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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..d7b82bc --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +*.txt text eol=lf +*.htm text eol=lf +*.html text eol=lf +*.md text eol=lf diff --git a/LICENSE.txt b/LICENSE.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6312041 --- /dev/null +++ b/LICENSE.txt @@ -0,0 +1,11 @@ +This eBook, including all associated images, markup, improvements, +metadata, and any other content or labor, has been confirmed to be +in the PUBLIC DOMAIN IN THE UNITED STATES. + +Procedures for determining public domain status are described in +the "Copyright How-To" at https://www.gutenberg.org. + +No investigation has been made concerning possible copyrights in +jurisdictions other than the United States. Anyone seeking to utilize +this eBook outside of the United States should confirm copyright +status under the laws that apply to them. diff --git a/README.md b/README.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..5b53787 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #50939 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/50939) diff --git a/old/50939-h.zip b/old/50939-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index ed903e1..0000000 --- a/old/50939-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50939-h/50939-h.htm b/old/50939-h/50939-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index baa6da8..0000000 --- a/old/50939-h/50939-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,6033 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" - "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> - <head> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=us-ascii" /> - <meta http-equiv="Content-Style-Type" content="text/css" /> - <title> - The Project Gutenberg eBook of The High Hander, by William O. Turner. - </title> - - <link rel="coverpage" href="images/cover.jpg" /> - - <style type="text/css"> - -body { - margin-left: 10%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - - h1,h2 { - text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ - clear: both; -} - -p { - margin-top: .51em; - text-align: justify; - margin-bottom: .49em; -} - -hr { - width: 33%; - margin-top: 2em; - margin-bottom: 2em; - margin-left: 33.5%; - margin-right: 33.5%; - clear: both; -} - -hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} -hr.tb {width: 45%; margin-left: 27.5%; margin-right: 27.5%;} - -div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} -h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} - - -table { - margin-left: auto; - margin-right: auto; -} - -.blockquot { - margin-left: 5%; - margin-right: 10%; -} - -.center {text-align: center;} - -.right {text-align: right;} - -.caption {font-weight: bold;} - -/* Images */ -.figcenter { - margin: auto; - text-align: center; -} - -div.titlepage { - text-align: center; - page-break-before: always; - page-break-after: always; -} - -div.titlepage p { - text-align: center; - text-indent: 0em; - font-weight: bold; - line-height: 1.5; - margin-top: 3em; -} - -.ph1, .ph2, .ph3, .ph4 { text-align: center; text-indent: 0em; font-weight: bold; } -.ph1 { font-size: xx-large; margin: .67em auto; } -.ph2 { font-size: x-large; margin: .75em auto; } -.ph3 { font-size: large; margin: .83em auto; } -.ph4 { font-size: medium; margin: 1.12em auto; } - - - </style> - </head> -<body> - - -<pre> - -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The High Hander, by William O. Turner - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The High Hander - -Author: William O. Turner - -Release Date: January 16, 2016 [EBook #50939] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HIGH HANDER *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - -</pre> - - -<div class="figcenter"> - <img src="images/cover.jpg" width="373" height="500" alt=""/> -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<div class="titlepage"> - -<h1>THE HIGH HANDER</h1> - -<p>by WILLIAM O. TURNER</p> - -<p>ACE BOOKS, INC.<br /> -1120 Avenue of the Americas<br /> -New York 36, N.Y.</p> - - -<p>THE HIGH HANDER</p> - -<p>Copyright 1963,<br /> -by Ace Books, Inc.</p> - -<p>All Rights Reserved</p> - -<p>Printed in U.S.A.</p> - -<p>[Transcriber's Note: Extensive research did not uncover any<br /> -evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]</p> - -</div> - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph3">HARD ROCK MAKES HARD MEN</p> - - -<p>Tesno was a troubleshooter. That's why the railroad construction -company had hired him. His job was to make sure that nobody interfered -with the tunnel that they were digging through that frontier region -mountain. Tesno knew one thing for sure—if they had called him in, -there must have been plenty interference—and the kind that didn't stop -at murder.</p> - -<p>Frontier towns and frontier wilderness didn't pay much attention to -city-made laws. Tesno carried his own law with him and he knew he'd -have to make it respected. It was the law of the six-gun and the firm -high hand. Take no guff, keep your powder dry, and don't give an inch. -One moment of uncertainty, and it would mean his end!</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<p class="ph2">CAST OF CHARACTERS</p> - - -<p class="ph3">Jack Tesno</p> - -<p class="ph4">Trouble was his business, and he'd never run from it, but a beautiful -woman could mean more trouble than Tesno had ever seen!</p> - - -<p class="ph3">Willie Silverknife</p> - -<p class="ph4">A half-breed kid with a stutter, he had everything against him, except -his own personal courage.</p> - - -<p class="ph3">Persia Parker</p> - -<p class="ph4">Blonde, beautiful, and a lady too, she could make a man forget -everything else—even danger.</p> - - -<p class="ph3">Ben Vickers</p> - -<p class="ph4">He'd staked everything he owned on a single contract, and he was -depending on Tesno to make it good.</p> - - -<p class="ph3">Pete Madrid</p> - -<p class="ph4">He was a trained and instinctive killer, who also wore the badge of a -town marshal.</p> - - -<p class="ph3">Mr. Jay</p> - -<p class="ph4">He wanted Ben Vickers' contract, and he'd get it—any way he could.</p> - -<hr class="chap" /> - -<p class="ph3">Contents</p> - -<div class="center"> -<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#I">I</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#II">II</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#III">III</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#IV">IV</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#V">V</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#VI">VI</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#VII">VII</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#VIII">VIII</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#IX">IX</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#X">X</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#XI">XI</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#XII">XII</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#XIII">XIII</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#XIV">XIV</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#XV">XV</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#XVI">XVI</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#XVII">XVII</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#XVIII">XVIII</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#XIX">XIX</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#XX">XX</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#XXI">XXI</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#XXII">XXII</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#XXIII">XXIII</a></td></tr> -<tr><td align="left"><a href="#XXIV">XXIV</a></td></tr> -</table></div> - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="I" id="I">I</a></h2> - - -<p>Jack Tesno had been riding into the timbered Cascade Mountains since -dawn. Now, consulting a biscuit-thick Raymond watch, he reined off the -writhing new supply road and followed a creek through the pines till -he found a sun-freckled ellipse of grass that would make a suitable -nooning place.</p> - -<p>Knowing that his blue roan wouldn't stray from this spot of pasture, -he unsaddled the animal and turned it loose, reins dragging. He dug -cold biscuits and a wedge of cheese from his saddlebags and lunched -stoically; a lean, catlike man with eyes the color of blue agate and -a splash of gray in his black hair that made him look older than his -thirty-two years. He lay on his belly to drink of the flashing mountain -water. Then, impulsively, he peeled off his clothing and plunged into -the stream. He bathed himself, splashing and rolling like a boy, lying -still in the icy current till he began to feel numb. Teeth chattering, -he found a sunny place on the bank and stretched out in faintly warm -grass. After a while he felt a part of something big and good, and the -affairs of man seemed of little consequence.</p> - -<p>It didn't really matter much of a hoot, if the railroad got pushed -across these mountains on schedule, he decided. Not when you lay with -the earth against your skin and the sun drying you from a pine-fringed -patch of sky. What mattered was that you made up your mind to see the -job through—to lay your life on the line, if necessary, to do your -part in pushing it through. That was the difference between you and -weaker men.</p> - -<p><i>When you come right down to it</i>, he thought, <i>that's all I get paid -for—making up my mind.</i></p> - -<p>Troublebuster, the contractors called him. The job embraced a score of -delicate and dangerous tasks, but on the whole he thought of himself as -a peace officer without legal status. He found himself forever laying -down the law to tough and often influential men: usually when there was -no law to lay down except what he made up to fit the circumstances. He -had long since ceased to be surprised that he could get away with this. -Yet he knew he could not get away with it forever.</p> - -<p><i>Making up my mind</i>, he thought. A strange process. He knew what he -would decide, he guessed, but it took a little time and a little -solitude to do it.</p> - -<p>He was on his way to see old Ben Vickers about a job. It was a -top-paying job. That meant it would be a tough one. Yet he didn't need -the money badly. He had stashed away enough for the start in the cattle -business he had always wanted. <i>I ought to quit</i>, he thought. <i>Now, -before I get a bullet in the guts or a pick-point between the shoulder -blades, or maybe just crack under the strain and wind up in the foolish -house....</i></p> - -<p>The sound of hoofs, muffled on the soft forest floor, brought him to -his feet. He reached for his clothes as a rider wove through the trees -and reined to a halt. The man was young, round-faced, and freckled. He -wore boots, jeans, and a faded checked shirt. He was plainly startled -by Tesno's nudity. He pushed his Stetson to the back of his head to -reveal a shock of dark red hair.</p> - -<p>"You t-taking a bath or s-something?"</p> - -<p>Tesno picked up the gunbelt that lay on top of his clothes. Feeling -ridiculous, he swung it aside and began to struggle into his underwear. -"What if I am?" he said irritably.</p> - -<p>"D-didn't mean to intrude on your p-privacy."</p> - -<p>Tesno continued to get dressed. The young man eased down from his -saddle and dropped the reins. He produced a pint flask from a hip -pocket and took a drink. He offered the flask to Tesno, who shook his -head.</p> - -<p>"T-too early in the d-day," the young man admitted. "I only take the -stuff account of this d-damn stuttering. Like medicine."</p> - -<p>Tesno flicked him with amused appraisal. "It helps?"</p> - -<p>"S-some. Only if I get too much, I s-stutter worse than ever. Only I -d-don't give a d-d-damn." He returned the bottle to his pocket and -extended his hand. "Name's William Silverknife. Folks call me Whisky -Willie."</p> - -<p>Tesno sat down to pull on his boots. He reached up awkwardly and shook -hands. He said, "I can see why."</p> - -<p>"Hell, I t-take it like medicine. I only been what you'd call drunk -once in my life. Stole a loco-m-motive on the Coeur d'Alene spur and -run it plumb off the end of the track."</p> - -<p>"Seems like I heard about that. But the way I got the story, it was -some crazy Indian."</p> - -<p>"M-me."</p> - -<p>"You're Injun?"</p> - -<p>"Three-eights."</p> - -<p>Tesno studied him closely now, matter-of-factly. Under the freckles, -the kid's skin was maybe a bit darker than you noticed at first, -and the cheekbones in the round and boyish face were maybe a trifle -prominent. But it was the steady little black eyes that confirmed the -touch of the moccasin.</p> - -<p>"That's a hell of a percentage," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"Pa was half Yakima. Ma was a q-quarter-breed Cayuse. It figures out."</p> - -<p>"Nobody'd know it if you didn't mention it," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"I g-generally mention it. What did you say your name was, mister?"</p> - -<p>"Tesno."</p> - -<p>"Jack Tesno? Hell, you headed for Tunneltown?"</p> - -<p>"This road go any place else?"</p> - -<p>"J-just my luck. I heard Ben Vickers is looking for a troublebuster. -I f-figured to hit him for the job. Reckon I wouldn't have a chance -against you."</p> - -<p><i>No</i>, Tesno thought, <i>you wouldn't have a chance. Even if Ben -hadn't already made me an offer, he would never trust a stammering, -whisky-sipping breed kid to tie on a gun and do his tough-work.</i> But -he found himself clapping Willie on the shoulder as he moved past the -boy to pick up his saddle. He caught the blue roan and stroked its neck -with the saddle blanket.</p> - -<p>"I haven't signed on yet," he said.</p> - -<p>"Hell, I'll wind up as water boy or some d-damn fool thing," Willie -said. He grinned and added, "As usual."</p> - -<p>"Maybe you could charm that town boss-lady into giving you a job. That -Persia Parker they talk about."</p> - -<p>Willie blushed at the mere idea. "Ch-charming ain't among my talents. -Not that I wouldn't l-like to. You ever seen her?"</p> - -<p>"No, but I'll lay odds she isn't the looker the rumors have her. She's -probably a fat, mannish type or a tired-faced little tart with dollar -signs for eyes."</p> - -<p>"You'd lose the bet," Willie said. "I saw her down to Ellensburg. She's -a kn-knockout. And a real lady."</p> - -<p>"How do you tell that?"</p> - -<p>"Well, she ain't no honky-tonk gal or anything like that. She was -a lady married to Duke Parker, who was a gentleman. He t-took out -townsite papers and built that town up there. Then he got k-killed in -an accident and she's been running things."</p> - -<p>"That's about the way I heard it, too," Tesno said. "But I knew Duke -Parker at Sandpoint, before he got married. He might have been a -gentleman by education, but he was about as slippery a cuss as I ever -met."</p> - -<p>"That don't make her a non-lady," Willie persisted. "Wh-what k-kind of -a job you think she might give me?"</p> - -<p>Tesno saddled up, and they rode together the rest of the day, following -the raw new road that looped and plodded through rock and timber to the -very backbone of the range. They passed a slashers' ragcamp, a supply -train of a dozen heavy wagons, a stagecoach stalled with a broken wheel -and loaded with laborers. With the sun haloing snow-veined peaks ahead -and the chill of an early-May twilight lurking in the shadows of the -pines, they topped a writhing, ragged ridge and looked down on the -place called Tunneltown.</p> - -<p>It lay in a stump-studded gulch, a double row of log buildings neatly -toeing boardwalks along a wide, rut-scribbled street. Tesno whistled -through his teeth. He hadn't expected a solid-looking town here -eighty-five miles ahead of track—though the why of it was plain enough -when a man stopped to think. The workmen here had a tunnel to ream -through the rock of Runaway Mountain, two miles of it. They would be -here two years, more or less. For that long, Tunneltown was assured of -a population with money to spend. And it was assured of a steady stream -of transient spenders—freighters, engineers, inspectors, salesmen.</p> - -<p>The horses had fallen into an eager trot on the down-grade, sensing -food and rest ahead; now they slowed to a walk in the heavy mud of the -short, broad street. Tesno made out another cluster of buildings now, -six or eight large ones among the pines on the far slope of the gulch. -That would be Ben Vickers' camp, he concluded. He reined toward a -hitchrail in front of a long, false-fronted building from which floated -the tinny notes of a piano. Above the doorway a sign bore the words -PINK LADY, painted in red letters against a black background.</p> - -<p>"I'll buy a drink," he said to Willie.</p> - -<p>"N-no, thanks," Willie said. "D-drinking for pleasure don't agree with -me." He nodded toward a livery barn at the head of the street. "You -want me to s-stable your horse for you? He'll get better care there -than in a construction camp corral."</p> - -<p>Tesno dismounted and handed him the reins. "Buy him a quarter's worth -of oats. See you around."</p> - -<p>He pushed through the batwing doors into the saloon. Men near the end -of the long bar turned to look him over, their eyes darting from his -face to the Colt on his hip and back again. Gambling tables, mostly -faro layouts, were scattered about the large, smoke-layered room. Tesno -moved along the bar to a place near the second of two bartenders, who -started toward him, then stopped to stare. He was a plump, red-faced -man with a white scar on one cheek. He spoke one word, making a -question of it.</p> - -<p>"You?"</p> - -<p>"Howdy, Pinky," Tesno said tonelessly.</p> - -<p>"I'll serve you liquor like anybody else," Pinky Bronklin said. "I -don't have to say howdy to you."</p> - -<p>"Whisky," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>Pinky set a bottle and a glass on the bar. His bloodshot little eyes -combed Tesno with a look of pure malice.</p> - -<p>"This your place?" Tesno asked.</p> - -<p>Pinky nodded. "I own a share of it."</p> - -<p>"Quite a come-up from the tent saloon you had over in the basin."</p> - -<p>Pinky laid a hand on the bar, a hand that was missing the three fingers -between the little one and the thumb. The bloodshot eyes were fixed on -Tesno's face. "You'd like to bust me down to nothin' again, wouldn't -you, Mr. Tesno?"</p> - -<p>"Depends," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"You wouldn't do it here. This is a patented town. I got important -people behind me. The authorities will protect me."</p> - -<p>"You're rushing things," Tesno said. "I haven't hired out yet."</p> - -<p>"You will," Pinky said. "Vickers will meet your price and you'll hire -on. I hope you do. You've been riding for a fall for a long time."</p> - -<p>The bloodshot eyes shifted briefly. Tesno was aware of a man standing -a few feet to his left. He turned slowly and saw a lean, dark-eyed -young man dressed to present the general aspect of a barber pole. He -wore black boots, trousers, and hat, and a silk shirt with wide pink -stripes. The ivory handle of a revolver curved out from his hip like a -misplaced tusk. A badge gleamed on his chest. He took a step forward, -right hand resting on gun handle.</p> - -<p>"You can't wear a gun in this town, cowboy," he said sternly.</p> - -<p>Tesno squarely turned his back and picked up his drink. Pinky Bronklin -looked faintly amused now.</p> - -<p>"This here is town marshal Pete Madrid," Pinky said. "Meet Jack Tesno, -Pete. The famous bully-boy."</p> - -<p>"I don't care who he is," Pete Madrid said with an ugly purr in his -voice. "He's got ten seconds to shuck that gun."</p> - -<p>Tesno tossed down his drink and set the glass on the bar. "Town -ordinance?"</p> - -<p>"You might say so. Five seconds, cowboy."</p> - -<p>Tesno had a lopsided grin that brought a dimple to his left cheek and -none to his right. He flashed it on Pinky now and moved his hands to -the buckle of his gunbelt. He let the belt fall free and swung it -toward Madrid, still not looking at him. The marshal caught the belt -with a little flourish and stepped up to the bar.</p> - -<p>"How about the house buying, Pinky," he said in a new tone. Hostility -seemed to have left him.</p> - -<p>"No thanks," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"No hard feelings," Madrid said.</p> - -<p>"None. When I start drawing Ben Vickers' pay, I'll be around for that -gun."</p> - -<p>"Sure," Madrid said. "Just don't wear it in town."</p> - -<p>"Depends," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"I'd just take it off you again."</p> - -<p>"No. If I put it on again, you won't take it off me." Tesno flashed the -lopsided grin and walked out of the saloon.</p> - -<p>Pinky poured Madrid a drink. "Congratulations, Pete. It takes a man to -face down that ringtail."</p> - -<p>Madrid laid Tesno's gunbelt on the bar, trying not to seem too pleased -with himself. "Wish the man had been friendlier. I like to get along -with everybody. Makes my job easier."</p> - -<p>"He ain't the friendly kind," Pinky said.</p> - -<p>"You tangled with him before?"</p> - -<p>"Idaho. I had a tent saloon; big wall tent, cost me four hundred -dollars. Had another thousand in liquor and gambling equipment. Set up -close to a construction camp. Tesno come along, said to move. I had -a territorial license and wouldn't do it. He knocked down the tent -and worked it over with a disc harrow. Nothing left but a pile of -whisky-soaked rags."</p> - -<p>"You should have blasted him," Madrid said. "Law would have been on -your side."</p> - -<p>"It would? Listen, four reservation bucks come along, wrung out the -rags, and got crazy drunk. Tesno brought out the sheriff, and I got -arrested for peddling booze to Indians!"</p> - -<p>"Hell of a thing," Madrid said, picking up the gunbelt and moving away. -"Well, I got work to do."</p> - -<p>Pinky knew what he meant. There were folks who ought to be notified -that Tesno was in town.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="II" id="II">II</a></h2> - - -<p>Tesno turned into a pine-wrapped road that wound the short quarter-mile -to the construction camp. The cool and fragrant solitude touched some -deeply hidden need in him and pulled at him, but he shook off the mood -and strode ahead, tense and swaggering, eager to see Ben Vickers.</p> - -<p>He found him in a cabin behind the bunkhouse, hunched over a table -cluttered with papers held down by rocks. Ben was talking with a -dapper, white-bearded man who paced the room. When he saw Tesno, Ben -snatched off bent spectacles and leaped to his feet.</p> - -<p>"Never was so glad to see a man!" he exclaimed, bouncing around the -table to shake hands. He had a bland face and a topknot of gray hair -that gave him the look of a kewpie doll. This look, Tesno knew, was -deceptive. Ben Vickers had his failings, but blandness wasn't one of -them. "You can start in the morning."</p> - -<p>"Not so fast," Tesno said, grinning. "I'm not sure I'll like the work. -Your letter gave no details."</p> - -<p>"I've no time to chit-chat." Ben nodded toward the white-bearded man. -"You ever met Jack Tesno, Mr. Jay?"</p> - -<p>"Never had the pleasure." Clear blue eyes measured Tesno as they shook -hands. Tesno had known of Jerome J. Jay for years. The man had made a -reputation by taking over jobs other contractors had found too tough to -finish. His being here might be a bad sign.</p> - -<p>"If I barged in on something, I'll come back," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"I think we've finished our talk," Mr. Jay said, turning to Ben. "I'll -see you again in a few days."</p> - -<p>"If you can make better sense," Ben said.</p> - -<p>"I've offered you a chance to get out with your shirt. Think damned -good and hard about it." Mr. Jay touched his gray derby, nodded to -Tesno, and strode out of the cabin.</p> - -<p>"Sounds like he's trying to move in on you," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>Ben strolled to his chair and sat down heavily. "I never cut a tunnel -before. He has."</p> - -<p>"He wants to buy your contract?"</p> - -<p>"You could call it that. I'd lose what I've already sunk into the -job—which is a fortune."</p> - -<p>Tesno sat down and tilted his chair back against the log wall, his boot -heels hooked over a rung.</p> - -<p>"This job is do-or-die," Ben said. "I've mortgaged every horse, wagon, -and harness snap I own. On top of everything else, I guaranteed the -railroad I'd dig their damn tunnel in twenty-eight months. I backed -up the guarantee by posting a one-hundred-thousand-dollar bond; cash -money. If I hit daylight one hour late, I forfeit the bond.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Jay offered to buy the contract for a hundred thousand, the amount -of the bond. He would also take over my debts, but he'd save the cost -of building the camp and a road and hauling men and equipment up here." -Ben sighed, blowing upward at his kewpie-doll topknot. "He knows I'm -forty days behind schedule and maybe can be tempted to pull out before -I'm a complete pauper."</p> - -<p>"Forty days!" Tesno said. "What cost you that much time?"</p> - -<p>Ben made a sweeping gesture. "I had to build forty-five miles of -mountain road. Had to build an all-weather camp. Set up an electric -plant so we can light the bore with arc lamps. Got a sawmill going. -Then there's the tunnel itself. Right at the exact spot marked on -the map for the east portal, there was a damn waterfall. Had to move -it—the waterfall. That cost me a week."</p> - -<p>"You working from both ends toward the middle?"</p> - -<p>"Naturally," Ben said. "But we're drilling by hand and the daily -footage isn't half what it should be.... I've ordered a seven-ton -boiler from Connecticut, Jack. With that, I can get compressors working -and use Ingersoll drills. If it gets here soon enough, I might make it. -If you can get the town in line...."</p> - -<p>"I wondered when you'd get around to the town."</p> - -<p>Ben wagged his head sadly, then smoothed his topknot. "Duke Parker got -the jump on me there. Took out a townsite claim before I ever thought -of such a thing. Jack this is the only spot within five miles that -isn't practically straight up and down!"</p> - -<p>"What happened to Duke, Ben?"</p> - -<p>"The fool tried to skid a log down an icy slope. It ran over him. I -guess they picked him up in a bucket."</p> - -<p>"Seems like you might buy out his widow, run the town to suit yourself."</p> - -<p>"Persia. She's got some kind of grudge against me, won't even set a -price. Anyhow, it would be sky high. The saloons and faro tables are -making her rich."</p> - -<p>"And ruining you."</p> - -<p>"You know what booze and gambling will do to a construction gang, Jack. -And you've seen it bad, I know, but you've never seen anything like -what I've got right now. Short crews every day: fights, accidents. Men -broke all the time and grumbling. Best foreman I ever had got lucky -at faro and got stabbed on his way back to camp. I've got a Swede -tool-dresser in the hospital in Ellensburg, shot by a blackleg in a -gambling argument."</p> - -<p>"I don't know," Tesno said, scowling into the brightness as Ben -lighted a lamp. "If this was the usual fly-by-night, tent-city type -of operation, I'd know what to do. But a patented town with its own -officials is a different animal."</p> - -<p>"You cleaned up Spokane Falls."</p> - -<p>"Sure, with a sizable group of decent businessmen to back me up. I'd -guess there are precious few of those in Tunneltown."</p> - -<p>Ben smiled mirthlessly. "You looked it over?"</p> - -<p>"I ran into Pinky Bronklin and that candy-striped marshal."</p> - -<p>"Madrid? He made a reputation as an express guard on the OR & N. Killed -two bandits who tried to rob his car."</p> - -<p>"I've heard the story," Tesno said. "I also heard they were half-frozen -hoboes looking for a place to get warm."</p> - -<p>Ben nodded grimly, then he spread his palms above the littered -tabletop. "I'm not asking for miracles, Jack. I'll settle for -midnight closing, no Sunday sales, no sales to drunks. Get rid of the -knockout-drop artists and the drunk rollers. And the gambling. It -causes as much trouble as the booze. There's a territorial statute that -forbids casino gambling, but the county sheriff is the nearest law -officer—sixty miles away at Ellensburg. The best he could do was agree -to deputize any troublebuster I hire."</p> - -<p>"Damned if I'll ride down there just to get a badge."</p> - -<p>"Suit yourself. I'll put you on the payroll as of tomorrow."</p> - -<p>"I figure to start tonight," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"What you going to do tonight?"</p> - -<p>Tesno grinned one-sidedly. "Call on Persia Parker."</p> - -<p>Ben pursed his lips and made a little gesture of resignation. Both men -got to their feet.</p> - -<p>"There's room in the east bunkhouse," Ben said.</p> - -<p>"How's that hotel in town?"</p> - -<p>"Fair enough. No bugs."</p> - -<p>"I'll stay there, send you the bill."</p> - -<p>"Now hold your horses," Ben said. "When did you get too persnickety to -sleep in a bunkhouse?"</p> - -<p>"Hotel's handier."</p> - -<p>Ben glared. "All right, you damn bandit. Anything else?"</p> - -<p>"Just tell me where to find the Parker woman."</p> - -<p>"Lady," he corrected. "She runs a rotten town, she hates my liver, but -she's a lady." Ben appraised Tesno narrowly. "If you don't know what -that is, Jack, you're damn well going to get educated."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="III" id="III">III</a></h2> - - -<p>Tunneltown had only one thoroughfare that attained the stature of a -street. It had a network of lanes, wagon tracks, and alleys. They slid -between buildings, twisted around woodpiles, lumbered over ditches -on makeshift bridges. Many of these wound back to the main drag or -meandered off into the woods. Others converged on a large log building -of chalet-like aspect known as "the townhouse." This structure had two -identical front entrances, one near each end. The southernmost of these -led to the town offices and a small courtroom. The other end of the -building provided a spacious residence for Duke Parker's widow.</p> - -<p>Tesno's thump of the ornate, pear-shaped knocker was answered by a trim -young woman in a maid's cap. As soon as she heard his name, she swung -the door wide and stepped back as if she had been expecting him.</p> - -<p>Surprised, he followed her into a large living room. Simple maple -furniture and light blue draperies gave the room a touch of luxury -without seeming out of place up here in the wilderness. A wide doorway -led to the dining room, where he glimpsed two persons seated at a table.</p> - -<p>"I vill tell Mrs. Parker you are here," the maid said. She had a slight -Swedish accent.</p> - -<p>"Have him come in, Stella," a feminine voice called.</p> - -<p>Tesno followed the maid into the dining room. Persia Parker was -having dinner with Sam Lester, the town treasurer, whom she promptly -introduced.</p> - -<p>"Will you join us, Mr. Tesno?" she said. "We're having duck."</p> - -<p>Silverware and stemmed goblets glistened on a snow-white tablecloth. -Red wine sparkled in the goblets. The duck looked delicious.</p> - -<p>"Thanks," Tesno said, "but this is a business call, Mrs. Parker. I'm -sorry to interrupt...."</p> - -<p>"You haven't had dinner; I can sense it. Sit down, Mr. Tesno."</p> - -<p>Persia Parker smiled deliciously, and he sat down. Stella immediately -set a place for him. He grinned and said, "You have a sixth sense, Mrs. -Parker."</p> - -<p>"At breakfast and lunch I just grab and gulp," she said, "so I like to -make a little ceremony of the evening meal. So it's a treat to have a -guest—oh, Sam doesn't count."</p> - -<p>Thin-haired, hunch-shouldered Sam Lester looked up from his plate. He -wore shot-glass-thick lenses that hid his eyes and gave his face a -froglike placidity.</p> - -<p>"She feeds me," he said. He put down his fork and reached for a wine -bottle. Persia shook her head in refusal. He filled Tesno's glass and -then his own.</p> - -<p>"Sam lives above the offices in the other part of the building," Persia -said, smiling again.</p> - -<p>She had white, even teeth, the complexion of an angel, and hair as pale -as Montana gold. Her eyes were a mysterious shade that Tesno couldn't -decide about, but they were frank and friendly.</p> - -<p>"I drag him in to dinner most every night," she went on. "Sometimes -I think he would prefer to bolt down a sandwich and get back to his -precious bookkeeping. What part of the country are you from, Mr. Tesno?"</p> - -<p>The wine was mellow, fragrant with the scent of some fertile, faraway -valley. "I was born in New Mexico Territory," he said. "Got into -railroading when the Santa Fe was fighting the Denver & Rio Grande for -Raton Pass."</p> - -<p>Stella set a plate before him with half a roasted duck on it. He was -hungry, but he ate without tasting, captivated by the charm of Persia -Parker.</p> - -<p>She pried him with questions about himself, touching him with eyes that -were green or gray or hazel, smiling when he smiled, making him feel -that every word he said was important to her. He was not a talkative -man, but now he talked as he seldom had before.</p> - -<p>He told about his parents being killed by Comanches when he was a few -months old, about the whisky-running renegade who had bought him from -the Indians and raised him. He told how he had hired out as a wrangler -when he was twelve, how a rancher's wife had taught him lessons and -lent him books to read. And Persia Parker laughed and frowned and -touched him with her eyes, warily now, as if afraid of the tenderness -he saw there, afraid he might misunderstand.</p> - -<p>Sam Lester seemed content to be ignored. He finished his coffee -quickly, muttered that he had paper work to do, and left them alone.</p> - -<p>Persia lead Tesno into the parlor. She was taller than he had expected. -She wore a simple, black, ankle-length dress, and he remembered that -her husband had been dead less than three months. Yet black set off her -pale hair, and he couldn't picture her in anything more becoming. She -indicated a chair for him and sat down on a sofa two feet away.</p> - -<p>"I expect you're a busy woman," he said. "I'd better get to the point."</p> - -<p>"I'm not half as busy as you'd think, Mr. Tesno," she said. "The town -pretty much runs itself. And my position is entirely unofficial, you -know. My husband was mayor, and after his death, I took over some of -the more ceremonial duties of the office—temporarily, I thought. But -the town council likes the novelty, and I'm afraid, the notoriety, of -having a 'lady mayor.' This is no ordinary community, and they seem to -feel that anything that adds to its uniqueness is good for business. So -they keep postponing the election of Duke's successor."</p> - -<p>"You also own most of the business property in town," he said. "Isn't -that true?"</p> - -<p>She nodded readily. "Duke didn't try very hard to sell lots because -when the tunnel is finished, the town will fade away. At least, that's -the probability. So he put up buildings and leased them to businessmen -on a percentage basis. A few businesses he operated himself, of course."</p> - -<p>"So as heir to his estate, you're in a position to tell the town -council what to do."</p> - -<p>"Not exactly," she said, frowning. "At least, I don't. In fact, it -seems as if somebody is always telling <i>me</i> what to do. Sometimes I -feel a bit trapped, Mr. Tesno."</p> - -<p>"You know I work for Ben Vickers?"</p> - -<p>"I presumed you did."</p> - -<p>"You must know what the town is doing to his men. A booze town and a -construction job don't mix."</p> - -<p>"It isn't a nice town," she admitted soberly. "But it makes money. And -I owe Ben Vickers nothing."</p> - -<p>Tesno's eyebrows went up. "Without him there'd be no town."</p> - -<p>"He's fought us every step of the way," she said, emotion creeping into -her voice. "If it hadn't been for Ben Vickers, my husband would be -alive today."</p> - -<p>Tesno was startled. "I didn't know that."</p> - -<p>"Duke brought a crew of workmen up here to build Tunneltown. Ben -Vickers coaxed most of them away by offering them a bonus to work for -him. That left us awfully short-handed, and Duke pitched in himself. He -wasn't used to that kind of work, and he got killed.... Oh, I know that -Vickers was only playing a rough game the way it's played. I don't want -to be bitter. I'd give a good deal to have a cleaner town."</p> - -<p>"You could clean it up."</p> - -<p>"Me?" She seemed genuinely surprised.</p> - -<p>"You and the town council. And the marshal. Maybe he'd need a deputy or -two."</p> - -<p>"I don't know. The trouble is that we're making money."</p> - -<p>"That's always the trouble. At least, it's always the argument. But -there's a good deal of honest business in town. There's a livery barn -and smithy, a general store, hotel, barber shop, restaurant...."</p> - -<p>"Most of those aren't doing very well, Mr. Tesno."</p> - -<p>"Has it occurred to you that the saloons and gambling tables are -hurting them?"</p> - -<p>"No," she said thoughtfully. "I suppose there's money spent in the -saloons that could be spent elsewhere. But, Mr. Tesno, three of the -members of the council are saloonkeepers. The other is the hotel man."</p> - -<p>"Is Pinky Bronklin on the council?"</p> - -<p>"Mr. Bronklin? Yes."</p> - -<p>"Mrs. Parker, would you call a meeting of the council and tell them -what I want?"</p> - -<p>"There's a meeting of the council tomorrow night."</p> - -<p>"Fine. On second thought, I'll tell them myself."</p> - -<p>"That's probably best. But what do you want, Mr. Tesno?"</p> - -<p>"Midnight and Sunday closing. No booze sold to drunks. No gambling. -That will do for a start."</p> - -<p>Persia sighed heavily, then quickly smiled as if amused at herself. -"I've heard those words so often from Ben Vickers. The council has -heard them, too. What makes you think you'll get them to listen?"</p> - -<p>"They'll listen," he said.</p> - -<p>"Maybe they will," she said soberly. "I guess if they'll listen to -anyone, it will be you. I wish you luck."</p> - -<p>He grinned his lopsided grin and started to rise, but she was on her -feet ahead of him. She brushed past him, laying a hand on his shoulder -to keep him in his chair.</p> - -<p>"I'll get you some brandy," she said. Before he could protest, she was -gone, and he chided himself for the surge of warmth that her casual -touch aroused in him.</p> - -<p>She was back at once with a brandy bottle and a glass, saying that she -had neglected her duties as a hostess. She poured him a drink and sat -down again, not having one herself.</p> - -<p>"I'm taking up your evening," he said.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Tesno, you have a cigar in your pocket. I wish you'd smoke it."</p> - -<p>He smoked it, remembering not to chew the end. They talked and laughed -softly and got acquainted. She told him about herself; how she had -grown up in her aunt's Tacoma boarding house, how she had met Duke -Parker there and run away with him. She would have married anyone, -she said (curiously, he thought), who would take her away from the -dawn-to-after-dark routine of cooking, cleaning, and table-waiting. -She spoke, too, of the house Duke had built on the bluff above -Commencement Bay, of sailing parties and picnics and clam-digging at -Gig Harbor.</p> - -<p>He might have wearied of such talk from another woman, but he cherished -every word Persia Parker spoke, weighing it for the subtle, personal -message that seemed to be hidden in it. It was as if some strange, -almost mystic accident were giving him a glimpse of a world he had -never known could exist—not the world she spoke about, but the lovely -mysterious world of herself.</p> - -<p>At last he rose to leave, reluctantly, the cigar long since discarded. -She went to the door with him. When he had walked a few steps into the -night, he turned, and she was a waving silhouette in the bright frame -of the doorway. Jauntily, he threw her a kiss, wondering if she could -see him plainly enough to make out the gesture. She waved again. The -door closed. Picking his way in the thick darkness, he moved along an -unfamiliar path toward the scattered lights of the main street.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Persia stood frowning at the white surface of the closed door. -Footsteps in the parlor told her that Sam Lester had come in from the -other part of the building. After a moment, she went to meet him.</p> - -<p>"I didn't expect he'd be quite so ... nice," Persia said.</p> - -<p>"What did he say?" Sam seemed an emotionless little robot as his thick -lenses caught the light from a lamp.</p> - -<p>"He's going to be at the council meeting tomorrow night."</p> - -<p>"I don't think so," Sam said.</p> - -<p>"Why not? It's best to have him dealing with the council."</p> - -<p>"He has to go. It's been decided."</p> - -<p>"Why? Is he so fierce? Mr. Madrid took his gun."</p> - -<p>"Mr. Jay wasn't impressed," Sam said. "He said Vickers has hired -himself a he-coon." Sam sat down beside the brandy bottle and poured -himself a stiff drink.</p> - -<p>"Sam," Persia said, "I wish I owned this town as everyone thinks I do. -I'd cash in and get out. Ben Vickers would pay a pretty price for it."</p> - -<p>"Get out anyhow, Persia."</p> - -<p>"No!" she said emphatically. "Not till I can take a lot of money with -me."</p> - -<p>"I'd take care of you. You know that."</p> - -<p>"Please, Sam. Don't start that."</p> - -<p>She sat down at the far end of the sofa to avoid looking into the -thick lenses. She didn't want to hurt his feelings. He was forty—an -old forty—and she was twenty-three. He was a dull, ugly little man; -a twenty-dollar-a-week bookkeeper when Duke had picked him up. But he -was smart about accounts and legal documents. And he was loyal. He -protected her from any shenanigans Mr. Jay might have in mind.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jay and Duke had been partners of a sort, although this had been a -tightly kept secret. The townsite papers were in Duke's name; but it -had been Mr. Jay's money that had built the town and he had put himself -firmly in control by tying Duke up with notes and contracts and such. -Duke had found himself a mere front—just as she was now, passing Mr. -Jay's decisions on to the council as if they were her own. She, Sam, -and Mr. Madrid, and possibly Mr. Pinky Bronklin, were the only ones who -knew this.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jay's determination was sometimes frightening. He meant to take -over Ben Vickers' contract, and he wanted as wild and dirty a town as -possible in order to slow down the work. Some of Vickers' key men had -been drugged or beaten. Without coming right out and saying so, Sam had -made it clear that Mr. Jay had arranged these incidents. Oh, it was all -a pretty rotten business, but there was a chance to make money here, a -chance a woman didn't often get. She thought of that boarding house in -Tacoma and shuddered. She would die before she went back there.</p> - -<p>All the income from rents, leases, and the sale of real estate was -going to pay off Duke's debt to Mr. Jay. The only thing in the clear -was a three-quarter interest in the Pink Lady, which was in Persia's -name and not part of Duke's estate. Since the town paid her living -expenses out of tax money, she was able to put aside this income from -the saloon each month. It was a tidy little sum but not enough to make -a person rich—not in the year or so of existence the town had left.</p> - -<p>Her great hope was that Mr. Jay would take over the tunnel contract -soon. He could then come out in the open and he would buy the township -proprietorship from Duke's estate, writing off the debts and putting up -a tidy bit of cash besides. He would also buy the Pink Lady. And thanks -to Sam Lester, Persia had this agreement in writing.</p> - -<p>Sam set down his glass and refilled it. "You're honest enough with me, -Persia. I'm grateful for that."</p> - -<p>Before he could go on, she switched the subject back to Tesno. "Sam, -how are they going to get rid of him?"</p> - -<p>"There's nothing we can do about it."</p> - -<p>"Sam, I want to know."</p> - -<p>"They're going to put him in the hospital."</p> - -<p>"I won't have that!" Persia sat up straight. "I ... I'll see Mr. Jay -first thing in the morning!"</p> - -<p>Sam sipped his drink. "Persia, I never wanted to marry, but now—"</p> - -<p>"Sam, please!" She spoke harshly, sharply. Then she smiled and said -softly, "Please."</p> - -<p>Sam sighed, drained his glass, and looked speculatively at the bottle. -"Forget about seeing Mr. Jay in the morning. It will happen tonight. -It's probably happening right now."</p> - -<p>Persia found herself on her feet, hurrying to the door. There she -stopped, frowning thoughtfully.</p> - -<p>"There's nothing anybody can do," Sam said from the parlor.</p> - -<p>Then she went back to the sofa and sat down. Sam spoke tonelessly.</p> - -<p>"Madrid took his gun; now some money fighter is going to put him in -the hospital. It will be a joke around town, Mr. Jay said, all that -happening to the big troublebuster the first night he gets in town. It -won't be too bad, I guess, Persia. Maybe it's all over by now. Put it -out of your mind."</p> - -<p>"Yes." She gave a curious little shrug. "Put it out of my mind. There's -nothing else to do."</p> - -<p>They sat in silence for a time. Then she said, "Sam, if we went away -from here, where would we go?"</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="IV" id="IV">IV</a></h2> - - -<p>The main street was an empty, lonely place in spite of the humming -bright tunnels of the town's saloons. Tesno stepped off the boardwalk -into the dark river of the street, angling toward a dim white globe -with HOTEL lettered on it. The pasty-faced night clerk looked up from a -game of solitaire as he entered the cluttered lobby. The air was heavy -with stale smoke and the smell of unpainted wood.</p> - -<p>"I had your saddlebags and blanket roll brought down from the livery," -the clerk said, slapping Tesno's key on the desk. "And, oh, a Mr. -Warren wanted to see you. He said to tell you he'd be at the Pink Lady. -That's a saloon."</p> - -<p>"Warren? Did he say what he wanted?"</p> - -<p>"He said Mr. Vickers' sent him."</p> - -<p>Tesno muttered thanks. He stood toying with his key, then dropped it on -the desk and wheeled back into the night. He quickly walked the short -block to the Pink Lady, passing no one, not liking the darkness of the -town.</p> - -<p>The saloon was full, the jangle of the piano half-smothered by the roar -of voices, the clink of glasses and faro checks, the whir and clatter -of a wheel of fortune. But as he paused inside the batwings, squinting -against the stale brightness, the noise ebbed. Heads turned toward him, -then cautiously away. And he knew at once something was in the air.</p> - -<p>He sauntered on into the place. A little Irishman turned away from the -bar and hissed at him as he passed.</p> - -<p>"Watch it, Bucko."</p> - -<p>Tesno nodded at the man, who looked vaguely familiar. <i>So I walked into -it</i>, he thought. <i>They set me up, and I walked into it.</i> It would be -a fight, he guessed. Otherwise the crowd wouldn't know, wouldn't be -waiting for a show. Some hired tough had been bragging himself up to -it, probably, mouthing off about some pretended grudge.</p> - -<p>Men made a place for him at the bar, and he took it. Pinky Bronklin -slid up and laid his pincerlike hand on the wood. He looked downright -cheerful.</p> - -<p>"Man named Warren asked me to meet him here," Tesno said. "You know -him?"</p> - -<p>Pinky shook his head. The white scar glistened on his flushed face. -"You want a drink?"</p> - -<p>"I'll have a cigar."</p> - -<p>Pinky moved away. Tesno turned casually away from the bar. A huge blond -man with a broken nose got up from a table and swaggered toward the -bar. Tesno made room for him but still got an elbow in the ribs. The -man was half a head taller than Tesno's six feet, outweighed him by -forty pounds.</p> - -<p>Silence clamped the room now. Even the piano had stopped. Pinky came up -with a box of cigars. Tesno took five, laid a quarter on the bar.</p> - -<p>"Beer," the big man said. He turned to Tesno, looked him over, grinned. -There was a tooth missing from the grin.</p> - -<p>"Your name Warren?" Tesno said, biting off the end of a cigar.</p> - -<p>"This here is Hobo Hobson," Pinky said, setting a bottle of beer on the -bar. "Hobo, meet Mr. Tesno."</p> - -<p>"I figured this was him," Hobson said loudly. "He killed a friend of -mine at Pend Oreille. Shot him in the back."</p> - -<p>"Not so!" A high-pitched voice came from near the door, and Tesno saw -that the little Irishman had stepped out from the crowd. "I was there. -Ace Gandy was blazing away with a revolver when he died. Tesno took a -slug in the leg before he even fired."</p> - -<p>Someone pulled the man back. Hobson faced the bar as if to pick up his -beer; instead, he swung at Tesno's head with a vicious backhanded blow. -Tensed for something of the kind, Tesno stepped back. Hobson's hand -missed its target but sent the cigar flying from Tesno's mouth.</p> - -<p>"My fault," Tesno said mildly, giving the man room.</p> - -<p>Hobson's grin was broader than ever. A shock of blond hair had -fallen across his forehead, and he seemed more animal than man. A -stand-up-and-swing, stomp-a-man-when-he's-down fighter, Tesno thought. -A bear-hugger and an eye-gouger. But a man who depended on his own -monstrous strength and fighting knowledge rather than on weapons. Not -the sort to pull a knife or a Henry D.</p> - -<p>"It seems this Tesno backs away from a fight when he ain't got a gun," -Hobson said.</p> - -<p>"Depends," Tesno said. He sent his glance over the crowd, which had -coagulated into a half circle. In front of a faro table near the far -wall, he spotted Madrid's barber-pole shirt. He raked a match across -his rump and lighted another cigar.</p> - -<p>"Who sent you?" he asked Hobson.</p> - -<p>"Sent me? Sent me where?"</p> - -<p>"I've seen back-country pros before. You're a Sunday-afternoon pug, a -winner-take-all man who doesn't fight for fun. Who's paying you?"</p> - -<p>"You killed a friend of mine. That's enough."</p> - -<p>Hobson tipped up the bottle of beer, drank deeply, set it down. Tesno -laid his cigar on the edge of the bar.</p> - -<p>Hobson took one leisurely step forward, then charged, lashing out -with his great fists. Throwing up his hands to guard his head, Tesno -turned sideways and aimed his left foot at Hobson's left knee. He took -a sledgehammer blow on the shoulder that knocked him off balance, but -not till he had got his boot sole against the knee. Twisting with his -weight against it, he felt the kneecap slide out of place.</p> - -<p>Hobson gave a strange little yelp of pain. Stumbling, he grabbed his -knee with both hands. Tesno was on him like a cat, seizing him by the -hair, hauling him forward. Then he plunged his own knee into the man's -face to send him careening into a poker table and off it to the floor -in an avalanche of cards and chips. Dazed and awkward, bleeding from -his mouth, Hobson struggled to get to his feet. Tesno caught him at the -base of the skull with a short brutal rabbit-punch that dropped him -open-mouthed and motionless in the filthy sawdust of the floor.</p> - -<p>For a moment, nothing broke the silence. Then someone cursed -reverently. "God! God almighty damn!" And a rooster cry rose from the -end of the bar—the little Irishman, no doubt.</p> - -<p>Tesno sauntered to the bar and stuck the cigar between his teeth. "Some -of you boys pick him up," he said. "Lug him to the jail."</p> - -<p>The little Irishman broke from the crowd, gesturing to others. Four -of them turned Hobo Hobson on his back preparatory to lifting him. -But Pete Madrid stood over them, muttering something, and they -straightened. Madrid faced Tesno tensely.</p> - -<p>"Who in hell do you think you are?" Madrid said. "You've no authority -to jail a man."</p> - -<p>"I want him locked up for the night. And a doctor had better look at -him. We'll use the town jail, Marshal."</p> - -<p>"You'll use it. You and Hobson both."</p> - -<p>"Maybe you haven't got the straight of it," Tesno said. "I tried to -back off. Every man here witnessed it."</p> - -<p>Madrid's hand made a snake-strike at his hip and came up with his -revolver. He gestured toward the door with it and said, "Get moving, -cowboy."</p> - -<p>The cigar had gone out, and Tesno relighted it. Madrid aimed the gun -at Tesno's feet. "Walk to jail or go there crippled. It makes no -difference to me."</p> - -<p>Tesno headed for the door, swaggering a little, puffing the cigar. As -he passed Madrid, he said, "This is the second mistake you've made -today, Marshal."</p> - -<p>The marshal's office was in a squat log building at the foot of the -street. Tesno entered it first. Madrid followed and turned up a -low-burning lamp in a wall bracket. The jail was a single cell at -the rear of the office. Its iron-bound wooden door stood open. Tesno -stopped beside a flat-top desk in the center of the room. The men from -the saloon lugged Hobson past him and deposited him on a bunk in the -cell. He was still out cold.</p> - -<p>"He needs a doctor," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>Madrid still held the revolver. He made no reply except to gesture -toward the cell with it. Tesno stepped inside the cell and pulled the -door shut behind him. He peered out through the small barred window in -the door.</p> - -<p>Madrid waved the men who had carried Hobson to one side. "Step back -from the door," he said to Tesno.</p> - -<p>Tesno backed up two short steps. Madrid holstered his gun and moved -forward to lock the cell, which was fitted with a hasp and staple. A -huge padlock with the key in it hung from the staple.</p> - -<p>Tesno raised his hands and plunged into the door. It smashed into the -marshal, knocking the padlock from his hand as he staggered backward. -Tesno dived into him, seizing his gun hand as it flashed to his hip, -driving him hard into a corner of the desk, falling on top of him as he -hit the floor.</p> - -<p>Tesno was quickly on his feet, the marshal's gun in his hand. Madrid -lay on his back, hurt by his collision with the desk, struggling -noisily for wind. Tesno seized him by the heels, dragged him roughly -into the cell, snapped the lock into place. The little Irishman burst -into a high-pitched laugh.</p> - -<p>"Now who ever heard of such a thing? He jailed the marshal."</p> - -<p>"Get a doctor, Mike."</p> - -<p>"Only one's at Vickers' camp."</p> - -<p>"Get him. I'll be back at the Pink Lady."</p> - -<p>He yanked open desk drawers till he found his own revolver and gunbelt. -He buckled it on, feeling weariness rise in him like a quick-acting -drug, wanting nothing so much as his hotel room and its bed. But it was -necessary now to show himself back at the saloon, to buy these men a -drink. That was the way the game was played. You came in tough. And you -swaggered a little for the crowd.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="V" id="V">V</a></h2> - - -<p>"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Mr. Jay said when he answered the knock on -the door of his suite at the hotel.</p> - -<p>"Take it easy," Pete Madrid said, pushing past him. "I'm the one who -got hurt."</p> - -<p>Mr. Jay's beard jerked angrily. "Did you have to come straight here? -Don't you know he'll be watching you?"</p> - -<p>"I'm not that stupid. He's having breakfast at the restaurant."</p> - -<p>They went into Mr. Jay's little parlor. Madrid eased himself into a -chair. Mr. Jay stood glaring at him.</p> - -<p>"So he let you out. Hobson too?" Mr. Jay said.</p> - -<p>"He and Hobson are having breakfast together."</p> - -<p>"Will Hobson talk?"</p> - -<p>"Maybe. But all he can say is that Pinky promised him ten dollars -if he'd break some bones. Pinky had a grudge from back in Idaho, so -there's nothing to point to anybody else."</p> - -<p>Mr. Jay considered that. When he spoke, his tone was milder. "We've all -been stupid. We underestimated the man. How bad are you hurt?"</p> - -<p>"Busted rib. It isn't so bad since Doc strapped me up."</p> - -<p>"Vickers' doctor?"</p> - -<p>Madrid nodded. "I can still draw a gun."</p> - -<p>Mr. Jay's beard jerked sternly. "We won't have any of that."</p> - -<p>"Seems like the only way left."</p> - -<p>"It's what we should have done in the first place, maybe. But after -what's happened it would be too raw. We'd have the railroad down on us, -the county sheriff up here. No, for the time being well play Tesno's -game."</p> - -<p>"That means a clean-up."</p> - -<p>"We'll go through the motions. We'll enforce a curfew for a while, -send a few gamblers packing. The important thing is for us to do it, -not him."</p> - -<p>Madrid scowled, as if he didn't understand or didn't agree. Mr. Jay -walked to a window and stared out, hands behind his back.</p> - -<p>"In the meantime," Mr. Jay said, "you're to get along with him. He's -top-dogged you, and you're going to have to live with it. Do you -understand that?"</p> - -<p>"I try to get along with everybody," Madrid said. "It makes things -easier."</p> - -<p>Mr. Jay turned his back to the window, moving in the quick irritable -way that he had. He studied the marshal a moment, then he sighed. His -manner suddenly became paternal.</p> - -<p>"You're young, Pete—which is a polite way of saying you're a fool. -Pride, being top dog, paying off a grudge, these things are a waste -of energy unless there's money involved. Maybe you'll learn that some -day." Mr. Jay faced the window again, looking across the patch of woods -toward Vickers' camp. "If you live long enough."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Tesno found Ben Vickers at the tunnel. Ben had heard about his jailing -the marshal and was in a jubilant mood. After he had slapped Tesno's -back innumerable times, they entered the portal and he enthusiastically -explained his method of tunneling.</p> - -<p>There were a lot of niceties to it, but the basis was the digging of an -eight-foot heading in advance of the lower part of the bore. Shoring -was put in behind the heading crew, then replaced by another set of -timbers as the bench was removed.</p> - -<p>"Most expensive procedure ever devised for tunneling through rock," -Ben said, grinning. "But damn it, it's the fastest, too. At least -in theory. In practice—well, we have to get those Ingersoll drills -working, that's all."</p> - -<p>When they emerged from the dim, dust-filled chamber, the world had -taken on a strange new vividness, Tesno thought. The panorama of men -and horses at work on the side cuts seemed a distant creation. The -sunlight itself and the nagging mountain wind had a foreign quality. -It was as if he had strayed onto some unsuspected reality that he could -observe but never be a part of.</p> - -<p>He noticed that the slashing was in progress in the timber high above, -and he remembered hearing that the railroad would use a switchback -over the mountain till the tunnel was completed. He asked Ben who was -building it.</p> - -<p>"Three different contractors," Ben said. "I have a piece on this side. -Mr. Jay has one of the far sections."</p> - -<p>It seemed a cumbersome, impatient bit of railroading. And in that -curious moment of detachment, Tesno felt that he was watching a race of -madmen at play. Obsessed with money and mechanics, they wouldn't rest -till they had driven steel toys over this ragged sea of mountains to -a remote corner of the land. And why? Was it really an accomplishment -to bring the thing called civilization to Puget Sound? "All this to -reach a little bay tucked away between the fingers of land on the West -Coast." The thought amused him and he laughed aloud.</p> - -<p>"What's funny?" Ben demanded.</p> - -<p>Tesno grinned uncomfortably. "Sort of a private joke."