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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..833ec05 --- /dev/null +++ b/README.md @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Project Gutenberg (https://www.gutenberg.org) public repository for +eBook #68554 (https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68554) diff --git a/old/68554-0.txt b/old/68554-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index ec5f259..0000000 --- a/old/68554-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2973 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg eBook of Rustlers beware!, by Arthur Chapman - -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 -will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before -using this eBook. - -Title: Rustlers beware! - -Author: Arthur Chapman - -Release Date: July 18, 2022 [eBook #68554] - -Language: English - -Produced by: Roger Frank and Sue Clark - -*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RUSTLERS BEWARE! *** - - - -RUSTLERS BEWARE - -By Arthur Chapman - -Author of “Held for Ransom,” etc. - - - - -CHAPTER I - -SEALED ORDERS. - - -I’m glad you’ve decided to throw in with us, Milt. It’ll beat punchin’ -cows for a crusty uncle. You’ll have a change of scenery from Texas to -Wyomin’, and all kinds of excitement, includin’, mebbe, a little -shootin’, which ought to appeal to a young feller like you.” - -Two men sat conversing in the railroad station. One was middle-aged, -with grizzled hair and mustache, tall and big-limbed, but with no -extra flesh on his massive frame. His face was long-jowled and -determined looking, and his keen gray eyes were overhung with bushy -brows, which were often drawn together in a scowl. Asa Swingley had -awed many an opponent into submission. Others, whom his aggressive -appearance could not impress, he had beaten or shot, for “Two-bar Ace” -was equally at home in a rough-and-tumble or a gun fight. - -“Well, I’ve said I’d come, and you can count me in,” said Swingley’s -companion. “But I reserve the right to drop out if I think things -aren’t on the level.” - -Swingley’s brows drew together quickly, and he shot a stabbing glance -into the eyes that looked into his. But there was no quailing under -the look. The big cattleman gazed into the face of a youth whose -determination equaled, if it did not exceed, his own. - -Milton Bertram was only slightly smaller of build than the giant -cattleman. Both men had laid aside their coats, owing to the heat of -the station. In their flannel shirts, with cartridge belts and guns -sagging at their waists, trousers tucked into high-heeled, spurred -boots, they typified perfectly the man’s country from which they had -come. Bertram had laid aside his sombrero, showing a luxuriant crop of -black hair with a distinct tendency to curl. His forehead was broad, -its whiteness in strong contrast with his deeply tanned features. His -smoothly shaven face was regular in outline, and his dark eyes, for -all their straightforward and fearless expression, had a half-humorous -twinkle in them which mystified Swingley. - -“It’s too late for you to quit now,” declared the latter finally, -discovering that he could not “look down” the youth at his side. - -“I didn’t say anything about quitting,” answered Bertram easily. “I’ve -thrown in with you, though it is at the last minute. But, to tell you -the truth, I haven’t exactly liked the looks of this scheme very much -from the start. You’ve shown too much secrecy about it--getting all -these men together under sealed orders.” - -“You’ll find it’s got the right brand run on it.” - -“All right, but you’ve got to admit I’ve had some grounds for -suspicion. The gang you’ve picked up is the worst in this section. -You’ve headed the bunch with Tom Hoog, a notorious killer, and the -others aren’t much behind him.” - -“I like men who can take care of themselves,” replied Swingley. - -“Well, you’ve got ’em over there,” went on Bertram, looking into the -adjoining waiting room, where, in a haze of blue smoke, many -cow-punchers could be seen, lolling about on bed rolls, waiting for -the calling of their train. - -They were, as Bertram said, a formidable-looking outfit. Nearly every -man had a record as a killer. With big pistols slapping at their hips, -as they walked, and with rifles in leather scabbards, stacked in the -corners of the room, or leaning against the rolls of bedding, the -outfit took on the appearance of an armed camp, during a moment of -ease. - -Tom Hoog, who had been mentioned by Bertram as the leader of this -daredevil lot, sat apart from the others, gloomily smoking. He was of -medium height, spare but sinewy, with an aquiline nose, which tended -to curve downward over a thin-lipped mouth, in which a cigarette was -always crimped as in a vise. Hoog’s hands evidently were his pride. -They were long and slim, and they had always been kept so well -gauntleted that they were as white as a gambler’s. A wonderful shot -with rifle or revolver and gifted with uncanny quickness on -the “draw,” Hoog had a reputation as a killer that had made his name -feared throughout the district. - -“Those fellows are all right,” went on Swingley, “but, outside of -Hoog, they ain’t oversupplied with brains. That’s the big reason why I -wanted to get you. With you and Hoog as my lieutenants I’m goin’ to be -sure that things will go right, and my orders will be carried out.” - -“Much obliged,” replied Bertram dryly. - -“I had you in mind right from the first,” continued Swingley, with a -keen glance at the young cattleman’s ingenuous face. “I knowed you had -a row with your uncle, old Bill Bertram. Old Bill’s a hard one for any -one to get along with, and the more land he gits control of the harder -he is on them around him. I’m glad you’ve come in, even if it is at -the last minute. Our special train’ll go inside of an hour, right -behind the regular train for the north. You’ll have to look after your -own beddin’ and guns and other stuff, but the wranglers’ll see to -gettin’ your saddle aboard the baggage car, after they’ve loaded the -horses, which they’re doin’ now. I’ll look for you around here in -about an hour.” - -The big cattleman rose and, with a growled “good-by” to Bertram, made -his way to the adjoining room, where he took a hasty survey of the -scene and spoke a few words to Hoog. After satisfying himself that -none of the cow-punchers had succumbed to the lure of the town and -drifted away from the station, Swingley strode out on the platform and -was lost to sight along the tracks, where he had gone to superintend -the last of the loading of the horses. - -Left alone, Bertram smoked a moment, with his elbow on the arm of the -bench. He knew that he had engaged in a desperate enterprise of some -sort, but the thought of withdrawing was prompted not by the danger, -but by the suspicion, that perhaps the expedition was of a shady -character. - -“If we were heading the other way, I’d swear it was a Mexican -revolutionary project of some sort,” thought Bertram. “But there’s no -doubt that we’re going north. I can’t think what it is, unless it has -something to do with the cattle trouble that’s been going on in -Wyoming. Anyway we’ll find out soon enough. Gee, but I hate the job of -having to tie up with Tom Hoog and that gang in there!” - -As he rose and put on his coat and stepped out of the station into the -darkness at the poorly lighted entrance, Bertram’s attention was -attracted by a young woman. He had noticed her a few minutes before in -the station. She had come in alone, and, when the northbound train was -called, had arisen and started for the door leading to the gate. But -apparently she had lost her ticket, as, after a hurried search, she -stood irresolute. Then, as if at a loss what to do, she had turned, -and walked out of the station. - -“You seem to be having trouble, ma’am,” said Bertram, raising his hat. -“Is there anything I can do?” - -The girl, for she seemed to be hardly more than eighteen, drew back in -alarm at first, but something in Bertram’s voice apparently reassured -her, as she answered: “I’ve lost my railroad ticket.” - -“Where are you going?” - -“To Denver. I must go on this train, and I’m ashamed to confess that I -haven’t enough money to buy another ticket.” - -The girl’s voice was as appealing as her face, the beauty of which had -attracted Bertram’s attention in the waiting room. She was of medium -height and of slender proportions, but life and determination were -reflected in her quick, graceful movements and in her speech, which -just now seemed to have lost some of the certainty which was a natural -part of it. Her level brows were drawn together in a frown, and, in -the light from the station window, Bertram could see something like -tears glistening in the brown eyes. - -“Have you inquired in the station?” asked Bertram. - -“No, because I know that would be of no use. The ticket was stolen by -somebody who wanted me to miss this train.” - -The cowboy’s eyebrows were raised slightly, and he whistled. “Who’d -want to stop you?” - -“I can’t tell you, but I have known that an attempt would be made to -prevent me from going to Denver--and beyond. I noticed a rough-looking -man next to me at the ticket window, an hour or so ago, when I bought -my transportation. Then he was beside me again when I was checking my -baggage. It must have been at the baggage window that he took the -ticket from this bag.” - -“Well, your train goes in five minutes,” answered Bertram. “There’s -only one thing to do, and that’s to get another ticket pronto. Or, if -there