&#8217;t lie about
+the other. But&ndash;&ndash;well, I don&#8217;t get you a-tall, Rathburn,
+and that&#8217;s a fact. Something tells me I&#8217;ve got
+to give you a chance, and if I knew what tells me
+this I&#8217;d wring its neck!&#8221;</p>
+<p>He stepped close to Rathburn and looked him
+straight in the eye.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Take one of Mallory&#8217;s horses. He&#8217;s got some
+good ones. I give you ten miles in any direction.
+If you can make it&ndash;&ndash;it&#8217;s your candy. But remember,
+Rathburn, I&#8217;m going to try to stop you!&#8221;</p>
+<p>He walked swiftly out of the door, leaving Rathburn
+staring at the smiling girl.</p>
+<p>Laura stepped close to him and nodded. Rathburn
+shook his head.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I can&#8217;t see where I&#8217;ve got the right to give Long
+any more trouble.&#8221;</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_251' name='page_251'></a>251</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;But he isn&#8217;t letting you go, Roger. He&#8217;s putting
+it up to you, and he means what he says when
+he declares he&#8217;ll try to get you.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;If he does, he&#8217;ll probably get me,&#8221; mused Rathburn.</p>
+<p>&#8220;But maybe he won&#8217;t get <i>us</i>, Roger.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Us?&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;You and I, Roger. Listen! There&#8217;s a land &#8217;way
+up north, Roger. I&#8217;ve read about it. It&#8217;s past the
+desert and the mountains and the plains&ndash;&ndash;in another
+country! And there&#8217;s a river there, Roger&ndash;&ndash;a river
+they call Peace River. I&#8217;ve always loved the name.
+We&#8217;ll go there, Roger, you and I&ndash;&ndash;and father can
+come later.&#8221;</p>
+<p>She looked up at him with shining eyes and put
+her arms about his neck, and she saw the unbelievable
+wonder in his face. The man trembled. Then
+he took her and held her and kissed her, time after
+time.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Joe Price said I could never be satisfied away
+from the desert unless I took along something that
+was of it,&#8221; he muttered hoarsely; &#8220;I wonder&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes, Roger, he meant me.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;We can&#8217;t make it,&#8221; he said softly. &#8220;Not the two
+of us&ndash;&ndash;but Laura, girlie, <i>this</i> is worth the game!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Yes we can, Roger,&#8221; she said eagerly. &#8220;Think!
+We can be married when we&#8217;ve left the desert. It&#8217;s
+not quite ten miles to Boxall Ca&ntilde;on. We can go up
+Boxall over the range and cross Death Flat.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;I was thinking of that, sweetheart,&#8221; he replied.
+&#8220;But no horse can get up Boxall, an&#8217; if he did he
+couldn&#8217;t get across Death Flat. Few men have
+crossed that stretch. It&#8217;s well named. I might try
+it alone; but you&ndash;&ndash;no, Laura. It just ain&#8217;t in the
+pictures!&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;We don&#8217;t need horses, Roger. You&#8217;ve forgotten
+the burros. They&#8217;ll kill any horse on the desert,
+<span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_252' name='page_252'></a>252</span>
+won&#8217;t they? We can take two or three loaded with
+food and water.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But it&#8217;s miles and miles an&#8217; then some&ndash;&ndash;an&#8217; it all
+looks alike.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;But when we&#8217;ve reached the other side, Roger?&#8221;</p>
+<p>He drew away from her and stepped to the door.
+He could not see or hear anything. When he turned
+and again approached her, his face was white. He
+looked at Mallory, who was standing with a look of
+stupefaction on his lined face.</p>
+<p>&#8220;Wait!&#8221; he said and stepped into another room.
+In a few moments he was back, holding a money
+belt in his hands. He took out gold and bills and
+deposited the money on the table.</p>
+<p>The others stared.</p>
+<p>&#8220;There&#8217;s about six thousand there, Mallory. It&#8217;s
+gamblin&#8217; money. Turn it in to the bank to make or
+help out Doane&#8217;s shortage. I&#8217;ve got just twenty-five
+hundred left which I earned in a better way.&#8221;</p>
+<p>&#8220;Daddy, get the burros!&#8221; cried the girl. &#8220;We&#8217;re
+going!&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>Sheriff Bob Long looked down from a ledge above
+a narrow, deep, boulder-strewn, awe-inspiring ca&ntilde;on
+and drew in his breath sharply. Below he saw two
+human beings and three animals.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I knew he&#8217;d try it,&#8221; Long said wonderingly to
+himself. &#8220;I thought he&#8217;d try it afoot. But the girl!
+And they&#8217;re going to try to cross Death Flat!&#8221;</p>
+<p>His look of wonder increased, and he made no
+move toward the weapons in his holsters.</p>
+<p>&#8220;I wonder now,&#8221; he mused. &#8220;Can they make it?
+I wonder&ndash;&ndash;&ndash;&#8221;</p>
+<p>He scowled and looked about with a frowning
+stare. His gaze again shifted downward. Suddenly
+he shrugged and put the wrong end of his unlighted
+cigar in his mouth.</p>
+<div><span class='pagenum pncolor'><a id='page_253' name='page_253'></a>253</span></div>
+<p>&#8220;That&#8217;s the queerest cigar I ever had,&#8221; he growled,
+as he made his way to his horse. &#8220;It won&#8217;t stay lit
+because it wants to be swallowed.&#8221;</p>
+<p>He mounted and rode slowly back toward the far-reaching
+stretches of desert. Once he halted and
+turned in his saddle for a backward look.</p>
+<p>&#8220;He had the makings of the worst bad man this
+country ever saw,&#8221; he muttered aloud. &#8220;Now, if
+that woman and another country&ndash;&ndash;but first they&#8217;ve
+got to get across.&#8221;</p>
+<hr class='tb' />
+<p>On the western edge of a great, ghastly plain of
+white, in which a deceiving, distant glow was mirrored
+in the desert dawn, two figures, a man and a
+girl, stood hand in hand. Three shaggy burros,
+heavily laden, stood behind them. The burros saw
+not the Death Flat ahead, for they were asleep.</p>
+<p>And the man and the girl saw not the frightful
+white, as of powdered skulls, bare, sinister, sunbaked,
+but a vision of a little house in a fragrant
+green meadow, with golden fields on either side of a
+peaceful river, and forests ranging up to distant hills.</p>
+<p style='text-align:center;margin-top:1.5em;margin-bottom:1em'>THE END</p>
+<hr class='pb' />
+<p style='text-align:center;margin-top:1.5em;margin-bottom:1em'>TO THE READER</p>
+<hr class='p10' />
+<p>If you have enjoyed this book, you will be glad to
+know that there are many others just as well written,
+just as interesting, to be had in the Chelsea House
+Popular Copyright Novels.</p>
+<p>The stories which we will publish in this line have
+never appeared in book form before, and they are
+without question the best value in the way of cloth-bound
+books that has been offered to the reading
+public in many years.</p>
+<p class='center'>CHELSEA HOUSE<br />
+<br />
+<span class='smcap'>79 Seventh Avenue&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;New York City</span></p>
+
+<!-- generated by ppg.rb version: ppg0801 -->
+<!-- timestamp: Mon Aug 03 16:28:22 -0400 2009 -->
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
+<pre>
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Coyote, by James Roberts
+
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+</pre>
+
+</body>
+</html>
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+The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Coyote, by James Roberts
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: The Coyote
+       A Western Story
+
+Author: James Roberts
+
+Release Date: August 3, 2009 [EBook #29602]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE COYOTE ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Roger Frank and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
+
+
+
+
+
+THE COYOTE
+
+
+
+
+THE COYOTE
+
+A Western Story
+
+By JAMES ROBERTS
+
+CHELSEA HOUSE
+
+79 SEVENTH AVENUE--NEW YORK CITY
+
+
+
+
+The Coyote
+
+Copyright, 1925, by CHELSEA HOUSE
+
+(Printed in the United States of America)
+
+All rights reserved, including that of translation into foreign
+languages, including the Scandinavian.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS
+
+  CHAPTER                                                         PAGE
+       I. Rewards Offered                                           11
+      II. A Boy and a Girl                                          17
+     III. The Law                                                   24
+      IV. "I Knew He Lied!"                                         32
+       V. A Capture                                                 38
+      VI. The Real Low-Down                                         45
+     VII. Where to Hide                                             52
+    VIII. Two Queer Moves                                           57
+      IX. Leave It to Me                                            65
+       X. Caught in the Cellar                                      71
+      XI. Freedom Behind Bars                                       77
+     XII. Against His Ethics                                        87
+    XIII. A Man and His Horse                                       93
+     XIV. The Witness                                               98
+      XV. The Welcome                                              106
+     XVI. The Dixie's Boss                                         114
+    XVII. A Commission                                             121
+   XVIII. In the Night                                             129
+     XIX. Quick Turns                                              136
+      XX. Appeal to the Law                                        145
+     XXI. A Capture                                                151
+    XXII. A Second Capture                                         160
+   XXIII. Quick Facts                                              165
+    XXIV. The Show-down                                            170
+     XXV. Filed!                                                   175
+    XXVI. The Prodigal                                             179
+   XXVII. The Desert Code                                          185
+  XXVIII. A Night Summons                                          194
+    XXIX. Gunmen                                                   201
+     XXX. The Sheriff's Plight                                     207
+    XXXI. A New Count                                              215
+   XXXII. The Compass Fails                                        220
+  XXXIII. Fast Work                                                224
+   XXXIV. The Compass Wavers                                       230
+    XXXV. Guns in the Night                                        235
+   XXXVI. The Loot                                                 242
+  XXXVII. The Test of a Man                                        245
+ XXXVIII. Ten Miles' Start                                         250
+
+
+
+
+THE COYOTE
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER I
+
+REWARDS OFFERED
+
+
+The sign on the tree attracted the man's attention while he was still
+far down the slope. He could see the tall pine on the crest of the
+ridge above a veritable landmark in that country of stunted timber,
+and the square of paper, tacked to its trunk under the lowest
+branches, gleamed white against the background of vivid green.
+
+The air was clear, and every detail of the landscape--the red rocks,
+the saffron-colored slopes, the green pines and firs and buck brush,
+the white cliffs--everything within sight for miles stood out,
+clean-cut in the brilliant sunshine which flooded the empty land under
+a cloudless sky.
+
+When the man, mounted on a lean, dun-colored horse, first looked up at
+a turn of the narrow trail and saw the sign, he grunted. Then he
+frowned and looked back along the way he had come with a glowing light
+of reflection in his gray eyes. He was a tall man, slim and muscular,
+clean-shaven, his face and hands bronzed by sun and wind, and his face
+open and good-natured. A shock of blond hair showed where his gray,
+wide-brimmed, high-crowned hat was pushed back from his high
+forehead.
+
+His dress, though typical of the country which he traversed, was
+distinctive, or it might have been a certain natural grace that made
+it seem so. He wore a light-gray, soft shirt made of French flannel, a
+dark-blue silk scarf, leather chaps over olive-drab khaki trousers,
+black, hand-sewed riding boots which displayed their polish despite a
+coating of fine dust, silver spurs, and, strapped to his right thigh,
+was a worn leather holster, natural color, from which protruded the
+black butt of a six-gun.
+
+On the back of his saddle was tied a black slicker, the raincoat of
+the open country, which bulged with a medium-sized pack done up within
+it.
+
+One would have taken him to be thirty, perhaps a year or two more when
+his face was serious; but when he smiled, that is, when he smiled
+naturally, he looked little more in years than a youth who has just
+attained his majority.
+
+When he smiled the other smile--the smile he now expressed as he
+looked up the slope toward the tall pine with the white square of
+paper on its trunk--one would have forgotten the smile because of the
+sinister, steel-blue look in his eyes, and the direct, piercing
+quality of his gaze.
+
+He walked his horse up the winding trail. His right foot was clear of
+the stirrup, and he swung it idly. His left hand, in which he held the
+reins, rested lightly on the horn of his saddle, and his right gripped
+the cantle at his back. He hummed a ditty of the desert, but his gaze,
+keen and alert, continually sought the open stretches of trail above
+him, and at regular intervals flashed back along the way he had come.
+
+In time he reached the top of the ridge and pulled up his horse near
+the tree bearing the poster. He dismounted and walked slowly up a
+little grade to where he could the better read the legend on the
+paper.
+
+It was printed in large letters, but recent rain had somewhat faded
+it.
+
+                      FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS REWARD
+                         This will be paid for
+                               THE COYOTE
+                 dead or alive, by San Jacinto County.
+                          JUDSON BROWN, J. P.,
+                               Dry Lake.
+
+This man is tall and light in complexion, gray or blue eyes, good
+teeth, his horse said branded CC2, keeps himself neat, dangerous with
+gun, squints when mad. Bring him in and get the money.
+
+The man swore softly as he read the last sentence. "Bring him in an'
+get the money," he said snortingly. "You'd think they was talkin'
+about a locoed steer that just had to be roped an' drug, or shot an'
+hauled. Bring him in an' get the money!"
+
+There was genuine indignation in his tone as he repeated the offensive
+sentence.
+
+"Well, it can't be me," he said facetiously, aloud. "My name's
+Rathburn--a right good name." His eyes clouded. "A right good name
+till they began to tamper with it," he muttered with a frown as he lit
+a cigarette he had built while perusing the placard.
+
+He took the stub of a lead pencil from the pocket of his shirt. For
+some moments he reflected, staring at the sign on the tree trunk. Then
+he laboriously printed on its lower edge:
+
+Five thousand dollars more from the State of Arizona if you can get
+it.
+
+Rathburn surveyed his work with a grin, replacing the pencil in his
+shirt pocket. Then he stepped back and drew his gun. He seemed on the
+point of sending a half dozen bullets through the paper when he
+suddenly shook his head, glanced hurriedly about him, and shoved the
+weapon back into its sheath.
+
+He walked quickly to his horse, swung into the saddle, and started
+down the trail on the western side of the ridge.
+
+Below him he saw a far-flung vista of rounded, yellow hills, spotted
+with the green of small pines and firs. The ground was hard, dry, and
+gravelly. There were boulders a-plenty, and long, sharp-edged
+outcroppings of hard rock of a reddish hue. There was no sign of
+habitation to be glimpsed from the trail leading down from the high
+ridge which he had crossed. He continually looked about him with the
+interested air of a man who is venturing into a new locality with
+which he is not familiar.
+
+"Dry Lake!" he exclaimed, while his horse pricked up its ears at the
+familiar voice. "Good name for it, if it's anywhere in _this_ country.
+Hoss, I don't know when we're goin' to drink again. I didn't figure on
+hittin' a desert up here."
+
+He rode on at a brisk jog, down and down the winding trail. Then it
+led across a number of the round, low hills, ever westward.
+
+As the afternoon wore on, more green brightened the landscape and
+patches of grass appeared. Then they came upon a small stream
+trickling down from the higher slopes to northward where horse and
+rider drank their fill and rested in a quiet, secluded meadow off the
+trail.
+
+The man's face was a study as he lay back upon the grass in the cool
+shade of a clump of pines. Whimsical and wistful, it was occasionally
+lit by a peculiar smile which carried a hint of sadness. His eyes
+half closed, dreamily. The smoke from his cigarette curled upward in a
+thin spiral in the still air of the altitudes. His horse, with reins
+dangling and saddle cinch loosened, cropped the grass which carpeted
+the meadow.
+
+Finally the man arose, tightened the cinch in an absent manner,
+mounted, and rode back to the trail to continue on his way. At the top
+of the next ridge he halted, looking at a little ranch which lay in a
+wide valley a mile or two north of the thread of trail which he could
+see winding westward. The place looked poor, poverty-stricken, despite
+the small field of living green south of the house and the few head of
+cattle grazing along the banks of a little stream which wound through
+the valley.
+
+For some time the rider sat his horse motionless, frowning in
+indecision. Then he touched the dun lightly with his spurs, left the
+trail, and struck off to the north, following the ridge. He kept his
+gaze focused on the little ranch. The only sign of life which he saw
+was a heavily-burdened clothesline flapping in the idle breeze which
+at this point was wafted down from the mountains.
+
+When he was almost directly above the small house he turned his mount
+down the slope and gaining the floor of the valley, rode at a gallop
+for the house. His right hand now rested on his thigh near the
+holstered gun.
+
+As he brought his horse to a stop near the front of the house a girl
+appeared in the doorway. He looked at her in pleased surprise. Then
+his hat swept low in a gesture of courtesy.
+
+"Ma'am, I've found this to be a country of scattered habitations," he
+said in a musical bass. "So when I glimpsed your abode from yonder
+hills I said to myself, 'Rathburn, you're most powerful hungry; maybe
+you better pay a call.'"
+
+His eyes were glowing with an amused light, and a pleasant smile
+played upon his lips.
+
+The girl, who had listened curiously, now laughed in welcome. "There
+aren't many places between here and Dry Lake," she said; "and I guess
+it would be a pretty hot ride to-day. You can water your horse--and
+feed him at the barn, if you wish--and I'll get you something to eat,
+if you're not particular." Her eyes danced merrily.
+
+"Ma'am!" he exclaimed, with mock severity, "I quit bein' particular
+when I was--when I was as young as that youngster."
+
+A boy of ten or twelve had appeared beside the girl.
+
+"Young man, what're those dirt-looking spots on your face?" asked the
+stranger, frowning with his eyes but smiling with his lips.
+
+"They _ain't_ dirt spots!" returned the boy with spirit, advancing a
+step.
+
+"No?" said the man, feigning intense astonishment. "What _are_ they?"
+
+"They're freckles," answered the boy stoutly.
+
+"Oh--oh, _that's_ what they are," said the stranger with a delighted
+laugh. "Won't they wash off?"
+
+"Naw. You can't fool me. You knew what they were!"
+
+"Well, now, maybe so," observed the man as the girl laughingly turned
+inside.
+
+"Grub'll be ready by time you are," she called back to him.
+
+"I'll show you where to put your horse," said the boy as the man
+looked searchingly up and down the valley.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER II
+
+A BOY AND A GIRL
+
+
+When Rathburn had put up his horse, after giving him a light feed of
+grain in the barn, he followed the boy to the rear of the house where
+he found water, soap, and a towel on a bench, above which hung a small
+mirror.
+
+The boy left him there, and he soon washed and combed his hair. The
+girl opened the rear door for him and he walked through the little
+kitchen into a small front room where a table was set for him.
+
+"Sure, ma'am, I didn't figure on causing you so much trouble," he said
+with a smile. "I didn't expect anything but a snack, an' here you've
+gone an' fixed a regular dinner--this time of day, too."
+
+"My experience with men in this country has taught me that when
+they're hungry, they're hungry," replied the girl. "And it wasn't much
+trouble. Those beans were in the oven and already warm. I just had to
+make the coffee. I was expecting my brother."
+
+"I didn't see any men around the place," he said, beginning to eat.
+"If I had I'd have made myself known to them before coming to the
+house. Where is he--out with the cattle?"
+
+He saw her gaze was troubled. "I don't know just where he is--to-day,"
+she confessed. "He goes away and sometimes doesn't come back for a day
+or two." She stood in the doorway.
+
+Rathburn noted her trim, slim figure and her wealth of chestnut hair.
+She was pretty and capable. He surmised that her parents were dead,
+although he could not ascribe the reason for this deduction. Evidently
+the boy was a younger brother. He wondered if the older brother would
+return before he finished eating.
+
+"How far is it to Dry Lake?" he asked casually.
+
+"Oh--why, didn't you come from there?" She seemed surprised.
+
+"No. I came from over to eastward."
+
+"But it's miles and miles to any place east of here, isn't it?" she
+asked, puzzled. "You must have had a long ride."
+
+A ghost of a frown played on his brows. Then he laughed. "Yes, miss,
+I've been ridin' some," he confessed. "I didn't know how far it was to
+anywhere or I mightn't have come in this direction."
+
+She looked at him wonderingly, and again he thought he saw a troubled
+look in her eyes.
+
+"You're going to Dry Lake?" she asked.
+
+"Yes," he said shortly, and a grim note crept into his voice. "It's
+west of here, ain't it?"
+
+"About fifteen or eighteen miles," she answered. "The trail leads
+there from the lower end of this valley--the same trail you came on, I
+guess. Are you a cow-puncher?"
+
+"Don't I look like one, miss?"
+
+"Yes, you do and--you don't." She was confused by the quality of his
+smile. But his eyes seemed to glow at her kindly, with a cheerful,
+amused light--altogether honest and friendly. She lowered her gaze and
+flushed despite herself.
+
+"My vocation, miss--you're too young an' pretty to be called ma'am, if
+you'll excuse me for saying so--is a peculiar one. I've punched cows,
+yes; I've prospected an' worked a bit in the mines. I've scared the
+wolf from the 'Welcome' mat by standing off the boys at green-topped
+tables, an' once I--I--worked on a sort of farm." He appeared
+apologetic as he confessed this last. "I guess I wasn't cut out for a
+farm hand, miss."
+
+She laughed at this. "Are you going to work in Dry Lake?" she asked,
+sobering.
+
+"Well, now, that is a question," he returned, draining his cup of the
+last of the coffee.
+
+"I'll get you some more," she said quickly, taking his cup. "Dry Lake
+isn't a very big place, you know."
+
+"Just how big _is_ Dry Lake?" he asked when she returned from the
+kitchen with more coffee for him.
+
+"Only a hundred or two. But the men from miles and miles go there
+because--because there are places there where they can stand the wolf
+off at the green-topped tables and--drink." The troubled look was in
+her eyes again. "Sometimes the wolf catches up with them before they
+get home," she added, smiling faintly.
+
+"It's not a safe system," he said thoughtfully.
+
+"But you might get work in Dry Lake," she said hopefully. "You--you
+look capable. The cattlemen from back in the hills go there and
+they're nearly always looking for men, I've heard. You might meet some
+of them and get a job."
+
+He beamed upon her. "I've always heard that a woman gave a man
+encouragement an' ambition, if she was a good one," he mused. "You've
+almost got me thinking I'd better go straight to work."
+
+"Why--didn't--wasn't that your intention?" she asked wonderingly.
+
+His face clouded. "It ain't always so easy for me to do what I want to
+do, miss," he said. "I--you see----" He broke off his speech with a
+frown. "This is a queer country, miss," he said earnestly.
+
+"Oh, I know," she said eagerly. "I'll bet you're an--an officer!"
+
+Then he laughed. It was the spontaneous laugh of youth, vibrant,
+compelling, mirth-inspiring.
+
+"Say, miss, if there's one thing I ain't tackled yet, it's being an
+officer," he chuckled as he finished his repast.
+
+She smiled vaguely, studying him under her long, dark lashes. The boy
+came into the room, holding his hands behind him, and stood with his
+sturdy legs braced apart, staring at Rathburn.
+
+"There he is now!" Rathburn exclaimed. "Did you try to wash the
+freckles off?" he queried with a wink.
+
+"I know who _you_ are!" said the boy. There was admiration and awe in
+his wide eyes.
+
+Rathburn looked at him closely, his brows wrinkling.
+
+"Yes, I do," said the boy, nodding. "Did he tell you who he is, sis?"
+he asked, looking at the girl.
+
+"Now, Frankie, we don't care who the man is," she reproved. "He was
+hungry and he's welcome. What's the matter with you?"
+
+"I guess you'd be surprised if you knew as much as I do," the boy
+boasted. "I guess you'd be surprised all right. I do."
+
+"I've been surprised more than once at things you knew," the girl said
+with a laugh.
+
+"Yes, but I guess you'd be surprised all right if you knew who _he_
+is," cried the boy, pointing at Rathburn.
+
+"Come, now, young fellow, don't be getting all het up here," said
+Rathburn slowly, drawing tobacco and papers from his shirt pocket.
+"What do you find to do with yourself around here?"
+
+But the youngster was not to be diverted from his topic. "I was
+lookin' at your horse," he said, his eyes shining. "That's how I know
+for sure an' certain who you are."
+
+Rathburn gazed at the boy sternly as he touched a match to his
+brown-paper cigarette. "My horse is all right, ain't he?"
+
+"Sure he is," said the boy eagerly. "I bet he can go some, too. He'd
+have to go for you to have him, wouldn't he? You're The Coyote!"
+
+Rathburn continued to smile with an amused tolerance. But the girl
+gave a start; her hands flew to her breast, and she stared at the man
+with wide-open eyes.
+
+"Frankie! What are you saying?" she exclaimed.
+
+The boy triumphantly brought his hands from behind his back. He held
+out a poster.
+
+"His horse has got CC2 for a brand, just like it says in this bill Ed
+brought from town!" he cried. "He's The Coyote, all right. But I won't
+tell," he added quickly, looking at Rathburn.
+
+The man avoided the girl's eyes. The boy laid the poster on the table
+where she could read it again, word for word.
+
+"Tall--light in complexion--gray or blue eyes--good teeth--horse
+branded CC2--dangerous----"
+
+And this man was tall and blond, with gray eyes. Five hundred dollars
+reward!
+
+"I won't tell anybody you've been here," the boy continued. "We won't
+tell, will we, sis?" He looked at the girl imploringly.
+
+"My brother Ed says what you want you take," said the boy, gazing at
+the man in admiration. "An' he says you don't rob anybody that can't
+afford it! He says the banks are insured an' you've been a friend to
+more'n one that's just gettin' a start in the cattle. I won't tell
+anybody you've been here, an' I won't let sis tell anybody, either!"
+
+Rathburn was smiling wistfully. "Always tell the truth, sonny," he
+said in a low voice. "Don't forget that. I wouldn't want you to lie
+for me. Any man that would want you to lie for him wouldn't be a man
+a-tall, son. See?"
+
+"But old Brown, the judge, or the sheriff might come along an' want to
+know if you'd been here!" said the boy in breathless excitement.
+
+"Then tell 'em the truth," said Rathburn smilingly. "Tell 'em a man
+with a horse branded CC2 was here an' kidded you about your freckles,
+had something to eat, an' rode away. Don't lie, sonny, no matter what
+happens."
+
+The girl took a step toward the table. "You--_are_--The Coyote?" she
+asked in a whisper.
+
+"My name is Rathburn, miss," he replied cheerfully. "In some ways I'm
+a lot like the man described in that reward notice. An' I'm riding a
+dun-colored horse branded CC2. I don't like that monicker, Coyote, or
+I might 'fess up to it."
+
+"Then--if you're him--you're an outlaw!" she stammered.
+
+Rathburn's dreamy look shifted to the boy who was staring at him.
+
+"You'll grow up to be quite a man, son," he said in a fatherly tone.
+"Those freckles mean a tough skin. A weak sort of skin tans quick an'
+the toughest just sunburns. You're halfway between. That's all right
+for freckles; but it don't go in life. It's best to be on one side or
+the other, an' the right side's the best for most folks."
+
+He rose and went for his hat. Then he extracted a roll of bills from a
+hip pocket and laid a five-dollar note on the table.
+
+"That meal was worth it," he said to the girl with a smile.
+
+She shook her head. "I--I couldn't take it," she said.
+
+"That's clean money, miss. I earned it circumventin' three of the most
+ornery card sharps in Arizona."
+
+She continued to shake her head. "You do not understand," she
+murmured. "It--it wouldn't make any difference. We couldn't take money
+from a stranger who came to us--hungry. It wouldn't make any
+difference who you were."
+
+"Aw, we need it, sis!" blurted out the boy. "The Coyote's all right.
+He wouldn't lie to us."
+
+Rathburn laughed and, stepping to the boy, ran his fingers in his
+hair. "I guess I've made a friend," he said in a wistful voice. Then
+he picked up the bill on the table and stuffed it into the boy's
+pocket. His eyes encountered the poster again and they clouded. He
+turned away from it.
+
+"Miss, you'll let me thank you--sure."
+
+She nodded, retreating a few paces.
+
+"Then I'll be going," he said, stepping to the door.
+
+"To--to Dry Lake?" she found the voice to ask.
+
+"Yes. To Dry Lake."
+
+He left the house and in a few minutes reappeared from the direction
+of the barn, riding his dun-colored horse. He did not stop, but
+galloped down the valley, waving a hand in farewell which the boy
+answered.
+
+The day was nearly spent. The sun was low in the west, sliding down
+like a ball of gold toward the rim of the blue mountains. A stiff
+breeze had sprung up, driving the heat before it. At the lower end of
+the valley Rathburn found the trail he had left when he detoured to
+the ranch. He turned westward upon it, put spurs to his horse, and
+sped toward town.
+
+It was just as well that the girl could not see the look which came to
+his face as he rode into the sunset.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER III
+
+THE LAW
+
+
+Night had descended when Rathburn came in sight of the little town on
+the edge of the foothills. He rode slowly toward it, staring moodily
+at the flickering lights between interlaced branches which waved and
+weaved in the wind blowing down from the mountains. In all the
+distance he had traveled from the lonely ranch where he had met the
+girl and the boy he had encountered no one. He surmised that the trail
+to the desert hills to eastward was not a popular one.
+
+As he neared the town he saw that it consisted of one main street with
+buildings clustered about it, and numerous shacks scattered in the lee
+of the hills. There were trees close to the eastern end of the street
+which he was approaching, and when he reached these trees he
+dismounted, led his horse into the shadows, and tied it.
+
+He walked down the main street, which was illuminated only by the
+stars and the yellow gleams of light from windows on either side.
+
+There were several resorts, and one in particular seemed the most
+popular. Rathburn glanced in through the door of this place as he
+passed and saw that it consisted of a bar and numerous tables, where
+games were in progress. He did not stop but continued on his way.
+
+Few people were on the street; none of them took any especial notice
+of him. Several doors below the largest resort which he had so
+casually investigated, he came to a small, one-story, white-painted
+building, which, save for the door and window in its front, looked
+like a huge box.
+
+Across the glass in the door was lettered in gold:
+
+                         JUDSON BROWN
+                         Justice of the Peace
+                         Notary Public
+
+A dim light shone within, and, peering through the window, Rathburn
+saw that this light came from a lamp in a second room behind the
+little front office.
+
+He looked up and down the street and saw but two pedestrians, both
+walking up the other side of the thoroughfare with their back to him.
+He tried the door stealthily, found it unlocked, and stepped quickly
+inside. Three strides took him to the door of the inside room.
+
+A man looked up from a small table where he was engaged in writing. He
+was a stout man, large of countenance, with small black eyes under
+bushy brows which were black, although his hair was gray. He scowled
+heavily at the intruder who failed to remove his hat, and who stood,
+with feet well apart, in the doorway, a whimsical smile playing on his
+lips.
+
+In a sweeping glance Rathburn saw that the room contained a bed,
+wardrobe closet, several chairs, and other articles of furniture and
+decoration of a bedroom and living room. His eyes flashed back to the
+burly man sitting at the table, pen poised, coolly surveying him with
+a frown.
+
+"Your name Jud Brown?" he asked, stepping inside the room and to the
+side of the door toward the table where he could not be seen from the
+street.
+
+"I'm _Judge_ Brown," replied the large man testily. "You should have
+knocked before you came in, but now you're here, state your business
+as quickly as possible."
+
+"That's a businesslike tone that I admire to hear, Brown," drawled
+Rathburn. "You'll excuse my not callin' you judge. I'm afraid when you
+find out who I am you'd think I was kiddin' you!"
+
+He smiled amiably while the justice glared angrily.
+
+"You're drunk!" flared Brown. "The best thing you can do is get out of
+here--quick."
+
+Rathburn looked pained. "First you ask me to state my business an' now
+you tell me to get out," he complained. "You might as well know that I
+never touch likker," he added convincingly.
+
+Brown was studying him intently with a puzzled look on his face.
+"Well," he said finally, with a show of irritation, "what do you
+want?"
+
+"I want you to tell me the why an' the wherefores of this document,"
+said Rathburn sternly as he drew a folded piece of paper from a pocket
+and spread it out on the table before the astonished gaze of the
+justice.
+
+"That's one of a number I saw tacked on trees on the east trail out of
+here," continued Rathburn, frowning. "What's it all about, Brown?"
+
+The pen in the hand of the justice suddenly began to waver as the hand
+trembled. Then Brown dropped it, squared away his chair, and looked
+grimly at his nocturnal visitor. For some moments his gaze was
+concentrated on Rathburn's face. Then he slowly read the poster
+offering a reward of five hundred dollars for The Coyote. He wet his
+lips with his tongue.
+
+"So I was right!" he exclaimed. "You _were_ headed in this direction.
+I'm assuming that you're The Coyote!"
+
+"And you're assuming what's the bare, untarnished truth," said
+Rathburn. "I'm The Coyote you've offered five hundred for, an' who'll
+bring another five hundred in several counties in Arizona, not to
+mention five thousand that the State of Arizona has tossed into the
+pot. I suppose I'm worth at least ten thousand as I stand here."
+
+"That would be cheap for a man of your reputation!" said the justice
+bravely. "We don't want you across the line in California, Coyote. We
+won't put up with your depredations, and if you murder one of our
+citizens you'll hang!"
+
+Rathburn's chilling laugh hung upon the justice's words. "You're
+side-stepping the point," he said suddenly in crisp tones that were
+like the crack of a whiplash. "You're anticipating events, Jud. That's
+my complaint--that's my business here with you." He brought his right
+palm down upon the table smartly.
+
+"An' now that I'm here, Jud, you're sure goin' to listen!"
+
+"Don't threaten me!" cried the justice. "There are a hundred men
+within call and they'd make short work of you if they got their hands
+on you. Darn your ornery hide, I'm holding the winning cards in this
+game!" he concluded excitedly.
+
+Rathburn was smiling at him; and it was not his natural smile. It gave
+the justice pause as he looked up into those narrowed gray eyes, shot
+with a steel-blue light. Rathburn's right hand and wrist moved with
+incredible swiftness, and Brown found himself staring into the black
+bore of a six-gun. Still he saw the eyes above the weapon. His face
+blanched.
+
+"There are six winning cards in my right hand," Rathburn said slowly.
+"You can start shoutin' for those hundred men you mentioned just as
+soon as you want. Brown, it's you an' your kind that's made me
+desperate--dangerous, like you said in that printed notice. I won't
+fool with you or any other man on earth!"
+
+"What--what did you come here for?" stammered the justice.
+
+"To get away from--from back there in that cactus-bordered country of
+black, lava hills where I was born an' where I belong!" said Rathburn
+grimly, sliding into a chair on the opposite side of the table from
+Brown.
+
+"Listen to me! I was driven out. I've ridden for a week with the idea
+of gettin' where I wasn't known an' where I could maybe get a fresh
+start, and here I find a reward notice staring me in the face from the
+top of the first hill I cross after leaving Arizona. I've never been
+here before; I've done nothing to molest you or your town; but you sic
+the pack on me first off an' hand-running, without any reason, except
+that you've _heard_ things about me, I reckon."
+
+Brown nodded his head as Rathburn finished. A measure of composure
+returned to him. His eyes gleamed with cunning as he remembered that
+his front door was unlocked and some one might by chance come in. But
+he again felt troubled as he conjectured what might happen in such
+event.
+
+"You cannot blame me," he said to Rathburn. "You've robbed, and you're
+a killer----"
+
+"That's what you _hear_?" thundered Rathburn. "I admit several
+robberies--holdups of crooked, gambling joints like you've got in this
+town, an' petty-larceny bankers who robbed poor stockmen with sanction
+of the law. I've killed one man who had it coming to him. But I've
+shouldered the blame for every killing an' every robbery that's been
+staged in the desert country for the last three years. 'The Coyote did
+it,' is what they say, an' the crooks an' gunmen that turned the deal
+go free. I'm talking to you, Brown, as man to man--a thing I've never
+done with any mouthpiece of the law before. I'm trying to show you
+how you an' your kind can make a man an outlaw an' keep him one till
+somebody shoots him down. I'm sore, Brown, because I know that one of
+these days I'm going to get it myself!"
+
+The justice saw that the man was in deadly earnest. He saw the hand
+resting on the table tighten its grip upon the gun.
+
+"I didn't know all these things," he said hastily. "I had to judge by
+what I heard--and read. Why didn't you make all this known to the
+Arizona authorities?"
+
+Rathburn laughed harshly. "Because I'd be framed clear across the
+board," he said jeeringly. "It's the law! It's as much of a crime to
+rob a thieving gambler or a snake of a whisky runner or peddler as it
+is to rob a home! I've had to rob to live! An' all the while there's
+been the makings of one of the hardest-lookin' bad men that this
+Southwest country ever saw in me. And, now that I think of it, why the
+devil I've held off I don't know!"
+
+Brown was moved by the sincerity of the man. He saw in Rathburn's eyes
+that he was speaking the gospel truth. He saw something else in those
+eyes--the yearning of a homeless, friendless man, stamped with the
+stigma of outlawry, rebelling against the forces which were against
+him, relentlessly hunting him down.
+
+"You say you came here to start over?" he asked curiously. "How do I
+know you won't walk right out of this office and turn a trick right
+here in this very town?"
+
+"You don't know it, that's the devil of it!" exclaimed Rathburn. "An'
+there's no use in my telling you I won't, for you wouldn't take my
+word for it. You've got me pegged for a gun-fightin' bandit of first
+water an' clear crystal, an' I won't try to wise you up because it
+wouldn't do any good. Now that you know I'm in this country, you'll
+blame the first wrong thing that happens on to me. I've got no
+business here talking to you. I'm wasting my breath. You'll have to
+find out from somebody besides me that I was telling you the truth,
+an' I reckon that coincidence ain't in the pictures. Where's your
+handcuffs?"
+
+The justice stared at him, startled.
+
+"Where's your handcuffs?" insisted Rathburn angrily.
+
+"In the drawer of my desk out in front," replied Brown.
+
+"Go an' get 'em an' bring 'em here," Rathburn commanded. "I'll keep my
+drop on you under cover."
+
+Brown rose and went to his desk in the front room while Rathburn
+watched him in the doorway with his gun held under his coat.
+
+When the justice returned to the inside room Rathburn moved a chair
+close against one of the bedposts. He compelled Brown to sit in the
+chair, put his hands around between the supports in the back, and
+about the bedpost. He handcuffed him in that position.
+
+Drawing a bandanna handkerchief from a pocket he swiftly gagged the
+justice. Then he rummaged about the room until he found a piece of
+rope tied about a pack in the bottom of the wardrobe. With this he
+secured Brown's ankles to the front legs of the chair.
+
+"There!" he said, standing back to view his handiwork. "You're pretty
+well trussed up. I ain't trusting you any more than you'd trust me,
+an' I don't figure on you raising any hue an' cry before I can get
+along on my way."
+
+The eyes of the justice were rolling as he struggled in vain to
+speak.
+
+"Never mind," said Rathburn. "I reckon I know what you want to say.
+Under the circumstances, the same being so much on my side, you'd say
+you believed me an' all that. But I took a chance in coming here to
+tell you what I did an' I never aim to take more'n one chance in a
+day. So long."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IV
+
+"I KNEW HE LIED!"
+
+
+Rathburn extinguished the light in the lamp, walked swiftly to the
+front door, and outside. Closing the door softly he turned back up the
+street. He sauntered along slowly, debating his next move. Evidently
+the town was the last for many miles in the mountainous country east
+and north. Westward he would come upon many towns as the country
+became more and more densely populated toward the coast. Northwestward
+he would be able to keep within the arm of the mountains and still be
+in touch with civilization. But he would have to make some changes in
+his attire and fix that brand on his horse.
+
+Instinctively his course brought him to the big resort he had noticed
+upon his arrival. The entrance doors had been closed against the chill
+of the night, but he could see the interior of the place through one
+of the windows despite the coating of dust upon the glass.
+
+As he peered within he stiffened to alert attention and a light oath
+escaped him. Walking swiftly from a rear door was a tall man, the
+lower part of his face concealed by a black handkerchief. He held a
+gun in each hand and was covering the score or more patrons of the
+place who had risen from the tables, or stepped back from the bar,
+with their hands held high above their heads.
+
+"Keep 'em there an' you'll be all right," the masked man was saying in
+a loud voice which carried to Rathburn through cracks in the window
+glass. "Line up down there, now--you hear me? Line up!"
+
+The patrons lined up, keeping their faces toward the bandit.
+
+"If anybody gets to acting uneasylike it'll be the signal for me to
+start shootin'--understand?" came the holdup's menacing voice as he
+moved around behind the bar.
+
+"Open both cash drawers," he ordered the servitor in the white apron.
+He covered the bartender with one gun while he kept the other pointed
+in the direction of the men standing in line.
+
+Obeying instructions, the bartender took the bills from the cash
+drawers and laid them before the bandit on the bar. He then made
+several piles of silver near the bills, walking to and from the
+drawers of the big cash register. Continuing to do as he was told, he
+stuffed the bank notes and silver into the masked man's pockets, one
+gun's muzzle against his breast, the other holding the men in line at
+bay.
+
+Rathburn heard footsteps on the walk close to him. He whirled and saw
+two men about to enter the resort. "I wouldn't go in there," he said
+sharply in a low voice.
+
+"Eh--what's that?"
+
+The two men paused, looking at him questioningly.
+
+"I wouldn't go in there," Rathburn repeated. "Come here an' take a
+look."
+
+One of the men stepped to his side and peered curiously through the
+window.
+
+"Bill!" he whispered excitedly. "Look here. It's a holdup!"
+
+The other man looked over his shoulder. He swore softly.
+
+"I'll bet it's The Coyote!" said the first man in an awed voice.
+
+"Probably is," said Rathburn sneeringly. "They say he was heading this
+way."
+
+"Good place to stay out of--if it's _him_," declared the second man.
+
+Rathburn suddenly pulled back his left sleeve. "See that?" he said,
+pointing to his left forearm.
+
+The two men stared at the bared forearm in the yellow light which
+shone through the dust-stained window. They saw a scar about three
+inches below the elbow.
+
+"Looks like a bullet made that," one of the men observed.
+
+"You're right," said Rathburn, letting down his shirt sleeve. "A
+bullet from The Coyote's gun left that mark."
+
+The men looked at him wonderingly and respectfully.
+
+"You boys live here?" asked Rathburn.
+
+"Sure," was the reply. "We work in the Pine Knot Hotel an' stables.
+You from the hills?"
+
+"Yep," answered Rathburn. "Cow-puncher an' horseshoer an' one thing
+an' another. What's he doing now?" He again turned his attention to
+the scene within the resort, as did the two men with him.
+
+The bandit was backing away from the bar toward the rear of the room,
+still keeping his guns thrust out before him, menacing the men who
+stood with uplifted hands.
+
+"You can tell your funny judge that I called!" he sang out as he
+reached the rear door. "An' now, gents," he continued in an excited
+voice, "it won't go well with the man that tries to get out this back
+way too soon."