</p> - -<p>Ben shot him an impatient look and went to consult with a pair of -engineers who were studying a diagram, holding it between them with -their backs to the wind. Hearing a chuckle behind him, Tesno turned and -found himself confronting a tall, hawk-faced man leaning on a shovel.</p> - -<p>"A gun tough who's a philosopher," the workman said. "Now that is -something."</p> - -<p>"And a shovel bum with educated diction. That's something, too."</p> - -<p>The man hesitated, then extended his hand. He was bone thin, a little -stooped, and his smile was sad. "Name's Dave Coons. Itinerant actor, -confidence man, peddlar, phrenologist, and what have you. Currently a -shovel bum, doing a bit of soul-saving on the side."</p> - -<p>Tesno shook hands without heartiness. "A preacher?"</p> - -<p>"Somebody has to carry the word to these poor bastards." Coons waved a -hand to indicate the workmen around him.</p> - -<p>"And take up a collection?"</p> - -<p>"No. I sweat for my pay like everybody else. Mostly I just sit in a -corner of the bunkhouse and talk about God. Those who want to listen -join me. There are damn few, of course."</p> - -<p>"You don't talk like a preacher."</p> - -<p>"I make it a point not to. I've been known to get a snootful, too, and -last week, I had a fist fight with a heckler. He thumped the daylights -out of me. You here to boss Tunneltown?"</p> - -<p>"Depends," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"The booze is rotten and the games crooked. The town brings Vickers' -payroll right back to him."</p> - -<p>"What do you mean by that?"</p> - -<p>"He and the Parker girl are in together, aren't they?"</p> - -<p>"Then why would he hire me?"</p> - -<p>"How do I know? He's a cagey man."</p> - -<p>"You're badly informed," Tesno said. "Tunneltown is a thorn in his -side. It's slowing down his operation and he wants it cleaned up."</p> - -<p>Coons' hollow-set black eyes were skeptical. "I'll believe it when I -see it," he muttered.</p> - -<p>"Believe what you please," Tesno growled.</p> - -<p>He started to turn away, but Coons drew himself up with mock solemnity, -placed a hand against his chest and recited:</p> - -<p>"'Oh, it is excellent To have a giant's strength; but it is tyrannous -To use it like a giant."</p> - -<p>He smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Tesno. I have a feeling I'll -be seeing you later." He wandered off, shovel on his shoulder, and -joined a crew working on a small fill.</p> - -<p>Ben came up, his eyes following Coons.</p> - -<p>"What did that crackpot want?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"He usually has complaints about the food or working conditions. He -considers himself a spokesman for the men. That kind can make trouble."</p> - -<p>"I liked the man," Tesno muttered.</p> - -<p>He rode back to camp alone, letting the company mule pick its way down -a steep trail that clung to the gulch wall. Ben was a slave-driver, he -thought. What successful contractor wasn't? Somewhere in the process -of clawing and gambling his way up from the ranks, he had lost the -capacity to understand a man who sat around the bunkhouse and talked -about God. We were all crackpots, Tesno thought, each man in his own -way.</p> - -<p>He left the mule at the company corral, lunched at the cookhouse, and -made the short walk to town. He found the saloons already busy with -cooks, freighters, and a few night-shift men having a midday drink or -a try at the games. He counted fifteen faro tables in town, not all of -them operating at this hour. He spotted one game that was definitely -crooked and he suspected there were more.</p> - -<p>He visited the Pink Lady last, finding Madrid at the bar in -conversation with Pinky Bronklin. They drew apart as he approached, and -customers turned to watch.</p> - -<p>Tesno stepped a few feet away, glad of a chance to face the marshal -before witnesses. Madrid was freshly shaved and had put on a clean -shirt. This one had broad green stripes. Its sleeves were encircled by -red garters.</p> - -<p>"My god," Tesno said. "You look like a Christmas tree."</p> - -<p>"What's the matter with a little style?" Madrid said defensively. His -tone was not that of a man looking for a showdown.</p> - -<p>"Black is for corpses," Pinky muttered. His eyes raked Tesno. "It will -look nice on you."</p> - -<p>"Hobson sang, Pinky," Tesno said, stepping up to the bar.</p> - -<p>"What's that to me?"</p> - -<p>"You know what it is, but I'll say it. You paid him to pick a fight."</p> - -<p>"He said that? He's a liar," Pinky said.</p> - -<p>"I'll bring him in here. You can say it to his face."</p> - -<p>"No chance of that," Madrid put in. "Hobson left town. Took the -Ellensburg stage." The marshal swung away and idled over to a faro game.</p> - -<p>Tesno eyed Pinky silently.</p> - -<p>"Hobson lied," Pinky said desperately. "He must be covering for -somebody else."</p> - -<p>"You protest too much," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>He caught Pinky by the hair, pulled him forward, and slapped him -resoundingly on one cheek and then the other. He suddenly shoved him -away and Pinky staggered into the back bar.</p> - -<p>The customers watched in silence. Madrid made no move; he scarcely -looked up from the faro game. Pinky glared, his face flushed. There -would be a gun behind the bar somewhere, Tesno thought. But the -saloonkeeper made no attempt to go for it. Tesno spun on his heel and -walked out of the saloon. As he pushed through the swinging doors, -there was a tide of low talk and uneasy laughter. A muffled comment met -his ears:</p> - -<p>"Damned high-handed troublebuster! Due for a takedown."</p> - -<p>Loneliness stung him like a mountain wind as his bootheels drummed the -boardwalk. Pinky had got off easy. Didn't the crowd understand that? -The words Dave Coons had quoted rang in his memory:</p> - -<div class="poem"><div class="stanza"> -<span class="i0"><i>Oh, it is excellent</i><br /></span> -<span class="i0"><i>To have a giant's strength; but it is tyrannous</i><br /></span> -<span class="i0"><i>To use it like a giant.</i><br /></span> -</div></div> - -<p><i>Tyrant</i>, he called himself. <i>Damned high-hander! And Ben Vickers is a -slave-driver. And Coons a crackpot. And we are all working hard at it.</i></p> - -<p>As he reached the hotel, someone called his name from across the -street. It was Whisky Willie Silverknife, who fell into a dog-trot and -arrived waving a folded paper.</p> - -<p>"M-m-message for you. From M-Miss Persia."</p> - -<p>Tesno had the note unfolded by the time Willie got the words out.</p> - -<blockquote> -<p>Dear Mr. Tesno:</p> - -<p>The council meeting is at seven. Will you join me for dinner afterward?</p> - -<p class="ph4">Persia Parker</p></blockquote> - -<p>"S-she s-said to t-tell me yes or n-no," Willie said.</p> - -<p>"How come you're running her errands?"</p> - -<p>"I hit her for a j-job, like you s-said." Willie blushed under his -freckles. "She d-didn't have one, not right away, b-but she s-said -maybe she'd think of s-something. She s-said if I was b-broke, which -I am, to come around to the k-kitchen for m-meals. After l-lunch she -g-gave me that n-note."</p> - -<p>Willie slid the flask from his hip pocket and took a short drink. Tesno -re-read the note, searching for the sound of Persia's voice in every -word.</p> - -<p>"Tell her yes."</p> - -<p>Willie nodded, taking a deep breath to chase the whisky. "She's r-right -interested in you. When she found out I rode up here with you, she -asked all about you. I told her when I first s-seen you, you was laying -in the grass naked as a p-pup p-possum."</p> - -<p>Tesno gave him a murderous look. Willie grinned.</p> - -<p>"She l-laughed like hell," he said.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="VI" id="VI">VI</a></h2> - - -<p>The council meeting took place in a large, unpainted room in the -townhouse. Persia presided, just as if she were the legitimate mayor. -She sat at one end of a table, wearing a dark serge suit and looking -both businesslike and beautiful. Sam Lester sat at the other end, -inscrutable behind the crystal mask of his spectacles. The four council -members sat in between. Tesno drew up a chair to one side of Persia.</p> - -<p>He listened impatiently while the members quibbled over the location of -a town watering trough. A rasp-voiced man named Parris, who operated -the hotel, did most of the talking. The three saloonkeeping councilmen -kept glancing at Persia as if she would make the decision and the -debate was a mere formality. Pinky Bronklin sat with his talonlike hand -on the table where all could see it and said hardly a word.</p> - -<p>Persia introduced Tesno with some little formality. He stated his -demands as concisely as possible. He tried to avoid a dictatorial tone, -yet he made it clear that one way or another he intended to see a -drastic change in the town. When he had finished, the saloonkeepers sat -sullenly quiet. It was Mr. Parris who spoke up, and he was angry.</p> - -<p>"I agree that we could stand some improvement around here," he said. -"But to request co-operation is one thing, to tell us what to do, -another. Begging your pardon, Persia, I move that we tell Mr. Tesno to -go to hell and then face our problems in our own way."</p> - -<p>"That'll suit me fine, if you <i>will</i> face them," Tesno said. "But -you'll clean up or I will. Take your choice."</p> - -<p>"You'll clean up! Have you forgotten there's law in the land—and in -this town. And it's on our side!" Mr. Parris slapped the table and -glared.</p> - -<p>"Law?" Tesno said icily. "You were elected by the drifting labor that -built this town. You run a town full of thugs and card sharks. And you -talk about law! Bring it on, Mr. Parris. While you're doing it, I'll -close your town down tight. And I'll guarantee you you'll wind up with -your charter pulled out from under you!"</p> - -<p>"This won't do," Persia said. "You two agree that we ought to -do something. Mr. Tesno is willing to let us do it in our own -way—provided we do get results. Right, Mr. Tesno?"</p> - -<p>"Right," he said.</p> - -<p>"Then I don't see what you are arguing about. Mr. Tesno, now that -you've told us what you want, would you mind leaving us and letting us -thrash this out?"</p> - -<p>"Fair enough," he said.</p> - -<p>She had spoken crisply, almost hostilely. Now she said with a smile and -in an entirely different tone, "Wait in my parlor."</p> - -<p>He followed a long hall that led to the other part of the house. He -entered the parlor and sat down to wait, musing about his abrupt -dismissal. He had the impression that Tunneltown council meetings -were little more than a mockery, that the members gathered to receive -instructions rather than to make their own decisions. Even Mr. Parris -had seemed to be arguing out of mere cantankerousness and not with any -real hope of seeing his views prevail if Persia was against them.</p> - -<p>Probably Persia was now telling them exactly how far they would go -in co-operating with him. Or would it be Sam Lester who was doing -the telling? That Lester was a power behind the throne seemed a real -possibility. In any case, the council was a convenient device to avoid -the pinpointing of responsibility on an individual.</p> - -<p>Annoyed, he strolled into the dining room and poured himself a glass -of brandy from a bottle on the sideboard. He could hear voices in the -kitchen—Stella's and a stammering tenor that could belong only to -Willie Silverknife. Returning to the parlor, he lighted a cigar and sat -sipping the strong and fragrant liquor.</p> - -<p>Persia appeared sooner than he expected. She was alone, and he wondered -if Sam Lester would join them later. She insisted on getting him -another brandy, and she poured herself a glass of wine, which she -scarcely touched.</p> - -<p>"You're going to get your blue-nosed town," she said gayly. "All I ask -from you, Mr. Tesno, is a small amount of patience."</p> - -<p>He frowned, but before he could reply she went on.</p> - -<p>"We passed a couple of ordinances. Midnight closing. No liquor sold to -drunks. We also agreed that a one-man police force isn't adequate, so -we're going to hire a deputy. Satisfied?"</p> - -<p>"How about the gambling?"</p> - -<p>"That's where the patience comes in."</p> - -<p>He shook his head. "The gambling has to go, Persia."</p> - -<p>She smiled at him very slightly, as she might at a stubborn child. "I -suppose you'll have your way, but, I shouldn't tell you this, Jack, but -I will." She used his first name so naturally that he didn't notice for -an instant. "Duke had to borrow heavily to build Tunneltown. He left me -broke and in debt. The town brings in quite a little money now—though -maybe not as much as most people think. But when I've made a monthly -payment on the debts, there's very little left. If the town didn't give -me my living expenses, I could scarcely get by. Now if the gambling -goes, at least two saloons will have to close. If I lose the money from -those leases, I'm ruined. There won't even be enough even to make the -payments to my creditors."</p> - -<p>He made a small gesture of helplessness. "The last thing I want to do -is hurt <i>you</i>. But the gambling...."</p> - -<p>"If we could just have a little time, we might find other kinds of -business that would lease those buildings."</p> - -<p>"It isn't my time to give away," he said. "It's Ben's. And he hasn't -got much of it. How much do you need?"</p> - -<p>"I've no idea."</p> - -<p>"The crooked gamblers have to go right now along with the rest of the -riffraff. There can be no delay about that."</p> - -<p>She nodded to this. "If I'd had my way, they'd have gone long ago."</p> - -<p>"Don't you always have your way, Persia?"</p> - -<p>She seemed mildly startled. She gave a little shrug. "How do you tell -which are crooked?"</p> - -<p>"I can spot them for you."</p> - -<p>"Jack, please. Keep out of it entirely. I ... I can't have Vickers' man -butting in. You can understand that."</p> - -<p>"Yes." It stung him to have her call him somebody else's man, though it -wouldn't have bothered him if another person had said it.</p> - -<p>She seemed to sense that he was hurt, and she gave him a long, -sympathetic, almost maternal look. She didn't speak, and it pleased him -to feel a communication between them that needed no words. They would -put aside their differences now and speak of other things.</p> - -<p>"I'll tell Stella we're ready for dinner," she said.</p> - -<p>As she passed his chair, she laid her hand on his shoulder as she had -the night before. Now he laid his over it. She stopped beside him, -and her eyes were gold-flecked as they caught the lamplight, and she -squeezed his fingers and moved away.</p> - -<p>Hours later when she had gone to the door with him, he touched her arms -and drew her to him. She came against him willingly, her arms slid -around him, but she turned her head to avoid his kiss. She buried her -face against his shoulder, and he laid his cheek against her hair.</p> - -<p>"Persia," he said, "I've known little in life except roughness. You -represent something that I didn't know could exist for me."</p> - -<p>She pushed firmly away. "I've been a widow less than three months, -Jack. I've no right to listen to such talk. Not now."</p> - -<p>Her face was faintly flushed, her eyes dancing. Her smile carried a -reprimand and a promise that was as old as womankind.</p> - -<p>"You leave right now, <i>Mr.</i> Tesno," she said.</p> - -<p>"I'll see you tomorrow?" he said.</p> - -<p>"Yes!" she whispered. "Yes!"</p> - -<p>She closed the door the instant he was over the threshold. He stood -there a long moment, sure that she, too, was waiting only inches away. -His fingers touched the doorknob, then fell to his side. He drew the -restless night air deeply into his lungs and walked into the darkness.</p> - -<p>Off to the west, lightning shattered the sky, and the town leaped -fleetingly into being. Thunder pulsed distantly, and, swelling, rolled -into the gulch.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="VII" id="VII">VII</a></h2> - - -<p>Tesno circled the buckboard in the wide street and pulled it up -parallel to the hitchrail in front of the Pink Lady. Not liking his -errand, he swung slowly out of the seat and fussed over the tying of -the team.</p> - -<p>As always, Tunneltown depressed him. Midnight closing was observed -now, but rather loosely. As far as he knew, only one gambler had been -invited to leave, and he, Tesno suspected, had been cheating the house. -Aside from a sarcastic quip or two about the council's half-hearted -progress in doing what it had agreed to do, Ben Vickers had said -nothing. But there were signs that his patience was nearing its end.</p> - -<p>Tesno vaulted the hitchrail and moved toward the open doorway, the hum -and stench of the saloon setting his nerves on edge. A voice called his -name, and he found himself gaping at the figure approaching along the -boardwalk.</p> - -<p>"Howdy," Whisky Willie Silverknife said. He was wearing a black vest -with a star pinned on it. He was grinning from ear to ear. The star -flashed mirror-bright in the afternoon sun.</p> - -<p>"Howdy," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"I got me a d-d-deputy m-marshal job."</p> - -<p>"I see. When did you start?"</p> - -<p>"L-last night. Not that I arrested anyb-body yet."</p> - -<p>"Madrid hire you?"</p> - -<p>"Yes. Miss P-Persia had it all fixed." Willie frowned. "I d-don't -know how I'm going to get along with Madrid. I mean, he d-don't give -me instruction or anything. He says, 'Sit on your d-duff, d-draw your -p-pay, k-keep your mouth shut and your nose c-clean.' Mr. Tesno, -c-could I have a t-talk with you?"</p> - -<p>"About what?"</p> - -<p>"I want to l-learn this b-business of b-being a p-p-peace officer."</p> - -<p>"I've got a chore to do right now," Tesno said. "How about tomorrow?"</p> - -<p>"F-fine. I'm off d-duty in the morning."</p> - -<p>Willie's hand slid around to his hip and came up with the flask he -carried there. It was filled with a colorless liquid, of which he took -a long swig.</p> - -<p>"Lemon soda," he said, licking his lips. "Miss Persia says st-stammer -or not, a deputy can't go around nipping whisky all day."</p> - -<p>He seemed to be completely serious, and Tesno suppressed a laugh. "Does -it work as well?"</p> - -<p>"Miss Persia says it will. She says the important thing is to w-wet my -wh-wh-whistle."</p> - -<p><i>Persia hand-picked this kid for the job</i>, Tesno thought. <i>Why?</i> He -said, "See you tomorrow," and pushed on into the saloon. He stood -blinking after the bright sunlight of the street, searching the big, -dim room till he spotted Vickers' general superintendant, Keef O'Hara, -who was seated alone at a back table behind a bottle and glass.</p> - -<p>O'Hara was a tall, muscular man with wild gray hair and wild blue -eyes. When he was sober, he had an air of competence and of bouyant -energy that commanded respect. Now he sat slumped forward on one elbow, -slack-faced and limp.</p> - -<p>"And what'll the trouble-man be wanting?" he said when Tesno -approached. "Surely it'll not be whisky with the dew still on the grass -and the sun scarce clear of the ridgetops. Only the Irish drink at this -hour."</p> - -<p>"It's three in the afternoon, Keef," Tesno said. He pulled out a chair -and sat down across the table.</p> - -<p>O'Hara sighed alcoholically and poured himself a fresh drink. "And -ye've come to sober me up for the night shift, eh, laddy-buck? I -might've expected it. What Ben Vickers can't do himself, he sets his -man to."</p> - -<p>"Ben didn't send me, Keef. Far as he knows, you're asleep in your -cabin." Tesno extended a hand to restrain O'Hara from lifting his -glass. "Time to break it off now, get some coffee."</p> - -<p>"I can stand another nip or two, lad." O'Hara slyly transferred his -drink to his other hand and sloughed it down. "Don't ye know I've been -working all night?"</p> - -<p>"I know. You and a bottle. You're due back on the job in three hours, -and you've had no sleep."</p> - -<p>O'Hara stared belligerently and reached for the bottle. Tesno beat him -to it and kept it out of his reach. The superintendant seemed about to -leap for Tesno's throat, then he was suddenly meek.</p> - -<p>"Keef O'Hara a slave to the demon rum! 'Tis a sad end for a man."</p> - -<p>"Keef, you've bossed tricky construction jobs all over the world. If -your skill was ever needed, it's here and now. You know what Ben's up -against. Now let's get out of here and sober up."</p> - -<p>"Lad, why do you think I signed on with Ben Vickers?... For the -same reason half the terriers came up here. We're a breed apart, -lad—superintendant or shovel bum. We can't live with civilization. -We're boozers or fighters or skirt-chasers or wife-beaters or all of -those. Try to live in a town and we wind up in jail or sick or dead. So -we seek out a camp where there's work and good air and no temptation, -where a man can sweat off the blubber and save his pay and be at peace -with himself. And what did they do to us here amidst the wildest -mountains in the land? They built a town! A fine manner of town with -all the temptations...."</p> - -<p>Tesno stood up impatiently. "We've finished with the preliminaries, -Keef. Now we're going back to camp."</p> - -<p>O'Hara got to his feet, drawing himself up straight. His big frame -teetered and he almost fell. "I'll fight ye another day, Bucko," he -said. "When the spirits are better and I've not been the night on the -job."</p> - -<p>He allowed himself to be led away.</p> - -<p>At the far end of the bar a nattily dressed little man drained his -glass of buttermilk and dabbed at his beard with a silk handkerchief. -Pinky Bronklin removed the empty glass.</p> - -<p>"J. Keef O'Hara," Mr. Jay said, tucking the handkerchief into his -breast pocket. "He's still the best engineer in the Northwest. I'll -wager he's the only man here who's had experience with compressed air -drills."</p> - -<p>"Except you, Mr. Jay," Pinky said.</p> - -<p>"Except me," Mr. Jay said.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>That evening Tesno had dinner with Persia, as he often did now. Sam -Lester was there, too, and he spent the whole time with them instead -of returning to his office when the meal was finished. He sat, -sipped brandy, read a newspaper; once in a while he even entered the -conversation. When they had moved into the parlor and were sipping -brandy, Persia mentioned that they had put on a new deputy.</p> - -<p>"I know," Tesno said. "I'm wondering why you picked Willie."</p> - -<p>"The council thought him suitable."</p> - -<p>"He said you recommended him."</p> - -<p>Persia shrugged. "He's a nice boy. He seems qualified."</p> - -<p>"A breed kid who stutters?"</p> - -<p>"What do you mean?"</p> - -<p>"He's part Indian."</p> - -<p>"He's not a reservation Indian. He's a citizen, and—"</p> - -<p>"Then you did know," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"He doesn't look Indian," Sam put in. "He'll be all right if he keeps -his mouth shut."</p> - -<p>"If you know him at all, you know he won't," Tesno said. "And that -bottle of lemon pop! Seems to me you went out of your way to pick a man -nobody will listen to."</p> - -<p>"You wanted a deputy," Sam grumbled. "The town will be better -patrolled. Aren't you ever satisfied?"</p> - -<p>"Never!" Persia said, laughing. "That's one of the things I like about -him." Her eyes sought his, and they were amused and affectionate and -possessive. "How about a game of three-handed euchre?" she said.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="VIII" id="VIII">VIII</a></h2> - - -<p>Tesno was rousted out of bed the next morning by Ben Vickers, who -had spent a good part of the night translating his troubles into -arithmetic. He was waving a sheaf of papers which recorded exactly how -bad things were going in terms of dollars and cents, mean feet, and -work days.</p> - -<p>Among other things, the figures spelled out what everybody knew -already: with every day of hand drilling, the odds against the tunnel -being finished on time went up. The huge boiler necessary to the use of -compressed air still hadn't arrived at end of track. Even when it did, -there would be the slow and tricky problem of dragging it forty miles -into the mountains.</p> - -<p>"What I want you to do is get down to Ellensburg and get on the -telegraph," Ben said. "Find out where that thing is. And on the way, -study the road. Figure out where the trouble spots are going to be. -Maybe we can save time by doing some grading, building a bridge or two."</p> - -<p>Tesno agreed grumpily, wondering why Ben couldn't send somebody else. -When Ben had left, he dressed leisurely and went down to the restaurant -for a late breakfast. The thought of the long ride and several days -away from Tunneltown didn't appeal to him. He lingered for a time over -coffee and a cigar, wondering at his own reluctance to get started, -thinking that he might stop by and see Persia before he left.</p> - -<p>He had returned to his room and was shaving when Whisky Willie came in. -Willie turned a chair around backwards and straddled it.</p> - -<p>"That Madrid p-p-protects crooks," he asserted.</p> - -<p>Tesno beat up a lather in his shaving cup. "For instance?"</p> - -<p>"There was this feller b-bucking the t-tiger in the P-Pink Lady. -He called me over real polite and orderly and said the dealer was -double-dealing and that he could prove it by the case board. Before -you could say J-J-Jack R-R-Robinson, Pinky had him by one arm and a -barkeep had him by the other and he was out in the s-street. Nobody -paid any at-t-tention to me. I told Madrid about it. He cussed me and -said we leave the dealers alone."</p> - -<p>"Which table was this?"</p> - -<p>"S-second from the d-door. The d-dealer's name's Cardona."</p> - -<p>Tesno stropped his razor vigorously. "A mechanic. He uses an odd-even -setup."</p> - -<p>"A what?"</p> - -<p>"I'll demonstrate," Tesno said. He waved the razor toward the -saddlebags that hung over the foot of his bed. "There's a pack of -cards in there. Get it and separate the odd cards from the even. This -afternoon we'll call on Mr. Cardona."</p> - -<p>"What we g-g-going to do?"</p> - -<p>"Not we, <i>you</i>. I'll show you the trick. Then you'll expose Cardona and -run him out of town. In order to pull it off you're going to have to be -well rehearsed. Got anything to do for an hour?"</p> - -<p>"Not till three this afternoon. I'm on d-duty from then till eight in -the morning."</p> - -<p>By the time Tesno finished shaving, Willie had the cards separated. -Tesno squared up the two packets and pressed their ends together, -interlacing the cards evenly.</p> - -<p>"You shuffle like a dealer," Willie said.</p> - -<p>"Not quite so well. A good mechanic can get a perfect dovetail. That -means the odd and even cards will alternate all the way through the -deck...."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>As it turned out, the marshal was among the players at Cardona's table -when Tesno entered the saloon. Pinky Bronklin gave Tesno an evil look -and sent the other barkeep to wait on him. Tesno ordered a cigar and -stood smoking it with his back to the bar, watching the game.</p> - -<p>Madrid was standing behind the seated players. He was wearing the pink -shirt and a black bow tie. After a few turns, he won a bet on the -queen and placed another on the four. When this also came up a winner, -he played the ten.</p> - -<p>He was playing only even cards, and Cardona was letting him win. It -seemed plain that he was onto the grift and was collecting a payoff. -<i>This is going to be interesting</i>, Tesno thought grimly.</p> - -<p>The marshal collected another bet, cashed his checks, and dropped his -winnings into his pocket. He saw Tesno, nodded, and after an instant of -hesitation came over and joined him.</p> - -<p>"Quitting while you're ahead?" Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"A man can beat the game sometimes if he isn't greedy," Madrid said. He -signaled the barkeep. "How about the house buying a couple, cowboy?"</p> - -<p>"Not for me," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>The barkeep slid Madrid a bottle and glass, saying nothing. The marshal -muttered an obscenity about the man's surliness and poured himself a -drink.</p> - -<p>Whisky Willie came in then. He walked straight to Cardona's table and -drew himself up importantly.</p> - -<p>"Th-th-this is a c-crooked g-g-gug-game," he announced. He had a -terrible time getting the words out, and Tesno winced for him. The -players looked amused and then startled. Cardona, a little bald man -with a handlebar mustache, stood up. Willie went on doggedly, "I'm -c-c-closing it d-down. P-pick up your b-b-buhuh-bets."</p> - -<p>"What the devil does he think he's doing?" Madrid said.</p> - -<p>He slammed his glass on the bar and started for the table. Tesno -restrained him firmly with a hand on his shoulder. "Let's see what's on -the kid's mind," he said.</p> - -<p>Cardona was speaking to Willie, his tone jocular. "You better take a -swig of that word medicine you carry and calm down."</p> - -<p>Willie slapped the layout with his palm. "R-right n-now! This g-game is -closed, Cardona. And you'll be out of town in t-twenty-four hours or -you'll be in j-jail. P-pick up your b-b-bets, men."</p> - -<p>"Hold it!" Madrid said, striding forward now. "This is an honest game, -kid. I told you that the other night. Now for—"</p> - -<p>"The g-game is crooked!" Willie said. "I can prove it."</p> - -<p>Cardona moved toward the card box, but Willie beat him to it and -slapped his hand over it. Madrid caught Willie's arm and tried to pull -him away, but Willie shook him off. Customers from other parts of the -saloon moved in to see the show. Madrid swore violently.</p> - -<p>"Get out of here, kid! Clean out of the place," he said.</p> - -<p>He stood with his jaw thrust forward, his pink-striped elbow bent as -his hand gripped the handle of his pistol. Tesno was suddenly close -behind him with one hand on Madrid's shoulder and the other on the -wrist of his gun hand.</p> - -<p>"Let the kid make his play," Tesno said. His grip tightened as the -marshal started to pull away. "Go ahead, Willie."</p> - -<p>"The cards in this deck alt-t-ter-n-nate odd and even," Willie -announced. He slid the top card out of the box and turned it face up. -It was an eight.</p> - -<p>"The n-next will be odd." Willie turned a three. "The n-next, -even ... the next, odd." He turned a four and a jack. He went on, -calling another half dozen cards correctly.</p> - -<p>The spectators stared in fascination, muttering ugly, barely audible -phrases. Tesno released Madrid. The marshal had no choice now but to -watch quietly as if he were as surprised as everyone else.</p> - -<p>"This is a frame up!" Cardona asserted. "Somebody planted that deck!"</p> - -<p>"You put it in the box your own self," a spectator snarled.</p> - -<p>"You can s-see how it works," Willie continued. "If most of the money -happens to be on odd cards, the even ones c-come up winners. The dealer -can ch-change this any time he wants by d-double-d-dealing."</p> - -<p>Willie brought a card out of the box and showed that it was a king. -Squeezing it between his thumb and finger, he slid a deuce out from -behind it. He dropped the cards on the table.</p> - -<p>"Twenty-four hours," he said to Cardona.</p> - -<p>"Marshal," Cardona said, appealing to Madrid, "I swear this is a trick. -You know I've always run an honest game. You—"</p> - -<p>"You do like he says," Madrid said. "Get out of town."</p> - -<p>One of the players suddenly dived over the table and crashed into -Cardona, falling to the floor with him. Madrid drew his gun and ran -around the table. Another player grabbed the cash box, dumped its -contents on the table and tried to preside over a fair distribution of -the money to Cardona's victims; but it was scramble and grab. The money -was gone by the time Pinky Bronklin got there, striking out in all -directions with a beer bottle.</p> - -<p>Tesno pulled Willie out of the melee as the table collapsed, Pinky -Bronklin being among those who went down with it. Madrid had gotten -Cardona to one side and was standing in front of him, gun in hand. He -fired into the ceiling.</p> - -<p>"Break it up!" he kept bellowing. "Break it up!"</p> - -<p>Men began to hurry out of the saloon now, some with their hands full of -money. Several stopped to slap Willie on the back on the way.</p> - -<p>"I'm for firin' the marshal and givin' you the job!" one said.</p> - -<p>The last man on his feet was Pinky Bronklin. His nose was bleeding, and -he clutched his apron to it. He started for a small stairway at the -back of the saloon, then he saw Tesno and came close.</p> - -<p>"You set this up," he said, lowering the apron from his blood-smeared -face. "I know you. I know you, Tesno."</p> - -<p>Tesno threw back his head and laughed. He clapped Pinky on the shoulder -and spun him toward the stairway. "I'll make an honest man of you yet, -Pinky," he said.</p> - -<p>Cardona followed Pinky up the stairs. Madrid holstered his gun and came -over. He was grinning, but his black eyes held Tesno's coldly. "I'll -take it from here. My job."</p> - -<p>Tesno matched the marshal's grin. He touched Willie's arm and they -walked out of the saloon. Willie reached for the lemon soda.</p> - -<p>"Whew! You th-think he'll f-fire me?"</p> - -<p>"No chance of it," Tesno said. "Everybody in town would know the -reason. He's got to pretend he thinks you did a good job."</p> - -<p>Willie laughed aloud. "I g-guess you're right."</p> - -<p>"Right now this is more your town than his. But make one mistake and -the same men who slapped your back in there will talk against you. And -Madrid will land on you with both feet."</p> - -<p>"I don't see why Miss P-Persia p-puts up with him," Willie said. "I got -no respect for the man."</p> - -<p>"You'd better have. He has to play the politician now, but he belongs -to a special race that lives in a different world from other men. You -stay in this business, you'll learn to recognize them quick enough. -They are not only capable of killing, they not only enjoy it, they -<i>think</i> in terms of it."</p> - -<p>Willie took a moment to digest that. "I g-guess I see what you mean. -He's c-c-cougar-fast with that gun. And his first in-st-stinct is to -reach for it."</p> - -<p>They had reached the hotel. Tesno clapped Willie on the shoulder and -halted in front of the doorway.</p> - -<p>"I'm going to be in Ellensburg for a few days, Willie. You walk easy, -and stay alive. And stick to the lemon pop."</p> - -<p>"I'm s-sick of the s-stuff."</p> - -<p>"There's a favor you can do for me," Tesno said. "You know Ben's -superintendant, Keef O'Hara? He gets on the booze, and I've been -nursemaiding him. I'd like you to take over."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="IX" id="IX">IX</a></h2> - - -<p>Five nights later, Tesno returned, riding into the town shortly before -midnight. He dismounted wearily across the dark street from the Pink -Lady and entered the Big Barrel, needing a drink before going on to the -camp and getting Ben out of bed.</p> - -<p>The saloon was smaller than the Pink Lady and crowded. He found a place -at the end of the bar, ordered cigars and whisky, and was immediately -joined by Willie, who had been in the street and had seen him arrive. -Tesno poured a drink, sniffed it, tasted it.</p> - -<p>"You're still wearing the badge," he said.</p> - -<p>"I just delivered Mr. O'Hara back to the j-job," Willie said. "He's -s-sure kept me busy."</p> - -<p>"He left the job?"</p> - -<p>"He d-does it every night. Sneaks into town to wet his wh-whistle, he -says. The first night you were away, he g-got soaked g-good. I had to -t-take him b-back in a wagon. Since then I b-been w-watching for him -and c-catching him before he's had more'n a couple of b-belts. I've -t-told every barkeep in town not to s-serve him, but most of 'em do -when I'm not around."</p> - -<p>"Hell of a thing," Tesno said. He bit off the end of a cigar and held -a match to it. He wondered if Ben knew about Keef's boozing. "How you -getting along with Madrid?" he asked Willie.</p> - -<p>"J-just the s-same. He c-closed two more games."</p> - -<p>"Madrid did?"</p> - -<p>Willie nodded.</p> - -<p>"He's smarter than I took him for," Tesno muttered. "He's not going to -let you be the big duck in the puddle."</p> - -<p>"I th-think Miss Persia t-told him to close those games," Willie said -thoughtfully. "Or S-Sam Lester. Madrid d-don't t-take a deep breath -unless somebody tells him. Anyhow, he and Pinky had a m-meeting with -Miss Persia and Lester the d-day after you left. Stella t-told me."</p> - -<p>"Who really calls the tune, Willie? Sam or Persia? What does Stella say -about it?"</p> - -<p>Willie frowned painfully. "It s-seems like there's s-somebody else. -S-somebody who t-tells them all what to d-do."</p> - -<p>"Stella said that?"</p> - -<p>"She says there's s-somebody mysterious whose name is never mentioned -when she's around. They c-call him 'Mr. You-know' or s-something like -that. Sam Lester c-contacts him, Stella thinks."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Tesno found Ben sitting behind his desk in his nightshirt, sleepily -staring at a paper covered with figures. When he saw Tesno, he snatched -off his glasses and tipped back in his chair.</p> - -<p>"You sure took your time. Is the news good or bad?"</p> - -<p>"Bad." Tesno sank into a chair. "I telegraphed the boiler factory in -Connecticut as soon as I got to Ellensburg. Your damned boiler still -wasn't shipped yet."</p> - -<p>Ben looked as if he had been struck. He got slowly to his feet. "Hadn't -been shipped!"</p> - -<p>"I was on the telegraph for three days getting it straightened out. It -seems they had a wire a couple of weeks ago, signed with your name. It -requested that they hold up shipment till they got further word from -you."</p> - -<p>Ben leaned heavily on the table. For a moment Tesno was afraid he was -going to collapse. Then he thumped his fist on the table, began to -swear, and they both felt better.</p> - -<p>"Somebody deliberately tried to delay you, Ben. Who would it be?"</p> - -<p>"How would I know?"</p> - -<p>"Jay?"</p> - -<p>"I don't know. I've heard he's shifty—but a stunt like that! If I -could pin it on him, I could get him blacklisted by every railroad in -the West."</p> - -<p>"The message was sent from North Yakima, so I rode down there. The -operator had the original copy. It was printed in block letters on -plain paper. As he remembers, the man who brought it in was dressed -like a rancher or a cow hand."</p> - -<p>Ben sank into a chair. He wagged his head sadly. "Is that boiler on the -way now?"</p> - -<p>"It is."</p> - -<p>"It'll be at least two weeks before it gets across the country," Ben -said. "Then we've got to drag it up here from the end of track."</p> - -<p>Tesno extracted a thick fold of paper from his shirt pocket and began -to open it up. "Made a map of the supply road with the bad spots -marked. There are a dozen places where we'll have to use block and -tackle, Ben."</p> - -<p>"I suppose we'll do well to make five miles a day," Ben said wearily. -"Even with twenty-horse teams.... This is going to be your kettle of -stew, Jack, from the time that boiler hits end of track till it's -unloaded at the portal."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Tesno walked back to the town through the heavy darkness of the forest -road. Reaching the street and turning up the walk toward the hotel, -he had a glimpse of the townhouse a hundred yards away. Forgetting -that he was dirty and unshaven, he swung instinctively toward the soft -invitation of its lighted windows.</p> - -<p>Sam Lester answered his knock and grumbled for him to come in. Persia -sprang up from the sofa to meet him, taking both his hands. They both -sat down. She looked him over possessively.</p> - -<p>"Jack, it seems like ages. Was it a rough trip?"</p> - -<p>"Lots of riding, not much sleeping."</p> - -<p>Sam asserted petulantly that he was going to bed. He slammed the door -behind him as he stalked off to the other part of the house.</p> - -<p>"I interrupt something?" Tesno asked.</p> - -<p>"The usual evening overture," Persia said tiredly. "He thinks he's in -love with me. Friendship isn't possible. Why can't we be like—well, -you and me, for instance?"</p> - -<p>"And how is that?"</p> - -<p>They had never sat so close before. He touched her hand. She squeezed -his fingers and smiled. Then she withdrew her hand.</p> - -<p>"I want to talk, Jack. Everything is going so badly. Income has fallen -off and my debts are just overwhelming. It seems that by trying to -clean up the gambling games we've given the impression that they are -all crooked. Play has fallen off terribly and...." She broke off -and smiled suddenly. "I keep forgetting that you're really the one -responsible for my troubles. I promise I shan't say another whining -word."</p> - -<p>"Say all you like."</p> - -<p>"Oh, Jack, it's such a ridiculous thing to be a woman!"</p> - -<p>He took her hand again and reached across her and embraced her -shoulder. Their eyes met and she came against him and her lips were -warm and fervent. Far away in the other part of the building, a door -slammed and they were alone in the night and in the world.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="X" id="X">X</a></h2> - - -<p>Willie Silverknife sat in Tesno's room with eight slips of paper fanned -out in his hands. Tesno lounged on the bed with his hands behind his -head. Willie was doing the talking.</p> - -<p>"This d-dealer don't fool around with anything so easy as that odd-even -arrangement. He can bring up any one he wants by shuffling the way you -showed me. I watched him for d-days and wrote down the cards as they -come up. I d-did it with a stub of pencil inside my c-coat p-pocket. I -g-got all eight arrangements here."</p> - -<p>"And you figure to bust him."</p> - -<p>"I'll p-prove the g-game is crooked by dealing out the deck and calling -every card—exact, not just odd or even. I figure to d-do it when the -place is crowded."</p> - -<p>Willie tapped the papers into an even packet and buttoned them into a -shirt pocket. Tesno regarded the ceiling in silence.</p> - -<p>"I wanted to ch-check with you," Willie said. "I want to be s-sure -there's nothing wrong with the way I got this s-studied out."</p> - -<p>"It's a fine piece of studying. But hold off, Willie."</p> - -<p>"Wh-why? If I show up another c-crooked g-game in the Pink Lady, it -ought to just about f-finish the p-place."</p> - -<p>"Hold off," Tesno said irritably. "The town is running pretty -tame—compared to what it was."</p> - -<p>"T-tame? You sh-should s-see what I s-see. Last night—"</p> - -<p>"All right! But don't put on a show this time." Tesno swung his feet -off the bed and sat up. "Go to Pinky quietly and tell him to get shed -of that dealer. He probably doesn't know he's got a card mechanic -there."</p> - -<p>"You know b-better than that!" Willie stood up and gripped the back -of his chair. "That Pinky never does anything honest if he can do it -crooked. That place is rotten as hell's swill b-bucket, and I should -th-think you'd be glad to s-see it go b-bust!"</p> - -<p>Tesno got slowly to his feet and stretched. "I have no love for Pinky. -But he owns only a small chunk of that place."</p> - -<p>Tesno threw an arm around Willie's shoulders and led him to the door. -"For the time being, Willie, keep your eyes open and don't stir up -trouble."</p> - -<p>Willie turned in the doorway with hurt written on his face.</p> - -<p>"I'll be d-damned if you don't sound exactly like M-Madrid!"</p> - -<p>Tesno laughed and closed the door. Turning to the washstand, he soberly -regarded himself in the small square mirror above it.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Nobody ever knew exactly what happened that night or exactly who was -to blame. But it seemed clear that dynamiter Heinie Hinkleman got his -fuses fouled up and also that the foreman of the shoring crew was lax -about getting his men to safety. The heading crew got clear in plenty -of time and warned the bench gang on the way out; but when Heinie came -jogging along in his leisurely flat-footed way, half a dozen workers -were still putting up shoring. Heinie told them for cripes sake the -fuses were lit, and he herded them ahead of him toward the portal.</p> - -<p>The fuses were cut for six minutes, he said, which would have been -more than enough time to get the hell out of there. But Heinie had -miscalculated for the first and last time in his career, and the blast -caught them before they had gone a dozen yards. Rock hurtled out of the -heading like shot from a gigantic gun barrel. An egg-sized splinter -caught Heinie in the back of the skull and buried itself in his brain. -Two of the others were dead when the dust cleared enough for rescuers -to get to them. The other four were carried out stunned and just a -whisper away from suffocation.</p> - -<p>Dawn was flaring over the hills to the east when Ben Vickers reached -the scene, wild-eyed and half dressed. Keef O'Hara, who said he had -been over the mountain at the other portal, arrived a few minutes -later. Together, they questioned the heading crew, who were scared and -mad and eager to blame somebody. Heinie, one of them volunteered, had -lost two months' pay at faro that afternoon, which might account for -his mind not being on his work, even if he hadn't taken a few nips to -console himself.</p> - -<p>This, along with the fact that O'Hara's breath would back off a -polecat, was enough for Ben. When he had seen the injured men to the -camp hospital and got the doctor's report, he summoned Tesno to his -cabin and read the riot act.</p> - -<p>Except for some rump-blistering profanity, which got monotonous, Ben -spoke in a flat, controlled manner—which was a bad sign. Tesno sat -with his chair tipped back and listened.</p> - -<p>Briefly, Ben said that he had jumping-well expected Tesno to -establish authority in Tunneltown and kick it into line, and Tesno -had jumping-well expected to do that, too, judging by the way he had -started out. But he had changed his mind and had left the clean-up to -the town itself, which was nothing but a jumping booze camp, and what -booze camp ever cleaned itself up? Nevertheless, Ben had kept hoping -for the best until this morning. With three men dead and another -probably dying, his patience had run out, and there jumping-well was -going to be a change....</p> - -<p>"Now hold on," Tesno said, when Ben showed signs of running out of -wind. "You said you'd settle for regulation, and you're getting it. -It's come slowly, but—"</p> - -<p>"Don't recite your list of half-butt improvements to me," Ben said. "I -know it by heart—right down to that stuttering clown of a half-breed -deputy, who has done his job a jumping lot better than you have, at -that!" Ben poked the tabletop with a forefinger. "And as for what -I said I'd settle for, I told you clearly that the gambling had to -go—all of it."</p> - -<p>"Damn it, Ben, you blame the town too much. If that dynamiter hadn't -lost his stake at faro, he probably would have dropped it to some -bunkhouse sharp at poker."</p> - -<p>"I'm not going to argue about it," Ben said icily. "I want the gambling -stopped. Altogether."</p> - -<p>"That will close at least a couple of the saloons."</p> - -<p>"That would break my heart," Ben said. "Now do I get it or not?"</p> - -<p>Tesno stood up and sauntered toward the door. Anger, guilt, a sense of -injustice, rose in him and laid harsh words on his tongue, but he did -not speak them. He needed time to calm down, to think things out.</p> - -<p>"You'll get it," he said through clenched teeth, "or you'll get my -resignation."</p> - -<p>He put his back to Ben and trudged out of the cabin and through the -camp toward the town road. Dave Coons stepped out of one of the -bunkhouses and fell in beside him.</p> - -<p>"Johnny Favery just died," Coons said.</p> - -<p>Tesno closed his eyes briefly. "That's four," he said.</p> - -<p>"He was just a kid," Coons said. "Just here a few months from the old -country. He had nineteen cents in his pocket."</p> - -<p>"Hell of a thing," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"Can you tell me where the blame lies?" Coons said. "The men have a -right to know. So it won't happen again."</p> - -<p>"Ask Ben."</p> - -<p>"Thought I might get a straight story from you. O'Hara wasn't at the -west portal as he claimed, I know that. He was at the cookhouse trying -to sober up on coffee."</p> - -<p>"No reason why he should be on hand for every blast," Tesno grumbled.</p> - -<p>"Vickers is, during the day shifts. If O'Hara had been there, he -probably would have seen that Hinkleman had the fuses wrong. Even if he -hadn't, he'd have got that shoring gang out of there earlier."</p> - -<p>"All right," Tesno said. "Blame O'Hara."</p> - -<p>"I do blame the town. If it weren't so handy and so wild, O'Hara -wouldn't have been drunk and Hinkleman broke and upset."</p> - -<p>Tesno made no reply. They had walked a little way along the forested -road, chilly and damply fragrant at this hour. "When are you going to -do something about the town, Jack?" Coons said, and abruptly turned and -headed back toward the camp.</p> - -<p>Tesno lingered over eggs and coffee at a restaurant counter, then he -went to his room and stretched out on the bed. He wanted to be alone an -hour or so; after that, he wanted to see Persia. Her company would dull -the shock and ugliness of the accident, he told himself, and he would -be able to think clearly.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XI" id="XI">XI</a></h2> - - -<p>Persia sat primly at the secretary which stood in a corner of her -parlor. She frowned, checked her addition. It was nice to have bank -accounts in three different towns, but she wished that just once they -would total as much as she had expected. The town was busier than it -had ever been and on paper she was making a good deal of money; but it -was all going to pay off Mr. Jay.</p> - -<p>She shifted her chair to face Sam as he came into the room. He regarded -her as placidly as ever through his lenses, but she knew him so well -that she could sense a mild urgency about him.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Jay is in my office," he said shortly.</p> - -<p>"Oh?" Mr. Jay never visited the townhouse unless his business was very -urgent indeed. "Sam, is anything wrong?"</p> - -<p>Sam moved his head negatively. "He has some instructions he wants to -give you personally. It's a simple matter, but he wants it done just -right."</p> - -<p>They went at once to the office. Mr. Jay sprang up to take Persia's -hand in both of his. "Charming! More charming than ever!" he said, -throwing his head back to look her over. His alert little eyes danced -and his beard framed a smile as he devoted a second or two to looking -charmed. He led her to a chair as Sam slid into another. Mr. Jay stood -between them, hands clasped behind his back. He glanced from one to the -other and drew in his breath noisily.</p> - -<p>"There are two men upstairs in Sam's rooms that I don't want seen -around town. They have been riding all night and are hungry. Now—" -Mr. Jay paused to smile crisply at Persia—"I want you to feed -them. Have your maid throw together a meal; soup, ham and eggs, -left-overs—anything that can be prepared quickly. You might say that -Sam has some old friends visiting him, something like that. Then you -or Sam take the food up to them—not the maid. In the meantime, Pinky -Bronklin will bring a bag of supplies here. These two men will take it -and leave. Their horses are tied out back."</p> - -<p>Persia smiled faintly. "Aren't you going to tell me what nefarious -connivance I'm a party to?"</p> - -<p>"Oh, it's underhanded," Mr. Jay said, "completely underhanded. If I -were suspected of being connected with it, my career would be finished. -But you'll guess it anyway, in the light of future developments; so -you might as well know now. Ben Vickers' big boiler reached Ellensburg -yesterday. He had a crew and a huge wagon waiting for it, so I expect -that by this time it's on the road. I—well, there's going to be an -accident."</p> - -<p>"I wish now I hadn't asked," Persia said. "No one will be hurt, I hope."</p> - -<p>"I certainly hope not."</p> - -<p>"I don't like this, Mr. Jay."</p> - -<p>"Of course not. I don't like it either."</p> - -<p>"Does Vickers know the boiler's arrived?" Sam asked.</p> - -<p>"Not yet, I think," Mr. Jay said. "My information is that his messenger -was delayed. I dare say that he will get word, though, before the day -is out. And I dare say he will send Mr. Tesno down there at once."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Finding no comfort in the solitude of his room, Tesno left the hotel -and strolled aimlessly up the street. His big Raymond watch showed only -a little after eleven. He would wait till noon, he decided, before -dropping in on Persia.</p> - -<p>He stopped at the new tobacco store and bought a handful of cigars. -Lighting one, he sauntered past the livery barn and up the slope behind -it. Most of the timber had been logged off here, and brush and ferns -were already claiming the ground. Finding a degree of solace in the -faint warmth of the sun, he pulled himself up on a stump and found he -had a view that drew him out of himself.</p> - -<p>It was a cloudless day, and the range jutted its ragged vertebrae into -a sky as blue as a mountain lake. Below him, the town seemed a naked, -ugly fungus sprung newly from the earth. The camp, almost hidden by -pines, was less intrusive. Beyond the gulch, above it, the crisp black -arch of the tunnel scarred Runaway Mountain.</p> - -<p><i>Here it all is</i>, he thought, <i>spread out in front of me. I've either -got to become a part of it or get the hell out.</i> He tried to plan what -he would say to Persia. He would tell her flatly that the time had come -for the gamblers to go, he guessed. He would ask her to have Madrid -clear them out, all of them. If she stalled or refused—well, he would -do it himself. Or resign.</p> - -<p>The townhouse lay off to his left, and he found himself staring at -it, thinking that she was in there somewhere, wondering what she did -with her mornings. He watched two men come out of the back of the far -part of the building, each carrying a small bundle. At this distance -he could tell little about them except that they must have come up -from the cattle country east of the mountains. One wore woolly chaps. -Both wore Stetsons and walked with the peculiar swagger of men in -high-heeled boots. They disappeared behind one of the outbuildings, -and when they came into sight again, they were mounted on horses. He -watched them ride eastward out of the gulch. He supposed they had come -to sell beef or hay, or on some such business, and he quickly forgot -them.</p> - -<p>When his watch read almost noon, he started downhill, avoiding the -street and heading for the townhouse. Persia answered his knock, -smiling when she saw him. It wasn't the polite and pretty company smile -now but a special one, personal and tender, an eager doorway closed -quickly behind him as she came into his arms.</p> - -<p>"I'm glad you came," she said. She drew him into the parlor.</p> - -<p>"It's been a bad morning."</p> - -<p>"I heard about the accident," she said. She detached herself from him -and sat down on the sofa, crossing her long legs and smoothing her -skirt over them. "Is there anything anyone can do?"</p> - -<p>"Not for the dead men."</p> - -<p>Her eyes touched him warily. She said, "For you then? You ought to get -your mind off it."</p> - -<p>"No," he said. "I ought to think about it. I ought to think a great -deal about it."</p> - -<p>She nodded slowly, frowning. He seized the back of a chair and leaned -over it moodily. After a moment, she said, "I've been wishing all -morning you'd drop by. Jack, it's such a beautiful day. Could we—I -suppose it isn't a good idea, but couldn't we pack a lunch and have a -picnic? I know a spot where there's a creek and a little waterfall. -We'd be a million miles away from everything."</p> - -<p>"It sounds fine," he said.</p> - -<p>"We'll have to sort of sneak away," she said. "I wouldn't want Sam to -know. He'd want to come, too, I'm afraid."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was after sunset when they came back into the gulch along a -forgotten skid road. They reached the kitchen door of the townhouse -at a remarkable moment when the entire sky was aglow, burning scarlet -beyond the bleak western peaks and cooling down to a grayish pink -in the east as night seeped into it. The buildings of the town, the -trees, the earth itself were suspended in a pinkish haze. Persia caught -Tesno's hand and halted him.</p> - -<p>"It's almost frightening!" she said. "It gives you the feeling -something strange is about to happen."</p> - -<p>He knew what she meant, but he grinned and said artlessly, "It will be -a clear day tomorrow."</p> - -<p>Stella was at the back door then, saying dinner was ready and going -stale. Sam Lester met them in the kitchen. He gave Persia a questioning -look and turned to Tesno.</p> - -<p>"Vickers is in there," Sam said, jerking his head toward the parlor. -"He's been combing the town for you. He finally learned from Stella -that you'd gone off somewhere with a basket of food—she didn't know -where. He's been camped in there ever since."</p> - -<p>Tesno found Ben dozing in a chair. He leaped to his feet wild-eyed when -he heard his name.</p> - -<p>"The boiler's on it's way up here!" Ben said. "It will move fast enough -until the road hits the mountains, and I expect it's damn near to Cle -Elum by now. If you ride all night, you can be there by dawn. Where in -the merry hell have you been?"</p> - -<p>"Picnic," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"You could leave word where I could find you."</p> - -<p>"I've been trying to think things out, Ben. I've decided to quit."</p> - -<p>Ben clapped a hand to his forehead. "Not now! Not with that boiler down -there!"</p> - -<p>"You could send somebody else."</p> - -<p>"This job might need special talent, Jack. It just might be a dirty -one." Ben fell silent as Persia and Sam came into the room. He nodded -curtly at Persia. Suddenly he gestured violently and continued. "The -thing arrived yesterday. I had a crew standing by to unload it and -start it up here. A man left at once to bring me the news—should -have been here before daylight this morning. But he was overtaken by -a pair of toughs who beat him up, tied him to a tree, shot his horse. -He worked loose and walked eight miles in the middle of the night to a -ragcamp, where he borrowed another horse. He didn't get here till well -after noon."</p> - -<p>"You think they did this just to delay the news?"</p> - -<p>"Seems like it. And when you remember that phoney telegram—well, that -boiler needs you down there alongside of it, night and day, a gun in -your hands."</p> - -<p>"All right," Tesno said. "I'll chaperone the boiler for you. After -that...."</p> - -<p>"We'll see, we'll see," Ben said quickly. "Once I get that thing up -here and the compressors working, life ought to be a little easier for -everybody. I've got your blue roan saddled and waiting outside. You can -start right now."</p> - -<p>"Not till he's had something to eat!" Persia said. She stepped up and -grasped Tesno's arm possessively.</p> - -<p>Ben grunted. "Just so he's at Cle Elum by daylight." He located his -hat, clamped it on his head, and headed for the door. Sam Lester went -with him.</p> - -<p>"Actually," Persia said, "I think that man is mad. Sit down and have a -drink, Jack. I'll have Stella get dinner on the table. Sam has already -eaten."</p> - -<p>"I'll have to hurry," Tesno said. "Maybe...."</p> - -<p>"Nonsense. Sam has work to do, and I refuse to be left alone. Not -tonight, Jack."