is any one watching you, maybe it’d be better if I bought the -transportation. You wait here, and I’ll see what I can do.” - -Before the girl could reply the young cowboy, who was used to acting -on impulse, reentered the station and sauntered over to the ticket -window. In a voice loud enough to be heard in the adjoining room he -asked the ticket seller if the clock in the waiting room was right. -Then, in a lower voice, he asked for a Denver ticket, accomplishing -the exchange of money and transportation without calling any undue -attention to the transaction. Then he sauntered to the door and -stepped outside again. - -“Come on,” he said, thrusting the ticket into the girl’s hand and -keeping tight hold of the little fist. “There’s no use of your going -through the ticket office. We’ll hurry around the end of the building, -and you can dodge past all those trunks and get to the gate, just as -easy as a colt slipping through a corral.” - -“Where can I send the money for the ticket?” asked the girl, as they -hurried through the darkness. - -“Oh, just send it to Milton Bertram, care of William Bertram, of the -Box Ranch, Bertramville,” replied the cowpuncher. “If you don’t write -me a long letter, telling me how you enjoyed the trip, I’m going to be -sure peevish.” - -The girl laughed, and the note of her laughter was as clear as a meadow -lark’s trill. Bertram stood in the darkness near the baggage room and -watched her disappear through the gate. He saw the train depart and -then turned regretfully away, his hand still thrilling to the touch of -the girl’s hand, which had given his own a quick clasp of -thankfulness. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -WESTERN SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE. - - -On the way to Denver, Bertram began to find out something concerning -the nature of the enterprise with which he had become identified. - -The train was divided into two sections, the first consisting of three -passenger and two baggage cars. A hundred men rode in the coaches, and -the baggage cars were filled with a miscellaneous assortment of tents, -saddles and general camp equipment. - -“There’s a train follerin’ right behind,” said Archie Beam, a -cowpuncher, into whose seat Bertram had dropped. “It’s a stock train, -and it’s got enough hosses for all us and more. I hear that every -other train along the line has to give our two trains the right of -way. You might think we was goin’ for the doctor, or somethin’ instid -of bein’ on a stunt that prob’ly will make a lot of other fellers call -for the doctor.” - -“Think we’re in for a scrap, do you, Arch?” asked Bertram, looking out -of the window at the sagebrush that flitted by in a never-ending -stream, as the train whirled through the desolate plateau country, -where many an emigrant train had met a sad fate. - -“Boy, I know it!” said the cowpuncher, delighted to air his superior -knowledge. “We’re goin’ to be jumped right in the middle of that -northern Wyomin’ cattle trouble, and we’re goin’ to be told to begin -shootin’ right and left, and never to let up till there ain’t a native -hombre, left alive.” - -“Where’d you get your information, Arch?” - -“Don’t josh me, Milt. You know as well as I do that there’s been a -heap of trouble in Wyomin’, for the last few years, don’t you?” - -Bertram signified assent. Along the great cattle trails, stretching -from Texas to the Canadian line, there had come news of serious and -long-standing troubles in northern Wyoming. Rustlers and big cattle -interests were almost at a point of open war. The cattle interests -claimed that the rustlers had been carrying on wholesale operations. -Every small rancher was under suspicion. The great herds were being -depleted, it was claimed, and numerous small herds were being built up -at the expense of the heavily capitalized interests. Men who had -counted themselves millionaires were faced with ruin, owing to the -melting away of their herds. - -“These single cinchers all tell the same story when they come down to -this part of the country,” said Archie, alluding to the single rig of -the northern cattlemen, as opposed to the double cinch of that -district. “They say there’s been much trouble all over the northern -part of the State. The thing has got so bad that the little cattlemen -have took to pottin’ the big ones. A cowman, who don’t belong with the -rustlin’ majority, is takin’ chances every time he throws his leg -over a saddle and starts out to git a little fresh air.” - -“Which side is right?” - -“What’s the difference which side is right?” said Archie, asking a -question in answering one. “We’re out to play the game for the side -with the most money, which is the big cattlemen, of course. I ain’t -constitutionally opposed to rustlin’ cattle. I’ve packed a runnin’ -iron in my boot so long that it’s made me a little stiff-legged, but a -man in that game’s got to take his own chances. I took mine, and these -Wyomin’ rustlers have got to take theirs. I guess they’ll think -somethin’ popped when this gang cuts loose on ’em. There ain’t a -hombre in this crowd that ain’t got his man, I guess, all but you, -Milt. Old Two-bar Ace must have thought you had gone far enough lately -to be part and passel with us. You sure have been hittin’ it up, boy, -to be classed in with a fightin’ gang like this. Well, so long, and a -short war and a merry one.” - -Bertram’s grip on the seat in front of him tightened, as the cowboy -departed, called by some riotous members of the gang. - -The young Texan knew that the cowboy had spoken the truth. Bertram had -been traveling a fast pace, even for the great outdoor land, where -restrictions were few. He had been brought up on a ranch on the -Brazos, where he had spent as much of his time as he could induce his -devoted mother to let him subtract from school. He had even attended -college at Austin, but his mother’s death, before he had graduated, -had brought to light the fact that the ranch had been mortgaged to pay -for Bertram’s education. - -Before Bertram realized what had happened, the ranch had passed from -his control. He sought to drown in wild companionship his sorrow at -his mother’s death and the poverty he had unwittingly brought upon -her. At last he had been offered a job as cowpuncher on the big ranch -of his uncle, one of the large landowners in the southern part of the -State. He had accepted, but he had found no consolation in the change, -as his uncle was an utterly uncompanionable man. Bertram tried to put -up with the old fellow’s caprices for a while, but soon they became -unbearable. There were open disagreements between the men. Bertram did -his work well, as there were few who could equal him in the saddle, -but nothing could stop the old man’s harsh complaining. Finally the -old attractions began to summon the youth. There were wild excursions -to near-by frontier towns. Bertram became a leading spirit among the -daredevils who frequented the bar and the gambling tables. His name -became known along the trail for its owner’s wild exploits. - -One day there came an open break with his uncle. Laughing at the old -man’s senile anger and turning his back upon the reproaches which his -uncle hurled at him, Bertram rode to the big town, where, in just the -right mood for any adventure, he had been picked up by Asa Swingley -and had been enlisted in the adventure which Archie Beam had -foreshadowed as something desperate in character. - -“He’s right. I’d gone farther than I ever imagined,” declared Bertram, -as he glanced about him and made a mental note of those in the car. - -There was Tom Hoog, who killed for the love of killing. Hoog had been -a figure in much range warfare. He had played a part in a cattle war -in that country, which had assumed such proportions, that the governor -of the State had intervened. It had been said that Hoog had fought on -both sides in that war, putting his services at the disposal of -whichever side happened to bid the higher at the moment. He had fought -men single-handed and in groups. He had been captured and had escaped, -generally leaving a trail of death behind him. Yet his killings had -always gone unpunished, because the fear of the man even extended to -officers of the law. - -Others in the party were the possessors of reputations only a shade -less evil than Hoog’s. A few, like Archie Beam, were merely wild and -irresponsible, and they had joined the expedition for a lark. - -Swingley passed among the men, loudly solicitous of their welfare. -Food was brought in, and there was some drinking. Several of the men -were maudlin before Denver was reached. Others were at the quarrelsome -stage. Swingley stopped several incipient gun fights, but otherwise -let the men behave as they pleased. Bertram took no part in the -drinking, though he joined an occasional game of cards. He was not -inclined to depart from the letter of his bargain with Swingley, but -he was thinking hard, as the train pounced over the desert, beside the -long, blue chain of the Rockies. - -Noticing his abstraction Swingley rallied Bertram about it. “Things’ll -be more lively, soon after we leave Denver,” he said, pausing at the -young Texan’s seat. “We’ve got some more people to meet there, and -we’ll be tied up several hours. I want you to help me keep an eye on -some of these drunken punchers, to see that they don’t wander away -where we can’t get ’em.” - -At Denver the motley crew piled off the special and swooped down upon -the station. Swingley’s orders against “seeing the town” were strict, -but some of the cow-punchers attempted to