+
+As he ceased speaking his guns roared. The two large hanging
+lamps, suspended from the ceiling in the center, went out to the
+accompaniment of shattered glass crashing on the floor. The three
+smaller lamps above the back bar next were cut to splinters by
+bullets and the place was in total darkness.
+
+Then there was silence, save for the sound of a horse's hoofs coming
+from somewhere behind the building.
+
+Rathburn drew back from the window as a match flared within and his
+two companions moved toward the front door. He stole around the corner
+of the building and started on a run for the rear. He stopped when he
+heard a horse galloping toward the east end of the street behind the
+buildings which lined that side. He hurried behind two buildings which
+did not extend as far as the resort and hastened up the street. He did
+not once look back.
+
+Behind him he heard shouts and men running in the street. He increased
+his pace until he was running swiftly for the trees where he had left
+his horse. From above he caught the dying echoes of hoofs flying on
+the trail up the foothills by which he had come early that night.
+
+The cries down the street increased, a gun barked, and bullets whined
+over his head.
+
+"The locoed fools!" he panted. "Didn't they hear that fellow ride
+away?"
+
+But the shooting evidently was of a promiscuous nature, for he heard
+more shots around by the rear of the place where the robbery had been
+committed. No more bullets were fired in his direction as he darted
+into the black shadows of the trees.
+
+He quickly untied his horse, mounted, rode in the shelter of the
+timber to the east trail, and began the ascent, urging his horse to
+its fastest walking gait up the hard trail. The fleeing bandit's
+sounds of retreat no longer came to his ears, but he kept on, scanning
+the open stretches of trail above in the starlight, a disparaging
+smile playing upon his lips.
+
+Back in the little town excitement was at a high pitch. Extra lamps
+had been lighted in the resort where a big crowd had gathered. Several
+men ran to the office of Judson Brown, justice of the peace, while
+others went in search of the constable.
+
+When Brown failed to answer the summons at his door, some one
+discovered it was not locked, and the little group of men trooped in
+to find the justice gagged and handcuffed to his bed. They lighted the
+lamp and removed the gag. Then acting upon his instructions they took
+a bunch of keys from his pocket and unlocked the handcuffs.
+
+He stood, boiling with rage, while they alternately hurled questions
+at him and told him of the holdup.
+
+He ignored their questions as to how he came to be bound and gagged
+and demanded more details of the robbery.
+
+"We took him to be The Coyote," said the spokesman of the group. He
+had been one of the men the bandit had lined up. "He was tall, an'
+blue or gray eyes, an'----"
+
+"A puncher from up north picked him out through the window," spoke up
+one of the men who had encountered Rathburn outside the resort. "He'd
+been shot in the forearm by him once--showed us the scar. The robber
+was The Coyote, all right."
+
+"Certainly it was him!" roared Brown. "He came in here, tied me up
+after pulling a gun on me, an' threatening to kill me, practically, so
+he wouldn't have any trouble pulling his trick. Tried to steer me off
+by saying he didn't come here to make any trouble. I knew he lied!"
+
+The constable came in as the justice was finishing his irate speech.
+
+"I'm going to lead this chase myself!" cried Brown. "I want The
+Coyote, and I'm going to get him. I raise that reward to a thousand on
+the spot, and I know the sheriff will back me up. Get out every man in
+town that can stick on a horse, and we'll catch him if we have to comb
+the hills and desert country till doomsday!"
+
+Already horsemen were gathering in the street outside. Feeling was
+high, for Dry Lake prided itself on its record of freedom from the
+molestation of outlaws. The rough element, too, was strong for a man
+hunt, or anything, for that matter, promising excitement.
+
+A quarter of an hour later Brown, who was accepted as the leader when
+emergencies involving the law arose, distributed his forces. He sent
+two posses of twenty men each north and northwest. A third posse of a
+dozen men started southward. Towns to the west were notified by
+telephone as was the sheriff's office. The sheriff said he would be on
+his way to Dry Lake in an hour. He was amazed that The Coyote should
+be in his territory. He, too, wanted the outlaw, and he praised Brown
+for his reward offer.
+
+Judson Brown himself led the posse of thirty men which took the east
+trail up the foothills. It was an hour past midnight. The moon had
+risen and was flooding the tumbled landscape with its cold, white
+light. From different vantage points on ridges high above, two men
+looked grimly down and saw the moving shadows of the man hunters as
+they took the trail.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER V
+
+A CAPTURE
+
+
+Three hours after the posses scattered on their search for The Coyote,
+spurred by thoughts of the reward of a thousand dollars offered by San
+Jacinto county, and Judson Brown's declaration that the reward would
+be increased by the thousands more which Arizona had laid upon the
+fugitive's head, Rathburn smiled at the rosy dawn in supreme
+satisfaction.
+
+He had not lost his man's trail during the early morning hours. Time
+and again he had outwitted the man ahead when the latter had waited to
+scan the back trail for signs of pursuit; more than once he had gained
+ground when screened by timber growth close to the trail; every
+stretch of dust-filled trail had been taken advantage of, while the
+soft going underfoot had deadened the sound of his horse's flying
+hoofs.
+
+The bandit had traveled fast and he had kept steadily to the eastward.
+This last was what caused Rathburn to smile with satisfaction. The man
+for whose crime Rathburn was suspected was heading straight for
+Rathburn's own stamping ground--the far-distant desert range, which he
+knew from the low horizon in the south to the white-capped peaks in
+the north. To catch up with him would be but a matter of a few hours,
+Rathburn reflected contentedly.
+
+Nor had the posse gained upon the two men ahead. Brown's men, perhaps,
+did not have as excellent specimens of horseflesh as Rathburn and his
+quarry rode. Nor did they possess the trail knowledge, the tricks
+which Rathburn knew, and which the latter, more or less to his
+surprise, found that the man ahead knew. Whatever it was that caused
+that curling, sneering smile of contempt to play upon Rathburn's lips
+at intervals, it was not scorn of the riding ability of the man he was
+pursuing.
+
+Moreover, both men ahead were saving their horses' strength against a
+probable spurt by the posse at daylight. It would not be a hard matter
+to follow their trail by the bright light of broad day. So far as he
+could determine, Rathburn did not believe the man ahead knew he was
+followed by a solitary rider who was between him and the hounds of the
+law.
+
+Under the circumstances, the bandit would expect to be pursued by a
+number, Rathburn reasoned. He was ordering his pursuit on this theory,
+and he did not intend to take any more time than was absolutely
+necessary in catching up with the man ahead.
+
+Rathburn's horse had not been hard ridden the day preceding, nor for
+several days before that. He had journeyed westward by easy stages,
+taking his time, favoring his mount in anticipation of some unforeseen
+emergency which might require hard riding. And he well knew the
+extraordinary powers of speed and endurance which the animal
+possessed.
+
+He frowned as he thought of the brand. He had not been under the
+impression that the iron his horse wore was generally known to the
+authorities. He would have to hole-up somewhere in the hills before
+long and attend to that brand. As it was, it was a dead give-away as
+to his identity. He could thank Brown for this bit of information,
+anyway.
+
+With the dawn, Rathburn found it easier to keep on his man's trail
+without being seen himself. He gained considerable until he estimated
+that he was not more than a mile and a half, or two miles at most,
+behind.
+
+The sun was up when he reached the crest of the high ridge where was
+the tall pine and the sign which he had first seen the afternoon
+before.
+
+He hesitated, debating whether to let the printed notice remain with
+his penciled inscription about the Arizona reward on it, or to tear it
+down. Then he saw the man he was pursuing below on the trail. He moved
+swiftly out of sight down the eastern side of the ridge. But when he
+came to the next vantage point he discovered that his man had
+apparently seen him; for he was riding at a mad gallop on the trail
+which wound eastward along the edge of the hills.
+
+"Now's as good a time as any, hoss!" he cried to his mount as he drove
+in his spurs and dashed in swift pursuit.
+
+Down the winding trail plunged horse and rider. The dun slipped and
+slid on the hard surface of the steep declivities and finally emerged
+upon the more open path which the man ahead was following.
+
+Rathburn no longer made any attempt at concealment. He was after the
+man ahead, and, somewhere behind, a posse was in mad pursuit. If he
+were captured before he could overtake the bandit who was responsible
+for the robbery, the latter would very likely escape--was certain to
+make his get-away, in fact.
+
+Rathburn called upon his horse by voice and spur for all the speed
+there was in him. He could see the fugitive ahead urging his horse to
+its utmost. The race was on in earnest. Thus they came to a long
+stretch of open, level trail. Here Rathburn's horse began slowly to
+gain.
+
+The man ahead turned in his saddle, and Rathburn saw the glint of
+sunlight on dull metal. He brought out his own gun. But the other did
+not fire. He kept on, half-turned in the saddle, watching his pursuer
+keenly. Rathburn continued to gain upon him.
+
+They now were less than half a mile apart, and the fugitive suddenly
+turned his horse due north, straight toward the hills, and sent a
+volley of shots whistling in his pursuer's direction.
+
+Rathburn held his fire. The bullets flew wide of their mark, and he
+could see his man reloading as he rode. Rathburn now cut across,
+racing for the point where he thought the other would reach the hills.
+His horse rose to the emergency with a tremendous burst of speed. He
+was close enough now to shoot with a reasonable certainty of scoring a
+hit on his flying target. But he had no desire to kill, and he could
+not be certain, at that distance, of merely wounding his quarry. He
+also recoiled from the thought that he might accidently hit the
+other's splendid horse.
+
+Just ahead a thin line of straggling pines ranged down the gradual
+slope from the first low ridge of the hills for which they were
+heading. Rathburn swung north and gained the shelter of this screen
+just as the other rider again began firing. The trees now were between
+them, and each was an equal distance from the gentle slope of the
+ridge.
+
+Rathburn called upon his horse for a last, heartbreaking burst of
+speed and the dun made good. At the beginning of the slope to the
+ridge, Rathburn veered sharply to the right and burst through the
+trees a scant rod or two from his man. His gun was leveled straight at
+the other, who had been caught momentarily off his guard.
+
+"Drop it!" shouted Rathburn, racing toward him.
+
+The man's right hand fell to his side while he checked his horse with
+his left. Rathburn rode in close to him and they came to a halt.
+Rathburn's lips were curled in a smile of contempt. The other stared
+at him, white-faced, his eyes wide and inquiring. The fingers of his
+right hand relaxed, and the gun fell to the ground. Rathburn swung low
+in the saddle and scooped it up, thrusting it into a pocket of his
+coat.
+
+"Now beat it up over that ridge ahead," Rathburn ordered. "And be
+quick about it. That posse may be close behind us."
+
+The other's eyes lit up with surprise. "You--you're not an officer?"
+he stammered.
+
+"Shut up, you fool!" cried Rathburn. "You want to stay here an' talk
+when there's a score or two of men after us? I'm worse than an
+officer. Slope for that ridge now. Hurry!"
+
+The man put the steel to his horse, and they dashed up the slope,
+crossed the ridge, and found themselves in a thick growth of timber
+which covered a large area.
+
+"Pick your way into the middle of that patch of timber," snapped out
+Rathburn. "An' don't forget I'll be right close behind you. Get
+going--don't gape!"
+
+The captive's face flushed at the other's manner and the indubitable
+note of contempt in his voice. But he obeyed the instructions and
+pushed into the timber.
+
+When they had proceeded some distance Rathburn called a halt. "Ever
+been in this country before?" he demanded with a sneer.
+
+"Yes." The other was more composed now. He studied his captor
+curiously and seemed more at ease. Evidently he was heartened by the
+fact that Rathburn had said he was not an officer and he believed
+him.
+
+"I suppose you're after what I'm carrying on me," he said with a touch
+of bitterness. "I guess I'd have had as much chance as I've got now
+if I'd started shootin' even after you got the drop on me!"
+
+Rathburn laughed harshly. "You never had a chance from the start, if
+you only knew it," he jeered. "Why, you upstart, you're not entitled
+to any chance!"
+
+The other man's face darkened in swift anger. "Brave talk," he said
+sneeringly. "You've got me where you want me, so you can say
+anything."
+
+"I've got a pile to say," replied Rathburn shortly. "But this isn't
+the time or place to say it. We want to be good an' away out of that
+posse's path--an' quick."
+
+"You might as well take what you're after an' then each of us can look
+out for himself," was the hot retort.
+
+Rathburn looked at the man quizzically. "You've got more spunk than I
+thought," he mused.
+
+He stared at the other man closely. The bandit could not have been
+more than twenty-five or twenty-six. He was tall, well-built, blond.
+His hair and eyes were about the color of Rathburn's. But Rathburn
+particularly noted the man's face, and whatever it was he saw there
+caused him to shrug and frown deeply.
+
+"What's your name?" he demanded coldly.
+
+"Percy," sneeringly replied the other.
+
+"That's good enough for me," said Rathburn cheerfully. "All I need is
+a name to call you by. Now, Percy, if you're acquainted with this
+country in here an' can steer the way to where the posse'll be liable
+to overlook us you better be leading on. I see you've ditched your
+other gun somewhere--you had two."
+
+"So you want me to take you where you'll be safe so you can rob me,
+maybe shoot me down, an' then make your get-away," the other
+accused.
+
+Rathburn looked him straight in the eyes. "If you think I'm the kind
+of a man who'd shoot another down in cold blood when he was helpless
+you don't know much about human beings," he said slowly. "I have no
+intention of murdering you or harming you a-tall, if you're halfway
+careful. If you feel that it's against your principles to lead this
+expedition to temporary safety, we can turn back toward Dry Lake.
+We're going to do one thing or the other within one minute!"
+
+"Oh, come on," muttered the captive. He led the way through the timber
+to its western edge, then turned north in the shelter of the trees
+traversing a long, high, rocky ridge.
+
+"Our horses won't leave any tracks here," he called back. "Or maybe
+you don't care whether we leave any tracks or not," he added
+sarcastically.
+
+Rathburn spurred his horse alongside of him. "It doesn't make a bit of
+difference to me," he said. "You're the one that's got to be scared of
+that posse, Percy, not me. If it wasn't for one thing I'd take you
+right down there to meet 'em!"
+
+The other looked at him both in anger and perplexity. "Suppose you'd
+object to tellin' what that one thing is," he said savagely.
+
+"Well, it may be that I feel sorry for you," said Rathburn as if to
+himself. "An' it may be that I want credit for bringing you in without
+the help of any posse an' without them knowing it!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VI
+
+THE REAL LOW-DOWN
+
+
+They rode on in silence. When they reached the north end of the ridge
+the man in the lead turned west on a slope studded with large boulders
+and rock outcroppings. There was considerable shale here, too, and
+they had to proceed cautiously in spots, both for fear of sliding down
+the shale and to prevent making much noise.
+
+"If they follow us up here, we can hear 'em before they get to us,"
+said the man who called himself Percy, with a shrug and a frowning
+look at his companion.
+
+Rathburn did not reply.
+
+They continued across the slope and descended into a large bowl or
+pocket, guarded by huge boulders and scattering trees on the slope
+above.
+
+"Guess it's safe to rest our horses here," said Percy. "We can hear
+'em coming either way; but I don't think they'll get up here."
+
+However, neither he nor Rathburn knew how many men Brown had at his
+command, nor did they know that the sheriff of the county, with two
+deputies, had raced to Dry Lake by automobile, procured horses, and
+hastened to join Brown on the east trail, which seemed the most likely
+route of escape for the outlaw.
+
+There was a spring in the pocket surrounded by a small meadow of good
+grass. The pair watered their horses, loosened their saddle-cinches,
+and permitted the animals to graze with reins dangling.
+
+Rathburn took his slicker pack from the rear of his saddle and spread
+it open on the ground.
+
+"Reckon it's safe to build a small fire here?" he asked cheerfully.
+"I'm powerful hungry, an' I've got some emergency provisions--being
+trail-broke."
+
+Percy, too, was hungry, as his eager look toward the pack testified.
+
+"I'll climb up to the top on the lower side an' keep an eye out while
+you fix some grub," he volunteered. "You needn't be scared of me
+jumping over the other side. There's a drop of about five hundred feet
+over there."
+
+"Go ahead and jump if you want," said Rathburn. "Me--I'd rather live.
+That's why I want to eat."
+
+While the other climbed to his lookout position Rathburn made a fire.
+Then he took a small frying pan and coffeepot, minus its handle, from
+the pack, removed the packages stuffed in them, and soon was making
+coffee, frying bacon, and warming up beans. This, with some hard
+biscuits and some sirup out of a bottle, constituted their meal, which
+Rathburn soon had ready.
+
+Again he looked closely at Percy's face as the latter scrambled down
+from his perch to appease his hunger.
+
+Suddenly he burst out laughing; but it was a belittling laugh, half
+sneering, which brought the blood to the face of the captive while
+Rathburn watched him closely.
+
+"If I had to-day's actions to do over again you mightn't be so
+tickled," said the man viciously.
+
+"I'm laughing to think how lucky you are for a rank beginner an'
+botcher!" said Rathburn as they began to eat. "You must have took a
+course in outlawing from some correspondence school," he continued.
+
+"Maybe you could have done better," hinted the other.
+
+"Quite likely I could," admitted Rathburn. "In the first place I'd
+have shut that back door after I came in so nobody could pot shot me
+from behind. Yes, I reckon I'd have done that."
+
+Percy glared at him thoughtfully.
+
+"Then I wouldn't have let myself get in line with the front and side
+windows," Rathburn taunted. "Lots of men are shot through windows.
+Ever hear of such a thing?"
+
+His listener didn't answer.
+
+"An' now that I think of it," Rathburn droned on, "I'd have lined
+those men up against the wall with their faces turned away from me.
+That puts 'em at more of a disadvantage, an' they can't see what's
+going on."
+
+Percy now was regarding him keenly.
+
+"Let's see," said Rathburn, with tantalizing slowness. "Oh, yes,
+Percy. I wouldn't have taken anything from the cash drawers but the
+bills. I don't like to take the time to monkey around with a lot of
+silver; besides, it sort of weights one down."
+
+He paused long enough to let that sink in, then continued: "The thing
+I'd have paid most of my attention to--excepting for keeping a
+watchful eye on the men against the wall an' the windows an'
+doors--would have been the safe. The big money's usually in the safe,
+an' the bartender can be induced to open the safe just as easy as he
+can be persuaded into opening the cash drawers. An' say, Percy, I'd
+never let a bartender get as close to me as you let that fellow get to
+you. He might start something, then you'd have to begin shootin' an'
+that would alarm the town an' ball up the program."
+
+"You talk like you'd had considerable experience," observed Percy
+warily.
+
+"Maybe so. Maybe I have. But if I have, I can say I've never pulled
+anything quite so raw as the way you pulled that stunt last night down
+in Dry Lake, Percy. That is the real low-down on that. You just
+naturally laid yourself open to attack from all quarters."
+
+His captive looked at him both respectfully and sheepishly.
+
+"An' there's only one reason why you got away with it," said Rathburn,
+his eyes narrowing.
+
+"Because I was lucky like you say, I suppose," sneeringly answered
+Percy.
+
+"No!" thundered Rathburn. "You got away with it because they thought
+you were The Coyote!"
+
+The captive started; stared at Rathburn with widened eyes.
+
+"That's why you got away with it," continued Rathburn in a hard voice.
+"An' you thought you'd cinch it when you told 'em before you went out
+that they could tell their funny judge you called!"
+
+Rathburn's eyes blazed with angry contempt. "Trading on somebody
+else's name," he mocked. "Trying to make out you was the goods, an' I
+believe they thought you was The Coyote, at that. Man, I saw the whole
+dirty business."
+
+Percy's face went white. However, his emotion was more anger than
+fear, and he was prey to an overpowering curiosity.
+
+"How do you know I _ain't_ The Coyote?" he asked shrewdly.
+
+Rathburn stared at him--stunned. Then he leaped to his feet and his
+gun flashed into his hand in a movement too swift for the eye to
+follow.
+
+"Go over there and look at the brand on my horse," he commanded.
+"Remember how that printed bill read that put it in your fool head to
+try an' masquerade as The Coyote, an' then read the brand on that
+horse!"
+
+The captive rose and without a look back walked to where Rathburn's
+horse was cropping the grass. The left side of the animal was toward
+him and for a few moments he stood looking with bulging eyes at the
+CC2 on the shoulder. Then he turned slowly.
+
+Rathburn's gaze burned into his, but a cool, deliberate light had come
+into his eyes.
+
+"So you're The Coyote!" Percy said quietly. "I should have recognized
+you."
+
+"Yes, I'm called The Coyote," said Rathburn, walking slowly toward
+him. "I'm the man they think robbed that joint down in Dry Lake last
+night. I'm the man they're looking for. I'm the man they want to make
+pay for your bungling work. That's the way it's gone for three years,
+Percy. I've been blamed for job after job that I didn't even know was
+pulled off till I heard they were looking for me on account of it. But
+this is one job they'll not be able to lay at my door; for I've got
+the man who's responsible an' I've got him red-handed!"
+
+"What're you going to do about it?" asked the other coolly.
+
+Again Rathburn's eyes blazed with rage. "Do? Why, I'm just naturally
+going to take you in all by my lonesome an' turn you over to the
+sheriff with my compliments."
+
+Rathburn cooled down as he said this, drew tobacco and papers from his
+shirt pocket, and proceeded to build a cigarette. He looked at his man
+queerly.
+
+"Now I reckon you know why I ain't got any idea of taking that money
+off you," he said.
+
+"They might not believe you," returned the other.
+
+"I know what you mean. You mean they might think I was putting up a
+job on 'em an' trying to shift the blame on somebody else. It can't be
+done, Percy. Listen to this: I was looking through the front window of
+that place last night when you held it up. Two men that work in the
+hotel down there came along an' looked in alongside of me after I
+warned 'em not to go in. I showed 'em this scar on my arm." He rolled
+back his left sleeve disclosing a scar on the forearm about three
+inches below the elbow.
+
+"I told 'em that scar was made by a bullet from The Coyote's gun,"
+Rathburn went on, pulling down his sleeve and drawing his right hand
+back to the gun he had replaced in its holster. "That scar _was_ made
+by The Coyote's gun. I shot myself in the arm by accident some few
+years ago. Now, here's the point: Those men will remember me an'
+remember that scar. The descriptions the sheriff of that county must
+have in his office will tell all about that scar. It won't be hard to
+identify me by it an' by the two men that stood out there by the
+window with me. So they'll know I didn't pull the robbery!"
+
+The other man shifted uneasily on his feet.
+
+"An' that ain't all, Percy," Rathburn continued. "Somebody saw me
+running up the street afterward because they took a couple of shots at
+me for luck. That'll dovetail with my story. I've never been known to
+use two guns. An' if they want any more proof all they'll have to do
+will be to stand you up in front of the men you had in line, dressed
+as you are with that black handkerchief over your face. That'll settle
+it. I reckon the sheriff will believe me an' give me a chance when he
+hears the facts, or I may not wait for a talk with him."
+
+"I take it you've got me right," said the captive, compressing his
+lips. "But if you're really The Coyote I've heard so much about,
+you'll give me my gun an' give me a chance to run for it!"
+
+Rathburn's laugh jarred on his ears. "Give you a chance an' take a
+chance myself on going to the gallows?"
+
+"The gallows!" exclaimed the other. "Oh--I see. But didn't you say you
+thought the sheriff would give you a chance if he met you an' heard
+your story? At that you don't have to stay around an' get taken back
+to Arizona now."
+
+"They hang men in this State," Rathburn interrupted.
+
+"But--there wasn't----" The other man faltered, staring.
+
+"One of those shots you fired at the lamp went wild, or glanced off
+something, an'----" Rathburn lifted his brows significantly.
+
+"Killed somebody!" cried the other.
+
+He staggered back just as a rattle of falling stones signified that
+horsemen were in the shale on the slope to eastward.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VII
+
+WHERE TO HIDE
+
+
+For the space of several seconds Rathburn and his captive looked into
+each other's eyes. Rathburn's gaze was keen, alert, fired by the quick
+thinking he was doing. Stark terror showed in the other's look which
+gradually changed to one of haunting fear and indecision. Then his
+eyes became clear and he returned Rathburn's glance, cool and
+questioning.
+
+"Get your horse," ordered Rathburn, running to his own mount.
+
+In a twinkling he had tightened his cinch, caught up the reins, and
+vaulted into the saddle. His captive was at his side shortly
+afterward.
+
+"You're still in the lead," Rathburn snapped out; "unless you want to
+wait for 'em."
+
+The other whirled his horse, sent him flying for the western end of
+the pocket, with Rathburn close behind. They went up a steep, rocky
+trail, screened by boulders. When they reached the top of the west rim
+they looked back and saw four horsemen on the shale slope leading to
+the pocket. Brown evidently had split up his posse and was literally
+combing the hills for his quarry.
+
+"They'll know they're on the right trail when they see the remains of
+our dinner an' my pack down there," remarked Rathburn dryly.
+
+"But they haven't seen us yet," said Percy breathlessly. "If we can
+make Sunrise Canon Trail we can lose 'em in the mountains--that is if
+_you_ want to lose 'em."
+
+"Where's the trail?" asked Rathburn.
+
+"'Bout five miles west. It's the only trail goin' up into the big
+mountains between here an' the other side of the Dry Lake range, an'
+it's a tough one."
+
+Rathburn quickly sized up the country ahead. He saw low and high
+ridges with towering mountains to the right, or north, of them. There
+were scattering pines on the slopes and patches of timber in the wide
+ravines, many of which were veritable valleys.
+
+"We'll run for it while they're getting in an' out of that hole," he
+suddenly decided with a click of his teeth. "Their horses are in no
+better shape than ours. Slope along."
+
+The other had dug in his spurs even before he got the order. They rode
+swiftly down the steep trail from the rim of the pocket and fled
+across an open space and up the slope of the first ridge.
+
+Rathburn looked back as they crossed it, but could see no sign of
+their pursuers. His face still was troubled; his gaze kept boring into
+the back of the man on the horse ahead of him. At times he muttered to
+himself.
+
+They galloped up the hard bed of a dry arroyo and swung westward
+across another rock-bound ridge, picking their way carefully among the
+boulders. Rathburn's face became more and more strained as he noted
+that the leader evidently knew the country they were in like a book.
+Rathburn, with the experience born of years spent in the open places,
+was able to keep his bearings.
+
+They had followed a course for some miles north of the main trail
+leading east, the trail by which he had first come into the locality.
+Then they had doubled back westward, some miles above that trail, of
+course, and now were heading almost due north again, in the direction
+of the mountains which did not appear to be far away. He surmised that
+they were nearly directly north of the ranch where he had had the meal
+with the girl and boy.
+
+At the top of the next ridge his guide pointed above them.
+
+"See that crack in the mountain?" he said.
+
+Rathburn nodded as he made out what appeared to be a gash in the steep
+side of a mountain north of them.
+
+"That's Sunrise Canon," said the other quietly. "There's a trail up
+that canyon into the heart of the mountains where they couldn't catch
+us--or you, if you want to go alone--in a hundred years!"
+
+He stared steadily at Rathburn.
+
+"Mosey along, then," said Rathburn. "Let's get somewheres before our
+horses drop."
+
+They kept along the ridge until it was cut by a canyon. Here they
+descended and entered another long, narrow ravine which they
+negotiated at a gallop. At its upper end they again climbed a steep
+slope. Their horses were showing the strain of the hours of hard
+riding. Rathburn realized that they could go but a limited distance.
+But the members of the posse most assuredly must be in the same fix so
+far as their mounts were concerned.
+
+He decided that if they could get into the canyon unseen they would be
+able to rest their horses and remain secure for the night. Next
+morning they could continue on up into the hills, or slip back by a
+roundabout way to Dry Lake.
+
+His lips froze into a thin white line. He did not look at the man with
+him as they paused for a few moments under the trees which covered the
+top of the ridge and gazed at a long, gently sloping stretch of nearly
+open country. It was covered with clumps of trees at intervals, that
+reached to the dark, narrow opening in the mountains, marking the
+entrance to Sunrise Canon and the trail to the fastnesses of the
+higher hills.
+
+"You can swing off here to the left an' down a wide valley to where
+there's a cut-off into Dry Lake," he heard his captive suggesting. "I
+don't see any sense in all this hard ridin' an' hidin' if you're goin'
+to turn me in."
+
+"We'll go on," growlingly replied Rathburn.
+
+They descended the ridge and entered the long, sloping valley, so wide
+that it virtually was a plain. They made good headway, although they
+favored their horses. They took advantage of the shelter provided by
+the occasional clumps of pines. The afternoon was drawing to a close
+with the sun dipping sharply toward the western hills when they came
+in sight of the entrance to the canyon. But with the first glimpse they
+checked their horses and turned into the shelter of some trees near
+by.
+
+"Beat us to it!" exclaimed Percy.
+
+"Four of 'em," said Rathburn, frowning. "Brown ain't taking any
+chances. He's a better man than I figured him out. An' there's more of
+'em!"
+
+He pointed westward where two riders were barely discernible on the
+crest of a ridge. They disappeared almost immediately in the timber
+below.
+
+"We'll turn back," Rathburn decided. "We'll ride with the trees
+between us an' the men up at the canyon, an' keep an eye out for the
+pair to the west. You might watch that side, an' I'll look out for the
+east an' south. C'mon, let's drift."
+
+The face of the man who called himself Percy was white and strained as
+they urged their tired mounts southward. They skirted the western end
+of the ridge by which they had gained the wide valley and continued
+on, carefully scanning the landscape in all directions for indications
+of pursuit. It was plain to them that they had been seen to leave the
+east trail early that morning. Brown and his men undoubtedly knew they
+had headed north, and the justice had immediately dispatched men to
+guard the entrance to the canyon trail into the mountains. Then they
+had begun a systematic search of the locality.
+
+This deduction was strengthened when Rathburn suddenly pointed toward
+the east. More riders were to be seen on the slope of the valley's
+side in that direction. Even as they looked, these riders, too,
+disappeared from view as they dropped down behind a rise of ground.
+
+The sun was going down fast. Already the red banners of the sunset
+were flaunted in the high western skies. The twilight would be upon
+them apace--the long-lasting, purple-veiled twilight of the altitudes.
+Then the night would close down with its canopy of stars.
+
+Rathburn looked speculatively at his companion. "We'll make a break
+for that clump of trees about a quarter of a mile ahead with all our
+horses have got left," he said, driving in his spurs.
+
+In a last mad dash which taxed every iota of strength and endurance
+left in their beasts they gained the shelter of the little patch of
+timber.
+
+"Here we'll wait," said Rathburn coolly as he dismounted.
+
+"What?" cried the other, staring at him incredulously. "We ain't quite
+surrounded yet. We haven't seen anybody in the south. That way may be
+open an' it's liable to be closed while we're stayin' here."
+
+"Get off your horse and unsaddle him," commanded Rathburn sternly.
+"The best place to hide from a posse is in the middle of it!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER VIII
+
+TWO QUEER MOVES
+
+
+The captive complied with the order, looking at Rathburn in a peculiar
+way--half disgusted, half contemptuous. Indeed, he turned his back on
+the other, leaned against the slender trunk of a pine, and stared
+steadily into the south. He appeared much worried.
+
+The horses welcomed the chance to rest.
+
+Rathburn walked slowly back and forth the width of the patch of
+timber, vigilantly keeping watch. He paid no attention whatsoever to
+the man leaning against the tree. For all the interest he displayed he
+might have completely forgotten his very existence. In time this got
+on the other's nerves.
+
+"I believe you lied when you said there was a man killed down there
+last night," he said coolly.
+
+"I didn't say anybody was killed," Rathburn returned without looking
+in his direction. "You assumed that part of it."
+
+"Then you wanted me to think so," said the other in a loud voice. "You
+was tryin' to throw a scare into me!"
+
+Rathburn swung on his heel and stepped squarely in front of him. "I
+let you think that to show you what _might_ have happened," he said.
+"Such things have happened to me an' swelled the price on my head.
+Now, darn you, if you talk that loud again I'll choke your wind off!"
+
+The words came with sinister earnestness, but they seemed to rouse
+some dormant strain of extraordinary courage in the man to whom they
+were addressed.
+
+He suddenly leaped from the tree and struck out with all the force at
+his command.
+
+But Rathburn had anticipated the attack. He knocked the other's blow
+aside and drove his right straight to the jaw.
+
+"There's a little souvenir to show you that I mean business, Percy,"
+he panted.
+
+Percy came back to the attack with eyes gleaming with malice. Again he
+attempted to hit Rathburn, but the latter stepped aside with lightning
+swiftness and drove home another blow. He followed it up with a left
+and right and Percy sprawled his length on the grass.
+
+After a time he sat up, dazed. Rathburn was standing over him. But
+although he realized fully that he was not a match for Rathburn in
+physical combat, and doubtless was greatly his inferior with his gun,
+his spirit was undaunted.
+
+"You better finish me, or drag me in," he gritted; "for I'll get you,
+if I can. I don't know what your play is, but you've acted too queer
+to-day for me to believe you're on the square one way or the other."
+
+"You want some more, Percy?"
+
+"My name is Lamy," growlingly replied the other, as he rose
+cautiously.
+
+"Oh, o-h. Percy Lamy."
+
+"No, just Lamy. Lamy's my name, an' I ain't ashamed of it. You'd find
+it out--sooner or later--anyway, I--expect." He stammered during this
+speech as if he had just remembered something--remembered when it was
+too late.
+
+Rathburn noted the frown and the confused expression in Lamy's eyes.
+He turned abruptly and walked away.
+
+A few minutes later he came back to find Lamy sitting with his back
+to a tree, staring unseeing into the deepening twilight.
+
+"Lamy," he said harshly, "we're going to get away from this
+posse--maybe. Anyway, soon's it's dark we'll ride south. It's just
+possible we can leave 'em up here in the hills."
+
+"Suppose I refuse to go?"
+
+"Then I'll have to truss you up an' tie you to your horse, an' don't
+think I won't do it!" The ring of menace in Rathburn's voice convinced
+the other, but he made no comment.
+
+When darkness had fallen they saddled their mounts and started. They
+rode at a jog, keeping as much as possible in the shadow of the
+timber. Rathburn noticed that the valley gradually widened; he showed
+interest in his surroundings.
+
+Then, off to the left below them, he saw moving shadows. He called a
+halt at the next clump of trees. "Lamy, are there any horses running
+in here that you know of?" he asked.
+
+"There probably are," said Lamy sarcastically; "an' they've probably
+got riders on 'em."
+
+"No doubt," returned Rathburn gravely. "I just saw some shadows that
+looked like horses down to the left of us."
+
+"I expected they'd shut us off in the south," snapped out Lamy. "You
+gave 'em plenty of time."
+
+"We just naturally had to rest our horses," observed Rathburn. "As it
+is, they're not good for far, nor for any fast riding. Besides, I've
+changed my mind some since this morning."
+
+"So? I suppose you're goin' to give me a chance?" sneeringly inquired
+the other.
+
+He could see Rathburn's eyes in the twilight, and suddenly he shifted
+in his saddle uneasily. For Rathburn's gaze had narrowed; and it shot
+from his eyes steel blue with a flash of fire. His face had set in
+cold, grim lines. The whole nature of the man seemed to undergo a
+change. He radiated menace, contempt, cold resentment. The corners of
+his mouth twisted down sharply. His voice, as he spoke now, seemed
+edged like a knife.
+
+"Lamy, hand over that money!"
+
+Lamy's brows lifted in swift comprehension; a look of cunning came
+into his eyes--was followed by a gleam of hope, not unmixed with
+derision. He thrust his hands into his coat pockets and held out bills
+and silver to Rathburn who stuffed the plunder into his own pockets.
+
+"That all of it?" demanded Rathburn sharply. He made no effort to
+temper the tones of his voice.
+
+For answer Lamy dug into his trousers' pockets, under his chaps, and
+produced two more rolls of bills.
+
+"That's the chunk," he said with a sneering inflection in his voice.
+"If you want I'll stand a frisk."
+
+"No, I won't search you. I take it you're too sensible to lie!"
+
+"Thanks," replied Lamy dryly. "I suppose I'm free to go now, unless
+you figure you'd be safer by killin' me off."
+
+Anger, swift and uncontrollable, leaped into Rathburn's eyes. Then he
+laughed, softly and mirthlessly. "If I'd been minded to do for you, or
+had any such idea in my head, I'd have given it to you long before
+this," he said. "It's lucky for you, Lamy, that I'm pretty much the
+breed you thought I was."
+
+"Don't pose!" retorted Lamy hotly. "You intended to get that money and
+make me the goat if you could, from the start. If you'd had any idea
+of turnin' me over to Brown you'd have done that little thing, too,
+long before this."
+
+"Maybe so," Rathburn mused, staring at the other thoughtfully in the
+dim light of the stars. "Maybe I will yet. You're not out of this--an'
+neither am I. Those shadows down to the left are getting plainer.
+What's that long dark streak over there on the right?"
+
+"Those are trees," answered Lamy sneeringly.
+
+"Let's make for 'em," ordered Rathburn. "Don't forget you're still
+under orders, Lamy. An' don't overlook the fact that I'm more or less
+in earnest about things in general," he added significantly.
+
+They rode at a tangent for the dark shadow of the trees. At the edge
+of the timber ensued another long wait, with Rathburn uncommunicative,
+moodily pacing restlessly back and forth. The horses had another
+excellent opportunity to rest and the fagged animals took advantage of
+it.
+
+Once or twice Rathburn thought he glimpsed a light far down the
+valley, but he couldn't be sure. Neither could he be sure he saw the
+moving shadows on the opposite side of the wide valley again.
+
+The night wore into early morning and the moon added its cold radiance
+to the faint glow of the myriads of stars. Rathburn sensed the
+nearness of enemies. Several times he stopped before Lamy, who sat
+upon his saddle blanket with his back against a tree trunk and dozed.
+Rathburn had to fight off continual drowsiness.
+
+For long hours he walked along the edge of the pines. He dared not
+trust himself to sleep. He dared not trust Lamy to stand guard while
+he obtained some rest, and he knew that when the sun came up and the
+day began, he would be thoroughly awake again; for more than once he
+had gone two nights without sleep. Also, he assumed that the hunt
+would be less spirited during the night. Members of the posse would
+themselves be drowsy, but they could spell each other and in that way
+maintain their vigil and secure a few hours of rest.
+
+Rathburn's rage rose at frequent intervals as he thought of the
+predicament he was in through no fault of his own. More than once he
+glared malevolently at the sleeping Lamy; then the troubled look would
+come again to his eyes and he would resume his pacing, muttering to
+himself, staring into the blue veil of the night. Once he sat down and
+removed his right boot and sock in the darkness; shortly afterward he
+again began his pacing.
+
+He felt the pangs of hunger and shook his head savagely as he thought
+of the scanty supply of provisions he had been compelled to leave in
+the mountain pocket.
+
+His spirits revived as he thought of the horses. They would be fresh
+in the morning; and he intended that his horse should have a grain
+feed that day. Rathburn always thought of his horse first; and,
+although it might seem that he taxed the animal's powers to their
+utmost at times, he never went beyond a certain point. He had often
+said he would surrender to his pursuers rather than kill his mount in
+evading them.
+
+The first faint glimmer of the dawn was lighting the skies above the
+ridges to the eastward when he roused Lamy. He awoke with a start,
+stared sleepily at Rathburn, then got speedily to his feet.
+
+"You been awake all night?" he asked curiously.
+
+Rathburn nodded, looking at him closely. "Saddle up," he ordered.
+
+They rode southward at a canter in the shelter of the edge of the
+timber. When the eastern skies were rosy red and fast changing to
+gold with the advent of the sun they saw two things; a small ranch
+house about a mile southeast of them, and two riders some distance
+north.
+
+Rathburn reined in his mount. He looked at Lamy who met his gaze in
+defiance. Then Rathburn reached into his coat pocket with his right
+hand and drew out a gun.
+
+"Here's your shooting iron," he said, as he held the weapon out to
+Lamy.
+
+The other stared at him in astonishment.
+
+"Take it!" snapped out Rathburn. "Take it, or I may change my mind!"
+
+Lamy took the gun wonderingly, balanced it for a moment in his hand,
+and shoved it into his holster.
+
+Rathburn motioned toward the south and Lamy rode along at his side.
+They caught another glimpse of the horsemen in the north. As they drew
+opposite the ranch house, on the west or front side, they saw a woman
+leave it and walk the short distance to the barn and enter. At that
+moment both Rathburn and Lamy gave vent to low exclamations. They had
+caught sight of riders in the south and to the east. They appeared to
+be surrounded by the posse.
+
+Rathburn looked at Lamy soberly. However, it was Lamy who spoke first.
+"You said the best place to hide from a posse was in the middle of
+it," he said scornfully. "Why not leave the horses in the timber an'
+run for the house? Maybe it has a cellar."
+
+"I reckon that would be as good a move as any," replied Rathburn, to
+the other's surprise. "I'm game if you are."
+
+Lamy's eyes flamed with excitement as he turned his mount into the
+trees. They came to what looked like a bear pit or a prospect hole.
+It was partly filled with brush.
+
+"We can hide our saddles in there an' let the horses go," Lamy
+suggested. "There's a few horses runnin' in through here, an' they may
+join 'em."
+
+"You can do that with yours," said Rathburn grimly. "You seem to
+forget that the brand on this dun is pretty well known."
+
+He coolly tied his horse as Lamy followed his own suggestion, hid his
+saddle, and turned his mount loose.
+
+They moved back to the edge of the timber and waited until they could
+see no one in sight about the house or in any direction in the valley.
+Then they started on a run for the house.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER IX
+
+LEAVE IT TO ME
+
+
+Rathburn had recognized the ranch long before they came close to it.
+It was the place where he had stopped for a meal with the girl and the
+freckle-faced boy two days before--the day he had gone on into Dry
+Lake. He saw no sign of the girl or the boy or any one else as they
+reached the front door and hurried inside.
+
+Out of the corner of his eye he saw Lamy look hurriedly about and step
+into the kitchen. He followed him.
+
+Lamy grabbed part of a loaf of bread and some cold meat on a shelf
+above the kitchen table.
+
+"There's usually a cellar under the main room in these square houses,"
+he said, hurrying back into the larger room.
+
+Rathburn stepped after him, and Lamy pulled back the rug before the
+table and disclosed a trapdoor. He raised the door, held out the food
+to Rathburn, and whispered: "You better get down there. Take this grub
+an'----"
+
+"What's the matter? Isn't there room for both of us?" Rathburn put the
+question in a voice which conveyed surprise.
+
+"I thought it might be better if we--if we didn't both hide in the
+same place," whispered Lamy. "Then they'd only get one of us, an'
+whichever it was they'd think he was the one they wanted, see?" He
+appeared excited.