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XII" id="XII">XII</a></h2> - - -<p>The first dozen miles lay in relatively flat sagebrush country. The -twelve-man, thirty-horse boiler-hauling outfit covered them the first -day, reaching the first real grade at dusk and halting there to spend -the night and give the boss time to figure out what he was going to do -in the morning.</p> - -<p>He was a glary-eyed man named Rejack, who treated his horses with -a kindness rare among teamsters and was consequently considered a -simpleton by his crew. His problem was to get his huge wagon over a -bridge almost exactly as wide as its wheel spread and then up a road -with hairpins in it so sharp and steep that the top-heavy load was -almost sure to overturn. He finally decided that it couldn't be done. -The only chance was to ford the creek and pull the wagon straight up -the hillside with block and tackle.</p> - -<p>Shortly after sun-up, the crew dragged it across the creek without too -much trouble. Rejack then anchored his pulley block on a big cedar, -put six men on the wagon tongue to steer, and had ten span of horses -hitched to pull down-grade as the wagon moved up. He inspected the -teams, the rope, the lashings on the boiler and finally gave the order -to start. The wagon moved along nicely for the first hundred feet. Then -a man walked out of a clump of trees with a shotgun, aimed at the rope -from four feet away, and fired both barrels.</p> - -<p>The wagon reversed its direction so suddenly that the man walking near -the rear of it with a wheel block had time only to toss it and jump. -The wheel missed it. The wagon hurtled down the hillside, skidded -sideways, made one complete roll, stopped abruptly in the creek, and -collapsed under its load like a berry box.</p> - -<p>In the confusion, the man with the shotgun had disappeared into the -pines. Some of the crew considered going after him but were promptly -discouraged when a rifle cut loose from somewhere above, its bullets -ricocheting through the brush between them and the trees. It was plain -to everybody that the saboteur had a partner up there covering him.</p> - -<p>Rejack took off his hat, scratched his head, and reacted to catastrophe -with casual acceptance that the crew later recounted with hilarity.</p> - -<p>"If that isn't one hell of a way to cut a rope!" he grumbled. "Did any -of the buckshot hit the horses?"</p> - -<p>The rifleman fired three rapid shots, obviously not trying to hit -anybody, and called it a day. Rejack jounced down the slope to inspect -the damage, followed by most of the crew. As far as anybody could tell, -the boiler, for a wonder, wasn't even scratched. The wagon was beyond -repair. Rejack sat down on the creek bank to figure out what to do next.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>It was midmorning and Tesno was five miles above Cle Elum when he met -the rider on his way to report the disaster to Vickers. Tesno would -have passed with a nod and greeting, but the other recognized him and -stopped to pour out the story.</p> - -<p>"The boiler isn't damaged?" Tesno demanded.</p> - -<p>"Sound as a dollar," the hard-faced little teamster said. "The boss -started back to Ellensburg to try and scare up another wagon big enough -to haul the damn thing. In the meantime it's setting in a crick about a -mile and a half below Cle Elum."</p> - -<p>"Somebody's guarding it?"</p> - -<p>"Well, yes. The boss ordered a four-man guard on it, but there didn't -seem much sense in that since there was only one gun in the whole -outfit. So one man's there now. The rest went on up to Cle Elum."</p> - -<p>"All right," Tesno said. "Now the first thing you tell Ben is that the -boiler is in good shape. That might save him from apoplexy. Then tell -him I said not to worry. I'll get the thing up to him."</p> - -<p>Guilt welled up in him as he jogged on down the road. If he had -left Tunneltown when Ben wanted him to—or even immediately after -dinner—he would have been on the scene when calamity struck. With a -little luck, he might have prevented it. At least, he would have bagged -the hooligan who severed the rope.</p> - -<p>Cle Elum consisted of a sawmill, a pond full of logs, and one of the -temporary camps Ben Vickers had set up here and there along his supply -line. Tesno passed without stopping and rode on to the scene of the -wreck. Here he found the guard sitting against a tree sound asleep—a -sixteen-year-old kid armed with an ancient revolver with two shells in -it. He jerked the boy to his feet and shoved him toward the boiler.</p> - -<p>"You keep your eye on that thing every minute," he snapped.</p> - -<p>After questioning the kid about what had happened, he made a quick -scout through the pines and found where the vandal had tied his horse. -Following the hoofprints upgrade, he soon came to a place where they -were joined by another set. The two riders had headed straight into -the timbered hills without so much as a deer trail to guide them. -Apparently, they were men who knew the country well.</p> - -<p>He rode back to Cle Elum then, where he found the boiler crew lounging -around the mess tent, sipping coffee and playing poker.</p> - -<p>"Holiday's over," he announced. "We'll go down there and get the boiler -ready to load when the wagon arrives. We'll need about twenty horses to -drag it out of the creek."</p> - -<p>"Morning will be time enough," a bull-necked, bullet-headed freighter -growled, clutching his poker hand close to his stomach. "You were sent -down here to guard that damn teakettle, not to give orders. Rejack left -me in charge, and I say you can go hang yourself. Where in the black -damnation were you when those rascals surprised us, anyhow?"</p> - -<p>Tesno remarked that he was in no mood to quibble. Placing the sole of -his boot against the edge of the table, he kicked it into the man's -stomach, got an armlock on him, and pitched him out of the tent on his -face. The crew laughed uneasily and drifted off toward the corral to -get harness on the horses.</p> - -<p>After several hours of preparatory work, they maneuvered the boiler out -of the creek on logs that had been peeled and greased. When they had -skidded it onto two logs set along the bank like rails, they dug a cut -under one end of these for the wagon to back into when it arrived. It -was dark when they finished.</p> - -<p>In the meantime, Tesno borrowed a Winchester from the camp 'general' -at Cle Elum and another from the mill owner. He also found a Klickitat -mill hand who knew the country and whom he set off on horseback to -trail the saboteurs.</p> - -<p>When the digging was finished and the boiler ready to load, Tesno -announced that they would camp on the spot. He divided the men into -pairs and assigned them to watches.</p> - -<p>"Just don't get jumpy and shoot each other," he said, handing the -rifles to the men on the first watch. "If you see or hear anything -unusual, let me know. I'll be within calling distance all night."</p> - -<p>Supper consisted of stew made of bacon, jerky, onions, and potatoes, -chased by black coffee. When he had wolfed his down, he settled himself -at one end of the boiler with a blanket over his shoulder and his own -rifle beside him. From time to time, he rose to check on the guards, -but mostly he sat and smoked, dozing very little.</p> - -<p>He was restless and uncomfortable, his supper heavy in his stomach, -and his thoughts were like a windblown deck of cards he tried to sort -out and put in order. He looked back at his life, at the callousness -of it, the probing out of human weakness that could be turned to his -advantage, the careful building of a reputation among the contractors. -What had he been seeking all these years? Money? A stake that would -buy and stock a ranch? Of course. But there had been more to it than -that. There had been the satisfaction of seeing steel push into the -wilderness. Even if he sometimes had doubts about the true importance -of the railroad, it had been something a man could give his life to. It -was the giving that had been important.</p> - -<p>And now it was not important. Not since that long-ago night in May when -he had interrupted Persia Parker's dinner. Gray-green eyes, a soft -voice, an eager smile, a lithe body—these were Persia. But what else -was she? And in this black and lonely time with his back against the -cold bulge of a boiler that was a key piece in a wild game of steel and -gold, he dared to doubt the thing he wanted most. To doubt in order to -prove. He had to know.</p> - -<p>There had been a nervousness in her last night, he thought. She -had smiled even more often than usual, had touched him at every -opportunity, as she had stubbornly insisted that he stay with her. She -had known about the boiler, of course; she had been there when Ben -told him of its arrival. But could she have known earlier—before the -picnic? <i>No</i>, he told himself, <i>it wasn't like that. It couldn't have -been....</i></p> - -<p>A voice rang out in the blackness, a challenge, and another answered -bluntly. Tesno was on his feet, working the lever of his rifle. Two -figures up in the liquid forest night—one of the guards with his gun -on the Klickitat mill hand.</p> - -<p>"It's all right," Tesno said to the guard. "Go back to your post."</p> - -<p>The Indian, who answered to the name of Muckamuck Charlie, gave his -report in a mixture of reservation English and Chinook jargon.</p> - -<p>"Them son-of-a-gun <i>cooley</i> over mountain. Split up. One come back to -<i>hooihut</i>. <i>Nika till.</i> You got whisky?"</p> - -<p>"One of them circled back to the road?" Tesno said, trying to get it -straight.</p> - -<p>"Damn right. Maybe go by here, take look. <i>Halo nika</i> money. You pay -now?"</p> - -<p>"Where did the other one go?"</p> - -<p>"<i>Halo chako.</i> Him wait. By and by come together. Go to <i>tenas</i> house -<i>ipsoot</i> in woods." Charlie made a gesture toward the southwest. -"Four-five mile."</p> - -<p>As near as Tesno could make it out, one of the men—no doubt the one -who had shown himself—had waited while the other rode up the road like -any honest traveler, passing the boiler to see how much damage had been -done. This could have happened soon after the smash-up, likely as not -while that sleepy kid was on guard. Then the pair had joined up again -and ridden to a cabin hidden in the woods four or five miles away.</p> - -<p>"They're at the cabin, <i>tenas house</i>, now?"</p> - -<p>"I listen," Charlie said. "They make sleep noises. I smell whisky."</p> - -<p>"Can you take me there? Right now?"</p> - -<p>Charlie grunted. "You pay now. Two dollar. We go <i>tenas house</i>, you pay -more."</p> - -<p>Tesno drew two silver dollars from his pocket and passed them over. -"Two more when you take me to the cabin."</p> - -<p>Charlie studied the coins in his palm. "<i>Nika till.</i> I sleep now. Eat. -Drink some whisky. Pretty soon daylight. We go then."</p> - -<p>"We go right now," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>As it turned out, they were delayed by the arrival of Rejack, who came -rumbling up the road with a new freight wagon as Tesno was saddling his -horse. He inspected the boiler and then backed the wagon into the cut -by lantern light before he unhitched the team.</p> - -<p>"We'll be loaded and moving by sun-up," he said, looking pleased.</p> - -<p>"No," Tesno said. "Load, but don't start the boiler up that grade till -I get back. Those rascals know it wasn't damaged, and if I should -happen to miss them, they might try the same stunt all over again."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XIII" id="XIII">XIII</a></h2> - - -<p>Dawn crept into the world drearily and then lavishly as they made a -slow and sinuous ride through tangled gulches and trailless forest, up -horse-crippling grades and down shale-slippery slopes. After a good -hour of this roundabout traveling, Muckamuck Charlie halted at the foot -of a rounded, thickly timbered hill. He sniffed the air and announced -that the <i>tenas house</i>, the cabin, was on the far side of this.</p> - -<p>"Them son-of-a-gun wake up," he said, sniffing again. "Cook breakfast. -When we gonna eat?"</p> - -<p>As they wound up through the trees, Tesno, too, could smell smoke. When -they were over the crest, had tied the horses and were proceeding on -foot, it was visible, lying in motionless layers among the pines.</p> - -<p>"Fire out now," Charlie said.</p> - -<p>They were within a few yards of the cabin before Tesno saw it through -the foliage, a ten-by-twelve log shack set into the hillside. It was -weathered and saggy-roofed, built by some trapper or prospector heaven -knew how many years ago.</p> - -<p>Charlie drew Tesno behind a tree, pointed a finger at the ground as an -indication that he was to wait, and angled off on a scout. After a few -minutes he walked around the end of the cabin, eating a biscuit with a -piece of raw bacon draped over it.</p> - -<p>"Them son-of-a-gun wake up early. Go 'way," he said.</p> - -<p>The air in the dark interior of the cabin was still warm from a fire -in the crumbling clay fireplace. It had been doused with water but was -still smoking faintly. The occupants couldn't have left more than a few -minutes earlier. Gear and supplies piled along the walls indicated that -they expected to be back.</p> - -<p>Charlie led the way down the hillside to a little open place where they -had picketed their horses. After circling around and studying several -old sets of tracks, he announced that he had found the fresh one.</p> - -<p>As he and Charlie strode upgrade toward their own horses, Tesno grew -increasingly anxious. This pair of hooligans knew that the boiler -wasn't damaged. It stood to reason that they would make another try at -it. He said as much to Charlie.</p> - -<p>"You keep on their trail, Charlie. Try to get a look at 'em. I'll be -with the boiler. If they come anywhere near it, you let me know. You -got all that?"</p> - -<p>"Two dollar," Charlie said.</p> - -<p>"Five dollar, Charlie. Five dollar, you stay with 'em till I catch 'em."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Rejack had the tackle rigged, the teams hitched, and was impatient to -begin the haul. Tesno had him wait till he had scouted out the pine -clusters that dotted the lower part of the hillside, then told him to -go ahead. The wagon groaned and inched upward. Two men walked behind it -now, swinging a squared timber on ropes between them. They held this -close behind the wheels so that they had only to drop it to block them. -Rifle in hand, Tesno took a position where he could cover the rope on -both sides of the tackle blocks.</p> - -<p>Slowly, protestingly, the great wagon and its monstrous load crept up -to the anchor tree and was lashed to it. Rejack had already chosen the -course for the second leg of the ascent and had had brush and saplings -cleared away. This would be a longer haul than the first. There were -two or three trees that the men on the tongue would have to guide the -wagon around, and the slope was uneven, mottled with rock outcroppings. -Moreover, the forest pressed in from both sides before claiming the -top of the hill entirely, just beyond the place where the wagon would -rejoin the road.</p> - -<p>"If they'd waited yesterday and hit us up here, there wouldn't be -enough left of the boiler to hold a drink of water," Rejack said.</p> - -<p>Tesno scouted the trees as best he could. But this was deep woods. -A wary man could easily avoid being seen or heard among the maze of -trunks growing out of carpetlike duff.</p> - -<p>Again, the long double file of horses pulled slowly down the -mountainside and the wagon groaned upward. It had climbed barely twenty -yards when Muckamuck Charlie appeared below, working his horse zigzag -up the slope. Tesno yelled for the team to halt and the men behind the -wagon to block its wheels.</p> - -<p>Charlie slid off his winded horse. "Them son-of-a-gun close by," he -grunted. "They watch."</p> - -<p>"Where?" Tesno demanded.</p> - -<p>They moved a few steps into the woods. Charlie pointed to a little -butte that rose out of the pines half a mile to the west. Its face was -sheer rock cliff, but it could well have a sloping approach on its far -side.</p> - -<p>"They go up there," Charlie grunted. "<i>Halo chako.</i> Wait. Watch. By and -by one go 'way. Come down here someplace. One stay."</p> - -<p>Tesno squinted thoughtfully up at the butte. "You get a look at 'em, -Charlie?"</p> - -<p>"Damn right. Jim Palma. <i>Cultus</i> no good son-of-a-gun."</p> - -<p>"You know 'em?"</p> - -<p>"Know one," Charley said with stubborn serenity. "Jim Palma. Stomp -Umatilla boy down to Selah, one-two year ago. Boy die. Don't know other -one."</p> - -<p>Rejack came trotting through the trees and demanded to know what was -going on. "Maybe we ought to back the thing down, lash it to that -cedar," he said when Tesno had explained.</p> - -<p>Tesno considered this, then shook his head. "Go ahead with the haul. -Let them make their try. Just be sure those boys with the wheel block -are on their toes. If—"</p> - -<p>A rifle shot rang out from the butte, not much louder than a finger -snap, and a ricochet screamed its weird song above them.</p> - -<p>"Damn fool," Rejack muttered. "He's giving us a warning. I don't get -it."</p> - -<p>The rifle cracked again, and now a horse whinnied, plunged in his -harness, went down.</p> - -<p>"My god," Rejack gasped. "He's shooting at the horses!" He dashed out -of the woods, waving his arms and yelling to get the team to cover. As -he did so, another shot sounded, and another horse plunged and went -down.</p> - -<p>Tesno studied the butte, estimating that its top was at least six -hundred yards away. Even at that range, it didn't take an expert to -hit a twenty-horse team. As he watched, a man stepped into sight at -the very brink of the cliff, fired a quick shot which hit nothing, and -disappeared into brush and scrub timber.</p> - -<p>"Jim Palma," Muckamuck Charlie grunted.</p> - -<p>"He didn't have to show himself," Tesno muttered. He began to -understand the plan now.</p> - -<p>Another shot rang out. A horse screamed and started to buck, a -brilliant red streak across his rump. Rejack barked orders and waved -his arms as teamsters jumped around frantically, trying to quiet down -the horses and unhook the harness of those that were down. The men who -had been posted on the wagon tongue to steer now were streaking up the -slope to help with the animals.</p> - -<p>Jim Palma could sit up there and pot horses till confusion reigned -completely, Tesno thought. But of course, the man had an additional -purpose. He meant to draw whoever was guarding the boiler up there -after him to give his partner a chance to strike. He stepped into the -open to fire a quick shot again now. And this time Tesno was ready for -him with his rifle rested against the trunk of a tree. He aimed and -fired. Palma faded from sight.</p> - -<p>"You gottem!" Muckamuck Charlie said.</p> - -<p>"I doubt it," Tesno said. "Not at this distance. But he knows we've -seen him. Let's go, Charlie."</p> - -<p>He hurried down to his horse, mounted, and joined Charlie at the road. -They rode down it a few yards and were out of sight of the butte.</p> - -<p>"You keep after him," Tesno said, waving Charlie on as he reined off -the road. "I'll maybe catch up to you later."</p> - -<p>Palma's partner would certainly have been watching, would have seen -them leave and would assume they had been decoyed after Palma. He would -make his move now—any second, Tesno thought as he worked his horse up -through a stand of trees toward the suspended wagon. When he came to -more open ground, he dismounted and continued afoot. Within a hundred -yards of the wagon he knelt in brush cover.</p> - -<p>He waited, wondering why Palma's partner didn't make his play. Then he -realized that the man would wait for the horses to be unhitched and -moved to cover so the rope would have only the weight of a doubletree -at its end. There would be only the wheel block to deal with.</p> - -<p>The shooting from the butte came rapidly now, badly aimed. The crew -frantically untangled harness and ran the horses into the woods in -pairs. Tesno kept his eyes on the wagon. Only the wheel blockers were -left with it, and they were standing together watching the pandemonium -above them.</p> - -<p>A man was suddenly crossing the hillside a few yards from the rear of -the wagon. He was a lean, quick-moving man in woolly chaps, and he -carried a shotgun. His appearance was so sudden that he could only have -been lying in the brush there, not far above Tesno.</p> - -<p>He barked something at the pair near the rear of the wagon, covering -them with the shotgun as they turned. He gestured with the gun toward -the wheel block. The men hesitated, then one stooped to remove it.</p> - -<p>"Hold it!" Tesno yelled. "Drop the gun!"</p> - -<p>He fired as the man whirled toward him. A sickening weakness seized him -as the man flounced and the shotgun discharged wildly at the sky. The -boiler-wrecker rose on his toes and pitched forward on his face. The -man who had stooped over the wheel block straightened without touching -it.</p> - -<p>Tesno walked swiftly up the hillside, reaching the scene as the crewmen -rolled the body on its back.</p> - -<p>"He was dead when he hit the ground," one of them said weakly.</p> - -<p>Tesno studied the gaping, vacant face, the blood-stained denim shirt, -the shaggy, stained chaps. Here was the end of a life. However shabby, -there must have been good in it somewhere, he thought, and regret -seized him like a sickness. Yet he hid it, denied it, and as men -gathered round he said roughly, "Anybody know him?"</p> - -<p>Nobody did. Tesno continued to stare, frowning. The limp, long-legged -form stirred a slippery memory that he couldn't quite get hold of.</p> - -<p>A bullet rang dully against the boiler, spattering harmlessly against -the heavy iron. An instant later, the bark of the distant rifle reached -them.</p> - -<p>Tesno motioned to the men to move around the boiler so it would shield -them from the rifleman. As he did so, another bullet made a little -explosion of dust two yards below him. He turned his eyes toward the -butte and said, "He saw what happened. He's out for blood now."</p> - -<p>Rejack bustled up, red-faced and wild-eyed with anger. He took a quick -look at the dead man and seemed to grow calmer. He said, "We can't -hitch up till that murdering devil stops shooting. Aren't you going -after him?"</p> - -<p>"I think I know where he'll head for," Tesno said. "I can get there -first, I guess. Maybe I can take this one alive."</p> - -<p>He strode down-grade to his horse and headed over the hill in the -direction of the hidden cabin. He followed the same course he and -Charlie had taken that morning, annoyed at its tedious winding and -thinking that there might be a shorter way.</p> - -<p>When he was near the cabin, he hid his horse well back in the woods and -approached on foot.</p> - -<p>Everything was just as he had left it. He closed the door behind him -and sat down to wait, rifle on his knees. His lack of sleep caught up -with him now, and several times in the space of a few minutes he got -up to stretch and move about to ward off drowsiness. He couldn't get -the dead man out of his mind. He was reasonably sure he had never seen -the face before; yet something about that figure sprawled out on the -hillside nagged him.</p> - -<p>His eye fell on two canvas bags of supplies resting against the wall. -And it all came to him then. Two bags of supplies. Two men. One in -woolly chaps. The dead man and Jim Palma were the pair he had seen come -out of the back of the townhouse two days ago! It seemed a long guess, -on the face of it; yet he was sure.</p> - -<p><i>All right</i>, he told himself. <i>They came out of the far end of the -building, the office end. That means that Sam Lester is involved, not -Persia.</i></p> - -<p>But why Sam? What did he have to gain by wrecking Ben Vickers' boiler? -A little longer life for the town, no doubt. But Persia would profit -by that as much as Sam. And it was after the men had left that she had -suggested a picnic....</p> - -<p>There was the soft sound of hoofs outside. He rose and moved quietly to -one side of the door. A saddle creaked as a man dismounted. The door -was pushed quietly open.</p> - -<p>"You here, Boss?" Muckamuck Charlie asked.</p> - -<p>Tesno groaned and stepped forward. "Where's Palma?" he demanded.</p> - -<p>Charlie stepped into the cabin, looking past Tesno at the canvas bags. -"<i>Cooley tenas house.</i> Come this way. See you <i>elip siah</i>. Far ahead. -Watch. You come to cabin. Him go 'way."</p> - -<p>Charlie pushed past and began to rummage in the bags. He extracted a -can of beans and held it up admiringly. "Bullet hittum," he said.</p> - -<p>"Hit who?"</p> - -<p>"Jim Palma. You shoot. Hittum."</p> - -<p>"I couldn't have," Tesno said. "He went right on shooting at the -horses."</p> - -<p>"<i>Pil-pil.</i> Him bleed. Maybe just scratchum. You catch other one?"</p> - -<p>"He's dead."</p> - -<p>Charlie nodded approvingly. He produced a hunting knife from somewhere -under his coat and jabbed the blade into the can of beans. He pried -back the metal untidily, poured out a handful of beans and tasted them. -He drew another can out of the bag and shoved it into a coat pocket.</p> - -<p>"We'll go after Palma," Tesno said. "You find trail?"</p> - -<p>"Damn right," Charlie said.</p> - -<p>Eating beans as he rode, Charlie found the trail a few minutes later. -It wound down one gulch and up another, over the spur of a mountain and -back through still another gulch.</p> - -<p>"Where's he headed, Charlie," Tesno asked finally.</p> - -<p>"No place. Him know country. Work into mountains. Maybe by and by go -back to <i>tenas house</i>, get food."</p> - -<p>A little later the tracks led into a shallow creek and disappeared. -After several minutes of scouting, Charlie announced that Palma had -gone upstream.</p> - -<p>"Him know we follow," he said. "Maybe wait, shoot you."</p> - -<p>Tesno nodded. There were a dozen places for an ambush every way you -looked. He grinned. "Maybe miss me. Hit Charlie."</p> - -<p>For the first time since Tesno had known him, Charlie grinned. "<i>Cultus -he-he</i>," he said, reining upstream along the bank. "Bad joke."</p> - -<p>Tesno laughed and followed, grateful for the luck that had provided his -guide. Here in this brutal and majestic wilderness the ten thousand -years between white civilization and savagery had no meaning. He and -Charlie were just two hunters, friends now, following a trail. It was -going to be a rough one, but Muckamuck Charlie would do to ride it -with.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XIV" id="XIV">XIV</a></h2> - - -<p>Pinky Bronklin unlocked the door of the storeroom on the second floor -of the Pink Lady, lighted a candle, and went in. Pushing a wooden -box close to a tier of cluttered shelves, he climbed up to examine -an array of bottles on the top one; carbolic acid, cough syrup, Dr. -Partrey's Male Restorative and Blood Tonic, toothache remedy, Princess -Cleopatra's Egyptian Love Stimulant, iodine, linament.... He selected -a small blue bottle without a label, uncorked it, sniffed it. Holding -it delicately in his crab-claw of a hand, he dribbled two drops into a -shot glass. Two drops was the dose. It would hit quick, put a man out -for hours. Pinky tipped the bottle again and added three more.</p> - -<p>Climbing down from the box, he inserted the shot glass into one of the -special pockets sewn to the back of his bartender's apron. There were -two of these, a small one inside a larger one. The small one was just -the size of the doped glass and held it upright. You took a glass from -the back bar and pretended to polish it on the apron. What you really -did was drop it into the large pocket and bring out the doctored glass.</p> - -<p>Pinky snuffed the candle, locked the storeroom door, and went back down -to the bar. It was the busiest part of the night with a fair crowd at -the bar and a nice little business at the tables. Pinky motioned to the -other two bartenders to move down and began to work the back end of the -bar.</p> - -<p>After a few minutes, Pete Madrid came in and had a drink. As usual, he -didn't pay.</p> - -<p>"You sure he'll come in?" Madrid asked, keeping his voice down.</p> - -<p>"No, I'm not sure," Pinky said irritably. "How can I be sure? But he -almost always does. You got that crazy Willie out of the way?"</p> - -<p>"Gave him the night off."</p> - -<p>"Only thing is, Mr. O. might go to the Big Barrel. They serve him in -there in spite of Willie told 'em not to."</p> - -<p>Madrid pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I'll drop in there," he said. -"I'll see that they give him a couple of drinks and then cut him off. -That'll bring him over here."</p> - -<p>Pinky's eyes followed Madrid as he sauntered to the door, his blue -silk shirt shimmering in the lamplight, his fingers touching the ivory -handle of his low-slung gun with every step. A dangerous man to have -for an enemy, Pinky thought—and maybe dangerous to have for a friend, -too. Not what you'd call a bright man, he was sure of his ability to -kill, and of not much else. He needed somebody else to do his thinking -for him, even about small matters, and so far he had seemed to realize -this. <i>God help us if he ever starts thinking for himself</i>, Pinky mused.</p> - -<p>Half an hour later, Keef O'Hara showed up, and Pinky sighed inwardly. -He didn't much like what he was going to do to O'Hara; but Mr. Jay -wanted it done, and it would be. O'Hara came directly to Pinky's end of -the bar.</p> - -<p>"Slip me a pint, ye black scoundrel," he said, "before Deputy Willie -catches up to me."</p> - -<p>"I hear Willie's off duty tonight," Pinky said. O'Hara must have -visited the Big Barrel first, he thought. The big Irishman had had a -drink or two.</p> - -<p>"Willie off duty?" O'Hara looked alarmed. "First time that's happened."</p> - -<p>Pinky took a glass off the back bar and appeared to polish it on his -apron. "It's a night to celebrate," he said. He made the switch and set -the glass in front of O'Hara, along with a bottle.</p> - -<p>O'Hara looked uncertainly at the table in a far corner where he usually -did his drinking. "Sure, if I've got the sense God gave geese, I'll -walk out this minute while I've still got the use of my legs. Give me -that pint, Pinky m'lad, and I'll be gone. With Willie off duty, I don't -trust myself in this den of iniquity."</p> - -<p>Pinky looked under the bar and shook his head. "I got no pints out -here. Have to get one from the back room. Sit yourself down, Mr. -O'Hara, and I'll bring it to you."</p> - -<p>As he left the bar, he saw with relief that O'Hara was filling the -glass. He entered the small downstairs storeroom and watched from its -dark interior as the Irishman sloughed down the drink and then another. -O'Hara looked vacantly around the saloon, started for a table, and just -barely made it. He sat for a few seconds with his head in his hands, -then slumped forward with his face against the tabletop.</p> - -<p>Pinky returned to the bar with a pint of whisky in hand. Nobody was -paying any particular attention to O'Hara. Pinky gave him a glance and -stowed the pint under the bar. "I guess he ain't going to need that," -he said loudly.</p> - -<p>He busied himself with the customers, apparently giving no more thought -to the unconscious O'Hara. After a few minutes, he consulted a watch -that lay on the back bar. "Fifteen minutes to closing time, gents," he -announced, chuckling. "Official closing time, that is. I reckon we'll -run a bit over tonight."</p> - -<p>There was a low cheer of approval from the customers in the immediate -vicinity. Pinky stared past them at O'Hara, making a little show of it. -"Still here," he muttered and walked around the end of the bar.</p> - -<p>He shook O'Hara, spoke to him, shook him again. Finally, he gestured to -a couple of the men who were watching.</p> - -<p>"Give me a hand, boys, and we'll tote him upstairs to my room, lay him -on my bed."</p> - -<p>The bystanders set down their glasses and came over. Pinky helped them -lug two hundred pounds of sagging Irishman up the narrow stairway. They -took him to the large room that served Pinky as living quarters and -laid him on the bed. Pinky lighted a lamp, turned it low. He muttered -something about the need for air and opened a window wide.</p> - -<p>"He's a nice gentleman," Pinky said. "Just drinks too much sometimes."</p> - -<p>"He sure musta took on a hell of a load this time," one of the -assistants said. "He don't even move."</p> - -<p>"He'll sleep it off," Pinky said. He herded the men back downstairs -and bought them a drink, secure in the knowledge that O'Hara wouldn't -move for hours.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Whisky Willie woke and sat erect, panicked by the thought that he -should be on the job. Then he remembered that Madrid had told him -to take the night off, and he sank back with a sigh. A sixteen-hour -night shift caught up with you, all right. You could doze a bit in the -marshal's office between rounds, but that kind of sleep didn't do a man -much good.</p> - -<p>Now, however, sleep failed to return. His room was above the stage -office, smack in the middle of town, and the sounds of the saloons -drifted up through his window. He consulted his watch and saw that it -was after closing time. Peeved, he went to the window and leaned out. -All the saloons were still showing lights. The piano in the Pink Lady -was jangling merrily. Well, he decided, he wasn't going to make a fuss -about it. He would close the window and.... His train of thought was -interrupted by the sight of the mule at the Big Barrel hitching rack. -O'Hara was down there, somewhere. He would be soused to the gills by -this time, no doubt. Somebody had to see that he got back to the job.</p> - -<p>Willie dressed quickly and went down to the street. O'Hara wasn't in -the Big Barrel, although a bartender said he had been in earlier. -Willie gave orders to close up and crossed the street to the Pink -Lady. As he pushed through the batwings, Madrid came clumping up the -boardwalk and called to him.</p> - -<p>"What the hell?" he said, following Willie inside. "I gave you the -night off so you could catch up on sleep."</p> - -<p>"I'm l-looking for Mr. O'Hara," Willie said.</p> - -<p>"That whisky-head engineer? I'll keep an eye out for him. You get your -tail into bed."</p> - -<p>Willie surveyed the line at the Pink Lady bar. O'Hara wasn't there. He -wasn't at any of the tables. Willie turned and walked into the street.</p> - -<p>Madrid ambled up to the bar and beckoned to Pinky. "You better close -up, pronto."</p> - -<p>Willie checked the Silver Slipper and then the Western Star. O'Hara -was at neither one. Pausing in the shadows, he watched Madrid saunter -down the street to his office. Willie had a growing conviction that -something was wrong and that the marshal knew what it was.</p> - -<p>The Pink Lady was closing, and little knots of men straggled out of -it, making their way to other saloons or toward the road back to camp. -Willie stopped several men and asked if they had seen O'Hara. Finally, -he found one who had.</p> - -<p>"Hell, he's at the Pink Lady," the man said. "He passed out in there. -Bronklin and some others carried him upstairs."</p> - -<p>By the time Willie reached the Pink Lady it was locked and dark. He -rattled the door and got no response. He made his way round in back and -had no better luck at the door there. There was a light in an upstairs -room, and the window was wide open. Willie cupped his hands to his -mouth to call but something warned him not to.</p> - -<p>He ran back to the street, crossing it to the Big Barrel, where -O'Hara's mule still stood at the hitch rail. He untied the animal, -mounted, and rode back to the alley behind the Pink Lady. Shadows -crossing the lighted window told him that somebody was moving around up -there. Gently, he worked the mule close to the wall, directly under the -window. He carefully knelt and then stood in the saddle. This brought -the windowsill within reach. He grasped it, and as quietly as possible -he pulled himself up.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>When the last customer was out of the Pink Lady and the bartenders were -washing glasses and tidying up, Pinky checked in the dealers. Each -brought his cash in a canvas bag, which Pinky stowed into the heavy -safe under the back end of the bar. First thing in the morning, Sam -Lester would be in to count up.</p> - -<p>Pinky unbarred the heavy front door to let the dealers and bartenders -out, then he swung this closed behind the batwings and slid the bar -into place. Alone now, he returned to the bar, tipped up a bottle and -took a long drink. He picked up a lamp, the last light in the place, -and trudged up to his room.</p> - -<p>Keef O'Hara was breathing raspingly. He hadn't moved an inch, and Pinky -chuckled softly at the potency of those knockout drops. Setting down -the lamp, he moved to the end of the bed and took off O'Hara's shoes. -This was a perfectly natural thing to do for a drunk you were taking -care of, he assured himself. If the drunk happened to get crazy ideas -in the night and wander around and fall out a window and be found with -no shoes, well, nobody could criticize the man who had tried to make -him comfortable.</p> - -<p>Pinky edged around to the side of the bed and rolled O'Hara off it on -his face. Dragging so big a man to the window and stuffing him through -it was going to be heavy work, but he guessed he could manage it. -First, though, there was the other matter to be taken care of. A man -falling from a second story window might injure himself quite a bit, -but you couldn't quite count on it.</p> - -<p>"I don't want him killed," Mr. Jay had said. "There's no need for that. -But I want him knocked off that job. Vickers' doctor isn't equipped -to deal with anything complicated and he ships bad cases off to the -Ellensburg hospital. That's where I want O'Hara to go."</p> - -<p>Mr. Jay had gone on to explain that it would take weeks for Ben Vickers -to find another man who knew how to set up a compressed-air operation -properly. Well, you had to hand it to Mr. Jay for seeing a thing -through. Soon as he got word that his hired hooligans had failed to -wreck the boiler, he had come up with this plan to knock O'Hara off the -job. A smart, smooth operator, Mr. Jay. A good star to hitch your wagon -to. Only Pinky wished he hadn't looked so tired and upset....</p> - -<p>Pinky made a trip to the storeroom and came back with a two-foot length -of iron pipe. He bent over O'Hara's feet, feeling the bones around -the ankles. It wouldn't take much of a blow to break some of these. -Two broken ankles plus any injuries that might be caused by the fall -ought to put O'Hara in that Ellensburg hospital for a good long time. -Probably be a good thing for the man, too, when you came to think about -it. Keep him off the booze.</p> - -<p>Pinky slipped his claw of a hand under one of O'Hara's heels and lifted -the foot. He raised the pipe over his head, and he about jumped out of -his skin as a voice rang out behind him.</p> - -<p>"Hold it, you b-bastard!"</p> - -<p>Whisky Willie had one leg over the windowsill. Pinky flung the length -of pipe. He flung it backhanded and it caught Willie on the shoulder as -he dived into the room, falling flat. The pipe crashed to the floor and -rolled toward Pinky, who scrambled after it. Willie reached a chair, -flung it against Pinky's shins, and bounced to his feet. Pinky stumbled -forward, reached for the pipe. Before he could get his balance, Willie -was on him, knocking the pipe aside and aiming a blow at Pinky's head -with the only weapon he carried. The bottle of lemon pop caught Pinky -neatly behind the ear and dropped him like a bundle of rags.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XV" id="XV">XV</a></h2> - - -<p>Judge Badger, who kept the general store and acted as town magistrate -on the side, was tall, bespectacled, and busy-browed. He gave the -impression of being a thoughtful and scholarly man, which he was not. -He was, however, reasonably honest. Consequently, as Mr. Jay pointed -out to Pete Madrid, he was not to be trusted. He was to be managed -rather than conspired with.</p> - -<p>This morning he entered the small townhouse courtroom and took his seat -with great dignity. He surveyed the half dozen persons present and -addressed himself to the marshal.</p> - -<p>"Pete, what in tunket is this all about?"</p> - -<p>"The marshal's office is guilty of an embarrassing mistake," Madrid -said, reciting the words as if he had memorized them carefully. "As you -know, I have an inexperienced deputy. Last night he...."</p> - -<p>"If you made a mistake why don't you correct it?" the judge demanded. -"Why waste the time of this court?"</p> - -<p>Madrid pointed at Willie with his thumb. "Because this mule-head won't -admit it. He insists on this hearing."</p> - -<p>The judge turned sternly to Willie.</p> - -<p>"I want P-Pinky B-Bronklin ch-charged and t-tried," Willie said.</p> - -<p>"Charged with what?"</p> - -<p>Willie told what had happened the night before. The judge asked a -question or two and then told Pinky to tell his side of it.</p> - -<p>Protesting that he was in this trouble because of his kindness to a -drunk, Pinky rattled off a remarkable story. When he went up to his -room after closing the saloon, he said, he had forgotten about O'Hara's -being there. He had maybe had a nip too much himself, he admitted, and -he had been given a scare by something or somebody crawling around in -the dark. He had grabbed a length of pipe which happened to be handy -and had cautiously approached the crawler, who was now lying still. -Just then Willie had come through the window.</p> - -<p>"There were t-two l-lamps burning in that room," Willie put in.</p> - -<p>"You're a liar!" Pinky said.</p> - -<p>"Now, now, now!" Judge Badger said. "We won't have any more of that."</p> - -<p>"You're another," Willie said.</p> - -<p>The judge struck an angry blow with the wooden nutcracker he used for a -gavel. He appraised Willie witheringly, then he asked quietly if Willie -had any concrete evidence that a crime had been committed, and if so, -what it was.</p> - -<p>Willie had brought Vickers' doctor to the courtroom, and he now stepped -forward and said that in his opinion O'Hara who was too sick to appear, -had been drugged. He couldn't say for sure what the drug was.</p> - -<p>The judge asked a few more questions and then pointed out that there -was no evidence that the drug had been administered in the Pink Lady -and no grounds for a charge against Pinky.</p> - -<p>"Howsoever," he said, "surreptitious administration of drugs is a -serious offense, and this court directs the marshal's office to further -investigate this matter with a view to discovery of guilty party or -parties. Upon presentation of evidence that will warrant a bill of -indictment, this court will order the arrest of said guilty party and -he will be taken to Ellensburg and the matter will be prosecuted in -district court."</p> - -<p>Willie left the courtroom with anger a seething molten pressure in him. -He trudged toward the main street beside the doctor.</p> - -<p>"The marshal cooked your goose at the very beginning when he told the -judge you'd made a mistake," the doctor said. "If he'd backed you up, -the judge might have agreed to a charge."</p> - -<p>"I kn-know," Willie said bitterly. "They're all in together."</p> - -<p>Pinky and the marshal reached the street ahead of them, Pinky angling -off toward the Pink Lady and Madrid going into the hotel. It was the -second time that morning that he had visited the hotel.</p> - -<p>Willie went to his room and stretched out on the bed. After a few -minutes, Madrid barged in without knocking. Willie didn't move from the -bed.</p> - -<p>"All right, cowboy," Madrid said. "I'll take that badge."</p> - -<p>Willie unpinned it and handed it over. Madrid stuffed it into the -pocket of his bright blue shirt.</p> - -<p>"You're all in together," Willie said. "You're a b-bunch of crooks in -together."</p> - -<p>"Now don't get me mad," Madrid said. "You're getting out of this lucky. -Get over and get your pay from Sam Lester. Then get your tail out of -town. Today."</p> - -<p>Willie said nothing. Madrid glared and said, "Do you understand that? -Today."</p> - -<p>Willie nodded.</p> - -<p>"If you aren't gone by dark, you'll get hurt. Hurt bad." Madrid turned -on his heel and went out.</p> - -<p>After a while Willie got up, walked to the townhouse, and knocked on -the door of Sam Lester's office. Sam seemed to be expecting him. He -plunked a little pile of gold and silver on his desk.</p> - -<p>"Sixty-six dollars," he said. "That includes a full day's pay for -today. Sign this, please."</p> - -<p>While Willie was signing the receipt, Sam added a double eagle to the -pile of money. "I understand you're leaving town," he said. "This is -for traveling expenses."</p> - -<p>Willie silently pocketed the money. He left the building and walked -around back to Persia's kitchen. Stella was dividing a batch of bread -dough into loaves and putting it into pans. He asked if Miss Persia was -in, and Stella said she was in the parlor.</p> - -<p>Willie found her seated at the secretary. "I been f-fired," he said.</p> - -<p>"I'm sorry," Persia said. "But there's nothing I can do, Willie. You -made a serious mistake."</p> - -<p>"You're in it, t-too! You're all in t-together!"</p> - -<p>"Would you like a letter of recommendation?" Persia said. "I'd be glad -to give you one. It might help you get another job."</p> - -<p>"I hoped you'd l-listen to my s-side of the s-story," Willie said.</p> - -<p>"Willie, you accused a member of the town council of a serious crime -without one speck of evidence. I'm sure it was an honest mistake, -but...."</p> - -<p>Willie put his back to her and walked out. Stella offered him a cup of -coffee and a piece of pie, and he ate silently, thanked her, and left.</p> - -<p>He marched straight across town and took the road to Vickers' camp.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XVI" id="XVI">XVI</a></h2> - - -<p>They had nothing to eat except the can of beans Muckamuck Charlie had -pocketed, some rock-hard biscuits from Tesno's saddlebags, and a few -trout snagged with a hook made from a horseshoe nail. Palma's trail -circled, zigzagged, doubled back. Surprisingly, he made no attempt -to ambush them—although they were slowed again and again as they -made roundabout approaches to places where he might be lying in wait. -Finally, it seemed a safe conclusion that he had used up his ammunition -sniping at horses and the boiler crew.</p> - -<p>On the afternoon of the second day, Charlie announced that Palma had -doubled back toward the road. He had entered a deep, cliff-guarded -valley that led nowhere else, Charlie said.</p> - -<p>Tesno felt a little stab of alarm. Could Palma plan to take another -crack at the boiler? Alone and without ammunition?</p> - -<p>Charlie didn't think this likely. "Hit road high up now," he said. -"Boiler <i>siah</i>. Far away."</p> - -<p>Still, the possibility couldn't be ignored. Tesno decided that they -would graze the horses for an hour and then ride all night.</p> - -<p>They came upon the road at midmorning. They had given up trying to -follow Palma's trail; they didn't know if he was still ahead of them or -if they had passed him in the night. Since Charlie knew Palma by sight, -Tesno sent him on up to Tunneltown.</p> - -<p>"If he shows up there, go see Ben Vickers," Tesno said. "Vickers. -Nobody else. He'll get word to me."</p> - -<p>He turned his tired horse down-grade as Charlie jogged off in the other -direction. He came upon the boiler two hours later, only a few miles -above Cle Elum. It was pulled off the road preparatory to another haul -by block and tackle. It had made only three miles the day before, -Rejack reported, and he guessed that was going to be about the average.</p> - -<p>"You look like you need a meal and a bed," he told Tesno.</p> - -<p>"The meal will help," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>He felt as if he were in danger of dropping in his tracks, but he -couldn't sleep—not yet. Even if Palma weren't lurking in the woods, -waiting his chance, there was the possibility that he would come riding -boldly down the road on his way to Ellensburg, believing himself still -ahead of Tesno. Of course, he might already have done that....</p> - -<p>A few minutes later, Tesno got a chance to check this latter -possibility. He was eating a plate of beans at the cook wagon when -Whisky Willie Silverknife came riding up the road from the direction of -Ellensburg. Tesno hailed him, and he rode over, not getting out of the -saddle.</p> - -<p>"I'm in a huh-hurry," he said. He was red-eyed and looked as sleepy as -Tesno felt. Three pairs of handcuffs dangled from his saddlehorn.</p> - -<p>Tesno asked if he had met anyone on the road who might be Palma. "I -don't rightly know what he looks like," Tesno said. "He's dressed like -a cowhand, and he might be wounded. Nothing very serious, but he might -have a bandaged arm, something like that."</p> - -<p>Willie hadn't seen him.</p> - -<p>"What are the handcuffs for?" Tesno asked. "Where have you been?"</p> - -<p>"I'm m-mad," Willie said. "M-Madrid fired me."</p> - -<p>"You're still wearing a badge."</p> - -<p>"T-take a g-good look at it. It's a county deputy's badge. Mr. Vickers -gave me a letter to the sheriff, and I rode down and g-got s-sworn in -this morning."</p> - -<p>"And you're going back and get even. Is that it?"</p> - -<p>"I'm going to close that Pink Lady up tight. I'm going to send Pinky -to p-prison. If Miss P-Persia gets hurt, too, I c-can't help it. She -wouldn't b-back me up."</p> - -<p>"Willie, you get off that horse and have some food," Tesno said. "I -want to hear about this."</p> - -<p>Willie sullenly dismounted and accepted a plate of beans. He gave -Tesno an account of his rescue of O'Hara, the hearing before Judge -Badger, his appeal to Persia. He pulled a folded paper from a hip -pocket and waved it in Tesno's face.</p> - -<p>"This is a wuh-huh-warrant for Pinky Bronklin's arrest, issued by the -district court."</p> - -<p>Tesno took the warrant and unfolded it. Willie produced an inch-thick -bundle of similar papers from the other hip pocket.</p> - -<p>"I got some m-more d-documents," Willie said. "Closing orders, -warrants, subpoenas. Some of them are b-blank. The district attorney -said to fill them in ac-c-cording to my j-judgment."</p> - -<p>Tesno muttered an exclamation as he read the warrant. "Looks like -you've got Pinky dead to rights," he said. "This charges him with -illegal possession of drugs, illegal administration of drugs, operating -a gambling hall.... That must have been some letter Ben wrote!"</p> - -<p>"The p-people down in Ellensburg are beg-g-ginning to take an interest -in Tunneltown," Willie said. "Teamsters and drummers and such have been -complaining."</p> - -<p>"How do you figure to prove this drug charge?"</p> - -<p>"J-jail Pinky, then search the place. I'll take Vickers' doctor with -me. Ch-chances are we'll find the kn-knockout drops."</p> - -<p>"Willie, you wait till I get back there before you start closing -saloons," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"N-not much. I figure to d-do it tonight. I'm m-m-mad."</p> - -<p>"You know that Persia is the principal owner of the Pink Lady?"</p> - -<p>"I can't help that. It's a rotten p-place and I'm going to sh-shut it -up."</p> - -<p>"Damned if I don't believe you're a bluenose," Tesno said. He said it -jovially; then reproach crept into his voice. "Damn it, Willie, it's -not a small thing to sit in judgment of others. You're mad. You've got -yourself some official backing. But you've no right to be high-handed."</p> - -<p>"My g-god! That from you?"</p> - -<p>"From me," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"You t-took it on yourself to judge everything and everybody in -Tunneltown the day you arrived."</p> - -<p>"I judged nobody," Tesno said. "I was just doing a job for pay."</p> - -<p>"You said this was a rotten town preying on Vickers' c-crew. You even -jailed the marshal. You said the hell with authority. Then Miss Persia -wrapped you around her f-finger like a Christmas ribbon. N-now you're -in with the rest of them!"</p> - -<p>"The town council agreed to go along with me, Willie. That changed -things."</p> - -<p>"M-maybe you don't know it," Willie said. "B-but it was the other w-way -around. Miss Persia rustled her skirts at you and you w-went along with -the town."</p> - -<p>"We'll leave Persia out of this," Tesno said with a steel edge of anger -in his voice.</p> - -<p>"We c-can't—even if you beat the peewallopus out of me. I g-guess you -could do it easy enough. You're tougher than anybody I kn-know." Willie -laid his plate on the tailgate and looked Tesno squarely in the eye. -"And you've g-got no more spine than a rag d-doll!"</p> - -<p>He put his back to Tesno, caught up his reins, and swung into the -saddle. He poised a rein end above his horse's rump and said, "I'm -m-mad. M-maybe I didn't m-mean all that."</p> - -<p>Tesno wanted to tell him to come back and finish his dinner. Instead, -he found himself saying gruffly, "You meant it. And be damned to you."</p> - -<p>The handcuffs hanging from Willie's saddlehorn clinked dully as he -pivoted the horse and headed back to the road at a trot.</p> - -<p>An hour later the boiler had been inched up the hillside and was back -on the road. Rejack called a halt just above a small bridge, and the -crew clustered around the cook wagon for a late dinner. Something about -the bridge interested Tesno; then suddenly he recognized it. He turned -his horse up the creek and followed it to the grassy place where he -had nooned on his first trip to Tunneltown, the place where Willie had -surprised him.</p> - -<p>He got off his horse and washed his face in the chill, singing water. -He stretched out in the soft grass then, knowing that he had to sleep -if only for an hour. Yet sleep did not come at once, and he lay staring -at a ragged patch of sky.</p> - -<p><i>I can stay till this boiler gets up to the job</i>, he thought. <i>I can do -that much for Ben. Then there's nothing to do but quit. I'm finished as -a troublebuster. Willie made me see that clearly enough.</i></p> - -<p>He had never really believed in the railroad; but he had taken his -living from it, and he had given what it asked in return.</p> - -<p>Willie had said he was tough. <i>I've made a profession of toughness, he -thought, but I've made it an honest profession. I've laid my life on -the line to do what I've been paid to do. That's all I've ever been, an -honest tough. It wasn't much, but it was something. Now I am a man in -love. And I am nothing at all.</i></p> - -<p>There was still the ranch he had dreamed of for so long—or was there? -Persia had spoiled that for him, he realized. In spite of her show of -interest, she would want no part of the modest spread he would have, of -the years of frugal living while he built up a herd. No, there was not -even that now. There was only the soft dream of a lovely woman whose -eager tenderness absorbed a man ... and left him nothing of himself.</p> - -<p>It was tenderness itself that was his enemy, he thought. He had -toughened the shell around his loneliness to the point of brittleness; -he had made himself defenseless against love for a woman when it had -finally come to him....</p> - -<p>He slept and woke and overtook the boiler a mile on its way. It was in -little danger, he judged, as long as it was rolling along the road. -And after another short pulley haul had been made with no attempt at -interference, he decided that Palma probably was not in the vicinity.</p> - -<p>That night he rolled up in his blankets under the wagon with the great -weight of the boiler above him. He slept deeply and was wakened by one -of the guards shining a lantern in his face. A messenger had arrived -with a note from Ben Vickers:</p> - -<blockquote> - -<p><i>Jack</i></p> - -<p><i>Some drunken Indian says I got to get a message to you, I can't make -out why. Something to do with a man named Palma.</i></p></blockquote> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XVII" id="XVII">XVII</a></h2> - - -<p>Persia Parker sat in her usual place at the head of the council table -and listened demurely while Sam Lester outlined a plan for the town to -issue scrip. She didn't know if the plan had originated with him or -with Mr. Jay. She didn't thoroughly understand it, but Sam had assured -her that there would be considerable advantage in it, if it was done -right.</p> - -<p>When Sam had finished speaking, she turned the meeting over to him and -left the room. This had been agreed on beforehand—there seemed to be -certain hidden profits in the plan that were best discussed in her -absence.</p> - -<p>She walked along the long hall and entered her parlor, halting in -surprise as a man rose slowly from the sofa.</p> - -<p>He was stocky, brute-faced, and wore a pointed blond mustache and -several days growth of pale stubble. He was dirty and looked exhausted. -There was a large dark stain on his jeans—a bloodstain. She felt a -little stab of panic.</p> - -<p>"There's a meeting in there," he said, gesturing with his hat toward -the other part of the building. "The door was open and I couldn't get -past to Lester's rooms, so I come in here."</p> - -<p>She recognized him now as one of the pair who had hidden in Sam's rooms -a few days ago. She had taken food up to them.</p> - -<p>"I got a bullet scratch on my leg," he said. "It wouldn't amount to -nothing if it had been took care of, but I been on the run three days. -It's got to be dressed. I got to have some food."</p> - -<p>He sank down heavily. A blood-stained bandage showed through a tear in -the faded cloth of his jeans. He would get the sofa dirty, she thought, -and she frowned her annoyance.</p> - -<p>"I'll go back to the meeting and close the door so you can get up to -Sam's quarters," she said.</p> - -<p>"My horse has got to be took care of. He's out back."</p> - -<p>"Tell Sam about it." She turned back toward the hall.</p> - -<p>"It's got to be done quick. I got two men on my tail."</p> - -<p>"<i>Two</i> men?"</p> - -<p>"I take one to be a Injun, the other Vickers' troublebuster."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Whisky Willie reached Tunneltown shortly after dark. He left his horse -at the livery, unhooked the handcuffs from his saddle and walked -stiffly to the marshal's office.</p> - -<p>Madrid was at his desk behind an oil can and a mound of rags, cleaning -his revolver. He leaped to his feet as Willie walked in and dumped the -handcuffs on the desk.</p> - -<p>"I told you, cowboy," Madrid said, swallowing his amazement. "I warned -you."</p> - -<p>"This is a c-c-county badge I'm wearing," Willie said.</p> - -<p>Madrid gaped at the badge. "What the hell are you trying to pull?"</p> - -<p>Willie drew the stack of papers from his hip pocket, selected one and -slapped it on the desk. "That's the document that goes with the badge, -Marshal. You better read it. The sheriff of Kittitas County requests -that you give me the use of your jail and your c-co-operation."</p> - -<p>Madrid made a shaky try at seeming amused. "You really pulled this off, -kid?"</p> - -<p>"You know what c-co-operation means? It means you try to interfere -j-just once and I'll jail you like T-Tesno did."</p> - -<p>Madrid slid shells into his revolver and dropped it into his holster. -Grabbing his hat from a peg in the wall, he left the office without -another word. Willie watched him from the doorway till he entered the -hotel, then followed.</p> - -<p>When Willie entered the lobby, it was empty except for the clerk, who -was sorting mail.</p> - -<p>"Where d-did the m-marshal go?" Willie demanded.</p> - -<p>"I thought you got f-f-fired," the clerk said insolently.</p> - -<p>Willie picked up an inkwell and smashed it on the floor at the clerk's -feet. The clerk opened his mouth in outrage, but he saw Willie's hard -little black eyes and said nothing at all.