slip away and were turned -back. It was evening, and, in the half-light on the station platform, -Bertram thought he recognized a woman’s figure, as it flitted around -the corner of the building. A few hasty steps brought him to the side -of the young lady whose ticket he had purchased. - -“I see that the ticket we got wasn’t counterfeit, and you arrived -here, all right,” observed Bertram delightedly. He saw that she had -smiled, as she greeted him, and she seemed genuinely pleased, in spite -of the evident perturbation under which she was laboring. - -“Yes,” she said, “but I’m afraid all your generosity has been in -vain.” - -“What’s the trouble? Is there any way I can help you further?” - -Bertram was looking at her, as he spoke. Her face was pale, but -evidently owing to the mental strain. Her eyes just now were clouded -with sadness, and her voice trembled with agitation. - -“You’ve done enough as it is,” she answered--“more than any other -stranger has ever done for me. I’ve met friends here, and now I can -pay you the money for my ticket.” - -“I didn’t want you to bother about that,” said Bertram, as she opened -her pocketbook and counted out the bills into his reluctant hand. -“Settling this thing deprives me of a chance of meeting you again, -unless you’re going to be kind enough to let me meet you, anyway.” - -Even in the semidarkness Bertram could see the girl’s quick blush, as -he went on speaking. “I’m going to be honest enough to say that I -admire you a whole lot. I’ve been counting on hearing from you later -on. Won’t you tell me your name?” - -“It would do no good,” said the girl. Then, with an earnestness that -startled Bertram, she added: “but, if you want to please me and do the -right thing by yourself, you will go no further on this expedition.” - -“I can’t do that, because it would be going back on my word,” replied -Bertram. “But why should I leave the expedition?” - -“If you don’t, there will be the death of honest men on your hands,” -said the girl. “Why did you promise to go with a man like Swingley, -anyway?” - -“Just plain foolishness, I guess, the same as any other soldier of -fortune shows.” - -“Those men are not soldiers of fortune--they are soldiers of murder,” -exclaimed the girl. “If you go on with them you’ll be one with them.” - -“Then it means something to you?” asked Bertram triumphantly. - -“Yes,” said the girl, with another quick flush. “It means just what it -would if I saw any young man on the wrong road.” - -“Well, even if you put it that impersonally, still I’m glad,” replied -the young Texan. “I’ve got to go on with the outfit, but I promise -you one thing--that, if there’s any murder done, my hands won’t be -red.” - -Just then, from around the corner of the station, came the sound of -men’s voices, in a cowboy song. - -“They’re coming,” said the girl. “I don’t want them to see me. I’m -going to be on the northbound train that goes just ahead of yours.” - -“But your name, and where can I see you?” persisted the cowboy, -clinging to the soft little hand which he found in his big fist. - -“If you’ll let go my hand, I’ll give you a card,” said the girl, with -a nervous laugh. Bertram reluctantly released her hand. He felt a card -thrust into his fingers, and an instant later the girl had disappeared -around the end of the station. He followed her swiftly moving form -with his glance, as she passed along the dimly-lighted platform and -vanished through the gate leading to the tracks. Then he stepped to a -light and read the card eagerly. - -“Alma Caldwell!” he exclaimed, repeating the name several times. -“Pretty name for a prettier girl! I wonder why a girl like her knows -about Swingley’s little expedition, and why she’s so anxious to keep -ahead of us.” - - - - -CHAPTER III - -BERTRAM MAKES A GO-DEVIL. - - -The men detrained at a little northern Wyoming town, the terminus of -the railroad, after an all-night journey from Denver. - -Swingley was everywhere, asserting his leadership. There was none of -the jocularity about him now, which he had assumed during the long -journey. His orders were sharp and imperative. They were accompanied -by blows, on two or three occasions, when cowpunchers did not move -quickly enough to suit him. One of the men, who had made a move to -draw his gun, was knocked bleeding and insensible before he could drag -the weapon from its holster. - -Evidently things were moving according to a prearranged program. There -were chuck wagons on hand, into which food and cooking utensils were -piled. Also there were wagons for the bedding. - -Twenty or thirty additional men had joined the outfit at Denver, and -these were reinforced by as many more, who were waiting at the station -when the special train arrived, followed in an hour or two by the -train carrying the horses. - -The new men were apparently of the same ilk as those who had joined -from the start--sunburned, hardy-looking fellows in cowboy garb, and -every one of them was heavily armed. There were greetings between some -of their number and a few of the new arrivals, as the long trails -abounded with men who were accustomed to drifting from one ranch to -another, and whose circle of acquaintances was correspondingly large. - -The only accident preparatory to getting the cavalcade under way was -one that was destined to affect Bertram strangely. - -“Milt,” called Swingley, reining his sweating horse in front of -Bertram, who was smoking a cigarette and wondering what had become of -the girl whose card had been taken out and scanned many times. “Milt, -I know you’re handy at blacksmithing. Old Jim Dykes, the only -horseshoer we’ve got along, has got himself kicked in the arm, and he -won’t be any more good to us on this trip. Come and help us out.” - -Bertram accompanied Swingley to the improvised forge, where the -groaning blacksmith was having his injured arm set by an amateur -surgeon. The young Texan had often been called upon to shoe fractious -bronchos on his uncle’s ranch, the work presenting little difficulty -to him on account of his exceptional skill in managing the wildest -horses. - -Seeing that the old blacksmith was incapable of further work, Bertram -took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves, disclosing a pair of -muscular arms, and in an hour he had completed the tasks necessary to -set the caravan moving. - -“It sure was lucky that I remembered seein’ you blacksmithin’ on your -uncle’s ranch,” said Swingley, reining his horse beside Bertram’s, -shortly after the start was made. “You may have to help us out a -little more before we git through, but, anyway, mebbe you’ll have -pleasanter work mixed in with the blacksmithin’--a little shootin’ at a -mark, for instance.” Swingley had grinned meaningly, as he spoke. - -“I’ve heard there might be some shooting,” observed Bertram dryly, -“but I might as well let you know right now that I always get an awful -attack of buck fever when I’m shooting at men.” - -“You’ll forget it when we hit into the thick of the fightin’,” -returned Swingley, not catching the sarcasm in Bertram’s voice, or -deliberately overlooking it. “I don’t mind tellin’ you that we may be -in for a little ruction inside of another twelve hours. We’ve come up -here to put an end to cattle rustlin’ in this part of the State. The -rustlers are so strong that they’ve been runnin’ things as they -wanted. But, when they see what they’re up against now, it may be that -they’ll quit without a fight. If they don’t--so much the worse for -them.” - -Swingley turned in his saddle and looked proudly back at his little -army. The sight would have inspired pride in any captain. Here was a -grim company of tanned, resolute-looking horsemen, riding with that -easy grace peculiar to the saddlemen of the Western plains. The loud -jests that had been heard on the train were not in evidence. The men -rode quietly. Pistols were ready to the grasp, as were the guns in the -scabbards at the horses’ sides. Behind the command rumbled the camp -wagons. - -“Cattle rustlin’ is goin’ to be a lot less popular than it has been, -before this outfit is through,” observed Swingley, “and there’ll be -some old scores that’ll be paid off in full, too.” - -The cattleman’s voice was thick with passion. His heavy brows were -drawn together in a frown, and the muscles of his powerful jaws worked -spasmodically as he clenched his teeth determinedly. - -“I hope this crowd ain’t been brought up here just to settle some old -personal scores,” answered Bertram, his voice bringing Swingley back -with a start. - -The cattleman, darting a quick glance at Bertram, realized that he had -said too much. Muttering something about picking a camping place for -the night he spurred ahead, leaving Bertram plodding with the column -at the moderate pace which had been prescribed. - -The young Texan’s thoughts went back once more to the girl whom he had -met at the station. He paid scant attention to the talk of Archie -Beam, who had taken Swingley’s place at his side. He was wondering -about the girl--who she was, and the mission which had sent her on her -long journey. Evidently it was a mission of some danger, for she had -hinted at enemies who had sought to interfere with her progress. And -her apparent knowledge of the purpose of the expedition was a puzzle. -How much did she know of Swingley’s invasion of Wyoming, and what -interest could it hold for her? - -“Well, if nothin’ else’ll wake you up, pardner,” said Archie -good-naturedly, after many ineffectual attempts to arouse Bertram to -conversation, “mebbe the smell of a little bacon and coffee will help. -It