+
+Rathburn's eyes narrowed. His right hand darted to his gun in a flash,
+and the muzzle of the weapon was pressed into Lamy's ribs. "Get down
+there!" commanded Rathburn. "Get down."
+
+Lamy hesitated with a wild look in his eyes. The muzzle of Rathburn's
+gun pressed harder against his midriff. He dropped lightly into the
+cellar. Rathburn pulled the rug against the trapdoor as he followed,
+then let down the door, certain that the rug would fall into place.
+
+The pair sat upon some gunny sacks in the little cellar until their
+eyes became accustomed to the darkness; they could dimly see each
+other by the faint light which came to them through some cracks in the
+floor above.
+
+They heard steps at the rear of the house; then the pound of hoofs
+from in front. Rathburn saw Lamy staring at him fixedly with a puzzled
+look. He frowned at him. Rathburn still held his gun in his hand. Both
+had forgotten the food which Lamy had in his lap.
+
+"Say," whispered Lamy. "What was your idea in givin' me back my gun?"
+
+He moved closer to get the reply.
+
+"Shut up!" said Rathburn, cocking an ear toward the trapdoor.
+
+The sound of footsteps now was in the kitchen. They heard horses
+snorting and men dismounting at the front door. After a brief space
+there were light footsteps in the room above followed by the tramp of
+heavy boots.
+
+"Good morning, ma'am," came a deep voice.
+
+"Good morning," was the hesitating reply. Rathburn recognized the
+voice of the girl who had fed him.
+
+"Ma'am, I'm Sheriff Neal of San Jacinto County," continued the deep
+voice, as several feet shuffled slightly. "These men with me are
+members of my posse. Maybe you know Judge Brown?"
+
+"I--I've seen him," answered the girl.
+
+Rathburn could feel Lamy's knees shaking against him in excitement.
+
+"I believe we've met some time," Brown put in. Rathburn thought the
+justice's voice sounded tired.
+
+"Ma'am, we're looking for a man--or two men." It was the sheriff
+speaking again. "Have you seen any one around here this morning--any
+stranger, or strangers, I mean?"
+
+"Why, no," replied the girl with a breathless catch in her voice. "I
+haven't seen any one."
+
+"You're sure?"
+
+Rathburn frowned at the sheriff's tone, although he kept his eyes on
+Lamy's white face.
+
+He smiled as he remembered that the sheriff had mentioned two men.
+This doubtless was the cause of Lamy's agitation. Nor did he think
+Lamy had forgotten that he, Rathburn, had pointed out that he could
+prove he didn't rob the place in Dry Lake.
+
+"You're sure?" the sheriff asked again.
+
+"Why, yes," replied the girl. "I am sure."
+
+"Maybe she can get us some breakfast," said Brown hopefully.
+
+"Can you feed five men, ma'am?" asked the sheriff in a softer tone.
+
+"Just sit down, and I'll get you some breakfast," said the girl.
+
+The two men in the little cellar could hear some of the men taking
+chairs and one or two going out to look after the horses. The girl's
+light footsteps retreated into the kitchen.
+
+Rathburn smiled mysteriously at Lamy who was shivering with a case of
+nerves.
+
+"I can't understand who that was with him--or following him," came
+Brown's voice. "Somebody must have seen him getting away and set out
+on the trail while it was hot."
+
+"Either that or saw him beating it somewheres on the trail east of
+town an' took after him on suspicion," drawled the sheriff. "'Spect
+everybody around here has seen those reward notices you put out."
+
+"That's so," said Brown. "I had the right hunch when I got the tip
+he'd left his Arizona hangout, sheriff. I figured he'd head this way.
+Then he had the nerve--well, you know what happened in my office."
+
+The sheriff chuckled. Then he spoke angrily. "He can't pull any of his
+stunts in my territory," he said growlingly. "I'll hunt him down if I
+have to put every man I've got on the trail an' keep 'em there. I
+figure, though," he added hopefully, "that we've got him cornered in
+or around this valley. We traced 'em here, and we got sight of 'em
+yesterday. We'll have 'em before night!"
+
+"I hope so," said Brown grimly.
+
+"I've given orders to shoot to kill and not to miss," thundered the
+sheriff. "But I guess the rewards offered for him would kind of steady
+the aim of the man that got a crack at him."
+
+Rathburn's face went white, and his eyes shot fire as he listened to
+the sheriff's cruel laugh in which the others in the room above now
+joined.
+
+Lamy signaled that he wished to whisper in his ear, and Rathburn bent
+his head, although he kept the gun handy.
+
+"I'm not goin' to risk shootin' anybody if we should be found or
+cornered," Lamy whispered. "I thought you ought to know----"
+
+"If we're cornered you leave it to me," Rathburn came back. "I have
+reasons for everything I'm doing. An' don't forget that I'd rather be
+grabbed for this simple trick of yours in Dry Lake than for one or
+two jobs over in Arizona. If things go wrong keep your mouth
+shut--don't talk! If you start talking any time I'll try to kill
+you!"
+
+Lamy drew back from the ferocity in Rathburn's tone and manner. That
+menacing message was again in Rathburn's eyes.
+
+"Who's that boy out there?" the sheriff called sharply.
+
+"Go in and say how-do-you-do," came the girl's voice from the kitchen.
+"It's my brother, Frankie."
+
+"Come here, Frankie," said the sheriff.
+
+The pair below heard light footsteps on the floor above.
+
+"That's a fine crop of freckles you've got," said the sheriff.
+
+Rathburn saw Lamy put a hand to his face and make a grimace.
+
+"Listen, Frankie, did you see anybody around here this morning?" asked
+the sheriff.
+
+"Who--who you looking for?" asked the boy.
+
+Rathburn started; his body suddenly tensed.
+
+"I'm looking for an outlaw they call The Coyote," returned the
+sheriff. "Ever hear of him?"
+
+"Y-e-s. Ed brought home a notice about a reward for him."
+
+"That's the man we're after. Rides a dun-colored horse; tall,
+light-complexioned. Seen anybody like that around here?"
+
+"He was here day before yesterday," said the boy truthfully. "Sis gave
+him something to eat, an' he went on into town. He didn't seem like
+such a bad man to me. Told me never to lie."
+
+"He was here? Ate here?" The sheriff's voice was excited.
+
+Rathburn saw Lamy's eyes widen.
+
+"Frankie," the sheriff said soberly, "that Coyote went into town an'
+robbed a place. He's a bad, dangerous man no matter how he looks or
+what he says. Have you seen anybody that looked like him since?"
+
+The question was followed by a deep silence.
+
+Rathburn alert, his eyes gleaming, heard the sheriff rise.
+
+"Answer me, boy. I'm the sheriff of this county!"
+
+"'Tain't that--'tain't that," said the boy in a tremulous voice.
+"Only--I'd rather not tell, Mr. Sheriff."
+
+"You must answer me!" said the official sternly. "Have you seen any
+one around here--yesterday or this morning?"
+
+"Ye-e-s."
+
+"When?" demanded the sheriff. "Don't lie!"
+
+"This--this morning," stammered the boy.
+
+"Where? Tell me about it, quick."
+
+"Two men ran across from the timber to the house," replied the boy.
+"He--he said not to lie for him--but----"
+
+The sheriff stepped quickly to the kitchen door. "I thought you said
+no one had been around here, ma'am."
+
+"Why--I didn't see any one," came the girl's voice.
+
+"I saw 'em from the pasture," the boy confessed.
+
+"Then they're here!" cried the sheriff. "Search the house an' the
+barn!"
+
+In the dim, narrow cellar Rathburn was holding his gun aimed at Lamy's
+heart.
+
+"You remember what I said about keepin' your mouth shut?" he asked in
+a low voice, his steel-blue gaze boring into the other's eyes.
+
+Lamy gasped. Then he slowly nodded his head.
+
+"That's your bond!" said Rathburn, as tramping feet sounded
+overhead.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER X
+
+CAUGHT IN THE CELLAR
+
+
+Rathburn rose and crouched under the trapdoor, gun in hand. Lamy
+watched him, breathless, perplexed, uncertain. They heard men running;
+then there were no sounds from above and a deathly stillness settled
+down.
+
+Slowly and with infinite care Rathburn raised the trapdoor an inch or
+two and listened intently. Lamy scrambled to his knees on the pile of
+gunny sacks; but Rathburn swung quickly upon him. They stared at each
+other in the semidarkness.
+
+"He said two," breathed Lamy, a curious look in his eyes.
+
+"Are you afraid?" mocked Rathburn. "It's me they want--don't worry. I
+may make a break for it, an' if I do there's likely to be powder
+burned. You can stay here an' get out when they take after me, if I
+go," said Rathburn, and the sneer in his voice caused Lamy to flush
+uncomfortably.
+
+Rathburn petted the gun in his hand. "But before I make a break I want
+to tell you something that I should have told you before this, when I
+had more time----"
+
+He bit off his speech as there came a sudden recurrence of the sounds
+in the house. The trapdoor closed down.
+
+"Where's the cellar?" came the sheriff's authoritative voice.
+
+Many feet tramped upon the floor above them. Then they heard the rug
+stripped back. There was an exclamation from the sheriff and the sound
+of moving feet suddenly was stilled.
+
+"Is there any one in the cellar?" the sheriff called.
+
+Silence--with Lamy pressing Rathburn's knee with a hand, and Rathburn
+smiling that queer, grim smile which conveyed so much, yet nothing
+which was tangible.
+
+"Get around here, you fellows," they heard the sheriff order.
+
+The sound of boots and spurs attested to the quickness with which his
+order was obeyed.
+
+Rathburn leaned down suddenly and with lightning swiftness jerked
+Lamy's gun from its holster near his side. He tossed the weapon to a
+corner of the dark cellar just as the sheriff's voice was heard
+again.
+
+"Coyote, if you're down there I'm not going to take a chance fumbling
+with that door. If you ain't there, then there won't be any harm in
+what I'm going to do. If I don't hear anything when I finish talking
+I'm going to give the signal to my men to start shooting through the
+floor--and I mean it. If anybody's down there it'd be good sense to
+flip up that door and crawl out hands first, an' those hands empty."
+
+"Sheriff, you're bluffing!" said Rathburn loudly.
+
+Then the sheriff spoke again in an exultant tone. "I figured it was
+the best hidin' place you could find, Coyote. You're right; I was sort
+of bluffing, but I might have changed my mind an' gone on through with
+it. We've got you dead to rights, Coyote; you haven't got a chance.
+There's seven of us now an' every man is ready to open up if you come
+out of there a-shooting."
+
+Rathburn slipped his gun back into his holster. He raised the trapdoor
+slowly until it tipped back on the floor leaving the opening into the
+cellar clear.
+
+"Two of 'em!" he heard some one exclaim.
+
+He looked up to accustom his eyes to the light and saw a dozen guns
+covering him.
+
+"Gentlemen, the landscape fairly bristles with artillery," he said
+amiably. "Who's the sheriff? And--there's Jud Brown. Who let you
+loose, Jud?"
+
+"I'm Sheriff Neal," interposed that individual, a slight, dark man
+with a bristly mustache. "Come out of there--hands free."
+
+"For the time being, eh, sheriff? I expect you figure on fixing those
+hands so they won't be free, eh? Well, all I've got to say is that I
+hope you won't spend the money foolishly, sheriff."
+
+Rathburn leaped lightly out of the cellar.
+
+"Keep that other man down there covered, too," snapped out Neal. "It's
+principle more than reward money that invites me, Coyote. Hand over
+your gun belt an' be careful how you unbuckle it."
+
+"Sheriff, it would be against my code of ethics to hand over my gun.
+It can't be done, sheriff; you'll have to come and get it."
+
+Neal hesitated, notwithstanding the fact that he had Rathburn covered
+and that several other guns were covering him. Then he stepped
+forward, never taking his eyes from Rathburn's, and secured the
+other's weapon.
+
+"That's better, sheriff," said Rathburn with a queer smile. "You can
+see how I have my pride an' little superstitions. No man has ever took
+a gun from me but what I've got it back! Thanks, sheriff."
+
+Lamy had come out of the cellar. Several of the men seemed to
+recognize him, but kept their silence with dubious looks in their
+eyes.
+
+"My guide, sheriff," said Rathburn, pointing gayly at Lamy. "He was
+very kind. He showed me around the country--me not being very well
+acquainted around here. I had to take his gun away from him an' sort
+of encourage him along with my own, but he did very nicely."
+
+"Just what I thought, Neal," said Brown. "This fellow took after him
+an' he captured him and made him lead him. Isn't that so?" he asked of
+Lamy.
+
+"Just a minute, Jud," Rathburn interrupted with a frown. "I can't let
+the importance of this momentous occasion be transferred to a
+subordinate. You must ask your questions of me, as I am the central
+figure in this affair."
+
+The cry of a girl startled them. She came running from the kitchen
+where she had fled when the sheriff announced his intention to shoot
+through the floor.
+
+"Ed!" she cried, running to Lamy and throwing her arms about him.
+"Oh--Ed!"
+
+"Who is he, ma'am?" asked the sheriff. "Your husband?"
+
+"He's my brother--Ed Lamy."
+
+"I can recommend him if you need a guide who knows the country,
+sheriff," said Rathburn genially. "I guess he had an idea of making
+trouble for me at first, but I had the drop on him an' he soon saw
+reason. I had to knock him down last night when he got fresh, but he
+did very well. Of course I had an advantage on my side." He nodded
+toward his gun which the official still held in his hand.
+
+"Did he make you guide him?" Neal asked Lamy, noting his empty
+holster.
+
+Rathburn turned so that he could look at his former captive.
+
+Lamy nodded. "Yes," he replied. "I didn't know what minute I was goin'
+to get shot in the back."
+
+Rathburn's eyes glowed with an amused light. "I didn't have any idea
+of shootin' him, sheriff; he was too valuable as my escort on the
+tour. I wonder if the lady could spare me a cup of coffee an' a
+biscuit?"
+
+He glimpsed the boy in the kitchen doorway behind the sheriff. "Hello,
+sonny," he called cheerfully. "Did you catch those freckles from your
+brother?"
+
+The boy gazed at him abashed. There were actually tears in the
+youngster's eyes. Ed Lamy and his sister moved into the kitchen and
+took the boy with them. The girl had nodded to the sheriff.
+
+"She'll get you something to eat," said Neal. "What have you got on
+you?" He stepped to Rathburn's side.
+
+"Ah--the frisk. I see you are a regulation officer, sheriff."
+Rathburn's tone fairly radiated politeness and good cheer. "The silver
+was rather heavy. It ain't my usual style to pack much silver,
+sheriff. There's more of the bills in my hip pockets. Don't suppose
+there's more'n a thousand in the whole bundle."
+
+The sheriff put the bills and silver on the table. He investigated all
+of Rathburn's pockets, returned him his tobacco, papers, and
+handkerchief, but kept a box of matches. Then he felt his prisoner's
+clothing to make sure that he had no weapons concealed; he also felt
+his boot tops.
+
+He looked at Rathburn with a gloating expression when he had finished;
+there was also a glint of admiration in the gaze he directed at him.
+
+"You size right up to the descriptions of you, Coyote," he reflected
+in a pleasant voice. "Too bad you couldn't have been in a better
+business. I'm glad I caught you, but I ain't any too--too--well, I
+might say any too proud of it. That may be pleasant for you to hear.
+But I ain't discounting your well-known ability, an' I want to warn
+you that I or any of my men will shoot you in your tracks if you
+start anything that looks suspiciouslike."
+
+Rathburn yawned. "Sheriff, your courtesy is very greatly appreciated.
+I only hope we will arrive in jail or somewhere soon where I can get
+some sleep. I'm all in."
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XI
+
+FREEDOM BEHIND BARS
+
+
+In the early afternoon the little cavalcade rode into Dry Lake.
+Rathburn was nodding in his saddle, nearly asleep.
+
+"We'll keep him here to-night till I can get the facts straight," he
+heard Sheriff Neal say to Brown.
+
+They dismounted at a small square stone building with bars on the
+windows. Then Rathburn was proudly led between a line of curious
+spectators into jail.
+
+Three rooms comprised Dry Lake's jail. The front of the building, for
+a depth of a third of the distance from the front to the rear, was
+divided into two of these rooms; one, the larger, being the main
+office, and the other, much smaller, being the constable's private
+office. The balance of the building was one large room, divided into
+two old-fashioned cages with iron and steel bars. The doors to these
+cages were on either side of the door into the front office and there
+was an aisle between the cages and the wall separating them from the
+offices.
+
+Rathburn was taken immediately to the cage on the left of the office
+door. Sheriff Neal hesitated as he stood in the cell with him, thought
+for a minute, then removed the handcuffs.
+
+"That's right fine of you, sheriff," said Rathburn sleepily, but
+cheerfully, nevertheless.
+
+"Oh, you'll be watched well enough," said Neal as he closed the barred
+door behind him and locked Rathburn in. "You'll find somebody around
+if you try to tear the place down."
+
+"That wasn't just what I was getting at, sheriff," said the prisoner
+with a glitter in his eyes. "I meant it was right fine of you to give
+me freedom behind the bars."
+
+Rathburn's taunting laugh rang in the official's ears as the latter
+pushed the men with him into the outer office. Rathburn listened,
+yawning, to the sheriff giving instructions that the prisoner be
+watched constantly.
+
+He looked about the cage which was separated from the other cell by a
+wall of sheet iron. It contained nothing except a bench and a stool.
+He pushed the bench against the stone wall at the rear and reclined
+upon it, using his coat for a pillow. Then he turned his face toward
+the wall, shading his eyes from the light, which filtered through two
+windows high in the wall beyond the bars on the left side by tipping
+his hat over his face.
+
+Immediately he fell asleep.
+
+The news that The Coyote had been captured, spread rapidly through the
+town and many came to the jail hoping they might be able to see the
+prisoner. All of these were denied admittance, but Sheriff Neal told
+the few who stated that they had been among the number the bandit had
+lined up at the point of his guns, that they would be called to
+identify The Coyote on the following day. He asked each if they were
+sure the bandit had two guns, and the reply in each case was in the
+affirmative.
+
+"That's funny," Neal muttered. "He only had one gun on him."
+
+"More'n likely the other's on his horse with his saddle," Brown
+pointed out. "I believe he left his horse somewheres an' made that
+fellow Lamy take him to the house thinking he could get something to
+eat there, and that they wouldn't be so likely to be seen in the open
+on foot. You got to remember that man's more or less clever."
+
+This explanation satisfied Neal, and in the minds of the men who had
+been in the resort when it was held up, there was no question as to
+the identity of the robber. Even if they had suspected otherwise it is
+doubtful if they would have acknowledged it because they considered it
+less of an ignominy to be held up by the notorious Coyote than by a
+bandit of lesser reputation.
+
+Thus did the bonds of evidence tighten about Rathburn while he slept
+through the late afternoon and the twilight.
+
+When he awoke a faint yellow light dimly illuminated his surroundings.
+He lay thinking for several minutes. He knew night had fallen and
+surmised that he had slept a full eight hours. He could tell this
+because he was fully awake and alert. He turned noiselessly on his
+bench and saw that the light came from a lamp burning near the door to
+the outer office.
+
+Rathburn could hear the hum of voices, and by listening intently,
+ascertained that two men were talking, one of whom was the sheriff. He
+could not recognize the voice of the other speaker as a voice he had
+ever heard before, and he could not hear what they were saying.
+
+He listened dully to the voices until he heard a horse's hoofs in
+front of the jail. He turned back with his face to the wall, and his
+hat tipped over his eyes, as a man entered the jail office with a
+stamp of boots and jingle of spurs.
+
+"Hello, constable," he heard the sheriff say. "What luck?"
+
+"Couldn't find the hoss," came a disgruntled voice. "Looked all
+afternoon an' till it got dark for him."
+
+"Confound it!" exclaimed Neal. "The horse must have been somewhere
+aroun' close. He sure didn't walk down the valley."
+
+"That's probably right," said the other. "I left a couple of your men
+out there to keep up searching when daylight comes. That feller Lamy
+showed us about where they left the hosses--his hoss an' The
+Coyote's--but they wasn't there. He said there was a bunch of wild
+hosses in the valley an' that they'd probably got away an' gone with
+'em. We saw the wild hosses, but we couldn't get anywhere near
+'em--couldn't get near enough to see if any of 'em was wearin' saddles
+or not. We had some chase while it lasted, I'll recite."
+
+"Did Lamy say how they came to leave their horses?" asked the sheriff
+in an annoyed tone.
+
+"It was The Coyote's orders. Thought they'd be safer in the middle of
+the posse or something like that. Made Lamy leave the hosses an' run
+for the house an' made him get down in the cellar with him. Don't know
+if he knew Lamy lived there or not, but reckon it wouldn't have made
+any difference."
+
+The sheriff was pacing the floor of the office as his footfalls
+attested. "I've ordered that Lamy in to-morrow. I've a lot more
+questions to ask him. Well, you might as well get a few winks,
+constable; Brown and the rest of 'em have hit the hay. Even the
+prisoner is tired out, and that's sayin' something for as tough a bird
+as he is. But I wish I had his horse. I've got to have his horse!"
+
+Rathburn was smiling at the wall. He heard Neal walk to the door and
+look in. Receding footsteps told him that the constable was leaving.
+For a time there was silence in the outer office.
+
+Rathburn sat up quietly and began easing off his right boot. The boot
+came slowly, very slowly, as Rathburn worked at it, careful not to
+make any noise. Then, just as it came free, the sheriff again strode
+to the door and looked in.
+
+He saw Rathburn yawning, as the boot dropped on the floor.
+
+Rathburn looked at the sheriff sleepily as the official strode into
+the aisle and peered in between the bars. He tipped the bootless foot
+back on its toes as he lifted his other foot and tugged at the boot.
+
+"That you, sheriff?" he asked with another yawn. "The lights are so
+bad I can't see good. Guess I'm a little groggy anyway. I was too
+danged tired when I went to sleep to take off my boots."
+
+"You've got another ten hours to sleep," said Neal with a scowl. "An'
+you'll have plenty of time to get rid of your saddle soreness. You'll
+ride in automobiles and trains for a while an' keep in out of the hot
+sun an' the wet."
+
+The sheriff laughed harshly at his own words.
+
+Rathburn let the other boot drop. "I expect I'll get something to eat
+now an' then, too?"
+
+"Feel hungry?" asked Neal.
+
+"Might chaw on a biscuit before I take another nap," yawned the
+prisoner.
+
+"I'll see if I can scare you up a bite," said the sheriff, leaving.
+
+Rathburn heard him say something to some one in front. Then the
+sheriff went out of the building. The other man came in and looked at
+Rathburn curiously.
+
+He was of medium build, with white hair and a face seamed and lined
+and red. Rathburn instantly recognized in his jailer a man of the
+desert--possibly of the border country.
+
+"So you're The Coyote," said the jailer in a rather high-pitched
+voice.
+
+Rathburn winked at him. "That's what they say," he replied.
+
+"You size up to him, all right," observed the man of the desert. "An'
+I can tell quick enough when I get a good look at you an' inspect your
+left forearm. I've had your descriptions in front of my eyes on paper
+an' from a dozen persons that knowed you for three years!"
+
+"You been trailing me?" asked Rathburn curiously.
+
+"I have; an' it ain't no credit to this bunch here that they got you,
+for I was headed in this direction myself an' arrived 'most as soon as
+you did."
+
+"You from Arizona?" asked Rathburn, grasping his right foot in his
+left hand.
+
+"I'm from Arizony an' Mexico an' a few other places," was the answer.
+"I've helped catch men like you before, Coyote."
+
+Rathburn frowned, still keeping his hand over his right foot. "I don't
+like that word, Coyote," he said softly, holding the other's gaze
+between the bars. "A coyote is a cowardly breed of animal, isn't it?"
+
+"An' a tricky one," said the jailer. "I ain't sayin' you're a coward;
+but you're tricky, an' that's bad enough."
+
+"Maybe so," agreed Rathburn. "Ah--here's our friend, his nibs, the
+sheriff. He went out to rustle me some grub. He wants to keep me fat
+for hanging!"
+
+His laugh rang through the jail, empty save for himself and the two
+officers. But the temporary jailer hesitated, looking at Rathburn's
+eyes, before he turned to the sheriff.
+
+"Open the door and I'll take it in to him," ordered the sheriff.
+"Can't get this stuff through the bars. You might keep him covered."
+
+The jailer's hand flew to his hip for his gun as he also brought up a
+large key on a ring. He unlocked the door to the cage and held it open
+while he kept his gun trained upon Rathburn.
+
+The sheriff entered and placed the food on the stool and a large bowl
+of coffee on the floor beside it. Then he backed out, watching
+Rathburn keenly as the latter sat on his bench with his right foot in
+his hand.
+
+When the door clanged shut and the key rattled in the lock, Rathburn
+let down his right foot, took two steps, and pulled the stool to the
+bench. He stepped back and secured the coffee. Then he began to eat
+and drink, keeping his right foot tipped on its toes, while the two
+officials watched him attentively.
+
+"Sheriff," said Rathburn suddenly, between bites on a huge meat
+sandwich, "could you let me have a stub of a lead pencil an' a sheet
+of paper to write a letter on?"
+
+"Easy enough," answered Neal. "Course, you know all mail that goes out
+of the jail is read by us before it's delivered--if it's delivered at
+all."
+
+"I'll chance it," snapped out Rathburn.
+
+As the sheriff left to get the writing materials, with the jailer
+following him, doubtless for a whispered confab as to what Rathburn
+might be wanting to write and its possible bearing on his capture, the
+prisoner hastily ran his left hand down into his right sock and with
+some difficulty withdrew a peculiar-shaped leather case about ten
+inches long and nearly the width of his foot. This he put within his
+shirt.
+
+When the officials returned he had finished his repast and was
+waiting for them near the bars with a smile of gratitude on his lips.
+
+"This may be a confession I'm going to write," he said, grinning at
+Neal. "It's going to take me a long time, I reckon, but you said I had
+something like ten hours for sleep, so I guess I can spare two or
+three for this effort at literary composition. I figure, sheriff, that
+this'll be my masterpiece."
+
+His look puzzled the sheriff as he took the pencil and paper through
+the bars and returned to his bunk. He drew up the stool and sat upon
+it. It was a little lower than the bench, so, putting his paper on the
+bench, he had a fairly good makeshift desk. He began to write
+steadily, and after a few minutes the sheriff and jailer retired to
+the office.
+
+It did not take Rathburn a quarter of an hour to write what he wished
+on the first of the several pieces of paper. He tore off what he had
+written, doubled it again and again into a small square, took out his
+sack of tobacco which he had been allowed to retain, and put it
+therein with the loose tobacco.
+
+Then he wrote for a few minutes on the second sheet of paper.
+
+When the sheriff looked in later he evidently was slowly and
+laboriously achieving a composition.
+
+Rathburn heard the sheriff go out of the front door a few minutes
+later. Instantly he was alert. He drew on his boots. He surmised that
+the sheriff had gone out for something to eat and, though he wasn't
+sure of this, it was true.
+
+"Oh, jailer!" he called amiably.
+
+The wrinkled face of the desert trailer appeared in the office
+doorway.
+
+Rathburn looked about from his seat on the stool. "This job ain't none
+too easy, as it is," he complained. "As a writer I'm a first-rate cow
+hand. Lemme take your knife to sharpen this pencil with. When I asked
+the sheriff for a stub of a pencil he took me at my word."
+
+"Sure I'll let you have my knife," said the jailer sarcastically. "How
+about my gun--want that, too?"
+
+"Oh, come on, old-timer," pleaded Rathburn. "The lead in this pencil's
+worn clean down into the wood."
+
+"Hand it over here an' I'll sharpen it," said the jailer, drawing his
+pocketknife.
+
+Rathburn walked to the bars and held out the pencil. An amiable smile
+played on his lips. "You'll have to excuse me," he said contritely. "I
+forgot it wasn't jail etiquette to ask for a knife. But I ain't had
+much experience in jail. Now according to his nibs, the sheriff, I'm
+in to get pretty well acquainted with 'em, eh?"
+
+He watched the jailer as he began sharpening the pencil.
+
+"Speaking of knives, now," he continued in a confiding tone, "I got in
+a ruckus down near the border once an' some gents started after me.
+One of 'em got pretty close--close enough to take some skin off my
+shoulder with a bullet. He just sort of compelled me to shoot back."
+
+"I suppose you killed him," observed the jailer, pausing in his work
+of sharpening the pencil.
+
+"I ain't saying," replied Rathburn. "Anyways I had a hole-up down
+there for a few days, an' as luck would have it, I had to put up with
+a Mexican. All that Mex would do was argue that a knife was better
+than a gun. He claimed it was sure and made no noise--those were his
+hardest talking points, an' I'll be danged if there isn't something in
+it.
+
+"But what I was gettin' at is that I didn't have nothing to do, an'
+that Mexican got me to practicing knife throwing. You know how slick
+those fellows are at throwing a blade. Well, in the couple of weeks
+that I hung aroun' there he coached me along till I could throw a
+knife as good as he could. He thought it was great sport, teaching me
+to throw a knife so good, that a way.
+
+"Since I left down there I've sort of practiced that knife-throwing
+business now and then, just for fun. Anyways I thought it was just for
+fun. But now I see, jailer, that it was my luck protecting me.
+Anything you learn is liable to prove handy some time. _Don't move an
+inch or I'll let you have it!_"
+
+Rathburn's hand snapped out of his shirt and up above his right
+shoulder.
+
+The man from the desert shuddered involuntarily as he saw the yellow
+light from the lamp play fitfully upon a keen, white blade.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XII
+
+AGAINST HIS ETHICS
+
+
+Rathburn's eyes held the other's as completely as would have been the
+case if he were invested with a power to charm in some occult way.
+Moreover, every trace of his amiable, confiding smile was gone. His
+gaze was hard and cold and gleaming. His face was drawn into grim
+lines. When he spoke he talked smoothly, rapidly, and with an edge to
+his words which convinced his listener that he was in deadly earnest.
+
+"I'm not used to jails, my friend, an' I don't aim to stay here.
+You're not very far away an' these bars are wide enough for me to miss
+'em; but I don't think I could miss you."
+
+The jailer looked in horror at the gleaming knife which Rathburn held
+by its hilt with the blade pointing backward. The jailer was from the
+border; he knew the awful possibilities of a quick motion of the wrist
+in that position, a half turn of the knife as it streaked toward its
+target. He shuddered again.
+
+"Now just edge this way about two steps so your holster will be
+against the bars," Rathburn instructed. "I can drop you where you
+stand, reach through the bars an' drag you close if need be; but I'm
+banking on you having some good sense."
+
+The jailer, without moving the hands which held the pencil and his
+pocketknife, sidled up against the bars.
+
+Rathburn leaned forward. Keeping his right hand high and tipped back,
+ready for the throw, he reached out with his left, just through the
+bars, and secured the jailer's gun.
+
+"Now it's all off," he said quietly. "If the sheriff or anybody else
+comes before I get out of here I'm just naturally going to have to
+live up to the reputation for shooting that they've fastened on me.
+Unlock the door."
+
+The jailer wet his lips with his tongue. The pencil and pocketknife
+fell to the floor. Covered by his own gun, now in Rathburn's hand, he
+moved to the door, brought out his key, and opened it. Still keeping
+him covered, Rathburn backed to the bench, snatched up his coat, and
+walked out of the cage, motioning to the jailer to precede him into
+the office.
+
+There he slipped the gun in his holster and put on his coat. The
+jailer reckoned better than to try to leap upon him while he was thus
+engaged; the prisoner's speed with a six-gun was well known.
+
+Rathburn drew a peculiar leather case from within his shirt, put the
+knife in it, and stowed it away in a pocket. Then he turned on the
+jailer.
+
+"Maybe you think that was a mean trick--resorting to a knife," he said
+pleasantly; "but all is fair in love and war and when a man's in jail.
+You better sort of stand in one place while I look around a bit."
+
+He backed behind the desk in the big office, opened two or three
+drawers, and brought out a pair of handcuffs. He moved around in front
+of the jailer again.
+
+"Hold out your hands," he commanded. "That's it." He snapped the
+handcuffs on with one hand while he kept the other on the butt of his
+gun.
+
+"You don't seem to have much to say," he commented.
+
+"What's the use?" said the jailer. "I know when a man's got me dead to
+rights. But I'll be on your trail again, an' if I ever get within
+shootin' distance of you an' see you first, you'll never get another
+chance to pull a knife."
+
+"Well said," Rathburn admitted. "Now we understand each other. But I
+don't intend for you to ever get within shooting distance of me."
+
+Rathburn glanced casually about. "Now it seems to me," he resumed,
+"that most of these fellows who gum up their jail breaks make a
+mistake by hurrying. Suppose you just walk natural-like through that
+door and into the cage I just had the foresight to leave. That's
+it--right on in."
+
+He turned the key which the jailer had left in the lock. "Now you're
+all right unless you start hollering," said Rathburn.
+
+He stood quietly in the doorway between the office and the cages. The
+man from the desert studied him. He saw a variety of expressions flit
+over Rathburn's face--anger, determination, scorn, resolve. He was
+deliberately ignoring his opportunity to make his escape while
+conditions were propitious; he was waiting!
+
+Although the jailer felt the urge to cry out in an endeavor to make
+himself heard outside the jail and thus bring help, something in the
+bearing of the man standing in the doorway made him keenly curious to
+watch the drama which he knew must be enacted sooner or later before
+his eyes, for The Coyote was certainly waiting for the sheriff.
+
+Rathburn now drew the jailer's gun from his own holster and toyed with
+it to get its "feel" and balance. He dropped it back into the holster
+and in a wink of an eyelid it was back in his hand. The man from the
+desert gasped at the lightning rapidity of the draw. Time and again
+the gun virtually leaped from the holster into The Coyote's hand at
+his hip, ready to spit forth leaden death. The jailer drew a long
+breath. The man was accustoming himself to the weapon which had come
+into his possession, making sure of it. Now he again stood motionless
+in the doorway, waiting--waiting----
+
+Boots stamped upon the steps outside, and Rathburn drew back from the
+doorway in the aisle before the cages.
+
+The front door opened and a man entered.
+
+Both the man in the cage and the man in the aisle recognized the
+sheriff's step as Neal closed the door, paused for a look about the
+office, and then walked toward the door leading into the jail proper.
+
+The jailer opened his mouth to sound a warning, but something in
+Rathburn's gaze and posture held him silent. Rathburn's body was
+tense; his gaze was glued to the doorway; his right hand with its
+slim, brown, tapered fingers, hung above the gun at his side.
+
+The sheriff loomed in the doorway. Without a flicker of surprise in
+his eyes he took in the situation. His lids half closed as his lips
+tightened to a thin, white line. He met Rathburn's gaze and knew that
+he now faced The Coyote in the role which had won him his sinister
+reputation.
+
+"Did I mention to you that I wasn't used to jails, sheriff?" said
+Rathburn evenly, his words carrying crisp and clear. "I don't fancy
+'em. But I needed the sleep and the meal. Now I'm going. Do you
+recollect I said no one ever took my gun from me but what I got it
+back? I had to borrow this one from the gent in the cage. I'll take my
+gun, sheriff--_now!_"
+
+Neal had watched him closely. He saw that while he was speaking The
+Coyote did not for an instant relax his vigilance. The merest
+resemblance of a move would precipitate gun play.
+
+He turned abruptly, and with Rathburn following him closely, went
+into the private room off the jail office. He pointed to the other's
+gun which lay upon the flat desk where many had curiously inspected
+it.
+
+Rathburn took it in his left hand and ascertained at a glance that it
+wasn't loaded. Therefore he elected to carry it in his left hand.
+
+"I won't take a chance on feeding it right now, sheriff," he said.
+"Under the circumstances it would be right awkward. If you make up
+your mind to draw I'll have to depend on a strange gun."
+
+Sheriff Neal's eyes glittered; his lips parted just a little.
+
+"Now if you'll walk back toward the cage, sheriff," Rathburn prompted.
+"Correct--don't stumble."
+
+Neal backed slowly out of the door, through the second door into the
+aisle before the cages, watching Rathburn like a cat.
+
+Rathburn slipped his own weapon into his left hip pocket and with his
+left hand dug into his trousers pocket for the key to the cage. He
+didn't take his eyes from Neal's as he brought it out and inserted it
+in the lock. His right hand continued to hang above the gun he had
+taken from the jailer.
+
+"Sheriff," he said with a cold ring in his voice, "this may seem like
+an insult, but I'm goin' to ask you to unlock that cage and go in. You
+can take your time if you want, but I warn you fair that if any one
+should start coming up the steps outside I'll try to smoke you up."
+
+For answer Neal, with the glitter still in his eyes, stepped to the
+cage door, unlocked it, and swung it open.
+
+He took a step, whirled like a flash--and the deafening report of guns
+crashed and reverberated within the jail's walls.
+
+Neal staggered back within the cage, his gun clattering to the floor,
+his right hand dropping to his side.
+
+"If I hadn't been up against a strange gun I wouldn't have hit your
+finger, sheriff," said Rathburn mockingly. "I was shootin' at your
+gun."
+
+He shut the cage door quickly, locked it, and stuck the key in his
+pocket. Then he threw the jailer's gun in through the bars and thrust
+his own weapon in its holster.
+
+"I want you gentlemen inside, an' armed," he said laughingly. "If the
+jailer will be so good as to read what's written on the paper on the
+bench, he'll learn something to his advantage. Sheriff, you an' Brown
+were wrong in this, but the devil of it is you'll never know why."
+
+He left Neal pondering this cryptic sally, ran to the front door,
+opened it, and disappeared.
+
+Neal clutched his injured fingers and swore freely, although there was
+amazement in his eyes. He could have been killed like a rat in a trap
+if The Coyote had felt the whim.
+
+The man from the desert stepped to the bench and read on the sheet of
+paper:
+
+If anybody ever gets to read this they will know that what I said
+about learning to throw a knife is true. I can do it. I've carried
+that knife in a special case that would fit in my sock and boot for
+just such an emergency as came up to-night. But I never would have
+throwed it. It would be against my ethics.
+
+The man from the desert swore softly. Then he hurriedly picked up his
+gun and fired five shots to attract attention.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIII
+
+A MAN AND HIS HORSE
+
+
+When Rathburn closed the outer door after him he plunged down the
+steps and into the shadows by the wall of the jail. Few lights showed
+in the town, for it was past midnight. He could see yellow beams
+streaming from the windows of the resort up the street, however, as he
+hesitated.
+
+He was mightily handicapped because he had no horse. A horse--his own
+horse, he felt--was necessary for his escape, but his horse was a long
+distance away.
+
+Rathburn stole across the street to the side on which the big resort
+was situated, and slipped behind a building just as the muffled
+reports came from within the jail. After a short interval, five more
+shots were heard, and Rathburn grinned as he realized that the jailer
+had fired the remaining bullets in his own and the sheriff's guns.
+
+He heard men running down the street. So he hurried up street behind
+the buildings until he reached the rear of the large resort, which was
+the place Lamy had held up.
+
+Peering through one of the rear windows he saw the room was deserted
+except for the man behind the bar. Even at that distance he could hear
+horses and men down the street. Doubtless they were crowding into the
+jail where the sheriff would insist upon being liberated at once so he
+could lead the chase and, as Rathburn had the key, this would result
+in a delay until another key could be found, or Brown, who probably
+had one, could be routed out.
+
+Rathburn thought of this as he looked through the window at the lonely
+bartender who evidently could not decide whether to close up and see
+what it all was about or not. But the thing which impressed Rathburn
+most was the presence of a pile of sandwiches and several cans of
+corned beef and sardines--emergency quick lunches for patrons--on the
+back bar. Also, he saw several gunny sacks on a box in the rear of the
+place almost under the window through which he was looking.
+
+Rathburn stepped to the door in sudden decision, threw it open, and
+walked in. His gun flashed into his hand. "Quiet!" was all he said to
+the stupefied bartender.
+
+He scooped up one of the sacks, darted behind the bar, brushed the
+sandwiches and most of the cans of corned beef and sardines into it,
+and then slung it over his left shoulder with his left hand.
+
+"The sheriff will return the money that was taken from here," he said
+coolly as he walked briskly to the front door. "Play the game safe;
+stay where you are!" he cautioned as he vanished through the door.
+
+There were no horses at the hitching rail, but he saw several down the
+street in front of the jail. Men were running back and forth across
+the street--after Brown, he surmised.
+
+Again he stole around to the rear of the resort; then he struck
+straight up into the timbered slope above the town, climbing rapidly
+afoot with the distant peaks and ridges as his guide.
+
+Some two hours after dawn he sat on the crest of a high ridge watching
+a rider come up the winding trail from eastward. He had seen other
+riders going in both directions from his concealment behind a screen
+of cedar bushes. He had watched them with no interest other than that
+exhibited by a whimsical smile. But he did not smile as he watched
+this rider. His eyes became keenly alert; his face was grim. His mind
+was made up.
+
+When the rider was nearing his ambush, Rathburn quickly scanned the
+empty stretch of trail to westward, then leaped down and confronted
+the horseman.
+
+Ed Lamy drew rein with an exclamation of surprise.
+
+"There's not much time, an' I don't hanker to be seen--afoot," said
+Rathburn quickly. "Where's my horse?"
+
+"He's in a pocket on a shale slope this side of the timber on a line
+from the house where you left him," replied Lamy readily. "Or you can
+have mine."
+
+"Don't want him," said Rathburn curtly. "You going in to see the
+sheriff?"
+
+Lamy nodded. "His orders. Say, Coyote----"
+
+"He'll probably meet you on the way," Rathburn interrupted with a
+sneer. "You can be figurin' out what to say to him. My saddle with the
+horse?"
+
+"It's hanging from a tree where you go into the pocket. Big limestone
+cliffs there below the shale. Say, Coyote, my sister an' kid brother
+was tellin' me about your visit that morning, an' I guess I
+understand----"
+
+"We can't stand here talkin'," Rathburn broke in, pulling the tobacco
+sack from his shirt pocket. He extracted a folded piece of paper.
+"Here's a note I wrote you in jail before I left. Read it on the way
+in when there's no one watching you. Maybe you'll learn something from
+it; maybe you won't. I expect you wanted money to fix that ranch up;
+but you'll get further by doing a little irrigating from up that
+stream than by trying to be a bandit. You just naturally ain't cut out
+for the part!"
+
+With these words he handed Lamy the note and bounded back up the
+slope. The screen of cedar bushes closed behind him as Lamy pushed on,
+looking back, wondering and confused, with heightened color in his
+face.
+
+It was late that night when Lamy returned to the little ranch house.
+Frankie had gone to bed, but his sister was waiting up for him with a
+meal and hot tea ready.