</p> - -<p>"I asked a q-qu-question," Willie said. "I want a b-better answer."</p> - -<p>"Third floor, I guess. That's where he usually goes."</p> - -<p>"Who's on the th-third floor?"</p> - -<p>The clerk consulted a chart. "Jackson, Dockeray, Smith, Jay, Lewis, -Mann, Parce, Oliver...."</p> - -<p>"Who's permanent?"</p> - -<p>"Mr. Jay keeps his rooms on a monthly basis. He's the only one on that -floor who does."</p> - -<p>"Th-thanks."</p> - -<p>Willie marched out of the hotel and made straight for the Pink Lady. -Pinky Bronklin, who was working the far end of the bar, called loudly -to the barkeep who stepped up to serve Willie.</p> - -<p>"Tell him we don't serve Injuns!"</p> - -<p>"You an Injun?" the barkeep said and immediately moved away.</p> - -<p>Feeling the eyes of the crowd center on him, Willie pushed away from -the bar and walked down to where Pinky was.</p> - -<p>"Get the hell out of my place," Pinky said.</p> - -<p>"T-take a good l-look at my badge," Willie said. "You're t-talking to a -county deputy."</p> - -<p>Pinky scowled at the badge. His eyes lifted to Willie's face. He opened -his mouth to speak, thought better of it, and abruptly turned his back.</p> - -<p>Willie moved up the bar, pulled the wad of papers from his pocket, and -threw one of these on the bar with a slap that brought Pinky around.</p> - -<p>"The Pink Lady is closed as of right now!" Willie proclaimed. -"Everybody out!"</p> - -<p>Pinky unfolded the paper and dropped it like something hot. He motioned -to the barkeep nearest the door. "Get Madrid here! Quick!"</p> - -<p>"B-bring Mr. Jay with him," Willie said.</p> - -<p>Pinky gave Willie a sick, sagging stare. Willie began to herd customers -into the street. Two minutes later the place was empty except for -Pinky, one barkeep, and the dealers. Willie waited while Pinky checked -in the cash and stowed it into the safe. Then he dismissed everybody -except Pinky.</p> - -<p>"J-jail for you t-tonight. T-tomorrow I'm taking you to Ellensburg."</p> - -<p>He marched the saloonkeeper into the marshal's office, finding that -Madrid hadn't returned. He locked him into the cell, pocketed the key, -and returned to the street.</p> - -<p>A weariness rose in him now. The worst was over, he guessed. In the -morning, he would take Vickers' doctor to the Pink Lady and they would -search it for knockout drops....</p> - -<p>Something moved against the dark wall ahead of him. He stopped stark -still. A man stepped out of the shadows, staggering a little. Willie -brushed past, smelling whisky; then he whirled in surprise at hearing -himself addressed in the Yakima tongue.</p> - -<p>"It is Silverknife, the grandson of my mother's brother."</p> - -<p>Willie peered closely at the dark face. He, too, spoke in Yakima, -stuttering not nearly so badly as he did in English.</p> - -<p>"It is Red Iron of the Kilickitats. He sees better in the darkness than -I, even when he is drunk."</p> - -<p>Muckamuck Charlie touched Willie's badge admiringly. "It seems you have -become a <i>tyee</i> among the white men. But then you have their blood."</p> - -<p>"What are you doing here?" Willie asked.</p> - -<p>"I am to be given <i>chikamin</i> for watching a man...."</p> - -<p>Willie listened tensely while Charlie explained about being hired by -Tesno, their pursuit of Palma, and his coming alone to Tunneltown. -Charlie had taken it upon himself to examine the hoofs of all the -horses in the livery barn, and he had found the animal whose shoe marks -he had been following for three days. So Palma was here, and Charlie -had been watching the street for him. He had discovered a place where -an Indian could buy whisky, so he had been able to keep his stomach -warm while he watched.</p> - -<p>"Did you ask the man at the livery about the horse?" Willie said.</p> - -<p>"It was not brought in by Palma but by a <i>tyee</i> of the town who lives -in the big house with two doors. The one called Sam Lester. You got -whisky?"</p> - -<p>Willie took him to a restaurant and bought him a meal, tapping his -badge when the waitress protested about serving Indians. Charley said -he would sleep in the livery barn, where he could keep an eye on the -horse. Reluctantly, Willie lent him a dollar for a stomach-warmer.</p> - -<p>Willie went to his room and crawled into his sagging cot. He sank -almost at once into thick slumber. The door to his room was without a -lock, and he did not hear it open. Nor was he disturbed by the dark, -cat-careful figure that stole about the room.</p> - -<p>When he woke at daylight, his badge was missing—along with his -precious stack of court papers.</p> - -<p>He went at once to the marshal's office and found it deserted. The cell -door stood open. Its padlock—picked or forced—lay on the floor. Pinky -Bronklin was gone.</p> - -<p>Willie sank down at the desk, feeling foolish. Without evidence of -authority, he was nothing. Pinky Bronklin would laugh in his face. If -he rode back to Ellensburg and reported what had happened, they were -likely to laugh at him there, too. He asked himself what Tesno would -do. <i>Damn it, he would go ahead anyway. He never did have authority.</i></p> - -<p>When Willie returned to the street, the town was coming to life. Stores -and saloons were opening. Workers from the night shift trudged the -boardwalk, hunched against the early chill. The big door behind the -Pink Lady's batwings had been swung wide....</p> - -<p>Willie found Ben Vickers at the cookhouse, bent over a stack of -flapjacks. Ben listened eager-eyed as Willie outlined a plan.</p> - -<p>Ten minutes later Willie entered the supply building and handed the -clerk a note signed by Ben. The clerk issued one stick of dynamite, one -cap, one fuse. Willie fitted on the cap and fuse, shoved the dynamite -into a hip pocket and walked back to town.</p> - -<p>There were two customers at the Pink Lady bar. One faro game was going -with three players at the table. Pinky Bronklin sat nearby and sipped -coffee. "We don't serve Injuns!" he called when he saw Willie.</p> - -<p>Willie stepped up to the bar. "I want a cigar," he said. He faced -Pinky. "Two more charges against you. J-jailbreaking. Failure to obey a -c-c-closing order."</p> - -<p>"You b-been warned," he said.</p> - -<p>Customers, faro dealer, and barkeep plunged for the door, colliding -as they reached it, careening into the street. Pinky Bronklin seemed -petrified. When he managed to speak, he stuttered worse than Willie.</p> - -<p>"Y-you c-can't b-bluff me," Pinky said.</p> - -<p>"Who's b-bluffing?" Willie said.</p> - -<p>He touched the cigar to the fuse, which began to sputter merrily. He -gave the stick of dynamite another flip in the air as Pinky tore for -the batwings with hands straight out in front of him and hit the street -screaming for Madrid.</p> - -<p>Willie waited till the fuse had burned down a bit; then he laid -the dynamite on the bar and strolled through the door. A crowd was -gathering a little way down the street. Pinky had almost reached the -marshal's office and was gesturing wildly to Madrid, who was coming out -of it. They both started toward the Pink Lady at a trot.</p> - -<p>Willie met Pinky head on and spun him around.</p> - -<p>"B-back to that cell," Willie said. "This t-time, I'm going to handcuff -you to the b-bunk."</p> - -<p>The roar shook the town. Afterward, there was a lingering tinkle of -falling glass. Kind of like music, Willie thought.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XVIII" id="XVIII">XVIII</a></h2> - - -<p>Stella stood by the swinging door that led from the kitchen into the -dining room and pushed it open a few inches. This enabled her to hear -much of what was said in the living room.</p> - -<p>She didn't often eavesdrop. But judging from the way Mr. Jay, Mr. -Madrid and Mr. Lester had descended on Persia all at once, they -considered themselves up against crisis, which was almost certain to -concern Willie. Stella had sort of a crush on Willie, even though he -never gave her any real encouragement.</p> - -<p>Mr. Jay was doing most of the talking. The way his voice rose and fell, -Stella judged he was pacing the floor.</p> - -<p>"I have failed completely in my efforts to buy the tunnel contract," -he was saying. "This is due largely to the stupidity of people I have -paid to help me. I have spent a tidy sum on the project, and I'm not -giving up. If I don't get the contract, at least I have the town, and -I will make it pay as never before. I don't intend to be stopped by -this ridiculous little clown who has got the authorities in Ellensburg -interested in us."</p> - -<p>Stella snorted softly. Mr. Jay talked as if he were God, she thought.</p> - -<p>"I have a plan for getting those authorities off our backs," he -went on. "It is simple enough. Persia and the council will publicly -recognize that Tunneltown has got out of hand. They will ask a man of -position and integrity to take over and clean up the mess. This man -will be me. The council will call the election that it has postponed. I -shall be elected mayor.</p> - -<p>"Of course, it must not be known that I am—for all practical -purposes—the proprietor of the town. I will confer with the -politicians as an outsider brought in in an emergency. I assure you I -can handle them. The sure way to make a politician lose interest in -anything is to try to interest him in it." Mr. Jay paused and there was -a low, dutiful surge of laughter.</p> - -<p>"What about Pinky?" Mr. Madrid asked. "Like I told you, Willie means to -take him to Ellensburg for trial."</p> - -<p>"We can't permit this to happen. With his jail record and all those -charges against him, the prosecuting attorney is likely to offer him a -deal—and Pinky will tell all he knows about me."</p> - -<p>Persia spoke now for the first time. "How can we avoid this, Mr. Jay?"</p> - -<p>"Willie has shown himself to be a reckless fool," Mr. Jay said. "A -regrettable accident is quite within the realm of possibility."</p> - -<p>"He's lost his badge and papers," Madrid said. "As far as I'm -concerned, he has no business taking Pinky out of town, I'll stop -him—for good."</p> - -<p>"No," Persia said. "I don't want that."</p> - -<p>"It mustn't happen in town," Mr. Jay said. "That would require a great -deal of awkward explaining. It must happen on the road. Pinky Bronklin -will have a concealed gun and will make his escape."</p> - -<p>"What will happen to Willie?" Persia asked.</p> - -<p>"That's in the lap of the gods," Mr. Jay said quickly.</p> - -<p>"I don't think you mean that," Persia said. "You mean to have Willie -killed. I won't agree to that."</p> - -<p>"My dear." Mr. Jay's tone was tiredly patient. "Must I remind you that -you are the principal owner of the Pink Lady? A few repairs, a new -stock of liquor, and you'll be in business again—if Willie does <i>not</i> -get to Ellensburg. If he does you'll lose your license—and that'll be -the least of it. You'll quite possibly have to face charges yourself."</p> - -<p>A door slammed and there was the clump of boots as newcomers came in -from the other part of the building. There was a great deal of stirring -around and exclaiming. Then Stella gasped as Willie's voice rose above -the others.</p> - -<p>"I found this r-rascal upstairs in Mr. Lester's rooms. I'm t-told he's -wanted for b-boiler-wrecking and such. I'm arresting him and taking -him to Ellensburg along with Pinky."</p> - -<p>There was a great deal of confused talk then, and Stella could sift -nothing out of it. She knew that a stranger had spent the night in Sam -Lester's quarters, but she had not seen him. Willie must have barged up -there and arrested him, she realized.</p> - -<p>She got a glimpse of Willie and his prisoner as they passed the dining -room doorway on their way to the front door. Madrid and Mr. Jay came -into view behind them. Madrid had his hand on his gun, but Mr. Jay gave -him a look and a quick little shake of the head. The front door slammed -heavily, and Willie and his prisoner were gone.</p> - -<p>"He's gone crazy!" Madrid said. "Plumb paper-doll crazy!"</p> - -<p>"Actually, it's working out well," Mr. Jay said. "With <i>two</i> prisoners -to guard, Willie will be taking a foolish risk. A break will be that -much more plausible. Don't you agree, Persia?"</p> - -<p>"I don't want anything to do with it," Persia said, a languid thickness -in her voice. "I don't even want to hear about it."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Mr. Jay and Madrid walked together to the main street.</p> - -<p>"I've already got a horse for you," Mr. Jay said. "It's tied behind the -hotel."</p> - -<p>"Must say you think of everything," Madrid muttered.</p> - -<p>"This must look like a break—surely you understand that. Don't forget -to take an extra gun."</p> - -<p>"What for? If one of the prisoners had a hidden gun, he'd take it away -with him, wouldn't he?" Madrid protested.</p> - -<p>"Palma and Bronklin have to go, too, Pete."</p> - -<p>They walked in silence for a few yards, Madrid staring at the ground. -"I guess I can do it," he said somberly. "But three of 'em!"</p> - -<p>Mr. Jay halted suddenly and pointed at a rider who had just entered the -town and was swinging into the road to Vickers' camp. "Tesno!" Madrid -said.</p> - -<p>"He's headed for the camp," Mr. Jay said. "If Willie gets out of here -with his prisoners without meeting him, there's no need to change our -plan."</p> - -<p>Five minutes later, wearing a coat over his blue and white silk shirt, -carrying an extra revolver in his pocket, Madrid rode quietly out of -town.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Muckamuck Charlie woke to the sound of an argument below him. He lay -almost completely submerged in hay. His head ached. He was feeling -<i>sick tumtum</i>. He felt around in the hay for a bottle and found none. -He asked himself where he was and what he was doing here. After a -moment, he remembered he was watching a horse.</p> - -<p>Slowly, stifling groans, he worked himself out of the hay to his -hands and knees and peered over the edge of the loft. He saw with -satisfaction that Palma's horse was still in its stall. Nearby, two men -were arguing. One was the stableman. The other was Willie Silverknife.</p> - -<p>As near as Charlie could make it out, Willie wanted to take the horse, -but the stableman wouldn't let him without permission from the man who -had brought it in. Charlie got to his feet. Teeteringly, he worked his -way along the edge of the loft to a ladder. By the time he reached its -bottom, the argument had stopped. Willie seemed to have settled for -three other horses, which he and the stableman were saddling.</p> - -<p>When he saw Charlie, Willie said, "Ho!" and made a joke in English -which Charlie didn't understand.</p> - -<p>"<i>Sick tumtum</i>," Charlie said. "You got whisky?" Willie swung a saddle -to the back of a horse, and Charlie saw that his hip pockets were -empty. "You got dollar?"</p> - -<p>"I have taken your man, your Palma," Willie said, speaking now in -the Yakima tongue. He gave the horse a punch in the ribs to make him -deflate himself, then he tightened the cinch. "He is in the jailhouse. -I will take him to Ellensburg."</p> - -<p>Charlie absorbed this silently. Willie went on to say that he expected -to meet Tesno on the road. He said Charlie ought to ride along with -him, if he was able, and rejoin Tesno.</p> - -<p>Charlie replied that he had a great sickness in his head and stomach, -was having trouble seeing clearly, and was quite likely going to die -unless he could get hold of some whisky. Besides, Willie's capture of -Palma put an end to Charlie's responsibility in the matter, and he -might as well get drunk.</p> - -<p>Willie said crisply that he would lend no more money. Charlie retired -to an empty stall and sat down. The livery man caught the reins of -Willie's horse and led it outside. All at once, Charlie was aware of a -young white woman in the barn. She had appeared so miraculously that -Charlie considered the possibility she might be a spirit, but Willie -seemed to know her.</p> - -<p>"Stella!" he said.</p> - -<p>"Villie," she said in strangely accented English, "you must not leave. -They vill kill you. I heard them."</p> - -<p>"Now just c-calm d-down," Willie said. "What did you hear?"</p> - -<p>"Marshal Madrid said he vould stop you from leaving town. I think he -meant he vould kill you. Mr. Yay, he said no. He said it vould happen -on the road. The prisoner vould have a gun and escape. You vould be -dead, I think. At first, it vas only vun prisoner. Then you took the -other vun. Mr. Yay said so much the better...."</p> - -<p>Stella was extremely excited, and her accent made it doubly hard for -Muckamuck Charlie to understand what she was talking about. He gathered -that she was warning Willie someone would kill him if he tried to take -Palma to Ellensburg, but Charlie doubted that this could be taken -literally. She probably wanted to keep Willie in town for reasons of -her own. It was disappointing to see that Willie was sobered by her -jabbering.</p> - -<p>"Thanks, S-Stella," Willie said.</p> - -<p>"You'll not go?"</p> - -<p>"I g-guess I'll go. I'll be as safe on the road as I am in t-town. But -I'll search those prisoners before I start out, Stella."</p> - -<p>Willie touched her elbow and they walked together through the big barn -door into the sunlight. Charlie got up and watched Willie ride to the -marshal's office, leading the two extra horses. Stella hurried off -toward the big house behind the town. Willie went into the office and -reappeared with two handcuffed prisoners. All three mounted and rode -out of town.</p> - -<p>The sight of Palma stirred an ugly hatred in Charlie and a fear for -Willie. True, Willie had a gun in his belt and the prisoners were -handcuffed. But Jim Palma was a strong and wily man. He had stomped -that Umatilla boy to death down at Selah, and Charlie had heard other -bad things about him. He wasn't sure that Willie was a match for Palma. -Maybe that jabbering squaw was right, after all, Charlie thought.</p> - -<p>He made his way up a cleared hillside above town, feeling a little -better as he walked. He had staked his horse up here—no sense in -wasting whisky money on a livery fee. After a day's grazing, the animal -looked to be in fair condition. Saddle and bridle were in a clump of -brush where Charlie had cached them. He fought a brief battle with the -temptation to sell these for whisky money; then he saddled up and cut -behind the town to the Ellensburg road.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XIX" id="XIX">XIX</a></h2> - - -<p>Tesno made his report to Ben, listened in amazement to the contractor's -account of Willie's closing of the Pink Lady, and they rode to the town -and the townhouse.</p> - -<p>Stella answered his knock. Instead of her usual dignified reception, -she greeted him with emotion.</p> - -<p>"Mr. Tesno! Did you meet Villie? He has gone to Ellensburg."</p> - -<p>"Jack!" Persia darted into the hall and threw herself into his arms. -She led him into the parlor, asking Stella to leave them alone.</p> - -<p>Stella went into the dining room—Tesno had a feeling that she did not -go on to the kitchen. Persia pulled him down beside her on the sofa, -and he found himself holding her hand.</p> - -<p>"So much has happened!" she said. "Did you hear about Willie? They say -he has lost his mind. After all I did for him, Jack, he—"</p> - -<p>"Persia, I'm looking for a man named Palma. Is he here?"</p> - -<p>"That must be the man Willie arrested," she said quickly. "He came -barging in here with a stranger and did some wild talking. I was -meeting with ... some people. Willie said something about taking this -man to Ellensburg with Mr. Bronklin."</p> - -<p>"And they have already left?"</p> - -<p>"I'm sure I don't know."</p> - -<p>"They have left," Stella said, appearing in the dining room doorway. -She drew herself up very straight. "I varned him, Mrs. Parker. I told -him that Mr. Yay planned to have him killed. He said he vould be all -right, but I am afraid. Vill he be all right, Mr. Tesno?"</p> - -<p>"Stella, you have apparently been eavesdropping!" Persia said with -an icy anger in her voice. "That is bad enough. But you've twisted -everything you heard into a perfectly outlandish story. Stella, have -you a crush on Willie? Is that why—"</p> - -<p>"I have twisted nothing," Stella asserted. "It vas a plan they vere -making, Mr. Tesno, Mr. Yay and the marshal. Mrs. Parker said no, she -didn't vant it. I give her credit for that. After vile, she said she -didn't vant to hear about it. She don't really care what they do, Mr. -Tesno."</p> - -<p>"Stella, you <i>liar</i>!" Persia was on her feet. Her eyes were blazing. -There were shocking angry lines in her face. "You get out of this -house! Immediately!"</p> - -<p>"Yes, ma'am," Stella said.</p> - -<p>"Wait," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>Rising, he touched Persia's elbow, and she flounced violently away from -him. For just a second or two, she pressed both palms to her face. Then -she made a desperate effort at control, composing her voice but not -getting the searing anger out of her eyes.</p> - -<p>"I didn't mean that, Stella," she said. "You <i>misunderstood</i> what you -heard, and you've let your imagination run away with you."</p> - -<p>"No, ma'am, I heard it straight. It vas a plan."</p> - -<p>Persia turned away in exasperation. "What a day!" she said.</p> - -<p>Tesno took her firmly by the shoulders and met her eyes. She lowered -them and would have come against him, but he held her off. "Persia, I -want the truth. From you. Is there a plan to kill Willie?"</p> - -<p>"How do I know? They're hard men. There's a great deal at stake and—I -told them I would have nothing to do with it!"</p> - -<p>"Yes," Stella said. "She told them that. She said she didn't even vant -to know about it."</p> - -<p>Persia whirled and walked to the stairway. She halted there, face in -hands; but he did not follow.</p> - -<p>"I am afraid for Villie, Mr. Tesno," Stella said.</p> - -<p>"How long ago did he leave?"</p> - -<p>"Yust before you came. Ten, fifteen minutes."</p> - -<p>Tesno regarded her gloomily. "I'll go after him," he said. He strode -swiftly to the front door, and it closed heavily behind him.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XX" id="XX">XX</a></h2> - - -<p>Willie's prisoners rode half a length ahead of him up the steep road -out of the gulch. He had searched them both and found no hidden weapon. -Both were handcuffed. He had assured them that if either made a false -move, he was going to shoot. He meant it and they knew he meant it.</p> - -<p>Still, the fact that he had got out of town with no challenge from -Madrid seemed to confirm Stella's warning that there would be an escape -try on the road. The marshal and Mr. Jay weren't going to let him get -this pair of dandies to Ellensburg if they could stop it.</p> - -<p>They crossed the first ridge and began a long, angling descent. -Willie's eyes scoured the timber ahead for any sign of life. Now and -then he raised himself in the saddle and glanced back. As they neared a -bend in the road after a long straight stretch, he saw that a rider was -following them.</p> - -<p>He was a good quarter-mile away, and he was keeping his horse at a -fast trot. He didn't look like Madrid, but Willie was afraid to take -his eyes off his prisoners long enough to study him carefully. As they -rounded the bend, Willie concocted a plan.</p> - -<p>The road bore sharply to the right here. Half a mile below, it crossed -a creek and then slanted back up the side of a massive range of hills -and through a little saddle between peaks. Out of sight of the man -behind them now, Willie ordered Palma and Bronklin to pull into the -trees to the left.</p> - -<p>It seemed to him that they could cut cross-country and reach the road -again as it climbed the hills ahead. The riding would be rough, steep, -and slow; they would gain no time by the shortcut. But the chances were -that the man behind them wouldn't see their tracks leaving the road -here—only Indians were apt to notice such things along a well traveled -road. He probably wouldn't miss them till he had reached the bottom of -the valley and crossed the creek. There was a straight piece of road -there and he would suddenly find that they were no longer ahead of him. -He would turn back to discover where he had lost them. At least, Willie -hoped he would. He would eventually find their sign and follow it. But -by that time Willie and the prisoners would be back on the road a mile -and a half ahead. There was a ragcamp a bit farther along which they -could reach without fear of being overtaken. Willie planned no further -ahead than that.</p> - -<p>Weaving through the big evergreens made keeping an eye on both -prisoners difficult. When they were well off the road, Willie called -a halt. While Palma and Pinky jeered and grumbled, he quickly cut a -length of picket rope and tied the bridle of one of their horses to the -tail of the other. Thus they were forced to travel pack-train fashion -and keep together.</p> - -<p>They wound sharply down-grade, dodging branches, holding the horses to -a walk on Willie's order. The creek was deep and its banks were thick -with brush and jutting dead-falls, but they finally found a ford and -crossed. Then they worked up through forest again and came suddenly -upon the road. They rounded the first bend and ran smack into Madrid, -who was sitting his horses and waiting.</p> - -<p>He was a scant ten yards away. He had been watching, had seen them -first, and had his revolver in hand. If they had hit the road a hundred -yards beyond this bend, they would have avoided him, Willie thought. As -it was, he was beaten, and he knew it. He thought of wheeling his horse -around and making a run for it. But he knew he would never make it. -That revolver in Madrid's hand would drop him at twice the distance.</p> - -<p>Pinky and Palma, still riding in file with Pinky ahead, had reined up. -Willie kicked his horse forward and jumped it into Palma's. This sent -the horses of both prisoners into a dance, and Madrid had to rein out -of the way. Willie made a grab for his gun but barely got it clear of -his belt. Swinging his horse aside with one hand, Madrid pointed his -gun at the sky with the other, leveled it with a gentle chopping motion -and fired. Willie coughed and teetered out of the saddle to the road. -His startled horse trotted ahead of the others, and Madrid casually -leaned over and caught the reins.</p> - -<p>Pinky and Palma calmed their horses and regarded the motionless figure -below them. Palma was the first to speak.</p> - -<p>"And that'll be that," he said. He got down from the saddle with his -manacles hands held awkwardly in front of him and unfastened the rope -that held his horse to Pinky's. "I'll get the key off him," he said -then and walked toward Willie's body. Madrid made the chopping motion -with the gun again and shot him squarely between the shoulder blades.</p> - -<p>Pinky stared in open-mouthed astonishment. He grinned shakily and said, -"What's my move, Pete? Go back with you or skidoo?"</p> - -<p>"Neither," Madrid said, speaking for the first time. He raised the gun -again, and Pinky understood.</p> - -<p>"Pete ... wait...."</p> - -<p>"So long, cowboy," Madrid said as he pulled the trigger.</p> - -<p>He drew the extra gun from his coat pocket, fired it in the air, and -tossed it to the ground near Pinky. Dismounting he recovered Willie's -gun, fired it twice, and dropped it near Willie. In the saddle again, -he led the horses up and down the road past the bodies several times to -assure a hopeless confusion of tracks. He then rounded the bend, left -the road and headed through the forest toward Tunneltown. It wouldn't -do to be seen on the road.</p> - -<p>As soon as he was out of sight, Muckamuck Charlie emerged from the -trees, leading his horse. He walked round the bend and, having heard -the shots, was not surprised by what he found there. Mumbling to -himself, he bent over each man and assured himself they were all dead.</p> - -<p>Lifting Willie's body under the arms, he dragged it to the side of the -road and straightened it out so it looked comfortable.</p> - -<p>"You were a <i>tyee</i> among them," he said in Yakima.</p> - -<p>He climbed on his horse thinking that it was a bad business for an -Indian to get mixed up in white men's quarrels. He knew of only one -white man who would believe him when he told what he had seen. Tesno, -as far as he knew, was still with the boiler—or maybe on his way to -Tunneltown in response to Vickers' message. Charlie headed his horse -eastward—toward Ellensburg—and rode away.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Prodding a tired horse, Tesno heard the shots distantly. He kicked the -animal into a lope, couldn't hold him there, settled for a wobbly trot. -A few minutes later, he met a riderless horse jogging along toward -Tunneltown, head held high to keep dragging reins from underfoot. He -waved an arm, turning the horse, and hazed it ahead of him. Almost at -once, two more horses appeared with empty saddles. With a sense of -disaster gnawing at him, he turned these, too.</p> - -<p>He had an instant of hope when he first saw Willie stretched out beside -the road; but even before he dismounted and knelt beside the boy, this -faded. Willie was dead. Mr. Jay and Madrid had planned it. Persia might -have stopped it and didn't....</p> - -<p>He had seen his share of death; mostly, he had turned away from it with -a shrug and maybe a muttered prayer, as a man must. Now he remembered -the first he had seen, that of a childhood playmate, how he couldn't -believe it, and this was like that. He brushed mud from Willie's face -with his fingers; he looked around at the road and the forest and the -sky. Willie was gone; but the world that he was a part of went on, -and he was not gone. It seemed as if the cloak of Time were lifted -momentarily and the illusion of past, present, and future dispelled.</p> - -<p><i>Nobody ever dies</i>, he thought. <i>Everything we are, everything we do, -everything we've ever done, good and bad, goes on forever.</i></p> - -<p>This struck him sharply, fleetingly. The cloak fell again, and he was -angry.</p> - -<p>He searched the ground, examined the guns. It looked as if one of the -prisoners had had a hidden gun. He had pulled it and shot Willie, who -had lived long enough to kill them both. That was how it looked, Tesno -thought, but that wasn't how it was. There were three empty shells in -the two guns. He had heard six shots.</p> - -<p>He spent another half hour at the scene, studying it, learning little -from the hodgepodge of tracks but fixing every detail in his mind. A -train of freight wagons came lumbering along the road then, bound for -Tunneltown. The crew found tarpaulins in which to wrap the bodies and -stowed them on top of their loads.</p> - -<p>When Tesno asked if they had met anyone within the last few miles, -several of the drivers shook their heads. Then one remembered.</p> - -<p>"Just an Injun," he said. "Old Muckamuck Charlie who works at the Cle -Elum mill."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XXI" id="XXI">XXI</a></h2> - - -<p>Tesno herded the riderless horses through town to the livery barn. He -briefly questioned the attendant, then rode back down the street. He -intended to go at once to Vickers' camp; but in front of the marshal's -office, a thing happened that changed his mind.</p> - -<p>The freighters were unloading the canvas-shrouded bodies here, carrying -them into the office. A little crowd was gathering on the walk, and -Madrid stood at the front of it. Tesno maneuvered his horse between -wagons and stopped directly before the marshal. Silence washed over the -crowd. For a moment neither man spoke. Then Tesno said, "I found the -bodies."</p> - -<p>"Why tell me?" Madrid said. "It didn't happen in my jurisdiction."</p> - -<p>"Not interested?"</p> - -<p>Madrid shrugged. "It's all plain enough. One of the prisoners had a -gun. They shot it out. They—"</p> - -<p>Mr. Jay stepped out of the crowd. He touched Madrid's elbow without -looking at him, and the marshal fell silent.</p> - -<p>"Is that what it looked like to you, Mr. Tesno?" Mr. Jay asked.</p> - -<p>"No."</p> - -<p>"Mr. Tesno I have been asked to run for mayor of this town." Mr. -Jay raised his voice for the crowd. "Before I accept, I shall visit -Ellensburg and assure myself of the support and the co-operation of -the authorities there. I should like to be able to give them the facts -about this tragedy. Will you step into the marshal's office and tell me -everything you know?"</p> - -<p>"It was an ambush. That's all I'll say now."</p> - -<p>"Can you prove that, Mr. Tesno?"</p> - -<p>"When the time comes, Mr. Jay."</p> - -<p>"I was under the impression that you wanted to give the marshal -details."</p> - -<p>"I wanted to see if he was interested," Tesno said. "He wasn't."</p> - -<p>Mr. Jay threw back his head so that his trim little beard seemed to -be pointed up at Tesno. There were hollow circles about his eyes, and -Tesno thought that the brilliance in them was not entirely the result -of emotion. He realized suddenly that the man was under a strain that -amounted to illness. Yet his brazen assurance was a formidable thing.</p> - -<p>"I don't understand your hostility, sir," Mr. Jay said.</p> - -<p>"Willie Silverknife is dead, Mr. Jay. The men who killed him will -answer to me."</p> - -<p>Mr. Jay glared. "Did <i>you</i> kill him, Mr. Tesno?"</p> - -<p>You had to give the man credit. All he had left was a desperate -bluff—and a steely confidence in himself.</p> - -<p>"You know better," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"My information is that this man Palma tried to wreck Vickers' boiler -a few days ago," Mr. Jay said loudly. "You killed his partner. You -were trailing him. You and Pinky Bronklin were old enemies. Willie -Silverknife wanted these men alive. Did you want them dead, Mr. Tesno?"</p> - -<p>"I'll have my proof when I need it," Tesno muttered.</p> - -<p>"I have no authority yet," Mr. Jay went on. "But let me warn you. -Keep out of the town and its affairs. If I hear of any more of your -blustering and bullying here, I'll insist that the marshal stop it."</p> - -<p>Tesno grinned and gave a little toss of his head. He understood that -Mr. Jay was offering a challenge rather than a warning.</p> - -<p>"I'm going to close your town down tight, Mr. Jay," he said.</p> - -<p>He backed his horse from between the wagons and jogged down the street -to the Silver Slipper. He tied the horse and went in, knowing that -Madrid and Jay were watching.</p> - -<p>The proprietor, who was a member of the town council, was sitting in a -poker game. Tesno stood behind him till a hand was finished.</p> - -<p>"You want something?" the saloonkeeper asked testily. He was a bald man -with a vacant, puppy-dog face.</p> - -<p>"I'm closing the Silver Slipper," Tesno said mildly. "You have until -tomorrow noon to move out."</p> - -<p>"You're <i>what</i>?"</p> - -<p>"I'm not going to argue about it. Get your stock out by then or it will -be smashed."</p> - -<p>The man spread his hands and looked appealing at the others at the -table. He turned his eyes up to Tesno again and said, "Look, I've got a -territorial license. You can't—"</p> - -<p>"Tomorrow noon."</p> - -<p>Tesno pivoted and walked out. He rode up the street toward the Big -Barrel, passing the marshal's office again. The freight wagons had -moved on, but a little crowd was still there. Mr. Jay stood in the -doorway of the office.</p> - -<p>Tesno delivered similar ultimatums to the proprietors of the Big Barrel -and the Western Star. Then he rode to the townhouse.</p> - -<p>He dismounted at the back of the building and entered the kitchen. -Stella was sitting at the table, staring vacantly at the raw materials -for dinner. The news of Willie's death had already reached her.</p> - -<p>"I was too late," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"He vas a decent man," Stella said, speaking very slowly. "Maybe a -little crazy, like they say, but decent."</p> - -<p>"Stella, I want you to come with me."</p> - -<p>"Mrs. Parker says I am not to leave the house. I am scared by the vay -she said it."</p> - -<p>"You're leaving right now," he said. "We'll send somebody for your -things later."</p> - -<p>She took his hand dazedly, and he led her outside. He mounted his -horse, swung her up behind the saddle, and took her straight to -Vickers' camp.</p> - -<p>Keef O'Hara was with Ben Vickers in his cabin. They had just heard of -Willie's murder and were full of angry questions. They nodded politely -to Stella, not guessing the purpose of her presence and plainly -considering it an intrusion. Tesno held a chair for her and explained.</p> - -<p>"Ben, I want you to put her up here at the camp. She isn't safe in -town."</p> - -<p>"Here?" Ben said doubtfully. "There isn't a woman in camp. We have no -suitable place."</p> - -<p>"Then make one, Ben. She heard Jay and Madrid planning to kill Willie."</p> - -<p>Ben whirled to confront her. "You <i>heard</i> them?"</p> - -<p>Frightened and ill-at-ease, Stella haltingly told what she had heard. -When she had finished, Ben Vickers was grimly silent. He turned to his -work table and stood toying with some papers there, his back to the -others.</p> - -<p>"Good lass!" Keef O'Hara said. "Say that in court and we'll see Jay and -Madrid hang as high as Mount Tacoma."</p> - -<p>"It won't be that easy," Tesno said. "There were other witnesses to -that conversation. They would probably swear to a different version, -make it seem that Stella misunderstood."</p> - -<p>"Jay didn't have to kill," Ben Vickers said darkly. "He was a good -engineer. This is a rough business. We've all been ruthless at times, I -guess. But outright murder...."</p> - -<p>O'Hara nodded sharply. "Sure, it makes a man wonder."</p> - -<p>"Jay got his start in Dakota," Ben said. "Worked for a man whose team -ran away and took him over a cliff. Jay took over the contract. In -Idaho he had a partner who was killed in a fall from a trestle. Nobody -ever figured out what he was doing up there in the middle of a snow -storm."</p> - -<p>Ben turned away from the table, and the three men exchanged startled -glances. It seemed to Tesno that they were all thinking about the same -thing.</p> - -<p>"About the only way you can get a man like Jay is in court," Ben said. -"And then you're likely <i>not</i> to get him. I hate to think of what a -smart lawyer might do to Stella on the stand."</p> - -<p>"I vould tell only the truth," Stella said.</p> - -<p>"Another thing," Ben said. "You never saw this boiler-wrecker up close, -Jack. How could you swear it was Palma?" He shook his head dismally. -"Fact is, we have precious little on Jerome J. Jay."</p> - -<p>"Come, lass." O'Hara held out a hand to Stella. "I'll see you to my -cabin, which is yours for the night. I'll move into the bunkhouse."</p> - -<p>"I'll go along," Tesno said. "There's more that I want Stella to tell -me. A whole lot more."</p> - -<p>He ate a late supper at the cookhouse and got back to town well after -dark. He went to the hotel, bolted the door of his room, and went to -bed.</p> - -<p>Toward midnight, he was awakened by a persistent rapping. It turned out -to be Parris, the hotel owner and town councilman. He helped himself to -a chair and seemed to settle himself for a long talk.</p> - -<p>"Just came from a council meeting."</p> - -<p>"I figured there'd be one," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"I don't like what's happening," Parris said. He had a loud, harsh -voice. "I don't like wide-open saloons. I don't like gambling. But most -of all, I don't like your barging in like God Almighty and pushing -people around. The town ought to handle its own problems."</p> - -<p>Tesno, tousled, sleep-eyed, in his underwear, was in no mood to listen -to complaints. "Willie Silverknife is dead," he growled.</p> - -<p>"Yes, and you're likely to be if you try to enforce that noon deadline -you laid down. That's a friendly warning, Tesno, not a threat. They'll -be ready for you tomorrow. Madrid has organized every barkeep and every -gambler in town into what he calls a vigilance committee, and the -council is backing him up. Every man will be armed and waiting for you. -The first violent move you make, they'll drop you. Try Willie's trick -with the dynamite, and they'll kill you before you can light the fuse. -I don't like it and I spoke against it. I don't want any more killing."</p> - -<p>"Was Persia at the meeting?" Tesno asked.</p> - -<p>"She was not, but I assume she knows what's going on."</p> - -<p>"Was Mr. Jay there?"</p> - -<p>"Jay? Hell, no. I understand he will run for mayor, which will be a -fine thing. But he has nothing to do with the council now."</p> - -<p>"Parris, Jay has been in control of Tunneltown since the beginning. -He's been running it wide open in an effort to put Vickers behind -schedule."</p> - -<p>Parris wouldn't believe it, and Tesno was in no mood to argue. Finally, -he opened the door and said, "Stop talking for a while and think. Think -about what I've said. Good night and thanks for the warning."</p> - -<p>Parris snorted and walked out. Tesno had no more than blown the lamp -and got into bed when he knocked on the door again.</p> - -<p>"I got some siwash here who's been pestering the night clerk," he -called. "Claims he's got business with you. Won't go away."</p> - -<p>Tesno got the lamp going and opened the door.</p> - -<p>"Hello, Charlie," he said. "You come in, too, Parris."</p> - -<p>Charlie came in and looked around the room slowly and unblinking. -Parris followed and closed the door. Charlie decided he would be -comfortable on the bed, smoothed back the covers, and sat down.</p> - -<p>"<i>Nika cooley hyas tsik-tsik</i>," he said.</p> - -<p>"He says he went to the big wagon," Tesno said. "To the boiler."</p> - -<p>"I savvy Chinook," Parris said.</p> - -<p>"<i>Mika ko</i>," Charlie said to Tesno. "You here all a time." He seemed to -consider this a joke.</p> - -<p>"You found those dead men," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>Charlie grunted. "<i>Kely tum-tum.</i> I cry in my heart. Silverknife my -cousin."</p> - -<p>"Willie was your cousin?"</p> - -<p>Charlie grunted affirmatively. He explained that he had seen Willie -leave town with the prisoners and that he had followed. Willie had -seen him in the distance, hadn't recognized him, and had tried to lose -him by leaving the road. Charlie had seen the tracks leading into the -woods, however, and had followed. Willie had rejoined the road and -Charlie had just reached it when he heard the shots. Not having a gun, -he had hidden in the trees and waited.</p> - -<p>"Son of a gun chase horses up and down. Go into trees."</p> - -<p>"Who, Charlie?" Tesno demanded.</p> - -<p>"<i>Hyas tyee</i>," Charlie said. He tapped his chest. "<i>Chikamin</i> star. Big -boss of town. Bright shirt."</p> - -<p>"Madrid!" Parris said. "Madrid murdered the three of them!"</p> - -<p>"Madrid," Tesno said.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XXII" id="XXII">XXII</a></h2> - - -<p>Late in morning the town began to fill up. By eleven-thirty the saloons -were doing a jumping, three-deep-at-the-bar business. Extra bartenders, -armed and on hand as guards, were pressed into service. Gambling tables -that usually didn't open till evening were solidly ringed with players -and kibitzers. Other men stood in little groups out of the flow of -traffic, talking softly or just waiting.</p> - -<p>Sid Saul, owner and operator of the Silver Slipper, remarked cynically -that he wished some bull-ragging troublebuster would threaten a -shut-down every day. But even as he said it, he dabbed at his bald head -with a handkerchief and kept his big, vacant, puppy-dog eyes on the -door.</p> - -<p>Over the next half hour it came to Sid gradually that something more -than curiosity was responsible for this crowd. First, he overheard some -of the talk and gathered that Ben Vickers had given the whole crew -several hours off and had meted out fifty cents apiece drinking money -to boot. Second, he realized with a shock that this was not a drunken -crowd; the hum of steady talk was not punctuated by song, raucus -laughter, or quarreling. Third, by the time Sid's big gold watch told -him it was four minutes till noon, the jam had swollen beyond reason. -Men stood almost solid from wall to wall, and Sid could scarcely see -the door. He tossed his sweat-soaked handkerchief into a cuspidor and -took a place behind the bar.</p> - -<p>"Where's Madrid?" he demanded. "He ought to be down here. Eddie, go -find Madrid."</p> - -<p>Sid served no drinks. He just stood with one hand on the bar and the -other within reaching distance of a sawed-off shotgun stashed under it. -Except for a quick glance at his watch every minute or so, he kept his -eyes on the door.</p> - -<p>"Where's Madrid?" he demanded again at one minute to twelve. "Where's -Eddie?"</p> - -<p>The batwings eased open, but it was only another knot of workmen -crowding in. They shoved up to the bar directly in front of Sid. They -were all big men, and he couldn't see the door at all now without -moving out of reach of the gun.</p> - -<p>It was noon by his watch, a minute after. His fingers touched the stock -of the shotgun. He craned his neck and found himself looking into the -grinning Irish face of Keef O'Hara.</p> - -<p>"Take care with that trigger finger, lad," O'Hara said. "Blast one of -these terriers, accidental or not, and the rest will decorate a rope -with you."</p> - -<p>The truth of this struck Sid like a blow, and he took his hand off the -gun. He knew now that he wasn't going to use it. You couldn't shoot -anybody in this mob, terrier or troublebuster, and hope to live. The -crowd was pressing around the ends of the bar. He whirled, making -a pushing gesture with his hands; then he whirled the other way, -astonished to find himself alone; the bartenders had been swallowed by -the crush and passed from hand to hand.</p> - -<p>Then someone was reaching past him, taking the sawed-off shotgun from -under the bar. It was Tesno. He said, "Get out of town, Sid."</p> - -<p>Sid went weak and sick and then into a blind rage. He knocked the gun -aside and drove a fist into Tesno's stomach. Tesno took the punch, -stepping back with it; his bootheel caught and he went down, turning -sideways and landing on one knee. Sid strode forward, starting a kick, -but Tesno rolled into his legs, grasped one of them, drove a shoulder -into Sid's groin. Sid lit flat on his back, got an elbow in the stomach -that took the wind and the fight out of him.</p> - -<p>He was hoisted to his feet, spun around the bar and through the crowd -to a group in the center of the saloon. These were the bartenders and -the gamblers, ringed by a little cordon of guards.</p> - -<p>"They kept pressing in till they swallowed us up," one of the dealers -moaned. "I reached for the revolver I had in my pocket and there was -already a hand on it...."</p> - -<p>The crowd was briefly unruly now, scrambling for the contents of the -cash boxes and the liquor on the back bar. A half dozen men with -axes on their shoulders filed through to the back rooms. There was a -prolonged crash of glass from the storeroom.</p> - -<p>Dave Coons wove through the crowd then, saying, "Drift down to the Big -Barrel, boys.... The Big Barrel next...."</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>Mr. Jay and Pete Madrid stood at a window of Mr. Jay's hotel suite and -looked down at the street, which was nearly empty. They had watched the -mob pour up the street from the Silver Slipper to the Big Barrel to the -Western Star, which had completely swallowed it now. The window was -open. Madrid held a rifle in his hands.</p> - -<p>"It'll be over in a moment," Mr. Jay said tiredly.</p> - -<p>Almost at once, the splash of shattered glass came to their ears. Mr. -Jay closed the window.</p> - -<p>"He's got to show himself sometime," Madrid protested.</p> - -<p>"He's keeping to the alleys," Mr. Jay said, "taking no chances. Anyhow, -the confusion is over and the chance is gone. The mob will mill around -town for a while, then go back to camp."</p> - -<p>Madrid put the rifle into a corner and loosened his revolver in its -holster. "Then I'll go down and find him. Face to face, I can out-gun -him, Mr. Jay."</p> - -<p>"Pete, that mob would pick you to pieces."</p> - -<p>Madrid stared absently at the street. Men were beginning to trickle out -of the Western Star.</p> - -<p>"Then the town is his—and Ben Vickers'. I'm getting out, Mr. Jay. If I -were you...."</p> - -<p>"Just listen," Mr. Jay said. "He's going to be looking for you. I want -you to run. He'll follow. Draw him out of town away from the mob. Then -turn on him."</p> - -<p>Madrid squinted thoughtfully. "But in town I have authority, the -<i>right</i> to kill him."</p> - -<p>"Do it my way once more, Pete. And when you've killed him, keep going. -Go over Runaway Mountain and down the Green River to Tacoma. Sell your -horse and take a ship to San Francisco." Mr. Jay extracted a sheaf of -bills from a wallet and passed them to Madrid. "This is expense money. -Go to the Palace Hotel. Register under a false name—Williams, George -Williams. Stay sober and do nothing to attract attention. In a few -weeks, I'll contact you. There'll be a payoff."</p> - -<p>"I want five thousand, Mr. Jay."</p> - -<p>"You shall have it, provided you kill Tesno. Now get some gear together -and ride out of here. See that somebody gets word to Tesno just as -you're leaving."</p> - -<p>"You'll be—all right?" Madrid said. He stuffed the bills into a pocket.</p> - -<p>"Of course I'll be all right! They have nothing on me but accusations -they can't make stick—not with Tesno out of the way."</p> - -<p>They left the hotel together. Madrid hurried off to throw a blanket -roll together and get a horse. Mr. Jay made his way to the townhouse.</p> - -<p>This was going to be an expensive business, this saloon-wrecking. -But perhaps it was for the best. He would be elected mayor and would -build a tight town organization that could stand up to Vickers, the -Ellensburg politicians—anybody. Tesno would be dead. When he, Mr. Jay, -had things solidly under control again, the saloons would open. He -would go ahead with the plan to issue scrip....</p> - -<p>A dozen men idled in front of Persia's end of the townhouse. Two -saddlehorses and a mule browsed nearby. Mr. Jay thumped the knocker -once and walked in. He came to a stop as he entered the parlor, -startled to see that Tesno was here, standing at the center of a group -scattered around the room. The others were Dave Coons, Judge Badger, -Keef O'Hara, and Mr. Parris. Persia sat beside Sam Lester on the sofa.</p> - -<p>Judge Badger stepped forward to greet Mr. Jay. "I'm glad you're here, -sir. Perhaps you'll reply to some of the charges—very extravagant -charges—that Mr. Tesno has made against you."</p> - -<p>Mr. Jay threw back his head and pointed his beard at one and another of -the gathering.</p> - -<p>"Charges? Be damned to Mr. Tesno and his charges! He has no authority -to make charges!"</p> - -<p>"I'm accusing you of conspiring to murder Willie Silverknife and his -prisoners," Tesno said in a snow-soft voice. "Tomorrow I'm taking you -and Madrid and my witnesses to Ellensburg."</p> - -<p>Mr. Jay drew himself up even straighter. "Slanderous nonsense! I assure -you that you are taking me nowhere."</p> - -<p>"He claims he has found an Indian who saw Madrid at the scene of the -murder," Judge Badger said, "and a maid-servant who overheard you -planning the crime."</p> - -<p>Sam Lester got to his feet. "That will be Stella, Mr. Jay," he -said. "She overheard you say that Willie was taking a dangerous -chance—something like that. She misinterpreted it to mean that you -wanted him killed. But there's nothing to worry about. Persia and I -were present at that conversation. We know that there was no such -implication."</p> - -<p>"I should hope you do," Mr. Jay said.</p> - -<p>"We will both testify to that—if necessary," Sam said.</p> - -<p>Tesno's eyes swung to Persia. She met them defiantly and said, "We -certainly will."</p> - -<p>"And you'll be perjuring yourself to protect a murderer you ought to be -doing everything possible to expose," Tesno said.</p> - -<p>"Really, Jack, you're being unbearably sanctimonious," she said. "You -killed a man less than a week ago. And you have the gall—"</p> - -<p>"You don't understand," he said. "Mr. Jay, shall I tell her how you got -your first contract—how you took over when the contractor went over -a cliff? How many other associates of yours died suddenly and without -witnesses, Mr. Jay? How about that partner of yours who fell off a -trestle in Idaho?... Persia's husband was your partner, too, wasn't he, -Mr. Jay?"</p> - -<p>Silence smothered the room. Mr. Jay seemed too outraged to speak at -once. He glanced toward the door as if he would like to leave. Keef -O'Hara and Dave Coons moved squarely into his way. Tesno watched -Persia. She had paled. There was a noticeable pulsing in her throat. -Mr. Jay's nostrils flared as he drew in a deep breath.</p> - -<p>"Judge Badger," he said, "I appeal to you as a man dedicated to -justice. This man is making crude, slanderous insinuations. Will you -warn him of the consequences?"</p> - -<p>"You're a killer, Mr. Jay," Tesno said. "Persia knows that. Sam Lester -knows it. But why did you kill Duke Parker? You had already secretly -taken control of Tunneltown away from him."</p> - -<p>"Jack," Persia said in a strange voice, "what are you trying to do to -me?"</p> - -<p>"I'm making you see the truth," he said. He confronted Mr. Jay again -and went on without pause. "Duke Parker was trying to blackjack himself -back into control, wasn't he, Mr. Jay? Unless you wrote off the debt -he owed you, he was going to expose your plan to operate Tunneltown in -a wide-open way that would slow down Vickers' work. That would have -ruined you in railroad circles. So you killed him—or had someone do it -for you."</p> - -<p>"No!" Persia made as if to rise. "I'm not going to listen to any more -of this."</p> - -<p>"Tell her, Sam," Tesno said. "You must know the truth."</p> - -<p>"Sam...." Persia said.</p> - -<p>Sam Lester sat down beside her, took her hand. He said nothing at all.</p> - -<p>Tesno hammered on mercilessly. "Was Duke Parker killed by a bullet, -Sam? Was a log skidded over him to conceal the wound?"</p> - -<p>"Tesno, for god's sake, have a little consideration for her!" pleaded -Sam.</p> - -<p>"By letting her testify in behalf of her husband's murderer?" Tesno -said, looming over him. "Suppose <i>you</i> have a little consideration for -her! Duke Parker's body can be exhumed. Persia is going to want that -now, unless you tell her the truth. Spare her that, Sam."</p> - -<p>Persia sat with her head bowed, her eyes fixed on Sam's stubby hand -that covered her own. "Tell me, Sam," she said faintly. "Was he -murdered? Just say yes or no."</p> - -<p>"Shut up, Sam!" Mr. Jay snapped. "Don't you see what he's trying to do?"</p> - -<p>"I've tried to get you away from here," Sam said to Persia, "get you -out of this—"</p> - -<p>"Say it!" Persia demanded.</p> - -<p>Sam turned his froglike face up toward Mr. Jay. "It's all going to come -out, anyhow," he said. "Yes, Persia. Duke was murdered. Madrid shot -him. I swear I didn't know about it till it was over. Mr. Jay sent me -up into the woods where Duke's body was. He said to help Madrid run a -log over it, make sure it was ... torn up."</p> - -<p>Mr. Jay seemed almost unable to speak. "This is a conspiracy!" he said -in a choked voice. "Everyone here is determined to ... to discredit me."</p> - -<p>Persia had buried her face in her hands. Now she looked up at him -in horror. "I shall tell the truth in court," she said, controlling -herself with a great effort. "You planned to have Willie killed on the -road, and I shall say so."</p> - -<p>Mr. Jay merely glared in reply. He was tired and sick and weak with -anger. He made a feeble effort to shake off Keef O'Hara and Mr. Parris, -each of whom had taken him by an arm.</p> - -<p>"Take him to his rooms," Tesno said. "See that there's a guard outside -his door."</p> - -<p>Persia had buried her head against Sam Lester. Tesno wanted to say -something soft and sympathetic now, but he knew it would sound -ridiculous. Sam Lester looked up at him expressionlessly.</p> - -<p>"I'm going to take her away from here," Sam said.</p> - -<p>Tesno nodded. "Don't either of you leave the county," he said tersely -and turned on his heel.</p> - -<p>Judge Badger caught his elbow. "This man wants to speak to you."</p> - -<p>Tesno hadn't noticed the little rat-faced man, who must have just -arrived. He stepped forward importantly.</p> - -<p>"Madrid just bought a horse at the livery. <i>Bought</i> it, Mr. Tesno. He -just rode out of town. Took the road to the camp. He's riding with -saddlebags and a blanket roll."</p> - -<p>Tesno hurried toward the door. As he reached it, Persia was suddenly -behind him, calling to him, dabbing frantically at her face with a -handkerchief.</p> - -<p>"Jack wait. I was so wrong!"</p> - -<p>"When <i>you</i> get hurt, you're wrong," he said, turning angrily.</p> - -<p>"You're cruel," she said. "I'm glad you're cruel. You've made me see—"</p> - -<p>"I'm in a hurry, Persia."</p> - -<p>"Jack, don't let it end for us. I need you. I think you need me."</p> - -<p>"What we need, we can't have," he said with soft and incisive -bitterness. "We need Willie Silverknife alive."</p> - -<p>He jerked open the door and strode into the sunlight.</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XXIII" id="XXIII">XXIII</a></h2> - - -<p>Tesno seized one of the saddle horses in front of the building and -swung across town at a canter. He got no glimpse of Madrid till he was -through the woods and at the edge of Vickers' camp; then he saw him far -ahead on the wide, slow-climbing road that led to Runaway Mountain and -the tunnel. Madrid looked back, urged his horse ahead a bit faster, and -jogged out of sight around a bend.</p> - -<p>Tesno reined into the empty camp and rode through it at a gallop. By -taking the steep mule trail up the side of the gulch, he would avoid -the possibility of being ambushed at that bend. If Madrid waited there, -Tesno could cut him off. If not, he would at least close up some of -the distance and have a chance of overtaking him before he reached the -timber on the mountain top.</p> - -<p>He found the horse willing and sure-footed on the narrow, twisting -trail, and he gave the animal its head. The climb took longer than he -had expected. But when at last the horse strained up the final steep -ascent onto graded roadbed, Madrid was a scant hundred yards ahead. -Tesno yelled at him to halt, drew his revolver, fired a wild shot.</p> - -<p>Madrid continued at a trot. He rode straight to the gaping black arch -of the tunnel, then veered to the left into the road that began its -climb to the summit here. Tesno prodded his horse forward at an easy -lope. He reached the road with Madrid directly above him, hardly within -effective revolver range. Madrid wheeled his horse around, whipping a -Winchester from its boot. He quickly aimed and fired.</p> - -<p>Tesno's horse dropped in its tracks, making a sort of uncompleted -somersault, pitching him forward out of the saddle. He landed painfully -on a shoulder, rolled to his feet. His revolver was gone; he combed -the ground with his eyes, didn't see it. A bullet drove past his head -close enough so he could hear its angry buzz. Madrid was plunging down -the road toward him, firing the rifle as he came. There was nothing to -do but run, no place to run but into the tunnel. Another bullet tore -splinters from a shoring timber at the portal as Tesno darted inside.</p> - -<p>The tunnel was deserted, the crew in town. The arc lights that usually -lighted the shaft had been turned off. A lantern glowed just within the -portal; Tesno stooped and turned it out. He ran on into the darkness. -He looked back to see Madrid framed in the arch of the portal, getting -down from his horse, stooping to pick up something. <i>My gun</i>, Tesno -thought.