looks as if we’re goin’ to camp right ahead, and them chuck -wagons can’t come up too soon fer me. I could eat everything in them -wagons and then chase the hosses.” - -Swingley had picked an admirable camp site in a grove of cottonwoods, -beside an alkali-lined stream. Several springs near by afforded plenty -of pure water for cooking purposes. Soon the wagons rattled up. Tents -were put up, beds were unrolled, and the cooks had supper started. The -men lolled about at ease, but there was no drinking, nor was there any -card playing. Conversation was carried on in low voices. As soon as -supper was over and the night herders were told off most of the men -turned in and were sound asleep in a few minutes. They might be called -on to fight before the night waned, but these men, used to the -arbitrament of firearms, were not to be robbed of their sleep. - -Bertram was aroused, apparently before he had more than dropped off to -slumber. Swingley was shaking him by the shoulder, and Hoog was -standing in the entrance to the tent. The moon was high, and Bertram -could see the faces of both men distinctly. - -“Come on out,” said Swingley gruffly. “We’ve got some special work -for you.” - -As he dressed hurriedly, the young Texan saw that it was only a little -past midnight. - -“We’ve had your hoss brought in,” said Swingley briefly. “Saddle quick -and come on with us.” - -Without any questions Bertram saddled his horse. The three men mounted -and rode out of camp silently. As soon as they struck the road -Swingley and Tom Hoog took the lead, Bertram riding close behind them -at an easy gallop. Nothing was heard for an hour or more but the -pounding of hoofs on the hard road. Then Swingley and Hoog turned in -at a long, one-story building, which was set a short distance back -from the road. Bertram followed, and the three men dismounted. - -Swingley and Hoog, dropping their reins, entered the wide doorway of -the building. After they had lighted two lanterns, that were bracketed -in the wall, Bertram saw that the place was a fairly well-equipped -blacksmith shop. There was a pile of old horseshoes in one corner, and -in another was considerable farm machinery of various sorts. - -“Can you take something out of that pile of junk and make up a sort of -fort on wheels?” asked Swingley of Bertram. “I might as well tell you -that we’re goin’ right on to Wild Horse, the county seat, forty mile -from here. Before we reach the town we may have to do some purty stiff -fightin’, and I figger that somethin’ armored may come in handy. Old -Jim, the blacksmith, was outlinin’ somethin’ that he had in his head--a -kind of go-devil on wheels he called it--but now he is useless, and I -want you to help me out.” - -Bertram showed no surprise. In fact no development of this strange -adventure, in which he found himself cast, could surprise him. He -looked the pile of machinery over carefully. - -“There are the wheels and frame of a hayrake,” said Hoog. “And there -are a couple of road scrapers. Take the bottoms of those scrapers and -fasten them to the hayrake frame, and you’ve got something that you -could walk right up to a nest of rifles with. Ain’t that right, -Bertram?” - -The young Texan nodded. “I reckon it might work out that way,” he -replied, “but I didn’t know that you were accustomed to getting your -men from behind things like that, Hoog.” - -The gunman darted a murderous glance at Bertram, and his hands moved -toward his hips, but Swingley stepped quickly between the two men. - -“Hyar! No fussin’!” he commanded. “We ain’t got more’n two hours start -of the gang, and we’ll have to work fast. Let’s have that go-devil -fixed ’fore the boys git here.” - -Bertram knew that to refuse outright would be equivalent to a -declaration of war. Yet he was far from having so detached a viewpoint -regarding the expedition as he had at the start. Previous to his -meeting with the girl he had been ready for most any adventure. As an -alien gunman--a Hessian in cowboy traps, as he bitterly called -himself--he would have cared little about any harm he might bring to -those concerned in this range war, so remote from his home. Cattle -interests or rustlers--it had made no difference to him until he had -met Alma Caldwell. Since then a growing distaste for the whole -business had come upon him. Yet he could not very well drop out. He -would be a marked man in a strange country, and somebody would be -certain to slay him as one of the invaders. - -Working so leisurely that he made Asa Swingley curse fervently under -his breath, and deepened the glitter of hate in Tom Hoog’s eyes, -Bertram started the forge fire and performed the comparatively simple -task of attaching the scraper bottoms to the wheels. - -When the work was completed Swingley crouched behind the contraption -and pushed it about with an enthusiasm that was almost boyish. - -“You’ve been slow enough about it, Milt,” he said to the young Texan, -who stood with bare arms folded over the leather apron Swingley had -provided, looking at the cattleman in undisguised contempt. “But it’s -a good job, all right. If anybody holes up in front of us, they ain’t -goin’ to stay holed up very long, now that we’ve got this go-devil.” - -It was as Swingley said. The machine would afford protection for two -men, who might push it with their hands under the very muzzles of -rifles and revolvers. Bullets might rattle against that thick shield -of iron, but the men behind it would be safe. - -“Old Jim had the right idea!” exclaimed Swingley, “and you’ve worked -it out in good shape, Milt. It’s time for the crowd to be comin’ up, -and, if I ain’t mistaken, you can see this go-devil tried out, purty -quick after daylight.” - -As Swingley spoke, the advance guard of the command could be heard -coming, and soon the road by the blacksmith shop was filled with -mounted men, none too good-humored at being routed out before sunup -and without breakfast. - -“There’ll be plenty to eat after a little work that’s mapped out -first,” said Swingley, haranguing the crowd. “The first rustlers we’ve -got to git are not more’n a mile ahead of us, in a cabin to the left -of the road, toward the foothills. You can’t miss the place. I want it -surrounded. If any man from the cabin shows his face after daybreak, -he’s to be shot--and shot dead. But I don’t want any noise and no -firin’ till you see somethin’ to shoot at. Tom Hoog will take half the -men this side of the cabin, and I’ll take half around on the other side. -Be careful shootin’ across, so we don’t hit each other.” - -Hoog and his division started up the road. The moon was beginning to -pale, and there were bird noises from the prairie, indicating that -dawn was not far away. - -Bertram had not put on his coat, but still stood in his leather -apron, a sledge hammer in his hand. - -“That’s right, Milt,” said Swingley, reining his horse beside the -young Texan, “you stay here and be ready to bring up this go-devil -when I send for it. Arch Beam, you stay here with him.” - -Bertram knew that Swingley was suspicious, that he had detailed -Beam as his guard. He smiled grimly, as the leader of the expedition -clattered away at the head of his half of the command. - -“Arch,” said Bertram, as the last echo of hoofs died away, “let’s see -your gun.” - -“Sure,” said the cowboy, handing over his six-shooter, with a grin. -Bertram put the weapon in his own belt, beneath the blacksmith’s -apron. Then he stepped to the cowboy’s horse, which was standing -riderless in the doorway. Drawing Beam’s rifle from its scabbard -Bertram extracted the cartridges from the magazine. Then he put the -weapon back where he had found it. - -“Now Arch,” said Bertram calmly, “consider yourself held up. Both guns -are useless, and I’ll ask you to step back in the shop and not move, -while I undo a little piece of work I’ve had to do for Swingley.” - -“Sure,” replied the imperturbable Arch, with a grin, “I’ve seen so -many queer things on this queer picnic that nothin’ is goin’ to -surprise me--I’ll give you warnin’ of that.” - -Bertram swung the sledge and with half a dozen strokes destroyed the -wheels of the go-devil, past all fixing. Then he flung the hammer into -one corner of the smithy and, rolling down his sleeves, put on his -coat. - -“Arch,” he said, “I’m quitting this expedition right here. Want to -desert with me?” - -“I don’t guess I do,” replied Arch, surprised in spite of himself. -“The people in this country will scalp you alive when they learn that -you came in here with this gang. You’d better stay on and chance it -with us, Milt.” - -“I’d have to fight Swingley when he saw that,” replied Bertram, -pointing grimly to the destroyed go-devil. “Between the two camps of -enemies I seem to have made, there’s nothing for me to do but take to -the brush. Good-by, Arch, and sorry to have had to hold you up.” - -Bertram flung down the cowboy’s empty gun and, swinging into his own -saddle, cantered down the road, with a backward wave of his hand to -the puzzled cowboy in the doorway of the blacksmith shop. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -A BATTLE AND A BULLET. - - -Bertram knew that the wagons would soon be coming along, under -guard. Accordingly he turned off toward the foothills, which were -beginning to be touched with pink. At a few rods from the road he was -indistinguishable in the tall sagebrush and scattered groves of -quaking asp and cottonwood. As he neared the foothills the tree -growths became thicker, and soon he was moving in a forest which was -comparatively free from down timber and underbrush. - -The loneliness of the country struck Bertram as amazing. They had -passed by no ranch houses on the road during the journey of the -invaders from the railroad terminus. The blacksmith shop was -undoubtedly the first outpost of civilization. All else was given over -to unfenced prairie. - -As the light grew stronger, and the bird sounds more pronounced, -Bertram heard the sound of firing from the direction in which the -raiders had gone. - -There was a heavy volley, succeeded by firing at irregular intervals. - -Being without any definite purpose in mind Bertram determined to make -his way as close as possible to the firing and observe what was going -on. Sheltered in the trees on the sides of the foothills the task was -not difficult. From one glade he caught a glimpse of the blacksmith -shop and saw that the mess wagons and bed wagons were grouped about -the building. From the smoke he judged that the cooks were getting -breakfast. - -Pushing on, but always keeping in the shelter of the trees, Bertram -advanced nearly a mile. The sound of firing grew more distinct, as he -went on. There were no more volleys. Evidently the men were firing at -random, but shooting steadily. - -When he judged that he was about opposite the scene of the combat, -Bertram tied his horse in a clump of quaking asp and made his way -cautiously to the edge of a clearing, where he could command a view of -the scene below. Through the binoculars, which he always carried, he -watched with interest the development of a drama which had already -taken the form of tragedy. - -In the center of a considerable tract of cleared land stood a cabin. -It was a small cabin, evidently not more than one room, but stoutly -built of logs. There was no porch, but close to the single step, -leading to the front door, lay the figure of a man, evidently dead. A -water bucket, upturned, was near his outstretched hand. - -“They didn’t give him a chance, the curs! They must have shot him as -he started to the spring for water,” said Bertram aloud, noticing the -well-worn trail from the door to a small ravine, one hundred yards or -more away. - -Sounds of firing came from the ravine and from the clumps of trees on -all sides of the clearing in which the house stood. Answering shots -came from the house. It was evident that the defense was being put up -by one man, an expert marksman. - -“He must have hit some of ’em right at the start,” muttered Bertram, -“or they’d have rushed the house.” - -The cabin seemed to be liberally provided with loopholes, as shots -came from all sides. The lone defender, plainly enough, was -distributing his shots impartially, keeping a good lookout to see that -no parties gained the shelter of the cabin walls. - -The bright sunlight crept down the foothills and flooded the scene of -battle. Still the fight went on. One hour passed--then two. The man in -the cabin seemed to have an unlimited supply of ammunition. If he -could manage to hold out much longer, perhaps the countryside would be -aroused and come to his rescue. Bertram knew from the talk of Swingley -and others that there were many ranches between this outpost and the -county seat, where the invaders had planned to dispossess the sheriff -and strike their heaviest blow. If they were delayed too long, their -surprise march would be futile. - -The Texan could imagine how Swingley was fuming at the unexpected -resistance, and how he was urging the cowboys to renewed efforts to -“get” their man. But, in spite of the countless shots that were -directed at the windows and loopholes on all sides of the cabin, not a -bullet seemed to take effect. The return fire came steadily from the -cabin--first from one side and then from another. - -Bertram saw two cowboys being led away from the field of battle, -evidently victims of the man who was fighting against such odds. - -“Unless they’ve got something up their sleeve,” thought Bertram, -“Swingley’s men might as well move on. This man seems to have plenty -of ammunition, judging from the free and easy way he is firing, and he -can keep up this long-range fighting all day, unless a chance bullet -hits him.” - -Hardly had the thought crossed his mind when, under cover of unusually -heavy firing from that side, Bertram saw a two-wheeled armored device, -similar to the one he had recently smashed, being pushed along the -road that led from the highway to the house. - -“By the gods, Swingley has had his way in spite of me!” ejaculated -Bertram. “Blacksmith Jim must have come up and told them how to fit -those scraper irons to another pair of wheels.” - -Slowly the improvised war engine moved toward the house, under a -concentrated fire of rifles. Bertram, from his elevated position, -could catch a glimpse of the feet of the men behind the armor, as they -pushed the go-devil toward the cabin. - -The lone defender of the ranch house sensed the danger to which he was -exposed by this new element in the fight. He fired shot after shot at -the advancing go-devil, but still it came on. - -Bertram watched intently. At first he thought it was the intention of -the men to reach a loophole or a window and fire through it, but he -soon saw that such was not their idea. - -A bundle of straw was tossed over the top of the go-devil, against the -cabin door. Another bundle followed, and then the go-devil was slowly -backed away from the cabin. - -“Burning him out, as if he might be a wolf, without a chance for his -life!” exclaimed Bertram, striking his forehead in anger. “I’ll bet -Ace Swingley himself is behind that go-devil. No one else could think -up such a plan and carry it out.” - -Almost as the Texan spoke flames burst from the straw pile at the -cabin door. In a few seconds they had crept up the dry woodwork and -had reached the roof. By the time the men with the go-devil had -reached a place of safety, one side of the cabin and the roof were -ablaze. - -Thinking that the defender of the cabin would attempt to escape by way -of the rear door, Swingley brought most of his forces around on that -side. To Bertram’s amazement the front door opened, and a man, -bareheaded and coatless, carrying a rifle in one hand, ran swiftly -toward a gulch in the foothills. The man had a good start before the -besiegers realized how cleverly they had been outwitted. If there were -any riflemen concealed in the growth of timber and underbrush, toward -which the man was making his way, they were too surprised to shoot. -But bullets began flying from the thicket on the opposite side of the -cabin. A few yards from the protecting gulch the runner stumbled and -fell heavily. Animated by a determination which even his foes must -have admired, he, rose slowly to his knees and then to his feet, using -his rifle as a crutch. - -The rifle fire had died away, as everybody seemed intent on watching -the next move. Then a single shot was heard, as the defender of the -cabin started to run again, and the man fell and lay still, his arms -outstretched, his face turned to the sky. - -The brutality of the killing caused the young Texan to tremble, as if -he had been smitten with ague. He had seen sudden death in many forms, -but this murder of one man by scores of assassins shook his -consciousness to the center. It seemed as if a crime so monstrous -could not go unpunished on the instant. Bertram almost looked for a -lightning bolt to descend from the blue sky and strike down the -riflemen. When the rifle firing had ceased serenity had returned to -the scene. The meadow larks resumed their trilling, and, if it had not -been for the burning cabin and the two still forms in the clearing, -one might imagine that death and destruction could never visit so -peaceful a haunt. - -Now that their mission at the cabin was over, the invaders paid no -further attention to their handiwork. Evidently under orders from -Swingley, they swarmed out of the clearing toward the road, ready to -take up the march without further delay. - -Through his glasses Bertram saw Swingley approach the body at the edge -of the clearing. The big cattleman appeared to be writing something. -Then he stooped and attached a piece of paper to the dead man’s -breast. Turning hastily aside, Swingley strode across the clearing, -intent on marshaling his forces. - -Bertram saw the dust and heard the clatter of hoofs, as the cavalcade -took up its march. Then he could hear the rumble of the wagons. The -roof of the cabin fell in with a crash, and the crackling of flames -began to subside. The young Texan led his horse down the slope and -into the clearing, which had been the center of such spirited -conflict. - -The body of the first man still lay where it had fallen, close to the -cabin door, with the water bucket a few feet away. Approaching as -closely as he could, and shielding his eyes from the mass of coals -that had been the cabin, Bertram saw that the man was rather below -medium stature and past middle age. Evidently he was a ranch helper--a -cowboy who had seen his best days. - -The man at the edge of the clearing was tall and powerfully built. As -he lay with his arms outstretched, his brawny hand still clutching -the rifle, he made an imposing figure even in death. His features were -aquiline, his nose having the curve of an eagle’s beak. Though he, -too, was past middle age, there was no hint of gray in his hair. -Plainly enough he had been a leader of men, a foeman to be feared. - -Bertram, stooping, read the message, scrawled in lead pencil on the -square of paper attached to the dead man’s breast. It said: - - NICK CALDWELL - KING OF THE RUSTLERS - LET OTHERS BEWARE - -As he