+
+He talked to his sister in a low voice while he ate. When he had
+finished he read the note for the third time; read it aloud, so his
+sister could hear.
+
+  "LAMY: I meant to take you back and give you up, for I was pretty
+  sore. Then I saw your resemblance to your small brother by the
+  freckles and eyes and I remembered he had said something about you
+  saying some decent things about me. I guess you thought they were
+  nice things, anyway.
+
+  "Then I thought maybe you got your ideas about easy money from
+  the stuff you'd heard about me, and I sort of felt kind of
+  responsible. I thought I'd teach you a lesson by flirting with
+  that posse and telling you that killing story to show you what
+  a man is up against in this game. I guess I can't get away
+  from it because they won't let me. But you don't have to start.
+  I was going to give you a good talking to before I let you go,
+  but I hadn't counted on the little kid in the house. I'm glad he
+  told the truth. He'll remember that. I gave you back your gun
+  because you hit the nail on the head when you said if I was
+  square I'd give it to you and let you make a run for it.
+
+  "I took the money off you so if they got us I could take the blame
+  and let you off. I can take the blame without hurting my
+  reputation, so don't worry. I'm not doing this so much for your
+  sake as for your kid brother and your sister. I figure you'd sort
+  of caught on when I heard they hadn't located my horse. That was a
+  good turn. Do me another by getting some sense. There's plenty of
+  us fellows that's quite capable to furnish the bad examples.
+
+                                                         "RATHBURN."
+
+The girl was crying softly with an arm about her brother's neck when
+he finished reading.
+
+"What--what are you going to do, Eddie?" she sobbed.
+
+"I'm goin' to irrigate!" said Ed Lamy with a new note in his voice.
+"I'm goin' to build a sure-enough ranch for us with this piece of
+paper for a corner stone!"
+
+Dawn was breaking over the mountains, strewing the gleaming peaks with
+warm rosettes of color. A clear sky, as deep and blue as any sea,
+arched its canopy above. Virgin stands of pine and fir marched up the
+steep slopes to fling their banners of green against the snow. Silver
+ribbons of streams laughed in the welcome sunlight.
+
+In a rock-walled gulch, far above the head of Sunrise Canon, a fire
+was burning, its thin smoke streamer riding on a vagrant breeze. Near
+by lay a dun-colored horse on its side, tied fast. A man was squatting
+by the blaze.
+
+"I hate to have to do this, old hoss," the man crooned; "but we've got
+to change the pattern of that CC2 brand if we want to stick together,
+an' I reckon we want to stick."
+
+He thrust the running iron deeper into the glowing coals.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIV
+
+THE WITNESS
+
+
+The morning was hardly two hours old, and the crisp air was stinging
+sweet with the tang of pine and fir, as Rathburn rode jauntily down
+the trail on the eastern slope of the divide and drew rein on the
+crest of a high ridge. As he looked below he whistled softly.
+
+"Juniper, hoss, there's folks down there plying a nefarious trade, a
+plumb dangerous trade," he mused, digging for the tobacco and brown
+papers in the pocket of his shirt. "I reckon they're carrying on in
+direct defiance of the law, hoss."
+
+The dun-colored mustang tossed his head impatiently, but his master
+ignored the animal's fretful desire to be off and dallied with tobacco
+and paper, fashioning a cigarette, lighting it, breathing thin smoke
+as his gray eyes squinted appraisingly at the scene below.
+
+Winding down into the foothills, in striking contrast to the dim
+trails higher up, was a well-used road. It evidently led from the
+saffron-tinted dump and gray buildings of a mine which showed on the
+side of a big, bald mountain to southward. At a point almost directly
+below the ridge where the man and horse stood, it crossed a small
+hogback and descended a steep slope between lines of jack pines,
+disappearing in the timber farther down.
+
+The gaze of the man on the ridge was concentrated on the bit of road
+which showed on the hogback and the slope beyond. A truck was
+laboriously climbing the ascent. But the watcher evidently was not so
+much concerned with the approach of the truck as with certain
+movements which were in progress on the hogback at the head of the
+grade.
+
+Three persons had dismounted from their horses behind the screen of
+timber. One, a tall man, had donned a long, black slicker and was
+tying a handkerchief about his face.
+
+"Juniper, hoss," said Rathburn, "what does that gent want that slicker
+on for? It ain't going to rain. An' how does he reckon to see onless
+maybe he's got holes cut in that there hanky?"
+
+A second man had made his way down the slope a short distance. He took
+advantage of the timber which screened him from sight of the driver of
+the oncoming truck.
+
+"I 'spect that's in case the truck driver should suddenly take it into
+his head to slide down backwards," said the observer, speaking his
+thoughts aloud in a musical, bass voice. "One in front, one behind;
+now how about the kid?"
+
+As if in answer to his question the third member of the party,
+evidently a boy, led the horses a short way up the hogback where a
+good view could be obtained of the road in both directions.
+
+The watcher grunted in approval. "One in front to do the stick-up, one
+behind to stop a retreat and get whatever it is they're after, and one
+on the lookout to see there ain't any unexpected guests. Couldn't have
+planned the lay any better ourselves, hoss."
+
+He was too far distant to interfere, even if he had had any desire to
+do so, which was doubtful from his interested and tolerant manner.
+Anyway it could have done no good to shout a warning, for the driver
+of the truck could not have heard anything above the roar of his
+machine, and the trio had gone about the preparations with dispatch.
+Already the truck was climbing the last steep pitch to the top of the
+hogback.
+
+The tall man in the black slicker and mask now quickly stepped forth
+from the edge of the timber. The watcher above saw his right hand and
+arm whip out level with his shoulders. There was a glint of morning
+sunlight and dull metal. The truck came to a jarring stop as the
+driver jammed on the brakes. Then the driver's hands went into the
+air.
+
+Stepping from the timber at the roadside behind the truck, the second
+man leaped upon the machine. The watcher grunted again as he saw that
+this man was also masked. The driver was disarmed and searched, then
+forced to clamber down from the truck into the road, where the man in
+the slicker kept him covered while the other quickly searched about
+the seat and cab of the truck. Then the second man released the brakes
+and dropped nimbly from the machine which plunged backward down the
+steep slope, crashed into the tree growth on one side of the road, and
+overturned.
+
+The boy mounted and led the other two horses down the hogback in the
+scanty timber to the head of the grade. There the man in the slicker
+and his companion joined him, mounted, and the trio rode quickly along
+the hogback in a southerly direction and disappeared on a blind rail
+into the forest.
+
+Rathburn rolled himself another cigarette with a grin as he watched
+the truck driver stand for some moments uncertainly in the road and
+then start rapidly down the slope toward his disabled machine.
+
+"C'mon, hoss," said the erstwhile spectator, turning his dun-colored
+mount again into the trail. "So far's I can make out, this is the only
+way down out of these tall mountains to the east, so we might as well
+get going. We ain't got no business south or west. We'll be just in
+time to get blamed for what's happened down there."
+
+Whatever there might be in the prospect, the rider did not permit it
+to have any influence on his cheerful mood. He drew in long breaths of
+the stimulating air and sniffed joyously at the fragrance of the
+murmuring forests which clothed the higher hills. Far below the timber
+would dwindle, the ridges would flatten into round knolls and lose
+their verdure; then would come the dust and lava slopes, and
+beyond--the desert.
+
+A wistful light came into the horseman's eyes. "Home, Juniper, hoss,"
+he said softly. "We've just got to have cactus an' water holes an'
+danged blistering heat in ours; and I don't care so much as the faded
+label off an empty tomato can if it's in California, or Arizona, or
+Nevada, so long as it's desert!"
+
+The trail he was following wound tortuously around ridges, through the
+timber, into ravines and canyons; now treading close upon the bank of a
+swift-running mountain stream in a narrow valley, and again seeking
+the higher places where there were rocks and fallen trees and other
+obstructions. An observer would have gleaned at once that the rider
+was not familiar with the trail or territory he traversed.
+
+So it was past noon when he finally reached the hogback where the
+outstanding event of the morning had taken place. The rider looked
+back up toward the divide and grinned as he rested his horse just
+above the scene of the holdup.
+
+"Don't reckon they'd have heard me if I'd hollered, or seen me if I'd
+waved," he mused. "They picked out a good spot for the dirty work," he
+concluded, looking about.
+
+Shortly afterward, as he was staring down at the tracks in the road,
+he smothered an exclamation. Then he dismounted, picked up two small
+objects from the dust at the point where the trio had started on
+their get-away, examined them with a puzzled expression, and thrust
+them into a pocket.
+
+"Queer," he ruminated; "mighty queer. If those silly things had been
+laying there in the road before the rumpus they'd have been tracked
+into the dust. But they was on _top_ of a perfectly good hoss track.
+An' it don't look like there's been anybody along here since."
+
+He continued down the road, descending the steep slope, and came to
+the overturned truck. At a glance he saw it had been used for hauling
+supplies, doubtless to the mine he had glimpsed on the slope of the
+high mountain to southward. Several kegs of nails, some hardware, and
+some sacks of cement were scattered in the road. He remembered that
+the man who had climbed on the truck had only searched the driver and
+the cab. Anything he might have taken must have been in a small
+package or it would have been discernible even at that long distance.
+
+"That outfit wasn't after no mine supplies," Rathburn reflected as he
+finished his brief inspection and again mounted. "An' they wasn't
+taking any chances on smoking anybody up or being followed too quick.
+Pretty work all around. An' here's the committee, hoss!"
+
+A touring car came careening around a turn in the road and raced
+toward him. He turned his horse to the side of the road and spoke to
+him as the animal, plainly unfamiliar with motor cars, snorted and
+shied.
+
+The car drew to a stop with a screeching of brakes. The horseman
+raised his hands as he saw two rifles leveled at him from the rear
+seat. There were five men in the car besides the driver. One of the
+men, who had been sitting in the front with the driver, leaped from
+the machine and strode toward the rider.
+
+"Calm that horse down an' climb out of that saddle," he commanded.
+"If you make any motions toward that gun you're packing, it'll make
+things simpler, in a way."
+
+The rider slipped from the saddle with a broad grin. "Right up to
+form," he sang cheerfully, although he kept his hands elevated while
+the other took his gun. "My hoss'll be calm enough now that that
+danged thing is shut off. You must be a sheriff to be flirting with
+the speed limit that way an' forgetting you've got a horn."
+
+"Where are you from an' where was you going?" demanded the other.
+
+"I'm from up in the mountains, but I'd never got where I was going if
+I hadn't seen you first the way you busted around that curve," was the
+cool reply.
+
+"Stranger," was the next comment in a tone of satisfaction. "Look
+here, friend, I'm Mannix, deputy from High Point. You'll sail smoother
+if you answer my questions straight."
+
+The deputy motioned to two men in the car. "Search him," he ordered.
+Then he stood back, six-shooter in hand.
+
+The stranger built a cigarette while the men were going through him.
+He lighted the weed and smiled quizzically while they examined the
+meager contents of the slicker pack on the rear of his saddle.
+
+"See you're packing a black slicker," said Mannix, pointing to the
+rough raincoat in which the pack was wrapped.
+
+"That's in case of rain," was the ready answer.
+
+"What's your name?" asked the deputy with a frown.
+
+"Rathburn."
+
+"Where was you heading?"
+
+"I was aiming in a general eastern direction," Rathburn replied in a
+drawl. "Is there any law against ridin' hosses in this here part of
+the country?"
+
+"Not at all," replied the deputy heartily. "An' there's no law against
+drivin' automobiles or trucks. But there's a law against stoppin' 'em
+with a gun."
+
+"So," said Rathburn. "You stopped because you saw my gun? An' I'm to
+blame, for it? If I'd known you were touchy about guns down here I'd
+have worn mine in my shirt."
+
+One of the other men from the car had joined the deputy. He was
+looking at Rathburn keenly. Mannix turned to him.
+
+"Look like him?" he asked.
+
+The man nodded. "About the same size and height."
+
+"This man was drivin' a truck up here that was stopped this morning,"
+said the deputy sternly to Rathburn. "He says you size up to one of
+the men that turned the trick--one of them that wore a black slicker
+like yours."
+
+Rathburn nodded pleasantly. "Exactly," he said with a smile. "I happen
+to be in the country an' I've got a black slicker. There you are;
+everything all proved up. An' yet there was somebody once told me it
+took brains to be a sheriff!"
+
+There was a glint in Rathburn's eyes as he uttered the last sentence.
+
+Instead of flying into a rage, Mannix laughed.
+
+"Don't kid yourself," he said grimly. "You're not the man who held up
+this truck driver."
+
+He gave Rathburn back his gun, to the latter's surprise. Then he waved
+toward Rathburn's horse.
+
+"Go ahead," he said, smiling. "General eastern direction, wasn't it?
+This road will take you clean to the desert, if you want to go that
+far. So long."
+
+He led the others back to the car which started off with a roar. It
+passed the truck and continued on up the road.
+
+Rathburn sat his horse and watched the automobile out of sight. His
+expression was one of deep perplexity.
+
+"By all the rules of the game that fellow should have held me as a
+suspect," he soliloquized. "Now he don't know me from a hoss thief--or
+does he?"
+
+He frowned and rode thoughtfully down the road in the direction from
+which the automobile had come.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XV
+
+THE WELCOME
+
+
+The afternoon wore on as Rathburn followed the road at an easy jog. He
+quickened his pace somewhat when he passed through aisles in thick
+timber, and, despite his careless attitude in the saddle, he kept a
+sharp lookout at all times. For Rathburn was carrying some gold and
+bills in a belt under his shirt--which had been examined and returned
+to him at the order of the deputy--and he had no intention of being
+waylaid. Moreover, the man's natural bearing was one of constant
+alertness. He rode for more than two hours without seeing any one.
+
+"Strange," he observed aloud. "This road is used a lot, too. Maybe the
+morning's ceremonies has scared all the travelers into the brush."
+
+But, as he turned the next bend in the road, he saw a small cabin in a
+little clearing to the right.
+
+Spurred by a desire to obtain some much-needed information, he turned
+from the road into the clearing and rode up to the cabin. He doffed
+his broad-brimmed hat in haste as he saw a girl.
+
+"Ma'am, I'm a stranger in these woods an' I'm looking for an honest
+man or woman to guide me on my way," he said with a flashing smile.
+
+Instead of returning his smile with a gracious word of greeting, the
+girl regarded him gravely out of glowing, dark eyes.
+
+"Pretty!" he thought to himself. "Limping lizards, but she's pretty!"
+
+"Where are you from?" the girl asked soberly.
+
+"From yonder mountains, an' then some," he answered with a sweeping
+gesture.
+
+"You rode down this morning?"
+
+"I rode down this morning. Down from the toppermost top of the divide
+with the wind singing in my whiskers an' the birds warbling in my
+ears." He laughed gayly, for he appreciated her puzzled look. "I was
+wondering two things," he continued solemnly.
+
+"What might they be?" she asked doubtfully.
+
+"First: Why isn't there more travel on this good road?" he said. "I
+haven't seen a soul except yourself and a--a party in an automobile.
+Now on a road like this----"
+
+"Where did you meet the automobile?" she asked in a voice which he
+interpreted as eager.
+
+"Two hours an' some minutes back--and up. Near a truck which had had
+some trouble in the road. Perhaps you heard about it? Turned over on
+its side in collapse after some free-thinking gents turned their smoke
+wagons toward it."
+
+It was plain she was interested.
+
+"Did--is the automobile still there?" she inquired with a breathless
+catch in her voice.
+
+"Oh, no. After some of the passengers had had a little disrespectful
+conversation with me, it went on up the road. Are they scarce around
+here, ma'am--automobiles?"
+
+"Not exactly," she replied with a frown. "They truck ore and men and
+supplies to and from the mine every day. The reason you've seen so few
+people to-day is because it's Sunday."
+
+"Thank you," he said gallantly. "That answers my first question. You
+remember, I was wondering _two_ things?"
+
+Her lips trembled with a smile, but her eyes flashed with suspicion.
+
+"You will observe, ma'am, that I am not followed by any pack horses or
+heavily-laden burros," he went on gravely, although his eyes sparkled
+with good humor. "Nor is there anything much to speak of in this
+slicker pack on my saddle. I need some new smoking tobacco, some new
+shaving soap, some new hair cut, a bath, a dinner, and a bed--after
+I've put up my hoss."
+
+This time the girl laughed, and Rathburn was rewarded by the flashing
+gleam of two rows of pearls and eyes merry with mirth. But her
+reciprocating mood of cheerfulness was quickly spent.
+
+"You are only a mile and a half from High Point," she said hurriedly.
+"You can get what you want there."
+
+She retreated into the doorway, and Rathburn saw that the chance
+interview was at an end.
+
+"_Gracias_, as they say in the desert country," he said, saluting as
+he turned away. "It means thanks, ma'am."
+
+He looked back as he touched the mustang with his steel and saw her
+looking after him with a strange look in her eyes.
+
+"That gal looks half like she was scared, hoss," he reflected. "I
+wonder, now, if she got me wrong. Dang it! Maybe she thought I was
+trying to flirt with her. Well, maybe I was."
+
+He thrust a hand in a pocket and fingered the two objects he had
+picked up in the road at the scene of the holdup. Then he pulled his
+hat a bit forward over his eyes and increased his pace. The town, as
+he had half expected, came suddenly into sight around a sharp bend in
+the road.
+
+High Point consisted of some two-score structures, and only a cursory
+glance was needed to ascertain that it was the source of supplies and
+rendez-vous for entertainment of the several mines and all the miners
+and prospectors in the neighboring hills. Several fairly good roads
+and many trails led into it, and from it there was a main road of
+travel to the railroad on the edge of the desert in the east.
+
+Before he entered the dusty, single street, lined with small buildings
+flaunting false fronts, Rathburn recognized the signs of a foothill
+town where the hand of authority rested but lightly.
+
+He rode directly to the first hotel, the only two-story structure in
+town, and around to the rear where he put up his horse and left his
+saddle, chaps and slicker pack in the care of the barn man.
+
+He received instructions as to the location of the best barber shop
+and speedily wended his way there. He found Sunday was not observed in
+the barber shop, nor in the resort which adjoined it.
+
+"Any chance to get a bath here?" he asked one of the two barbers with
+a twinkle in his gray eyes.
+
+He expected a snort of astonishment and a sarcastic reply.
+
+"Sure. Want it first or after?"
+
+Rathburn eyed the barber suspiciously. Was the man poking fun at him?
+Well, he was not a stranger to repartee.
+
+"First or after what?" he asked, scowling.
+
+"Your shave and hair cut."
+
+Rathburn laughed. "I'll take it first--if you have it. An' if you
+have, I'll say this is a first-class barber shop."
+
+The barber led the way to a room in the rear of the place with a
+pleased grin.
+
+An hour or so later Rathburn, with the lower part of his face a shade
+paler than the upper half, his dark hair showing neatly under his
+broad-brimmed hat, his black riding boots glistening, and a satisfied
+smile on his face, sauntered out of the barber shop into the resort
+next door.
+
+A man was lighting the hanging lamps, and Rathburn looked about
+through a haze of tobacco smoke at a cluster of crowded gaming tables,
+a short bar, cigar counter, and at the motley throng which jammed the
+small room.
+
+He grinned as he read the sign over the cash register:
+
+
+FREE DRINKS TO-MORROW
+
+"Swiped in broad daylight from the grand old State of Texas," he
+murmured aloud to himself.
+
+Then he noticed a small restaurant in the rear of the place, separated
+from the main room by a partition, the upper part of which was glass.
+
+He made his way back, passed through the door, and took a seat at the
+counter which afforded him a view of the resort through the glass. He
+ordered a substantial meal and, while waiting for it to be served,
+studied with calculating eyes the scene in the next room.
+
+The men were mostly of the hills--miners constituting the majority. Of
+professional gamblers there were many, and there was also a plentiful
+sprinkling of that despicable species known as "boosters" whose
+business it is to sit in at the games in the interest of "the house;"
+to fleece the victims who occupy the few remaining seats.
+
+But now he saw a man who apparently was not a miner, or a prospector,
+nor yet a member of the professional gambling tribe. This was a tall
+man, very dark, sinewy. He wore a gun.
+
+At first Rathburn thought he might be a cow-puncher, for he wore
+riding boots, and had something of the air and bearing of a cowman;
+but he finally decided that this classification was inaccurate. An
+officer at one of the mines, perhaps; a forest ranger--no, he didn't
+wear the regalia of a ranger--Rathburn gave it up as his dinner was
+put before him on the counter.
+
+He fell to his meal eagerly, for he had had nothing to eat since early
+morning when he had broken camp high in the mountains to westward.
+Steak and French "fries" began quickly to disappear, along with many
+slices of bread and two cups of steaming coffee. Then Rathburn looked
+up, and to his surprise saw that the tall, dark man was standing near
+the glass, studying him intently out of scowling, black eyes.
+
+Rathburn looked at him coolly and steadily for a few moments and
+resumed his meal. But the other was inquisitive and Rathburn sensed,
+without again looking up, that he was being watched. Was this man,
+then, an aide of Mannix, the deputy? He doubted it.
+
+He finished his meal, paid his score with an added cheery word for the
+counter jumper, rose, entered the main room of the resort, and walked
+directly up to the dark man who still was observing him.
+
+"Was you thinking I was an old acquaintance of yours?" he asked
+pleasantly.
+
+The other's eyes narrowed, and Rathburn thought he detected a glow of
+recognition and satisfaction.
+
+"Did you have your bath?" sneeringly inquired the man.
+
+Rathburn's brows lifted. Then he smiled queerly. "I sure did. Why? Did
+I maybe keep you waiting? Was you next?"
+
+The other's eyes blazed with wrath. "Let me give you a tip, my friend;
+you ain't right well acquainted in this here locality, are you?"
+
+Rathburn now noted that they had attracted immediate attention. The
+tall, dark man, then, was a personage of importance. He noted another
+thing, too--rather, he realized it by instinct as well as by certain
+mannerisms. The man before him knew how to use the weapon which hung
+low on his right thigh.
+
+"If you mean was I born here, or do I live here, I'd say no," Rathburn
+drawled; "but I happen to be here at this precise time so I'd say I'm
+right well acquainted with it."
+
+A hush had come over the place. Interested faces were turned in their
+direction, and Rathburn sensed an ominous tremor of keen expectancy.
+The fine wrinkles at the corners of his eyes tightened a bit.
+
+"This is a poor time for strangers to be hanging around," said the
+dark man in a loud voice. "The Dixie Queen pay-roll has been taking
+wings too often."
+
+The implication and the murmur from the spectators was not lost upon
+Rathburn. His lips tightened into a fine, white line.
+
+"Whoever you are, you've got more mouth than brains!" he said crisply
+in a voice which carried over the room.
+
+The effect of his words was electric. There was a sharp intaking of
+breath from the spectators. The dark man's face froze, and his eyes
+darted red. His right hand seemed to hang on the instant for the swoop
+to his gun. Rathburn appeared to be smiling queerly out of his eyes.
+Then came a sharp interruption.
+
+"Just a minute, Carlisle!"
+
+Rathburn recognized the voice of Mannix, and a moment later the deputy
+stepped between them.
+
+"What's the idea?" he asked coolly.
+
+"This gentleman you just called Carlisle seems to have appointed
+himself a reception committee to welcome me into the enterprising town
+of High Point," drawled Rathburn, with a laugh.
+
+Mannix turned on Carlisle with a scowl, and Carlisle shrugged
+impatiently, his eyes still glaring balefully at Rathburn.
+
+The deputy again confronted Rathburn. "Had your supper?" he asked.
+
+"Best steak I've had in two months," Rathburn replied cheerfully.
+
+"Horse taken care of?"
+
+"First thing." There was a note of derision in Rathburn's tone.
+"Service at the hotel barn is high grade."
+
+Mannix's eyes hardened before he spoke again. He hesitated, but when
+his words came they were clear-cut and stern.
+
+"Then come with me an' I'll show you where to sleep."
+
+"You mean in jail?" queried Rathburn.
+
+Mannix nodded coldly.
+
+"Sheriff," said Rathburn, in a peculiar tone, addressing the deputy
+but looking over his shoulder directly into Carlisle's eyes; "if
+there's one thing I'm noted for, it's for being a good guesser!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVI
+
+THE DIXIE'S BOSS
+
+
+If Mannix expected any resistance from Rathburn he soon found that
+none was to materialize. The deputy, a short, rather stout man of
+perhaps thirty-nine, with bronzed features, clear, brown eyes, and a
+protruding jaw covered with a stubble of reddish-brown beard, was
+nevertheless wary of his prisoner. He had not yet obtained Rathburn's
+gun, and he recognized the unmistakable signs of a seasoned gunman in
+the lounging but graceful postures of his prisoner, in the way he
+moved his right hand, in the alertness of his eye. He frowned, for
+Rathburn was smiling. There was a quality to that smile which was not
+lost upon the doughty officer.
+
+"I take it you've got sense enough to come along easylike," he said,
+with just a hint of doubt in his voice.
+
+"Yes, I've been known to show some sense, sheriff; now that's a
+fact."
+
+"I'll have to ask you for your gun," said the deputy grimly.
+
+"I've never been known to hand over my gun, sheriff," drawled
+Rathburn. "Now that's another fact."
+
+Again the tension in the room was high. Others than Mannix, and
+probably Carlisle, had readily discerned in the gray-eyed stranger a
+certain menacing prowess which is much respected where weapons are the
+rule in unexpected emergencies. The crowd backed to the wall.
+
+The deputy wet his lips, and his face grew a shade paler. Then
+suddenly he went for his gun, as Rathburn dropped, like a shot, to the
+floor. There came the crack of Carlisle's pistol and a laugh from
+Rathburn. The deputy, gun in hand, stared at Rathburn who rose quickly
+to his feet. Then he thought to cover him. Rathburn raised his hands
+while Carlisle returned his own smoking weapon to its holster. Mannix
+turned and glared at Carlisle in perplexity.
+
+"I don't know what his game is, Mannix; but he could have drawn down
+on you in a wink and shot you in your tracks if he'd wanted to," said
+Carlisle.
+
+"So you were taking the play in your own hands," Mannix accused.
+
+The deputy looked at Rathburn angrily. Then he advanced and took the
+prisoner's six-shooter from him. He brought handcuffs out of his
+pockets.
+
+Rathburn's face went white. "If what Carlisle says is true, it doesn't
+look as if I was trying to get away, does it, sheriff?" he asked
+coldly.
+
+Mannix was thoughtful for a moment. "Well, come along," he ordered,
+thrusting the steel bracelets back into his pocket.
+
+"I'll go with you," Carlisle volunteered.
+
+"That's up to you," snapped out the deputy. "I ain't asking you to."
+
+The trio left the place as the spectators gazed after them in wonder.
+There was a hum of excited conversation as the deputy and his prisoner
+and Carlisle passed through the door.
+
+No word was spoken on the way to the small, two-room, one-story
+structure which served as a detention place for persons under arrest
+until they could be transferred to the county jail in the town where
+the railroad touched. Petty offenders served their sentences there,
+however.
+
+In the little front office of the jail, Rathburn looked with interest
+at some posters on the walls. One in particular claimed his
+attention, and he read it twice while the deputy was getting some keys
+and calling to the jailer, who evidently was on the other side of the
+barred door where the few cells and the "tank" were.
+
+This is what Rathburn read:
+
+                                 REWARD
+
+  Two thousand dollars will be paid for the capture of the bandits
+  who are responsible for the robberies of Dixie Mine messengers in
+  the last few months.
+
+                                     DIXIE MILLING & MINING CO.,
+                                           George Sautee, Manager.
+
+Rathburn now knew exactly what Carlisle had meant when he had referred
+to the Dixie pay-roll taking wings. He had, however, suspected it. The
+holdup of the truck driver also was explained. Rathburn smiled. It was
+a peculiar ruse for the mines manager to resort to. Could not the
+pay-roll be sent to the mines under armed guard? Rathburn's eyes were
+dreamy when he looked at the deputy.
+
+"All right, in you go," said Mannix, as the jailer unlocked the heavy,
+barred door from the inside.
+
+He led Rathburn to one of the single cells, of which there were six on
+one side of the jail room proper.
+
+"Maybe you'll be ready to talk in the morning," he said, as he locked
+his prisoner in.
+
+"Morning might be too late," Rathburn observed, taking tobacco and
+papers from his shirt pocket.
+
+"What do you mean by that?" Mannix asked sharply.
+
+"I might change my mind."
+
+"About talking, eh? Well, we'll find a way to make you change it back
+again."
+
+"You're a grateful cuss," said Rathburn, grinning.
+
+Mannix scowled. It was plain he was not sure of his man, although he
+was trying to convince himself that he was.
+
+"I don't get you," he said growlingly.
+
+"No? Didn't you hear that fellow Carlisle say I saved your life by not
+drawing?"
+
+"He'd have got you if you'd tried to draw. That's what he thought you
+was going to do. You saved your skin by grabbing the floor."
+
+Rathburn wet the paper of his cigarette and sealed the end. "I'm
+wondering," he mused, as he snapped a match into flame, with a thumb
+nail and lit the weed.
+
+"It's about time," said the deputy grimly.
+
+"I'm wondering," said Rathburn, in a soft voice, exhaling a thin
+streamer of smoke, "if he'd have got me."
+
+Mannix grunted, looked at him curiously, and then turned abruptly on
+his heel and left. Rathburn could not see the door, but he heard the
+big key grate in the lock, and then the jail room echoed to the clang
+of hard metal and the door swung shut again.
+
+Rathburn sat down on the bunk which was to serve as his bed. He smoked
+his brown-paper cigarette slowly and with great relish while he
+stared, not through the bars to where the dim light of a lamp showed,
+but straight at the opposite steel wall of his cell. His eyes were
+thoughtful, dreamy, his brow was puckered.
+
+"An' there's that," he muttered as he threw away the stub of his smoke
+and began to roll another. "Somebody's been playing the Dixie Queen
+for a meal ticket. That sign said 'robberies.' That means more'n one.
+The truck driver was the last. Two thousand reward. An' me headed for
+the desert where I belong. What stopped me? I reckon I know."
+
+He smiled grimly as he remembered the insolent challenge in Carlisle's
+eyes and the reference to the bath.
+
+After a time Rathburn stretched out on the bunk, pulled his hat over
+his face, and dozed.
+
+He sat up with a catlike movement as a persistent tapping on the bars
+of his cell reached his ears. Blinking in the half light he saw
+Carlisle's dark features.
+
+"Well, now's your chance to smoke me up good an' plenty an' get away
+with it," said Rathburn cheerfully. "I'm shy my gun which the sheriff
+has borrowed."
+
+"You figure he's just borrowed it?" sneeringly inquired Carlisle.
+
+Rathburn rose and surveyed his visitor. "I reckon I've got to tolerate
+you," he drawled. "I can't pick my company in here."
+
+"I've got your number," snarlingly replied Carlisle in a low voice.
+
+Rathburn sauntered close to the bars, rolling a cigarette.
+
+"If you have, Carlisle, you've got a winning number," he said evenly.
+
+"Whatever your play is here, I dunno," said Carlisle; "but you won't
+get away with it as easy as you did over the range in Dry Lake."
+
+Rathburn's eyes never flickered as he coolly lit his cigarette with a
+steady hand. "You're plumb full of information, eh, Carlisle?"
+
+"I was over there an' heard about how you stuck up that joint an'
+tried to blame it on some kid by the name of Lamy," said Carlisle,
+watching Rathburn closely.
+
+"You sure that was the way of it?" asked Rathburn casually.
+
+"No," replied the other. "I know the kid stuck up the joint an' you
+took the blame to keep him under cover. I don't know your reasons, but
+I guess you don't want the facts known. You broke jail. They ain't
+forgot _that_ over in Dry Lake. There's a reward out for you over
+there, an I wouldn't be surprised if there was some money on your head
+in Arizona, Coyote!"
+
+Rathburn's eyes were points of red between narrowed lids.
+
+"The Coyote!" said Carlisle in a hoarse voice of triumph. "An' the way
+it looks I'm the only one hereabouts that knows it."
+
+"I told you you was plumb full of information," said Rathburn.
+
+"The Coyote has a bit of a record, they tell me," Carlisle leered.
+"There's more'n one sheriff would pay a pretty price to get him safe,
+eh?"
+
+"Just what's your idea in telling _me_ all this, Carlisle; why don't
+you tell what you know to Mannix, say?"
+
+"Maybe I'm just teasing you along."
+
+"Not a chance, Carlisle. I know your breed."
+
+The other's face darkened, and his eyes glittered as he peered in
+through the bars.
+
+"What's _your_ breed?" he asked sneeringly.
+
+"I don't have to tell you that, Carlisle. You _know_!" said Rathburn
+with a taunting laugh.
+
+Carlisle struggled with his anger for a brief spell. Then he shrugged
+his shoulders.
+
+"I ain't going to poke at you in a cage," he said in a more civil
+tone; "an' I ain't going to tell anybody what I know. Remember that."
+
+"I ain't the forgetting kind," Rathburn flung after him as he walked
+swiftly away.
+
+Again Rathburn sat on the edge of the bunk and smoked and thought.
+After a time he went to sleep. The opening of his cell door woke him.
+It was Mannix.
+
+"Come to let me out, sheriff?" inquired Rathburn sleepily.
+
+The deputy looked at him keenly, opened the cage, and motioned to him
+to follow. Rathburn went with him out into the little office. It was
+broad day. Mannix picked up a pistol from his desk and extended it to
+Rathburn.
+
+"Here's your gun, Rathburn. You can go," he said, pressing his lips
+close together.
+
+"Well, now, sheriff, that's right kind of you," Rathburn drawled,
+concealing his astonishment.
+
+"Don't thank me," snapped out Mannix. "This gentleman asked me to set
+you loose."
+
+For the first time Rathburn looked squarely at the other man in the
+office--a thin man, with a cropped mustache, beady eyes, and a narrow
+face.
+
+The man was regarding him intently, and there seemed to be an amused
+expression in his eyes. He turned away from Rathburn's gaze.
+
+"I don't believe I've ever had the pleasure of meeting the gentleman,"
+said Rathburn agreeably.
+
+"That's George Sautee, manager of the Dixie Queen," said the deputy
+with a shrug.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVII
+
+A COMMISSION
+
+
+Sautee rose and extended his hand with an affable smile. "Will you
+come to breakfast with me, Mr. Rathburn?"
+
+Rathburn took the hand with a curious side glance at Mannix. "I'm
+powerful hungry," he confessed; "an' I don't reckon I'd be showing the
+best of manners if I balked at havin' breakfast with the man that got
+me out of jail."
+
+"Quite right," admitted Sautee, winking at the deputy. "Well, perhaps
+I have my reasons. All right, Rathburn, let's be going."
+
+They walked out of the jail, and as they progressed up the street they
+were the cynosure of many wondering pairs of eyes; for the report had
+spread that the stranger who had been jailed was the bandit who had
+made away with the Dixie Queen pay-roll on several occasions, and that
+he was a gun fighter and a killer.
+
+They entered a restaurant just below the hotel, and Sautee led the way
+to a booth where they were assured comparative privacy.
+
+"Ham an' eggs," said Rathburn shortly when the waiter entered.
+
+Sautee smiled again. He was covertly inspecting the man across the
+table from him and evidently what he saw caused him to arrive at a
+satisfactory conclusion.
+
+He gave his order with a nod and a mild flourish of the hand,
+indicating that he would take the same.
+
+"Oh--waiter," called Rathburn. "Four eggs with mine."
+
+Sautee laughed. It was a peculiar laugh in that it seemed to convey
+little mirth. It was perfunctory.
+
+He gazed at Rathburn quizzically. "They tell me you're a gunman," he
+said in a low voice.
+
+Rathburn's brows shot up. "They? Who's they?"
+
+Sautee waved a hand impatiently. "I am the manager of the Dixie Queen.
+I have been around a bit, and I have eyes. I can see. I know the
+signals. I witnessed the play in the Red Feather last night."
+
+"That ain't a bad name for the place," Rathburn mused.
+
+"Just what do you suppose was my object in getting you out of jail?"
+Sautee asked seriously, leaning over the table and looking at Rathburn
+searchingly. "You said last night you were a good guesser."
+
+"But I didn't say I was good at riddles," drawled Rathburn.
+
+Sautee leaned back. For a moment there was a gleam of admiration in
+his eyes. Then they narrowed slightly.
+
+"The Dixie Queen has been robbed four times within the last year," he
+said soberly. "That represents considerable money. Yesterday I
+resorted to a ruse and sent the money up with a truck driver, but
+whoever is doing this thing must have got wise somehow, for the truck
+driver was held up, as you know, and the money taken."
+
+"Why not put an armed guard on that truck?" asked Rathburn with a
+yawn.
+
+"I had full confidence in that ruse, and I knew the man who drove the
+truck could be trusted. Besides, he didn't know what was inside the
+package."
+
+"How much did they get?" asked Rathburn sharply.
+
+"Twenty-two thousand eight hundred and seventy dollars in cash."
+
+Rathburn stared at the mine manager and whistled softly. "What's the
+sense in sending it up there at all?" he asked suddenly. "Why not pay
+off down here in town?"
+
+Sautee sighed with an air of resignation. "That's been argued several
+times," he complained. "The men demand their pay in cash. They want it
+at the mine, for more than half of them have refused to come down here
+for it. It is twenty-nine miles up there to the mine, and it would
+take all the trucks we've got and two days to bring them down here and
+take them back. Besides, if we got them down here it would be a week
+before we could get half of them back up there and at work again."
+
+"But why won't they take checks?" Rathburn demanded.
+
+"It would be the same proposition," Sautee explained. "There is a
+little village up there--pool room, soft-drink parlor, lunch room,
+store, and all that--and the men, or a large number of them, would
+want their checks cashed to make purchases and for spending money, and
+the cash would have to be transported so the business places could
+cash the checks. Then, there's another reason. All the mines over on
+this side of the mountains, clear down into the desert, have always
+paid in cash. This is an old district, and the matter of getting paid
+in cash has become a tradition. That's what the company is up against.
+We can refuse to do it, but all the other mines do it, and the Dixie
+Queen would soon have the reputation of being the only mine in the
+district that didn't pay in cash. The tradition is handed down from
+the old days when men were paid in gold. There was a time when a miner
+wouldn't take paper money in this country!"
+
+The waiter entered with the breakfast dishes and they began to eat.
+
+"Your mine owned by a stock company?" Rathburn inquired.
+
+"Certainly," replied Sautee. "All the mines here are. What mine
+isn't?"
+
+Rathburn ignored the question. "Stockholders live aroun' here?" he
+asked, between mouthfuls.
+
+"Oh--no, that is, not many," replied Sautee with a quick glance at his
+questioner. "This district is pretty well worked out. Most of our
+stockholders live in the Middle West and the East." He winked at
+Rathburn.
+
+"Any other mines been robbed?" Rathburn persisted.
+
+"No, that's the funny part of it. Still--no, it _isn't_ funny. We're
+working on the largest scale, and our pay-roll is, naturally, the
+largest. It furnishes the biggest incentive. In addition, the Dixie
+Queen is the farthest out from town, and there are many excellent
+spots for a holdup between town and the mine. Oh, don't look
+skeptical. I've tried trusted messengers by roundabout trails, and
+guards and all that. They even held up a convoy on one occasion. I've
+set traps. I've done everything. But now I've a new idea, and I
+believe it'll work."
+
+He finished his breakfast and stared steadily at Rathburn who didn't
+look up, but leisurely drank a second cup of coffee. Sautee noted the
+slim, tapered right hand of the man across the table from him, the
+clear, gray eyes, the unmistakable poise of a man who is absolutely
+and utterly confident and sure of himself. The mine manager's eyes
+glowed eagerly.
+
+"Yes?" asked Rathburn calmly.
+
+"I'm going to hire, or, rather, I'm going to _try_ to hire a man I
+believe is just as tough, just as clever, just as quick with his gun
+as the men who've been robbing the Dixie Queen. I'm going to hire him
+to carry the money to the mine!"
+
+"So _that's_ why you got me out of jail," said Rathburn, drawing the
+inevitable tobacco and papers from his shirt pocket.
+
+"Yes!" whispered Sautee eagerly. "I want you for the job!"
+
+"You ain't forgetting that I was suspected of that last job, are you?
+That's why I went to jail, I reckon."
+
+"You didn't have to go to jail unless you wanted to. You didn't have
+to stop in this town and invite arrest. Mannix let you go up there
+yesterday because he felt sure he could get you when he wanted you
+again, and he figured you'd make some break that would give him a clew
+to your pals, if you had any. You went to jail because you knew he
+didn't have anything on you."
+
+Sautee grinned in triumph.
+
+"How do you know I won't beat it with the money?" asked Rathburn.
+
+"I don't," said Sautee quickly. "But I'm taking a chance on it that
+you won't. I don't care who you are, what you are now, or what you've
+been; I don't care if you're an outlaw! I figure, Rathburn, that if I
+come out square and trust you with this mission and depend upon you to
+carry it out, that you'll play square with me. That's what I'm banking
+on--your own sense of squareness. You've got it, for I can see it in
+your eyes."
+
+"Who's Carlisle?" Rathburn asked dryly.
+
+Sautee frowned. "He's a--well, I guess you'd call him a sort of
+adventurer. I knew him down in Arizona. He follows the camps when
+they're good, and this one happens to be good right now, for we're
+improving the property. That's how he happened to come up here about a
+year ago. Then, when the first robbery occurred, I engaged him as a
+sort of special agent. He didn't make any progress, so I let him go.
+Since then he's been out and in, gambling, prospecting, anything--he's
+a fast man with his gun, and he has some claims here which he is
+developing on a small scale and trying to sell."
+
+Rathburn nodded but made no comment.
+
+"Will you take the job?" Sautee asked anxiously.
+
+"What do you want me to do?"
+
+"I want you to carry a sum of money to the mine. I'm not going to tell
+you how much, but it will be considerable. The money which was stolen
+yesterday was for the pay-off to-day. I've got to get the cash for the
+men up there quick. They all know about the holdup, so there's no
+grumbling--yet. But there will be if they don't have their money
+pretty quick. We want to pay off to-morrow. I could go with a guard,
+but to tell you the truth, Rathburn, it's got to a point where I can't
+trust a soul."
+
+"Why not Mannix?" asked Rathburn sharply.
+
+Sautee shook his head; his beady, black eyes glowed, and he stroked
+his chin.
+
+"There's another sorrowful point," he explained. "I tell you we're up
+against it here, Rathburn. The Dixie Queen people and most of the
+other mines are fighting the present county administration as a matter
+of policy. They want certain changes, and--well, keep this to
+yourself--privileges. Mannix has been instructed by the sheriff of
+this county that he is not here to act as a guard for the Dixie
+Queen. See?"