</p> - -<p>Madrid raised his rifle then and fired blindly, whimsically, into the -tunnel. Tesno leaped to the left wall and threw himself headlong. -Madrid rapidly emptied the Winchester and threw it aside. Tesno hurried -on. The dead end of the tunnel in the middle of a mountain was a hell -of a place to die, he thought. He was aware now of a light somewhere -ahead, too dim and distant to silhouette him. It must be back a way on -the bench, he thought. If he could get up there, find a weapon, that -would be the place to make a stand.</p> - -<p>He looked back again. Madrid had found a lantern and lighted it. He -held it above his head as he walked forward. His revolver gleamed in -his other hand.</p> - -<p>A minute later, Tesno reached the bench. This rose fourteen feet above -the floor of the tunnel. Above it, the eight-foot shaft of the heading -extended another forty or fifty feet into the mountain. The timbers -resting on the bench had to be replaced as it was removed; so it was -cut away in slices and presented a vertical face. A ladder stood -against this. Tesno scaled it and drew it up after him.</p> - -<p>His first impulse was to put out the lantern that burned up here, -but he decided against this. He turned it up brighter and moved it -to the very edge of the bench against one wall. Using his hat and a -tool box, he quickly rigged a shield so that light was thrown below -the bench while the top of it was relatively dark. There were tools -up here—picks, pry bars, drills, sledges—that could be used as -weapons. He looked around for dynamite but saw none. Then he found a -sixteen-foot pole, probably used in maneuvering timbers into place, and -suddenly he had a plan.</p> - -<p>He shoved the ladder forward so that two rungs projected over the edge -of the bench. He then lowered the pole, leaning it against the face of -the bench with its end in view beside the ladder.</p> - -<p>Madrid had been approaching slowly, holding the lantern high, stopping -every few yards to shine it from side to side. He saw Tesno now—or -more likely the shadows he threw on the tunnel walls as he moved. -Anyhow, he came forward swiftly now, the revolver raised for a shot -whenever he saw a solid target.</p> - -<p>Tesno retreated from the edge, bending low. He selected a percussion -drill as a weapon—an eight-foot steel shaft with a sharp chisel point. -Dragging this beside him, he crawled to a position near the ladder and -lay parallel to it. He watched the light from Madrid's lantern move -along the timbers at the top of the tunnel, saw it come to a halt a few -yards in front of the bench.</p> - -<p>Madrid wasn't likely to come barging up on the bench. A surer way would -be to climb to the level of the bench a few yards in front of it. This -would bring the whole upper surface into view—and easy revolver range. -But in any case, he would have to have the ladder.</p> - -<p>Tesno lay motionless, gripping the long, heavy drill, watching the -three inches of pole that stuck above the edge of the bench. Moving -shadows on the tunnel wall told him that Madrid had set down his -lantern and was coming quietly forward.</p> - -<p>The pole-end moved, disappeared, reappeared between the rungs of the -ladder. Tesno rose to a crouch. This was the trap. Madrid was taking -the bait. For this moment, Tesno knew exactly where the man was. -Reaching with a sixteen foot pole is a two-handed job; Madrid's gun -would be in its holster. Grasping the drill like a spear, Tesno leaped -over the edge.</p> - -<p>Madrid swung the pole awkwardly and too late. The sharp steel point of -the drill was already at his chest with Tesno's weight and the force -of a fourteen-foot drop behind it. He uttered a strange muffled cry as -Tesno pitched past him.</p> - -<p>Tesno sprawled flat on the uneven floor, rolled to one side, and got -painfully to his feet. Madrid lay on his back with the drill pinning -him to the tunnel floor. He was dead when Tesno reached him.</p> - -<hr class="tb" /> - -<p>A great crowd filled the street in front of the hotel. Tesno tied -Madrid's horse and elbowed his way to the entrance. Ben Vickers touched -his elbow.</p> - -<p>"Jay shot himself," Ben said. "Seems they didn't think to search his -room. He had a gun in there. You overtake Madrid?"</p> - -<p>"In the tunnel, Ben. Not a pretty sight."</p> - -<p>Sam Lester came out of the lobby. He turned his thick lenses up at -Tesno and said, "No reason for Persia and me to stay in the county now. -I'm taking her away." He moved on.</p> - -<p>"Seems like those two will get off easy," Ben said. "Then again maybe -they won't. They have each other."</p> - - - -<hr class="chap" /> -<h2><a name="XXIV" id="XXIV">XXIV</a></h2> - - -<p>The big boiler finally reached the east portal. A compressor was set -up. An air line was run over the mountain so that automatic drills -could be used in the west bore, too. Ben Vickers paid a bonus to -everybody who worked for him when progress exceeded the necessary daily -footage. The work spurted ahead.</p> - -<p>There were unforseeable problems and delays, of course. Snow fell to -a depth of twenty feet. Snow sheds had to be hurriedly built over the -dump trucks. A landslide carried away part of the approach to the east -portal. Supply wagons bogged down on the way up from Ellensburg, first -in snow, then in mud. Much of the road had to be paved with logs and -planks. When enough track was laid so that supplies could be brought in -by train, a bridge washed out and freight wagons had to be pressed into -service again.</p> - -<p>There were more accidents in the tunnel, mostly caused by premature or -delayed blasts. A dozen more men lost their lives. Rock was loosened -above the line of the cut, and days were lost. Fumes from blasting -became unbearable, and there was more delay while the ventilating -system was altered. Cloudbursts flooded first the east portal, then the -west. A dump train engine jumped the tracks, and its boiler burst. The -strata of the basaltic trap rock was unpredictable; in spite of every -precaution, there were frequent cave-ins.</p> - -<p>But morale was high. The weak and the discontented and the lazy -were weeded out; the tough and the determined stayed on. A spirited -competition developed between the crews working from opposite sides of -the mountain. Slowly, hour by hour, foot by foot, the lost days were -made up.</p> - -<p>On a May morning eleven days before the deadline, Ben Vickers stood in -the hazy saffron glow of the arc lights and watched the drilling crew -come toward him from the bench, two hundred yards away. Ben studied -his watch. For weeks, both crews had been jarred by blasts in the other -bore; so it was necessary to schedule every shot now and alert the -drillers on the other side.</p> - -<p>The crew reached Ben and lined itself beside him along the timbered -wall. The fuse man came jogging along a minute or two later. The charge -roared and grumbled. The earth trembled. A cloud of dust and rubble -tumbled out of the heading. Much of this was caught by the fans and -pulled into vent pipes; but the acrid outer edges of it rolled down the -bore to where the men stood. And then, while the area of the explosion -was still obscured, the dust cloud began to spew human figures, -running, coughing, cheering.</p> - -<p>Ben Vickers gaped and blinked and tried to bring up a yell of triumph -that came out a kind of tired sob. These were workmen from the west -bore. The wall between had crumbled away with the blast. Runaway -Mountain had its tunnel.</p> - -<p>A few days later, Ben and Tesno stood together in a crowd gathered near -the portal to watch the first train pull through. The train crew waved. -The workmen and townfolk waved back and cheered. Then, sadly, they -watched the cars gather speed on the down-grade toward Ellensburg.</p> - -<p>"How do you feel, Ben?" Tesno asked.</p> - -<p>"Old," Ben grumbled. "Too old even to go on a drunk. What will it be -now for you, Jack? You finally going to get to that ranch?"</p> - -<p>Tesno grinned his twisted, one-dimple grin. He pulled an envelope from -a pocket. "Got this the other day. An offer from James J. Hill."</p> - -<p>Ben was impressed. "The old Empire Builder himself?"</p> - -<p>"He doesn't give details, but it seems he's going to be laying track up -one side of a river while a rival road lays it up the other. Seems like -it will be a race."</p> - -<p>Ben twitched his head doubtfully. "Bound to be trouble."</p> - -<p>"Bound to be," Tesno said.</p> - - - - - - - - -<pre> - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The High Hander, by William O. 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Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our Web site which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This Web site includes information about Project Gutenberg-tm, -including how to make donations to the Project Gutenberg Literary -Archive Foundation, how to help produce our new eBooks, and how to -subscribe to our email newsletter to hear about new eBooks. - - - -</pre> - -</body> -</html> diff --git a/old/50939-h/images/cover.jpg b/old/50939-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 081ae70..0000000 --- a/old/50939-h/images/cover.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/50939.txt b/old/50939.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 4c654ec..0000000 --- a/old/50939.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,5878 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of The High Hander, by William O. Turner - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world 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. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - - - -Title: The High Hander - -Author: William O. Turner - -Release Date: January 16, 2016 [EBook #50939] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: ASCII - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HIGH HANDER *** - - - - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - - - - - - - - - THE HIGH HANDER - - by WILLIAM O. TURNER - - ACE BOOKS, INC. - 1120 Avenue of the Americas - New York 36, N.Y. - - THE HIGH HANDER - - Copyright 1963, - by Ace Books, Inc. - - All Rights Reserved - - Printed in U.S.A. - - [Transcriber's Note: Extensive research did not uncover any - evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] - - - - -HARD ROCK MAKES HARD MEN - - -Tesno was a troubleshooter. That's why the railroad construction -company had hired him. His job was to make sure that nobody interfered -with the tunnel that they were digging through that frontier region -mountain. Tesno knew one thing for sure--if they had called him in, -there must have been plenty interference--and the kind that didn't stop -at murder. - -Frontier towns and frontier wilderness didn't pay much attention to -city-made laws. Tesno carried his own law with him and he knew he'd -have to make it respected. It was the law of the six-gun and the firm -high hand. Take no guff, keep your powder dry, and don't give an inch. -One moment of uncertainty, and it would mean his end! - - - - -CAST OF CHARACTERS - - -Jack Tesno - -Trouble was his business, and he'd never run from it, but a beautiful -woman could mean more trouble than Tesno had ever seen! - - -Willie Silverknife - -A half-breed kid with a stutter, he had everything against him, except -his own personal courage. - - -Persia Parker - -Blonde, beautiful, and a lady too, she could make a man forget -everything else--even danger. - - -Ben Vickers - -He'd staked everything he owned on a single contract, and he was -depending on Tesno to make it good. - - -Pete Madrid - -He was a trained and instinctive killer, who also wore the badge of a -town marshal. - - -Mr. Jay - -He wanted Ben Vickers' contract, and he'd get it--any way he could. - - - - -I - - -Jack Tesno had been riding into the timbered Cascade Mountains since -dawn. Now, consulting a biscuit-thick Raymond watch, he reined off the -writhing new supply road and followed a creek through the pines till -he found a sun-freckled ellipse of grass that would make a suitable -nooning place. - -Knowing that his blue roan wouldn't stray from this spot of pasture, -he unsaddled the animal and turned it loose, reins dragging. He dug -cold biscuits and a wedge of cheese from his saddlebags and lunched -stoically; a lean, catlike man with eyes the color of blue agate and -a splash of gray in his black hair that made him look older than his -thirty-two years. He lay on his belly to drink of the flashing mountain -water. Then, impulsively, he peeled off his clothing and plunged into -the stream. He bathed himself, splashing and rolling like a boy, lying -still in the icy current till he began to feel numb. Teeth chattering, -he found a sunny place on the bank and stretched out in faintly warm -grass. After a while he felt a part of something big and good, and the -affairs of man seemed of little consequence. - -It didn't really matter much of a hoot, if the railroad got pushed -across these mountains on schedule, he decided. Not when you lay with -the earth against your skin and the sun drying you from a pine-fringed -patch of sky. What mattered was that you made up your mind to see the -job through--to lay your life on the line, if necessary, to do your -part in pushing it through. That was the difference between you and -weaker men. - -_When you come right down to it_, he thought, _that's all I get paid -for--making up my mind._ - -Troublebuster, the contractors called him. The job embraced a score of -delicate and dangerous tasks, but on the whole he thought of himself as -a peace officer without legal status. He found himself forever laying -down the law to tough and often influential men: usually when there was -no law to lay down except what he made up to fit the circumstances. He -had long since ceased to be surprised that he could get away with this. -Yet he knew he could not get away with it forever. - -_Making up my mind_, he thought. A strange process. He knew what he -would decide, he guessed, but it took a little time and a little -solitude to do it. - -He was on his way to see old Ben Vickers about a job. It was a -top-paying job. That meant it would be a tough one. Yet he didn't need -the money badly. He had stashed away enough for the start in the cattle -business he had always wanted. _I ought to quit_, he thought. _Now, -before I get a bullet in the guts or a pick-point between the shoulder -blades, or maybe just crack under the strain and wind up in the foolish -house...._ - -The sound of hoofs, muffled on the soft forest floor, brought him to -his feet. He reached for his clothes as a rider wove through the trees -and reined to a halt. The man was young, round-faced, and freckled. He -wore boots, jeans, and a faded checked shirt. He was plainly startled -by Tesno's nudity. He pushed his Stetson to the back of his head to -reveal a shock of dark red hair. - -"You t-taking a bath or s-something?" - -Tesno picked up the gunbelt that lay on top of his clothes. Feeling -ridiculous, he swung it aside and began to struggle into his underwear. -"What if I am?" he said irritably. - -"D-didn't mean to intrude on your p-privacy." - -Tesno continued to get dressed. The young man eased down from his -saddle and dropped the reins. He produced a pint flask from a hip -pocket and took a drink. He offered the flask to Tesno, who shook his -head. - -"T-too early in the d-day," the young man admitted. "I only take the -stuff account of this d-damn stuttering. Like medicine." - -Tesno flicked him with amused appraisal. "It helps?" - -"S-some. Only if I get too much, I s-stutter worse than ever. Only I -d-don't give a d-d-damn." He returned the bottle to his pocket and -extended his hand. "Name's William Silverknife. Folks call me Whisky -Willie." - -Tesno sat down to pull on his boots. He reached up awkwardly and shook -hands. He said, "I can see why." - -"Hell, I t-take it like medicine. I only been what you'd call drunk -once in my life. Stole a loco-m-motive on the Coeur d'Alene spur and -run it plumb off the end of the track." - -"Seems like I heard about that. But the way I got the story, it was -some crazy Indian." - -"M-me." - -"You're Injun?" - -"Three-eights." - -Tesno studied him closely now, matter-of-factly. Under the freckles, -the kid's skin was maybe a bit darker than you noticed at first, -and the cheekbones in the round and boyish face were maybe a trifle -prominent. But it was the steady little black eyes that confirmed the -touch of the moccasin. - -"That's a hell of a percentage," Tesno said. - -"Pa was half Yakima. Ma was a q-quarter-breed Cayuse. It figures out." - -"Nobody'd know it if you didn't mention it," Tesno said. - -"I g-generally mention it. What did you say your name was, mister?" - -"Tesno." - -"Jack Tesno? Hell, you headed for Tunneltown?" - -"This road go any place else?" - -"J-just my luck. I heard Ben Vickers is looking for a troublebuster. -I f-figured to hit him for the job. Reckon I wouldn't have a chance -against you." - -_No_, Tesno thought, _you wouldn't have a chance. Even if Ben -hadn't already made me an offer, he would never trust a stammering, -whisky-sipping breed kid to tie on a gun and do his tough-work._ But -he found himself clapping Willie on the shoulder as he moved past the -boy to pick up his saddle. He caught the blue roan and stroked its neck -with the saddle blanket. - -"I haven't signed on yet," he said. - -"Hell, I'll wind up as water boy or some d-damn fool thing," Willie -said. He grinned and added, "As usual." - -"Maybe you could charm that town boss-lady into giving you a job. That -Persia Parker they talk about." - -Willie blushed at the mere idea. "Ch-charming ain't among my talents. -Not that I wouldn't l-like to. You ever seen her?" - -"No, but I'll lay odds she isn't the looker the rumors have her. She's -probably a fat, mannish type or a tired-faced little tart with dollar -signs for eyes." - -"You'd lose the bet," Willie said. "I saw her down to Ellensburg. She's -a kn-knockout. And a real lady." - -"How do you tell that?" - -"Well, she ain't no honky-tonk gal or anything like that. She was -a lady married to Duke Parker, who was a gentleman. He t-took out -townsite papers and built that town up there. Then he got k-killed in -an accident and she's been running things." - -"That's about the way I heard it, too," Tesno said. "But I knew Duke -Parker at Sandpoint, before he got married. He might have been a -gentleman by education, but he was about as slippery a cuss as I ever -met." - -"That don't make her a non-lady," Willie persisted. "Wh-what k-kind of -a job you think she might give me?" - -Tesno saddled up, and they rode together the rest of the day, following -the raw new road that looped and plodded through rock and timber to the -very backbone of the range. They passed a slashers' ragcamp, a supply -train of a dozen heavy wagons, a stagecoach stalled with a broken wheel -and loaded with laborers. With the sun haloing snow-veined peaks ahead -and the chill of an early-May twilight lurking in the shadows of the -pines, they topped a writhing, ragged ridge and looked down on the -place called Tunneltown. - -It lay in a stump-studded gulch, a double row of log buildings neatly -toeing boardwalks along a wide, rut-scribbled street. Tesno whistled -through his teeth. He hadn't expected a solid-looking town here -eighty-five miles ahead of track--though the why of it was plain enough -when a man stopped to think. The workmen here had a tunnel to ream -through the rock of Runaway Mountain, two miles of it. They would be -here two years, more or less. For that long, Tunneltown was assured of -a population with money to spend. And it was assured of a steady stream -of transient spenders--freighters, engineers, inspectors, salesmen. - -The horses had fallen into an eager trot on the down-grade, sensing -food and rest ahead; now they slowed to a walk in the heavy mud of the -short, broad street. Tesno made out another cluster of buildings now, -six or eight large ones among the pines on the far slope of the gulch. -That would be Ben Vickers' camp, he concluded. He reined toward a -hitchrail in front of a long, false-fronted building from which floated -the tinny notes of a piano. Above the doorway a sign bore the words -PINK LADY, painted in red letters against a black background. - -"I'll buy a drink," he said to Willie. - -"N-no, thanks," Willie said. "D-drinking for pleasure don't agree with -me." He nodded toward a livery barn at the head of the street. "You -want me to s-stable your horse for you? He'll get better care there -than in a construction camp corral." - -Tesno dismounted and handed him the reins. "Buy him a quarter's worth -of oats. See you around." - -He pushed through the batwing doors into the saloon. Men near the end -of the long bar turned to look him over, their eyes darting from his -face to the Colt on his hip and back again. Gambling tables, mostly -faro layouts, were scattered about the large, smoke-layered room. Tesno -moved along the bar to a place near the second of two bartenders, who -started toward him, then stopped to stare. He was a plump, red-faced -man with a white scar on one cheek. He spoke one word, making a -question of it. - -"You?" - -"Howdy, Pinky," Tesno said tonelessly. - -"I'll serve you liquor like anybody else," Pinky Bronklin said. "I -don't have to say howdy to you." - -"Whisky," Tesno said. - -Pinky set a bottle and a glass on the bar. His bloodshot little eyes -combed Tesno with a look of pure malice. - -"This your place?" Tesno asked. - -Pinky nodded. "I own a share of it." - -"Quite a come-up from the tent saloon you had over in the basin." - -Pinky laid a hand on the bar, a hand that was missing the three fingers -between the little one and the thumb. The bloodshot eyes were fixed on -Tesno's face. "You'd like to bust me down to nothin' again, wouldn't -you, Mr. Tesno?" - -"Depends," Tesno said. - -"You wouldn't do it here. This is a patented town. I got important -people behind me. The authorities will protect me." - -"You're rushing things," Tesno said. "I haven't hired out yet." - -"You will," Pinky said. "Vickers will meet your price and you'll hire -on. I hope you do. You've been riding for a fall for a long time." - -The bloodshot eyes shifted briefly. Tesno was aware of a man standing -a few feet to his left. He turned slowly and saw a lean, dark-eyed -young man dressed to present the general aspect of a barber pole. He -wore black boots, trousers, and hat, and a silk shirt with wide pink -stripes. The ivory handle of a revolver curved out from his hip like a -misplaced tusk. A badge gleamed on his chest. He took a step forward, -right hand resting on gun handle. - -"You can't wear a gun in this town, cowboy," he said sternly. - -Tesno squarely turned his back and picked up his drink. Pinky Bronklin -looked faintly amused now. - -"This here is town marshal Pete Madrid," Pinky said. "Meet Jack Tesno, -Pete. The famous bully-boy." - -"I don't care who he is," Pete Madrid said with an ugly purr in his -voice. "He's got ten seconds to shuck that gun." - -Tesno tossed down his drink and set the glass on the bar. "Town -ordinance?" - -"You might say so. Five seconds, cowboy." - -Tesno had a lopsided grin that brought a dimple to his left cheek and -none to his right. He flashed it on Pinky now and moved his hands to -the buckle of his gunbelt. He let the belt fall free and swung it -toward Madrid, still not looking at him. The marshal caught the belt -with a little flourish and stepped up to the bar. - -"How about the house buying, Pinky," he said in a new tone. Hostility -seemed to have left him. - -"No thanks," Tesno said. - -"No hard feelings," Madrid said. - -"None. When I start drawing Ben Vickers' pay, I'll be around for that -gun." - -"Sure," Madrid said. "Just don't wear it in town." - -"Depends," Tesno said. - -"I'd just take it off you again." - -"No. If I put it on again, you won't take it off me." Tesno flashed the -lopsided grin and walked out of the saloon. - -Pinky poured Madrid a drink. "Congratulations, Pete. It takes a man to -face down that ringtail." - -Madrid laid Tesno's gunbelt on the bar, trying not to seem too pleased -with himself. "Wish the man had been friendlier. I like to get along -with everybody. Makes my job easier." - -"He ain't the friendly kind," Pinky said. - -"You tangled with him before?" - -"Idaho. I had a tent saloon; big wall tent, cost me four hundred -dollars. Had another thousand in liquor and gambling equipment. Set up -close to a construction camp. Tesno come along, said to move. I had -a territorial license and wouldn't do it. He knocked down the tent -and worked it over with a disc harrow. Nothing left but a pile of -whisky-soaked rags." - -"You should have blasted him," Madrid said. "Law would have been on -your side." - -"It would? Listen, four reservation bucks come along, wrung out the -rags, and got crazy drunk. Tesno brought out the sheriff, and I got -arrested for peddling booze to Indians!" - -"Hell of a thing," Madrid said, picking up the gunbelt and moving away. -"Well, I got work to do." - -Pinky knew what he meant. There were folks who ought to be notified -that Tesno was in town. - - - - -II - - -Tesno turned into a pine-wrapped road that wound the short quarter-mile -to the construction camp. The cool and fragrant solitude touched some -deeply hidden need in him and pulled at him, but he shook off the mood -and strode ahead, tense and swaggering, eager to see Ben Vickers. - -He found him in a cabin behind the bunkhouse, hunched over a table -cluttered with papers held down by rocks. Ben was talking with a -dapper, white-bearded man who paced the room. When he saw Tesno, Ben -snatched off bent spectacles and leaped to his feet. - -"Never was so glad to see a man!" he exclaimed, bouncing around the -table to shake hands. He had a bland face and a topknot of gray hair -that gave him the look of a kewpie doll. This look, Tesno knew, was -deceptive. Ben Vickers had his failings, but blandness wasn't one of -them. "You can start in the morning." - -"Not so fast," Tesno said, grinning. "I'm not sure I'll like the work. -Your letter gave no details." - -"I've no time to chit-chat." Ben nodded toward the white-bearded man. -"You ever met Jack Tesno, Mr. Jay?" - -"Never had the pleasure." Clear blue eyes measured Tesno as they shook -hands. Tesno had known of Jerome J. Jay for years. The man had made a -reputation by taking over jobs other contractors had found too tough to -finish. His being here might be a bad sign. - -"If I barged in on something, I'll come back," Tesno said. - -"I think we've finished our talk," Mr. Jay said, turning to Ben. "I'll -see you again in a few days." - -"If you can make better sense," Ben said. - -"I've offered you a chance to get out with your shirt. Think damned -good and hard about it." Mr. Jay touched his gray derby, nodded to -Tesno, and strode out of the cabin. - -"Sounds like he's trying to move in on you," Tesno said. - -Ben strolled to his chair and sat down heavily. "I never cut a tunnel -before. He has." - -"He wants to buy your contract?" - -"You could call it that. I'd lose what I've already sunk into the -job--which is a fortune." - -Tesno sat down and tilted his chair back against the log wall, his boot -heels hooked over a rung. - -"This job is do-or-die," Ben said. "I've mortgaged every horse, wagon, -and harness snap I own. On top of everything else, I guaranteed the -railroad I'd dig their damn tunnel in twenty-eight months. I backed -up the guarantee by posting a one-hundred-thousand-dollar bond; cash -money. If I hit daylight one hour late, I forfeit the bond. - -"Mr. Jay offered to buy the contract for a hundred thousand, the amount -of the bond. He would also take over my debts, but he'd save the cost -of building the camp and a road and hauling men and equipment up here." -Ben sighed, blowing upward at his kewpie-doll topknot. "He knows I'm -forty days behind schedule and maybe can be tempted to pull out before -I'm a complete pauper." - -"Forty days!" Tesno said. "What cost you that much time?" - -Ben made a sweeping gesture. "I had to build forty-five miles of -mountain road. Had to build an all-weather camp. Set up an electric -plant so we can light the bore with arc lamps. Got a sawmill going. -Then there's the tunnel itself. Right at the exact spot marked on -the map for the east portal, there was a damn waterfall. Had to move -it--the waterfall. That cost me a week." - -"You working from both ends toward the middle?" - -"Naturally," Ben said. "But we're drilling by hand and the daily -footage isn't half what it should be.... I've ordered a seven-ton -boiler from Connecticut, Jack. With that, I can get compressors working -and use Ingersoll drills. If it gets here soon enough, I might make it. -If you can get the town in line...." - -"I wondered when you'd get around to the town." - -Ben wagged his head sadly, then smoothed his topknot. "Duke Parker got -the jump on me there. Took out a townsite claim before I ever thought -of such a thing. Jack this is the only spot within five miles that -isn't practically straight up and down!" - -"What happened to Duke, Ben?" - -"The fool tried to skid a log down an icy slope. It ran over him. I -guess they picked him up in a bucket." - -"Seems like you might buy out his widow, run the town to suit yourself." - -"Persia. She's got some kind of grudge against me, won't even set a -price. Anyhow, it would be sky high. The saloons and faro tables are -making her rich." - -"And ruining you." - -"You know what booze and gambling will do to a construction gang, Jack. -And you've seen it bad, I know, but you've never seen anything like -what I've got right now. Short crews every day: fights, accidents. Men -broke all the time and grumbling. Best foreman I ever had got lucky -at faro and got stabbed on his way back to camp. I've got a Swede -tool-dresser in the hospital in Ellensburg, shot by a blackleg in a -gambling argument." - -"I don't know," Tesno said, scowling into the brightness as Ben -lighted a lamp. "If this was the usual fly-by-night, tent-city type -of operation, I'd know what to do. But a patented town with its own -officials is a different animal." - -"You cleaned up Spokane Falls." - -"Sure, with a sizable group of decent businessmen to back me up. I'd -guess there are precious few of those in Tunneltown." - -Ben smiled mirthlessly. "You looked it over?" - -"I ran into Pinky Bronklin and that candy-striped marshal." - -"Madrid? He made a reputation as an express guard on the OR & N. Killed -two bandits who tried to rob his car." - -"I've heard the story," Tesno said. "I also heard they were half-frozen -hoboes looking for a place to get warm." - -Ben nodded grimly, then he spread his palms above the littered -tabletop. "I'm not asking for miracles, Jack. I'll settle for -midnight closing, no Sunday sales, no sales to drunks. Get rid of the -knockout-drop artists and the drunk rollers. And the gambling. It -causes as much trouble as the booze. There's a territorial statute that -forbids casino gambling, but the county sheriff is the nearest law -officer--sixty miles away at Ellensburg. The best he could do was agree -to deputize any troublebuster I hire." - -"Damned if I'll ride down there just to get a badge." - -"Suit yourself. I'll put you on the payroll as of tomorrow." - -"I figure to start tonight," Tesno said. - -"What you going to do tonight?" - -Tesno grinned one-sidedly. "Call on Persia Parker." - -Ben pursed his lips and made a little gesture of resignation. Both men -got to their feet. - -"There's room in the east bunkhouse," Ben said. - -"How's that hotel in town?" - -"Fair enough. No bugs." - -"I'll stay there, send you the bill." - -"Now hold your horses," Ben said. "When did you get too persnickety to -sleep in a bunkhouse?" - -"Hotel's handier." - -Ben glared. "All right, you damn bandit. Anything else?" - -"Just tell me where to find the Parker woman." - -"Lady," he corrected. "She runs a rotten town, she hates my liver, but -she's a lady." Ben appraised Tesno narrowly. "If you don't know what -that is, Jack, you're damn well going to get educated." - - - - -III - - -Tunneltown had only one thoroughfare that attained the stature of a -street. It had a network of lanes, wagon tracks, and alleys. They slid -between buildings, twisted around woodpiles, lumbered over ditches -on makeshift bridges. Many of these wound back to the main drag or -meandered off into the woods. Others converged on a large log building -of chalet-like aspect known as "the townhouse." This structure had two -identical front entrances, one near each end. The southernmost of these -led to the town offices and a small courtroom. The other end of the -building provided a spacious residence for Duke Parker's widow. - -Tesno's thump of the ornate, pear-shaped knocker was answered by a trim -young woman in a maid's cap. As soon as she heard his name, she swung -the door wide and stepped back as if she had been expecting him. - -Surprised, he followed her into a large living room. Simple maple -furniture and light blue draperies gave the room a touch of luxury -without seeming out of place up here in the wilderness. A wide doorway -led to the dining room, where he glimpsed two persons seated at a table. - -"I vill tell Mrs. Parker you are here," the maid said. She had a slight -Swedish accent. - -"Have him come in, Stella," a feminine voice called. - -Tesno followed the maid into the dining room. Persia Parker was -having dinner with Sam Lester, the town treasurer, whom she promptly -introduced. - -"Will you join us, Mr. Tesno?" she said. "We're having duck." - -Silverware and stemmed goblets glistened on a snow-white tablecloth. -Red wine sparkled in the goblets. The duck looked delicious. - -"Thanks," Tesno said, "but this is a business call, Mrs. Parker. I'm -sorry to interrupt...." - -"You haven't had dinner; I can sense it. Sit down, Mr. Tesno." - -Persia Parker smiled deliciously, and he sat down. Stella immediately -set a place for him. He grinned and said, "You have a sixth sense, Mrs. -Parker." - -"At breakfast and lunch I just grab and gulp," she said, "so I like to -make a little ceremony of the evening meal. So it's a treat to have a -guest--oh, Sam doesn't count." - -Thin-haired, hunch-shouldered Sam Lester looked up from his plate. He -wore shot-glass-thick lenses that hid his eyes and gave his face a -froglike placidity. - -"She feeds me," he said. He put down his fork and reached for a wine -bottle. Persia shook her head in refusal. He filled Tesno's glass and -then his own. - -"Sam lives above the offices in the other part of the building," Persia -said, smiling again. - -She had white, even teeth, the complexion of an angel, and hair as pale -as Montana gold. Her eyes were a mysterious shade that Tesno couldn't -decide about, but they were frank and friendly. - -"I drag him in to dinner most every night," she went on. "Sometimes -I think he would prefer to bolt down a sandwich and get back to his -precious bookkeeping. What part of the country are you from, Mr. Tesno?" - -The wine was mellow, fragrant with the scent of some fertile, faraway -valley. "I was born in New Mexico Territory," he said. "Got into -railroading when the Santa Fe was fighting the Denver & Rio Grande for -Raton Pass." - -Stella set a plate before him with half a roasted duck on it. He was -hungry, but he ate without tasting, captivated by the charm of Persia -Parker. - -She pried him with questions about himself, touching him with eyes that -were green or gray or hazel, smiling when he smiled, making him feel -that every word he said was important to her. He was not a talkative -man, but now he talked as he seldom had before. - -He told about his parents being killed by Comanches when he was a few -months old, about the whisky-running renegade who had bought him from -the Indians and raised him. He told how he had hired out as a wrangler -when he was twelve, how a rancher's wife had taught him lessons and -lent him books to read. And Persia Parker laughed and frowned and -touched him with her eyes, warily now, as if afraid of the tenderness -he saw there, afraid he might misunderstand. - -Sam Lester seemed content to be ignored. He finished his coffee -quickly, muttered that he had paper work to do, and left them alone. - -Persia lead Tesno into the parlor. She was taller than he had expected. -She wore a simple, black, ankle-length dress, and he remembered that -her husband had been dead less than three months. Yet black set off her -pale hair, and he couldn't picture her in anything more becoming. She -indicated a chair for him and sat down on a sofa two feet away. - -"I expect you're a busy woman," he said. "I'd better get to the point." - -"I'm not half as busy as you'd think, Mr. Tesno," she said. "The town -pretty much runs itself. And my position is entirely unofficial, you -know. My husband was mayor, and after his death, I took over some of -the more ceremonial duties of the office--temporarily, I thought. But -the town council likes the novelty, and I'm afraid, the notoriety, of -having a 'lady mayor.' This is no ordinary community, and they seem to -feel that anything that adds to its uniqueness is good for business. So -they keep postponing the election of Duke's successor." - -"You also own most of the business property in town," he said. "Isn't -that true?" - -She nodded readily. "Duke didn't try very hard to sell lots because -when the tunnel is finished, the town will fade away. At least, that's -the probability. So he put up buildings and leased them to businessmen -on a percentage basis. A few businesses he operated himself, of course." - -"So as heir to his estate, you're in a position to tell the town -council what to do." - -"Not exactly," she said, frowning. "At least, I don't. In fact, it -seems as if somebody is always telling _me_ what to do. Sometimes I -feel a bit trapped, Mr. Tesno." - -"You know I work for Ben Vickers?" - -"I presumed you did." - -"You must know what the town is doing to his men. A booze town and a -construction job don't mix." - -"It isn't a nice town," she admitted soberly. "But it makes money. And -I owe Ben Vickers nothing." - -Tesno's eyebrows went up. "Without him there'd be no town." - -"He's fought us every step of the way," she said, emotion creeping into -her voice. "If it hadn't been for Ben Vickers, my husband would be -alive today." - -Tesno was startled. "I didn't know that." - -"Duke brought a crew of workmen up here to build Tunneltown. Ben -Vickers coaxed most of them away by offering them a bonus to work for -him. That left us awfully short-handed, and Duke pitched in himself. He -wasn't used to that kind of work, and he got killed.... Oh, I know that -Vickers was only playing a rough game the way it's played. I don't want -to be bitter. I'd give a good deal to have a cleaner town." - -"You could clean it up." - -"Me?" She seemed genuinely surprised. - -"You and the town council. And the marshal. Maybe he'd need a deputy or -two." - -"I don't know. The trouble is that we're making money." - -"That's always the trouble. At least, it's always the argument. But -there's a good deal of honest business in town. There's a livery barn -and smithy, a general store, hotel, barber shop, restaurant...." - -"Most of those aren't doing very well, Mr. Tesno." - -"Has it occurred to you that the saloons and gambling tables are -hurting them?" - -"No," she said thoughtfully. "I suppose there's money spent in the -saloons that could be spent elsewhere. But, Mr. Tesno, three of the -members of the council are saloonkeepers. The other is the hotel man." - -"Is Pinky Bronklin on the council?" - -"Mr. Bronklin? Yes." - -"Mrs. Parker, would you call a meeting of the council and tell them -what I want?" - -"There's a meeting of the council tomorrow night." - -"Fine. On second thought, I'll tell them myself." - -"That's probably best. But what do you want, Mr. Tesno?" - -"Midnight and Sunday closing. No booze sold to drunks. No gambling. -That will do for a start." - -Persia sighed heavily, then quickly smiled as if amused at herself. -"I've heard those words so often from Ben Vickers. The council has -heard them, too. What makes you think you'll get them to listen?" - -"They'll listen," he said. - -"Maybe they will," she said soberly. "I guess if they'll listen to -anyone, it will be you. I wish you luck." - -He grinned his lopsided grin and started to rise, but she was on her -feet ahead of him. She brushed past him, laying a hand on his shoulder -to keep him in his chair. - -"I'll get you some brandy," she said. Before he could protest, she was -gone, and he chided himself for the surge of warmth that her casual -touch aroused in him. - -She was back at once with a brandy bottle and a glass, saying that she -had neglected her duties as a hostess. She poured him a drink and sat -down again, not having one herself. - -"I'm taking up your evening," he said. - -"Mr. Tesno, you have a cigar in your pocket. I wish you'd smoke it." - -He smoked it, remembering not to chew the end. They talked and laughed -softly and got acquainted. She told him about herself; how she had -grown up in her aunt's Tacoma boarding house, how she had met Duke -Parker there and run away with him. She would have married anyone, -she said (curiously, he thought), who would take her away from the -dawn-to-after-dark routine of cooking, cleaning, and table-waiting. -She spoke, too, of the house Duke had built on the bluff above -Commencement Bay, of sailing parties and picnics and clam-digging at -Gig Harbor. - -He might have wearied of such talk from another woman, but he cherished -every word Persia Parker spoke, weighing it for the subtle, personal -message that seemed to be hidden in it. It was as if some strange, -almost mystic accident were giving him a glimpse of a world he had -never known could exist--not the world she spoke about, but the lovely -mysterious world of herself. - -At last he rose to leave, reluctantly, the cigar long since discarded. -She went to the door with him. When he had walked a few steps into the -night, he turned, and she was a waving silhouette in the bright frame -of the doorway. Jauntily, he threw her a kiss, wondering if she could -see him plainly enough to make out the gesture. She waved again. The -door closed. Picking his way in the thick darkness, he moved along an -unfamiliar path toward the scattered lights of the main street. - - * * * * * - -Persia stood frowning at the white surface of the closed door. -Footsteps in the parlor told her that Sam Lester had come in from the -other part of the building. After a moment, she went to meet him. - -"I didn't expect he'd be quite so ... nice," Persia said. - -"What did he say?" Sam seemed an emotionless little robot as his thick -lenses caught the light from a lamp. - -"He's going to be at the council meeting tomorrow night." - -"I don't think so," Sam said. - -"Why not? It's best to have him dealing with the council." - -"He has to go. It's been decided." - -"Why? Is he so fierce? Mr. Madrid took his gun." - -"Mr. Jay wasn't impressed," Sam said. "He said Vickers has hired -himself a he-coon." Sam sat down beside the brandy bottle and poured -himself a stiff drink. - -"Sam," Persia said, "I wish I owned this town as everyone thinks I do. -I'd cash in and get out. Ben Vickers would pay a pretty price for it." - -"Get out anyhow, Persia." - -"No!" she said emphatically. "Not till I can take a lot of money with -me." - -"I'd take care of you. You know that." - -"Please, Sam. Don't start that." - -She sat down at the far end of the sofa to avoid looking into the -thick lenses. She didn't want to hurt his feelings. He was forty--an -old forty--and she was twenty-three. He was a dull, ugly little man; -a twenty-dollar-a-week bookkeeper when Duke had picked him up. But he -was smart about accounts and legal documents. And he was loyal. He -protected her from any shenanigans Mr. Jay might have in mind. - -Mr. Jay and Duke had been partners of a sort, although this had been a -tightly kept secret. The townsite papers were in Duke's name; but it -had been Mr. Jay's money that had built the town and he had put himself -firmly in control by tying Duke up with notes and contracts and such. -Duke had found himself a mere front--just as she was now, passing Mr. -Jay's decisions on to the council as if they were her own. She, Sam, -and Mr. Madrid, and possibly Mr. Pinky Bronklin, were the only ones who -knew this. - -Mr. Jay's determination was sometimes frightening. He meant to take -over Ben Vickers' contract, and he wanted as wild and dirty a town as -possible in order to slow down the work. Some of Vickers' key men had -been drugged or beaten. Without coming right out and saying so, Sam had -made it clear that Mr. Jay had arranged these incidents. Oh, it was all -a pretty rotten business, but there was a chance to make money here, a -chance a woman didn't often get. She thought of that boarding house in -Tacoma and shuddered. She would die before she went back there. - -All the income from rents, leases, and the sale of real estate was -going to pay off Duke's debt to Mr. Jay. The only thing in the clear -was a three-quarter interest in the Pink Lady, which was in Persia's -name and not part of Duke's estate. Since the town paid her living -expenses out of tax money, she was able to put aside this income from -the saloon each month. It was a tidy little sum but not enough to make -a person rich--not in the year or so of existence the town had left. - -Her great hope was that Mr. Jay would take over the tunnel contract -soon. He could then come out in the open and he would buy the township -proprietorship from Duke's estate, writing off the debts and putting up -a tidy bit of cash besides. He would also buy the Pink Lady. And thanks -to Sam Lester, Persia had this agreement in writing. - -Sam set down his glass and refilled it. "You're honest enough with me, -Persia. I'm grateful for that." - -Before he could go on, she switched the subject back to Tesno. "Sam, -how are they going to get rid of him?" - -"There's nothing we can do about it." - -"Sam, I want to know." - -"They're going to put him in the hospital." - -"I won't have that!" Persia sat up straight. "I ... I'll see Mr. Jay -first thing in the morning!" - -Sam sipped his drink. "Persia, I never wanted to marry, but now--" - -"Sam, please!" She spoke harshly, sharply. Then she smiled and said -softly, "Please." - -Sam sighed, drained his glass, and looked speculatively at the bottle. -"Forget about seeing Mr. Jay in the morning. It will happen tonight. -It's probably happening right now." - -Persia found herself on her feet, hurrying to the door. There she -stopped, frowning thoughtfully. - -"There's nothing anybody can do," Sam said from the parlor. - -Then she went back to the sofa and sat down. Sam spoke tonelessly. - -"Madrid took his gun; now some money fighter is going to put him in -the hospital. It will be a joke around town, Mr. Jay said, all that -happening to the big troublebuster the first night he gets in town. It -won't be too bad, I guess, Persia. Maybe it's all over by now. Put it -out of your mind." - -"Yes." She gave a curious little shrug. "Put it out of my mind. There's -nothing else to do." - -They sat in silence for a time. Then she said, "Sam, if we went away -from here, where would we go?" - - - - -IV - - -The main street was an empty, lonely place in spite of the humming -bright tunnels of the town's saloons. Tesno stepped off the boardwalk -into the dark river of the street, angling toward a dim white globe -with HOTEL lettered on it. The pasty-faced night clerk looked up from a -game of solitaire as he entered the cluttered lobby. The air was heavy -with stale smoke and the smell of unpainted wood. - -"I had your saddlebags and blanket roll brought down from the livery," -the clerk said, slapping Tesno's key on the desk. "And, oh, a Mr. -Warren wanted to see you. He said to tell you he'd be at the Pink Lady. -That's a saloon." - -"Warren? Did he say what he wanted?" - -"He said Mr. Vickers' sent him." - -Tesno muttered thanks. He stood toying with his key, then dropped it on -the desk and wheeled back into the night. He quickly walked the short -block to the Pink Lady, passing no one, not liking the darkness of the -town. - -The saloon was full, the jangle of the piano half-smothered by the roar -of voices, the clink of glasses and faro checks, the whir and clatter -of a wheel of fortune. But as he paused inside the batwings, squinting -against the stale brightness, the noise ebbed. Heads turned toward him, -then cautiously away. And he knew at once something was in the air. - -He sauntered on into the place. A little Irishman turned away from the -bar and hissed at him as he passed. - -"Watch it, Bucko." - -Tesno nodded at the man, who looked vaguely familiar. _So I walked into -it_, he thought. _They set me up, and I walked into it._ It would be -a fight, he guessed. Otherwise the crowd wouldn't know, wouldn't be -waiting for a show. Some hired tough had been bragging himself up to -it, probably, mouthing off about some pretended grudge. - -Men made a place for him at the bar, and he took it. Pinky Bronklin -slid up and laid his pincerlike hand on the wood. He looked downright -cheerful. - -"Man named Warren asked me to meet him here," Tesno said. "You know -him?" - -Pinky shook his head. The white scar glistened on his flushed face. -"You want a drink?" - -"I'll have a cigar." - -Pinky moved away. Tesno turned casually away from the bar. A huge blond -man with a broken nose got up from a table and swaggered toward the -bar. Tesno made room for him but still got an elbow in the ribs. The -man was half a head taller than Tesno's six feet, outweighed him by -forty pounds. - -Silence clamped the room now. Even the piano had stopped. Pinky came up -with a box of cigars. Tesno took five, laid a quarter on the bar. - -"Beer," the big man said. He turned to Tesno, looked him over, grinned. -There was a tooth missing from the grin. - -"Your name Warren?" Tesno said, biting off the end of a cigar. - -"This here is Hobo Hobson," Pinky said, setting a bottle of beer on the -bar. "Hobo, meet Mr. Tesno." - -"I figured this was him," Hobson said loudly. "He killed a friend of -mine at Pend Oreille. Shot him in the back." - -"Not so!" A high-pitched voice came from near the door, and Tesno saw -that the little Irishman had stepped out from the crowd. "I was there. -Ace Gandy was blazing away with a revolver when he died. Tesno took a -slug in the leg before he even fired." - -Someone pulled the man back. Hobson faced the bar as if to pick up his -beer; instead, he swung at Tesno's head with a vicious backhanded blow. -Tensed for something of the kind, Tesno stepped back. Hobson's hand -missed its target but sent the cigar flying from Tesno's mouth. - -"My fault," Tesno said mildly, giving the man room. - -Hobson's grin was broader than ever. A shock of blond hair had -fallen across his forehead, and he seemed more animal than man. A -stand-up-and-swing, stomp-a-man-when-he's-down fighter, Tesno thought. -A bear-hugger and an eye-gouger. But a man who depended on his own -monstrous strength and fighting knowledge rather than on weapons. Not -the sort to pull a knife or a Henry D. - -"It seems this Tesno backs away from a fight when he ain't got a gun," -Hobson said. - -"Depends," Tesno said. He sent his glance over the crowd, which had -coagulated into a half circle. In front of a faro table near the far -wall, he spotted Madrid's barber-pole shirt. He raked a match across -his rump and lighted another cigar. - -"Who sent you?" he asked Hobson. - -"Sent me? Sent me where?" - -"I've seen back-country pros before. You're a Sunday-afternoon pug, a -winner-take-all man who doesn't fight for fun. Who's paying you?" - -"You killed a friend of mine. That's enough." - -Hobson tipped up the bottle of beer, drank deeply, set it down. Tesno -laid his cigar on the edge of the bar. - -Hobson took one leisurely step forward, then charged, lashing out -with his great fists. Throwing up his hands to guard his head, Tesno -turned sideways and aimed his left foot at Hobson's left knee. He took -a sledgehammer blow on the shoulder that knocked him off balance, but -not till he had got his boot sole against the knee. Twisting with his -weight against it, he felt the kneecap slide out of place. - -Hobson gave a strange little yelp of pain. Stumbling, he grabbed his -knee with both hands. Tesno was on him like a cat, seizing him by the -hair, hauling him forward. Then he plunged his own knee into the man's -face to send him careening into a poker table and off it to the floor -in an avalanche of cards and chips. Dazed and awkward, bleeding from -his mouth, Hobson struggled to get to his feet. Tesno caught him at the -base of the skull with a short brutal rabbit-punch that dropped him -open-mouthed and motionless in the filthy sawdust of the floor. - -For a moment, nothing broke the silence. Then someone cursed -reverently. "God! God almighty damn!" And a rooster cry rose from the -end of the bar--the little Irishman, no doubt. - -Tesno sauntered to the bar and stuck the cigar between his teeth. "Some -of you boys pick him up," he said. "Lug him to the jail." - -The little Irishman broke from the crowd, gesturing to others. Four -of them turned Hobo Hobson on his back preparatory to lifting him. -But Pete Madrid stood over them, muttering something, and they -straightened. Madrid faced Tesno tensely. - -"Who in hell do you think you are?" Madrid said. "You've no authority -to jail a man." - -"I want him locked up for the night. And a doctor had better look at -him. We'll use the town jail, Marshal." - -"You'll use it. You and Hobson both." - -"Maybe you haven't got the straight of it," Tesno said. "I tried to -back off. Every man here witnessed it." - -Madrid's hand made a snake-strike at his hip and came up with his -revolver. He gestured toward the door with it and said, "Get moving, -cowboy." - -The cigar had gone out, and Tesno relighted it. Madrid aimed the gun -at Tesno's feet. "Walk to jail or go there crippled. It makes no -difference to me." - -Tesno headed for the door, swaggering a little, puffing the cigar. As -he passed Madrid, he said, "This is the second mistake you've made -today, Marshal." - -The marshal's office was in a squat log building at the foot of the -street. Tesno entered it first. Madrid followed and turned up a -low-burning lamp in a wall bracket. The jail was a single cell at -the rear of the office. Its iron-bound wooden door stood open. Tesno -stopped beside a flat-top desk in the center of the room. The men from -the saloon lugged Hobson past him and deposited him on a bunk in the -cell. He was still out cold. - -"He needs a doctor," Tesno said. - -Madrid still held the revolver. He made no reply except to gesture -toward the cell with it. Tesno stepped inside the cell and pulled the -door shut behind him. He peered out through the small barred window in -the door. - -Madrid waved the men who had carried Hobson to one side. "Step back -from the door," he said to Tesno. - -Tesno backed up two short steps. Madrid holstered his gun and moved -forward to lock the cell, which was fitted with a hasp and staple. A -huge padlock with the key in it hung from the staple. - -Tesno raised his hands and plunged into the door. It smashed into the -marshal, knocking the padlock from his hand as he staggered backward. -Tesno dived into him, seizing his gun hand as it flashed to his hip, -driving him hard into a corner of the desk, falling on top of him as he -hit the floor. - -Tesno was quickly on his feet, the marshal's gun in his hand. Madrid -lay on his back, hurt by his collision with the desk, struggling -noisily for wind. Tesno seized him by the heels, dragged him roughly -into the cell, snapped the lock into place. The little Irishman burst -into a high-pitched laugh. - -"Now who ever heard of such a thing? He jailed the marshal." - -"Get a doctor, Mike." - -"Only one's at Vickers' camp." - -"Get him. I'll be back at the Pink Lady." - -He yanked open desk drawers till he found his own revolver and gunbelt. -He buckled it on, feeling weariness rise in him like a quick-acting -drug, wanting nothing so much as his hotel room and its bed. But it was -necessary now to show himself back at the saloon, to buy these men a -drink. That was the way the game was played. You came in tough. And you -swaggered a little for the crowd. - - - - -V - - -"Stupid, stupid, stupid!" Mr. Jay said when he answered the knock on -the door of his suite at the hotel. - -"Take it easy," Pete Madrid said, pushing past him. "I'm the one who -got hurt." - -Mr. Jay's beard jerked angrily. "Did you have to come straight here? -Don't you know he'll be watching you?" - -"I'm not that stupid. He's having breakfast at the restaurant." - -They went into Mr. Jay's little parlor. Madrid eased himself into a -chair. Mr. Jay stood glaring at him. - -"So he let you out. Hobson too?" Mr. Jay said. - -"He and Hobson are having breakfast together." - -"Will Hobson talk?" - -"Maybe. But all he can say is that Pinky promised him ten dollars -if he'd break some bones. Pinky had a grudge from back in Idaho, so -there's nothing to point to anybody else." - -Mr. Jay considered that. When he spoke, his tone was milder. "We've all -been stupid. We underestimated the man. How bad are you hurt?" - -"Busted rib. It isn't so bad since Doc strapped me up." - -"Vickers' doctor?" - -Madrid nodded. "I can still draw a gun." - -Mr. Jay's beard jerked sternly. "We won't have any of that." - -"Seems like the only way left." - -"It's what we should have done in the first place, maybe. But after -what's happened it would be too raw. We'd have the railroad down on us, -the county sheriff up here. No, for the time being well play Tesno's -game." - -"That means a clean-up." - -"We'll go through the motions. We'll enforce a curfew for a while, -send a few gamblers packing. The important thing is for us to do it, -not him." - -Madrid scowled, as if he didn't understand or didn't agree. Mr. Jay -walked to a window and stared out, hands behind his back. - -"In the meantime," Mr. Jay said, "you're to get along with him. He's -top-dogged you, and you're going to have to live with it. Do you -understand that?" - -"I try to get along with everybody," Madrid said. "It makes things -easier." - -Mr. Jay turned his back to the window, moving in the quick irritable -way that he had. He studied the marshal a moment, then he sighed. His -manner suddenly became paternal. - -"You're young, Pete--which is a polite way of saying you're a fool. -Pride, being top dog, paying off a grudge, these things are a waste -of energy unless there's money involved. Maybe you'll learn that some -day." Mr. Jay faced the window again, looking across the patch of woods -toward Vickers' camp. "If you live long enough." - - * * * * * - -Tesno found Ben Vickers at the tunnel. Ben had heard about his jailing -the marshal and was in a jubilant mood. After he had slapped Tesno's -back innumerable times, they entered the portal and he enthusiastically -explained his method of tunneling. - -There were a lot of niceties to it, but the basis was the digging of an -eight-foot heading in advance of the lower part of the bore. Shoring -was put in behind the heading crew, then replaced by another set of -timbers as the bench was removed. - -"Most expensive procedure ever devised for tunneling through rock," -Ben said, grinning. "But damn it, it's the fastest, too. At least -in theory. In practice--well, we have to get those Ingersoll drills -working, that's all." - -When they emerged from the dim, dust-filled chamber, the world had -taken on a strange new vividness, Tesno thought. The panorama of men -and horses at work on the side cuts seemed a distant creation. The -sunlight itself and the nagging mountain wind had a foreign quality. -It was as if he had strayed onto some unsuspected reality that he could -observe but never be a part of. - -He