read the name Caldwell, Bertram uttered an exclamation. It was -the name of the girl he had met at the start and again at Denver. -Probably he was the girl’s father. In the bitterness of his heart -Bertram cursed Swingley and the expedition. Then, his attention being -attracted by some papers, the edges of which peeped from the man’s -belt, Bertram drew the documents forth. - -There were two letters addressed to Nick Caldwell. Glancing through -them in the hope of finding something more concerning the man’s -identity, Bertram gave a whistle of astonishment. - -The letters indicated that the recipient, while ostensibly favoring -the cattle rustlers, was in reality working for certain great cattle -interests. - -But, if Swingley and this slain man had been associated on the same -side in this great war of the range, how had it come about that the -leader of the expedition had been so determined to kill his -confederate? Was Swingley unaware that Caldwell was really working for -the cattle interests, or had some personal feud arisen between the two -men? - -“Probably it’s a case of wheels within wheels,” thought Bertram. -“Maybe this man Caldwell threatened Swingley’s leadership. Or it may -be that Caldwell was not so much on the cattlemen’s side as these -letters indicate, and the word was given to Swingley to get him first -of all.” - -Dropping on one knee beside the body Bertram glanced over another -paper, which he had taken out with the letters. It was in the form of -a diary, loosely scrawled on several sheets of paper. It was a brief -account of the fight which had just taken place. - -“By George! this Caldwell was a cool one,” thought Bertram. “He found -time to jot down a story of the fight, while he was standing off that -bunch.” - -The opening entry said: - -Five-forty--The fight’s on. They’ve got Nate Day--shot him, as he -stepped out after water. I can see from the window that he’s stone -dead. - -Then followed entries in which the writer told of the fight as it -progressed. He mentioned wounding or killing four men, and he told of -bullets that whistled through the windows and loopholes, yet did not -hit him. The final entries read: - -Eight-fifteen--They’re bringing out some kind of a go-devil on wheels, -with an armored front. I can’t see the men behind it, and bullets -don’t go through the iron. I guess I’m done. - -Eight-twenty-five--They’ve set fire to the cabin. Throwed straw out -from behind that go-devil. Curse the man that made that, anyway. I -might have had a chance if it hadn’t been for him. - -Eight-thirty-five--The roof’s afire. I’ve got to make a run for it. If -I can make the gulch I may get away, but the chance is slim. Good-by -all. - -Bertram did not put the diary in his pocket with the letters. He -thrust the rudely scrawled notes back in the man’s belt, and he left -undisturbed the notice which Swingley had pinned to Caldwell’s breast. - -Still kneeling beside the body, Bertram for the first time thought -about himself. Should he go or stay? No doubt the whole countryside -was being aroused, and men would soon be flocking along the trail of -the invaders. It would not do to be found at the scene of the fight, -but would he be better off anywhere else? He was a stranger in a -hostile land. He had entered the country as one of a band of armed -invaders, and it was not likely that any explanations he might make -would be heeded. Hot-headed men, intent on vengeance, would not -hesitate to shoot him down at sight. He smiled ruefully, as he thought -of Arch Beam’s words: “The people in this country will scalp you -alive!” No doubt Arch was right. But, if he was to be killed, it would -be better to meet death on the open road, rather than at the scene of -a crime so despicable. - -As Bertram was about to rise to his feet a rifle cracked from across -the clearing, and a bullet tore through the young Texan’s left -shoulder. Although the shock of the impact spun him half around, -Bertram struggled to his feet. His heavy revolver was drawn with -amazing celerity, and he was about to empty the weapon in the -direction from which the shot had come, when he heard a cry in a -girl’s voice. - -At the same time the thicket parted. As the young Texan stood with -feet firmly planted, in spite of the intense pain that racked him, -while his finger almost pressed the trigger, Alma Caldwell came -running toward him. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -A RIDE TO SANCTUARY. - - -The Texan had only a confused idea of the events that followed -immediately after he had been shot. He knew that the wound was -serious, for the impact of the bullet had fairly staggered him. Yet -he managed to find his feet steadily enough, and the young woman, who -ran toward him, had no idea that he was hurt. - -To Bertram it seemed as if the girl floated toward him on a billowing -sea of ether, instead of running swiftly, as she did, across the -sparse verdure of the clearing. Also, in the young Texan’s eyes, she -seemed more lovely and more unattainable than before. He had caught -only fleeting glimpses of her during their previous meetings, and one -of those meetings had been under a very poor brand of artificial -light. But now, in the bright Wyoming day, he caught the full beauty -of her youthful color, the regularity of her features and her grace of -movement. Her lithe figure was outlined in all its charm against the -green of the thicket from which she had sprung. She had dropped her -hat and tossed aside her riding gauntlets, and her spurs jingled at -the heels of her small riding boots, as she ran. - -“By all the gods!” thought the wounded and dazed Bertram, “this -country up here was made as a background for her.” - -Horror and questioning were written on the girl’s features, as she -reached Caldwell’s side and flung herself on her knees beside the -body. One glance told her what had happened, and she buried her face -in her hands. - -Meantime Bertram’s wavering attention had been attracted by another -figure, following closely behind the girl. It was the figure of a -youth, hardly taller than Alma Caldwell and nearly as slender. Yet, -for all the newcomer’s youthfulness and slenderness, there was -something so threatening in his attitude, as he approached more slowly -than had the girl, that Bertram half raised his revolver. The boy, who -was carrying a rifle, hesitated a moment, as if to bring the weapon to -his shoulder. - -“Stop!” said the girl, looking up. “Jimmy Coyle, put down that gun. -You had no business to fire in the first place, without my telling -you.” - -“So that’s the person who shot at me, is it?” asked Bertram, lowering -his weapon and turning toward the girl. “I’m glad you’ve stopped him -from doing it any more, as it seems to me there’s been quite enough -shooting around here to-day.” - -The spreading crimson stain on the young Texan’s shirt front caught -the girl’s eye. With an exclamation of concern she rose to her feet. - -“It’s nothing worth bothering about,” the Texan said. “You’ve got -sorrow enough on your hands, for I take it this man must have been -your father. I just want to tell you that I don’t--I don’t----” - -Bertram intended to say that he did not take her advice about quitting -the expedition in Denver, and he had therefore been compelled to do so -when it was a matter of more personal difficulty, but the words -refused to shape themselves. The young Texan wiped the cold beads of -agony from his forehead. His words came haltingly, and he swayed and -fell in a faint beside the body of the man whom Swingley had dubbed -the “king of the rustlers.” - -The touch of cool water on his forehead revived the young Texan. He -was lying on his back, with bis head comfortably pillowed on a -rolled-up blanket. He was in the shade, and the branches of a tree -waved between him and the sky. Then he found himself looking into the -face of Alma Caldwell. He thought it was much pleasanter than looking -at the sky or at trees, and he did not even blink for fear the vision -would vanish. - -The girl smiled at him faintly and said: “Your shoulder--how does it -feel? Do you think you can ride?” - -Bertram felt of his shoulder. To his surprise it was neatly bandaged, -and the stained part of his shirt had been cut away. The numb -sensation was gone from his side. He sat up. - -“I’ll be all right in a minute,” he said. Then he saw that he was down -by the spring, where the first man at the cabin had started to go when -the work of assassination began. - -“How did you get me down here by the spring?” asked the Texan. - -“Jimmy carried you down,” replied the girl. “He’s strong. Of course I -had to help him a little.” - -The events of the morning rushed into the Texan’s memory. Again he -saw the beleaguered cabin, heard the firing, saw the slain men. “Your -father?” he asked. “What’s become of his body? I must help you with -it. And the other man who was killed?” - -“There’s nothing to do. After we brought you down here and fixed up -your shoulder, some men came--men we knew. They took Nate and my -stepfather--for the man you saw killed wasn’t my father, as you -thought--and have arranged for their burial.” - -“Why didn’t the men find me?” - -“None of them came down here, and we didn’t tell them there was any -one at the spring. They were in a hurry to get on the trail of the -invaders. Other men will be coming from every direction. The whole -countryside is being aroused. The ranchmen are furious, and there will -be more fighting. Oh, why couldn’t I have arrived in time!” - -“How could you have stopped it?” asked the Texan. - -“Easily enough. I could