+
+Rathburn frowned and built another cigarette.
+
+"If you'll carry this package of money up to the Dixie Queen for me,
+Rathburn, I'll pay you five hundred dollars. Then, if you want to stay
+and act as our messenger right along, we'll make a deal. But I'd like
+to have you do this this time--make this one trip, anyway, I mean.
+They may try to stop you. If they do I don't believe they can get away
+with it. I'm banking on your ability to get through, and I think the
+proposition will appeal to you in a sporting way if for no other
+reason. Will you do it?" Sautee's eyes were eager.
+
+"Yes," said Rathburn shortly, tossing away his cigarette.
+
+Sautee held out his hand. "Go to the hotel and engage a room," he
+instructed. "Be in your room at nine o'clock to-night. Do not tell any
+one of our deal. I'll get your room number from the register. I'll
+bring the package of money to you between nine o'clock and midnight.
+Now, Rathburn, maybe I'm mistaken in you; but I go a whole lot by what
+I see in a man's eyes. You may have a hard record, but I'm staking my
+faith in men on you!"
+
+"I'll be there," Rathburn promised.
+
+He left Sautee at the entrance to the restaurant and strolled around
+the hotel barn to see that his horse was being taken care of properly.
+He found that the barn man was indeed looking after the dun in
+excellent shape. Rathburn spent a short time with his mount, petting
+him and rubbing his glossy coat with his hands. Then he took his
+slicker pack and started for the hotel.
+
+As he reached the street he saw a girl on a horse talking with a man
+on the sidewalk. The girl was leaning over, and the man evidently was
+delivering a harangue. He was gesticulating wildly, and Rathburn could
+see that the girl was cowering. He paused on the hotel porch as the
+man stepped away from the horse and looked his way. He recognized
+Carlisle.
+
+Then the girl rode down the street and Rathburn started with surprise
+as he saw she was the girl from the cabin up the road who had directed
+him to town the day before. He remembered the two objects he had
+picked up in the road after the holdup and felt in his pocket to make
+sure they were there. Then he entered the hotel.
+
+"Have you a room?" he asked the clerk pleasantly.
+
+"Yes. More rooms than anything else to-day since the Sunday crowd's
+gone."
+
+Rathburn wrote his name upon the register.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XVIII
+
+IN THE NIGHT
+
+
+Rathburn avoided the Red Feather resort during the morning. Instead of
+walking about the streets or sitting in the hotel lobby or his room,
+he cultivated the acquaintance of the barn man, and because he knew
+horses--_all_ about horses--he soon had the man's attention and
+respect.
+
+Although Rathburn suspected that he already had a reputation in the
+town, he did not know that Carlisle was steadily adding to that
+reputation through the medium of veiled hints dropped here and there
+until a majority of the population was convinced that a desperate man
+was in their midst, and that Mannix had permitted him to go free for
+certain secret reasons.
+
+Thus a web of mystery and suspicion was cleverly woven about
+Rathburn's movements.
+
+It was not until afternoon, however, that Rathburn began to realize on
+his intimacy with the barn man. Then they began to talk of trails, and
+for more than an hour the barn man, caught in the spell of Rathburn's
+personality, divulged the secret of the trails leading to and from the
+Dixie Queen.
+
+"The best trail, an' the straightest, if you should ever want to go up
+there an' look at the mine like you say," said the barn man, "hits
+into the timber behind the first cabin to the left above town."
+
+Rathburn nodded smilingly. It was the cabin where he had first seen
+the girl.
+
+"It's 'bout twenty-nine miles to the mine by the road," the man
+explained; "but that trail will take you there in less'n twenty. Well,
+maybe twenty or twenty-one. Or you can go up the road till you get to
+the big hogback--that's where they held up the truck driver
+yesterday--and cut straight up the hill from the south end."
+
+"I guess those are the best trails from what you say," was Rathburn's
+yawning comment.
+
+"Them's the best," the other added. "There's another trail going out
+below town that follows southeast along a big ridge, but that trail's
+as far as the road. When you goin' up?"
+
+"I dunno," replied Rathburn noncommittally. "Say, I guess I know where
+that cabin is on the left side of the road going up. I stopped at a
+cabin up there coming down an' asked a gal how far it was to
+town----"
+
+"That's it," said the barn man. "That's the one. Trail starts right
+back of that cabin."
+
+Rathburn yawned again. "Smart-lookin' gal," he observed, digging for
+his tobacco and papers. "Who is she?"
+
+"That's Joe Carlisle's sister. Anyway, he says she is. There's been
+some talk. Carlisle lives there when he ain't out in the hills or on a
+gamblin' trip to some other town."
+
+"I see. Well, old-timer, I ain't hung on the feed bag since morning,
+an' I'm going on a still hunt for some grub."
+
+Rathburn went to the Red Feather for his dinner. He was thoughtful
+through the meal and kept an eye out for Carlisle, but didn't see him.
+During the remainder of the afternoon he hung about the Red Feather
+and other resorts, but did not see Carlisle.
+
+That evening, as he was returning to the hotel, he met Mannix. The
+deputy looked at him with a scowl in which there was a mixture of
+curiosity. Rathburn suddenly remembered what Sautee had said about his
+company being on the outs with the county administration. If such was
+the case, Rathburn reflected, how did it come that Sautee had been
+able to effect his release so easily?
+
+He stopped as he drew alongside of the deputy. "This man Sautee," he
+drawled, looking Mannix square in the eye; "he must have a good drag
+with the county seat, eh?"
+
+The deputy's scowl deepened. "He didn't get you out by word of
+mouth alone," he said sharply. "I haven't got anything on you,
+Rathburn--yet."
+
+Rathburn smiled. "I reckon you're a sheriff after my own heart," he
+said enigmatically, and moved on.
+
+Mannix looked back after him for a moment, then continued on his way.
+
+Rathburn had dinner that night at the hotel, and it was during the
+course of a number of pleasantries with the waitress, who thought he
+was looking for work, that he ascertained that Sautee had a little
+two-room building at the lower end of the street, the front half of
+which served as an office and the rear half as living quarters.
+
+At nine o'clock he went to his room. He lighted the oil lamp, pulled
+down the window shade, sat down in a chair to one side of the door to
+wait. An hour passed with no sound save occasional footfalls in the
+hall and the drone of the wind in the trees outside.
+
+Another hour had nearly been consumed in waiting when Rathburn heard
+some one coming up the stairs. The footfalls were soft, catlike. He
+could hardly hear them, and it was this fact which made him instantly
+alert. The footfalls now sounded in the hallway. They were nearer his
+room. He rose; stepped close to the side of the door. Then came a
+soft knock.
+
+Rathburn suddenly opened the door, and Sautee started back, blinking
+his eyes. The mines manager peered about the room, then entered
+swiftly.
+
+"You rather startled me," he accused with a forced smile.
+
+Rathburn closed the door softly and turned the key in the lock.
+
+"I'm just taking natural precautions," he explained.
+
+Sautee shook his head and put a finger to his lips. "Not so loud," he
+warned. "These walls"--he waved a hand about--"are all ears."
+
+He took a package from beneath his coat and handed it to Rathburn.
+"Put it in your shirt," he instructed. "Deliver it to the office at
+the mine and take the bookkeeper's receipt. Then report to my office
+here in town. I wish you luck, and I want you to know that I have the
+utmost confidence in you."
+
+"You keep such large sums on hand all the time?" Rathburn asked,
+putting the package in his shirt. He was mindful of the fact that a
+similar sum had been stolen the day before from the truck driver.
+
+"There's a private bank here," answered Sautee frowningly. "He let me
+have it, but he's already sent to the county seat for more cash which
+will come by auto express to-morrow, probably. Anyway, the bank'll get
+most of this back, so their cash won't be short long."
+
+Rathburn nodded. "Let's see," he suggested. "There was a little item
+of five hundred between us for my serving--am I right?"
+
+"There is such an item," snapped out Sautee; "when you've delivered."
+
+"Of course," replied Rathburn. "I couldn't expect to be paid in
+advance. I'm to deliver the money at the mine and report to you for
+the five hundred."
+
+"Exactly," said Sautee. "Which way you figure on going up?" he asked
+curiously.
+
+"Don't know much about the trails," Rathburn answered. "An' it
+mightn't attract suspicion if I just struck right out on the road."
+
+Sautee shrugged. "Well, that's up to you," he said. "Keep your eye
+peeled. I don't think any one knows I drew that money from the bank,
+but I didn't think any one knew I stuck that package under the truck
+driver's seat, either."
+
+He turned toward the door.
+
+"There's just one other little matter," said Rathburn softly. "You see
+nobody knows anything about this deal but you an' me. Maybe it would
+be best for my own protection that you scribbled something on a piece
+of paper to show what our arrangement is."
+
+Sautee scowled again, hesitated, then smiled. He drew an envelope from
+a pocket, extracted its contents, tore it open at each end, and wrote
+on the blank side:
+
+  Due Rathburn five hundred dollars when he has delivered package
+  intrusted to him by me at the Dixie Queen mine office.
+
+  GEORGE SAUTEE.
+
+Rathburn nodded in satisfaction as he took the slip of paper and
+tucked it into his shirt pocket. The wording of the note was a bit
+complicated, but it bore Sautee's signature. It was at least evidence
+that there _had_ been an agreement.
+
+"Everything set?" asked Sautee.
+
+"All cinched up an' ready to go," replied Rathburn.
+
+"How soon you going to start?" asked Sautee as he unlocked the door.
+
+"By midnight," Rathburn answered.
+
+Sautee held out his hand before he slipped out of the door and was
+gone.
+
+Rathburn quickly busied himself with his slicker pack. He took out a
+gun which he changed for the gun in his holster. Then he stuck his
+regular gun into his waistband on the left. He took out the package
+and examined it. It was sealed at each end. Then Rathburn did a queer
+thing. He cut the string and paper near the seals and removed the
+small box within. He next emptied the box of its paper-wrapped
+contents and substituted the first thing of equal weight which he
+could lay his hands on--a moleskin glove which was among the things in
+the slicker pack. He replaced the box in its wrappings and drew from
+one of his pockets a small bottle of glue.
+
+"First time I ever stole anything from a hotel desk," he muttered to
+himself as he glued the paper back into place; "but I sure had the
+proper hunch when I grabbed this."
+
+Next he retied the string, adding a piece from his slicker pack to
+offset the shortness where it had been cut. When he had finished the
+package looked exactly as it had in the first place. It would take a
+close inspection to learn that it had been tampered with. The original
+contents of the package he thrust into his hat and pulled the hat well
+down on his head.
+
+Then he extinguished the light and made his way downstairs and out the
+lobby into the street. He went quickly around to the barn where he
+astonished the man in charge by saddling his horse and riding out
+without a word of explanation other than to toss him a five-dollar
+bill from the saddle.
+
+"See you again to-morrow--maybe," he called, grinning, as he rode into
+the night.
+
+When Rathburn had passed behind the hotel and several other buildings
+on the same side of the street and gained the road leading westward
+toward the hogback, a slim shadow darted out of the trees, mounted a
+horse concealed some distance behind the barn, and slipped into a worn
+trail which nearly paralleled the road going west.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XIX
+
+QUICK TURNS
+
+
+As he rode westward along the road at a swinging lope, Rathburn made
+no apparent effort to conceal his movements. The night sky was bright
+with stars, and, although the moon was not up, the road was clearly
+outlined through the marching stands of timber as he swung upward past
+the cabin where he had met the girl said to be Carlisle's sister.
+
+Rathburn could not forget the look on the girl's face when she had
+asked him about the activities of the officer in the automobile. Nor
+could he forget the expression in her eyes during her altercation with
+Carlisle that day.
+
+After he had passed the cabin, Rathburn checked his pace and proceeded
+more slowly up the long stretches of road to the hogback. On the
+hogback he began to take advantage of the screen of timber on the
+lower side of the road, and to ride more cautiously. However, to any
+one who might have been watching, his movements still would have been
+easily discernible, and it would have appeared that he wasn't quite
+sure of himself. Twice he turned off at what he appeared to think was
+the beginning of a trail, and both times he again turned back to the
+road.
+
+Then, as he reached the south end of the hogback where the trail left
+the road and cut straight across to the mine, two horsemen broke from
+the timber, and Rathburn reined in his horse as the guns which covered
+him glinted.
+
+The taller of the pair of night riders kept him covered with two guns
+while the other rode in close and jerked the weapon from his holster.
+
+"C'mon with the package!" said this man in a hoarse voice. "We won't
+take a chance on you. If you make any kind of a break you'll get it
+where it'll do most good."
+
+There was a sneering inflection in the voice.
+
+Rathburn's hand, as it moved downward toward his shirt, hovered an
+instant above where his good gun was stuck in his waistband, out of
+sight under the skirt of his coat; then it moved to the open shirt at
+his throat. He drew out the package and held it out toward the other.
+
+The man closed in and snatched the package, glancing at it in the dim
+starlight.
+
+"Now back the way you came an' don't invite no shootin'!" was the
+brief command.
+
+Rathburn whirled his horse and drove in his spurs. As he fled from the
+scene a harsh laugh came to his ears from behind. Then utter silence
+save for the pounding of his horse's hoofs in the hard road back down
+the hogback.
+
+"Jog along, hoss," Rathburn crooned as he sped down the long slopes
+toward town; "maybe we're peggin' things wrong, an' if it turns out
+that way we've a powerful long ways to go."
+
+It lacked a few minutes of being two hours after midnight when he
+reached the Carlisle cabin. There he reined in his horse, dismounted
+in the shadow of the timber, and crept to a window. The moon had risen
+and was bathing the hills in a ghostly light in which every object
+stood out clear-cut and easily distinguishable. Rathburn peered into
+the two front windows, but could see nothing. Then, from a side window
+into which the moonlight filtered, he made out a bedroom. It was not
+occupied. From the other side of the cabin he saw another bedroom,
+and it, too, was unoccupied.
+
+"Nobody home," he muttered cheerfully as he ran for his horse.
+
+In another minute he was again speeding down the road toward town. He
+slacked his pace as he reached the upper end of the short main street.
+The street was dark save for two beams of yellow light, one of which
+shone from a window of the jail office and the other from the front of
+the Red Feather resort.
+
+He walked his horse down the street past the jail and the resort and
+almost to the end of the line of buildings where he arrived before the
+small, one-story, two-room structure which was Sautee's office and
+abode.
+
+The place was dark. Rathburn dismounted and led his horse into the
+dark shadow at the side of the little building. Then he went around to
+the front, and, drawing his gun from his waistband, he rapped smartly
+on the door with its butt and dropped it into his holster.
+
+There was no movement within, and Rathburn rapped again and tried the
+door. It was locked.
+
+A match flared into flame somewhere beyond the front room. A glow of
+light followed. Rathburn, looking through the front window, saw a door
+open wide and made out the form of Sautee as the mines manager came
+forward to the front door.
+
+"Who is it?" Sautee called cautiously.
+
+"Rathburn."
+
+After a moment a key turned in the lock and the door opened part way.
+Rathburn pushed his way in.
+
+"Why--didn't you _go_?" asked Sautee in excited tones.
+
+"Lock the door an' come in the other room," whispered Rathburn. "I've
+got something to tell you that'll knock you for a goal."
+
+Sautee hurriedly locked the door, and, as he turned to lead the way
+into the other room, Rathburn deftly extracted the key.
+
+In the light from the lamp in the bedroom Sautee swung on his visitor
+and looked at him keenly. The mines manager was fully dressed, and the
+bed was made. It was evident that he had merely dozed on top of the
+covers with his clothes on. These things Rathburn noted even as Sautee
+surveyed him with a frown.
+
+"Well, what is it?" snapped out Sautee.
+
+Rathburn blinked in the light. "I--I was held up," he said sheepishly.
+
+The mines manager stared. First he stared into Rathburn's eyes, and
+then he glanced to the gun in the holster on his thigh.
+
+"Couldn't have been very much afraid of you," he said sneeringly. "I
+see they didn't even take your gun."
+
+"It all come from my not knowin' enough about the trails, I guess,"
+Rathburn explained lamely. "Got me on the far end of the hogback. Two
+of 'em. Had their guns in my face before I knew it. Couldn't have
+drawed if I wanted to. They'd have shot me out of the saddle in a
+wink. All I could do was hand over the package an' beat it."
+
+"And they said you were a gunman," said Sautee in derision. "How do
+_I_ know anybody stopped you and robbed you? Maybe you've come back
+here with that story to cover up the theft of the money. I guess I
+made a mistake in ever thinking of trusting a man of your caliber."
+
+"I was afraid of that," said Rathburn. "I was afraid if anything like
+this was to happen you might think I was lying and was taking the
+money myself. But I fooled 'em, Mr. Sautee," he finished in triumph.
+
+"What's that?" Sautee asked sharply.
+
+"Look here," cried Rathburn excitedly as he took off his hat and
+recovered the package he had put in it before starting toward the
+mine.
+
+He held up the package. "I was scared they might get wise an' get the
+drop on me," he said. "So I opened the package an' took out what was
+in it and put it in my hat. They got the original package, all right,
+but it was stuffed with an old glove of mine. Here's the money. I
+didn't go right on to the mine for fear they'd find out their mistake
+an' pot me from the timber. This is the money you gave me, minus the
+seals an' the string an' box. I wanted you to see that I was on the
+square."
+
+Sautee's eyes were bulging. "Give me that," he gulped out.
+
+"Why--don't you want me to take it to the mine?" asked Rathburn in
+surprise.
+
+"Hand that over," ordered Sautee, reaching for the package.
+
+Rathburn drew away. "All right, Mr. Sautee," he said in a complaining
+voice. "If you don't want me to go through with the job you can back
+down, I guess. We'll just make sure the money's here, though."
+
+Sautee leaped toward him.
+
+"Give me that package!" he cried angrily. "Do you hear me?"
+
+Rathburn warded him off, keeping the package at arm's length away.
+
+"Just hold your horses," he said coldly. "I reckon I know what I'm
+doing. You don't trust me now, an' I ain't goin' to take any chances
+with you. I'm goin' to open this an' show you that the money's there,
+that's all; I'm goin' to show you that I'm giving you back what you
+gave me all fair an' square."
+
+Sautee's face was ashen. His voice trembled as he spoke again: "Hand
+it over and get out of here. I've had enough trouble with you. I'll
+take your word for it."
+
+But Rathburn was undoing the paper wrappings.
+
+Again Sautee made a leap, but this time he met Rathburn's left fist
+and staggered back, dropping into a chair. Rathburn looked at him
+coldly.
+
+"Funny you're so anxious to take my word for things now, when a minute
+ago you said you couldn't know but what I'd told that holdup story for
+a blind so's I could get away with--_this_!"
+
+The wrappings fell away, revealing a wad of blank paper.
+
+Rathburn's face froze. Sautee stared white-faced at what the other
+held in his hand. Then a peculiar glint came into his eyes and he
+looked at Rathburn narrowly.
+
+"So that's the way of it," he said sarcastically.
+
+Rathburn stuffed the paper into a pocket. Then he pulled a chair in
+front of the mines manager and sat down. He took out paper and tobacco
+from his shirt pocket and began to fashion a cigarette.
+
+"It sure looks bad for me, doesn't it, Mr. Sautee?" he asked as he
+snapped a match into flame.
+
+"I thought you were going to return the money," Sautee said
+sneeringly.
+
+"It looks bad two ways," Rathburn went on as if he hadn't heard the
+other's comment. "First, if that package the holdups got had contained
+the money you could have swore it was a put-up job. I'd have had to
+beat it fast. Now, when I find that the package you gave to me was
+full of blank paper, you can say that I framed the holdup story and
+changed the money for paper in the bargain."
+
+Sautee's eyes were glowing. "An' you'll have to beat it, after all,"
+he jeered.
+
+"So it would seem," mused Rathburn. "I fooled 'em, an' to all
+appearances I fooled myself, although maybe I _did_ take a peep into
+that package when I changed it in my room, Mr. Sautee."
+
+The mines manager shifted in his chair; but he stared defiantly at
+Rathburn.
+
+"You'd have a hard time proving anything," he said grimly.
+
+"That's the trouble," Rathburn admitted. "I'd sort of have to depend
+on you. I was thinkin' maybe you double crossed me to make 'em think
+_I_ was carrying the money while you sneaked it up some other way, Mr.
+Sautee."
+
+"You can think what you want to," said Sautee. "But you better start
+moving. If I was you, I'd get as far away from this town and Mannix as
+I could by daylight."
+
+Rathburn's manner underwent a lightning change as he threw away his
+partly finished cigarette.
+
+"You're right," he said crisply. "It's time to start moving, Sautee."
+
+He rose, and his right hand moved incredibly fast. Sautee gasped as he
+looked into the bore of Rathburn's gun. He could hardly realize that
+Rathburn had drawn.
+
+"I fooled the night riders twice," explained Rathburn with a peculiar
+smile. "First, when I let 'em get the wrong package, an' again when I
+let 'em get the wrong gun. This gun an' I work together like clock
+ticks when necessary. I'll have to ask you to fork over the money that
+you drew from the bank an' that should have been in that package,
+Sautee."
+
+Rathburn's eyes had narrowed and hardened; his words were cold and
+menacing--deadly in their absolute sincerity.
+
+"What--what do you mean?" stammered the mines manager.
+
+"I take it you're not deaf," snapped out Rathburn. "Maybe you don't
+know it, Sautee, but so help me, you're takin' a chance by acting like
+you didn't get me."
+
+Sautee's thin face was twitching in a spasm of commingled rage and
+fear.
+
+"The Coyote!" he breathed.
+
+"Who told you that?" demanded Rathburn on the instant.
+
+Sautee gripped the sides of his chair, and his face went a shade more
+pallid.
+
+"Carlisle," he confessed in a strained voice.
+
+Rathburn laughed, and the mines manager shivered as he heard.
+
+"Now, Sautee, we'll quit beatin' around the bush," Rathburn said
+through his teeth. "We'll get down to business together, or I'll begin
+to search your place here. But if I have to search, I'll search alone.
+There ain't so much chance of a shot bein' heard way up the street;
+an' there ain't much chance of me bein' caught on that hoss of mine if
+I don't want to get caught. Also, I'm beginning to feel like I was in
+a hurry. Fork over that money!"
+
+Sautee looked just an instant longer into the eyes of the man towering
+over him. Then he rose, shaking, dry-lipped, and knelt down by the
+head of the bed. He lifted a piece of the carpet, opened a small
+trapdoor, reached inside, and brought out a bundle of bank notes.
+Rathburn took the money from him.
+
+Sautee still was kneeling as he heard Rathburn walk lightly to the
+front door and insert the key in the lock. He tried to cry out, but
+the effort resulted only in a croak in his throat. He heard the door
+close softly.
+
+"The Coyote!" he mumbled, passing a hand across his forehead.
+
+The echoes of galloping hoofs came to him as he scrambled to his feet
+and staggered toward the door.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XX
+
+APPEAL TO THE LAW
+
+
+For some moments Sautee stood in the darkened doorway staring up the
+moonlit street. The echoes of Rathburn's flight had died away. The
+town was still. Sautee did not cry out, although he had recovered a
+considerable measure of his composure. He listened intently and
+finally grunted with satisfaction.
+
+"Up the road," he muttered. "That means he is making for the pass over
+the mountains."
+
+He walked hurriedly through his office into the living room. There he
+stood for a spell beside the table on which burned the lamp. His brows
+were knit into a heavy frown. He seemed debating a question in his
+mind. He tapped with nervous fingers on the table top.
+
+"Pshaw," he said aloud, his face darkening. "He's an outlaw."
+
+He put on his coat and dropped an automatic pistol into a side pocket.
+After another moment of hesitation he blew out the light and walked
+quickly out of the place, locking the door after him.
+
+He hurried up the street to the jail. He found the jailer dozing in
+the little front office and did not attempt to disturb him. From the
+jail he hurried another short distance up the street and turned in at
+a little house located some distance back from the sidewalk. He
+knocked loudly on the door, and after a brief wait repeated the
+performance.
+
+A light showed, and the front door opened. Mannix, the deputy, looked
+out.
+
+"Let me in," said Sautee briefly. "There's been another robbery."
+
+Mannix swung the door wide and stepped aside. He wore an ulster over
+his night clothes, and his bare feet were thrust into slippers. He
+scowled at the mines manager as he shut the door.
+
+"More of the company's money gone?" he asked with a touch of sarcasm
+in his voice.
+
+Sautee nodded. "Some twenty-odd thousand," he said soberly; "and I
+believe the man that got it is responsible for the holdups that have
+been pulled off around here."
+
+"Who got it?" Mannix asked quickly.
+
+"Rathburn," Sautee announced.
+
+Mannix smiled in undisgusted contempt. "Your own fault," he pointed
+out. "Wouldn't give me a chance to investigate. Said you had a scheme
+that would show him up one way or the other. Wouldn't let me in on it,
+an' I was fool enough to let you have a try, although I don't believe
+I could have held him anyhow."
+
+"Just it," said Sautee. "Wouldn't have done any good to keep him in
+jail, and I thought I had a two-way scheme that would either show him
+up, as you say, or get me an excellent messenger. I intrusted Rathburn
+with a package to carry to the mines office. He's a gunman, a
+desperado, probably a killer, and I thought it would appeal to him to
+be put in a place of trust. If he fell down--then I figured you'd be
+able to get him like you said you could."
+
+Mannix snorted. "After tryin' a fool scheme you want to shift the
+business on _my_ shoulders, eh? Well, Sautee, you've never shown much
+confidence in my ability, an' you don't have to show any now. It looks
+to me as if the finishing of this play is all up to you."
+
+"Oh, no, it isn't," said Sautee confidently. "You'll be most mighty
+glad to take out after him."
+
+"Suppose you wait an' see how quick I start," Mannix retorted angrily.
+"What's the matter? Didn't he carry out your orders? I suppose you
+gave him a bundle of money to make off with. Sautee, I believe you're
+a fool!"
+
+The mines manager winced and then frowned. "I gave him the money to
+carry to the mine," he confessed without flinching. "He came back with
+a story about being held up, and when he saw that I didn't believe him
+and intended to turn him back to you, he pulled a gun on me and made
+his get-away. He lit out through town for the road to the hogback and
+the pass over the mountains."
+
+Mannix laughed harshly. "You're clever, Sautee; there's no getting
+away from how clever you are. Now you want me to go chasing up to the
+hogback to head him off. Well, I'm tellin' you that I don't know where
+he's gone, an' I ain't starting out after him at any two o'clock in
+the morning. If you'd have kept your nose out of this he'd still be
+all safe an' quiet in jail. That's final, so you might as well clear
+out an' give me a chance to get some sleep."
+
+Sautee merely smiled after this speech from the disgusted deputy.
+
+"Since I intrusted Rathburn with that job I've found out something
+about him which takes the case out of my hands entirely," he said with
+a smirk. "I don't care if you don't start after him till day after
+to-morrow. But if your chief--the sheriff--finds out that you didn't
+hit the trail to-night he'll likely ask you for your badge!"
+
+"Are you threatening me?" Mannix demanded loudly.
+
+"No, I'm only stating facts," Sautee replied stoutly. "That man who
+calls himself Rathburn is The Coyote!"
+
+Mannix didn't start. He appeared hardly interested. Only the keen,
+penetrating quality of the steady gaze he directed at the mines
+manager betrayed the fact that his faculties were aroused.
+
+"The Coyote hit back for Arizona after that deal he was mixed up in
+over in Dry Lake, across the range," he said with conviction.
+
+"Oh, he did?" Sautee sneered openly. "Well, you had him in jail last
+night, and you can probably get him again, if you start right out
+after him."
+
+"What makes you think this fellow Rathburn is The Coyote?" demanded
+Mannix.
+
+"Carlisle knows him by sight, and he told me."
+
+"Then why didn't you tell me?" the deputy asked sternly.
+
+"Because Carlisle didn't tell me until after I told him what I'd
+done," Sautee evaded. "Then I didn't have the--ah--nerve, under the
+circumstances, to come to you with the news. At that, I thought he
+might go through with it."
+
+Mannix swore softly. "Giving a pay-roll messenger's job to a man who's
+got a price on his head a mile long!" he exclaimed savagely. "Why
+didn't Carlisle come to me?"
+
+Sautee shrugged. "I'm not responsible for Carlisle. Maybe he didn't
+feel sure of it, and maybe he's just naturally jealous of The Coyote
+and wants to bring him in himself. Carlisle is a gunman, as you know,
+and a good one."
+
+"I know it," snapped out Mannix; "and I know both Carlisle an' you are
+a pair of bunglers. I guess you wanted to show me up, but you've gone
+about it in a way that won't get you anything nor hurt me, I'll see to
+that."
+
+Sautee smiled as the deputy hurried out of the room.
+
+In a few minutes Mannix returned fully dressed and carrying a rifle.
+The deputy's face was severe, and his eyes burned with the fire of the
+man hunt. He signaled impatiently to the mine manager to follow him.
+As they walked across the little porch and around to the rear of the
+house where Mannix kept his car the deputy talked fast.
+
+"I'm goin' up to the hogback. He ain't had start enough to get up
+there yet on a horse, an' I'll beat him to it. It'll be daylight in
+about two hours, an' I'll be there till daylight. If you think you can
+do it, get out some of the men an' cover the trails to the mine on
+horses. He might try to get over that way. Then you better take your
+car and go up to the mine by the road as fast as you can to tell 'em
+to be on the lookout. Watch out on the hogback, for I'll be up there,
+parked with my lights out."
+
+He had reached his small garage when he finished giving his
+instructions, and Sautee, with a promise to do as he had been told as
+quickly as possible, ran down the street toward the Red Feather, where
+a light still shone.
+
+The news that The Coyote and Rathburn were one and the same, and that
+he had robbed the mining company that night and was probably
+responsible for the other holdups, created an immediate sensation
+among the few gamblers in the resort. Sautee added to the excitement
+by quoting rewards at random, and the forming of two posses to comb
+the trails to the mine and beyond was under way at once.
+
+Sautee ran to his office and got out his small car. He stopped at the
+Red Feather and took one of the men from the mine with him. He
+stopped again when he reached the Carlisle cabin, pounded on the
+doors, and looked in the windows. But the place was deserted, and
+Sautee's features were wreathed in perplexity as he went back to his
+car.
+
+"That's queer," he said as he climbed into his seat.
+
+"What's that?" asked the man beside him.
+
+But Sautee's answer was drowned in the roar of the motor as he sped up
+the road toward the hogback and the mine.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXI
+
+A CAPTURE
+
+
+When Rathburn rode away from Sautee's quarters he galloped up the
+street straight for the road which led west out of town. He pulled his
+horse down to a trot when he reached the Carlisle cabin and made
+another brief inspection which showed that the place was deserted.
+Then he struck into the trail behind the cabin and began the ascent
+toward the Dixie Queen.
+
+He rode slowly through the timber, depending upon his mount to keep to
+the dim trail, but in the open stretches in meadows and on the crest
+of ridges where the timber thinned, he made better time. On this
+occasion one would not have noted an attitude of uncertainty about his
+manner or movements. He had paid strict attention to the barn man's
+description of this trail, and he had determined general directions
+the day before. Rathburn was not a stranger to the art of following
+new trails; nor was he the kind to become confused in a locality with
+which he was not familiar unless he became absolutely lost. In this
+instance it would be a hard matter to become lost, for the ridges rose
+steadily upward toward the summits of the high mountains, the town was
+in the narrow valley below, and the foothills ranged down to the
+desert in the east.
+
+He was halfway to the mine when he saw the gleam of an automobile's
+lights in the road far below.
+
+"Sautee got busy right quick," he said aloud. "I 'spect they're
+hustlin' up to head me off at the hogback. They're figuring I'd try to
+go back the way I come in."
+
+He smiled grimly in the soft moonlight, and his gaze turned toward the
+east, where the stars glowed over the shadowy reaches of desert which
+he could not see, but the very thought of which stirred something in
+his soul.
+
+Then he pushed on up the trail toward the mine. For more than an hour
+he rode, and then, when he came to the crest of a ridge just below the
+Dixie Queen, he saw the lights of an automobile in the road to the
+right of him.
+
+"Now what?" he ejaculated. "They ain't figurin' I'd come up here!"
+
+He sat his horse with features again wreathed in perplexity. He
+scowled at the approaching gleam of light. In the direction of the
+hogback he could see nothing. Nor could he see the horsemen already on
+the trail below him and on the ridge trail to eastward.
+
+The little mine village was directly below him. The few buildings
+huddled together below the big mine dump were dark. The mine
+buildings, too, were dark. A faint glow showed in the east--harbinger
+of the dawn.
+
+The left side of the automobile was toward him when it stopped in the
+little street below. A man climbed out and walked around in front of
+the car, and Rathburn grunted in recognition as he made out the
+familiar form of Sautee, the mine manager.
+
+He saw Sautee and another leave the car and walk toward a building at
+the lower end of the street. He could see them fairly well in the
+moonlight and realized that in a comparatively short time it would be
+daylight. He turned his horse down the slope.
+
+When he reached the rear of the few buildings which formed the mining
+village, catering to the wants of the Dixie Queen workers, Rathburn
+edged along to the lower end where he left his horse in the shadow of
+a building directly across from the one which Sautee and his companion
+had entered, and in the windows of which a light now shone.
+
+He stole across the street. Peering in one of the windows he saw that
+the room was an office. Sautee was standing before a desk, talking to
+another man. Rathburn quickly surmised that this man had accompanied
+Sautee from the town. Even as he looked, Sautee finished his speech by
+striking a palm with his fist, and his companion strode toward the
+door.
+
+Rathburn darted around the side of the building into the shadow as the
+man came out and hurried up a wide road toward the mine buildings
+above. Then Rathburn ran around to the front of the building and
+quietly opened the door.
+
+Sautee had seated himself at the desk, and he swung about in his chair
+as he heard the door open. He looked again into the black bore of
+Rathburn's gun. His eyes bulged, and this time they shone with genuine
+terror.
+
+"It was sure in the pictures for us to meet again, Sautee," said
+Rathburn easily. "Our business wasn't finished. We ain't through
+yet."
+
+"There isn't any more money," Sautee gasped out. "There's no money up
+here at all."
+
+"Oh, yes, there is," said Rathburn with a mirthless smile. "There's
+twenty-odd thousand dollars in my right-hand coat pocket. Now I wonder
+what you've got in yours. It don't stand to reason you'd start out
+this time without a gun. Stand up!"
+
+Sautee rose. His face was ashen. He held his hands high as Rathburn
+pressed his weapon against his chest and relieved him of the automatic
+which he carried. Rathburn felt his other pockets and then smiled
+agreeably. He tossed the automatic on the desk.
+
+"All right, we'll get goin'," he announced, indicating the open door.
+"We'll have to hurry, for I take it you've sent for somebody from the
+mine."
+
+"Where are we going?" asked Sautee without moving.
+
+"We're goin' for a little mornin' walk, if you act reasonable,"
+replied Rathburn. "That was my intention. But if you don't want to
+go----"
+
+He shrugged, and as Sautee looked fixedly at him, he cocked his gun.
+
+Sautee hurried toward the door with Rathburn following him closely.
+When they were outside Rathburn directed Sautee across the street.
+When they reached Rathburn's horse Rathburn quickly mounted and
+motioned to the mines manager to precede him into the timber behind
+the little village. When they gained the shelter of the timber they
+gradually circled around until they struck a trail which led up above
+the mine. They started up this, Sautee leading the way on foot with
+Rathburn following on his horse and keeping his gun trained on the
+mines manager's back.
+
+"Don't worry," Rathburn crooned. "I won't shoot you in the back,
+Sautee. That wouldn't be accordin' to my ethics. But I'd have to stop
+you if you made a break to leave the present company."
+
+Sautee plodded on, his breath coming in gasps, the perspiration
+standing out on his forehead.
+
+The trail joined with another well-worn path a short distance above
+the mine. The eastern sky now was light, and Rathburn saw a stone
+building above them. He also saw that they were on the steep slope of
+the big mountain on which the Dixie Queen was located, and that there
+was a rift in this mountain to the left which indicated the presence
+of a pass there.
+
+In a few minutes they reached the stone building. It had an iron door
+across which was painted the legend:
+
+  DANGER POWDER--DYNAMITE KEEP AWAY
+
+Rathburn dismounted and tossed the reins over his horse's head so the
+animal would stand.
+
+"That place looks like a natural jail," he commented.
+
+"It's the mine's powder house," said Sautee, wiping his wet forehead.
+
+"Sure," Rathburn rejoined, "that's just what it is. I expect there's
+enough powder in there to blow half this mountain off."
+
+He walked to the door and took out his gun as he examined the
+padlock.
+
+"What are you going to do?" asked Sautee excitedly.
+
+"I'm goin' to blow the lock off," said Rathburn coolly.
+
+"Don't do it!" cried Sautee. "There's high-percentage dynamite in
+there and T N T caps that we use on road work--dozens of boxes of it.
+You might set it off!"
+
+Rathburn looked at the quaking mine manager speculatively. "That's
+right," he said finally, turning aside to grin to himself. "I guess
+any little jar might start it workin'. It goes off easy, I've heard."
+
+"There are caps and detonators in there, too," said Sautee quickly.
+"You might shoot into them some way, you never can tell. Well, it
+would be as bad for you as for me." He uttered the last sentence in a
+note of triumph.
+
+Rathburn was looking at the far-flung view below. He turned a hard
+gaze on Sautee. "What difference do you suppose it would make to me if
+that stuff in there goes off?" he demanded in a harsh voice. "Look
+down there!"
+
+Sautee looked and drew in his breath with a gasp.
+
+In the clear light of the blossoming dawn the whole panorama of the
+lower mountain country was spread out before them. To the left, under
+the towering peaks of the divide, the rounded crest of the hogback was
+discernible, and a black spot marked the location of Mannix's
+automobile.
+
+"There's a car over there," said Rathburn, noting the direction of
+Sautee's gaze.
+
+Almost directly below them a number of mounted men filed over a ridge
+and again disappeared in the timber. Off to the right more horsemen
+were to be seen.
+
+"Looks like there was a posse or two out this morning," said Rathburn
+in a forbidding voice. "I reckon I ain't such a fool as not to know
+who they're lookin' for, Sautee. Now maybe you can figure out why I
+ain't as scared of that powder house as you are."
+
+"I can stop them!" cried Sautee in a shaking voice.
+
+"Sure," Rathburn agreed. "You can say you lied about me takin' the
+money----"
+
+"I'll tell 'em you gave it back!" said Sautee hoarsely. "I'll tell 'em
+you brought it on up to the mine and that it's in the safe. I'll
+square it----"
+
+"But you can't square the rewards that are out for The Coyote," said
+Rathburn sternly. "You've stepped into a bigger game than you
+thought, Sautee, an' it's got plumb out of your hands."
+
+He turned on the mine manager fiercely. "Whatever happens, remember
+this: Once a man gets a bad reputation in a country like this or the
+country I come from, he's got it for keeps. He can't get away from it
+no matter how he acts or what he does. Mine has drove me away from the
+place where I belong; it's followed me here; I can't lose it; an' the
+way things has been going, by glory, I don't know if I _want_ to lose
+it!"
+
+Sautee cowered back under the fierceness in Rathburn's manner.
+
+"An' you can tell 'em, if you ever have a chance to talk again, that I
+earned my reputation square! I ain't involved nobody else, an' I ain't
+stole from any poor people, an' I never threw my gun down on a man who
+didn't start for his first."
+
+The deadly earnestness and the note of regret in Rathburn's tone
+caused Sautee to forget his uneasiness temporarily and stare at the
+man in wonder. Rathburn's eyes were narrowed, his gaze was steel blue,
+and his face was drawn into hard, grim lines as he looked out upon the
+far-flung, glorious vista below them, broken here and there by the
+movement of mounted men.
+
+"Maybe I--I----" Sautee faltered in his speech. His words seemed
+impotent in the face of Rathburn's deadly seriousness.
+
+Rathburn turned abruptly to the powder house door.
+
+"Wait!" cried Sautee.
+
+The mines manager dug frantically into his pockets and drew out a
+bunch of keys.
+
+"There are some locks on this property to which there are only two
+keys," he explained nervously. "This is one of them, and I carry the
+second key. Here!"
+
+He held out the key ring with one key extended.
+
+Rathburn thrust his gun back into its holster and took the keys. In a
+moment he had unlocked the padlock and swung open the iron door,
+exposing case after case of high explosive within the stone
+structure.
+
+Sautee was staring at him in dire apprehension.
+
+Rathburn pointed toward the rift in the mountain on the left above
+them. Sautee looked and saw a man and a boy riding down the trail.
+
+"That looks to me like the man that held me up last night," said
+Rathburn. "He looks like one of the men, anyway. Maybe he's found out
+he didn't get much, eh? Maybe he's coming back because he didn't have
+enough to make a get-away with. Maybe he thinks he was double crossed
+or something."
+
+Sautee's features were working in a spasm of fear and worry. Suddenly
+he turned on Rathburn.
+
+"Why don't you get away?" he asked in eager pleading. "That trail will
+take you out of the mountains and down into the desert country. You're
+from the desert, aren't you? You can make it. You've made a good haul.
+Go! It'll be better for me and all of us!"
+
+Rathburn laughed bitterly. "I can't go because I'm a worse fool than
+you are," he said acridly. "Get in there. Sneaking lizards, man, can't
+you see I'm tempted to put a shot into one of them boxes and blow us
+both to kingdom come?"
+
+Sautee shrank back into the powder house, and Rathburn slammed the
+door.
+
+As Rathburn snapped the padlock and thrust the keys into his pocket
+his eyes again sought the trail to the left above him. No one was in
+sight. The man and the boy had disappeared in a bend or depression in
+the trail.
+
+But when he looked down toward the hogback he saw a car coming up the
+road toward the mine. A number of horsemen had taken its place on the
+hogback.
+
+Rathburn ran for his horse.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXII
+
+A SECOND CAPTURE
+
+
+Rathburn rode straight up the trail which led from the powder house
+toward the pass over the big mountain. His eyes were gleaming with
+satisfaction, but several times they clouded with doubt, and he felt
+the bank notes in his coat pocket. Each time, however, he would shake
+his head and push on up the trail with renewed energy.
+
+Looking backward and downward, he could see the posses gathering in
+the street of the mine village. He sensed the excitement which had
+followed the sudden disappearance of Sautee and smiled grimly. He saw
+that the automobile from the hogback had reached the village. Scores
+of men were clustered about it. He knew Mannix was taking personal
+charge of the man hunt; but there was a chance to get away!