noticed that the slashing was in progress in the timber high above, -and he remembered hearing that the railroad would use a switchback -over the mountain till the tunnel was completed. He asked Ben who was -building it. - -"Three different contractors," Ben said. "I have a piece on this side. -Mr. Jay has one of the far sections." - -It seemed a cumbersome, impatient bit of railroading. And in that -curious moment of detachment, Tesno felt that he was watching a race of -madmen at play. Obsessed with money and mechanics, they wouldn't rest -till they had driven steel toys over this ragged sea of mountains to -a remote corner of the land. And why? Was it really an accomplishment -to bring the thing called civilization to Puget Sound? "All this to -reach a little bay tucked away between the fingers of land on the West -Coast." The thought amused him and he laughed aloud. - -"What's funny?" Ben demanded. - -Tesno grinned uncomfortably. "Sort of a private joke." - -Ben shot him an impatient look and went to consult with a pair of -engineers who were studying a diagram, holding it between them with -their backs to the wind. Hearing a chuckle behind him, Tesno turned and -found himself confronting a tall, hawk-faced man leaning on a shovel. - -"A gun tough who's a philosopher," the workman said. "Now that is -something." - -"And a shovel bum with educated diction. That's something, too." - -The man hesitated, then extended his hand. He was bone thin, a little -stooped, and his smile was sad. "Name's Dave Coons. Itinerant actor, -confidence man, peddlar, phrenologist, and what have you. Currently a -shovel bum, doing a bit of soul-saving on the side." - -Tesno shook hands without heartiness. "A preacher?" - -"Somebody has to carry the word to these poor bastards." Coons waved a -hand to indicate the workmen around him. - -"And take up a collection?" - -"No. I sweat for my pay like everybody else. Mostly I just sit in a -corner of the bunkhouse and talk about God. Those who want to listen -join me. There are damn few, of course." - -"You don't talk like a preacher." - -"I make it a point not to. I've been known to get a snootful, too, and -last week, I had a fist fight with a heckler. He thumped the daylights -out of me. You here to boss Tunneltown?" - -"Depends," Tesno said. - -"The booze is rotten and the games crooked. The town brings Vickers' -payroll right back to him." - -"What do you mean by that?" - -"He and the Parker girl are in together, aren't they?" - -"Then why would he hire me?" - -"How do I know? He's a cagey man." - -"You're badly informed," Tesno said. "Tunneltown is a thorn in his -side. It's slowing down his operation and he wants it cleaned up." - -Coons' hollow-set black eyes were skeptical. "I'll believe it when I -see it," he muttered. - -"Believe what you please," Tesno growled. - -He started to turn away, but Coons drew himself up with mock solemnity, -placed a hand against his chest and recited: - -"'Oh, it is excellent To have a giant's strength; but it is tyrannous -To use it like a giant." - -He smiled and said, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Tesno. I have a feeling I'll -be seeing you later." He wandered off, shovel on his shoulder, and -joined a crew working on a small fill. - -Ben came up, his eyes following Coons. - -"What did that crackpot want?" - -"I don't know," Tesno said. - -"He usually has complaints about the food or working conditions. He -considers himself a spokesman for the men. That kind can make trouble." - -"I liked the man," Tesno muttered. - -He rode back to camp alone, letting the company mule pick its way down -a steep trail that clung to the gulch wall. Ben was a slave-driver, he -thought. What successful contractor wasn't? Somewhere in the process -of clawing and gambling his way up from the ranks, he had lost the -capacity to understand a man who sat around the bunkhouse and talked -about God. We were all crackpots, Tesno thought, each man in his own -way. - -He left the mule at the company corral, lunched at the cookhouse, and -made the short walk to town. He found the saloons already busy with -cooks, freighters, and a few night-shift men having a midday drink or -a try at the games. He counted fifteen faro tables in town, not all of -them operating at this hour. He spotted one game that was definitely -crooked and he suspected there were more. - -He visited the Pink Lady last, finding Madrid at the bar in -conversation with Pinky Bronklin. They drew apart as he approached, and -customers turned to watch. - -Tesno stepped a few feet away, glad of a chance to face the marshal -before witnesses. Madrid was freshly shaved and had put on a clean -shirt. This one had broad green stripes. Its sleeves were encircled by -red garters. - -"My god," Tesno said. "You look like a Christmas tree." - -"What's the matter with a little style?" Madrid said defensively. His -tone was not that of a man looking for a showdown. - -"Black is for corpses," Pinky muttered. His eyes raked Tesno. "It will -look nice on you." - -"Hobson sang, Pinky," Tesno said, stepping up to the bar. - -"What's that to me?" - -"You know what it is, but I'll say it. You paid him to pick a fight." - -"He said that? He's a liar," Pinky said. - -"I'll bring him in here. You can say it to his face." - -"No chance of that," Madrid put in. "Hobson left town. Took the -Ellensburg stage." The marshal swung away and idled over to a faro game. - -Tesno eyed Pinky silently. - -"Hobson lied," Pinky said desperately. "He must be covering for -somebody else." - -"You protest too much," Tesno said. - -He caught Pinky by the hair, pulled him forward, and slapped him -resoundingly on one cheek and then the other. He suddenly shoved him -away and Pinky staggered into the back bar. - -The customers watched in silence. Madrid made no move; he scarcely -looked up from the faro game. Pinky glared, his face flushed. There -would be a gun behind the bar somewhere, Tesno thought. But the -saloonkeeper made no attempt to go for it. Tesno spun on his heel and -walked out of the saloon. As he pushed through the swinging doors, -there was a tide of low talk and uneasy laughter. A muffled comment met -his ears: - -"Damned high-handed troublebuster! Due for a takedown." - -Loneliness stung him like a mountain wind as his bootheels drummed the -boardwalk. Pinky had got off easy. Didn't the crowd understand that? -The words Dave Coons had quoted rang in his memory: - - _Oh, it is excellent_ - _To have a giant's strength; but it is tyrannous_ - _To use it like a giant._ - -_Tyrant_, he called himself. _Damned high-hander! And Ben Vickers is a -slave-driver. And Coons a crackpot. And we are all working hard at it._ - -As he reached the hotel, someone called his name from across the -street. It was Whisky Willie Silverknife, who fell into a dog-trot and -arrived waving a folded paper. - -"M-m-message for you. From M-Miss Persia." - -Tesno had the note unfolded by the time Willie got the words out. - - Dear Mr. Tesno: - - The council meeting is at seven. Will you join me for dinner - afterward? - - Persia Parker - -"S-she s-said to t-tell me yes or n-no," Willie said. - -"How come you're running her errands?" - -"I hit her for a j-job, like you s-said." Willie blushed under his -freckles. "She d-didn't have one, not right away, b-but she s-said -maybe she'd think of s-something. She s-said if I was b-broke, which -I am, to come around to the k-kitchen for m-meals. After l-lunch she -g-gave me that n-note." - -Willie slid the flask from his hip pocket and took a short drink. Tesno -re-read the note, searching for the sound of Persia's voice in every -word. - -"Tell her yes." - -Willie nodded, taking a deep breath to chase the whisky. "She's r-right -interested in you. When she found out I rode up here with you, she -asked all about you. I told her when I first s-seen you, you was laying -in the grass naked as a p-pup p-possum." - -Tesno gave him a murderous look. Willie grinned. - -"She l-laughed like hell," he said. - - - - -VI - - -The council meeting took place in a large, unpainted room in the -townhouse. Persia presided, just as if she were the legitimate mayor. -She sat at one end of a table, wearing a dark serge suit and looking -both businesslike and beautiful. Sam Lester sat at the other end, -inscrutable behind the crystal mask of his spectacles. The four council -members sat in between. Tesno drew up a chair to one side of Persia. - -He listened impatiently while the members quibbled over the location of -a town watering trough. A rasp-voiced man named Parris, who operated -the hotel, did most of the talking. The three saloonkeeping councilmen -kept glancing at Persia as if she would make the decision and the -debate was a mere formality. Pinky Bronklin sat with his talonlike hand -on the table where all could see it and said hardly a word. - -Persia introduced Tesno with some little formality. He stated his -demands as concisely as possible. He tried to avoid a dictatorial tone, -yet he made it clear that one way or another he intended to see a -drastic change in the town. When he had finished, the saloonkeepers sat -sullenly quiet. It was Mr. Parris who spoke up, and he was angry. - -"I agree that we could stand some improvement around here," he said. -"But to request co-operation is one thing, to tell us what to do, -another. Begging your pardon, Persia, I move that we tell Mr. Tesno to -go to hell and then face our problems in our own way." - -"That'll suit me fine, if you _will_ face them," Tesno said. "But -you'll clean up or I will. Take your choice." - -"You'll clean up! Have you forgotten there's law in the land--and in -this town. And it's on our side!" Mr. Parris slapped the table and -glared. - -"Law?" Tesno said icily. "You were elected by the drifting labor that -built this town. You run a town full of thugs and card sharks. And you -talk about law! Bring it on, Mr. Parris. While you're doing it, I'll -close your town down tight. And I'll guarantee you you'll wind up with -your charter pulled out from under you!" - -"This won't do," Persia said. "You two agree that we ought to -do something. Mr. Tesno is willing to let us do it in our own -way--provided we do get results. Right, Mr. Tesno?" - -"Right," he said. - -"Then I don't see what you are arguing about. Mr. Tesno, now that -you've told us what you want, would you mind leaving us and letting us -thrash this out?" - -"Fair enough," he said. - -She had spoken crisply, almost hostilely. Now she said with a smile and -in an entirely different tone, "Wait in my parlor." - -He followed a long hall that led to the other part of the house. He -entered the parlor and sat down to wait, musing about his abrupt -dismissal. He had the impression that Tunneltown council meetings -were little more than a mockery, that the members gathered to receive -instructions rather than to make their own decisions. Even Mr. Parris -had seemed to be arguing out of mere cantankerousness and not with any -real hope of seeing his views prevail if Persia was against them. - -Probably Persia was now telling them exactly how far they would go -in co-operating with him. Or would it be Sam Lester who was doing -the telling? That Lester was a power behind the throne seemed a real -possibility. In any case, the council was a convenient device to avoid -the pinpointing of responsibility on an individual. - -Annoyed, he strolled into the dining room and poured himself a glass -of brandy from a bottle on the sideboard. He could hear voices in the -kitchen--Stella's and a stammering tenor that could belong only to -Willie Silverknife. Returning to the parlor, he lighted a cigar and sat -sipping the strong and fragrant liquor. - -Persia appeared sooner than he expected. She was alone, and he wondered -if Sam Lester would join them later. She insisted on getting him -another brandy, and she poured herself a glass of wine, which she -scarcely touched. - -"You're going to get your blue-nosed town," she said gayly. "All I ask -from you, Mr. Tesno, is a small amount of patience." - -He frowned, but before he could reply she went on. - -"We passed a couple of ordinances. Midnight closing. No liquor sold to -drunks. We also agreed that a one-man police force isn't adequate, so -we're going to hire a deputy. Satisfied?" - -"How about the gambling?" - -"That's where the patience comes in." - -He shook his head. "The gambling has to go, Persia." - -She smiled at him very slightly, as she might at a stubborn child. "I -suppose you'll have your way, but, I shouldn't tell you this, Jack, but -I will." She used his first name so naturally that he didn't notice for -an instant. "Duke had to borrow heavily to build Tunneltown. He left me -broke and in debt. The town brings in quite a little money now--though -maybe not as much as most people think. But when I've made a monthly -payment on the debts, there's very little left. If the town didn't give -me my living expenses, I could scarcely get by. Now if the gambling -goes, at least two saloons will have to close. If I lose the money from -those leases, I'm ruined. There won't even be enough even to make the -payments to my creditors." - -He made a small gesture of helplessness. "The last thing I want to do -is hurt _you_. But the gambling...." - -"If we could just have a little time, we might find other kinds of -business that would lease those buildings." - -"It isn't my time to give away," he said. "It's Ben's. And he hasn't -got much of it. How much do you need?" - -"I've no idea." - -"The crooked gamblers have to go right now along with the rest of the -riffraff. There can be no delay about that." - -She nodded to this. "If I'd had my way, they'd have gone long ago." - -"Don't you always have your way, Persia?" - -She seemed mildly startled. She gave a little shrug. "How do you tell -which are crooked?" - -"I can spot them for you." - -"Jack, please. Keep out of it entirely. I ... I can't have Vickers' man -butting in. You can understand that." - -"Yes." It stung him to have her call him somebody else's man, though it -wouldn't have bothered him if another person had said it. - -She seemed to sense that he was hurt, and she gave him a long, -sympathetic, almost maternal look. She didn't speak, and it pleased him -to feel a communication between them that needed no words. They would -put aside their differences now and speak of other things. - -"I'll tell Stella we're ready for dinner," she said. - -As she passed his chair, she laid her hand on his shoulder as she had -the night before. Now he laid his over it. She stopped beside him, -and her eyes were gold-flecked as they caught the lamplight, and she -squeezed his fingers and moved away. - -Hours later when she had gone to the door with him, he touched her arms -and drew her to him. She came against him willingly, her arms slid -around him, but she turned her head to avoid his kiss. She buried her -face against his shoulder, and he laid his cheek against her hair. - -"Persia," he said, "I've known little in life except roughness. You -represent something that I didn't know could exist for me." - -She pushed firmly away. "I've been a widow less than three months, -Jack. I've no right to listen to such talk. Not now." - -Her face was faintly flushed, her eyes dancing. Her smile carried a -reprimand and a promise that was as old as womankind. - -"You leave right now, _Mr._ Tesno," she said. - -"I'll see you tomorrow?" he said. - -"Yes!" she whispered. "Yes!" - -She closed the door the instant he was over the threshold. He stood -there a long moment, sure that she, too, was waiting only inches away. -His fingers touched the doorknob, then fell to his side. He drew the -restless night air deeply into his lungs and walked into the darkness. - -Off to the west, lightning shattered the sky, and the town leaped -fleetingly into being. Thunder pulsed distantly, and, swelling, rolled -into the gulch. - - - - -VII - - -Tesno circled the buckboard in the wide street and pulled it up -parallel to the hitchrail in front of the Pink Lady. Not liking his -errand, he swung slowly out of the seat and fussed over the tying of -the team. - -As always, Tunneltown depressed him. Midnight closing was observed -now, but rather loosely. As far as he knew, only one gambler had been -invited to leave, and he, Tesno suspected, had been cheating the house. -Aside from a sarcastic quip or two about the council's half-hearted -progress in doing what it had agreed to do, Ben Vickers had said -nothing. But there were signs that his patience was nearing its end. - -Tesno vaulted the hitchrail and moved toward the open doorway, the hum -and stench of the saloon setting his nerves on edge. A voice called his -name, and he found himself gaping at the figure approaching along the -boardwalk. - -"Howdy," Whisky Willie Silverknife said. He was wearing a black vest -with a star pinned on it. He was grinning from ear to ear. The star -flashed mirror-bright in the afternoon sun. - -"Howdy," Tesno said. - -"I got me a d-d-deputy m-marshal job." - -"I see. When did you start?" - -"L-last night. Not that I arrested anyb-body yet." - -"Madrid hire you?" - -"Yes. Miss P-Persia had it all fixed." Willie frowned. "I d-don't -know how I'm going to get along with Madrid. I mean, he d-don't give -me instruction or anything. He says, 'Sit on your d-duff, d-draw your -p-pay, k-keep your mouth shut and your nose c-clean.' Mr. Tesno, -c-could I have a t-talk with you?" - -"About what?" - -"I want to l-learn this b-business of b-being a p-p-peace officer." - -"I've got a chore to do right now," Tesno said. "How about tomorrow?" - -"F-fine. I'm off d-duty in the morning." - -Willie's hand slid around to his hip and came up with the flask he -carried there. It was filled with a colorless liquid, of which he took -a long swig. - -"Lemon soda," he said, licking his lips. "Miss Persia says st-stammer -or not, a deputy can't go around nipping whisky all day." - -He seemed to be completely serious, and Tesno suppressed a laugh. "Does -it work as well?" - -"Miss Persia says it will. She says the important thing is to w-wet my -wh-wh-whistle." - -_Persia hand-picked this kid for the job_, Tesno thought. _Why?_ He -said, "See you tomorrow," and pushed on into the saloon. He stood -blinking after the bright sunlight of the street, searching the big, -dim room till he spotted Vickers' general superintendant, Keef O'Hara, -who was seated alone at a back table behind a bottle and glass. - -O'Hara was a tall, muscular man with wild gray hair and wild blue -eyes. When he was sober, he had an air of competence and of bouyant -energy that commanded respect. Now he sat slumped forward on one elbow, -slack-faced and limp. - -"And what'll the trouble-man be wanting?" he said when Tesno -approached. "Surely it'll not be whisky with the dew still on the grass -and the sun scarce clear of the ridgetops. Only the Irish drink at this -hour." - -"It's three in the afternoon, Keef," Tesno said. He pulled out a chair -and sat down across the table. - -O'Hara sighed alcoholically and poured himself a fresh drink. "And -ye've come to sober me up for the night shift, eh, laddy-buck? I -might've expected it. What Ben Vickers can't do himself, he sets his -man to." - -"Ben didn't send me, Keef. Far as he knows, you're asleep in your -cabin." Tesno extended a hand to restrain O'Hara from lifting his -glass. "Time to break it off now, get some coffee." - -"I can stand another nip or two, lad." O'Hara slyly transferred his -drink to his other hand and sloughed it down. "Don't ye know I've been -working all night?" - -"I know. You and a bottle. You're due back on the job in three hours, -and you've had no sleep." - -O'Hara stared belligerently and reached for the bottle. Tesno beat him -to it and kept it out of his reach. The superintendant seemed about to -leap for Tesno's throat, then he was suddenly meek. - -"Keef O'Hara a slave to the demon rum! 'Tis a sad end for a man." - -"Keef, you've bossed tricky construction jobs all over the world. If -your skill was ever needed, it's here and now. You know what Ben's up -against. Now let's get out of here and sober up." - -"Lad, why do you think I signed on with Ben Vickers?... For the -same reason half the terriers came up here. We're a breed apart, -lad--superintendant or shovel bum. We can't live with civilization. -We're boozers or fighters or skirt-chasers or wife-beaters or all of -those. Try to live in a town and we wind up in jail or sick or dead. So -we seek out a camp where there's work and good air and no temptation, -where a man can sweat off the blubber and save his pay and be at peace -with himself. And what did they do to us here amidst the wildest -mountains in the land? They built a town! A fine manner of town with -all the temptations...." - -Tesno stood up impatiently. "We've finished with the preliminaries, -Keef. Now we're going back to camp." - -O'Hara got to his feet, drawing himself up straight. His big frame -teetered and he almost fell. "I'll fight ye another day, Bucko," he -said. "When the spirits are better and I've not been the night on the -job." - -He allowed himself to be led away. - -At the far end of the bar a nattily dressed little man drained his -glass of buttermilk and dabbed at his beard with a silk handkerchief. -Pinky Bronklin removed the empty glass. - -"J. Keef O'Hara," Mr. Jay said, tucking the handkerchief into his -breast pocket. "He's still the best engineer in the Northwest. I'll -wager he's the only man here who's had experience with compressed air -drills." - -"Except you, Mr. Jay," Pinky said. - -"Except me," Mr. Jay said. - - * * * * * - -That evening Tesno had dinner with Persia, as he often did now. Sam -Lester was there, too, and he spent the whole time with them instead -of returning to his office when the meal was finished. He sat, -sipped brandy, read a newspaper; once in a while he even entered the -conversation. When they had moved into the parlor and were sipping -brandy, Persia mentioned that they had put on a new deputy. - -"I know," Tesno said. "I'm wondering why you picked Willie." - -"The council thought him suitable." - -"He said you recommended him." - -Persia shrugged. "He's a nice boy. He seems qualified." - -"A breed kid who stutters?" - -"What do you mean?" - -"He's part Indian." - -"He's not a reservation Indian. He's a citizen, and--" - -"Then you did know," Tesno said. - -"He doesn't look Indian," Sam put in. "He'll be all right if he keeps -his mouth shut." - -"If you know him at all, you know he won't," Tesno said. "And that -bottle of lemon pop! Seems to me you went out of your way to pick a man -nobody will listen to." - -"You wanted a deputy," Sam grumbled. "The town will be better -patrolled. Aren't you ever satisfied?" - -"Never!" Persia said, laughing. "That's one of the things I like about -him." Her eyes sought his, and they were amused and affectionate and -possessive. "How about a game of three-handed euchre?" she said. - - - - -VIII - - -Tesno was rousted out of bed the next morning by Ben Vickers, who -had spent a good part of the night translating his troubles into -arithmetic. He was waving a sheaf of papers which recorded exactly how -bad things were going in terms of dollars and cents, mean feet, and -work days. - -Among other things, the figures spelled out what everybody knew -already: with every day of hand drilling, the odds against the tunnel -being finished on time went up. The huge boiler necessary to the use of -compressed air still hadn't arrived at end of track. Even when it did, -there would be the slow and tricky problem of dragging it forty miles -into the mountains. - -"What I want you to do is get down to Ellensburg and get on the -telegraph," Ben said. "Find out where that thing is. And on the way, -study the road. Figure out where the trouble spots are going to be. -Maybe we can save time by doing some grading, building a bridge or two." - -Tesno agreed grumpily, wondering why Ben couldn't send somebody else. -When Ben had left, he dressed leisurely and went down to the restaurant -for a late breakfast. The thought of the long ride and several days -away from Tunneltown didn't appeal to him. He lingered for a time over -coffee and a cigar, wondering at his own reluctance to get started, -thinking that he might stop by and see Persia before he left. - -He had returned to his room and was shaving when Whisky Willie came in. -Willie turned a chair around backwards and straddled it. - -"That Madrid p-p-protects crooks," he asserted. - -Tesno beat up a lather in his shaving cup. "For instance?" - -"There was this feller b-bucking the t-tiger in the P-Pink Lady. -He called me over real polite and orderly and said the dealer was -double-dealing and that he could prove it by the case board. Before -you could say J-J-Jack R-R-Robinson, Pinky had him by one arm and a -barkeep had him by the other and he was out in the s-street. Nobody -paid any at-t-tention to me. I told Madrid about it. He cussed me and -said we leave the dealers alone." - -"Which table was this?" - -"S-second from the d-door. The d-dealer's name's Cardona." - -Tesno stropped his razor vigorously. "A mechanic. He uses an odd-even -setup." - -"A what?" - -"I'll demonstrate," Tesno said. He waved the razor toward the -saddlebags that hung over the foot of his bed. "There's a pack of -cards in there. Get it and separate the odd cards from the even. This -afternoon we'll call on Mr. Cardona." - -"What we g-g-going to do?" - -"Not we, _you_. I'll show you the trick. Then you'll expose Cardona and -run him out of town. In order to pull it off you're going to have to be -well rehearsed. Got anything to do for an hour?" - -"Not till three this afternoon. I'm on d-duty from then till eight in -the morning." - -By the time Tesno finished shaving, Willie had the cards separated. -Tesno squared up the two packets and pressed their ends together, -interlacing the cards evenly. - -"You shuffle like a dealer," Willie said. - -"Not quite so well. A good mechanic can get a perfect dovetail. That -means the odd and even cards will alternate all the way through the -deck...." - - * * * * * - -As it turned out, the marshal was among the players at Cardona's table -when Tesno entered the saloon. Pinky Bronklin gave Tesno an evil look -and sent the other barkeep to wait on him. Tesno ordered a cigar and -stood smoking it with his back to the bar, watching the game. - -Madrid was standing behind the seated players. He was wearing the pink -shirt and a black bow tie. After a few turns, he won a bet on the -queen and placed another on the four. When this also came up a winner, -he played the ten. - -He was playing only even cards, and Cardona was letting him win. It -seemed plain that he was onto the grift and was collecting a payoff. -_This is going to be interesting_, Tesno thought grimly. - -The marshal collected another bet, cashed his checks, and dropped his -winnings into his pocket. He saw Tesno, nodded, and after an instant of -hesitation came over and joined him. - -"Quitting while you're ahead?" Tesno said. - -"A man can beat the game sometimes if he isn't greedy," Madrid said. He -signaled the barkeep. "How about the house buying a couple, cowboy?" - -"Not for me," Tesno said. - -The barkeep slid Madrid a bottle and glass, saying nothing. The marshal -muttered an obscenity about the man's surliness and poured himself a -drink. - -Whisky Willie came in then. He walked straight to Cardona's table and -drew himself up importantly. - -"Th-th-this is a c-crooked g-g-gug-game," he announced. He had a -terrible time getting the words out, and Tesno winced for him. The -players looked amused and then startled. Cardona, a little bald man -with a handlebar mustache, stood up. Willie went on doggedly, "I'm -c-c-closing it d-down. P-pick up your b-b-buhuh-bets." - -"What the devil does he think he's doing?" Madrid said. - -He slammed his glass on the bar and started for the table. Tesno -restrained him firmly with a hand on his shoulder. "Let's see what's on -the kid's mind," he said. - -Cardona was speaking to Willie, his tone jocular. "You better take a -swig of that word medicine you carry and calm down." - -Willie slapped the layout with his palm. "R-right n-now! This g-game is -closed, Cardona. And you'll be out of town in t-twenty-four hours or -you'll be in j-jail. P-pick up your b-b-bets, men." - -"Hold it!" Madrid said, striding forward now. "This is an honest game, -kid. I told you that the other night. Now for--" - -"The g-game is crooked!" Willie said. "I can prove it." - -Cardona moved toward the card box, but Willie beat him to it and -slapped his hand over it. Madrid caught Willie's arm and tried to pull -him away, but Willie shook him off. Customers from other parts of the -saloon moved in to see the show. Madrid swore violently. - -"Get out of here, kid! Clean out of the place," he said. - -He stood with his jaw thrust forward, his pink-striped elbow bent as -his hand gripped the handle of his pistol. Tesno was suddenly close -behind him with one hand on Madrid's shoulder and the other on the -wrist of his gun hand. - -"Let the kid make his play," Tesno said. His grip tightened as the -marshal started to pull away. "Go ahead, Willie." - -"The cards in this deck alt-t-ter-n-nate odd and even," Willie -announced. He slid the top card out of the box and turned it face up. -It was an eight. - -"The n-next will be odd." Willie turned a three. "The n-next, -even ... the next, odd." He turned a four and a jack. He went on, -calling another half dozen cards correctly. - -The spectators stared in fascination, muttering ugly, barely audible -phrases. Tesno released Madrid. The marshal had no choice now but to -watch quietly as if he were as surprised as everyone else. - -"This is a frame up!" Cardona asserted. "Somebody planted that deck!" - -"You put it in the box your own self," a spectator snarled. - -"You can s-see how it works," Willie continued. "If most of the money -happens to be on odd cards, the even ones c-come up winners. The dealer -can ch-change this any time he wants by d-double-d-dealing." - -Willie brought a card out of the box and showed that it was a king. -Squeezing it between his thumb and finger, he slid a deuce out from -behind it. He dropped the cards on the table. - -"Twenty-four hours," he said to Cardona. - -"Marshal," Cardona said, appealing to Madrid, "I swear this is a trick. -You know I've always run an honest game. You--" - -"You do like he says," Madrid said. "Get out of town." - -One of the players suddenly dived over the table and crashed into -Cardona, falling to the floor with him. Madrid drew his gun and ran -around the table. Another player grabbed the cash box, dumped its -contents on the table and tried to preside over a fair distribution of -the money to Cardona's victims; but it was scramble and grab. The money -was gone by the time Pinky Bronklin got there, striking out in all -directions with a beer bottle. - -Tesno pulled Willie out of the melee as the table collapsed, Pinky -Bronklin being among those who went down with it. Madrid had gotten -Cardona to one side and was standing in front of him, gun in hand. He -fired into the ceiling. - -"Break it up!" he kept bellowing. "Break it up!" - -Men began to hurry out of the saloon now, some with their hands full of -money. Several stopped to slap Willie on the back on the way. - -"I'm for firin' the marshal and givin' you the job!" one said. - -The last man on his feet was Pinky Bronklin. His nose was bleeding, and -he clutched his apron to it. He started for a small stairway at the -back of the saloon, then he saw Tesno and came close. - -"You set this up," he said, lowering the apron from his blood-smeared -face. "I know you. I know you, Tesno." - -Tesno threw back his head and laughed. He clapped Pinky on the shoulder -and spun him toward the stairway. "I'll make an honest man of you yet, -Pinky," he said. - -Cardona followed Pinky up the stairs. Madrid holstered his gun and came -over. He was grinning, but his black eyes held Tesno's coldly. "I'll -take it from here. My job." - -Tesno matched the marshal's grin. He touched Willie's arm and they -walked out of the saloon. Willie reached for the lemon soda. - -"Whew! You th-think he'll f-fire me?" - -"No chance of it," Tesno said. "Everybody in town would know the -reason. He's got to pretend he thinks you did a good job." - -Willie laughed aloud. "I g-guess you're right." - -"Right now this is more your town than his. But make one mistake and -the same men who slapped your back in there will talk against you. And -Madrid will land on you with both feet." - -"I don't see why Miss P-Persia p-puts up with him," Willie said. "I got -no respect for the man." - -"You'd better have. He has to play the politician now, but he belongs -to a special race that lives in a different world from other men. You -stay in this business, you'll learn to recognize them quick enough. -They are not only capable of killing, they not only enjoy it, they -_think_ in terms of it." - -Willie took a moment to digest that. "I g-guess I see what you mean. -He's c-c-cougar-fast with that gun. And his first in-st-stinct is to -reach for it." - -They had reached the hotel. Tesno clapped Willie on the shoulder and -halted in front of the doorway. - -"I'm going to be in Ellensburg for a few days, Willie. You walk easy, -and stay alive. And stick to the lemon pop." - -"I'm s-sick of the s-stuff." - -"There's a favor you can do for me," Tesno said. "You know Ben's -superintendant, Keef O'Hara? He gets on the booze, and I've been -nursemaiding him. I'd like you to take over." - - - - -IX - - -Five nights later, Tesno returned, riding into the town shortly before -midnight. He dismounted wearily across the dark street from the Pink -Lady and entered the Big Barrel, needing a drink before going on to the -camp and getting Ben out of bed. - -The saloon was smaller than the Pink Lady and crowded. He found a place -at the end of the bar, ordered cigars and whisky, and was immediately -joined by Willie, who had been in the street and had seen him arrive. -Tesno poured a drink, sniffed it, tasted it. - -"You're still wearing the badge," he said. - -"I just delivered Mr. O'Hara back to the j-job," Willie said. "He's -s-sure kept me busy." - -"He left the job?" - -"He d-does it every night. Sneaks into town to wet his wh-whistle, he -says. The first night you were away, he g-got soaked g-good. I had to -t-take him b-back in a wagon. Since then I b-been w-watching for him -and c-catching him before he's had more'n a couple of b-belts. I've -t-told every barkeep in town not to s-serve him, but most of 'em do -when I'm not around." - -"Hell of a thing," Tesno said. He bit off the end of a cigar and held -a match to it. He wondered if Ben knew about Keef's boozing. "How you -getting along with Madrid?" he asked Willie. - -"J-just the s-same. He c-closed two more games." - -"Madrid did?" - -Willie nodded. - -"He's smarter than I took him for," Tesno muttered. "He's not going to -let you be the big duck in the puddle." - -"I th-think Miss Persia t-told him to close those games," Willie said -thoughtfully. "Or S-Sam Lester. Madrid d-don't t-take a deep breath -unless somebody tells him. Anyhow, he and Pinky had a m-meeting with -Miss Persia and Lester the d-day after you left. Stella t-told me." - -"Who really calls the tune, Willie? Sam or Persia? What does Stella say -about it?" - -Willie frowned painfully. "It s-seems like there's s-somebody else. -S-somebody who t-tells them all what to d-do." - -"Stella said that?" - -"She says there's s-somebody mysterious whose name is never mentioned -when she's around. They c-call him 'Mr. You-know' or s-something like -that. Sam Lester c-contacts him, Stella thinks." - - * * * * * - -Tesno found Ben sitting behind his desk in his nightshirt, sleepily -staring at a paper covered with figures. When he saw Tesno, he snatched -off his glasses and tipped back in his chair. - -"You sure took your time. Is the news good or bad?" - -"Bad." Tesno sank into a chair. "I telegraphed the boiler factory in -Connecticut as soon as I got to Ellensburg. Your damned boiler still -wasn't shipped yet." - -Ben looked as if he had been struck. He got slowly to his feet. "Hadn't -been shipped!" - -"I was on the telegraph for three days getting it straightened out. It -seems they had a wire a couple of weeks ago, signed with your name. It -requested that they hold up shipment till they got further word from -you." - -Ben leaned heavily on the table. For a moment Tesno was afraid he was -going to collapse. Then he thumped his fist on the table, began to -swear, and they both felt better. - -"Somebody deliberately tried to delay you, Ben. Who would it be?" - -"How would I know?" - -"Jay?" - -"I don't know. I've heard he's shifty--but a stunt like that! If I -could pin it on him, I could get him blacklisted by every railroad in -the West." - -"The message was sent from North Yakima, so I rode down there. The -operator had the original copy. It was printed in block letters on -plain paper. As he remembers, the man who brought it in was dressed -like a rancher or a cow hand." - -Ben sank into a chair. He wagged his head sadly. "Is that boiler on the -way now?" - -"It is." - -"It'll be at least two weeks before it gets across the country," Ben -said. "Then we've got to drag it up here from the end of track." - -Tesno extracted a thick fold of paper from his shirt pocket and began -to open it up. "Made a map of the supply road with the bad spots -marked. There are a dozen places where we'll have to use block and -tackle, Ben." - -"I suppose we'll do well to make five miles a day," Ben said wearily. -"Even with twenty-horse teams.... This is going to be your kettle of -stew, Jack, from the time that boiler hits end of track till it's -unloaded at the portal." - - * * * * * - -Tesno walked back to the town through the heavy darkness of the forest -road. Reaching the street and turning up the walk toward the hotel, -he had a glimpse of the townhouse a hundred yards away. Forgetting -that he was dirty and unshaven, he swung instinctively toward the soft -invitation of its lighted windows. - -Sam Lester answered his knock and grumbled for him to come in. Persia -sprang up from the sofa to meet him, taking both his hands. They both -sat down. She looked him over possessively. - -"Jack, it seems like ages. Was it a rough trip?" - -"Lots of riding, not much sleeping." - -Sam asserted petulantly that he was going to bed. He slammed the door -behind him as he stalked off to the other part of the house. - -"I interrupt something?" Tesno asked. - -"The usual evening overture," Persia said tiredly. "He thinks he's in -love with me. Friendship isn't possible. Why can't we be like--well, -you and me, for instance?" - -"And how is that?" - -They had never sat so close before. He touched her hand. She squeezed -his fingers and smiled. Then she withdrew her hand. - -"I want to talk, Jack. Everything is going so badly. Income has fallen -off and my debts are just overwhelming. It seems that by trying to -clean up the gambling games we've given the impression that they are -all crooked. Play has fallen off terribly and...." She broke off -and smiled suddenly. "I keep forgetting that you're really the one -responsible for my troubles. I promise I shan't say another whining -word." - -"Say all you like." - -"Oh, Jack, it's such a ridiculous thing to be a woman!" - -He took her hand again and reached across her and embraced her -shoulder. Their eyes met and she came against him and her lips were -warm and fervent. Far away in the other part of the building, a door -slammed and they were alone in the night and in the world. - - - - -X - - -Willie Silverknife sat in Tesno's room with eight slips of paper fanned -out in his hands. Tesno lounged on the bed with his hands behind his -head. Willie was doing the talking. - -"This d-dealer don't fool around with anything so easy as that odd-even -arrangement. He can bring up any one he wants by shuffling the way you -showed me. I watched him for d-days and wrote down the cards as they -come up. I d-did it with a stub of pencil inside my c-coat p-pocket. I -g-got all eight arrangements here." - -"And you figure to bust him." - -"I'll p-prove the g-game is crooked by dealing out the deck and calling -every card--exact, not just odd or even. I figure to d-do it when the -place is crowded." - -Willie tapped the papers into an even packet and buttoned them into a -shirt pocket. Tesno regarded the ceiling in silence. - -"I wanted to ch-check with you," Willie said. "I want to be s-sure -there's nothing wrong with the way I got this s-studied out." - -"It's a fine piece of studying. But hold off, Willie." - -"Wh-why? If I show up another c-crooked g-game in the Pink Lady, it -ought to just about f-finish the p-place." - -"Hold off," Tesno said irritably. "The town is running pretty -tame--compared to what it was." - -"T-tame? You sh-should s-see what I s-see. Last night--" - -"All right! But don't put on a show this time." Tesno swung his feet -off the bed and sat up. "Go to Pinky quietly and tell him to get shed -of that dealer. He probably doesn't know he's got a card mechanic -there." - -"You know b-better than that!" Willie stood up and gripped the back -of his chair. "That Pinky never does anything honest if he can do it -crooked. That place is rotten as hell's swill b-bucket, and I should -th-think you'd be glad to s-see it go b-bust!" - -Tesno got slowly to his feet and stretched. "I have no love for Pinky. -But he owns only a small chunk of that place." - -Tesno threw an arm around Willie's shoulders and led him to the door. -"For the time being, Willie, keep your eyes open and don't stir up -trouble." - -Willie turned in the doorway with hurt written on his face. - -"I'll be d-damned if you don't sound exactly like M-Madrid!" - -Tesno laughed and closed the door. Turning to the washstand, he soberly -regarded himself in the small square mirror above it. - - * * * * * - -Nobody ever knew exactly what happened that night or exactly who was -to blame. But it seemed clear that dynamiter Heinie Hinkleman got his -fuses fouled up and also that the foreman of the shoring crew was lax -about getting his men to safety. The heading crew got clear in plenty -of time and warned the bench gang on the way out; but when Heinie came -jogging along in his leisurely flat-footed way, half a dozen workers -were still putting up shoring. Heinie told them for cripes sake the -fuses were lit, and he herded them ahead of him toward the portal. - -The fuses were cut for six minutes, he said, which would have been -more than enough time to get the hell out of there. But Heinie had -miscalculated for the first and last time in his career, and the blast -caught them before they had gone a dozen yards. Rock hurtled out of the -heading like shot from a gigantic gun barrel. An egg-sized splinter -caught Heinie in the back of the skull and buried itself in his brain. -Two of the others were dead when the dust cleared enough for rescuers -to get to them. The other four were carried out stunned and just a -whisper away from suffocation. - -Dawn was flaring over the hills to the east when Ben Vickers reached -the scene, wild-eyed and half dressed. Keef O'Hara, who said he had -been over the mountain at the other portal, arrived a few minutes -later. Together, they questioned the heading crew, who were scared and -mad and eager to blame somebody. Heinie, one of them volunteered, had -lost two months' pay at faro that afternoon, which might account for -his mind not being on his work, even if he hadn't taken a few nips to -console himself. - -This, along with the fact that O'Hara's breath would back off a -polecat, was enough for Ben. When he had seen the injured men to the -camp hospital and got the doctor's report, he summoned Tesno to his -cabin and read the riot act. - -Except for some rump-blistering profanity, which got monotonous, Ben -spoke in a flat, controlled manner--which was a bad sign. Tesno sat -with his chair tipped back and listened. - -Briefly, Ben said that he had jumping-well expected Tesno to -establish authority in Tunneltown and kick it into line, and Tesno -had jumping-well expected to do that, too, judging by the way he had -started out. But he had changed his mind and had left the clean-up to -the town itself, which was nothing but a jumping booze camp, and what -booze camp ever cleaned itself up? Nevertheless, Ben had kept hoping -for the best until this morning. With three men dead and another -probably dying, his patience had run out, and there jumping-well was -going to be a change.... - -"Now hold on," Tesno said, when Ben showed signs of running out of -wind. "You said you'd settle for regulation, and you're getting it. -It's come slowly, but--" - -"Don't recite your list of half-butt improvements to me," Ben said. "I -know it by heart--right down to that stuttering clown of a half-breed -deputy, who has done his job a jumping lot better than you have, at -that!" Ben poked the tabletop with a forefinger. "And as for what -I said I'd settle for, I told you clearly that the gambling had to -go--all of it." - -"Damn it, Ben, you blame the town too much. If that dynamiter hadn't -lost his stake at faro, he probably would have dropped it to some -bunkhouse sharp at poker." - -"I'm not going to argue about it," Ben said icily. "I want the gambling -stopped. Altogether." - -"That will close at least a couple of the saloons." - -"That would break my heart," Ben said. "Now do I get it or not?" - -Tesno stood up and sauntered toward the door. Anger, guilt, a sense of -injustice, rose in him and laid harsh words on his tongue, but he did -not speak them. He needed time to calm down, to think things out. - -"You'll get it," he said through clenched teeth, "or you'll get my -resignation." - -He put his back to Ben and trudged out of the cabin and through the -camp toward the town road. Dave Coons stepped out of one of the -bunkhouses and fell in beside him. - -"Johnny Favery just died," Coons said. - -Tesno closed his eyes briefly. "That's four," he said. - -"He was just a kid," Coons said. "Just here a few months from the old -country. He had nineteen cents in his pocket." - -"Hell of a thing," Tesno said. - -"Can you tell me where the blame lies?" Coons said. "The men have a -right to know. So it won't happen again." - -"Ask Ben." - -"Thought I might get a straight story from you. O'Hara wasn't at the -west portal as he claimed, I know that. He was at the cookhouse trying -to sober up on coffee." - -"No reason why he should be on hand for every blast," Tesno grumbled. - -"Vickers is, during the day shifts. If O'Hara had been there, he -probably would have seen that Hinkleman had the fuses wrong. Even if he -hadn't, he'd have got that shoring gang out of there earlier." - -"All right," Tesno said. "Blame O'Hara." - -"I do blame the town. If it weren't so handy and so wild, O'Hara -wouldn't have been drunk and Hinkleman broke and upset." - -Tesno made no reply. They had walked a little way along the forested -road, chilly and damply fragrant at this hour. "When are you going to -do something about the town, Jack?" Coons said, and abruptly turned and -headed back toward the camp. - -Tesno lingered over eggs and coffee at a restaurant counter, then he -went to his room and stretched out on the bed. He wanted to be alone an -hour or so; after that, he wanted to see Persia. Her company would dull -the shock and ugliness of the accident, he told himself, and he would -be able to think clearly. - - - - -XI - - -Persia sat primly at the secretary which stood in a corner of her -parlor. She frowned, checked her addition. It was nice to have bank -accounts in three different towns, but she wished that just once they -would total as much as she had expected. The town was busier than it -had ever been and on paper she was making a good deal of money; but it -was all going to pay off Mr. Jay. - -She shifted her chair to face Sam as he came into the room. He regarded -her as placidly as ever through his lenses, but she knew him so well -that she could sense a mild urgency about him. - -"Mr. Jay is in my office," he said shortly. - -"Oh?" Mr. Jay never visited the townhouse unless his business was very -urgent indeed. "Sam, is anything wrong?" - -Sam moved his head negatively. "He has some instructions he wants to -give you personally. It's a simple matter, but he wants it done just -right." - -They went at once to the office. Mr. Jay sprang up to take Persia's -hand in both of his. "Charming! More charming than ever!" he said, -throwing his head back to look her over. His alert little eyes danced -and his beard framed a smile as he devoted a second or two to looking -charmed. He led her to a chair as Sam slid into another. Mr. Jay stood -between them, hands clasped behind his back. He glanced from one to the -other and drew in his breath noisily. - -"There are two men upstairs in Sam's rooms that I don't want seen -around town. They have been riding all night and are hungry. Now--" -Mr. Jay paused to smile crisply at Persia--"I want you to feed -them. Have your maid throw together a meal; soup, ham and eggs, -left-overs--anything that can be prepared quickly. You might say that -Sam has some old friends visiting him, something like that. Then you -or Sam take the food up to them--not the maid. In the meantime, Pinky -Bronklin will bring a bag of supplies here. These two men will take it -and leave. Their horses are tied out back." - -Persia smiled faintly. "Aren't you going to tell me what nefarious -connivance I'm a party to?" - -"Oh, it's underhanded," Mr. Jay said, "completely underhanded. If I -were suspected of being connected with it, my career would be finished. -But you'll guess it anyway, in the light of future developments; so -you might as well know now. Ben Vickers' big boiler reached Ellensburg -yesterday. He had a crew and a huge wagon waiting for it, so I expect -that by this time it's on the road. I--well, there's going to be an -accident." - -"I wish now I hadn't asked," Persia said. "No one will be hurt, I hope." - -"I certainly hope not." - -"I don't like this, Mr. Jay." - -"Of course not. I don't like it either." - -"Does Vickers know the boiler's arrived?" Sam asked. - -"Not yet, I think," Mr. Jay said. "My information is that his messenger -was delayed. I dare say that he will get word, though, before the day -is out. And I dare say he will send Mr. Tesno down there at once." - - * * * * * - -Finding no comfort in the solitude of his room, Tesno left the hotel -and strolled aimlessly up the street. His big Raymond watch showed only -a little after eleven. He would wait till noon, he decided, before -dropping in on Persia. - -He stopped at the new tobacco store and bought a handful of cigars. -Lighting one, he sauntered past the livery barn and up the slope behind -it. Most of the timber had been logged off here, and brush and ferns -were already claiming the ground. Finding a degree of solace in the -faint warmth of the sun, he pulled himself up on a stump and found he -had a view that drew him out of himself. - -It was a cloudless day, and the range jutted its ragged vertebrae into -a sky as blue as a mountain lake. Below him, the town seemed a naked, -ugly fungus sprung newly from the earth. The camp, almost hidden by -pines, was less intrusive. Beyond the gulch, above it, the crisp black -arch of the tunnel scarred Runaway Mountain. - -_Here it all is_, he thought, _spread out in front of me. I've either -got to become a part of it or get the hell out._ He tried to plan what -he would say to Persia. He would tell her flatly that the time had come -for the gamblers to go, he guessed. He would ask her to have Madrid -clear them out, all of them. If she stalled or refused--well, he would -do it himself. Or resign. - -The townhouse lay off to his left, and he found himself staring at -it, thinking that she was in there somewhere, wondering what she did -with her mornings. He watched two men come out of the back of the far -part of the building, each carrying a small bundle. At this distance -he could tell little about them except that they must have come up -from the cattle country east of the mountains. One wore woolly chaps. -Both wore Stetsons and walked with the peculiar swagger of men in -high-heeled boots. They disappeared behind one of the outbuildings, -and when they came into sight again, they were mounted on horses. He -watched them ride eastward out of the gulch. He supposed they had come -to sell beef or hay, or on some such business, and he quickly forgot -them. - -When his watch read almost noon, he started downhill, avoiding the -street and heading for the townhouse. Persia answered his knock, -smiling when she saw him. It wasn't the polite and pretty company smile -now but a special one, personal and tender, an eager doorway closed -quickly behind him as she came into his arms. - -"I'm glad you came," she said. She drew him into the parlor. - -"It's been a bad morning." - -"I heard about the accident," she said. She detached herself from him -and sat down on the sofa, crossing her long legs and smoothing her -skirt over them. "Is there anything anyone can do?" - -"Not for the dead men." - -Her eyes touched him warily. She said, "For you then? You ought to get -your mind off it." - -"No," he said. "I ought to think about it. I ought to think a great -deal about it." - -She nodded slowly, frowning. He seized the back of a chair and leaned -over it moodily. After a moment, she said, "I've been wishing all -morning you'd drop by. Jack, it's such a beautiful day. Could we--I -suppose it isn't a good idea, but couldn't we pack a lunch and have a -picnic? I know a spot where there's a creek and a little waterfall. -We'd be a million miles away from everything." - -"It sounds fine," he said. - -"We'll have to sort of sneak away," she said. "I wouldn't want Sam to -know. He'd want to come, too, I'm afraid." - - * * * * * - -It was after sunset when they came back into the gulch along a -forgotten skid road. They reached the kitchen door of the townhouse -at a remarkable moment when the entire sky was aglow, burning scarlet -beyond the bleak western peaks and cooling down to a grayish pink -in the east as night seeped into it. The buildings of the town, the -trees, the earth itself were suspended in a pinkish haze. Persia caught -Tesno's hand and halted him. - -"It's almost frightening!" she said. "It gives you the feeling -something strange is about to happen." - -He knew what she meant, but he grinned and said artlessly, "It will be -a clear day tomorrow." - -Stella was at the back door then, saying dinner was ready and going -stale. Sam Lester met them in the kitchen. He gave Persia a questioning -look and turned to Tesno. - -"Vickers is in there," Sam said, jerking his head toward the parlor. -"He's been combing the town for you. He finally learned from Stella -that you'd gone off somewhere with a basket of food--she didn't know -where. He's been camped in there ever since." - -Tesno found Ben dozing in a chair. He leaped to his feet wild-eyed when -he heard his name. - -"The boiler's on it's way up here!" Ben said. "It will move fast enough -until the road hits the mountains, and I expect it's damn near to Cle -Elum by now. If you ride all night, you can be there by dawn. Where in -the merry hell have you been?" - -"Picnic," Tesno said. - -"You could leave word where I could find you." - -"I've been trying to think things out, Ben. I've decided to quit." - -Ben clapped a hand to his forehead. "Not now! Not with that boiler down -there!" - -"You could send somebody else." - -"This job might need special talent, Jack. It just might be a dirty -one." Ben fell silent as Persia and Sam came into the room. He nodded -curtly at Persia. Suddenly he gestured violently and continued. "The -thing arrived yesterday. I had a crew standing by to unload it and -start it up here. A man left at once to bring me the news--should -have been here before daylight this morning. But he was overtaken by -a pair of toughs who beat him up, tied him to a tree, shot his horse. -He worked loose and walked eight miles in the middle of the night to a -ragcamp, where he borrowed another horse. He didn't get here till well -after noon." - -"You think they did this just to delay the news?" - -"Seems like it. And when you remember that phoney telegram--well, that -boiler needs you down there alongside of it, night and day, a gun in -your hands." - -"All right," Tesno said. "I'll chaperone the boiler for you. After -that...." - -"We'll see, we'll see," Ben said quickly. "Once I get that thing up -here and the compressors working, life ought to be a little easier for -everybody. I've got your blue roan saddled and waiting outside. You can -start right now." - -"Not till he's had something to eat!" Persia said. She stepped up and -grasped Tesno's arm possessively. - -Ben grunted. "Just so he's at Cle Elum by daylight." He located his -hat, clamped it on his head, and headed for the door. Sam Lester went -with him. - -"Actually," Persia said, "I think that man is mad. Sit down and have a -drink, Jack. I'll have Stella get dinner on the table. Sam has already -eaten." - -"I'll have to hurry," Tesno said. "Maybe...." - -"Nonsense. Sam has work to do, and I refuse to be left alone. Not -tonight, Jack." - - - - -XII - - -The first dozen miles lay in relatively flat sagebrush country. The -twelve-man, thirty-horse boiler-hauling outfit covered them the first -day, reaching the first real grade at dusk and halting there to spend -the night and give the boss time to figure out what he was going to do -in the morning. - -He was a glary-eyed man named Rejack, who treated his horses with -a kindness rare among teamsters and was consequently considered a -simpleton by his crew. His problem was to get his huge wagon over a -bridge almost exactly as wide as its wheel spread and then up a road -with hairpins in it so sharp and steep that the top-heavy load was -almost sure to overturn. He finally decided that it couldn't be done. -The only chance was to ford the creek and pull the wagon straight up -the hillside with block and tackle. - -Shortly after sun-up, the crew dragged it across the creek without too -much trouble. Rejack then anchored his pulley block on a big cedar, -put six men on the wagon tongue to steer, and had ten span of horses -hitched to pull down-grade as the wagon moved up. He inspected the -teams, the rope, the lashings on the boiler and finally gave the order -to start. The wagon moved along nicely for the first hundred feet. Then -a man walked out of a clump of trees with a shotgun, aimed at the rope -from four feet away, and fired both barrels. - -The wagon reversed its direction so suddenly that the man walking near -the rear of it with a wheel block had time only to toss it and jump. -The wheel missed it. The wagon hurtled down the hillside, skidded -sideways, made one complete roll, stopped abruptly in the creek, and -collapsed under its load like a berry box. - -In the confusion, the man with the shotgun had disappeared into the -pines. Some of the crew considered going after him but were promptly -discouraged when a rifle cut loose from somewhere above, its bullets -ricocheting through the brush between them and the trees. It was plain -to everybody that the saboteur had a partner up there covering him. - -Rejack took off his hat, scratched his head, and reacted to catastrophe -with casual acceptance that the crew later recounted with hilarity. - -"If that isn't one hell of a way to cut a rope!" he grumbled. "Did any -of the buckshot hit the horses?" - -The rifleman fired three rapid shots, obviously not trying to hit -anybody, and called it a day. Rejack jounced down the slope to inspect -the damage, followed by most of the crew. As far as anybody could tell, -the boiler, for a wonder, wasn't even scratched. The wagon was beyond -repair. Rejack sat down on the creek bank to figure out what to do next. - - * * * * * - -It was midmorning and Tesno was five miles above Cle Elum when he met -the rider on his way to report the disaster to Vickers. Tesno would -have passed with a nod and greeting, but the other recognized him and -stopped to pour out the story. - -"The boiler isn't damaged?" Tesno demanded. - -"Sound as a dollar," the hard-faced little teamster said. "The boss -started back to Ellensburg to try and scare up another wagon big enough -to haul the damn thing. In the meantime it's setting in a crick about a -mile and a half below Cle Elum." - -"Somebody's guarding it?" - -"Well, yes. The boss ordered a four-man guard on it, but there didn't -seem much sense in that since there was only one gun in the whole -outfit. So one man's there now. The rest went on up to Cle Elum." - -"All right," Tesno said. "Now the first thing you tell Ben is that the -boiler is in good shape. That might save him from apoplexy. Then tell -him I said not to worry. I'll get the thing up to him." - -Guilt welled up in him as he jogged on down the road. If he had -left Tunneltown when Ben wanted him to--or even immediately after -dinner--he would have been on the scene when calamity struck. With a -little luck, he might have prevented it. At least, he would have bagged -the hooligan who severed the rope. - -Cle Elum consisted of a sawmill, a pond full of logs, and one of the -temporary camps Ben Vickers had set up here and there along his supply -line. Tesno passed without stopping and rode on to the scene of the -wreck. Here he found the guard sitting against a tree sound asleep--a -sixteen-year-old kid armed with an ancient revolver with two shells in -it. He jerked the boy to his feet and shoved him toward the boiler. - -"You keep your eye on that thing every minute," he snapped. - -After questioning the kid about what had happened, he made a quick -scout through the pines and found where the vandal had tied his horse. -Following the hoofprints upgrade, he soon came to a place where they -were joined by another set. The two riders had headed straight into -the timbered hills without so much as a deer trail to guide them. -Apparently, they were men who knew the country well. - -He rode back to Cle Elum then, where he found the boiler crew lounging -around the mess tent, sipping coffee and playing poker. - -"Holiday's over," he announced. "We'll go down there and get the boiler -ready to load when the wagon arrives. We'll need about twenty horses to -drag it out of the creek." - -"Morning will be time enough," a bull-necked, bullet-headed freighter -growled, clutching his poker hand close to his stomach. "You were sent -down here to guard that damn teakettle, not to give orders. Rejack left -me in charge, and I say you can go hang yourself. Where in the black -damnation were you when those rascals surprised us, anyhow?" - -Tesno remarked that he was in no mood to quibble. Placing the sole of -his boot against the edge of the table, he kicked it into the man's -stomach, got an armlock on him, and pitched him out of the tent on his -face. The crew laughed uneasily and drifted off toward the corral to -get harness on the horses. - -After several hours of preparatory work, they maneuvered the boiler out -of the creek on logs that had been peeled and greased. When they had -skidded it onto two logs set along the bank like rails, they dug a cut -under one end of these for the wagon to back into when it arrived. It -was dark when they finished. - -In the meantime, Tesno borrowed a Winchester from the camp 'general' -at Cle Elum and another from the mill owner. He also found a Klickitat -mill hand who knew the country and whom he set off on horseback to -trail the saboteurs. - -When the digging was finished and the boiler ready to load, Tesno -announced that they would camp on the spot. He divided the men into -pairs and assigned them to watches. - -"Just don't get jumpy and shoot each other," he said, handing the -rifles to the men on the first watch. "If you see or hear anything -unusual, let me know. I'll be within calling distance all night." - -Supper consisted of stew made of bacon, jerky, onions, and potatoes, -chased by black coffee. When he had wolfed his down, he settled himself -at one end of the boiler with a blanket over his shoulder and his own -rifle beside him. From time to time, he rose to check on the guards, -but mostly he sat and smoked, dozing very little. - -He was restless and uncomfortable, his supper heavy in his stomach, -and his thoughts were like a windblown deck of cards he tried to sort -out and put in order. He looked back at his life, at the callousness -of it, the probing out of human weakness that could be turned to his -advantage, the careful building of a reputation among the contractors. -What had he been seeking all these years? Money? A stake that would -buy and stock a ranch? Of course. But there had been more to it than -that. There had been the satisfaction of seeing steel push into the -wilderness. Even if he sometimes had doubts about the true importance -of the railroad, it had been something a man could give his life to. It -was the giving that had been important. - -And now it was not important. Not since that long-ago night in May when -he had interrupted Persia Parker's dinner. Gray-green eyes, a soft -voice, an eager smile, a lithe body--these were Persia. But what else -was she? And in this black and lonely time with his back against the -cold bulge of a boiler that was a key piece in a wild game of steel and -gold, he dared to doubt the thing he wanted most. To doubt in order to -prove. He had to know. - -There had been a nervousness in her last night, he thought. She -had smiled even more often than usual, had touched him at every -opportunity, as she had stubbornly insisted that he stay with her. She -had known about the boiler, of course; she had been there when Ben -told him of its arrival. But could she have known earlier--before the -picnic? _No_, he told himself, _it wasn't like that. It couldn't have -been...._ - -A voice rang out in the blackness, a challenge, and another answered -bluntly. Tesno was on his feet, working the lever of his rifle. Two -figures up in the liquid forest night--one of the guards with his gun -on the Klickitat mill hand. - -"It's all right," Tesno said to the guard. "Go back to your post." - -The Indian, who answered to the name of Muckamuck Charlie, gave his -report in a mixture of reservation English and Chinook jargon. - -"Them son-of-a-gun _cooley_ over mountain. Split up. One come back to -_hooihut_. _Nika till._ You got whisky?" - -"One of them circled back to the road?" Tesno said, trying to get it -straight. - -"Damn right. Maybe go by here, take look. _Halo nika_ money. You pay -now?" - -"Where did the other one go?" - -"_Halo chako._ Him wait. By and by come together. Go to _tenas_ house -_ipsoot_ in woods." Charlie made a gesture toward the southwest. -"Four-five mile." - -As near as Tesno could make it out, one of the men--no doubt the one -who had shown himself--had waited while the other rode up the road like -any honest traveler, passing the boiler to see how much damage had been -done. This could have happened soon after the smash-up, likely as not -while that sleepy kid was on guard. Then the pair had joined up again -and ridden to a cabin hidden in the woods four or five miles away. - -"They're at the cabin, _tenas house_, now?" - -"I listen," Charlie said. "They make sleep noises. I smell whisky." - -"Can you take me there? Right now?" - -Charlie grunted. "You pay now. Two dollar. We go _tenas house_, you pay -more." - -Tesno drew two silver dollars from his pocket and passed them over. -"Two more when you take me to the cabin." - -Charlie studied the coins in his palm. "_Nika till._ I sleep now. Eat. -Drink some whisky. Pretty soon daylight. We go then." - -"We go right now," Tesno said. - -As it turned out, they were delayed by the arrival of Rejack, who came -rumbling up the road with a new freight wagon as Tesno was saddling his -horse. He inspected the boiler and then backed the wagon into the cut -by lantern light before he unhitched the team. - -"We'll be loaded and moving by sun-up," he said, looking pleased. - -"No," Tesno said. "Load, but don't start the boiler up that grade till -I get back. Those rascals know it wasn't damaged, and if I should -happen to miss them, they might try the same stunt all over again." - - - - -XIII - - -Dawn crept into the world drearily and then lavishly as they made a -slow and sinuous ride through tangled gulches and trailless forest, up -horse-crippling grades and down shale-slippery slopes. After a good -hour of this roundabout traveling, Muckamuck Charlie halted at the foot -of a rounded, thickly timbered hill. He sniffed the air and announced -that the _tenas house_, the cabin, was on the far side of this. - -"Them son-of-a-gun wake up," he said, sniffing again. "Cook breakfast. -When we gonna eat?" - -As they wound up through the trees, Tesno, too, could smell smoke. When -they were over the crest, had tied the horses and were proceeding on -foot, it was visible, lying in motionless layers among the pines. - -"Fire out now," Charlie said. - -They were within a few yards of the cabin before Tesno saw it through -the foliage, a ten-by-twelve log shack set into the hillside. It was -weathered and saggy-roofed, built by some trapper or prospector heaven -knew how many years ago. - -Charlie drew Tesno behind a tree, pointed a finger at the ground as an -indication that he was to wait, and angled off on a scout. After a few -minutes he walked around the end of the cabin, eating a biscuit with a -piece of raw bacon draped over it. - -"Them son-of-a-gun wake up early. Go 'way," he said. - -The air in the dark interior of the cabin was still warm from a fire -in the crumbling clay fireplace. It had been doused with water but was -still smoking faintly. The occupants couldn't have left more than a few -minutes earlier. Gear and supplies piled along the walls indicated that -they expected to be back. - -Charlie led the way down the hillside to a little open place where they -had picketed their horses. After circling around and studying several -old sets of tracks, he announced that he had found the fresh one. - -As he and Charlie strode upgrade toward their own horses, Tesno grew -increasingly anxious. This pair of hooligans knew that the boiler -wasn't damaged. It stood to reason that they would make another try at -it. He said as much to Charlie. - -"You keep on their trail, Charlie. Try to get a look at 'em. I'll be -with the boiler. If they come anywhere near it, you let me know. You -got all that?" - -"Two dollar," Charlie said. - -"Five dollar, Charlie. Five dollar, you stay with 'em till I catch 'em." - - * * * * * - -Rejack had the tackle rigged, the teams hitched, and was impatient to -begin the haul. Tesno had him wait till he had scouted out the pine -clusters that dotted the lower part of the hillside, then told him to -go ahead. The wagon groaned and inched upward. Two men walked behind it -now, swinging a squared timber on ropes between them. They held this -close behind the wheels so that they had only to drop it to block them. -Rifle in hand, Tesno took a position where he could cover the rope on -both sides of the tackle blocks. - -Slowly, protestingly, the great wagon and its monstrous load crept up -to the anchor tree and was lashed to it. Rejack had already chosen the -course for the second leg of the ascent and had had brush and saplings -cleared away. This would be a longer haul than the first. There were -two or three trees that the men on the tongue would have to guide the -wagon around, and the slope was uneven, mottled with rock outcroppings. -Moreover, the forest pressed in from both sides before claiming the -top of the hill entirely, just beyond the place where the wagon would -rejoin the road. - -"If they'd waited yesterday and hit us up here, there wouldn't be -enough left of the boiler to hold a drink of water," Rejack said. - -Tesno scouted the trees as best he could. But this was deep woods. -A wary man could easily avoid being seen or heard among the maze of -trunks growing out of carpetlike duff. - -Again, the long double file of horses pulled slowly down the -mountainside and the wagon groaned upward. It had climbed barely twenty -yards when Muckamuck Charlie appeared below, working his horse zigzag -up the slope. Tesno yelled for the team to halt and the men behind the -wagon to block its wheels. - -Charlie slid off his winded horse. "Them son-of-a-gun close by," he -grunted. "They watch." - -"Where?" Tesno demanded. - -They moved a few steps into the woods. Charlie pointed to a little -butte that rose out of the pines half a mile to the west. Its face was -sheer rock cliff, but it could well have a sloping approach on its far -side. - -"They go up there," Charlie grunted. "_Halo chako._ Wait. Watch. By and -by one go 'way. Come down here someplace. One stay." - -Tesno squinted thoughtfully up at the butte. "You get a look at 'em, -Charlie?" - -"Damn right. Jim Palma. _Cultus_ no good son-of-a-gun." - -"You know 'em?" - -"Know one," Charley said with stubborn serenity. "Jim Palma. Stomp -Umatilla boy down to Selah, one-two year ago. Boy die. Don't know other -one." - -Rejack came trotting through the trees and demanded to know what was -going on. "Maybe we ought to back the thing down, lash it to that -cedar," he said when Tesno had explained. - -Tesno considered this, then shook his head. "Go ahead with the haul. -Let them make their try. Just be sure those boys with the wheel block -are on their toes. If--" - -A rifle shot rang out from the butte, not much louder than a finger -snap, and a ricochet screamed its weird song above them. - -"Damn fool," Rejack muttered. "He's giving us a warning. I don't get -it." - -The rifle cracked again, and now a horse whinnied, plunged in his -harness, went down. - -"My god," Rejack gasped. "He's shooting at the horses!" He dashed out -of the woods, waving his arms and yelling to get the team to cover. As -he did so, another shot sounded, and another horse plunged and went -down. - -Tesno studied the butte, estimating that its top was at least six -hundred yards away. Even at that range, it didn't take an expert to -hit a twenty-horse team. As he watched, a man stepped into sight at -the very brink of the cliff, fired a quick shot which hit nothing, and -disappeared into brush and scrub timber. - -"Jim Palma," Muckamuck Charlie grunted. - -"He didn't have to show himself," Tesno muttered. He began to -understand the plan now. - -Another shot rang out. A horse screamed and started to buck, a -brilliant red streak across his rump. Rejack barked orders and waved -his arms as teamsters jumped around frantically, trying to quiet down -the horses and unhook the harness of those that were down. The men who -had been posted on the wagon tongue to steer now were streaking up the -slope to help with the animals. - -Jim Palma could sit up there and pot horses till confusion reigned -completely, Tesno thought. But of course, the man had an additional -purpose. He meant to draw whoever was guarding the boiler up there -after him to give his partner a chance to strike. He stepped into the -open to fire a quick shot again now. And this time Tesno was ready for -him with his rifle rested against the trunk of a tree. He aimed and -fired. Palma faded from sight. - -"You gottem!" Muckamuck Charlie said. - -"I doubt it," Tesno said. "Not at this distance. But he knows we've -seen him. Let's go, Charlie." - -He hurried down to his horse, mounted, and joined Charlie at the road. -They rode down it a few yards and were out of sight of the butte. - -"You keep after him," Tesno said, waving Charlie on as he reined off -the road. "I'll maybe catch up to you later." - -Palma's partner would certainly have been watching, would have seen -them leave and would assume they had been decoyed after Palma. He would -make his move now--any second, Tesno thought as he worked his horse up -through a stand of trees toward the suspended wagon. When he came to -more open ground, he dismounted and continued afoot. Within a hundred -yards of the wagon he knelt in brush cover. - -He waited, wondering why Palma's partner didn't make his play. Then he -realized that the man would wait for the horses to be unhitched and -moved to cover so the rope would have only the weight of a doubletree -at its end. There would be only the wheel block to deal with. - -The shooting from the butte came rapidly now, badly aimed. The crew -frantically untangled harness and ran the horses into the woods in -pairs. Tesno kept his eyes on the wagon. Only the wheel blockers were -left with it, and they were standing together watching the pandemonium -above them. - -A man was suddenly crossing the hillside a few yards from the rear of -the wagon. He was a lean, quick-moving man in woolly chaps, and he -carried a shotgun. His appearance was so sudden that he could only have -been lying in the brush there, not far above Tesno. - -He barked something at the pair near the rear of the wagon, covering -them with the shotgun as they turned. He gestured with the gun toward -the wheel block. The men hesitated, then one stooped to remove it. - -"Hold it!" Tesno yelled. "Drop the gun!" - -He fired as the man whirled toward him. A sickening weakness seized him -as the man flounced and the shotgun discharged wildly at the sky. The -boiler-wrecker rose on his toes and pitched forward on his face. The -man who had stooped over the wheel block straightened without touching -it. - -Tesno walked swiftly up the hillside, reaching the scene as the crewmen -rolled the body on its back. - -"He was dead when he hit the ground," one of them said weakly. - -Tesno studied the gaping, vacant face, the blood-stained denim shirt, -the shaggy, stained chaps. Here was the end of a life. However shabby, -there must have been good in it somewhere, he thought, and regret -seized him like a sickness. Yet he hid it, denied it, and as men -gathered round he said roughly, "Anybody know him?" - -Nobody did. Tesno continued to stare, frowning. The limp, long-legged -form stirred a slippery memory that he couldn't quite get hold of. - -A bullet rang dully against the boiler, spattering harmlessly against -the heavy iron. An instant later, the bark of the distant rifle reached -them. - -Tesno motioned to the men to move around the boiler so it would shield -them from the rifleman. As he did so, another bullet made a little -explosion of dust two yards below him. He turned his eyes toward the -butte and said, "He saw what happened. He's out for blood now." - -Rejack bustled up, red-faced and wild-eyed with anger. He took a quick -look at the dead man and seemed to grow calmer. He said, "We can't -hitch up till that murdering devil stops shooting. Aren't you going -after him?" - -"I think I know where he'll head for," Tesno said. "I can get there -first, I guess. Maybe I can take this one alive." - -He strode down-grade to his horse and headed over the hill in the -direction of the hidden cabin. He followed the same course he and -Charlie had taken that morning, annoyed at its tedious winding and -thinking that there might be a shorter way. - -When he was near the cabin, he hid his horse well back in the woods and -approached on foot. - -Everything was just as he had left it. He closed the door behind him -and sat down to wait, rifle on his knees. His lack of sleep caught up -with him now, and several times in the space of a few minutes he got -up to stretch and move about to ward off drowsiness. He couldn't get -the dead man out of his mind. He was reasonably sure he had never seen -the face before; yet something about that figure sprawled out on the -hillside nagged him. - -His eye fell on two canvas bags of supplies resting against the wall. -And it all came to him then. Two bags of supplies. Two men. One in -woolly chaps. The dead man and Jim Palma were the pair he had seen come -out of the back of the townhouse two days ago! It seemed a long guess, -on the face of it; yet he was sure. - -_All right_, he told himself. _They came out of the far end of the -building, the office end. That means that Sam Lester is involved, not -Persia._ - -But why Sam? What did he have to gain by wrecking Ben Vickers' boiler? -A little longer life for the town, no doubt. But Persia would profit -by that as much as Sam. And it was after the men had left that she had -suggested a picnic.... - -There was the soft sound of hoofs outside. He rose and moved quietly to -one side of the door. A saddle creaked as a man dismounted. The door -was pushed quietly open. - -"You here, Boss?" Muckamuck Charlie asked. - -Tesno groaned and stepped forward. "Where's Palma?" he demanded. - -Charlie stepped into the cabin, looking past Tesno at the canvas bags. -"_Cooley tenas house._ Come this way. See you _elip siah_. Far ahead. -Watch. You come to cabin. Him go 'way." - -Charlie pushed past and began to rummage in the bags. He extracted a -can of beans and held it up admiringly. "Bullet hittum," he said. - -"Hit who?" - -"Jim Palma. You shoot. Hittum." - -"I couldn't have," Tesno said. "He went right on shooting at the -horses." - -"_Pil-pil._ Him bleed. Maybe just scratchum. You catch other one?" - -"He's dead." - -Charlie nodded approvingly. He produced a hunting knife from somewhere -under his coat and jabbed the blade into the can of beans. He pried -back the metal untidily, poured out a handful of beans and tasted them. -He drew another can out of the bag and shoved it into a coat pocket. - -"We'll go after Palma," Tesno said. "You find trail?" - -"Damn right," Charlie said. - -Eating beans as he rode, Charlie found the trail a few minutes later. -It wound down one gulch and up another, over the spur of a mountain and -back through still another gulch. - -"Where's he headed, Charlie," Tesno asked finally. - -"No place. Him know country. Work into mountains. Maybe by and by go -back to _tenas house_, get food." - -A little later the tracks led into a shallow creek and disappeared. -After several minutes of scouting, Charlie announced that Palma had -gone upstream. - -"Him know we follow," he said. "Maybe wait, shoot you." - -Tesno nodded. There were a dozen places for an ambush every way you -looked. He grinned. "Maybe miss me. Hit Charlie." - -For the first time since Tesno had known him, Charlie grinned. "_Cultus -he-he_," he said, reining upstream along the bank. "Bad joke." - -Tesno laughed and followed, grateful for the luck that had provided his -guide. Here in this brutal and majestic wilderness the ten thousand -years between white civilization and savagery had no meaning. He and -Charlie were just two hunters, friends now, following a trail. It was -going to be a rough one, but Muckamuck Charlie would do to ride it -with. - - - - -XIV - - -Pinky Bronklin unlocked the door of the storeroom on the second floor -of the Pink Lady, lighted a candle, and went in. Pushing a wooden -box close to a tier of cluttered shelves, he climbed up to examine -an array of bottles on the top one; carbolic acid, cough syrup, Dr. -Partrey's Male Restorative and Blood Tonic, toothache remedy, Princess -Cleopatra's Egyptian Love Stimulant, iodine, linament.... He selected -a small blue bottle without a label, uncorked it, sniffed it. Holding -it delicately in his crab-claw of a hand, he dribbled two drops into a -shot glass. Two drops was the dose. It would hit quick, put a man out -for hours. Pinky tipped the bottle again and added three more. - -Climbing down from the box, he inserted the shot glass into one of the -special pockets sewn to the back of his bartender's apron. There were -two of these, a small one inside a larger one. The small one was just -the size of the doped glass and held it upright. You took a glass from -the back bar and pretended to polish it on the apron. What you really -did was drop it into the large pocket and bring out the doctored glass. - -Pinky snuffed the candle, locked the storeroom door, and went back down -to the bar. It was the busiest part of the night with a fair crowd at -the bar and a nice little business at the tables. Pinky motioned to the -other two bartenders to move down and began to work the back end of the -bar. - -After a few minutes, Pete Madrid came in and had a drink. As usual, he -didn't pay. - -"You sure he'll come in?" Madrid asked, keeping his voice down. - -"No, I'm not sure," Pinky said irritably. "How can I be sure? But he -almost always does. You got that crazy Willie out of the way?" - -"Gave him the night off." - -"Only thing is, Mr. O. might go to the Big Barrel. They serve him in -there in spite of Willie told 'em not to." - -Madrid pursed his lips thoughtfully. "I'll drop in there," he said. -"I'll see that they give him a couple of drinks and then cut him off. -That'll bring him over here." - -Pinky's eyes followed Madrid as he sauntered to the door, his blue -silk shirt shimmering in the lamplight, his fingers touching the ivory -handle of his low-slung gun with every step. A dangerous man to have -for an enemy, Pinky thought--and maybe dangerous to have for a friend, -too. Not what you'd call a bright man, he was sure of his ability to -kill, and of not much else. He needed somebody else to do his thinking -for him, even about small matters, and so far he had seemed to realize -this. _God help us if he ever starts thinking for himself_, Pinky mused. - -Half an hour later, Keef O'Hara showed up, and Pinky sighed inwardly. -He didn't much like what he was going to do to O'Hara; but Mr. Jay -wanted it done, and it would be. O'Hara came directly to Pinky's end of -the bar. - -"Slip me a pint, ye black scoundrel," he said, "before Deputy Willie -catches up to me." - -"I hear Willie's off duty tonight," Pinky said. O'Hara must have -visited the Big Barrel first, he thought. The big Irishman had had a -drink or two. - -"Willie off duty?" O'Hara looked alarmed. "First time that's happened." - -Pinky took a glass off the back bar and appeared to polish it on his -apron. "It's a night to celebrate," he said. He made the switch and set -the glass in front of O'Hara, along with a bottle. - -O'Hara looked uncertainly at the table in a far corner where he usually -did his drinking. "Sure, if I've got the sense God gave geese, I'll -walk out this minute while I've still got the use of my legs. Give me -that pint, Pinky m'lad, and I'll be gone. With Willie off duty, I don't -trust myself in this den of iniquity." - -Pinky looked under the bar and shook his head. "I got no pints out -here. Have to get one from the back room. Sit yourself down, Mr. -O'Hara, and I'll bring it to you." - -As he left the bar, he saw with relief that O'Hara was filling the -glass. He entered the small downstairs storeroom and watched from its -dark interior as the Irishman sloughed down the drink and then another. -O'Hara looked vacantly around the saloon, started for a table, and just -barely made it. He sat for a few seconds with his head in his hands, -then slumped forward with his face against the tabletop. - -Pinky returned to the bar with a pint of whisky in hand. Nobody was -paying any particular attention to O'Hara. Pinky gave him a glance and -stowed the pint under the bar. "I guess he ain't going to need that," -he said loudly. - -He busied himself with the customers, apparently giving no more thought -to the unconscious O'Hara. After a few minutes, he consulted a watch -that lay on the back bar. "Fifteen minutes to closing time, gents," he -announced, chuckling. "Official closing time, that is. I reckon we'll -run a bit over tonight." - -There was a low cheer of approval from the customers in the immediate -vicinity. Pinky stared past them at O'Hara, making a little show of it. -"Still here," he muttered and walked around the end of the bar. - -He shook O'Hara, spoke to him, shook him again. Finally, he gestured to -a couple of the men who were watching. - -"Give me a hand, boys, and we'll tote him upstairs to my room, lay him -on my bed." - -The bystanders set down their glasses and came over. Pinky helped them -lug two hundred pounds of sagging Irishman up the narrow stairway. They -took him to the large room that served Pinky as living quarters and -laid him on the bed. Pinky lighted a lamp, turned it low. He muttered -something about the need for air and opened a window wide. - -"He's a nice gentleman," Pinky said. "Just drinks too much sometimes." - -"He sure musta took on a hell of a load this time," one of the -assistants said. "He don't even move." - -"He'll sleep it off," Pinky said. He herded the men back downstairs -and bought them a drink, secure in the knowledge that O'Hara wouldn't -move for hours. - - * * * * * - -Whisky Willie woke and sat erect, panicked by the thought that he -should be on the job. Then he remembered that Madrid had told him -to take the night off, and he sank back with a sigh. A sixteen-hour -night shift caught up with you, all right. You could doze a bit in the -marshal's office between rounds, but that kind of sleep didn't do a man -much good. - -Now, however, sleep failed to return. His room was above the stage -office, smack in the middle of town, and the sounds of the saloons -drifted up through his window. He consulted his watch and saw that it -was after closing time. Peeved, he went to the window and leaned out. -All the saloons were still showing lights. The piano in the Pink Lady -was jangling merrily. Well, he decided, he wasn't going to make a fuss -about it. He would close the window and.... His train of thought was -interrupted by the sight of the mule at the Big Barrel hitching rack. -O'Hara was down there, somewhere. He would be soused to the gills by -this time, no doubt. Somebody had to see that he got back to the job. - -Willie dressed quickly and went down to the street. O'Hara wasn't in -the Big Barrel, although a bartender said he had been in earlier. -Willie gave orders to close up and crossed the street to the Pink -Lady. As he pushed through the batwings, Madrid came clumping up the -boardwalk and called to him. - -"What the hell?" he said, following Willie inside. "I gave you the -night off so you could catch up on sleep." - -"I'm l-looking for Mr. O'Hara," Willie said. - -"That whisky-head engineer? I'll keep an eye out for him. You get your -tail into bed." - -Willie surveyed the line at the Pink Lady bar. O'Hara wasn't there. He -wasn't at any of the tables. Willie turned and walked into the street. - -Madrid ambled up to the bar and beckoned to Pinky. "You better close -up, pronto." - -Willie checked the Silver Slipper and then the Western Star. O'Hara -was at neither one. Pausing in the shadows, he watched Madrid saunter -down the street to his office. Willie had a growing conviction that -something was wrong and that the marshal knew what it was. - -The Pink Lady was closing, and little knots of men straggled out of -it, making their way to other saloons or toward the road back to camp. -Willie stopped several men and asked if they had seen O'Hara. Finally, -he found one who had. - -"Hell, he's at the Pink Lady," the man said. "He passed out in there. -Bronklin and some others carried him upstairs." - -By the time Willie reached the Pink Lady it was locked and dark. He -rattled the door and got no response. He made his way round in back and -had no better luck at the door there. There was a light in an upstairs -room, and the window was wide open. Willie cupped his hands to his -mouth to call but something warned him not to. - -He ran back to the street, crossing it to the Big Barrel, where -O'Hara's mule still stood at the hitch rail. He untied the animal, -mounted, and rode back to the alley behind the Pink Lady. Shadows -crossing the lighted window told him that somebody was moving around up -there. Gently, he worked the mule close to the wall, directly under the -window. He carefully knelt and then stood in the saddle. This brought -the windowsill within reach. He grasped it, and as quietly as possible -he pulled himself up. - - * * * * * - -When the last customer was out of the Pink Lady and the bartenders were -washing glasses and tidying up, Pinky checked in the dealers. Each -brought his cash in a canvas bag, which Pinky stowed into the heavy -safe under the back end of the bar. First thing in the morning, Sam -Lester would be in to count up. - -Pinky unbarred the heavy front door to let the dealers and bartenders -out, then he swung this closed behind the batwings and slid the bar -into place. Alone now, he returned to the bar, tipped up a bottle and -took a long drink. He picked up a lamp, the last light in the place, -and trudged up to his room. - -Keef O'Hara was breathing raspingly. He hadn't moved an inch, and Pinky -chuckled softly at the potency of those knockout drops. Setting down -the lamp, he moved to the end of the bed and took off O'Hara's shoes. -This was a perfectly natural thing to do for a drunk you were taking -care of, he assured himself. If the drunk happened to get crazy ideas -in the night and wander around and fall out a window and be found with -no shoes, well, nobody could criticize the man who had tried to make -him comfortable. - -Pinky edged around to the side of the bed and rolled O'Hara off it on -his face. Dragging so big a man to the window and stuffing him through -it was going to be heavy work, but he guessed he could manage it. -First, though, there was the other matter to be taken care of. A man -falling from a second story window might injure himself quite a bit, -but you couldn't quite count on it. - -"I don't want him killed," Mr. Jay had said. "There's no need for that. -But I want him knocked off that job. Vickers' doctor isn't equipped -to deal with anything complicated and he ships bad cases off to the -Ellensburg hospital. That's where I want O'Hara to go." - -Mr. Jay had gone on to explain that it would take weeks for Ben Vickers -to find another man who knew how to set up a compressed-air operation -properly. Well, you had to hand it to Mr. Jay for seeing a thing -through. Soon as he got word that his hired hooligans had failed to -wreck the boiler, he had come up with this plan to knock O'Hara off the -job. A smart, smooth operator, Mr. Jay. A good star to hitch your wagon -to. Only Pinky wished he hadn't looked so tired and upset.... - -Pinky made a trip to the storeroom and came back with a two-foot length -of iron pipe. He bent over O'Hara's feet, feeling the bones around -the ankles. It wouldn't take much of a blow to break some of these. -Two broken ankles plus any injuries that might be caused by the fall -ought to put O'Hara in that Ellensburg hospital for a good long time. -Probably be a good thing for the man, too, when you came to think about -it. Keep him off the booze. - -Pinky slipped his claw of a hand under one of O'Hara's heels and lifted -the foot. He raised the pipe over his head, and he about jumped out of -his skin as a voice rang out behind him. - -"Hold it, you b-bastard!" - -Whisky Willie had one leg over the windowsill. Pinky flung the length -of pipe. He flung it backhanded and it caught Willie on the shoulder as -he dived into the room, falling flat. The pipe crashed to the floor and -rolled toward Pinky, who scrambled after it. Willie reached a chair, -flung it against Pinky's shins, and bounced to his feet. Pinky stumbled -forward, reached for the pipe. Before he could get his balance, Willie -was on him, knocking the pipe aside and aiming a blow at Pinky's head -with the only weapon he carried. The bottle of lemon pop caught Pinky -neatly behind the ear and dropped him like a bundle of rags. - - - - -XV - - -Judge Badger, who kept the general store and acted as town magistrate -on the side, was tall, bespectacled, and busy-browed. He gave the -impression of being a thoughtful and scholarly man, which he was not. -He was, however, reasonably honest. Consequently, as Mr. Jay pointed -out to Pete Madrid, he was not to be trusted. He was to be managed -rather than conspired with. - -This morning he entered the small townhouse courtroom and took his seat -with great dignity. He surveyed the half dozen persons present and -addressed himself to the marshal. - -"Pete, what in tunket is this all about?" - -"The marshal's office is guilty of an embarrassing mistake," Madrid -said, reciting the words as if he had memorized them carefully. "As you -know, I have an inexperienced deputy. Last night he...." - -"If you made a mistake why don't you correct it?" the judge demanded. -"Why waste the time of this court?" - -Madrid pointed at Willie with his thumb. "Because this mule-head won't -admit it. He insists on this hearing." - -The judge turned sternly to Willie. - -"I want P-Pinky B-Bronklin ch-charged and t-tried," Willie said. - -"Charged with what?" - -Willie told what had happened the night before. The judge asked a -question or two and then told Pinky to tell his side of it. - -Protesting that he was in this trouble because of his kindness to a -drunk, Pinky rattled off a remarkable story. When he went up to his -room after closing the saloon, he said, he had forgotten about O'Hara's -being there. He had maybe had a nip too much himself, he admitted, and -he had been given a scare by something or somebody crawling around in -the dark. He had grabbed a length of pipe which happened to be handy -and had cautiously approached the crawler, who was now lying still. -Just then Willie had come through the window. - -"There were t-two l-lamps burning in that room," Willie put in. - -"You're a liar!" Pinky said. - -"Now, now, now!" Judge Badger said. "We won't have any more of that." - -"You're another," Willie said. - -The judge struck an angry blow with the wooden nutcracker he used for a -gavel. He appraised Willie witheringly, then he asked quietly if Willie -had any concrete evidence that a crime had been committed, and if so, -what it was. - -Willie had brought Vickers' doctor to the courtroom, and he now stepped -forward and said that in his opinion O'Hara who was too sick to appear, -had been drugged. He couldn't say for sure what the drug was. - -The judge asked a few more questions and then pointed out that there -was no evidence that the drug had been administered in the Pink Lady -and no grounds for a charge against Pinky. - -"Howsoever," he said, "surreptitious administration of drugs is a -serious offense, and this court directs the marshal's office to further -investigate this matter with a view to discovery of guilty party or -parties. Upon presentation of evidence that will warrant a bill of -indictment, this court will order the arrest of said guilty party and -he will be taken to Ellensburg and the matter will be prosecuted in -district court." - -Willie left the courtroom with anger a seething molten pressure in him. -He trudged toward the main street beside the doctor. - -"The marshal cooked your goose at the very beginning when he told the -judge you'd made a mistake," the doctor said. "If he'd backed you up, -the judge might have agreed to a charge." - -"I kn-know," Willie said bitterly. "They're all in together." - -Pinky and the marshal reached the street ahead of them, Pinky angling -off toward the Pink Lady and Madrid going into the hotel. It was the -second time that morning that he had visited the hotel. - -Willie went to his room and stretched out on the bed. After a few -minutes, Madrid barged in without knocking. Willie didn't move from the -bed. - -"All right, cowboy," Madrid said. "I'll take that badge." - -Willie unpinned it and handed it over. Madrid stuffed it into the -pocket of his bright blue shirt. - -"You're all in together," Willie said. "You're a b-bunch of crooks in -together." - -"Now don't get me mad," Madrid said. "You're getting out of this lucky. -Get over and get your pay from Sam Lester. Then get your tail out of -town. Today." - -Willie said nothing. Madrid glared and said, "Do you understand that? -Today." - -Willie nodded. - -"If you aren't gone by dark, you'll get hurt. Hurt bad." Madrid turned -on his heel and went out. - -After a while Willie got up, walked to the townhouse, and knocked on -the door of Sam Lester's office. Sam seemed to be expecting him. He -plunked a little pile of gold and silver on his desk. - -"Sixty-six dollars," he said. "That includes a full day's pay for -today. Sign this, please." - -While Willie was signing the receipt, Sam added a double eagle to the -pile of money. "I understand you're leaving town," he said. "This is -for traveling expenses." - -Willie silently pocketed the money. He left the building and walked -around back to Persia's kitchen. Stella was dividing a batch of bread -dough into loaves and putting it into pans. He asked if Miss Persia was -in, and Stella said she was in the parlor. - -Willie found her seated at the secretary. "I been f-fired," he said. - -"I'm sorry," Persia said. "But there's nothing I can do, Willie. You -made a serious mistake." - -"You're in it, t-too! You're all in t-together!" - -"Would you like a letter of recommendation?" Persia said. "I'd be glad -to give you one. It might help you get another job." - -"I hoped you'd l-listen to my s-side of the s-story," Willie said. - -"Willie, you accused a member of the town council of a serious crime -without one speck of evidence. I'm sure it was an honest mistake, -but...." - -Willie put his back to her and walked out. Stella offered him a cup of -coffee and a piece of pie, and he ate silently, thanked her, and left. - -He marched straight across town and took the road to Vickers' camp. - - - - -XVI - - -They had nothing to eat except the can of beans Muckamuck Charlie had -pocketed, some rock-hard biscuits from Tesno's saddlebags, and a few -trout snagged with a hook made from a horseshoe nail. Palma's trail -circled, zigzagged, doubled back. Surprisingly, he made no attempt -to ambush them--although they were slowed again and again as they -made roundabout approaches to places where he might be lying in wait. -Finally, it seemed a safe conclusion that he had used up his ammunition -sniping at horses and the boiler crew. - -On the afternoon of the second day, Charlie announced that Palma had -doubled back toward the road. He had entered a deep, cliff-guarded -valley that led nowhere else, Charlie said. - -Tesno felt a little stab of alarm. Could Palma plan to take another -crack at the boiler? Alone and without ammunition? - -Charlie didn't think this likely. "Hit road high up now," he said. -"Boiler _siah_. Far away." - -Still, the possibility couldn't be ignored. Tesno decided that they -would graze the horses for an hour and then ride all night. - -They came upon the road at midmorning. They had given up trying to -follow Palma's trail; they didn't know if he was still ahead of them or -if they had passed him in the night. Since Charlie knew Palma by sight, -Tesno sent him on up to Tunneltown. - -"If he shows up there, go see Ben Vickers," Tesno said. "Vickers. -Nobody else. He'll get word to me." - -He turned his tired horse down-grade as Charlie jogged off in the other -direction. He came upon the boiler two hours later, only a few miles -above Cle Elum. It was pulled off the road preparatory to another haul -by block and tackle. It had made only three miles the day before, -Rejack reported, and he guessed that was going to be about the average. - -"You look like you need a meal and a bed," he told Tesno. - -"The meal will help," Tesno said. - -He felt as if he were in danger of dropping in his tracks, but he -couldn't sleep--not yet. Even if Palma weren't lurking in the woods, -waiting his chance, there was the possibility that he would come riding -boldly down the road on his way to Ellensburg, believing himself still -ahead of Tesno. Of course, he might already have done that.... - -A few minutes later, Tesno got a chance to check this latter -possibility. He was eating a plate of beans at the cook wagon when -Whisky Willie Silverknife came riding up the road from the direction of -Ellensburg. Tesno hailed him, and he rode over, not getting out of the -saddle. - -"I'm in a huh-hurry," he said. He was red-eyed and looked as sleepy as -Tesno felt. Three pairs of handcuffs dangled from his saddlehorn. - -Tesno asked if he had met anyone on the road who might be Palma. "I -don't rightly know what he looks like," Tesno said. "He's dressed like -a cowhand, and he might be wounded. Nothing very serious, but he might -have a bandaged arm, something like that." - -Willie hadn't seen him. - -"What are the handcuffs for?" Tesno asked. "Where have you been?" - -"I'm m-mad," Willie said. "M-Madrid fired me." - -"You're still wearing a badge." - -"T-take a g-good look at it. It's a county deputy's badge. Mr. Vickers -gave me a letter to the sheriff, and I rode down and g-got s-sworn in -this morning." - -"And you're going back and get even. Is that it?" - -"I'm going to close that Pink Lady up tight. I'm going to send Pinky -to p-prison. If Miss P-Persia gets hurt, too, I c-can't help it. She -wouldn't b-back me up." - -"Willie, you get off that horse and have some food," Tesno said. "I -want to hear about this." - -Willie sullenly dismounted and accepted a plate of beans. He gave -Tesno an account of his rescue of O'Hara, the hearing before Judge -Badger, his appeal to Persia. He pulled a folded paper from a hip -pocket and waved it in Tesno's face. - -"This is a wuh-huh-warrant for Pinky Bronklin's arrest, issued by the -district court." - -Tesno took the warrant and unfolded it. Willie produced an inch-thick -bundle of similar papers from the other hip pocket. - -"I got some m-more d-documents," Willie said. "Closing orders, -warrants, subpoenas. Some of them are b-blank. The district attorney -said to fill them in ac-c-cording to my j-judgment." - -Tesno muttered an exclamation as he read the warrant. "Looks like -you've got Pinky dead to rights," he said. "This charges him with -illegal possession of drugs, illegal administration of drugs, operating -a gambling hall.... That must have been some letter Ben wrote!" - -"The p-people down in Ellensburg are beg-g-ginning to take an interest -in Tunneltown," Willie said. "Teamsters and drummers and such have been -complaining." - -"How do you figure to prove this drug charge?" - -"J-jail Pinky, then search the place. I'll take Vickers' doctor with -me. Ch-chances are we'll find the kn-knockout drops." - -"Willie, you wait till I get back there before you start closing -saloons," Tesno said. - -"N-not much. I figure to d-do it tonight. I'm m-m-mad." - -"You know that Persia is the principal owner of the Pink Lady?" - -"I can't help that. It's a rotten p-place and I'm going to sh-shut it -up." - -"Damned if I don't believe you're a bluenose," Tesno said. He said it -jovially; then reproach crept into his voice. "Damn it, Willie, it's -not a small thing to sit in judgment of others. You're mad. You've got -yourself some official backing. But you've no right to be high-handed." - -"My g-god! That from you?" - -"From me," Tesno said. - -"You t-took it on yourself to judge everything and everybody in -Tunneltown the day you arrived." - -"I judged nobody," Tesno said. "I was just doing a job for pay." - -"You said this was a rotten town preying on Vickers' c-crew. You even -jailed the marshal. You said the hell with authority. Then Miss Persia -wrapped you around her f-finger like a Christmas ribbon. N-now you're -in with the rest of them!" - -"The town council agreed to go along with me, Willie. That changed -things." - -"M-maybe you don't know it," Willie said. "B-but it was the other w-way -around. Miss Persia rustled her skirts at you and you w-went along with -the town." - -"We'll leave Persia out of this," Tesno said with a steel edge of anger -in his voice. - -"We c-can't--even if you beat the peewallopus out of me. I g-guess you -could do it easy enough. You're tougher than anybody I kn-know." Willie -laid his plate on the tailgate and looked Tesno squarely in the eye. -"And you've g-got no more spine than a rag d-doll!" - -He put his back to Tesno, caught up his reins, and swung into the -saddle. He poised a rein end above his horse's rump and said, "I'm -m-mad. M-maybe I didn't m-mean all that." - -Tesno wanted to tell him to come back and finish his dinner. Instead, -he found himself saying gruffly, "You meant it. And be damned to you." - -The handcuffs hanging from Willie's saddlehorn clinked dully as he -pivoted the horse and headed back to the road at a trot. - -An hour later the boiler had been inched up the hillside and was back -on the road. Rejack called a halt just above a small bridge, and the -crew clustered around the cook wagon for a late dinner. Something about -the bridge interested Tesno; then suddenly he recognized it. He turned -his horse up the creek and followed it to the grassy place where he -had nooned on his first trip to Tunneltown, the place where Willie had -surprised him. - -He got off his horse and washed his face in the chill, singing water. -He stretched out in the soft grass then, knowing that he had to sleep -if only for an hour. Yet sleep did not come at once, and he lay staring -at a ragged patch of sky. - -_I can stay till this boiler gets up to the job_, he thought. _I can do -that much for Ben. Then there's nothing to do but quit. I'm finished as -a troublebuster. Willie made me see that clearly enough._ - -He had never really believed in the railroad; but he had taken his -living from it, and he had given what it asked in return. - -Willie had said he was tough. _I've made a profession of toughness, he -thought, but I've made it an honest profession. I've laid my life on -the line to do what I've been paid to do. That's all I've ever been, an -honest tough. It wasn't much, but it was something. Now I am a man in -love. And I am nothing at all._ - -There was still the ranch he had dreamed of for so long--or was there? -Persia had spoiled that for him, he realized. In spite of her show of -interest, she would want no part of the modest spread he would have, of -the years of frugal living while he built up a herd. No, there was not -even that now. There was only the soft dream of a lovely woman whose -eager tenderness absorbed a man ... and left him nothing of himself. - -It was tenderness itself that was his enemy, he thought. He had -toughened the shell around his loneliness to the point of brittleness; -he had made himself defenseless against love for a woman when it had -finally come to him.... - -He slept and woke and overtook the boiler a mile on its way. It was in -little danger, he judged, as long as it was rolling along the road. -And after another short pulley haul had been made with no attempt at -interference, he decided that Palma probably was not in the vicinity. - -That night he rolled up in his blankets under the wagon with the great -weight of the boiler above him. He slept deeply and was wakened by one -of the guards shining a lantern in his face. A messenger had arrived -with a note from Ben Vickers: - - _Jack_ - - _Some drunken Indian says I got to get a message to you, I can't - make out why. Something to do with a man named Palma._ - - - - -XVII - - -Persia Parker sat in her usual place at the head of the council table -and listened demurely while Sam Lester outlined a plan for the town to -issue scrip. She didn't know if the plan had originated with him or -with Mr. Jay. She didn't thoroughly understand it, but Sam had assured -her that there would be considerable advantage in it, if it was done -right. - -When Sam had finished speaking, she turned the meeting over to him and -left the room. This had been agreed on beforehand--there seemed to be -certain hidden profits in the plan that were best discussed in her -absence. - -She walked along the long hall and entered her parlor, halting in -surprise as a man rose slowly from the sofa. - -He was stocky, brute-faced, and wore a pointed blond mustache and -several days growth of pale stubble. He was dirty and looked exhausted. -There was a large dark stain on his jeans--a bloodstain. She felt a -little stab of panic. - -"There's a meeting in there," he said, gesturing with his hat toward -the other part of the building. "The door was open and I couldn't get -past to Lester's rooms, so I come in here." - -She recognized him now as one of the pair who had hidden in Sam's rooms -a few days ago. She had taken food up to them. - -"I got a bullet scratch on my leg," he said. "It wouldn't amount to -nothing if it had been took care of, but I been on the run three days. -It's got to be dressed. I got to have some food." - -He sank down heavily. A blood-stained bandage showed through a tear in -the faded cloth of his jeans. He would get the sofa dirty, she thought, -and she frowned her annoyance. - -"I'll go back to the meeting and close the door so you can get up to -Sam's quarters," she said. - -"My horse has got to be took care of. He's out back." - -"Tell Sam about it." She turned back toward the hall. - -"It's got to be done quick. I got two men on my tail." - -"_Two_ men?" - -"I take one to be a Injun, the other Vickers' troublebuster." - - * * * * * - -Whisky Willie reached Tunneltown shortly after dark. He left his horse -at the livery, unhooked the handcuffs from his saddle and walked -stiffly to the marshal's office. - -Madrid was at his desk behind an oil can and a mound of rags, cleaning -his revolver. He leaped to his feet as Willie walked in and dumped the -handcuffs on the desk. - -"I told you, cowboy," Madrid said, swallowing his amazement. "I warned -you." - -"This is a c-c-county badge I'm wearing," Willie said. - -Madrid gaped at the badge. "What the hell are you trying to pull?" - -Willie drew the stack of papers from his hip pocket, selected one and -slapped it on the desk. "That's the document that goes with the badge, -Marshal. You better read it. The sheriff of Kittitas County requests -that you give me the use of your jail and your c-co-operation." - -Madrid made a shaky try at seeming amused. "You really pulled this off, -kid?" - -"You know what c-co-operation means? It means you try to interfere -j-just once and I'll jail you like T-Tesno did." - -Madrid slid shells into his revolver and dropped it into his holster. -Grabbing his hat from a peg in the wall, he left the office without -another word. Willie watched him from the doorway till he entered the -hotel, then followed. - -When Willie entered the lobby, it was empty except for the clerk, who -was sorting mail. - -"Where d-did the m-marshal go?" Willie demanded. - -"I thought you got f-f-fired," the clerk said insolently. - -Willie picked up an inkwell and smashed it on the floor at the clerk's -feet. The clerk opened his mouth in outrage, but he saw Willie's hard -little black eyes and said nothing at all. - -"I asked a q-qu-question," Willie said. "I want a b-better answer." - -"Third floor, I guess. That's where he usually goes." - -"Who's on the th-third floor?" - -The clerk consulted a chart. "Jackson, Dockeray, Smith, Jay, Lewis, -Mann, Parce, Oliver...." - -"Who's permanent?" - -"Mr. Jay keeps his rooms on a monthly basis. He's the only one on that -floor who does." - -"Th-thanks." - -Willie marched out of the hotel and made straight for the Pink Lady. -Pinky Bronklin, who was working the far end of the bar, called loudly -to the barkeep who stepped up to serve Willie. - -"Tell him we don't serve Injuns!" - -"You an Injun?" the barkeep said and immediately moved away. - -Feeling the eyes of the crowd center on him, Willie pushed away from -the bar and walked down to where Pinky was. - -"Get the hell out of my place," Pinky said. - -"T-take a good l-look at my badge," Willie said. "You're t-talking to a -county deputy." - -Pinky scowled at the badge. His eyes lifted to Willie's face. He opened -his mouth to speak, thought better of it, and abruptly turned his back. - -Willie moved up the bar, pulled the wad of papers from his pocket, and -threw one of these on the bar with a slap that brought Pinky around. - -"The Pink Lady is closed as of right now!" Willie proclaimed. -"Everybody out!" - -Pinky unfolded the paper and dropped it like something hot. He motioned -to the barkeep nearest the door. "Get Madrid here! Quick!" - -"B-bring Mr. Jay with him," Willie said. - -Pinky gave Willie a sick, sagging stare. Willie began to herd customers -into the street. Two minutes later the place was empty except for -Pinky, one barkeep, and the dealers. Willie waited while Pinky checked -in the cash and stowed it into the safe. Then he dismissed everybody -except Pinky. - -"J-jail for you t-tonight. T-tomorrow I'm taking you to Ellensburg." - -He marched the saloonkeeper into the marshal's office, finding that -Madrid hadn't returned. He locked him into the cell, pocketed the key, -and returned to the street. - -A weariness rose in him now. The worst was over, he guessed. In the -morning, he would take Vickers' doctor to the Pink Lady and they would -search it for knockout drops.... - -Something moved against the dark wall ahead of him. He stopped stark -still. A man stepped out of the shadows, staggering a little. Willie -brushed past, smelling whisky; then he whirled in surprise at hearing -himself addressed in the Yakima tongue. - -"It is Silverknife, the grandson of my mother's brother." - -Willie peered closely at the dark face. He, too, spoke in Yakima, -stuttering not nearly so badly as he did in English. - -"It is Red Iron of the Kilickitats. He sees better in the darkness than -I, even when he is drunk." - -Muckamuck Charlie touched Willie's badge admiringly. "It seems you have -become a _tyee_ among the white men. But then you have their blood." - -"What are you doing here?" Willie asked. - -"I am to be given _chikamin_ for watching a man...." - -Willie listened tensely while Charlie explained about being hired by -Tesno, their pursuit of Palma, and his coming alone to Tunneltown. -Charlie had taken it upon himself to examine the hoofs of all the -horses in the livery barn, and he had found the animal whose shoe marks -he had been following for three days. So Palma was here, and Charlie -had been watching the street for him. He had discovered a place where -an Indian could buy whisky, so he had been able to keep his stomach -warm while he watched. - -"Did you ask the man at the livery about the horse?" Willie said. - -"It was not brought in by Palma but by a _tyee_ of the town who lives -in the big house with two doors. The one called Sam Lester. You got -whisky?" - -Willie took him to a restaurant and bought him a meal, tapping his -badge when the waitress protested about serving Indians. Charley said -he would sleep in the livery barn, where he could keep an eye on the -horse. Reluctantly, Willie lent him a dollar for a stomach-warmer. - -Willie went to his room and crawled into his sagging cot. He sank -almost at once into thick slumber. The door to his room was without a -lock, and he did not hear it open. Nor was he disturbed by the dark, -cat-careful figure that stole about the room. - -When he woke at daylight, his badge was missing--along with his -precious stack of court papers. - -He went at once to the marshal's office and found it deserted. The cell -door stood open. Its padlock--picked or forced--lay on the floor. Pinky -Bronklin was gone. - -Willie sank down at the desk, feeling foolish. Without evidence of -authority, he was nothing. Pinky Bronklin would laugh in his face. If -he rode back to Ellensburg and reported what had happened, they were -likely to laugh at him there, too. He asked himself what Tesno would -do. _Damn it, he would go ahead anyway. He never did have authority._ - -When Willie returned to the street, the town was coming to life. Stores -and saloons were opening. Workers from the night shift trudged the -boardwalk, hunched against the early chill. The big door behind the -Pink Lady's batwings had been swung wide.... - -Willie found Ben Vickers at the cookhouse, bent over a stack of -flapjacks. Ben listened eager-eyed as Willie outlined a plan. - -Ten minutes later Willie entered the supply building and handed the -clerk a note signed by Ben. The clerk issued one stick of dynamite, one -cap, one fuse. Willie fitted on the cap and fuse, shoved the dynamite -into a hip pocket and walked back to town. - -There were two customers at the Pink Lady bar. One faro game was going -with three players at