+
+He looked wistfully eastward. Somewhere off there, beyond the rolling
+foothills, was the desert. He thrilled. It had been there he had made
+his first mistake. Goaded by the loss of his small cattle ranch he had
+taken revenge on the man who had foreclosed on him and others in a
+similar predicament. He had held up the bank and restored a small
+measure of the losses. Even then the profit of the unscrupulous money
+lender had been enormous.
+
+But the law had marked Rathburn. The gunmen who were jealous of his
+reputation as an expert at the draw had forced him to fall back upon
+that draw to protect his life. Thus he had been driven to obtain a
+living in the best way he could, and something in the dangerous,
+uncertain life of the outlaw had appealed to his wild blood.
+
+Sautee had said the money in his pocket was a good haul. Why not? He
+looked again to eastward. Over the big mountain--into the timber--a
+circling back--a straight cut east----
+
+He knew he could do it. He had evaded posses before--posses composed
+of trained men who were accustomed to take the man trail. It would
+actually be rare sport to play with the crowd below. His left hand
+dropped idly into his coat pocket, and he started as he fingered what
+was there. Then his brow became furrowed, and he scowled.
+
+"Maybe I ain't such a good guesser after all," he muttered. "Maybe I'm
+just what I told Sautee--a fool."
+
+He caught sight of a man and a boy above him. Another instant and they
+were lost to view.
+
+Rathburn suddenly put the spurs to his horse, and the dun surged up
+the steep trail. As he rode, Rathburn took his rawhide lariat from its
+place on the saddle. At a point above where the trail twisted about a
+huge outcropping of rock he turned off, dismounted, and crept to the
+top of the rocks. Quickly he surveyed the trail above. Then he slipped
+back down to his horse, got in the saddle, and took up a position just
+at the lower end of the outcropping, some little distance back from
+the trail and above it. He held the lariat ready in his hands.
+
+He sat his horse quietly--listening. The wind had died with the dawn,
+and there was no sound in the hills. The sun was mounting in the sky
+to eastward. Rathburn looked out over the timbered slopes below with
+wistful eyes. Suddenly his gaze became alert. The sound of horses upon
+the rocky trail above the outcropping came to his ears.
+
+Gradually the sound became more and more distinct. He could hear the
+hoofs of the horses striking against the rock of the trail. He shook
+out the noose of his rope, and it sang as it whirled in the air.
+
+The head of a horse had hardly pushed past the rock when Rathburn's
+noose went swirling downward and dropped true over its target. The man
+in the saddle loosed a string of curses as he felt the rawhide lariat
+tighten about his arms and chest. His horse shied, and he was dragged
+from the saddle, landing on his feet, but falling instantly.
+
+The second horse reared back, and Rathburn's gun covered the boy in
+the saddle. Rathburn, keeping tight hold on the rope hand over hand,
+and retaining his gun in his right hand at the same time, ran down the
+short pitch. The boy's horse became still, and while the youth stared
+Rathburn trussed up the first rider and then stood off to look at
+him.
+
+"Just takin' a mornin' ride, Carlisle?" he asked cheerfully. "Or did
+you forget something? Don't make any false moves, kid. I ain't in a
+playful mood."
+
+The boy continued to stare, but Carlisle's face was black with rage,
+and curses flowed from his lips.
+
+"That won't get you anything," Rathburn said coolly. "You might better
+be doin' some tall thinking instead of cussing. You ain't got the
+cards stacked for this deal, Carlisle."
+
+"What's your game?" Carlisle managed to get out.
+
+"It's a deep one," Rathburn replied dryly. "An' it's too complicated
+to tell you now. I'm goin' to give you a chance to do the thinking I
+mentioned a while back. I ain't takin' your gun or your horse. The
+only thing I'm takin' is a chance, an' I ain't takin' it on _your_
+account."
+
+For an instant Rathburn's eyes burned with fury. Then he dragged
+Carlisle into the shelter of the rocks, to the side of the trail, and
+tied his horse near by. Mounting, he motioned to the boy to ride down
+the trail ahead of him. He looked at the big hat and the overalls the
+boy wore. The youth looked wildly about and then drove the spurs into
+his mount and dashed down the trail with Rathburn close behind,
+calling to him to take it easy.
+
+Just as they reached a spot directly above the powder house the boy
+reined in his horse. Rathburn saw he was looking down at the turbulent
+scene in the street of the little village below the mine. Then the boy
+swayed in the saddle, and Rathburn had just time to fling himself to
+the ground and catch the senseless form in his arms as it toppled.
+
+He put his burden down on the grass beside the trail and led his horse
+into the timber and tied him. Next he picked up the boy and made his
+way down to the powder house. The shouts of many men came to him from
+far below. He succeeded in getting out the keys and unlocking the
+padlock which secured the door of the powder house. Then he opened the
+door, covered the frightened mine manager with his gun, and carried
+his burden in with one arm.
+
+"One of the accomplices," he said briefly to Sautee, as he put the lad
+down and loosened the shirt at the throat. "He'll come around in a
+minute."
+
+Sautee's eyes were popping from his head. He leaned back upon the
+cases of dynamite and passed a clammy hand over his brow.
+
+"I've got Carlisle, too," said Rathburn. "Takin' it all around from
+under it ain't a bad morning's haul."
+
+Sautee now stared at him with a new look in his eyes--a look in which
+doubt struggled with terror.
+
+"I don't believe you _are_ The Coyote!" he blurted out.
+
+"Who do you reckon I might be, if I ain't?" Rathburn asked quietly.
+
+"You might be some kind of a deputy or something."
+
+Rathburn laughed harshly. "It just happens I'm the man some folks call
+The Coyote," he said. "I don't like the name, but it was wished on me,
+an' I can't seem to shake it off. If I wasn't the man you think I am
+you wouldn't be in such a tight fix, Sautee."
+
+Rathburn's words conveyed a subtle menace which was not lost on the
+mine manager. Sautee cringed and rubbed his hands in his nervous
+tension.
+
+"What are you going to do?" he asked.
+
+"Listen!" exclaimed Rathburn.
+
+From below came the echoes of shouts and other sounds which conveyed
+the intelligence that a large body of men was on the move up to the
+mine and the mountain slope above.
+
+"They're after me," said Rathburn bitterly. "They think I stole the
+pay-rolls. They can't get me, Sautee--not alive. An' if they get me
+the other way I'm goin' to see to it somehow that I don't get blamed
+for these jobs up here. Now, do you begin to see daylight?"
+
+Sautee wet his dry lips. The figure on the floor stirred. The shouts
+from below sounded more distinct.
+
+Rathburn's gun leaped into his hand. "You better start hoping the
+shootin' don't begin till we understand each other, Sautee," he said
+grimly. "We've come to the show-down!"
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIII
+
+QUICK FACTS
+
+
+Disregarding the sounds which continued to come from below, Rathburn
+stood, gun in hand, regarding Sautee with a grim countenance and a
+cold look in his keen, gray eyes.
+
+"I saw that truck driver held up, Sautee. I was on a ridge below the
+divide. I saw the tall man in the black slicker, his pardner, an' the
+boy. I didn't figure it would do any good to tell Mannix I'd taken in
+the show, an' I was on my way to the desert. I'd be there now if
+Carlisle hadn't overstepped the mark in that Red Feather place."
+
+Sautee pricked up his ears. "You let them arrest you," he said.
+"Why----"
+
+"Because I knew Mannix didn't know who I was an' didn't have anything
+on me," said Rathburn quickly. "An' I got peevish at Carlisle an'
+plumb suspicious when he tried to make things look bad for me right
+there at the start. I began to wise up to the whole lay when you got
+me out of jail."
+
+Sautee's face went white again.
+
+"Your fine explanations of why you couldn't get that money up to the
+mine were thin as water, Sautee. You could get that money up there if
+you wanted to, an' when you asked me to carry the package to the mine
+it was a dead out-an'-out give-away. I reckon you didn't play me to
+have any sense, an' I don't think you gave Carlisle credit for havin'
+the brains of a jack rabbit, either."
+
+Rathburn laughed as the mine manager stared at mention of Carlisle's
+name again.
+
+"Don't worry," he said contemptuously. "I know it was Carlisle who
+held me up. I take it he figured that you'd actually put money in that
+package. Wouldn't be surprised if it was him that you got to try that
+stunt. An' he started away with the package as soon as he got it
+instead of sneakin' back home to split with you. He double crossed you
+an' you double crossed him an' me. Now I'm double crossing the two of
+you."
+
+Sautee's look had changed to one of anger. He glared at Rathburn,
+forgetting his predicament.
+
+"You'd have a fine time proving any of this nonsense," he found the
+courage to say.
+
+"I'm not only goin' to prove what I've said so far, but I'm goin' to
+prove that these robberies were a put-up job between you an' Carlisle,
+with somebody helping you," said Rathburn. "I've been in the mining
+game myself, Sautee, but in our country men spend their lives hunting
+metal to make some bunch of stockholders rich. Maybe they get
+something out of it themselves, an' maybe they don't; but they're
+square, an' the men that run the mines are square 'most always. Anyway
+they develop properties, an' that's more'n you're doing. You're not
+doing this camp any good. You're bleeding the mine an' the company,
+too."
+
+"And I suppose you--The Coyote--are taking a hand in this business as
+a matter of principle," sneeringly replied Sautee.
+
+"I didn't take a hand," Rathburn pointed out sternly. "You an'
+Carlisle forced a hand on me, an' I'm goin' to play it out. I've
+another reason, too," he added mysteriously.
+
+"Did you say you had Carlisle?" Sautee asked in feigned anxiety.
+
+"I've got him dead to rights," replied Rathburn shortly, taking some
+paper and a pencil from a pocket.
+
+Sautee looked at him curiously as he started to write on the paper.
+"Going to write it all out and leave it?" he asked sneeringly.
+
+"I'm going to put it outside the powder house in a place where Mannix
+or some of the others will be sure to find it," was the puzzling
+answer.
+
+"I suppose they'll believe it quicker if it's in writing," said Sautee
+bravely.
+
+Rathburn finished writing, folded the paper, and placed it in the
+left-hand pocket of his coat. He carefully put away the pencil. His
+next act caused Sautee real concern.
+
+Using a drill which was there for the purpose, evidently, Rathburn
+broke open a box of dynamite caps and a box of dynamite. A single coil
+of fuse was lying on a box. He quickly affixed the cap to a stick of
+the dynamite and crimped on a two-foot length of fuse. Then he moved
+the opened box of dynamite to the doorway and struck the stick with
+cap and fuse attached into it.
+
+"There," he said, evidently greatly satisfied with his work. "That
+fuse will burn about two minutes----" He paused. "That's too long," he
+concluded.
+
+Perspiration again stood out on Sautee's forehead as he watched
+Rathburn cut off a foot of the fuse.
+
+"That's better," said Rathburn with a queer smile. "That'll burn about
+a minute. Time enough."
+
+Sautee stared in horrified fascination at the foot of fuse which stuck
+straight out from the box of dynamite in the doorway. "What--what are
+you going to do?" he gasped out.
+
+"Listen, Sautee," said Rathburn coolly. "When that stick of powder
+explodes it'll set off the box an' the other boxes, an' instead of a
+powder house here there'll be a big hole in the side of the
+mountain."
+
+"Man--man--you're not going to do--_that_!" Sautee's words came in a
+hoarse whisper.
+
+"I reckon that's what I'm goin' to have to do," said Rathburn as he
+bent over the form on the floor of the powder house.
+
+The boy's eyes were open and were staring into Rathburn's.
+
+Rathburn lifted him to his feet, where he stood unsteadily. Again the
+gun was in Rathburn's hand.
+
+"This party is goin' to leave us," he said to the frightened mine
+manager. "I'm goin' to step just outside for a minute. It's your
+chance to make a break, Sautee; but if you try it I'll send a bullet
+into that cap. Maybe you heard somewhere that I can shoot tolerably
+well," he concluded in his drawl.
+
+Sautee gripped the sides of the boxes piled behind him.
+
+Rathburn led the boy outside and said quickly: "Just what is this man
+Carlisle to you?"
+
+A look of fear, remorse, dejection--all commingled and pleading--came
+into the dark eyes that looked up into his.
+
+Rathburn didn't wait for a verbal answer.
+
+"Your horse is just up the trail a piece," he said hurriedly. "Get up
+there--go up behind the powder house, so the men below can't see you.
+Swing off into the timber to the left and get down out of here. I'll
+keep their attention. Go home."
+
+He waited a moment until he saw that his instructions were being
+carried out, then he leaped again to the doorway of the powder house.
+
+Sautee's face was livid, and his teeth were chattering. Rathburn took
+a match from his shirt pocket.
+
+"Stop!" screamed Sautee. "I'll talk. You were right. It was a
+frame-up. I'll tell everything--_everything_!"
+
+The perspiration was streaming from his face, and his voice shook with
+terror.
+
+"You'll have a chance to talk in less than a minute," said Rathburn
+calmly.
+
+A chorus of shouts came from the trail just below the powder house as
+a number of men came into view.
+
+Rathburn stepped in front of the door with the match in his left hand
+and his gun in his right.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIV
+
+THE SHOW-DOWN
+
+
+A wild chorus of yells greeted him. He had surmised that the men had
+seen him coming back down the trail to the powder house with his human
+burden. Now he called Sautee into view. They would most naturally
+assume that it was the mine manager he had been carrying.
+
+"Come to the door where they can see you," he called to Sautee.
+
+The ring in his voice brought Sautee, white-faced and shivering, to
+the doorway beside Rathburn.
+
+Another round of yells followed the mine manager's appearance. Then
+there was a sudden stillness. Rathburn saw that the crowd was made up
+mostly of miners. They paused in the wide place in the trail just
+below the powder house, and Mannix pushed to the fore.
+
+"I want you, Coyote," he called sternly.
+
+"Now, don't you think I know it?" replied Rathburn in a voice which
+carried to all the members of the mob. "You don't want me for robbing
+this mine, Mannix; you want me for something you don't know anything
+about--because I've got a record. Wait a minute!"
+
+He shot out the words as the mob pushed a step forward.
+
+"If you fellows take a couple more steps in this direction I'll put a
+bullet into this box of dynamite!"
+
+The movement stopped instantly. Men stared up at him breathlessly, for
+they realized that he meant what he said.
+
+Mannix's face was pale, but his eyes glowed with determination.
+
+"Do you think it's worth it, Coyote?" he asked.
+
+"Step up here, Mannix, an' listen to what this fellow has to say," was
+Rathburn's reply. "Men," he called in a loud voice, "I'm lookin' to
+you to give your mine boss an' your deputy sheriff a fair deal."
+
+There was a murmur among the men. Mannix, after a moment of
+hesitation, stepped forward.
+
+Rathburn swung on Sautee. "Tell him!" he commanded in a voice which
+stung like the crack of a whip on still air.
+
+"I--I had a hand in the business," said Sautee frantically. "It was
+Carlisle and me. We--we framed the robberies."
+
+Mannix's eyes narrowed.
+
+"Tell him where I got that money last night," Rathburn thundered.
+"Tell him, Sautee, or, so help me, I'll drill a hole through you!"
+
+Sautee cowered before the deadly ferocity in Rathburn's voice. "I had
+it in the--office--downtown," he stammered. "There was blank paper in
+that package, Mannix. Let him go--let him go, Mannix, or we'll all be
+killed!" Sautee cried.
+
+Rathburn was looking steadily at the deputy. "Carlisle is roped an'
+tied up the trail by the big rocks," he said. "Send up there for him
+an' bring him down here."
+
+Several of the men who were mounted spurred their horses up the steep
+trail. There was utter silence now among the men. Mannix, too, was
+cool and collected. He had not drawn his gun. He surveyed the quaking
+Sautee with a look of extreme contempt. The mine manager's nerves had
+gone to pieces before Rathburn's menacing personality. All he cared
+for now was his life. The black reputation he had given to Rathburn
+led him to believe that the man could not be depended upon, and that
+he was liable to carry out his threat and blow them all to bits. He
+wet his lips with a feverish tongue.
+
+"Where's the money you an' Carlisle got away with?" demanded Mannix.
+
+"I've got all I took," whined Sautee. "I'll give it back. I don't know
+what Carlisle's done with his. It was his scheme, anyway; he proposed
+it when he hit this country a year ago."
+
+"And the other man----" suggested Mannix.
+
+"Mike Reynolds," cried Sautee. "But he was only in on the truck driver
+deal and--last night. Let The Coyote go, Mannix----"
+
+Then Sautee, in a frenzy of fear, an easy prey to the seriousness of
+the situation and his shattered nerves, told everything. He explained
+how it had been Carlisle who proposed getting Rathburn out of jail and
+making him the goat. He told of the worthless contents of the package
+he had given Rathburn to carry to the mine, how they had planned to
+rob him on the way and thus put him in a situation where he would have
+to get out of the country. He explained how Carlisle had pointed out
+that they had a club over Rathburn's head in their knowledge of his
+real identity. He complained that Carlisle had intended to double
+cross him, and how he had double crossed Carlisle in turn. He ended
+with a whining plea for consideration at the hands of Mannix.
+
+The men with Carlisle came down the trail. Carlisle was astride his
+own horse. His gun was in his holster.
+
+"We've got you, you outlaw!" he cried as he flung himself from the
+saddle and strode up to Rathburn, Mannix, and Sautee.
+
+Rathburn's eyes had narrowed until they were slits through which his
+cold, hard gaze centered upon Carlisle. His attitude had changed. Even
+his posture was suddenly different. There was a long breath from the
+men behind Mannix. It was a tense moment. They could see the menace in
+Rathburn's manner, and they could see that Carlisle was fighting mad.
+
+"Ain't you a little free with your language, Carlisle?" drawled
+Rathburn.
+
+"You know who he is?" Carlisle cried to Mannix. "He's The Coyote--an
+outlaw an' a killer with a price a mile long on his head----"
+
+"But I ain't never sneaked any miners' pay-rolls, Carlisle," Rathburn
+broke in with a sneering inflection in his voice. "What'd you do with
+Mike Reynolds? He was with you last night, wasn't he?"
+
+Carlisle's jaw snapped shut. He swung on Rathburn with eyes darting
+red. Then his gaze flashed to the cringing Sautee.
+
+"You--you rat----"
+
+Rathburn stepped before Sautee. "You haven't any quarrel with him,
+Carlisle," he said evenly; "your quarrel, if you've got one, is with
+me. I outguessed you, that's all. You ain't plumb clever, Carlisle.
+You ought to be in a more genteel business. I just naturally figured
+out the play an' made Sautee talk, that's all. I ain't the only gent
+Mannix is wanting--there's _three_ of us here!"
+
+Carlisle's face was purple and working in spasms of rage. He realized
+instantly that Rathburn had spoken the truth.
+
+"It was his scheme from the start!" shrilled Sautee from the
+protection of Rathburn's broad shoulders.
+
+Then the mine manager, unable to longer stand the strain, collapsed on
+the ground, groaning.
+
+"Underhanded!" Carlisle shot through his teeth as Mannix stepped back.
+"An' I heard The Coyote was a go-getter. By guns, I believe you're
+yellow!"
+
+"You've got a chance to try an' finish what you started in the Red
+Feather the day I got here, Carlisle," said Rathburn in ringing tones.
+"If you think I'm yellow--draw!"
+
+A second's hesitation--two figures in identical postures under the
+morning sun--a vagrant breeze murmuring in the timber.
+
+Then two movements, quick as lightning--too fast for the eye to
+follow--and the roar of guns.
+
+Rathburn stepped back, his weapon smoking at his hip, as Carlisle
+swayed for a moment and then crumpled upon the ground. Rathburn
+quickly drew the piece of paper from his left pocket and the roll of
+bills from his right. He put the note with the bills and tossed the
+roll to Mannix. Then he stepped back to the doorway.
+
+"Join your men, Mannix," he said quietly.
+
+Mannix thrust the money into a pocket and stood for several seconds
+looking directly into Rathburn's eyes. A curious expression was on the
+deputy's face, partly wonder, partly admiration, partly doubt. Then he
+turned abruptly upon his heel and walked back to the gaping men.
+
+Sautee struggled to his feet. Rathburn motioned to him to join the
+others, and he staggered down to them.
+
+Then Rathburn coolly lit a match and touched it to the fuse sticking
+out from the box of dynamite.
+
+There was a wild yell of terror, and the mob tumbled down the trail as
+Rathburn ran for the trail above the powder house. The men had
+disappeared when he turned. His gun leaped into his hand and he
+fired--once, twice, three times--the fourth shot cut the burning fuse,
+and with a sharp intaking of breath, he ran for his horse, mounted,
+and rode into the timber along the trail.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXV
+
+FILED!
+
+
+Rathburn picked his way slowly through the timber around to the
+southeast and then directly down toward the town. It was slow going,
+and the man seemed to relish this fact. His face was thoughtful,
+wistful, a bit grave. He occasionally patted his horse's neck.
+
+"We're on our way home, old hoss," he said softly. "Seems like we just
+_had_ to stop off here."
+
+He fingered two small objects in his coat pocket.
+
+"I wonder," he murmured. "I wonder if I could be mistaken."
+
+He turned west after a time and rode carefully until he gained a worn
+trail. This he followed down toward town, and in half an hour he
+dismounted in the timber behind a small cabin at the side of the road
+to the hogback.
+
+Rathburn went to the rear door and knocked. He received no answer, but
+sounds came to him through an open window. He opened the door softly
+and stole inside. There was no one in the kitchen. The sounds came
+from another room. He passed on into a bedroom and turned into another
+bedroom where he saw a figure in overalls lying on the bed. A great
+mass of dark hair covered the pillow. The form shook with sobs.
+
+Rathburn laid a gentle hand upon the shoulder, and the face, which was
+quickly turned to him, was the face of a girl--the girl he had first
+seen when coming into the town, the girl who had been sitting the
+horse listening to Carlisle's tirade, the girl the barn man had said
+was supposed to be Carlisle's sister.
+
+"They don't know you were up there," said Rathburn softly. "Your boy's
+clothes fooled them, if they saw you at all. They probably thought I
+was carrying Sautee down the trail, for they found Sautee up there in
+the powder house with me."
+
+The girl sobbed again. Her eyes were red with weeping.
+
+"Listen, ma'am," said Rathburn gently. "I picked these up from the
+road the day the truck driver was held up." He brought out two
+hairpins from his coat pocket.
+
+"It set me to thinking, ma'am, an' was one reason why I stayed over
+here to find out what was goin' on. Maybe I've done wrong, ma'am, but
+I was hoping I'd be doin' you a favor. I saw the look in your eyes the
+day Carlisle was talkin' to you when you was on the hoss. I know you
+helped him in his holdups, dressed like a boy, but I figured you
+didn't do it because you wanted to."
+
+"No--no--no!" sobbed the girl.
+
+"All right; fine, little girl. No one knows anything about it but me,
+an' I'm goin' away. But, listen, girlie, just what was Carlisle to
+you?"
+
+A spasm of weeping shook the girl. "Nothing I could help," she sobbed.
+"He--I had to do as he said--because--oh, I hate him. I hate him!"
+
+"There, there," soothed Rathburn. "I suspected as much, girlie."
+
+"He made my father a bad man," sobbed the girl; "an' made me go with
+him or my father would have to go--to--to go----"
+
+"Never mind, girlie," Rathburn interrupted softly. "I don't want to
+hear the story. Just keep it to yourself an' start all over. It ain't
+a bad world, girlie, an' there's more good men in it than there's bad.
+Now, you can begin to live and be happy like you ought. Carlisle won't
+worry you no more."
+
+She raised her head and looked at him out of startled eyes in which
+there was a ray of hope.
+
+"You say--he won't--worry me----"
+
+"Not at all, girlie. He walked into his own trap. I'm goin', girlie.
+So long, an' good luck."
+
+He took her hand and pressed it, and under the spell of his smile the
+hope came into her welling eyes.
+
+"Good-by," he called from the doorway.
+
+She was smiling faintly through her tears when he slipped out.
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Deputy Sheriff Mannix was sitting in his little office alone. It was
+nearly sunset. A faint glow of crimson shot across the carpet.
+
+Mannix was scowling thoughtfully. On the desk before him were two
+pieces of paper. One of them was a reward notice publishing the fact
+that The Coyote was wanted and that five thousand dollars would be
+paid by the State of Arizona for his capture, dead or alive.
+
+Mannix picked up the second piece of paper and again read the words
+penciled upon it:
+
+  I am taking out of this money belonging to the Dixie Queen the
+  five hundred dollars Sautee promised me for carrying the money to
+  the mine, and the two thousand dollars reward offered for the
+  capture of those who had been robbing the Dixie Queen. I expect
+  that shortly after this gets into the proper hands Sautee will be
+  in jail, and he will be handy to tell you this is all O. K.
+
+RATHBURN.
+
+Mannix took up the reward notice, put it with the note, and jammed the
+two pieces of paper into an obscure pigeonhole in his desk.
+
+"Filed!" he said aloud.
+
+Then he rose with a peculiar smile, went out upon the little porch,
+and stared toward the east where the reflection of the sunset cast a
+rosy glow over the foothills leading down to the desert.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVI
+
+THE PRODIGAL
+
+
+With face upraised to the breath of air which stirred across the bare
+black lava hills, Rathburn leaned forward in the saddle eagerly, while
+his dun-colored horse stood patiently, seemingly in accord with his
+master's mood. A merciless sun beat down from a hot, cloudless sky.
+
+Below, stretching in endless miles was the desert--a sinister,
+forbidding land of desolate distances, marked only by slender yucca
+palms, mesquite, dusty greasewood, an occasional clump of green palo
+verde, the slim fingers of the ocatilla, the high "forks" of the giant
+sahuara, and clumps of la cholla cactus, looking like apple orchards
+in full bloom.
+
+Yet the man's gaze fell for a moment lovingly on each species of
+cactus and desert vegetation; his look was that which dwells in the
+homesick eyes of a traveler when he sees his native land from the deck
+of an inbound ship.
+
+"Hoss, we're home!" he said aloud, while the animal pricked up its
+ears.
+
+Then he looked off to the left, where the blue outlines of a low range
+of mountains wavered in the heat like a mirage.
+
+"Imagination Range," he said moodily.
+
+He tickled the dun with his spurs and trotted along the crest of the
+lava ridge. At its eastern terminus he swung down into the desert and
+struck straight east in the direction of Imagination Range. The
+desert's surface between the lava ridge and the higher hills of the
+range to eastward was cut by dry washes and arroyos and miniature
+ridges studded with giant cactus.
+
+On the top of one of these high rises the horseman suddenly reined in
+his mount and stared into the south. "There's trouble--an' spelled
+with a capital T!" he ejaculated.
+
+The gaze in his keen gray eyes centered upon a number of riders
+speeding their horses over the tumbled section of desert below him to
+his right. He made out two divisions of horsemen. One group was some
+distance ahead of the other. Even as he stared down at them, its group
+separated, and some rode for Imagination Range, while others hastened
+toward the lava hills, or due north in his direction. The second group
+halted for a brief spell, evidently for a conference, and then its
+members also divided and started in swift pursuit of the men ahead.
+
+The watcher on the top of the rise frowned.
+
+"Out of here, hoss," he said sharply. "This ain't our day for
+visitors."
+
+He pushed on eastward, increasing its pace, but losing time in
+skirting the frequent bits of high ground. As he rode down into a deep
+arroyo, a horseman came galloping into its lower end and raced almost
+upon him before seeing him. His hand darted like lightning to his gun,
+and the weapon snapped into aim at his hip. The horseman came to a
+rearing halt, reins dangling, his hands held high, his eyes bulging
+from their sockets.
+
+"Rathburn!" he exclaimed.
+
+"The same," said the man with the gun. "What's all the disturbance
+down there?"
+
+"Bob Long is chasing us," the other answered with a nervous grin.
+
+"As I remember it," drawled Rathburn, "Bob Long is the sheriff of
+Mesquite County. You boys sure ain't been misbehaving?"
+
+"It's worse than that," said the fugitive, staring doubtfully at his
+questioner. "The stage driver's dead. Had a notion the boss was
+foolin' when he told him to reach up for the bugs in the air."
+
+"Who does the boss happen to be in this case?"
+
+The man hesitated.
+
+"Take your time," said Rathburn sarcastically; "there's nobody after
+you but the sheriff, an' he probably won't be along for a minute or
+two."
+
+"It won't do _you_ no good for him to find us here," said the other
+boldly.
+
+Rathburn's eyes blazed. "I reckon you're forgettin' that Bob Long
+knows I travel alone," he said hotly. "He savvys I don't travel with a
+crowd. I ain't found it necessary so far, an' I ain't aiming to start.
+I counted eight in your gang--to hold up one stage, eh?" He concluded
+with a sneer, while the other shifted nervously in his saddle and cast
+a quick look back over his shoulder. There seemed no one there.
+
+"You needn't be lookin' around," Rathburn said coldly. "You're goin'
+to stay here till you answer my question, if all the sheriffs in
+Arizona come ridin' up meanwhile. Who's headin' your gang?"
+
+"That ain't professional," the fugitive grumbled. "You're just the
+same as one of us."
+
+Then, seeing the look that came into Rathburn's eyes, he said hastily:
+"Mike Eagen planned the lay."
+
+"I guessed it," said Rathburn in a tone of contempt. "Well, you better
+slope while you've still got a chance."
+
+He motioned to the man to go, and the latter rode at a gallop up the
+arroyo and out of sight. Rathburn's face wore a worried scowl, as he
+slid his gun into its holster, whirled his horse, and speedily climbed
+the east side of the arroyo.
+
+From a vantage point he caught sight again of the horsemen racing up
+from the south. They were much nearer, and he could readily make out
+the members of the sheriff's posse. He had had experience with posses
+before.
+
+Striking around the crest of the high ground which formed the east
+side of the arroyo, he again raced toward the range of mountains in
+the east, taking advantage of every bit of cover which offered
+concealment from the riders approaching at top speed from the south.
+
+Occasional glances made it plain that the sheriff was sending, or
+personally bringing, most of his posse east in the direction of the
+mountains, presumably in the hope of cutting off the outlaws from
+seeking refuge in the hills. But the mountains were Rathburn's goal as
+well as the goal of a majority of Mike Eagen's band, though for
+totally different reasons. He refused to change his direction,
+although by going north, the stout, speedy dun could doubtless
+outdistance the posse before the afternoon was spent.
+
+Rathburn's teeth snapped shut, his jaw squared, and his eyes narrowed,
+as he saw indubitable signs that he had been detected. Two of the
+posse were waving their arms and dashing in his direction. At that
+distance they could not identify him, but under the circumstances such
+identification was unnecessary. His presence there, riding like mad,
+was certain to convince the pursuers that he was one of the gang
+responsible for the stage job. This was obvious.
+
+For good reasons, Rathburn did not want it generally known that he was
+back in a country where he had spent most of his life, and where he
+was branded as a desperate outlaw with a big price on his head.
+Consequently, seeing that the sheriff's men were out to get him, he
+abandoned all attempt at concealment, drove in his spurs, gave the dun
+horse its head, and raced for the mountains.
+
+Other members of the posse who were farther to the east caught the
+signals of the two who were in hot pursuit of Rathburn, and they
+dashed north to cut him off. The outlaws had disappeared, and Rathburn
+shook his head savagely, as he realized they had sought cover when
+they saw the chase was directed at one man. Without having had a hand
+in the holdup of the stage, he had arrived on the spot just in time to
+draw the fire of the authorities. And fire it was now; for the men
+behind him had begun shooting in the hope of a chance hit at the
+distance.
+
+A scant mile separated him from his goal. He came to a level stretch
+which was almost a mass of green because of the clumps of palo verde.
+Here he urged the dun to its utmost, outdistanced the pair in his
+rear, and gained on the men riding from the south, almost ahead of
+him. He swerved a bit to the north and cut straight for a notch in the
+mountains. He smiled, as he approached it, and saw a narrow defile
+leading into the hills. He gained it in a final, heartbreaking burst
+of speed on the part of his mount. As he dashed into the canyon,
+bullets sang past him and over his head. Then a cry of amazement came
+to his ears.
+
+"It's The Coyote!" a man was yelling. "Rathburn's back!"
+
+He dashed into the shelter of the defile, a grim smile playing on his
+lips. He had been recognized. His face hardened. He rounded a huge
+boulder, checked his horse, and dismounted. He could hear the pound of
+hoofs in the entrance of the narrow canyon. A rider came into view
+below.
+
+Rathburn leaned out from the protection of the boulder. His lips were
+pressed into a fine, white line, and there was a look of haunted worry
+in his eyes. His gun flashed in his hand. The rider saw him and
+yelled, spurring his horse. Then Rathburn's gun swung quickly upward.
+A sharp report sounded, like a crash of thunder in the narrow confines
+of the canyon, and its echoes reverberated through the hills.
+
+The rider toppled in his saddle and fell to the floor of the canyon.
+His horse came to a snorting stop, reins dangling, all four legs
+braced. The hoof-beats instantly were stilled. A silence, complete and
+sinister, reigned in the defile.
+
+Rathburn slipped his smoking gun into his holster and mounted
+noiselessly. Then he walked his horse slowly up the canyon, sitting
+sidewise in the saddle to keep a vigil on the trail behind. A minute
+later he heard a volley of shots below, the signal to all the
+scattered members of the posse to race to the entrance of the canyon.
+He increased his pace, broke his gun, extracted the empty shell, and
+inserted a fresh cartridge in its place.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVII
+
+THE DESERT CODE
+
+
+Keeping to the trail, Rathburn mounted higher and higher and spoke
+continually to his horse in a crooning tone of encouragement. His face
+was drawn in grim lines, his eyes were constantly alert, his very
+posture in the saddle showed that his nerves were at high tension.
+
+He ignored dim paths which occasionally led off to the left or right
+in rifts in the sheer, black walls of the narrow canyon. No sound came
+to him from below. He knew the posse would have to proceed with the
+utmost caution, for the sheriff and his men could not be sure that
+they would not encounter him at some bend in the trail. They would be
+expecting shots from every boulder; for Rathburn had let them know he
+had no intention of being taken easily or alive.
+
+The afternoon wore on, with Rathburn steadily penetrating the very
+heart of Imagination Range. Finally he swung out of the canyon trail
+and took a dim path to the right. He dismounted and walked back to rub
+off the scars left by his horse's shoes on the rock floor of the side
+trail. Satisfied that he would leave the members of the posse confused
+as to which side trail he had taken, he returned to his horse,
+mounted, and proceeded up the narrow trail leading to the top of the
+range to the south of the deep canyon.
+
+In the western sky the sun was low when he rode down the crest of the
+range. The mountains were devoid of vegetation, bleak and bare and
+black. The lava rock seemed to absorb the heat of the sun and throw
+it in the rider's face. But Rathburn didn't appear to mind it.
+
+He crossed the backbone of the range and began the descent on the
+eastern side. But he descended only a short distance before he swung
+out of the saddle. From the slicker pack on the rear of his saddle he
+took a pair of heavy leather gloves. He cut these open in the palms
+with his pocketknife and then tied them about the shoes on his horse's
+hind feet. The dun was only shod behind.
+
+Again he mounted, and this time he turned to the south and rode down a
+long slope of lava rock. He grunted with satisfaction, as he looked
+behind and saw that the leather prevented the shoes on his mount's
+hind feet from leaving their mark. He was completely obliterating his
+trail--leaving nothing for the posse to follow, if they should trace
+him to the top of the range.
+
+He walked his horse slowly, for the dun did not like the idea of the
+leather tied to its hoofs. In less than two miles the leather was worn
+through upon the hard rock, and he got down and removed the remnants.
+He straightened up and looked out over the vista of the desert.
+
+The western sky was a sea of gold. Far to southward a curl of smoke
+rose upward, marking the course of a railroad and a town. Rathburn
+looked long in this direction, with a dreamy, wistful light in his
+eyes. Close at hand vegetation appeared upon the slopes of the hills.
+His gaze darted here and there along the ridges below him, and his
+parted lips and eager attitude showed unmistakably that he was
+familiar with every rod of the locality in which he found himself.
+
+Again he climbed into the saddle and turned off to the left, entering
+a canyon. For better than half a mile he proceeded down this way, then
+he rode eastward again, winding in and out in a network of canyons
+until he came to the rock-ribbed crest of a ridge which overlooked an
+oasis in the desert hills. There was green vegetation where the water
+from a spring seeped into the floor of the canyon below him. The spring
+was nothing more than a huge cup in the rock which had caught the
+water from the spring rains and filled. Above the spring was a small
+cabin, and Rathburn saw that the cabin door was open.
+
+Hurriedly he rode down a trail to the right which circled around into
+the canyon from its lower end. As he galloped toward the spring, a
+figure appeared in the doorway of the cabin. Rathburn waved an arm and
+dismounted at the spring. He led his horse to drink, as the man came
+walking toward him from the cabin. He compelled the dun to drink
+slowly; first a swallow, now two, then a few more; finally he drew the
+horse away from the water.
+
+"You can have some more a little later," he said cheerfully. "Hello,
+Joe Price!"
+
+The man walked up to him without a great show of surprise and held out
+his hand. He was bareheaded, and the hair which hung down to his
+shoulders was snow-white. The face was seamed and lined, burned by the
+sun of three score Arizona summers, and the small, blue eyes
+twinkled.
+
+"Hang me with a busted shoe string if it ain't Rathburn," said the old
+man. "Why, boy, you're just in time for supper. Put your horse up
+behind the cabin an' get in at the table. She's a big country, all
+full of cactus; but the old man's got grub left!"
+
+Rathburn laughed, rinsed his mouth out with water he dipped from the
+spring in a battered tin cup, and took a swallow before he replied.
+
+"Joe, there's two things I want--grub an' gaff. I know you've got
+grub, or you wouldn't be here; but I don't know if you're any good at
+the gaff any more."
+
+The old man scrutinized him. "You look some older," he said finally.
+"Not much of the wild, galootin' kid left in you, I 'spect. But don't
+go gettin' fresh with me, or I'll clout you one with my prospectin'
+pick. Go 'long now; put up your horse an' hustle inside. If you want
+to wash up, I guess you can--bein' a visitor."
+
+Rathburn chuckled, as he led his horse around behind the cabin, where
+two burros were, and unsaddled him. Before he entered the cabin he
+stood for a moment looking up the ridge down which he had come. The
+old man watched him, but made no comment. As Rathburn sat down to the
+table, however, he spoke.
+
+"I kin hear anybody comin' down that trail over the ridge, while
+they're a mile away," he said simply without looking up.
+
+Rathburn flashed a look of admiration at the old man.
+
+The glow of the sunset lit the hills with crimson fire, and a light
+breeze stirred with the advent of the long, colorful desert twilight.
+They ate in silence, washing down the hardy food with long drafts of
+strong coffee. The old man asked no questions of his friend. He knew
+that in time Rathburn would talk. A man's business in that desolate
+land of dreadful distances was his own, save such of it as he wanted
+to tell. It was the desert code.
+
+Supper over, they went out to a little bench in front of the cabin.
+There Joe Price lit his pipe, and Rathburn rolled a cigarette.
+
+For some time they smoked in silence. The purple twilight drifted
+over the hills, and the breeze freshened in welcome relief to the heat
+of the day.
+
+"Joe, I just had to come back," said Rathburn softly. "Something's
+wrong with me. You wouldn't think I'd get homesick this way, after all
+the trouble I've had here, would you?"
+
+The old man removed his pipe. "Anybody here in particular you want to
+see?" he asked slowly.
+
+Rathburn shrugged. "You're always gettin' right down to cases first
+hand off an' running," he complained. "Of course there's folks I want
+to see. I want to see you, for instance."
+
+"I don't reckon you'd be ridin' any terrible great distance an' takin'
+chances by the handful just to see me, boy," said Price. "But I ain't
+tryin' to pry into your affairs. You don't have to answer any of the
+fool questions I ask you--you know that. I'm an old man an' gettin'
+childish."
+
+Rathburn laughed. "I can believe that when I find you still putterin'
+around up here where there ain't even a sign of mineral," he chided.
+
+"There's gold right under your feet," said the old man stoutly. "I'll
+have a payin' vein opened up here in less'n three months."
+
+"I hope so, Joe. There's nobody I'd like more to see make a big strike
+than you. You were my dad's friend, an' you've been mine. I haven't
+got many friends, Joe."
+
+"But them you've got is good ones," said Price quickly. "How long you
+been away?"
+
+"About eight months," Rathburn replied with a frown.
+
+"It's hard to get away from the desert," mused the old man. "It's in
+your blood. If you leave here for good you've just naturally got to
+take something along with you from here--something that's a part of
+the desert, you might say."
+
+Rathburn looked keenly at the face of his friend. But the old man was
+regarding his pipe, as if he had never until that moment seen it.
+
+"I ran into a posse chasin' a gang that robbed a stage on the way over
+here this noon," Rathburn said presently.
+
+Price's interest quickened, but he made no sign. "They saw you?" he
+asked.
+
+"Couldn't help it," Rathburn grumbled. "Took after me. I had to drop
+one of 'em with a bullet in the shoulder to slow 'em up in the long
+canyon over on the other side."
+
+"Know any of the gang?" Price asked.
+
+"Met one. Threw down my gun on him. He told me Mike Eagen was runnin'
+the works."
+
+Price nodded. "I reckon Mike's been pullin' quite a few stunts while
+you been away."
+
+"An' I've been gettin' the blame for 'em more'n likely," said Rathburn
+in indignation.
+
+Price nodded again. "Might be so," he commented.
+
+Rathburn looked up at him in understanding. "They'll have me mixed up
+with this stage holdup," he said earnestly. "From what I gathered they
+killed the driver, an' they'll say that was my part."
+
+"That's the trouble, boy," said the old miner. "If a fellow's handy
+with his gun somebody's sure to get jealous of him an' make him draw.
+If he gets his man because he has to, he's a killer. When he's known
+as a killer he ain't got a chance. You _had_ to drop the two men you
+dropped aroun' here, boy; but they ain't forgettin' it."
+
+"Bob Long was headin' that posse," said Rathburn thoughtfully.
+
+"An' Bob Long's a sticker when he hits out on a man's trail," said
+Price. "Still, I guess you'd be safe in here for a while. There ain't
+many knows this place."
+
+"I don't figure on stayin' here long, Joe," said Rathburn.
+
+"I didn't think you did," said Price.
+
+"I'll have to get goin'--hit for new country an' never know when I may
+run up against the law in a quarter where I ain't expecting it; always
+sneaking along--like the coyote. It was Mike Eagen who gave me that
+name, Joe."
+
+Rathburn's voice was low and vibrant, and the old man felt the
+menacing quality in it.
+
+"What's more," Rathburn went on, "I'm always remembering that he's
+back here, getting away with his dirty tricks, shoving the blame off
+on me, some way or other, when the chase gets too hot."
+
+For some time the old man was silent. When he spoke he put an arm
+about Rathburn's shoulder.
+
+"Boy, before you get worse mixed up than you are, there's a place you
+ought to visit aroun' here," he said in a fatherly tone.
+
+Rathburn shrugged and stared up at the night sky which was blossoming
+with stars.
+
+"It would be a right smart risk," Price went on, "for they'd maybe
+think to drop aroun' that way on a lookout for you; but I reckon
+before you do much more, you better drop in at the Mallory place."
+
+Rathburn rose abruptly. "I guess that's what I came up here to hear
+you say," he said irritably. "But I don't reckon it can be done, Joe.
+I haven't any business there."
+
+"How do you know, boy? Maybe you ain't bein' right fair."
+
+"Seems to me it would look better for me to stay away."
+
+"They don't _have_ to see you," urged the old man. "The Mallory place
+is a good fifteen miles from Hope, close up against the mountains.
+Boy, don't you think you better make sure?"
+
+The wistful, yearning look was back in Rathburn's eyes. His right hand
+rested upon the butt of his gun. The other held his forgotten
+cigarette. He turned and looked into the old man's eyes.
+
+"Joe, you said something about takin' something from the desert if I
+left it. You're right. But it can't be, Joe. This thing has killed my
+chances!"
+
+The gun seemed to leap from its holster into his hand at his hip of
+its own accord. The old miner's brows lifted in astonishment at the
+draw.
+
+"If I was you I wouldn't be much scared who I met on the way down to
+the Mallory place if I didn't meet too many of 'em at once," he said
+with a smile.
+
+"I--I couldn't wear it--there," Rathburn faltered.
+
+"Well, leave it hangin' on a handy peg, boy," said the old man
+cheerfully.
+
+Rathburn jammed the gun back into its holster and walked around to his
+horse. He led the animal down to drink and then returned and saddled.
+
+"You goin' on to-night?" asked Price casually.
+
+"I'm takin' a ride," Rathburn confessed.
+
+"You ain't takin' my advice at the same time, are you?" asked Price,
+pretending to be greatly concerned.
+
+Rathburn mounted and looked down upon him in the faint light of the
+stars.
+
+"Joe Price, you're a wise old desert rat, an' I'm a young fool," he
+said with a twinkle in his gray eyes. "If Bob Long happens this way
+give him my regards an' tell him they got the reward notices over in
+California all right, for I saw 'em stuck up over there. So long."
+
+The old miner called out after him and watched him ride down the canyon
+and disappear in the shadows. Nor was he the only watcher; for, high
+on the ridge above, another man touched his horse with his spurs and
+started down the west side of the range, as Rathburn vanished.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXVIII
+
+A NIGHT SUMMONS
+
+
+In two hours Rathburn came to a fence about a small ranch. Cattle were
+grazing on the sparse feed within the inclosure, and he saw a clump of
+trees marking the site of a house.
+
+He rode around the fence until he came to a gate. There was a light
+shining from two of the windows of the house. He passed through the
+gate, and, as he approached the house from the side, he saw two
+figures on the porch. He halted in the shelter of the trees, and, as
+one of the figures crossed the beam of light which shone out the door,
+he saw that it was a man. He obtained a fleeting look at the man's
+face. He was comparatively young, not bad looking, with blue eyes and
+a small, close-cropped, sandy mustache.
+
+Rathburn scratched his head in an effort to place the man. He seemed
+vaguely familiar. Rathburn was sure he had seen him somewhere. But he
+gave up the futile effort to identify him when he saw that the other
+figure on the porch was that of a girl.
+
+Dismounting, he led his horse around to the rear and put him in a
+corral near the barn. He surmised that it was about ten o'clock. As he
+walked toward the front of the house, again he heard the sputtering of
+a small motor car; then he saw the path of light from its headlights
+go streaking across the desert in the direction of the town to
+southward. The front door closed, and all was still.
+
+Rathburn hesitated for several moments, then he stamped up the porch
+steps and knocked at the door. It was opened by a girl. She held a
+lighted lamp in her hand. When she saw Rathburn standing, hat in
+hand, before her, her dark eyes widened, and she nearly dropped the
+lamp. He stepped forward quickly and took it from her.
+
+"Roger!" she exclaimed breathlessly. "You--here?"
+
+"I'm here, Laura," he said quietly. "I'm home on a--a visit."
+
+"I heard you were back," she faltered. "Mr. Doane--that is--a
+gentleman from town told me he had heard you were back. But----"
+
+She scanned his face closely and peered beyond him into the shadows
+with visible concern.
+
+"Roger, come in quickly," she invited, stepping back from the door.
+
+With a faint smile he entered and closed the door after him. He put
+the lamp down on the table in what was evidently the sitting room of
+the small house. He looked about him with the air of one who sees
+familiar surroundings, but is embarrassed by them.
+
+"Some one been tellin' you the details of my arrival?" he asked with
+an effort to appear casual.
+
+"I heard you were in some trouble, Roger." The girl continued to stare
+at him with a queer expression in her fine eyes--part sorrow, part
+concern, part gladness.
+
+"I'm not a stranger to trouble these days, Laura," he said soberly.
+
+There was a sob in the girl's throat, but she recovered herself at
+once.
+
+"Have you eaten?" she asked quickly.
+
+"Up at Joe Price's place," he replied. "All fed and chipper."
+
+There was not much confidence in his tone or manner. As the girl
+lowered her gaze, he looked at her hungrily; his eyes feasted on the
+coils of dark hair, her long, black lashes, the curve of her cheek
+and her delicate color, the full, ruby lips, and the small, quivering
+chin. She was in the throes of a strong emotion.
+
+"I'm sorry, Laura, if--you didn't want me to come," he said
+unsteadily.
+
+"Oh, Roger! Of course we want you to come. It's been so long since we
+saw you. And you've--you've gone through so much."
+
+She raised her eyes, and the expression which he saw in their depths
+caused him to look away and to bite his lips.
+
+"There's a lot of it I wish I could undo, Laura; an' there's a lot
+more of it I couldn't help, an' maybe some I--I--wasn't----" He
+paused. He couldn't bring himself to say anything in extenuation of
+himself and his acts in the presence of this girl. It might sound as
+if he were playing for her sympathy, he thought to himself.
+
+"Roger, I know you haven't done all the things I've heard about," she
+said bravely. "And there's always a chance. You're a man. You can find
+a way out. If the trails seem all twisted and tangled, you can use a
+compass--your own conscience, Roger. You still have that."
+
+"How did you happen to mention the trails bein' all mixed up like
+that?" he asked curiously.
+
+"Why--I don't know. Isn't that the way it seems?"
+
+Rathburn looked away with a frown. "You come near hittin' the nail on
+the head, Laura."
+
+"Oh, then you _are_ beginning to think!" she said eagerly.
+
+"I've done nothing but think for months," Rathburn confessed.
+
+She looked at him searchingly. Then her eyes dropped to the black
+butt of the gun in the holster strapped to his right thigh. She
+shuddered slightly.
+
+"You came from the west, Roger?" she asked.
+
+"Yes," he replied shortly. "From where there's water an' timber an'
+flowers an' grass--but they had my number there, just the same as
+they've got it here. I'm a marked man, Laura Mallory."
+
+She leaned upon the table with one hand; the other she held upon her
+breast.
+
+"Are--are they--after you, Roger?" she asked in a low, anxious tone.
+
+"As usual," he answered with a vague laugh. "Laura, I didn't come here
+to bother you with my troubles; I come here just to see _you_."
+
+The girl colored. "I know, Roger. We've known each other a long
+time--since we were children. You wouldn't like it for me not to show
+any concern over your troubles, would you?"
+
+"I wish we could talk about something else," said Rathburn. "I can't
+stay long."
+
+Laura Mallory looked worried. "May I ask where you plan to go,
+Roger?"
+
+"I'm not sure. I only know I wanted to come back, an' I came. I hadn't
+any fixed plans, an' I wasn't expecting the reception I got." His face
+clouded. Then he looked straight into the girl's eyes. "I hit this
+country this morning," he said steadily. "The first folks I saw was
+some men ridin' in my direction up between the lava hills and the
+range. Then things began to happen."
+
+She nodded brightly. "I believe you," she said simply.
+
+Rathburn smiled. "You aways did that, Laura, an' I ain't never been
+much of a hand at lying."
+
+"Roger," she said quickly, "if they all knew you as well as I think I
+know you----"
+
+"They wouldn't believe," he interrupted. "They call me The Coyote,
+an' they'll have me live up to the name whether I want to or not," he
+added bitterly.
+
+"But, Roger, you're forgetting what I said about the trails and the
+compass."
+
+"No, Laura, I'm not, but there's another force besides the big
+lodestone that's affectin' that compass."
+
+"Roger, you're thinking of an enemy!"
+
+He did not answer her. His face appeared grim, almost haggard, in the
+yellow rays of the lamplight.
+
+"Roger, you once promised me anything I might ask," she said softly.
+
+"An' all you have to do is ask," he answered, taking a step toward
+her.
+
+"I'm going to ask you for something, Roger," she said without looking
+at him. "Maybe you'll think it's--it's too much that I ask." She
+glanced up at him doubtfully.
+
+"What is it, Laura?" he insisted.
+
+"I want your gun, Roger," she whispered.
+
+He straightened and stared at her in startled wonder. "But, Laura--a
+man in my position--why--why--where would I be at?"
+
+"Maybe if you gave it to me it would help you find a way out, Roger,"
+she pleaded earnestly.
+
+Rathburn looked into her eyes and thrilled. Then without a word he
+unbuckled his cartridge belt which held his holstered gun, untied the
+strap about his thigh and laid the belt with the weapon upon the
+table.
+
+"Roger!" said the girl. The sob again was in her voice. She reached
+out and placed a hand upon his arm.
+
+An elderly man appeared in the doorway from the kitchen.
+
+"Father, this is Roger," said the girl hurriedly. "He's back."
+
+"What's that? Roger, eh? You mean Rathburn is here?"
+
+The old man peered at the visitor from the doorway, his lean face
+twitching. He stroked his gray beard in indecision. His blue eyes
+looked long at Rathburn, then at the girl, and lastly at the gun and
+belt on the table.
+
+"Well, hello, Rathburn," he said finally, advancing into the room. He
+held out a hand which Rathburn grasped.
+
+"Did you eat yet?" asked Mallory.
+
+"In the hills with Joe Price," replied Rathburn. "But I'm just as much
+obliged."
+
+"Yes, of course," Mallory muttered. "With Joe, eh? He ain't been down
+in months. How is he?"
+
+"Looks good as a gold mine an' thinks he's found one," said Rathburn,
+looking at the girl's father curiously.
+
+"That's what keeps him up," Mallory asserted loudly. "He'll never get
+old as long as he thinks he's got a mine corralled. He ought to try
+stock raisin' for a while. You look older, Rathburn--more filled out.
+Are you still cutting 'em high, wide, an' handsome?"
+
+Rathburn's face clouded.
+
+"Roger's starting new, dad," the girl interposed.
+
+Mallory stared keenly at the younger man. He started to speak, but was
+interrupted by the sound of horses outside the house.
+
+Rathburn whirled toward the door, took a step, and stopped in his
+tracks. The girl's hands flew to the sides of her face, and her eyes
+widened with apprehension.
+
+"I'll go see who it is," said Mallory with a quick look at Rathburn.
+
+He hastened out into the kitchen, and a moment later they heard the
+kitchen door open. There was a murmur of voices. The girl stared at
+Rathburn breathlessly, while he tapped with his slim fingers upon the
+top of the table.
+
+Then Mallory came in. "Somebody to see you," he said to Rathburn.
+
+Rathburn looked once at the white-faced girl and followed her father
+out into the kitchen. She heard them speak in an undertone, and then
+Rathburn came back into the room.
+
+"I ain't much elated over my visitor," he said slowly. "I wish you
+hadn't asked me what you did until--well, until this caller had come
+an' gone."
+
+She looked straight into his eyes in an agony of dread.
+
+"Who is it, Roger?" she asked, wetting her lips.
+
+"Mike Eagen is out there," he answered calmly.
+
+She drew a quick breath, while he waited. Then he turned on his heel
+and started for the kitchen door.
+
+"Roger!" she called.
+
+He swung about and eyed her questioningly. She pointed at the heavy
+belt and gun on the table.
+
+"Take it," she whispered.
+
+He buckled on the belt and tied down the end of the holster so it
+could not slip if he should draw the weapon within it. Then he made
+his way into the kitchen and out of the rear door. Laura Mallory sank
+into a chair, sobbing.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXIX
+
+GUNMEN
+
+
+For a moment Rathburn waited at the kitchen door. He heard Mallory
+going upstairs from the next room. All was still outside, save for the
+stamping of several horses. Then he suddenly opened the door and
+stepped out. There was no sound or movement, as he accustomed his eyes
+to the dim light without. He moved across the threshold and walked
+straight to a bulky figure standing beside a large horse.
+
+"You want to see me, Eagen?" he asked coldly.
+
+"Watch out there, Eagen!" came Mallory's voice in a strident tone from
+a window above them. "I've got you covered with this Winchester!"
+
+Both Rathburn and Eagen looked up and saw Mallory leaning out of a
+window over the kitchen, and the stock of a rifle was snug against his
+cheek and shoulder.
+
+"Acts like he's scared you can't take care of yourself," said Eagen
+with a sneer. "The way you ditched that posse to-day I didn't think
+you needed a bodyguard."
+
+"I don't," Rathburn retorted. "The old man is acting on his own hook.
+You was watching the sport to-day?"
+
+"Couldn't help it," said Eagen. "It was me an' some of the boys they
+was after. You sort of helped us out by coming along an' attracting
+their attention. I pegged you when I saw you ride for it, an' I knew
+they wouldn't get you."
+
+"You mean you hid an' let me stand the gaff," said Rathburn
+scornfully. "That's your style, Eagen. You're plumb afraid to come out
+from under cover."
+
+He noted that there were three men with Eagen. They were quietly
+sitting their horses some little distance behind their leader.
+
+Eagen muttered something, and Rathburn could see his face working with
+rage. Then Eagen's coarse features underwent a change, and he grinned,
+his teeth flashing white under his small, black mustache.
+
+"Look here, Rathburn, there's no use in you an' me being on the outs,"
+he said in an undertone. "We've got something in common."
+
+"You've made a mistake already," Rathburn interrupted sharply. "We
+haven't a thing in common I know of, Eagen, unless it's a gun
+apiece."
+
+"Maybe you think that's all we need," said Eagen hoarsely; "an' if
+that's the way you feel you won't find me backin' down when you start
+something. Just now I ain't forgetting that crazy fool with that rifle
+up there."
+
+"You didn't come here for a gun play, Eagen," said Rathburn. "You
+ain't plumb loco _every_ way. I take it you saw me makin' for this
+place an' followed me here. What do you want?"
+
+"I want to talk business," said Eagen with a hopeful note in his
+voice; "but you won't let me get started."
+
+"An' I won't have dealings with you," said Rathburn crisply.
+
+"That's what you think," sneered Eagen. "But you're in a tight corner,
+an' we can help you out. Long said to-day, I heard just now, that he'd
+put every deputy he had an' every man he could swear in as a special
+on your trail, and he'd get you."
+
+"The thing that I can't see," drawled Rathburn, "is what that's got
+to do with you. I suppose you're here as a missionary to tip me off.
+Thanks."
+
+Eagen had calmed down. He stepped closer to Rathburn and spoke in a
+low tone.
+
+"Here's the lay: They're after you, an' they're after us. I know
+you're no stool pigeon, an' I know I ain't takin' a chance when I tell
+you that we've got a big job comin' up--one that'll get us a pretty
+roll. It takes nerve to pull it off, even though certain things will
+make it easier. You might just as well be in on it. You can make it a
+last job an' blow these parts for good. You don't have to come in, of
+course; but it'll be worth your while. You've got the name, an' you
+might as well have what goes with it. I'll let you head the outfit an'
+shoot square all the way."
+
+Rathburn laughed scornfully. "When I heard you was out here, Eagen, I
+guessed it was something like this that brought you here. Maybe you're
+statin' facts as to this job which, you say, is coming up. But you
+lied when you said you'd shoot square, Eagen. I wouldn't trust you as
+far as you could throw a bull by the tail, an' there's half a dozen
+other reasons why you an' me couldn't be pardners!"
+
+Eagen stepped back with a snarl of rage. "I don't reckon you're
+entitled to what rep you've got!" he blurted hoarsely. "Right down
+under the skin, Rathburn, I believe you're soft!"
+
+"That's puttin' it up to me all fair an' square," Rathburn replied
+evenly. "I'll give it right back to you, Eagen."
+
+"Get that gun out of the window."
+
+"Mallory."
+
+"Right here, Rathburn, an' all set," came Mallory's voice.
+
+"Get that gun out of the window."
+
+"What's that? Don't you see there's three of 'em? You----"
+
+"Get that gun out of the window!" rang Rathburn's voice.
+
+"Let him play with it," Eagen said harshly.
+
+Mallory withdrew from the window, as Eagen reached for his left
+stirrup and swung into the saddle.
+
+"I see you ain't takin' it," Rathburn called to him with a jeering
+laugh.
+
+"An' I ain't forgettin' it?" Eagen shouted, as he drove in his spurs.
+
+His three companions galloped after him, and Rathburn caught sight of
+a dark-skinned face, a pair of beady, black eyes, and the long,
+drooping mustaches of one of the men.
+
+"Gomez!" he exclaimed to himself. "Eagen's takin' up with the
+Mexicans."
+
+Mallory appeared in the kitchen door, holding a lamp above his head.
+"What'd he want?" he demanded of Rathburn.
+
+"More'n he got," answered Rathburn shortly. Then he saw Laura Mallory
+standing behind her father.
+
+"I mean to say he made a little proposition that I had to turn down,"
+he amended, with a direct glance at the girl. "An' now I've got to do
+some more ridin'."
+
+"You leavin' to-night?" asked Mallory in surprise. "We can put you up
+here, Rathburn, an' I'll keep an eye out for visitors."
+
+"And we'd have 'em afore mornin'," said Rathburn grimly. "Eagen will
+see to it that Bob Long knows I was out here, right pronto. But I aim
+to stop any posses from botherin' around your place. If there's one
+thing I don't want to do, Mallory, it's make any trouble for you."
+
+The girl came walking toward him and touched his arm.
+
+"What are you going to do, Roger?" she asked in an anxious voice.
+
+"I'm goin' straight into Hope," Rathburn replied.
+
+"But, Roger," the girl faltered, "won't that mean--mean----"
+
+"A show-down? Maybe so. I ain't side-steppin' it."
+
+A world of worry showed in the girl's eyes. "Roger, why don't you go
+away?" she asked hesitatingly. "Things could be worse, and maybe in
+time they would become better. Folks forget, Roger."
+
+For a moment Rathburn's hand rested on hers, as he looked down at
+her.
+
+"There's two ways of forgettin', girlie," he said soberly. "An' I
+don't want 'em to forget me the wrong way."
+
+"But, Roger, promise me you won't--won't--turn your gun against a man,
+Roger. It would make things so much worse. It would leave--nothing
+now. Don't you see? It takes courage to avoid what seems to be the
+inevitable. That terrible skill which is yours, the trick in this hand
+on mine, is your worst enemy. Oh, Roger, if you'd never learned to
+throw a gun!"
+
+"It isn't that," he told her gently. "It isn't what you think at all.
+I'd rather cut off that right hand than have it raised unfairly
+against a single living thing. They call me a gunman, girlie, an' I
+reckon I am. But I'm not a killer. There's a difference between the
+two, an' sometimes I think it's that difference that's makin' all the
+trouble. I'm still tryin' to steer by that thing you call the compass,
+an' that's why I've got to go to town."
+
+He stepped away from her, waved a farewell to Mallory, who was
+watching the scene with a puzzled expression, and ran for his horse. A
+minute later the ringing hoof beats of his mount were dying in the
+still night.
+
+Laura Mallory swayed, and her father hurried to her with the lamp and
+put his arm about her.
+
+"What's it all about, sweetie?" he asked complainingly.
+
+"Nothing, daddy, nothing--only I love him."
+
+A puff of wind blew out the light in the lamp, and father and daughter
+stood with arms about each other under the dancing stars.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXX
+
+THE SHERIFF'S PLIGHT
+
+
+Riding slowly Rathburn kept well in toward the range and proceeded
+cautiously. This wasn't alone a safety measure, for he wished to favor
+his horse. The dun had been hard ridden in the spurt to gain the
+mountains ahead of the posse. He had been rested at Price's cabin, to
+be sure, and also at the Mallory ranch; but now Rathburn had a ride of
+fifteen miles to the town of Hope, and he did not know how much riding
+he might have to do next day.
+
+When a scant three miles from Hope, he halted, loosened the saddle
+cinch, and rested his horse, while he himself reclined on the ground
+and smoked innumerable cigarettes. He was in a thoughtful mood,
+serious and somewhat puzzled. The recollection of Eagen's proposition
+caused him to frown frequently. Then a wistful light would glow in his
+eyes, and he thought of Laura Mallory. This would be succeeded by
+another frown, and then his eyes would narrow, and the smile that men
+had come to fear would tremble on his lips.
+
+He was again in the saddle with the first faint glimmer of the
+approaching dawn. He covered the distance into Hope at a swinging lope
+and rode in behind a row of neat, yellow-brick buildings which formed
+the east side of one block on the short main street.
+
+Securing his horse behind a building midway of the rear of the block,
+he entered one of the buildings through a back door. It proved to be
+a combination pool room and soft-drink bar. No one was in the place
+except the porter who was cleaning up. Rathburn noted that the man
+showed no evidences of knowing him, although this was Rathburn's home
+town.
+
+"Kind of early, ain't you, boss?" grinned the porter. "Maybe you're
+lookin' for something to start the day with." He winked broadly.
+
+Rathburn nodded and walked over to the bar.
+
+"Just get in?" asked the porter, as he put out a bottle of white
+liquor and glanced at the dust on Rathburn's clothes.
+
+"Just in," replied Rathburn, pouring and tossing off one drink.
+"Where's everybody? Too early for 'em?"
+
+"Well, it's about an hour too early on the average, unless there's
+been an all-night game," replied the porter, putting the bottle away,
+as his customer declined a second drink. "But then there ain't very
+many in town right now. Everybody's out after the reward money."
+
+Rathburn lifted his brows.
+
+"Say," exclaimed the porter eagerly, "you didn't see any men ridin'
+looselike, when you was coming in, did you?"
+
+Rathburn shook his head. "What's all this you're tryin' to chirp into
+my ear?" he asked.
+
+"Well, Bob Long, the sheriff, has got all his deputies out except just
+the jailer--there ain't anybody much in jail now, anyway--an' all the
+other men he could pin a star on, lookin' for a gang that held up the
+stage from Sunshine yesterday mornin', shot the stage driver dead, an'
+made off with an express package full of money. There's a big reward
+out for the man that's leadin' the gang. He's called The Coyote. Used
+to live here. He's a bad one."
+
+"Sheriff out, too?" Rathburn asked, showing great interest.
+
+"Sure. Come back in early last night an' got more men. They're tryin'
+to surround Imagination Range, I guess. That's where this Coyote an'
+his gang are supposed to be hanging out. The sheriff don't care so
+much for the fellers that's with him, I guess, but he sure does want
+this Coyote person. He told everybody to let the gang go if they had
+to, but to get the leader."
+
+Rathburn looked through the front windows with a quizzical smile on
+his lips. The sun was shining in the deserted street.
+
+"How many men has the sheriff got?" he inquired casually.
+
+"Most two hundred, I guess. They're scattered all over the range, an'
+a lot of 'em has hit over on the other side. They think The Coyote
+crossed the range an' is makin' east."
+
+"Well, maybe he has, an' maybe he hasn't," Rathburn observed. "The
+best place to hide from a posse is in the middle of it."
+
+The porter looked at him, then burst into a loud laugh. "I guess you
+said something that time, pardner. In the middle of it, eh?" He went
+about his work, chuckling, while Rathburn walked to a front window and
+stood looking out.
+
+A few minutes later he stepped quickly back into a corner, as a small
+automobile raced up the street. He sauntered to the rear door, passed
+out with a pleasant word to the porter, and when he gained the open,
+hurried up behind the buildings the length of the block. There he
+turned to the left and walked rapidly to a large stone building. He
+went around on the east side and entered a door on the ground floor.
+He found himself in a hallway, and on his left was a door, on the
+glazed glass of the upper half of which was the gold lettering:
+"Sheriff's Office."
+
+After a moment's hesitation he opened the door quickly and went in. A
+man standing before an open roll-top desk turned and regarded the
+early-morning visitor. He was a small man, but of wiry build. His eyes
+were gray, and he wore a small, brown mustache. He had a firm chin,
+and his face was well tanned. He was holding a paper in his hands, and
+the paper remained as steady as a rock in his grasp. His eyes bored
+straight and unflinchingly into Rathburn's. He showed no surprise, no
+concern. He made no move toward the pair of guns in the holsters of
+the belt which reposed on top of his desk. He spoke first.
+
+"Have you come to give yourself up, Rathburn?"
+
+"Hardly that, sheriff," replied Rathburn cheerfully. "I arrived in
+town this morning after most of the population had moved to the desert
+and the country aroun' Imagination. I didn't think I was goin' to be
+lucky enough to catch you in till I saw you arrive in that flivver.
+Are you back for more recruits?"
+
+The sheriff continued to hold the paper without moving.
+
+"When you first started to talk, Rathburn, I thought maybe bravado had
+brought you here to make a grand-stand play," he said coolly. "But I
+see you're not as foolhardy as some might think. I always gave you
+credit for being clever."
+
+"Thanks, Sheriff Long," said Rathburn dryly. "There's a few
+preliminaries we've got to get over, so----"
+
+His gun leaped into his hand and instantly covered the official. He
+stepped to the end of the desk, reached over and appropriated the belt
+with the two guns with his left hand. He tossed the belt and weapons
+to a vacant chair.
+
+"Now, sheriff, I didn't come lookin' for a cell like you hinted; I
+drifted in for a bit of information."
+
+"This is headquarters for that article, especially if it's about
+yourself," said Long, dropping the paper on his desk and sitting down
+in the chair before it.
+
+"What all have you got against me?" frowned Rathburn.
+
+"Nothing much," said the sheriff with biting sarcasm; "just a few
+killings, highway robbery, a bank stick-up, two or three gaming houses
+looted, and a stage holdup. Enough to keep you in the Big House for
+ninety-nine years and then hang you."
+
+Rathburn nodded. "You're sure an ambitious man, sheriff. The killings
+now--there was White and Moran, that you know about, an' a skunk over
+in California named Carlisle, that you don't know about, I guess. I
+couldn't get away from those shootings, sheriff."
+
+"How about Simpson and Manley?" countered the official scornfully.
+
+"Not on my list," said Rathburn quickly. "I heard I was given credit
+for those affairs, but I wasn't a member of the party where they were
+snuffed out."
+
+"If you can make a jury believe that, you're in the clear," said Long.
+"But how about that stage driver yesterday morning?"
+
+Rathburn's face darkened. "I got in from the west just in time to
+stumble on that gang of rats," he flared. "That's how your men came to
+see me. The chase happened to come in my direction, that's all."
+
+"If you can prove that, you're all right again," the sheriff pointed
+out. "The law will go halfway with you, Rathburn."
+
+"An' I probably wouldn't be able to prove it," said Rathburn bitterly.
+"Those other things--the bank job an' the gamblin' stick-ups--I was
+younger then, sheriff, an' no one can say that that bank sharp didn't
+do me dirt."
+
+"If you can show a good, reasonable doubt in those other cases,
+Rathburn, I know the court would show leniency if the jury found you
+guilty on the counts you just mentioned," said the sheriff earnestly.
+"I'm minded to believe you, so far as yesterday's work was concerned.
+I have an idea or two myself, but I haven't been able to get a good
+line on my man. He's too tricky. Of course I'm not going to urge you
+to do anything against your will. I appreciate your position. You're a
+fugitive, but you have your liberty. Perhaps you can get away clean,
+though I doubt it. But there's that chance, and you've naturally got
+to take it into consideration. And you're not _sure_ of anything if
+you go to trial on the charges there are against you. But it would
+count like sixty in your favor, Rathburn, if you'd give yourself up."
+
+Rathburn stared at the official speculatively. His thoughts flashed
+back along the years to the time when he and Laura Mallory had played
+together as children. He thought of what she had said the night before
+about the compass. He shifted uneasily on his feet.
+
+"Funny thing, sheriff, but I had some such fool notion," he
+confessed.
+
+"It takes nerve, Rathburn, for a man who is wanted to walk in and give
+up his gun," said the sheriff quietly.
+
+"I was thinking of something else," said Rathburn. "An' I've got to
+think some more about this that you've sort of put in my head."
+
+"How much time do you want, Rathburn?" asked Long.
+
+Rathburn scowled. "Our positions haven't changed," he said curtly.
+"I'm still the man you're lookin' for. I'll have to do my thinkin' on
+my own hook, I reckon."
+
+"Just as you say," Long said gravely. "Go over what I've told you
+carefully and don't make any more false moves while you're making up
+your mind. You wounded one of my men yesterday."
+
+"I shot high on purpose," Rathburn pointed out. "I didn't aim to be
+corralled just then."
+
+"I know you did," was the sheriff's rejoinder. "I know you could have
+killed him. I gave you credit for it."
+
+"You give me credit for quite a few things, sheriff," said Rathburn
+whimsically. "An' now you'll have to give me credit for bein' plumb
+cautious. It ain't my intention to have my thinking spell disturbed."
+
+His gun flashed in his hand.
+
+"I'll have to ask you to go inside an' occupy one of your own cells,
+sheriff, while I'm wanderin' around an' debatin' the subject."
+
+"I know you too well, Rathburn," said the sheriff with a grim smile.
+"I'm not armed, and I don't intend to obey you. If you intend to shoot
+you might just as well start!"
+
+Rathburn gazed at him coolly for a moment; then he shoved his gun in
+its holster and leaped.
+
+Quick as he was, Long was quicker. The sheriff was out of his chair in
+a twinkling, and he made a flying tackle, grasping Rathburn about the
+legs. The two fell to the floor and rolled over and over in their
+struggles.
+
+Although Rathburn was the larger man, the sheriff seemed made of steel
+wire. He twisted out of Rathburn's holds, one after another. In one
+great effort he freed himself and leaped to his feet. Rathburn was up
+instantly. Long drove a straight right that grazed Rathburn's jaw and
+staggered him, but Rathburn blocked the next blow and succeeded in
+upper-cutting his left to the sheriff's chin.
+
+They went into another clinch, and the sheriff got the better of the
+close fighting. Rathburn's face was bleeding, where it had been cut on
+a leg of the chair, when they were struggling on the floor. The feel
+of trickling crimson drove him mad. He threw Long off in an amazing
+burst of strength and then sent his right to the sheriff's jaw with
+all the force he could put into it.
+
+Long dropped to the floor, and Rathburn raised him and carried him to
+a door leading into the jail proper. As he drew open the door, he drew
+his gun and threw it down on the astonished jailer who was dozing in
+the little office outside the bars.
+
+"Open up!" Rathburn commanded.
+
+The jailer hastened to obey, as he saw the appearance of Rathburn's
+face and the dangerous look in his eyes.
+
+Rathburn compelled him at the point of his gun to lead the way to a
+cell in the rear, unlock it, and go inside. Rathburn pushed Long, who
+was regaining his senses, in after him and took the jailer's keys.
+
+"Tell Long I'm thinkin' over what he told me," he said to the jailer,
+as he locked them in.
+
+Then he hurried back to the entrance, locked it, and tossed the keys
+in through the bars.
+
+He wet his handkerchief with ice water from a tank in Long's office,
+wiped his face clean, and left the building.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXI
+
+A NEW COUNT
+
+
+As Rathburn wended his way to an obscure restaurant on a side street
+of the little town which was the county seat of Mesquite County, his
+thoughts were busy with what he had learned from the sheriff. He knew
+the official had been right when he said that it would react in
+Rathburn's favor if he gave himself up. Some of the counts on which he
+would be indicted undoubtedly would be quashed; others he might
+disprove. There was a chance that he might get off lightly; in any
+event he would have to spend a number of years in prison.
+
+Rathburn looked up at the bright sky. At the end of the street he
+could see the desert, and far beyond, the blue outlines of the
+mountains. It seemed to him that the sunshine was brighter on this
+deadly morning when he struggled with troubled thoughts. Having always
+lived in the open, liberty meant everything to him.
+
+But constantly his thoughts reverted to Laura Mallory. What did she
+expect of him? What would she think if he were to give himself up? Her
+talk of the compass--his conscience--bothered him. Why should she say
+such a thing if she didn't feel more than a friendly interest in him?
+Did she care for him then?
+
+Rathburn laughed mirthlessly, as he entered the eating house. There
+was no doubt of it--he was a fool. He continued to think, as he ate;
+by the time he had finished he found himself in a bad mental state.
+He wiped some moisture from his forehead, as he left the restaurant.
+For a moment he felt panicky. He was wavering!
+
+The tenor of his thoughts caused him to abandon his caution. He turned
+the corner by the State Bank of Hope and walked boldly down the
+street. Few pedestrians were about. None took any special notice of
+him, and none recognized him. He turned in at the resort he had
+visited when he first arrived that morning.
+
+He started, as he entered the place. A deep frown gathered on his
+face. Gomez, Eagen's Mexican henchman, was at the bar. At first
+Rathburn feigned ignorance of the Mexican's presence; but Gomez smiled
+at him, his white teeth glistening against his swarthy skin.
+
+Rathburn marveled at the audacity of the Mexican, who undoubtedly was
+one of those who had held up the stage the day before, in coming
+boldly into town. Then he recollected that the sheriff had mentioned
+he had an idea of who was responsible for that job, but had been
+unable to get a line on his man. Eagen and his gang were evidently
+well covered up. If such were the case, Eagen himself might be in
+town.
+
+It was because he thought he might learn something from Gomez that he
+finally acknowledged the fellow's greeting by a nod.
+
+The Mexican left the bar and walked up to him.
+
+"We are not afraid to come in town, Mr. Coyote," he murmured.
+
+"Drop that name," said Rathburn sharply in an undertone. "Is Eagen
+here?"
+
+"He is here," replied Gomez with another display of his white teeth.
+"You want to see him? He is up talking with Mr. Doane."
+
+Doane! Rathburn remembered the name instantly as being the same which
+had been spoken by Laura Mallory the night before. He remembered, too,
+the man who had been there and who had driven away to town in the
+little car. He surmised that this man had been Doane; and it had been
+he who had brought the information of Rathburn's arrival and the
+posse's pursuit to the girl.
+
+"You want to see him?" asked Gomez craftily.
+
+Rathburn had a consuming aversion for the wily Mexican. He hated the
+shifty look in his eyes and his oily tongue.
+
+"Not yet," he answered shortly.
+
+"He will be here maybe," said Gomez eagerly. "It is you change your
+mind?"
+
+Rathburn scowled. The Mexican then knew all about the proposition
+Eagen had made to him the night before. Perhaps he could get more
+information from him than he had suspected.
+
+"What job is it Eagen is planning?" he asked in a low voice.
+
+There were several men at the bar now, and both Rathburn and the
+Mexican were keeping an eye upon them.
+
+"Oh, that he will have to tell you himself when you are ready," Gomez
+replied.
+
+Rathburn snorted in keen disgust. But Gomez sidled up to him.
+
+"You go to the Mallory rancho last night," he whispered. "You are not
+the only one there last night." His smile flashed again, as Rathburn
+looked at him quickly.
+
+"There was another there before," he continued; "Mr. Doane. He goes
+there, too. You have been away a long time, and Mr. Doane take the
+advantage."
+
+Rathburn's eyes were narrowing, and the Mexican evidently took his
+face for an encouraging sign.
+
+"Mr. Doane--he is not lucky at cards," continued Gomez. "He like to
+play, and he play lots; but not too well. Maybe he have more luck in
+love--while you are away."
+
+"What do you mean?" asked Rathburn through his teeth.
+
+"Oh, you do not know?" The Mexican raised his black brows. "While you
+are away, Mr. Doane make hay while the sun shine bright. He was there
+much. He was there last night before you. He tries hard to steal your
+senorita before you come, and he will try to keep her now." He winked
+slyly.
+
+Rathburn suddenly grasped him by the throat. "What are you tryin' to
+say?" he asked sternly, shaking the Mexican like a rat.
+
+Gomez broke away, his black eyes darting fire. "You are a fool!" he
+exclaimed. "You get nothing. Even your woman, she is stole right under
+your eyes. Doane, he goes there, and he gets her. She fall for him
+fast. Then she talks to you with sugar in her mouth, and you believe.
+Bah! You think the Senorita Mallory----"
+
+Rathburn's open palm crashed against the Mexican's mouth.
+
+"Don't speak her name, you greaser!"
+
+Gomez staggered back under the force of the slap. His eyes were pin
+points of fire. He raised his right hand to his mouth and then to the
+brim of his sombrero. His breath came in hissing gasps, as the hatred
+blazed in his glittering eyes.
+
+Rathburn's face was white under its heavy coating of tan. He saw the
+few men at the bar turn and look in their direction, and he realized
+instinctively that these men were gamblers and shady characters who
+were probably friends of Eagen and his gang.
+
+"I give you my regards," cried Gomez in a frenzy of rage. "You--gringo!"
+
+His right hand tipped his sombrero in a lightning move, and there was
+a flash in the sunlight filtering through the back windows, as
+Rathburn's gun barked at his hip.
+
+Gomez crumpled backward to the floor, as the knife dropped from his
+grasp at the beginning of the throw.
+
+Rathburn, still holding his smoking gun ready, walked rapidly past the
+men at the bar and gained the open through the door at the rear.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXII
+
+THE COMPASS FAILS
+
+
+In the alley behind the buildings fronting on the main street,
+Rathburn paused in indecision, while he shoved his gun into the
+holster on his thigh. He had known by the look in Gomez's eyes that he
+was going to throw a knife. Instinct had caused him to watch the
+Mexican's right hand, and, in the instant when Gomez had secured the
+knife from his hat and snapped back his hand for the throw, Rathburn
+had drawn and fired. He knew well the dexterity of a man of Gomez's
+stamp with a knife. The gun route was the only chance to protect his
+life. But Rathburn realized, too, that he had shot to kill!
+
+He had been incensed by the Mexican's subtle insinuations--maddened by
+the way he leered when he spoke Laura Mallory's name. He had virtually
+been driven to it. Even now he could not see how he could have avoided
+it.
+
+Securing his horse, Rathburn rode swiftly around a back street to a
+small barn on the edge of the desert. He ordered his mount watered and
+fed. He had known the man who owned this barn, but the individual who
+attended to his horse was a new employee. He sat in the little front
+office which also served as the quarters of the night man, while his
+horse was being looked after. He had not removed his saddle.
+
+Rathburn's thoughts dwelt on what Gomez had said. There was no
+question but that the Mexican had taken liberties in saying what he
+did, but there was more than a glimmer of truth in his statements.
+Rathburn had seen the man leaving Laura Mallory on the porch of the
+Mallory ranch house. She had mentioned a man named Doane as having
+brought word that he, Rathburn, was back in the country and in more
+trouble. Now Gomez had identified this visitor as Doane, the man who
+had been calling on Laura Mallory regularly. Rathburn's brows wrinkled
+at the thought. But why not? What hold had he upon her? It certainly
+wasn't within his rights to resent the fact that another man had found
+the girl attractive. But, to his increasing torment, he found that he
+_did_ resent it; he couldn't help it!
+
+Suddenly he remembered that Gomez had said Eagen was paying a call on
+Doane. What could Eagen have to do with Doane which would warrant his
+visiting him early in the morning? Rathburn recalled that Gomez had
+intimated that Doane liked to play cards. Was the man then a
+professional gambler? But no, Gomez had said he did not play well.
+
+Rathburn tried to recollect where he had seen this man Doane before.
+The blond face and mustache were vaguely familiar. Again he strove to
+place the man without result.
+
+He shrugged his shoulders, drew out his gun, and replaced the empty
+shell with a fresh cartridge. He dropped the weapon back into his
+holster and went outside to see about his horse. The dun still was
+feeding. Rathburn contented himself with looking over his saddle and
+readjusting the small slicker pack on its rear. Then he paced the
+length of the barn, frowning in a thoughtful mood.
+
+There was only one thing he was reasonably sure of; no one around the
+town knew that he was the outlaw known as The Coyote. He had not seen
+anybody he knew except the sheriff, and that official was safely out
+of the way for the present. Gomez had mentioned his name when they had
+first met, but he had not been heard save by Rathburn. Therefore, if
+they were looking for the man who had shot down Gomez, they were
+merely looking for a man measuring up to his description; and Rathburn
+doubted if anything would be done until the authorities had been
+notified. Visitors to the sheriff's office would find Long out and
+would assume that he had not returned from the chase in the hills. It
+might be another hour before the sheriff's predicament was discovered.
+And in that hour----
+
+Rathburn caught himself up with another shrug. He was falling a prey
+to his former hopeless trend of thought. Resentment was swelling
+within him again, and he struggled to put it down. Perhaps it would be
+safer to yield to the inclination to take a chance on the courts.
+
+It was after nine o'clock when he rode out of the barn. He proceeded
+straight toward the main street of the town. He was struggling
+with a half-formed resolve; summoning courage by shutting out all
+recollections save that of Laura Mallory's apparently earnest remark
+about the compass.
+
+Reaching the main street, he started to turn the corner at the bank
+building when he suddenly checked his horse and stared at two people
+walking up the opposite side of the street. Rathburn recognized the
+girl immediately. She was Laura Mallory. A moment later he caught a
+glimpse of the man's face, as he half turned toward Rathburn,
+laughing. He had taken Laura's arm. It was Doane!
+
+The realization that Laura had come to town and was in the company of
+Doane stunned Rathburn. More than anything else it had the effect of
+convincing him that Gomez had been right when he had hinted that
+Doane was successful in love. Hadn't she told him to take his gun when
+Eagen had been waiting for him? Had she thought, perhaps, that there
+would be gun play, and that Eagen might emerge the victor, thus
+assuring her that he, Rathburn, would bother her no more?
+
+Rathburn's eyes narrowed, and his face froze, as he watched Laura and
+Doane out of sight up the street. He knew now why he had had to come
+back. There was nothing left--nothing but his dreams, his sinister
+reputation, and his gun!