the table. Pinky Bronklin sat nearby and sipped -coffee. "We don't serve Injuns!" he called when he saw Willie. - -Willie stepped up to the bar. "I want a cigar," he said. He faced -Pinky. "Two more charges against you. J-jailbreaking. Failure to obey a -c-c-closing order." - -"You b-been warned," he said. - -Customers, faro dealer, and barkeep plunged for the door, colliding -as they reached it, careening into the street. Pinky Bronklin seemed -petrified. When he managed to speak, he stuttered worse than Willie. - -"Y-you c-can't b-bluff me," Pinky said. - -"Who's b-bluffing?" Willie said. - -He touched the cigar to the fuse, which began to sputter merrily. He -gave the stick of dynamite another flip in the air as Pinky tore for -the batwings with hands straight out in front of him and hit the street -screaming for Madrid. - -Willie waited till the fuse had burned down a bit; then he laid -the dynamite on the bar and strolled through the door. A crowd was -gathering a little way down the street. Pinky had almost reached the -marshal's office and was gesturing wildly to Madrid, who was coming out -of it. They both started toward the Pink Lady at a trot. - -Willie met Pinky head on and spun him around. - -"B-back to that cell," Willie said. "This t-time, I'm going to handcuff -you to the b-bunk." - -The roar shook the town. Afterward, there was a lingering tinkle of -falling glass. Kind of like music, Willie thought. - - - - -XVIII - - -Stella stood by the swinging door that led from the kitchen into the -dining room and pushed it open a few inches. This enabled her to hear -much of what was said in the living room. - -She didn't often eavesdrop. But judging from the way Mr. Jay, Mr. -Madrid and Mr. Lester had descended on Persia all at once, they -considered themselves up against crisis, which was almost certain to -concern Willie. Stella had sort of a crush on Willie, even though he -never gave her any real encouragement. - -Mr. Jay was doing most of the talking. The way his voice rose and fell, -Stella judged he was pacing the floor. - -"I have failed completely in my efforts to buy the tunnel contract," -he was saying. "This is due largely to the stupidity of people I have -paid to help me. I have spent a tidy sum on the project, and I'm not -giving up. If I don't get the contract, at least I have the town, and -I will make it pay as never before. I don't intend to be stopped by -this ridiculous little clown who has got the authorities in Ellensburg -interested in us." - -Stella snorted softly. Mr. Jay talked as if he were God, she thought. - -"I have a plan for getting those authorities off our backs," he -went on. "It is simple enough. Persia and the council will publicly -recognize that Tunneltown has got out of hand. They will ask a man of -position and integrity to take over and clean up the mess. This man -will be me. The council will call the election that it has postponed. I -shall be elected mayor. - -"Of course, it must not be known that I am--for all practical -purposes--the proprietor of the town. I will confer with the -politicians as an outsider brought in in an emergency. I assure you I -can handle them. The sure way to make a politician lose interest in -anything is to try to interest him in it." Mr. Jay paused and there was -a low, dutiful surge of laughter. - -"What about Pinky?" Mr. Madrid asked. "Like I told you, Willie means to -take him to Ellensburg for trial." - -"We can't permit this to happen. With his jail record and all those -charges against him, the prosecuting attorney is likely to offer him a -deal--and Pinky will tell all he knows about me." - -Persia spoke now for the first time. "How can we avoid this, Mr. Jay?" - -"Willie has shown himself to be a reckless fool," Mr. Jay said. "A -regrettable accident is quite within the realm of possibility." - -"He's lost his badge and papers," Madrid said. "As far as I'm -concerned, he has no business taking Pinky out of town, I'll stop -him--for good." - -"No," Persia said. "I don't want that." - -"It mustn't happen in town," Mr. Jay said. "That would require a great -deal of awkward explaining. It must happen on the road. Pinky Bronklin -will have a concealed gun and will make his escape." - -"What will happen to Willie?" Persia asked. - -"That's in the lap of the gods," Mr. Jay said quickly. - -"I don't think you mean that," Persia said. "You mean to have Willie -killed. I won't agree to that." - -"My dear." Mr. Jay's tone was tiredly patient. "Must I remind you that -you are the principal owner of the Pink Lady? A few repairs, a new -stock of liquor, and you'll be in business again--if Willie does _not_ -get to Ellensburg. If he does you'll lose your license--and that'll be -the least of it. You'll quite possibly have to face charges yourself." - -A door slammed and there was the clump of boots as newcomers came in -from the other part of the building. There was a great deal of stirring -around and exclaiming. Then Stella gasped as Willie's voice rose above -the others. - -"I found this r-rascal upstairs in Mr. Lester's rooms. I'm t-told he's -wanted for b-boiler-wrecking and such. I'm arresting him and taking -him to Ellensburg along with Pinky." - -There was a great deal of confused talk then, and Stella could sift -nothing out of it. She knew that a stranger had spent the night in Sam -Lester's quarters, but she had not seen him. Willie must have barged up -there and arrested him, she realized. - -She got a glimpse of Willie and his prisoner as they passed the dining -room doorway on their way to the front door. Madrid and Mr. Jay came -into view behind them. Madrid had his hand on his gun, but Mr. Jay gave -him a look and a quick little shake of the head. The front door slammed -heavily, and Willie and his prisoner were gone. - -"He's gone crazy!" Madrid said. "Plumb paper-doll crazy!" - -"Actually, it's working out well," Mr. Jay said. "With _two_ prisoners -to guard, Willie will be taking a foolish risk. A break will be that -much more plausible. Don't you agree, Persia?" - -"I don't want anything to do with it," Persia said, a languid thickness -in her voice. "I don't even want to hear about it." - - * * * * * - -Mr. Jay and Madrid walked together to the main street. - -"I've already got a horse for you," Mr. Jay said. "It's tied behind the -hotel." - -"Must say you think of everything," Madrid muttered. - -"This must look like a break--surely you understand that. Don't forget -to take an extra gun." - -"What for? If one of the prisoners had a hidden gun, he'd take it away -with him, wouldn't he?" Madrid protested. - -"Palma and Bronklin have to go, too, Pete." - -They walked in silence for a few yards, Madrid staring at the ground. -"I guess I can do it," he said somberly. "But three of 'em!" - -Mr. Jay halted suddenly and pointed at a rider who had just entered the -town and was swinging into the road to Vickers' camp. "Tesno!" Madrid -said. - -"He's headed for the camp," Mr. Jay said. "If Willie gets out of here -with his prisoners without meeting him, there's no need to change our -plan." - -Five minutes later, wearing a coat over his blue and white silk shirt, -carrying an extra revolver in his pocket, Madrid rode quietly out of -town. - - * * * * * - -Muckamuck Charlie woke to the sound of an argument below him. He lay -almost completely submerged in hay. His head ached. He was feeling -_sick tumtum_. He felt around in the hay for a bottle and found none. -He asked himself where he was and what he was doing here. After a -moment, he remembered he was watching a horse. - -Slowly, stifling groans, he worked himself out of the hay to his -hands and knees and peered over the edge of the loft. He saw with -satisfaction that Palma's horse was still in its stall. Nearby, two men -were arguing. One was the stableman. The other was Willie Silverknife. - -As near as Charlie could make it out, Willie wanted to take the horse, -but the stableman wouldn't let him without permission from the man who -had brought it in. Charlie got to his feet. Teeteringly, he worked his -way along the edge of the loft to a ladder. By the time he reached its -bottom, the argument had stopped. Willie seemed to have settled for -three other horses, which he and the stableman were saddling. - -When he saw Charlie, Willie said, "Ho!" and made a joke in English -which Charlie didn't understand. - -"_Sick tumtum_," Charlie said. "You got whisky?" Willie swung a saddle -to the back of a horse, and Charlie saw that his hip pockets were -empty. "You got dollar?" - -"I have taken your man, your Palma," Willie said, speaking now in -the Yakima tongue. He gave the horse a punch in the ribs to make him -deflate himself, then he tightened the cinch. "He is in the jailhouse. -I will take him to Ellensburg." - -Charlie absorbed this silently. Willie went on to say that he expected -to meet Tesno on the road. He said Charlie ought to ride along with -him, if he was able, and rejoin Tesno. - -Charlie replied that he had a great sickness in his head and stomach, -was having trouble seeing clearly, and was quite likely going to die -unless he could get hold of some whisky. Besides, Willie's capture of -Palma put an end to Charlie's responsibility in the matter, and he -might as well get drunk. - -Willie said crisply that he would lend no more money. Charlie retired -to an empty stall and sat down. The livery man caught the reins of -Willie's horse and led it outside. All at once, Charlie was aware of a -young white woman in the barn. She had appeared so miraculously that -Charlie considered the possibility she might be a spirit, but Willie -seemed to know her. - -"Stella!" he said. - -"Villie," she said in strangely accented English, "you must not leave. -They vill kill you. I heard them." - -"Now just c-calm d-down," Willie said. "What did you hear?" - -"Marshal Madrid said he vould stop you from leaving town. I think he -meant he vould kill you. Mr. Yay, he said no. He said it vould happen -on the road. The prisoner vould have a gun and escape. You vould be -dead, I think. At first, it vas only vun prisoner. Then you took the -other vun. Mr. Yay said so much the better...." - -Stella was extremely excited, and her accent made it doubly hard for -Muckamuck Charlie to understand what she was talking about. He gathered -that she was warning Willie someone would kill him if he tried to take -Palma to Ellensburg, but Charlie doubted that this could be taken -literally. She probably wanted to keep Willie in town for reasons of -her own. It was disappointing to see that Willie was sobered by her -jabbering. - -"Thanks, S-Stella," Willie said. - -"You'll not go?" - -"I g-guess I'll go. I'll be as safe on the road as I am in t-town. But -I'll search those prisoners before I start out, Stella." - -Willie touched her elbow and they walked together through the big barn -door into the sunlight. Charlie got up and watched Willie ride to the -marshal's office, leading the two extra horses. Stella hurried off -toward the big house behind the town. Willie went into the office and -reappeared with two handcuffed prisoners. All three mounted and rode -out of town. - -The sight of Palma stirred an ugly hatred in Charlie and a fear for -Willie. True, Willie had a gun in his belt and the prisoners were -handcuffed. But Jim Palma was a strong and wily man. He had stomped -that Umatilla boy to death down at Selah, and Charlie had heard other -bad things about him. He wasn't sure that Willie was a match for Palma. -Maybe that jabbering squaw was right, after all, Charlie thought. - -He made his way up a cleared hillside above town, feeling a little -better as he walked. He had staked his horse up here--no sense in -wasting whisky money on a livery fee. After a day's grazing, the animal -looked to be in fair condition. Saddle and bridle were in a clump of -brush where Charlie had cached them. He fought a brief battle with the -temptation to sell these for whisky money; then he saddled up and cut -behind the town to the Ellensburg road. - - - - -XIX - - -Tesno made his report to Ben, listened in amazement to the contractor's -account of Willie's closing of the Pink Lady, and they rode to the town -and the townhouse. - -Stella answered his knock. Instead of her usual dignified reception, -she greeted him with emotion. - -"Mr. Tesno! Did you meet Villie? He has gone to Ellensburg." - -"Jack!" Persia darted into the hall and threw herself into his arms. -She led him into the parlor, asking Stella to leave them alone. - -Stella went into the dining room--Tesno had a feeling that she did not -go on to the kitchen. Persia pulled him down beside her on the sofa, -and he found himself holding her hand. - -"So much has happened!" she said. "Did you hear about Willie? They say -he has lost his mind. After all I did for him, Jack, he--" - -"Persia, I'm looking for a man named Palma. Is he here?" - -"That must be the man Willie arrested," she said quickly. "He came -barging in here with a stranger and did some wild talking. I was -meeting with ... some people. Willie said something about taking this -man to Ellensburg with Mr. Bronklin." - -"And they have already left?" - -"I'm sure I don't know." - -"They have left," Stella said, appearing in the dining room doorway. -She drew herself up very straight. "I varned him, Mrs. Parker. I told -him that Mr. Yay planned to have him killed. He said he vould be all -right, but I am afraid. Vill he be all right, Mr. Tesno?" - -"Stella, you have apparently been eavesdropping!" Persia said with -an icy anger in her voice. "That is bad enough. But you've twisted -everything you heard into a perfectly outlandish story. Stella, have -you a crush on Willie? Is that why--" - -"I have twisted nothing," Stella asserted. "It vas a plan they vere -making, Mr. Tesno, Mr. Yay and the marshal. Mrs. Parker said no, she -didn't vant it. I give her credit for that. After vile, she said she -didn't vant to hear about it. She don't really care what they do, Mr. -Tesno." - -"Stella, you _liar_!" Persia was on her feet. Her eyes were blazing. -There were shocking angry lines in her face. "You get out of this -house! Immediately!" - -"Yes, ma'am," Stella said. - -"Wait," Tesno said. - -Rising, he touched Persia's elbow, and she flounced violently away from -him. For just a second or two, she pressed both palms to her face. Then -she made a desperate effort at control, composing her voice but not -getting the searing anger out of her eyes. - -"I didn't mean that, Stella," she said. "You _misunderstood_ what you -heard, and you've let your imagination run away with you." - -"No, ma'am, I heard it straight. It vas a plan." - -Persia turned away in exasperation. "What a day!" she said. - -Tesno took her firmly by the shoulders and met her eyes. She lowered -them and would have come against him, but he held her off. "Persia, I -want the truth. From you. Is there a plan to kill Willie?" - -"How do I know? They're hard men. There's a great deal at stake and--I -told them I would have nothing to do with it!" - -"Yes," Stella said. "She told them that. She said she didn't even vant -to know about it." - -Persia whirled and walked to the stairway. She halted there, face in -hands; but he did not follow. - -"I am afraid for Villie, Mr. Tesno," Stella said. - -"How long ago did he leave?" - -"Yust before you came. Ten, fifteen minutes." - -Tesno regarded her gloomily. "I'll go after him," he said. He strode -swiftly to the front door, and it closed heavily behind him. - - - - -XX - - -Willie's prisoners rode half a length ahead of him up the steep road -out of the gulch. He had searched them both and found no hidden weapon. -Both were handcuffed. He had assured them that if either made a false -move, he was going to shoot. He meant it and they knew he meant it. - -Still, the fact that he had got out of town with no challenge from -Madrid seemed to confirm Stella's warning that there would be an escape -try on the road. The marshal and Mr. Jay weren't going to let him get -this pair of dandies to Ellensburg if they could stop it. - -They crossed the first ridge and began a long, angling descent. -Willie's eyes scoured the timber ahead for any sign of life. Now and -then he raised himself in the saddle and glanced back. As they neared a -bend in the road after a long straight stretch, he saw that a rider was -following them. - -He was a good quarter-mile away, and he was keeping his horse at a -fast trot. He didn't look like Madrid, but Willie was afraid to take -his eyes off his prisoners long enough to study him carefully. As they -rounded the bend, Willie concocted a plan. - -The road bore sharply to the right here. Half a mile below, it crossed -a creek and then slanted back up the side of a massive range of hills -and through a little saddle between peaks. Out of sight of the man -behind them now, Willie ordered Palma and Bronklin to pull into the -trees to the left. - -It seemed to him that they could cut cross-country and reach the road -again as it climbed the hills ahead. The riding would be rough, steep, -and slow; they would gain no time by the shortcut. But the chances were -that the man behind them wouldn't see their tracks leaving the road -here--only Indians were apt to notice such things along a well traveled -road. He probably wouldn't miss them till he had reached the bottom of -the valley and crossed the creek. There was a straight piece of road -there and he would suddenly find that they were no longer ahead of him. -He would turn back to discover where he had lost them. At least, Willie -hoped he would. He would eventually find their sign and follow it. But -by that time Willie and the prisoners would be back on the road a mile -and a half ahead. There was a ragcamp a bit farther along which they -could reach without fear of being overtaken. Willie planned no further -ahead than that. - -Weaving through the big evergreens made keeping an eye on both -prisoners difficult. When they were well off the road, Willie called -a halt. While Palma and Pinky jeered and grumbled, he quickly cut a -length of picket rope and tied the bridle of one of their horses to the -tail of the other. Thus they were forced to travel pack-train fashion -and keep together. - -They wound sharply down-grade, dodging branches, holding the horses to -a walk on Willie's order. The creek was deep and its banks were thick -with brush and jutting dead-falls, but they finally found a ford and -crossed. Then they worked up through forest again and came suddenly -upon the road. They rounded the first bend and ran smack into Madrid, -who was sitting his horses and waiting. - -He was a scant ten yards away. He had been watching, had seen them -first, and had his revolver in hand. If they had hit the road a hundred -yards beyond this bend, they would have avoided him, Willie thought. As -it was, he was beaten, and he knew it. He thought of wheeling his horse -around and making a run for it. But he knew he would never make it. -That revolver in Madrid's hand would drop him at twice the distance. - -Pinky and Palma, still riding in file with Pinky ahead, had reined up. -Willie kicked his horse forward and jumped it into Palma's. This sent -the horses of both prisoners into a dance, and Madrid had to rein out -of the way. Willie made a grab for his gun but barely got it clear of -his belt. Swinging his horse aside with one hand, Madrid pointed his -gun at the sky with the other, leveled it with a gentle chopping motion -and fired. Willie coughed and teetered out of the saddle to the road. -His startled horse trotted ahead of the others, and Madrid casually -leaned over and caught the reins. - -Pinky and Palma calmed their horses and regarded the motionless figure -below them. Palma was the first to speak. - -"And that'll be that," he said. He got down from the saddle with his -manacles hands held awkwardly in front of him and unfastened the rope -that held his horse to Pinky's. "I'll get the key off him," he said -then and walked toward Willie's body. Madrid made the chopping motion -with the gun again and shot him squarely between the shoulder blades. - -Pinky stared in open-mouthed astonishment. He grinned shakily and said, -"What's my move, Pete? Go back with you or skidoo?" - -"Neither," Madrid said, speaking for the first time. He raised the gun -again, and Pinky understood. - -"Pete ... wait...." - -"So long, cowboy," Madrid said as he pulled the trigger. - -He drew the extra gun from his coat pocket, fired it in the air, and -tossed it to the ground near Pinky. Dismounting he recovered Willie's -gun, fired it twice, and dropped it near Willie. In the saddle again, -he led the horses up and down the road past the bodies several times to -assure a hopeless confusion of tracks. He then rounded the bend, left -the road and headed through the forest toward Tunneltown. It wouldn't -do to be seen on the road. - -As soon as he was out of sight, Muckamuck Charlie emerged from the -trees, leading his horse. He walked round the bend and, having heard -the shots, was not surprised by what he found there. Mumbling to -himself, he bent over each man and assured himself they were all dead. - -Lifting Willie's body under the arms, he dragged it to the side of the -road and straightened it out so it looked comfortable. - -"You were a _tyee_ among them," he said in Yakima. - -He climbed on his horse thinking that it was a bad business for an -Indian to get mixed up in white men's quarrels. He knew of only one -white man who would believe him when he told what he had seen. Tesno, -as far as he knew, was still with the boiler--or maybe on his way to -Tunneltown in response to Vickers' message. Charlie headed his horse -eastward--toward Ellensburg--and rode away. - - * * * * * - -Prodding a tired horse, Tesno heard the shots distantly. He kicked the -animal into a lope, couldn't hold him there, settled for a wobbly trot. -A few minutes later, he met a riderless horse jogging along toward -Tunneltown, head held high to keep dragging reins from underfoot. He -waved an arm, turning the horse, and hazed it ahead of him. Almost at -once, two more horses appeared with empty saddles. With a sense of -disaster gnawing at him, he turned these, too. - -He had an instant of hope when he first saw Willie stretched out beside -the road; but even before he dismounted and knelt beside the boy, this -faded. Willie was dead. Mr. Jay and Madrid had planned it. Persia might -have stopped it and didn't.... - -He had seen his share of death; mostly, he had turned away from it with -a shrug and maybe a muttered prayer, as a man must. Now he remembered -the first he had seen, that of a childhood playmate, how he couldn't -believe it, and this was like that. He brushed mud from Willie's face -with his fingers; he looked around at the road and the forest and the -sky. Willie was gone; but the world that he was a part of went on, -and he was not gone. It seemed as if the cloak of Time were lifted -momentarily and the illusion of past, present, and future dispelled. - -_Nobody ever dies_, he thought. _Everything we are, everything we do, -everything we've ever done, good and bad, goes on forever._ - -This struck him sharply, fleetingly. The cloak fell again, and he was -angry. - -He searched the ground, examined the guns. It looked as if one of the -prisoners had had a hidden gun. He had pulled it and shot Willie, who -had lived long enough to kill them both. That was how it looked, Tesno -thought, but that wasn't how it was. There were three empty shells in -the two guns. He had heard six shots. - -He spent another half hour at the scene, studying it, learning little -from the hodgepodge of tracks but fixing every detail in his mind. A -train of freight wagons came lumbering along the road then, bound for -Tunneltown. The crew found tarpaulins in which to wrap the bodies and -stowed them on top of their loads. - -When Tesno asked if they had met anyone within the last few miles, -several of the drivers shook their heads. Then one remembered. - -"Just an Injun," he said. "Old Muckamuck Charlie who works at the Cle -Elum mill." - - - - -XXI - - -Tesno herded the riderless horses through town to the livery barn. He -briefly questioned the attendant, then rode back down the street. He -intended to go at once to Vickers' camp; but in front of the marshal's -office, a thing happened that changed his mind. - -The freighters were unloading the canvas-shrouded bodies here, carrying -them into the office. A little crowd was gathering on the walk, and -Madrid stood at the front of it. Tesno maneuvered his horse between -wagons and stopped directly before the marshal. Silence washed over the -crowd. For a moment neither man spoke. Then Tesno said, "I found the -bodies." - -"Why tell me?" Madrid said. "It didn't happen in my jurisdiction." - -"Not interested?" - -Madrid shrugged. "It's all plain enough. One of the prisoners had a -gun. They shot it out. They--" - -Mr. Jay stepped out of the crowd. He touched Madrid's elbow without -looking at him, and the marshal fell silent. - -"Is that what it looked like to you, Mr. Tesno?" Mr. Jay asked. - -"No." - -"Mr. Tesno I have been asked to run for mayor of this town." Mr. -Jay raised his voice for the crowd. "Before I accept, I shall visit -Ellensburg and assure myself of the support and the co-operation of -the authorities there. I should like to be able to give them the facts -about this tragedy. Will you step into the marshal's office and tell me -everything you know?" - -"It was an ambush. That's all I'll say now." - -"Can you prove that, Mr. Tesno?" - -"When the time comes, Mr. Jay." - -"I was under the impression that you wanted to give the marshal -details." - -"I wanted to see if he was interested," Tesno said. "He wasn't." - -Mr. Jay threw back his head so that his trim little beard seemed to -be pointed up at Tesno. There were hollow circles about his eyes, and -Tesno thought that the brilliance in them was not entirely the result -of emotion. He realized suddenly that the man was under a strain that -amounted to illness. Yet his brazen assurance was a formidable thing. - -"I don't understand your hostility, sir," Mr. Jay said. - -"Willie Silverknife is dead, Mr. Jay. The men who killed him will -answer to me." - -Mr. Jay glared. "Did _you_ kill him, Mr. Tesno?" - -You had to give the man credit. All he had left was a desperate -bluff--and a steely confidence in himself. - -"You know better," Tesno said. - -"My information is that this man Palma tried to wreck Vickers' boiler -a few days ago," Mr. Jay said loudly. "You killed his partner. You -were trailing him. You and Pinky Bronklin were old enemies. Willie -Silverknife wanted these men alive. Did you want them dead, Mr. Tesno?" - -"I'll have my proof when I need it," Tesno muttered. - -"I have no authority yet," Mr. Jay went on. "But let me warn you. -Keep out of the town and its affairs. If I hear of any more of your -blustering and bullying here, I'll insist that the marshal stop it." - -Tesno grinned and gave a little toss of his head. He understood that -Mr. Jay was offering a challenge rather than a warning. - -"I'm going to close your town down tight, Mr. Jay," he said. - -He backed his horse from between the wagons and jogged down the street -to the Silver Slipper. He tied the horse and went in, knowing that -Madrid and Jay were watching. - -The proprietor, who was a member of the town council, was sitting in a -poker game. Tesno stood behind him till a hand was finished. - -"You want something?" the saloonkeeper asked testily. He was a bald man -with a vacant, puppy-dog face. - -"I'm closing the Silver Slipper," Tesno said mildly. "You have until -tomorrow noon to move out." - -"You're _what_?" - -"I'm not going to argue about it. Get your stock out by then or it will -be smashed." - -The man spread his hands and looked appealing at the others at the -table. He turned his eyes up to Tesno again and said, "Look, I've got a -territorial license. You can't--" - -"Tomorrow noon." - -Tesno pivoted and walked out. He rode up the street toward the Big -Barrel, passing the marshal's office again. The freight wagons had -moved on, but a little crowd was still there. Mr. Jay stood in the -doorway of the office. - -Tesno delivered similar ultimatums to the proprietors of the Big Barrel -and the Western Star. Then he rode to the townhouse. - -He dismounted at the back of the building and entered the kitchen. -Stella was sitting at the table, staring vacantly at the raw materials -for dinner. The news of Willie's death had already reached her. - -"I was too late," Tesno said. - -"He vas a decent man," Stella said, speaking very slowly. "Maybe a -little crazy, like they say, but decent." - -"Stella, I want you to come with me." - -"Mrs. Parker says I am not to leave the house. I am scared by the vay -she said it." - -"You're leaving right now," he said. "We'll send somebody for your -things later." - -She took his hand dazedly, and he led her outside. He mounted his -horse, swung her up behind the saddle, and took her straight to -Vickers' camp. - -Keef O'Hara was with Ben Vickers in his cabin. They had just heard of -Willie's murder and were full of angry questions. They nodded politely -to Stella, not guessing the purpose of her presence and plainly -considering it an intrusion. Tesno held a chair for her and explained. - -"Ben, I want you to put her up here at the camp. She isn't safe in -town." - -"Here?" Ben said doubtfully. "There isn't a woman in camp. We have no -suitable place." - -"Then make one, Ben. She heard Jay and Madrid planning to kill Willie." - -Ben whirled to confront her. "You _heard_ them?" - -Frightened and ill-at-ease, Stella haltingly told what she had heard. -When she had finished, Ben Vickers was grimly silent. He turned to his -work table and stood toying with some papers there, his back to the -others. - -"Good lass!" Keef O'Hara said. "Say that in court and we'll see Jay and -Madrid hang as high as Mount Tacoma." - -"It won't be that easy," Tesno said. "There were other witnesses to -that conversation. They would probably swear to a different version, -make it seem that Stella misunderstood." - -"Jay didn't have to kill," Ben Vickers said darkly. "He was a good -engineer. This is a rough business. We've all been ruthless at times, I -guess. But outright murder...." - -O'Hara nodded sharply. "Sure, it makes a man wonder." - -"Jay got his start in Dakota," Ben said. "Worked for a man whose team -ran away and took him over a cliff. Jay took over the contract. In -Idaho he had a partner who was killed in a fall from a trestle. Nobody -ever figured out what he was doing up there in the middle of a snow -storm." - -Ben turned away from the table, and the three men exchanged startled -glances. It seemed to Tesno that they were all thinking about the same -thing. - -"About the only way you can get a man like Jay is in court," Ben said. -"And then you're likely _not_ to get him. I hate to think of what a -smart lawyer might do to Stella on the stand." - -"I vould tell only the truth," Stella said. - -"Another thing," Ben said. "You never saw this boiler-wrecker up close, -Jack. How could you swear it was Palma?" He shook his head dismally. -"Fact is, we have precious little on Jerome J. Jay." - -"Come, lass." O'Hara held out a hand to Stella. "I'll see you to my -cabin, which is yours for the night. I'll move into the bunkhouse." - -"I'll go along," Tesno said. "There's more that I want Stella to tell -me. A whole lot more." - -He ate a late supper at the cookhouse and got back to town well after -dark. He went to the hotel, bolted the door of his room, and went to -bed. - -Toward midnight, he was awakened by a persistent rapping. It turned out -to be Parris, the hotel owner and town councilman. He helped himself to -a chair and seemed to settle himself for a long talk. - -"Just came from a council meeting." - -"I figured there'd be one," Tesno said. - -"I don't like what's happening," Parris said. He had a loud, harsh -voice. "I don't like wide-open saloons. I don't like gambling. But most -of all, I don't like your barging in like God Almighty and pushing -people around. The town ought to handle its own problems." - -Tesno, tousled, sleep-eyed, in his underwear, was in no mood to listen -to complaints. "Willie Silverknife is dead," he growled. - -"Yes, and you're likely to be if you try to enforce that noon deadline -you laid down. That's a friendly warning, Tesno, not a threat. They'll -be ready for you tomorrow. Madrid has organized every barkeep and every -gambler in town into what he calls a vigilance committee, and the -council is backing him up. Every man will be armed and waiting for you. -The first violent move you make, they'll drop you. Try Willie's trick -with the dynamite, and they'll kill you before you can light the fuse. -I don't like it and I spoke against it. I don't want any more killing." - -"Was Persia at the meeting?" Tesno asked. - -"She was not, but I assume she knows what's going on." - -"Was Mr. Jay there?" - -"Jay? Hell, no. I understand he will run for mayor, which will be a -fine thing. But he has nothing to do with the council now." - -"Parris, Jay has been in control of Tunneltown since the beginning. -He's been running it wide open in an effort to put Vickers behind -schedule." - -Parris wouldn't believe it, and Tesno was in no mood to argue. Finally, -he opened the door and said, "Stop talking for a while and think. Think -about what I've said. Good night and thanks for the warning." - -Parris snorted and walked out. Tesno had no more than blown the lamp -and got into bed when he knocked on the door again. - -"I got some siwash here who's been pestering the night clerk," he -called. "Claims he's got business with you. Won't go away." - -Tesno got the lamp going and opened the door. - -"Hello, Charlie," he said. "You come in, too, Parris." - -Charlie came in and looked around the room slowly and unblinking. -Parris followed and closed the door. Charlie decided he would be -comfortable on the bed, smoothed back the covers, and sat down. - -"_Nika cooley hyas tsik-tsik_," he said. - -"He says he went to the big wagon," Tesno said. "To the boiler." - -"I savvy Chinook," Parris said. - -"_Mika ko_," Charlie said to Tesno. "You here all a time." He seemed to -consider this a joke. - -"You found those dead men," Tesno said. - -Charlie grunted. "_Kely tum-tum._ I cry in my heart. Silverknife my -cousin." - -"Willie was your cousin?" - -Charlie grunted affirmatively. He explained that he had seen Willie -leave town with the prisoners and that he had followed. Willie had -seen him in the distance, hadn't recognized him, and had tried to lose -him by leaving the road. Charlie had seen the tracks leading into the -woods, however, and had followed. Willie had rejoined the road and -Charlie had just reached it when he heard the shots. Not having a gun, -he had hidden in the trees and waited. - -"Son of a gun chase horses up and down. Go into trees." - -"Who, Charlie?" Tesno demanded. - -"_Hyas tyee_," Charlie said. He tapped his chest. "_Chikamin_ star. Big -boss of town. Bright shirt." - -"Madrid!" Parris said. "Madrid murdered the three of them!" - -"Madrid," Tesno said. - - - - -XXII - - -Late in morning the town began to fill up. By eleven-thirty the saloons -were doing a jumping, three-deep-at-the-bar business. Extra bartenders, -armed and on hand as guards, were pressed into service. Gambling tables -that usually didn't open till evening were solidly ringed with players -and kibitzers. Other men stood in little groups out of the flow of -traffic, talking softly or just waiting. - -Sid Saul, owner and operator of the Silver Slipper, remarked cynically -that he wished some bull-ragging troublebuster would threaten a -shut-down every day. But even as he said it, he dabbed at his bald head -with a handkerchief and kept his big, vacant, puppy-dog eyes on the -door. - -Over the next half hour it came to Sid gradually that something more -than curiosity was responsible for this crowd. First, he overheard some -of the talk and gathered that Ben Vickers had given the whole crew -several hours off and had meted out fifty cents apiece drinking money -to boot. Second, he realized with a shock that this was not a drunken -crowd; the hum of steady talk was not punctuated by song, raucus -laughter, or quarreling. Third, by the time Sid's big gold watch told -him it was four minutes till noon, the jam had swollen beyond reason. -Men stood almost solid from wall to wall, and Sid could scarcely see -the door. He tossed his sweat-soaked handkerchief into a cuspidor and -took a place behind the bar. - -"Where's Madrid?" he demanded. "He ought to be down here. Eddie, go -find Madrid." - -Sid served no drinks. He just stood with one hand on the bar and the -other within reaching distance of a sawed-off shotgun stashed under it. -Except for a quick glance at his watch every minute or so, he kept his -eyes on the door. - -"Where's Madrid?" he demanded again at one minute to twelve. "Where's -Eddie?" - -The batwings eased open, but it was only another knot of workmen -crowding in. They shoved up to the bar directly in front of Sid. They -were all big men, and he couldn't see the door at all now without -moving out of reach of the gun. - -It was noon by his watch, a minute after. His fingers touched the stock -of the shotgun. He craned his neck and found himself looking into the -grinning Irish face of Keef O'Hara. - -"Take care with that trigger finger, lad," O'Hara said. "Blast one of -these terriers, accidental or not, and the rest will decorate a rope -with you." - -The truth of this struck Sid like a blow, and he took his hand off the -gun. He knew now that he wasn't going to use it. You couldn't shoot -anybody in this mob, terrier or troublebuster, and hope to live. The -crowd was pressing around the ends of the bar. He whirled, making -a pushing gesture with his hands; then he whirled the other way, -astonished to find himself alone; the bartenders had been swallowed by -the crush and passed from hand to hand. - -Then someone was reaching past him, taking the sawed-off shotgun from -under the bar. It was Tesno. He said, "Get out of town, Sid." - -Sid went weak and sick and then into a blind rage. He knocked the gun -aside and drove a fist into Tesno's stomach. Tesno took the punch, -stepping back with it; his bootheel caught and he went down, turning -sideways and landing on one knee. Sid strode forward, starting a kick, -but Tesno rolled into his legs, grasped one of them, drove a shoulder -into Sid's groin. Sid lit flat on his back, got an elbow in the stomach -that took the wind and the fight out of him. - -He was hoisted to his feet, spun around the bar and through the crowd -to a group in the center of the saloon. These were the bartenders and -the gamblers, ringed by a little cordon of guards. - -"They kept pressing in till they swallowed us up," one of the dealers -moaned. "I reached for the revolver I had in my pocket and there was -already a hand on it...." - -The crowd was briefly unruly now, scrambling for the contents of the -cash boxes and the liquor on the back bar. A half dozen men with -axes on their shoulders filed through to the back rooms. There was a -prolonged crash of glass from the storeroom. - -Dave Coons wove through the crowd then, saying, "Drift down to the Big -Barrel, boys.... The Big Barrel next...." - - * * * * * - -Mr. Jay and Pete Madrid stood at a window of Mr. Jay's hotel suite and -looked down at the street, which was nearly empty. They had watched the -mob pour up the street from the Silver Slipper to the Big Barrel to the -Western Star, which had completely swallowed it now. The window was -open. Madrid held a rifle in his hands. - -"It'll be over in a moment," Mr. Jay said tiredly. - -Almost at once, the splash of shattered glass came to their ears. Mr. -Jay closed the window. - -"He's got to show himself sometime," Madrid protested. - -"He's keeping to the alleys," Mr. Jay said, "taking no chances. Anyhow, -the confusion is over and the chance is gone. The mob will mill around -town for a while, then go back to camp." - -Madrid put the rifle into a corner and loosened his revolver in its -holster. "Then I'll go down and find him. Face to face, I can out-gun -him, Mr. Jay." - -"Pete, that mob would pick you to pieces." - -Madrid stared absently at the street. Men were beginning to trickle out -of the Western Star. - -"Then the town is his--and Ben Vickers'. I'm getting out, Mr. Jay. If I -were you...." - -"Just listen," Mr. Jay said. "He's going to be looking for you. I want -you to run. He'll follow. Draw him out of town away from the mob. Then -turn on him." - -Madrid squinted thoughtfully. "But in town I have authority, the -_right_ to kill him." - -"Do it my way once more, Pete. And when you've killed him, keep going. -Go over Runaway Mountain and down the Green River to Tacoma. Sell your -horse and take a ship to San Francisco." Mr. Jay extracted a sheaf of -bills from a wallet and passed them to Madrid. "This is expense money. -Go to the Palace Hotel. Register under a false name--Williams, George -Williams. Stay sober and do nothing to attract attention. In a few -weeks, I'll contact you. There'll be a payoff." - -"I want five thousand, Mr. Jay." - -"You shall have it, provided you kill Tesno. Now get some gear together -and ride out of here. See that somebody gets word to Tesno just as -you're leaving." - -"You'll be--all right?" Madrid said. He stuffed the bills into a pocket. - -"Of course I'll be all right! They have nothing on me but accusations -they can't make stick--not with Tesno out of the way." - -They left the hotel together. Madrid hurried off to throw a blanket -roll together and get a horse. Mr. Jay made his way to the townhouse. - -This was going to be an expensive business, this saloon-wrecking. -But perhaps it was for the best. He would be elected mayor and would -build a tight town organization that could stand up to Vickers, the -Ellensburg politicians--anybody. Tesno would be dead. When he, Mr. Jay, -had things solidly under control again, the saloons would open. He -would go ahead with the plan to issue scrip.... - -A dozen men idled in front of Persia's end of the townhouse. Two -saddlehorses and a mule browsed nearby. Mr. Jay thumped the knocker -once and walked in. He came to a stop as he entered the parlor, -startled to see that Tesno was here, standing at the center of a group -scattered around the room. The others were Dave Coons, Judge Badger, -Keef O'Hara, and Mr. Parris. Persia sat beside Sam Lester on the sofa. - -Judge Badger stepped forward to greet Mr. Jay. "I'm glad you're here, -sir. Perhaps you'll reply to some of the charges--very extravagant -charges--that Mr. Tesno has made against you." - -Mr. Jay threw back his head and pointed his beard at one and another of -the gathering. - -"Charges? Be damned to Mr. Tesno and his charges! He has no authority -to make charges!" - -"I'm accusing you of conspiring to murder Willie Silverknife and his -prisoners," Tesno said in a snow-soft voice. "Tomorrow I'm taking you -and Madrid and my witnesses to Ellensburg." - -Mr. Jay drew himself up even straighter. "Slanderous nonsense! I assure -you that you are taking me nowhere." - -"He claims he has found an Indian who saw Madrid at the scene of the -murder," Judge Badger said, "and a maid-servant who overheard you -planning the crime." - -Sam Lester got to his feet. "That will be Stella, Mr. Jay," he -said. "She overheard you say that Willie was taking a dangerous -chance--something like that. She misinterpreted it to mean that you -wanted him killed. But there's nothing to worry about. Persia and I -were present at that conversation. We know that there was no such -implication." - -"I should hope you do," Mr. Jay said. - -"We will both testify to that--if necessary," Sam said. - -Tesno's eyes swung to Persia. She met them defiantly and said, "We -certainly will." - -"And you'll be perjuring yourself to protect a murderer you ought to be -doing everything possible to expose," Tesno said. - -"Really, Jack, you're being unbearably sanctimonious," she said. "You -killed a man less than a week ago. And you have the gall--" - -"You don't understand," he said. "Mr. Jay, shall I tell her how you got -your first contract--how you took over when the contractor went over -a cliff? How many other associates of yours died suddenly and without -witnesses, Mr. Jay? How about that partner of yours who fell off a -trestle in Idaho?... Persia's husband was your partner, too, wasn't he, -Mr. Jay?" - -Silence smothered the room. Mr. Jay seemed too outraged to speak at -once. He glanced toward the door as if he would like to leave. Keef -O'Hara and Dave Coons moved squarely into his way. Tesno watched -Persia. She had paled. There was a noticeable pulsing in her throat. -Mr. Jay's nostrils flared as he drew in a deep breath. - -"Judge Badger," he said, "I appeal to you as a man dedicated to -justice. This man is making crude, slanderous insinuations. Will you -warn him of the consequences?" - -"You're a killer, Mr. Jay," Tesno said. "Persia knows that. Sam Lester -knows it. But why did you kill Duke Parker? You had already secretly -taken control of Tunneltown away from him." - -"Jack," Persia said in a strange voice, "what are you trying to do to -me?" - -"I'm making you see the truth," he said. He confronted Mr. Jay again -and went on without pause. "Duke Parker was trying to blackjack himself -back into control, wasn't he, Mr. Jay? Unless you wrote off the debt -he owed you, he was going to expose your plan to operate Tunneltown in -a wide-open way that would slow down Vickers' work. That would have -ruined you in railroad circles. So you killed him--or had someone do it -for you." - -"No!" Persia made as if to rise. "I'm not going to listen to any more -of this." - -"Tell her, Sam," Tesno said. "You must know the truth." - -"Sam...." Persia said. - -Sam Lester sat down beside her, took her hand. He said nothing at all. - -Tesno hammered on mercilessly. "Was Duke Parker killed by a bullet, -Sam? Was a log skidded over him to conceal the wound?" - -"Tesno, for god's sake, have a little consideration for her!" pleaded -Sam. - -"By letting her testify in behalf of her husband's murderer?" Tesno -said, looming over him. "Suppose _you_ have a little consideration for -her! Duke Parker's body can be exhumed. Persia is going to want that -now, unless you tell her the truth. Spare her that, Sam." - -Persia sat with her head bowed, her eyes fixed on Sam's stubby hand -that covered her own. "Tell me, Sam," she said faintly. "Was he -murdered? Just say yes or no." - -"Shut up, Sam!" Mr. Jay snapped. "Don't you see what he's trying to do?" - -"I've tried to get you away from here," Sam said to Persia, "get you -out of this--" - -"Say it!" Persia demanded. - -Sam turned his froglike face up toward Mr. Jay. "It's all going to come -out, anyhow," he said. "Yes, Persia. Duke was murdered. Madrid shot -him. I swear I didn't know about it till it was over. Mr. Jay sent me -up into the woods where Duke's body was. He said to help Madrid run a -log over it, make sure it was ... torn up." - -Mr. Jay seemed almost unable to speak. "This is a conspiracy!" he said -in a choked voice. "Everyone here is determined to ... to discredit me." - -Persia had buried her face in her hands. Now she looked up at him -in horror. "I shall tell the truth in court," she said, controlling -herself with a great effort. "You planned to have Willie killed on the -road, and I shall say so." - -Mr. Jay merely glared in reply. He was tired and sick and weak with -anger. He made a feeble effort to shake off Keef O'Hara and Mr. Parris, -each of whom had taken him by an arm. - -"Take him to his rooms," Tesno said. "See that there's a guard outside -his door." - -Persia had buried her head against Sam Lester. Tesno wanted to say -something soft and sympathetic now, but he knew it would sound -ridiculous. Sam Lester looked up at him expressionlessly. - -"I'm going to take her away from here," Sam said. - -Tesno nodded. "Don't either of you leave the county," he said tersely -and turned on his heel. - -Judge Badger caught his elbow. "This man wants to speak to you." - -Tesno hadn't noticed the little rat-faced man, who must have just -arrived. He stepped forward importantly. - -"Madrid just bought a horse at the livery. _Bought_ it, Mr. Tesno. He -just rode out of town. Took the road to the camp. He's riding with -saddlebags and a blanket roll." - -Tesno hurried toward the door. As he reached it, Persia was suddenly -behind him, calling to him, dabbing frantically at her face with a -handkerchief. - -"Jack wait. I was so wrong!" - -"When _you_ get hurt, you're wrong," he said, turning angrily. - -"You're cruel," she said. "I'm glad you're cruel. You've made me see--" - -"I'm in a hurry, Persia." - -"Jack, don't let it end for us. I need you. I think you need me." - -"What we need, we can't have," he said with soft and incisive -bitterness. "We need Willie Silverknife alive." - -He jerked open the door and strode into the sunlight. - - - - -XXIII - - -Tesno seized one of the saddle horses in front of the building and -swung across town at a canter. He got no glimpse of Madrid till he was -through the woods and at the edge of Vickers' camp; then he saw him far -ahead on the wide, slow-climbing road that led to Runaway Mountain and -the tunnel. Madrid looked back, urged his horse ahead a bit faster, and -jogged out of sight around a bend. - -Tesno reined into the empty camp and rode through it at a gallop. By -taking the steep mule trail up the side of the gulch, he would avoid -the possibility of being ambushed at that bend. If Madrid waited there, -Tesno could cut him off. If not, he would at least close up some of -the distance and have a chance of overtaking him before he reached the -timber on the mountain top. - -He found the horse willing and sure-footed on the narrow, twisting -trail, and he gave the animal its head. The climb took longer than he -had expected. But when at last the horse strained up the final steep -ascent onto graded roadbed, Madrid was a scant hundred yards ahead. -Tesno yelled at him to halt, drew his revolver, fired a wild shot. - -Madrid continued at a trot. He rode straight to the gaping black arch -of the tunnel, then veered to the left into the road that began its -climb to the summit here. Tesno prodded his horse forward at an easy -lope. He reached the road with Madrid directly above him, hardly within -effective revolver range. Madrid wheeled his horse around, whipping a -Winchester from its boot. He quickly aimed and fired. - -Tesno's horse dropped in its tracks, making a sort of uncompleted -somersault, pitching him forward out of the saddle. He landed painfully -on a shoulder, rolled to his feet. His revolver was gone; he combed -the ground with his eyes, didn't see it. A bullet drove past his head -close enough so he could hear its angry buzz. Madrid was plunging down -the road toward him, firing the rifle as he came. There was nothing to -do but run, no place to run but into the tunnel. Another bullet tore -splinters from a shoring timber at the portal as Tesno darted inside. - -The tunnel was deserted, the crew in town. The arc lights that usually -lighted the shaft had been turned off. A lantern glowed just within the -portal; Tesno stooped and turned it out. He ran on into the darkness. -He looked back to see Madrid framed in the arch of the portal, getting -down from his horse, stooping to pick up something. _My gun_, Tesno -thought. - -Madrid raised his rifle then and fired blindly, whimsically, into the -tunnel. Tesno leaped to the left wall and threw himself headlong. -Madrid rapidly emptied the Winchester and threw it aside. Tesno hurried -on. The dead end of the tunnel in the middle of a mountain was a hell -of a place to die, he thought. He was aware now of a light somewhere -ahead, too dim and distant to silhouette him. It must be back a way on -the bench, he thought. If he could get up there, find a weapon, that -would be the place to make a stand. - -He looked back again. Madrid had found a lantern and lighted it. He -held it above his head as he walked forward. His revolver gleamed in -his other hand. - -A minute later, Tesno reached the bench. This rose fourteen feet above -the floor of the tunnel. Above it, the eight-foot shaft of the heading -extended another forty or fifty feet into the mountain. The timbers -resting on the bench had to be replaced as it was removed; so it was -cut away in slices and presented a vertical face. A ladder stood -against this. Tesno scaled it and drew it up after him. - -His first impulse was to put out the lantern that burned up here, -but he decided against this. He turned it up brighter and moved it -to the very edge of the bench against one wall. Using his hat and a -tool box, he quickly rigged a shield so that light was thrown below -the bench while the top of it was relatively dark. There were tools -up here--picks, pry bars, drills, sledges--that could be used as -weapons. He looked around for dynamite but saw none. Then he found a -sixteen-foot pole, probably used in maneuvering timbers into place, and -suddenly he had a plan. - -He shoved the ladder forward so that two rungs projected over the edge -of the bench. He then lowered the pole, leaning it against the face of -the bench with its end in view beside the ladder. - -Madrid had been approaching slowly, holding the lantern high, stopping -every few yards to shine it from side to side. He saw Tesno now--or -more likely the shadows he threw on the tunnel walls as he moved. -Anyhow, he came forward swiftly now, the revolver raised for a shot -whenever he saw a solid target. - -Tesno retreated from the edge, bending low. He selected a percussion -drill as a weapon--an eight-foot steel shaft with a sharp chisel point. -Dragging this beside him, he crawled to a position near the ladder and -lay parallel to it. He watched the light from Madrid's lantern move -along the timbers at the top of the tunnel, saw it come to a halt a few -yards in front of the bench. - -Madrid wasn't likely to come barging up on the bench. A surer way would -be to climb to the level of the bench a few yards in front of it. This -would bring the whole upper surface into view--and easy revolver range. -But in any case, he would have to have the ladder. - -Tesno lay motionless, gripping the long, heavy drill, watching the -three inches of pole that stuck above the edge of the bench. Moving -shadows on the tunnel wall told him that Madrid had set down his -lantern and was coming quietly forward. - -The pole-end moved, disappeared, reappeared between the rungs of the -ladder. Tesno rose to a crouch. This was the trap. Madrid was taking -the bait. For this moment, Tesno knew exactly where the man was. -Reaching with a sixteen foot pole is a two-handed job; Madrid's gun -would be in its holster. Grasping the drill like a spear, Tesno leaped -over the edge. - -Madrid swung the pole awkwardly and too late. The sharp steel point of -the drill was already at his chest with Tesno's weight and the force -of a fourteen-foot drop behind it. He uttered a strange muffled cry as -Tesno pitched past him. - -Tesno sprawled flat on the uneven floor, rolled to one side, and got -painfully to his feet. Madrid lay on his back with the drill pinning -him to the tunnel floor. He was dead when Tesno reached him. - - * * * * * - -A great crowd filled the street in front of the hotel. Tesno tied -Madrid's horse and elbowed his way to the entrance. Ben Vickers touched -his elbow. - -"Jay shot himself," Ben said. "Seems they didn't think to search his -room. He had a gun in there. You overtake Madrid?" - -"In the tunnel, Ben. Not a pretty sight." - -Sam Lester came out of the lobby. He turned his thick lenses up at -Tesno and said, "No reason for Persia and me to stay in the county now. -I'm taking her away." He moved on. - -"Seems like those two will get off easy," Ben said. "Then again maybe -they won't. They have each other." - - - - -XXIV - - -The big boiler finally reached the east portal. A compressor was set -up. An air line was run over the mountain so that automatic drills -could be used in the west bore, too. Ben Vickers paid a bonus to -everybody who worked for him when progress exceeded the necessary daily -footage. The work spurted ahead. - -There were unforseeable problems and delays, of course. Snow fell to -a depth of twenty feet. Snow sheds had to be hurriedly built over the -dump trucks. A landslide carried away part of the approach to the east -portal. Supply wagons bogged down on the way up from Ellensburg, first -in snow, then in mud. Much of the road had to be paved with logs and -planks. When enough track was laid so that supplies could be brought in -by train, a bridge washed out and freight wagons had to be pressed into -service again. - -There were more accidents in the tunnel, mostly caused by premature or -delayed blasts. A dozen more men lost their lives. Rock was loosened -above the line of the cut, and days were lost. Fumes from blasting -became unbearable, and there was more delay while the ventilating -system was altered. Cloudbursts flooded first the east portal, then the -west. A dump train engine jumped the tracks, and its boiler burst. The -strata of the basaltic trap rock was unpredictable; in spite of every -precaution, there were frequent cave-ins. - -But morale was high. The weak and the discontented and the lazy -were weeded out; the tough and the determined stayed on. A spirited -competition developed between the crews working from opposite sides of -the mountain. Slowly, hour by hour, foot by foot, the lost days were -made up. - -On a May morning eleven days before the deadline, Ben Vickers stood in -the hazy saffron glow of the arc lights and watched the drilling crew -come toward him from the bench, two hundred yards away. Ben studied -his watch. For weeks, both crews had been jarred by blasts in the other -bore; so it was necessary to schedule every shot now and alert the -drillers on the other side. - -The crew reached Ben and lined itself beside him along the timbered -wall. The fuse man came jogging along a minute or two later. The charge -roared and grumbled. The earth trembled. A cloud of dust and rubble -tumbled out of the heading. Much of this was caught by the fans and -pulled into vent pipes; but the acrid outer edges of it rolled down the -bore to where the men stood. And then, while the area of the explosion -was still obscured, the dust cloud began to spew human figures, -running, coughing, cheering. - -Ben Vickers gaped and blinked and tried to bring up a yell of triumph -that came out a kind of tired sob. These were workmen from the west -bore. The wall between had crumbled away with the blast. Runaway -Mountain had its tunnel. - -A few days later, Ben and Tesno stood together in a crowd gathered near -the portal to watch the first train pull through. The train crew waved. -The workmen and townfolk waved back and cheered. Then, sadly, they -watched the cars gather speed on the down-grade toward Ellensburg. - -"How do you feel, Ben?" Tesno asked. - -"Old," Ben grumbled. "Too old even to go on a drunk. What will it be -now for you, Jack? You finally going to get to that ranch?" - -Tesno grinned his twisted, one-dimple grin. He pulled an envelope from -a pocket. "Got this the other day. An offer from James J. Hill." - -Ben was impressed. "The old Empire Builder himself?" - -"He doesn't give details, but it seems he's going to be laying track up -one side of a river while a rival road lays it up the other. Seems like -it will be a race." - -Ben twitched his head doubtfully. "Bound to be trouble." - -"Bound to be," Tesno said. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The High Hander, by William O. Turner - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE HIGH HANDER *** - -***** This file should be named 50939.txt or 50939.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/0/9/3/50939/ - -Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net - - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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