+
+He looked about in a different way from that in which he had first
+surveyed the street, now showing life. His gaze encountered the bank
+building. The door was open. The bank doubtless opened at nine
+o'clock. He remembered that this was so. A second of indecision, then
+he moved in front of the bank. He dismounted, flung the reins over the
+dun's head, and entered briskly.
+
+Two men were behind the screens of the two cages. Rathburn approached
+a window and nodded to the man behind it. Then his gun leaped into his
+hand, and he covered the pair.
+
+"Reach high an' hard!" he commanded. "An' quick!"
+
+The men in the cages hesitated; but the look in Rathburn's eyes
+convinced them, and they raised their hands over their heads. Rathburn
+leaped to the ledge outside the window and climbed nimbly over the
+wire network of the cage. Then he dropped to the floor inside.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIII
+
+FAST WORK
+
+
+Quickly and methodically Rathburn went about his work. His face was
+drawn and pale, but his eyes glittered with a deadly earnestness which
+was not lost upon the two men who obeyed his orders without question.
+The very boldness of his intrepid undertaking must have convinced them
+that here was no common bandit. He herded them back toward the vault
+at the point of his gun. Then he ordered them into the vault.
+
+"Now then," he said crisply, "you know what I'm after. Trot it out!"
+
+One of the men, evidently an assistant cashier or head teller, who was
+in charge, opened a compartment of the inner safe and pulled out a
+drawer. Rathburn could see the packages of bills. He looked quickly
+about and saw a pile of empty coin sacks on a shelf.
+
+"Fill two of those large sacks," he instructed the other man.
+
+The clerk hastened to carry out his orders and jammed package after
+package of bills into one of the largest of the coin sacks. Both men
+were white-faced and frightened. They did not try to delay the
+proceedings. Rathburn looked dangerous; and what was more sinister, he
+went about his nefarious business in a cool, calm, confident manner.
+He did not look like the Rathburn who had visited Laura Mallory the
+night before, nor the Rathburn who had talked with the sheriff. In
+this critical moment he was in look, mood, and gesture The Coyote at
+his worst--worthy of all the terrible things that had been whispered
+about him.
+
+It may be that the bank employees suspected as much. It may be that
+they didn't believe it would be possible for the outlaw to make his
+get-away in broad daylight, and it was certain that they stood in
+mighty fear of him. They cowered back, pale and shaking, as he calmly
+took the sack, heavy with its weight of bank notes of healthy
+denomination, and stepped to the entrance to the big vault.
+
+"When they come an' let you out," said Rathburn, "you can tell them
+that the gent who helped himself to the berries in the cash box is
+just beginnin' to cash in on the reputation that's been wished on
+him!"
+
+He smiled grimly, as he swung the light, inner door of the vault shut
+and clamped down the lever. He slid his gun into its holster and,
+carrying the sack of loot, walked out of the door of the second cage
+toward the main entrance of the bank. As he reached the door, a man
+came up the steps. Rathburn recognized Doane, and his lips curled in a
+snarl. It was the first time Doane had come face to face with him, but
+the man started back in surprise.
+
+"Rathburn!" he exclaimed.
+
+Rathburn hesitated. His first feeling of instinctive animosity fled.
+He scowled in a swift effort to place the man, and the thought that in
+an indirect way Doane was partly responsible for what had come to pass
+flashed through his tortured brain. This brought swift comprehension
+of his immediate danger. Now that he had taken the decisive step he
+would have to call upon all his resources of courage and cunning to
+protect his liberty. The die had been cast!
+
+He hurried past Doane, swung into the saddle, and rode at a swift
+pace around the corner, leaving Doane standing on the steps of the
+bank, staring after him with an expression of amazement on his face.
+
+Rathburn knew it would be but a matter of a very few minutes before
+the knowledge that the State Bank of Hope had been held up and
+robbed--would be common property in the town. The very boldness of the
+robbery had insured its success, for none would dream that a lone
+bandit would have the nerve to come into town in broad daylight, hold
+up the bank, and attempt to run for it across the open, burning spaces
+of the desert. But he was not aware of the coincidence which would
+make the news of the robbery known sooner than he expected.
+
+At the end of the side street he struck boldly across the desert,
+driving in his spurs and urging the gallant dun to its top speed. In a
+matter of minutes he was out of view of the town--a speck bobbing amid
+the clumps of mesquite, palo verde, and cactus. He raced for the
+mountains in the northwest.
+
+There was another element of uncertainty which entered into the
+probability of quick pursuit, as he had shrewdly divined. It might be
+some time before the sheriff's predicament was discovered. Meanwhile
+most of the male population was scouring the vicinity of Imagination
+Range looking for him, and there would be no one to lead a second
+posse until the sheriff was liberated. There was nothing in sight
+behind him toward town except the vista of dry desert vegetation
+swimming in the heat. Rathburn rode on with a feeling of security, so
+far as trouble from that quarter was concerned.
+
+His thoughts were in a turmoil, and he passed a shaking hand over his
+damp brow. The resentment had given way to grim decision and
+determination. Well, he had shown them what The Coyote could do. They
+would remember that job; they could lay that at his door. The proceeds
+would carry him a long way. They had given him his reputation, and he
+would make the game worth the candle!
+
+The old fierce defiance of misguided youth was in his veins. He felt a
+wild exultation seize him. Doubt and all problems were set aside. His
+eyes glowed with a reckless light, as he raced on toward the blue
+hills.
+
+Doane had known him--had called him by name. Therefore Doane knew he
+was The Coyote--the outlaw with a price on his head. So much the
+better. He _wanted_ them to know!
+
+The sun was at its zenith, as he passed above the Mallory place. He
+did not once turn his head and look down upon it. His jaw was squared,
+his lips pressed tight, as he guided his horse into the winding
+foothills of the range. In a narrow canyon he dismounted and undid his
+slicker pack. When he again tied it behind the saddle it contained the
+bag which held the bank notes he had taken that morning. He pushed on
+in the early afternoon.
+
+He now rode with more caution. The fact that he had not seen any
+members of the posses which were scouring the hills, he accredited to
+ignorance on their part of the fact that he had been at the Mallory
+ranch the night before and had gone into town. These things they had
+hardly had time to learn. More than likely they had assumed that he
+had crossed the mountains, and it was possible that most of the men on
+the hunt were on the east side of the range. He became more and more
+convinced of this as the afternoon wore on, but he did not relax his
+vigilance. His face had clouded.
+
+"We made a mistake, hoss," he muttered, "in not remembering to hunt up
+Mike Eagen first thing."
+
+In the quick moves following his sudden momentous decision, he had
+forgotten Eagen. This fact now bothered him. He had a score to settle
+with Eagen on general principles. This did not mean that he
+necessarily would have to shoot Eagen down; but he wanted Eagen to
+hear straight out what he thought of him. It might be a long time
+before he could gratify that desire after the events of this day.
+
+Slowly he proceeded, not once venturing upon a high spot until he had
+investigated by crawling to a vantage point on his hands and knees. It
+was sundown when he saw the first riders. Two were farther down the
+slopes to westward, and several more were far to eastward. It was true
+then that Long had thrown a cordon about the section of the mountains
+which he had been seen to enter the day before.
+
+However, Rathburn's knowledge of the range and the secrets of the
+mountain trails gave him a distinct advantage over the inexperienced
+members of the posses. True, there were deputies and some others who
+were experienced; but they were in the minority.
+
+Rathburn realized that the sheriff must have been released some hours
+before, and that his escapade of the morning would stimulate the man
+hunt. The rewards would be increased, and every able-bodied man in
+Hope would doubtless join in the scramble for the reward money. He was
+satisfied that Sheriff Long's order would be to "shoot on sight!"
+
+On the very crest of the range he paused in the shelter of the rocks.
+There still was a fair chance for him to get away clean to eastward.
+The sheriff had not had time to get more men over there, and by making
+a break into the southeast and then cutting straight to the east,
+there was a strong possibility that he would succeed in circling
+around the posse and effect his escape.
+
+But something was drawing him to Joe Price! He did not quite
+understand that it was the desire to confide in and confess to his
+friend what had actuated his choice of moral trails. But the yearning
+was there, and he was yielding to it. He conjectured shrewdly that
+Long might not dream that he would have the temerity again to enter
+the very district where he was being sought. It was his belief that
+the best place to hide from a posse was in the midst of it!
+
+It was this confidence, almost as much as his skill in trailing, which
+enabled him to gain a point above Joe Price's cabin in the early
+twilight. He waited patiently until the curtain of night had fallen,
+and the stars had replaced the fading banners of the sunset, before he
+slipped down a steep slope and walked his horse into the canyon below
+the old miner's abode.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXIV
+
+THE COMPASS WAVERS
+
+
+Joe Price regarded Rathburn with a curious look in his eyes when he
+beheld him in the doorway of his cabin. He stepped swiftly to the one
+window, which was over the table, and dropped the burlap shade. Then
+he closed the door.
+
+"So they've been here?" asked Rathburn.
+
+"What else could you expect?" replied Price testily. "They're combin'
+these hills for you." He looked at Rathburn keenly, but Rathburn only
+smiled.
+
+"That's not news to me," he said quietly; "I've percolated through
+their lines twice."
+
+"Stay here," said Price, "and I'll look after your horse--or were you
+hidin' up all day?"
+
+"No such luck," answered Rathburn grimly.
+
+The old man looked at him curiously; then he went out of the door,
+closing it carefully after him.
+
+Rathburn found cold food, put it on the table, and sat down to eat.
+When Price returned he had finished. The old miner sat down in a chair
+opposite Rathburn.
+
+"Now, out with it," he said. "Something has happened. I can see it in
+the way you look an' act. What's up?"
+
+Rathburn carefully rolled a brown-paper cigarette, snapped a match
+into flame, and lit it before he replied. He was half smiling.
+
+"I held up the State Bank of Hope this mornin' an' extracted a bag of
+perfectedly good bills," he announced. "Didn't bother with the counter
+money. Made 'em serve me from the vault."
+
+Joe Price's eyelids did not even flicker.
+
+"Any idear what you got?" he asked.
+
+"Not whatsoever," replied Rathburn coolly; "but the smallest I saw on
+top of the package was a fifty."
+
+Price nodded. "You got plenty," he said.
+
+Rathburn scowled. He had expected some kind of an outbreak--at least a
+remonstrance from his old friend. He glanced about uneasily and then
+glared defiance at Price.
+
+"It had to come, Joe," he asserted. "There wasn't any way out of it.
+What's more, I killed that greased pard of Eagen's, Gomez."
+
+"How so?" queried Price.
+
+"Well, I'll tell _you_, Joe, but I don't expect it to go any further.
+He said something about Laura Mallory an' a man named Doane, an' I
+didn't like it. I slapped him. Then he went for a knife he had in his
+hat."
+
+The old man nodded again. "I see," he said simply. "You shot him. Not
+a bad riddance. How did you come to rob the bank, Rathburn?"
+
+Rathburn's gaze again shifted uneasily. Then he rose with a burning
+look at Price, walked up and down the slanting length of the cabin,
+and halted before the old miner.
+
+"Joe," he said in a tremulous voice, "it's the last ditch. I can't get
+away from it. I thought I could tell you--an old friend--the whole
+story, but I can't, Joe. That's the devil of it! There's something
+wrong with me. I reckon I'm one of those fellows who just had
+everything mapped out for him. I had some trouble, Joe, an' it's
+started something--something I can't control. They _had_ to remember
+me, an' I gave them something to remember me by!"
+
+"Who do you mean by 'they,' Rathburn?" asked the miner.
+
+"Sheriff Long an' the others," said Rathburn quickly. "There wasn't a
+chance for me. Why, I was thinking of giving myself up only this
+morning. Joe, it ain't in the pictures--not after I let Gomez have it.
+Even after I stopped Gomez I had an idea that I could face the music.
+Besides, Joe, there's more to this than you think. They call me The
+Coyote, an', Joe, so help me, from now on I am!"
+
+"Did you stop at the Mallory place?" asked Price quietly.
+
+Rathburn did not reply at once. With agony in his eyes he looked at
+his old friend, and suddenly he bristled:
+
+"I might as well never have gone there," he flung out. "I see now I
+wasn't wanted. I found out as much from Gomez. He told me about
+Laura's affair with that fellow Doane. But what could I expect? I
+wasn't entitled to no thought from her, an' I should have known as
+much. I'm just a plain fool--a worse one now than I was before."
+
+Joe Price's faded blue eyes glowed with comprehension.
+
+"You thought Laura had put you off, so you gave in an' robbed the
+bank, Rathburn, an' just naturally made a mess of things when you had
+a chance," said the old man stoutly. "That ain't actin' with a lick of
+sense. You wasn't gettin' square with anybody, an' you wasn't doin'
+that girl right by takin' the word of Gomez."
+
+"I saw the two of them, her an' Doane, in Hope this morning, walkin'
+down the street, arm in arm, laughing--probably over me," Rathburn
+replied bitterly. "I've got eyes, and I can put two an' two together.
+I'm only The Coyote with her, and I'll _be_ The Coyote. She took my
+gun an' then gave it back when Mike Eagen showed up, thinkin' maybe
+there'd be gun play, an' I'd get mine."
+
+"Now you shet up!" shrilled Price. "I reckon you've lost all the
+brains you ever did have? Do you think Laura would keep your gun,
+knowin' there might be trouble, an' you wouldn't have any way to
+protect yourself? Don't you suppose she knows you're as fast as Eagen?
+She's no fool, if you are. But, if you've got to stay the fool, you
+better be lightin' out with your winnings. An' you're not takin' the
+bank's money, either."
+
+"What do you mean by that?" scowled Rathburn, who had been thoughtful
+while his friend was speaking.
+
+"I had money in that bank, Rathburn, an' so did Mallory, an' there's a
+lot more of us----"
+
+"I'll give you back your money," Rathburn growled. "Anyway, they're
+protected by insurance, an' the insurance people can hunt me till
+doomsday--I guess." He was cooling off rapidly.
+
+"Maybe they are," said Price, "an' maybe they ain't. But it ain't
+goin' to help you none the way you're goin' to feel about it later, no
+matter who loses it."
+
+Rathburn was pacing the room, frowning. Twice he started to speak, but
+the words failed to come. Then he put a question. "Who is this man
+Doane? He knew me, for I met him when I was comin' out of the bank,
+an' he called me by name."
+
+"Doane is cashier of the bank down at Hope. He was likely just comin'
+to work when you met him."
+
+Rathburn stared with an incredulous expression. "You're sure?" But
+even as he put the question, Rathburn placed his man.
+
+"I'm dead certain on it," declared Price.
+
+Rathburn sat down heavily and took his hat in his hand.
+
+"That makes it different," he said dully, as if to himself. "Maybe
+she's stuck on him for his money, an' maybe she's stuck on him because
+he's a good guy. Maybe this thing would hurt him."
+
+"Oh, I don't think they'd blame him," said Price with a note of
+consolation in his voice; "an' he probably wouldn't lose nothin'."
+
+"But she might think--it might be that she----" Rathburn swung his hat
+to his head and rose. He walked toward the door, but Joe Price got in
+his way.
+
+"Where you goin'?" he asked.
+
+"To the Mallory ranch!"
+
+"You can't get there!" said Price hoarsely, pushing him back.
+
+"I've got to get there!" answered Rathburn grimly, pushing the old man
+aside. "I must see Laura."
+
+"You got here just by luck," Price pointed out. "An' there's more men
+in by now. Maybe they know you're here. But wait till I get your
+horse--he's hid."
+
+"Get him," Rathburn commanded.
+
+After a moment's hesitation Price went out the door, and he returned
+almost instantly. He walked to the table and blew out the light. "Go
+to the door an' see," he urged in an excited voice.
+
+Rathburn hurried out. High on the mountain above the canyon a fire was
+burning.
+
+"It's the signal," Price whispered in his ear.
+
+"Joe, do me a last favor," said Rathburn in a queer voice. "Get me my
+hoss before it's too late!"
+
+The old man obediently slipped into the shadows behind the cabin.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXV
+
+GUNS IN THE NIGHT
+
+
+When Joe Price returned, leading Rathburn's horse which he had fed and
+watered, and turned over the reins, he spoke swiftly in a low voice:
+
+"They'll be watchin' hard for you down the canyon, boy. Bob Long's sure
+to mean business this 'ere time."
+
+"Well, I know it," said Rathburn with a low, mirthless laugh. "I
+locked him in his own jail this mornin' to get a clean chance to
+decide to give myself up. Then, when the chance came--well, he surely
+thinks now that I put him away to cover my tracks. I expect the boys
+have got their shootin' orders."
+
+"Listen!" whispered Price excitedly. "Wait till I get my own horse,
+an' I'll strike east across the hump. That'll start 'em after me
+maybe--sure it will, Rathburn! They'll think I'm you, see, an' light
+right out after me."
+
+Rathburn laid one hand on the old man's shoulder and put the other
+over Joe's mouth.
+
+"Joe, you're all excited--plumb unreasonable excited. You know I
+wouldn't let you do that. Now don't hand me more worries than I've
+got. Be good, Joe." He patted Price's shoulder, then swung into the
+saddle.
+
+The old miner looked up at him, his face showing strangely white in
+the dim starlight, pierced by the fire on the peak.
+
+"I didn't tell 'em you'd been here, Roger; don't forget that!"
+
+"I knew that, Joe," Rathburn chuckled. "So long."
+
+Swiftly he rode down the little meadow below the spring into the deep
+shadows of the canyon which led down a steep trail to the desert.
+Presently he checked his pace until he was walking the gallant dun. He
+wished to avoid as much noise as possible, and to save the horse for a
+final spurt down nine miles of desert to the Mallory ranch from the
+mouth of the canyon--providing he got out.
+
+For two reasons he had deliberately chosen this route: it was
+shortest, and it offered the best going. He must save the dun's
+strength. Rathburn knew the limits of his splendid mount; knew they
+had almost been reached; knew there was just enough left in the horse
+to make the ranch without killing him. The Coyote would surrender
+before he would kill his horse to effect his escape or gain an
+objective!
+
+Thus they slipped down the narrow canyon, with the desert stars
+gleaming white above the lava hills of Imagination Range, while the
+fire glowed on the peak above Joe Price's cabin. Rathburn's face was
+pale under his tan; his thoughts were in a turmoil, but his lips were
+pressed into a fine line that denoted an unwavering determination. Had
+Sheriff Bob Long seen his face at this time he might have glimpsed
+another angle of Rathburn's many-sided character--an angle which would
+have given him pause.
+
+Rathburn looked behind, and his eyes narrowed. Two fires were burning
+on the peak.
+
+Already the watchers were cognizant of his latest move and were
+signaling to those who might be below. He wondered vaguely why they
+had not surrounded Joe Price's cabin while he had been there. Then he
+realized he had been there hardly long enough for his pursuers to get
+there in any number. Suddenly his thoughts were broken into by a
+streak of red in the canyon depths below him. He swerved close against
+the rock wall, drew his gun, and, speaking to the dun, drove in his
+spurs.
+
+A short distance below he could see the faint glow of the starlight
+night and knew he was near the canyon's mouth. There were more streaks
+of red, and bullets whistled past him. Then Rathburn raised his gun
+and sent half its deadly contents crashing down into the trail ahead.
+
+There followed a few moments of quiet, broken only by the harsh,
+ringing pound of his mount's hoofs. Rathburn could see open country
+just ahead. Then a flash of fire came from almost under him, and the
+big dun lunged into the air, half twisting, and came down upon some
+object under its hoofs. The dun bounded on in great leaps, literally
+flying through the air, as Rathburn thrilled with the knowledge that
+the horse had knocked down the man who had sought to kill him.
+
+From above came sharp reports, and the blackness of the high canyon
+walls was streaked with spurts of flame. Leaden death hurled itself
+into the rock trail behind him. Then he was out of the canyon, riding
+like mad through the white desert night toward his goal--the Mallory
+ranch!
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Laura Mallory stood on the porch of the little ranch house, staring
+out across the dimly lit spaces of desert. A worried look appeared in
+her eyes. The front door was open, and in the small sitting room her
+father was reading under a shaded lamp at the table. At times the
+worried look in the girl's eyes would change to one of wistfulness,
+and twice the tears welled.
+
+Presently she straightened and listened intently, looking into the
+south instead of northwest. Her ears, keen as are those of the desert
+born, had caught a sound--a succession of faint sounds--in the still
+night air. Gradually the sound became more and more distinct, and the
+worried expression of her face increased. She hurried into the sitting
+room.
+
+"Father, Fred Doane is coming out from town," she said breathlessly.
+"Do you suppose they've got him?"
+
+"Maybe so, girlie," said the old man. "It was a bold business, an'
+what could you expect?"
+
+"Oh, I don't know. I can't seem to understand. All this trouble is
+coming so suddenly. Father, are you sure you heard Roger refuse to aid
+that man Eagen in some shady scheme last night?"
+
+"Ab-so-lutely," declared Mallory. "I've been wondering, daughter, if
+he didn't turn Eagen down because he had this scheme of his own."
+
+The purr of a motor came to them from outside, and Laura, hastily
+wiping her eyes with a small handkerchief, went slowly out.
+
+"Laura!" cried Fred Doane, as he came up the steps, holding out his
+hands.
+
+"What--what is it, Fred?" she faltered. "Have they caught----"
+
+"Not yet," said Doane briskly, as Mallory appeared in the door. "An'
+they probably won't get him. He's clever, that fellow."
+
+The bank cashier indulged in a frown, but he was plainly nervous.
+
+"Then what news do you bring here?" Mallory demanded. "Did you come to
+tell us he'd got away clean?"
+
+"Why, not--not exactly," said Doane. "I meant to tell you that, of
+course, but I also want to have a little talk with Laura. Can I see
+you alone, Laura, for a few minutes?"
+
+"Oh, _that's_ it," snorted Mallory, as he stamped back into the
+house.
+
+"You have something to tell me you don't want father to hear?" asked
+the girl in a worried voice.
+
+"Laura, there's something I must tell you right away," said Doane
+nervously, leading her to the shadow of the far end of the porch.
+There he turned and faced her, taking her hands.
+
+"Laura, you must have seen it for a long time. You could hardly help
+but see it. I love you, Laura--I love you with all my heart, and I
+want you to be my wife."
+
+The girl drew back in astonishment.
+
+"But why do you have to tell me this so suddenly?" she asked, her
+color coming and going.
+
+"Because I want you to marry me, Laura, to-night!" he said.
+
+Again he reached for her hands. "Please, Laura," he pleaded. "It means
+so much to me. Don't you care for me, sweetheart? I've been led to
+think you did, and I intended to tell you soon, but all this
+trouble--this terrible trouble to-day--has nearly driven me mad. I'm
+afraid I'll go mad, Laura, if I don't have something else to think
+about. Oh, Laura, marry me and help me out of this big trouble."
+
+"Fred!" exclaimed the girl, startled by his passion of pleading.
+"Fred, I've never tried to make you think I cared for you. And
+now--well, I'd have to have a long time to think it over. How would it
+help you out of trouble, Fred? Tell me that."
+
+"By helping me forget--by helping me forget that our bank is ruined!
+By saving my mind! By keeping me from going mad! By----"
+
+"Fred you must not talk so. That robbery has unnerved you for the time
+being, that's all. You're excited and so----"
+
+"I'm more than excited," he declared, trying to put his hands on her
+shoulders. "I'm about--about--_gone_! Laura, marry me to-night, and
+we'll go somewhere--we'll go somewhere right from here, from this
+ranch--go a long way and get married in the morning. Then we can stay
+away for a short time till I get to be myself again."
+
+"No, Fred," replied the girl in convincing tones, "I can't. It would
+be asking too much even if I loved you. Come inside, and I'll make you
+some strong tea. You can talk to father and me and regain control of
+yourself."
+
+There was a moment of silence. Mallory with the lamp had come to the
+door at the sound of Doane's loud voice. He was looking at them. Then
+out of the night came the pound of hoofs. There was no mistaking the
+sound.
+
+Doane whirled around, as a rider came out of the sea of mesquite and
+greasewood and flung himself from the saddle in front of the porch.
+The bank cashier turned toward Mallory. His face was haggard. He
+seemed to sway, as the rider came stamping up the steps. He darted for
+the door, but had hardly got inside before the rider caught him and
+made him face about. Mallory hurried in with the lamp, followed by the
+girl.
+
+Doane was quailing before the new arrival. Both cried out, as they saw
+it was Eagen who had broken out so suddenly. Eagen towered above the
+shrinking Doane.
+
+"So you thought you'd double cross me, did you, eh?" came Eagen's
+harsh voice, and he slapped Doane in the face.
+
+Doane went red, then white. For a moment intense hatred and anger
+flashed in his eyes, but he made no move to avenge the insult. Slowly
+the light in his eyes died again to fear, as he realized his
+inability to cope with this man of strength.
+
+"Here, Eagen, you can't come into my house and act like that," said
+Mallory stoutly, putting the lamp on the table.
+
+Laura still stood in the doorway, stunned by the rapid and extraordinary
+turn of events. Eagen turned on Mallory with a snarl.
+
+"Shut up, you old fool! Don't butt in where you ain't wanted, an' on
+something you don't know anything about."
+
+"I know you're in my house!" Mallory retorted sternly.
+
+"I'll only be here a minute," said Eagen with a sneer. "I'm goin' out
+of your house, an' I'm goin' to drag this sneaking cur out with
+me--out on the solid ground an' give him what's comin' to him. An'
+then," he added in a terrible voice; "I'm goin' to go out an' get his
+pardner--Rathburn, The Coyote--get him when the others can't come
+within a mile of him!"
+
+"You can't take this man out of my house when he is my guest!"
+thundered Mallory.
+
+"No?" asked Eagen contemptuously. "Well, you watch an' see! If you try
+to stop me you'll stop lead!"
+
+He leaped forward and grasped Doane by the shoulder, jerked him
+forward, and stepped backward himself. He turned, dragging his victim,
+then stopped dead in his tracks with a hissing intake of breath.
+Rathburn was standing quietly in the doorway.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVI
+
+THE LOOT
+
+
+In the heat of the threats and counterthreats which had been in
+progress, none of the occupants of the room had heard the newest
+arrival thunder up to the porch and leap from the saddle to the
+steps.
+
+Eagen was dumfounded by Rathburn's sudden appearance. He saw that the
+girl was standing now in a front corner of the room, with her hands
+crossed on her breast, a look of horror in her eyes. Slowly Eagen
+recovered and loosed his hold on Doane, who staggered weakly to the
+table and leaned upon it. Eagen's sneer returned to his thick lips,
+and his narrowed gaze traveled quickly to a sack which Rathburn held
+in his left hand. Eagen's eyes shone with fury.
+
+"Come here to fix up the divvy!" he choked. "I knew it was a put-up
+job between you an' Doane, an' I figured you'd maybe meet aroun' here
+where Doane would be sure to come to try an' take this woman with
+him."
+
+Rathburn eyed him calmly. There was something of a deadly calm in his
+very posture, as he stood just within the threshold. He looked past
+Eagen to Doane. Then he tossed the sack on the table.
+
+"Here's the money I took this morning, Doane," he said in matter-of-fact
+tones. "I came here to turn it over to you."
+
+With bulging eyes Doane stared at him.
+
+Eagen laughed loudly. "That's rich! Tryin' to make me think you was
+goin' to give it _all_ to him? Don't you figure, Mr. Coyote, that I
+can throw my rope aroun' a simple scheme like you an' that shivering
+rat over by the table cooked up? That's why you turned down my little
+proposition last night. It was this same deal--only, _me_, an' Doane
+there was goin' to put it over. You figured I'd cut you out of your
+divvy, an' you figured right; he suspected I might double cross him,
+an' maybe he was right, too. So he cooked it up with you to pull the
+robbery, thinkin' you'd be more likely to go through an' give him his
+end. But the pair of you figured too many points when you thought I
+wouldn't catch on."
+
+"That was what your proposition was to be, was it?" asked Rathburn
+pleasantly. "Rob the bank? Why, I didn't need a gang to rob the bank,
+Eagen, an' I didn't have anybody in with me. The trouble with you is
+that you've got too much imagination."
+
+The drawl in which Rathburn concluded his speech drove Eagen to a
+frenzy.
+
+"You lie, Rathburn!"
+
+Rathburn smiled. "I might as well tell you that I intended to get away
+with that money that's on the table, Eagen. That's what I took it for.
+I'm making this little statement because something's liable to happen
+to one, or both of us. I didn't know Doane was cashier of the bank
+when I took it. I only recently learned that fact. Then I brought it
+back to turn over to him, not so much on his account as on account of
+Miss Mallory. I understand Doane is a very good friend of Miss
+Mallory. I wouldn't want his bank hurt for that reason."
+
+It was Laura Mallory who cried out at this. She walked toward
+Rathburn, although he did not look at her.
+
+"Why did you do it, Roger?" she asked in a trembling voice.
+
+"I can't tell you _that_, ma'am," he said.
+
+"But I know!" she cried. "I've guessed it. You saw Mr. Doane and me
+together in Hope to-day and remembered he was at the ranch last night,
+and----"
+
+"Don't say any more, Laura!" Rathburn commanded sternly.
+
+"Be still, daughter; it's best," said Mallory.
+
+"Neither she, nor you, nor Doane, nor all of you together can talk me
+out of it!" roared Eagen. "It was a frame-up!"
+
+In the deadly stillness that followed, Laura Mallory shrank back from
+the sight of two gunmen looking steadily into each other's eyes, their
+hands ready for the lightning draw--each waiting for the merest
+suggestion of the beginning of a move on the part of the other to get
+his weapon into action. But the draws did not come. The pregnant
+silence was broken by the thundering roll of many horses galloping
+into the yard about the house.
+
+"There!" yelled Eagen in a voice of triumph. "There's your sweet
+little posse, Coyote!"
+
+"I expected to see Bob Long when I came down here!" said Rathburn
+coolly, looking at Laura Mallory for the first time.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVII
+
+THE TEST OF A MAN
+
+
+Several men stamped across the porch to the jingle of spur chains.
+Others broke in through the back door and entered the kitchen. Sheriff
+Bob Long appeared at the door, with two guns leveled.
+
+"You're covered from both doors and all the windows, Rathburn!" he
+said sharply.
+
+"That's almost just what I thought, sheriff," Rathburn drawled.
+
+Long stepped into the room, shoving his guns into their holsters. Many
+other guns were covering Rathburn.
+
+"What's the meaning of all this, anyway?" demanded Long with a puzzled
+expression on his face. His eyes widened, as he saw the bag of money
+on the table. "Is that the money that was taken from your bank this
+morning Mr. Doane?" he asked sharply.
+
+Doane nodded weakly. The sheriff looked at Rathburn curiously.
+
+"You brought it back? You was up to Joe Price's place."
+
+"Yes, I brought it back, sheriff," said Rathburn cheerfully.
+
+"Well, I'll be frank and tell you, Rathburn, that if you expect
+leniency after what happened this morning you might just as well give
+up that idea. Any man can change his mind when he sees he can't get
+away."
+
+"That's up to you, sheriff," replied Rathburn, taking tobacco and
+papers from his shirt pocket. "As I was just tellin' our friend, Mr.
+Eagen, I brought it back on purpose, an' I expected to see you when I
+got here. I came near not gettin' here at that."
+
+"You took a long chance," scowled Long. "But it won't get you much now
+at this stage of the game--especially after the way you led me to
+believe this morning that you were thinking of giving yourself up."
+
+Eagen's laugh startled them.
+
+"He brought it back to give it up an' himself, too?" he jeered. "He
+brought it back, sheriff, because he an' that rat of a Doane planned
+this thing. Coyote got away with the money an' came back here to divvy
+up with Doane. Didn't Doane make the same kind of a proposition to me?
+Didn't he tell me he was short in his accounts, an' it could be
+covered up if the bank was robbed, for then he could say more money
+was took than really was? I'll say he did. An' I was goin' to see if
+he'd go through with it, an' then I was going to wise you up so we
+could get him cold."
+
+With knitted brows the sheriff stared at Eagen, then looked at the
+white-faced Doane.
+
+"Tell him I'm tellin' the truth!" shouted Eagen at the shaking bank
+cashier. "You can't get out of it."
+
+There was a tense moment.
+
+Doane shook his head weakly; he was a picture of guilt.
+
+"He got scared I wouldn't go through with the play, sheriff," Eagen
+continued. "Thought maybe I'd make off with all the kale. So he framed
+it with Rathburn, an' I caught 'em about to divide it here."
+
+"He lies!" screamed Doane. "I didn't frame it with Rathburn. I can
+prove it. That man"--he pointed a shaking finger at Eagen--"has come
+to me with threats and made me take securities I knew were stolen.
+There's some of them in the bank now. Some of the stuff he took from
+the stage driver yesterday is there! He's pulled job after job----"
+
+Eagen, recovering from his amazement at the man's outbreak, leaped and
+drove his powerful fist against Doane's jaw, knocking him nearly the
+length of the room, where he crashed with his head against the stones
+of the fireplace. Eagen turned quickly. His eyes were blazing red.
+
+"You're the man!" he yelled wrathfully. "You're the yellow Coyote----"
+
+His right hand went to his gun, as there came a crashing report. He
+staggered back, trying to get out the weapon which had not left his
+holster. He sank down to his knees, still glaring death at the man
+above him, still fumbling at his gun. Then he lurched forward on his
+face.
+
+Rathburn flipped his smoking pistol so that its barrel landed in his
+hand. Then he tendered it, butt foremost, to Sheriff Bob Long. Long
+took it and threw it on the table, looking first at Rathburn, then at
+the dead man on the floor. He waved toward the doors and windows.
+
+"You boys can draw back," he ordered.
+
+Mallory stepped to the fallen Doane. The man's face had set in a white
+cast. He felt his heart.
+
+"He did for him," he said, rising.
+
+Laura Mallory came walking slowly up to the sheriff. Her face was
+ghastly after what she had witnessed.
+
+"Sheriff Long," she said in a voice strangely calm, "we heard
+Eagen"--she shuddered, as she mentioned the name--"ask Roger--ask Mr.
+Rathburn last night to help with some job that would get them a lot
+of money. It may be that--that--Fred did plan such a thing. I'm sorry
+to say it, but Fred had seemed awfully nervous lately, and to-night he
+came to me and asked me to run away with him--at once. He seemed
+horribly afraid of something. Anyway, Roger refused to go in with
+Eagen, and an examination of Fred's books will tell all."
+
+She hesitated. Then she spoke slowly and softly.
+
+"I know why Roger robbed the bank and----"
+
+"Stop, Laura!" cried Rathburn.
+
+"No," said Laura firmly; "you may be going to prison."
+
+He put out one hand in protest.
+
+Turning again to the sheriff she said:
+
+"Roger did go to town last night, intending to give himself up. I knew
+he was going to do it by the way he looked at me. But to-day he saw me
+with Mr. Doane, and maybe he's heard things for which there was no
+warrant. Anyway, I know he thought I--I--was in love with Fred."
+
+"Laura--please!" Rathburn pleaded.
+
+"And to-night," said the girl in triumph, "he heard Fred was cashier
+of the bank he'd robbed, and he brought the money back because he
+thought the robbery would hurt Fred and in that way hurt me!"
+
+Rathburn turned appealingly to the sheriff. "Let's go," he urged.
+
+"He robbed that bank because he thought I had betrayed his trust,
+Sheriff Long!" cried Laura, her eyes shining.
+
+"Are we going, Long?" cried Rathburn in an agony.
+
+The sheriff stepped to the door and called to some of his men who
+entered and bore the bodies of Doane and Eagen out of the sitting
+room. Then he took the money sack from the table and indicated to
+Rathburn to follow him, as he went out of the door. Rathburn went
+after him quickly, and the girl ran to the porch. Rathburn drew back
+with a cry, as he reached the porch. Just beyond the steps a horse was
+lying on its side.
+
+"My--my hoss!" he cried wonderingly.
+
+He leaped down beside the dead beast. Then he saw crimson upon the
+animal's shoulder, as a little gleam of light came from the door.
+
+"That was why he jumped on the trail. He was hit. He carried me all
+this way with a bullet in him an' then dropped! One of Long's men shot
+him."
+
+Rathburn looked about vacantly. Then he sank down and buried his face
+on the shoulder of the dun, as Sheriff Long turned away. Laura Mallory
+stepped quickly to the side of the sheriff and touched his arm.
+
+"Is he as bad as you think, sheriff?"
+
+Long scowled at her in the dim light from the door, took out a thick,
+black cigar, bit the end off savagely, and began to chew it. He walked
+abruptly out to where some of his men were standing by their horses,
+and he said something in an undertone. When he returned, Rathburn had
+taken the saddle and bridle off the dead horse and was throwing the
+leather on the porch.
+
+"Yours, dad," he called to Mallory; "I wouldn't use 'em again if I
+could." Then he turned to the sheriff. "All right, Bob."
+
+"Come inside," said Long gruffly.
+
+
+
+
+CHAPTER XXXVIII
+
+TEN MILES' START
+
+
+When they were in the sitting room the sheriff confronted Rathburn.
+
+"This has been a queer case for me," he said slowly, with an attempt
+at harshness. "I knew Eagen was up to a lot of dirty work, but I never
+could fasten anything on him till to-night. I'll get some of the rest
+of the gang now. Doane showed in his face that he was guilty. Those
+things don't worry me none. But _you_ are the hardest character I ever
+had to handle, Rathburn!"
+
+"I don't figure on givin' you any more trouble, sheriff," Rathburn
+assured him, smiling.
+
+"That's the puzzle of it!" Long exploded. "That puts it up to me. I
+know you had reason for giving Gomez his, and I know this girl
+wouldn't lie about the other. But--well, I don't get you a-tall,
+Rathburn, and that's a fact. Something tells me I've got to give you a
+chance, and if I knew what tells me this I'd wring its neck!"
+
+He stepped close to Rathburn and looked him straight in the eye.
+
+"Take one of Mallory's horses. He's got some good ones. I give you ten
+miles in any direction. If you can make it--it's your candy. But
+remember, Rathburn, I'm going to try to stop you!"
+
+He walked swiftly out of the door, leaving Rathburn staring at the
+smiling girl.
+
+Laura stepped close to him and nodded. Rathburn shook his head.
+
+"I can't see where I've got the right to give Long any more
+trouble."
+
+"But he isn't letting you go, Roger. He's putting it up to you, and he
+means what he says when he declares he'll try to get you."
+
+"If he does, he'll probably get me," mused Rathburn.
+
+"But maybe he won't get _us_, Roger."
+
+"Us?"
+
+"You and I, Roger. Listen! There's a land 'way up north, Roger. I've
+read about it. It's past the desert and the mountains and the
+plains--in another country! And there's a river there, Roger--a river
+they call Peace River. I've always loved the name. We'll go there,
+Roger, you and I--and father can come later."
+
+She looked up at him with shining eyes and put her arms about his
+neck, and she saw the unbelievable wonder in his face. The man
+trembled. Then he took her and held her and kissed her, time after
+time.
+
+"Joe Price said I could never be satisfied away from the desert unless
+I took along something that was of it," he muttered hoarsely; "I
+wonder----"
+
+"Yes, Roger, he meant me."
+
+"We can't make it," he said softly. "Not the two of us--but Laura,
+girlie, _this_ is worth the game!"
+
+"Yes we can, Roger," she said eagerly. "Think! We can be married when
+we've left the desert. It's not quite ten miles to Boxall Canon. We
+can go up Boxall over the range and cross Death Flat."
+
+"I was thinking of that, sweetheart," he replied. "But no horse can
+get up Boxall, an' if he did he couldn't get across Death Flat. Few
+men have crossed that stretch. It's well named. I might try it alone;
+but you--no, Laura. It just ain't in the pictures!"
+
+"We don't need horses, Roger. You've forgotten the burros. They'll
+kill any horse on the desert, won't they? We can take two or three
+loaded with food and water."
+
+"But it's miles and miles an' then some--an' it all looks alike."
+
+"But when we've reached the other side, Roger?"
+
+He drew away from her and stepped to the door. He could not see or
+hear anything. When he turned and again approached her, his face was
+white. He looked at Mallory, who was standing with a look of
+stupefaction on his lined face.
+
+"Wait!" he said and stepped into another room. In a few moments he was
+back, holding a money belt in his hands. He took out gold and bills
+and deposited the money on the table.
+
+The others stared.
+
+"There's about six thousand there, Mallory. It's gamblin' money. Turn
+it in to the bank to make or help out Doane's shortage. I've got just
+twenty-five hundred left which I earned in a better way."
+
+"Daddy, get the burros!" cried the girl. "We're going!"
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+Sheriff Bob Long looked down from a ledge above a narrow, deep,
+boulder-strewn, awe-inspiring canyon and drew in his breath sharply.
+Below he saw two human beings and three animals.
+
+"I knew he'd try it," Long said wonderingly to himself. "I thought
+he'd try it afoot. But the girl! And they're going to try to cross
+Death Flat!"
+
+His look of wonder increased, and he made no move toward the weapons
+in his holsters.
+
+"I wonder now," he mused. "Can they make it? I wonder----"
+
+He scowled and looked about with a frowning stare. His gaze again
+shifted downward. Suddenly he shrugged and put the wrong end of his
+unlighted cigar in his mouth.
+
+"That's the queerest cigar I ever had," he growled, as he made his way
+to his horse. "It won't stay lit because it wants to be swallowed."
+
+He mounted and rode slowly back toward the far-reaching stretches of
+desert. Once he halted and turned in his saddle for a backward look.
+
+"He had the makings of the worst bad man this country ever saw," he
+muttered aloud. "Now, if that woman and another country--but first
+they've got to get across."
+
+                  *       *       *       *       *
+
+On the western edge of a great, ghastly plain of white, in which a
+deceiving, distant glow was mirrored in the desert dawn, two figures,
+a man and a girl, stood hand in hand. Three shaggy burros, heavily
+laden, stood behind them. The burros saw not the Death Flat ahead, for
+they were asleep.
+
+And the man and the girl saw not the frightful white, as of powdered
+skulls, bare, sinister, sunbaked, but a vision of a little house in a
+fragrant green meadow, with golden fields on either side of a peaceful
+river, and forests ranging up to distant hills.
+
+THE END
+
+
+
+
+TO THE READER
+
+If you have enjoyed this book, you will be glad to know that there are
+many others just as well written, just as interesting, to be had in
+the Chelsea House Popular Copyright Novels.
+
+The stories which we will publish in this line have never appeared in
+book form before, and they are without question the best value in the
+way of cloth-bound books that has been offered to the reading public
+in many years.
+
+CHELSEA HOUSE
+
+79 Seventh Avenue--New York City
+
+
+
+
+
+
+End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Coyote, by James Roberts
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