have had such an army of men at the railroad -that the invaders never would have come this way. I was visiting near -the station, where I first met you. It was my stepfather’s old home. I -received a hint of the invasion when it was being planned. Finally, a -day or two before the invaders started, I learned the whole truth--that -Swingley was raising a body of freebooters under the guise of -punishing rustlers. I wrote, and then I telegraphed. Then I thought -that probably neither my letters nor my telegrams would be delivered. -I determined to come in person, and I expected to arrive ahead of -Swingley’s train, if it were possible. - -But every effort was made to stop me. I was robbed of my -transportation, as you know, and I would not have reached Denver if -you had not helped me.” - -“They didn’t bother you after you left Denver, did they?” asked the -Texan. - -“I was called from the train at a little station, not far from the -end of the line. The station agent said he had a telegram for me. -Then he said he could not find it--that he must have been mistaken. -Meantime the train would have gone on without me, if I had not been -watching for such a move. I frightened the conductor by telling him -that I knew there was a plot to get me off the train. He did not dare -try any more such tricks, and I reached the terminus. The telegraph -agent there did not know about any of my telegrams. The place was full -of strange men, and I saw the wagons there, ready for the use of the -invaders. I tried to get a horse, but the town was practically under -martial law, with one of Swingley’s lieutenants in command. - -“I could get nothing in the way of a conveyance. I went to the hotel, -where I had put my hand baggage, and I changed to my riding dress, -thinking that I would be ready when the opportunity came. I heard the -invaders’ train, as it came in, and then the horse train. I saw the -preparations for the start. I knew they were setting out to kill -relatives and friends of mine. I thought I would go out to plead with -Swingley to give up the expedition, but I was stopped at the foot of -the stairs and given to understand that I was a prisoner in the hotel. -Nobody offered to molest me. I saw the men start out--you with them. -When they had gone some time the hotel proprietor brought in Jimmy, my -cousin, who had been concealed in the barn. He found horses for us, -and we followed the trail of the invaders. Evidently Swingley did not -care to detain me further, after he and his men were on their way.” - -“He didn’t think he would be held up here at this cabin so long,” -observed Bertram. - -“My stepfather made a great fight,” said the girl, her eyes glowing -with pride. “There was not a better shot in the State than Nick -Caldwell.” - -“He was a brave man, too,” said Bertram, “brave and cool. In fact, he -was the gamest man I ever heard of. Did you find the diary that was in -his belt? I glanced through it, just before you came. Any man who -could write that under fire has my admiration.” - -“Yes,” responded the girl, “and it shows that they would never have -beaten him if they had not used unfair means. Whoever made that -go-devil was the means of killing my stepfather. I’ll find out who it -was, and that man shall pay and pay!” - -The girl’s eyes flashed, and her hands clenched. Bertram did not tell -her that he had been called upon to fashion the go-devil in the first -place, and that he had destroyed it, only to have it refashioned by -some one else. Nor did he say anything about the letters which he had -found on Caldwell’s body, which indicated that the “king of the -rustlers” was identified with both sides in the range war. Those -letters, the Texan made sure, were still in his pocket, undisturbed. -He did not want to destroy the girl’s faith in her stepfather, after -her heroic efforts to save him. - -The conversation was interrupted by the youthful Jimmy Coyle, who, -with his rifle still clutched in his right hand, came scrambling into -the hollow from the clearing, his flapping leather chaparajos looking -absurdly wide for his slim and boyish figure. - -“We’ve gotta git outa here,” remarked Jimmy, without preliminary words -of any sort. “You can’t tell what side’s goin’ to stray in here next. -The invaders might even be comin’ back.” - -“You’re right, son,” replied the Texan, getting to his feet. “It’s -dangerous for you to be here with me. If you’ll just bring my horse -down here where I can get him, I’ll be obliged. Then you folks had -better be riding on.” - -“You’re going with us,” replied Alma. - -“Where?” asked Bertram. “There’s no place in this part of the country -where they won’t hang my hide on the barn door, after the thing that’s -happened right here.” - -“Yes, there is. We’re not all savages here. I don’t dare take you back -to the home ranch, up Powderhorn River, but Jimmy and I have a hiding -place all arranged for you, where it won’t be necessary to explain -things to folks.” - -“Yes, I reckon most people here will be inclined to shoot first and -listen to explanations afterward,” said Bertram. “But you can’t afford -to put yourself in a questionable light by sheltering one of -Swingley’s rustlers. I can’t hide the fact that I’m a Texan.” - -“Nobody wants you to,” answered the girl with a smile. “Jimmy will -have the horses at the edge of the draw in a moment, and we’ll start -on a nice quiet trail back into the hills, where we won’t meet a -soul.” - -“But--but I haven’t any claim on you,” stammered Bertram. - -“Oh, yes you have--two claims. Didn’t you help me on my way, once when -I started home, and once in Denver?” - -“But those things didn’t amount to anything. And you know I came in -here with this invading crowd that killed your stepfather. How do you -know that I didn’t have a hand in shooting him?” - -“Those things can be straightened out later. Right now you’re badly -hurt, and the one thing is to get you cared for.” - -“That’s putting it impersonally enough,” ventured Bertram. - -“Why should I put it otherwise? I wouldn’t leave even a known enemy -under such circumstances, and I don’t know that you are an enemy--not -yet.” - -The young Texan smiled quizzically. “Since you put it on that basis,” -he replied, “I’ll accept your offer. I admit that I’m too wabbly to -put up much of an argument with any man who might stop me, orally or -with a gun.” - -Just how “wabbly” Bertram was, he did not comprehend until he had -climbed to the top of the draw, where Jimmy had brought the horses. -Even though Jimmy assisted him on one side and Alma on the other, he -had difficulty in negotiating the steep trail. But he managed to get -into the saddle without aid. - -“It’s queer how just the grip of a saddle horn puts life in you,” he -remarked, as they started out of the clearing, with backward glances -at the still smoking cabin. “That’s a right smart gun you’re carrying, -Jimmy. I never got a worse knock in my life.” - -“It’s only a .38,” said Jimmy modestly, though a flush of pride -overspread his freckled features at this tribute to his weapon and his -marksmanship. “It’s jest drilled a little hole in you, as far as we -could see when we was bandagin’ you up. Purty quick I’m goin’ to git a -.45. If I’d have been packin’ the gun I want, it would have torn your -whole shoulder off.” - -“Well, I’m glad you’re still sticking to small horses,” replied the -Texan genially. “You and I are going to be on a permanent peace -footing before you get that .45. I reckon I’ll take no further chances -with you.” - -Jimmy’s reserve and suspicion had melted away before they had more -than caught a last glimpse of the cabin smoke through the trees on the -foothills. He chatted with the Texan, who did not indicate, by word or -facial expression, how much pain the journey was causing him, even -though the horses went no faster than a walk. - -To Bertram’s disappointment Alma Caldwell rode ahead, apparently with -a view of being the first to meet any travelers on the trail. But the -little procession continued on its way for two hours or more without -meeting any one. - -“It’s lucky we didn’t go by the main road,” said Jimmy, “or we’d have -been stopped every mile or so. I’ll bet every man in the county is in -the saddle now. But leave it to Alma to find a way out of a -difficulty. She’s a wonder, but”--here Jimmy’s voice sank to a -confidential murmur--“I’m goin’ to skip off and help fight these -invaders, as soon as we git you took care of at Uncle Billy’s.” - -“Who is Uncle Billy?” - -“Oh, he belongs to the Coyle side of the family--the side that I’m -from. Only he ain’t a fightin’ man like the rest of the Coyles and all -the Caldwells. He jest believes in lettin’ everybody do what they -want--and the animals, too. He’s queer, but everybody likes him, and -you’ll be safe there because nobody bothers Uncle Billy. There’s his -place now.” - -The Texan, who was wondering how many rods farther he could ride -without falling from the saddle, looked ahead, past the slim figure of -Alma Caldwell, and saw a tiny cabin nestled in an opening in the pine -forest. In the doorway stood a tall, white-bearded man, watching from -beneath a shading hand. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -SWINGLEY HAS HIS SAY. - - -The young Texan’s life during the next few days was in striking -contrast with what had gone immediately before. He had a confused -recollection of sinking to rest on a comfortable bed, in a room filled -with the forms of animals--elk, deer, bears and smaller creatures, all -in most lifelike poses. There were even some shaggy buffaloes in a -perfect state of preservation. In small glass cases were groups of -insects, and there were some giant trout on the wall, evidently taken -from near-by lakes, or from the alluring stream which ran close to the -cabin. - -Bertram’s recovery, under the ministrations of Uncle Billy and Alma -Caldwell, was rapid. In a few days he was able to walk about the -place. The inflammation left his shoulder and his strength returned -to him, as it always returns to healthy youth in the great outdoors. - -The old naturalist proved a delight to Bertram, and he was both expert -and gentle in applying surgical dressings. Alma accounted for his -skill by explaining that he had studied to be a surgeon. - -“But he had no real taste for the profession,” said the girl. “What he -wanted was to live close to the heart of nature, to study wild life at -its source. So he moved here, when the rest of the family came, and, -after a few years of ranching, gave up everything else and settled -down in this little place in the mountains, determined to follow out -his ambition.” - -The girl had ridden over to Uncle Billy’s place from the Caldwell -ranch, and she was walking about in the bright sunshine, while the -Texan stood in front of the naturalist’s cabin. - -“Well, I can testify that if Uncle Billy had turned surgeon he would -have made a success of his calling,” said Bertram, stretching his arms -above his head, in the joy that a strong man feels when convalescent. -“He’s fixed me up more quickly than I would have thought possible. -Your fighting cousin’s bullet, it seems, just nicked the top of a -lung. Luckily it drilled me clean and did not shatter a bone, or I -might have been on Uncle Billy’s hospital list a long time.” - -“This was the only place to bring you,” said Alma. “The one practicing -physician and surgeon in this part of the State lives twenty miles -from where you were hurt, and he had taken his rifle and joined the -men who were opposing the invaders. I couldn’t have taken you to any -ranch house without your presence being known elsewhere, on account of -all this excitement. Neighbors are visiting everywhere, and any one -who had sheltered a stranger at this time would have come in for -general suspicion. But, unless somebody deliberately sets out to trail -you, no one will be likely to know you are at this place. It is known -that Uncle Billy is opposed to the taking of human life, and that he -could not be enlisted in this dispute on either side.” - -“Well, Swingley and Tom Hoog will soon be on my trail,” observed the -Texan. “I’ll not stay here any longer than I can help, on Uncle -Billy’s account. Also on your account,” he added, “as it is not going -to do you any particular good to have it known that you helped one of -the invaders to safety. People are going to grow more bitter than -ever, now that Swingley and Hoog are dominating things in such -high-handed fashion.” - -“High-handed is a mild term for what they are doing,” replied the -girl, her eyes flashing. “They are trying to set up a despotism for -the big-cattle interests. After they shot my stepfather and Nate Day, -at our little ranch house on the Powderhorn, and had burned the cabin -they found the settlers opposing them just the way the farmers opposed -the redcoats at Lexington. Things were made so hot for Swingley and -his men that they had to fortify themselves in a ranch house, several -miles from their objective, the county seat at Wild Horse. They were -besieged two days and would have been captured to the last man, if -United States soldiers hadn’t intervened. The invaders were taken to -Wild Horse under military escort, but it wasn’t ten hours before every -one of them was out under bail.” - -“There must be bigger men than Swingley mixed up in it,” observed the -Texan. - -“There are, of course--the biggest cattle interests in the West. But -they haven’t shown their hand, and Swingley apparently does just as he -pleases. He has headquarters at Wild Horse, with a big bodyguard of -fighters, led by Tom Hoog, ready to do his bidding. The rest of the -invaders have been scattered among the big-cattle ranches, presumably -as cowboys, but really as fighters. It looks as if the trouble had -only started.” - -The girl’s voice was lowered, but took no new intensity of expression -as she continued. “Everybody thought there would be open war in Wild -Horse, when my stepfather and Nate Day were buried,” she said. “But -the ranchmen made such a showing then that even Swingley seemed to -be over-awed for the moment. Wild Horse never was so full of armed -men. But the ranchmen were determined that, if there was trouble, -they would not be the aggressors. They crowded the little church, -where the services were held, and scores of them stood outside. -Everybody was heavily armed. When the funeral procession went through -the streets, with all those grim, determined-looking men, riding so -silent, with their rifles across their saddles, it was terrible!” - -The girl bowed her head in her hands. The young Texan wanted to take -her in his arms. For first time it came to him, fully and -undeniably, that he was in love with this slim, dark-haired young -woman whom chance had thrown across his trail. Only the Texan did not -call it chance. He wanted to tell the girl that it was Fate that had -caused their trails to cross and recross. They had seated themselves -on the tiny porch that shaded the front doorway to the cabin. Giant -pine trees crowded in friendly fashion about the few acres which the -naturalist had cleared. Over the tips of the biggest pines could be -seen the white hoods of the mountains. Across the circle of blue sky, -that compassed the clearing, drifted masses of white clouds. From the -forest came the indistinguishable murmur, that went on always, mingled -with the sound of the trout stream, which had first lured Indians and -then white men along its course. - -“I’ll be going away from these parts in a few days, Miss -Caldwell--Alma,” said the Texan. “I reckon I might complicate matters -if I stayed here, particularly as I don’t want to bring any trouble on -you or your folks, because I was one of Swingley’s crowd. But I don’t -want to have you forget me. In fact I just don’t intend to let that -happen, because it would be a calamity, as far as I’m concerned. I -might as well tell you that I fell in love with you the first time I -saw you, and I fell deeper in love in Denver, and, since I’ve been -seeing you up here, it’s just been a case of being lost hopelessly.” - -The Texan put his hand over the slender fingers that covered the -girl’s face. The girl did not draw her hands away, and he drew them -down slowly. Her eyes, still wet with tears, were wide and startled. -The Texan felt her slender frame tremble. Then her expression changed, -and she pushed his hand away, laughing her musical, rippling laughter. - -“What suddenness!” she exclaimed. “And yet we Northerners have -always felt that you Southerners are rather deliberate in all things.” - -The Texan smiled as he rose. Something in that first glance, which she -had given him, told him that his cause was not lost. - -“Not in love or in war,” he said. “Nobody ever accused us of being -deliberate in those things.” - -“Well, apparently there’s too much war in the atmosphere around here, -just now, for any other sentiment to flourish,” retorted the girl. - -“Nothing can supplant real love,” said the Texan. “It’s thrived during -centuries of wars. I’ve said my say, and, before I leave this part of -the country, I’m coming for my answer.” - -“Well, I answer all civil questions and some impertinent ones,” -replied Alma. “Maybe I’ll answer yours in the latter category. But, -anyway, it’s lucky you’ve put off getting your answer, for here comes -Uncle Billy.” - -The tall figure of the naturalist could be seen coming across the -clearing. He seldom rode, and this habit alone would have condemned -him as mildly insane, in a country where men were known to mount their -horses rather than walk across a road. But there was not any part of -the high hills that the naturalist had not covered in his daily -prospecting for whatever treasures the forest might yield. In his -later years he cared nothing about killing wild animals. He had -secured a mounted specimen of every species of game, even to the final -survivors of the wild bison, and now all that interested him was to -observe the wild creatures in their haunts. - -“Mr. Bertram says he is going to leave us, now that he considers that -you have cured him, Uncle Billy,” was the girl’s greeting. - -Uncle Billy paused, his face showing keen disappointment. Although his -rough clothes hung loosely on his gaunt frame, there was a certain -dignity in his movements that never failed to impress. His gray eyes, -under their shaggy brows, were kindly, as they turned to the Texan. - -“I’m sorry,” said the naturalist. “I had hopes that you could finish -writing out those notes for me.” - -He alluded to some secretarial work, which Bertram had started during -his illness, the transcription and arrangement of valuable, but -scattered, notes which the naturalist had made. - -“I’ll come back and finish that some day, when all this range trouble -is over,” said the Texan. “I think it’s better for me to go before any -one finds where I’ve been hidden. It’ll save trouble for those who -have befriended me.” - -Before the naturalist or the girl could answer, the faint sound of -hoofbeats came to the ears of the little group. The sound was -irregular and rapid. - -“Somebody’s coming fast,” said the Texan. “It’s more than one in the -saddle, from the sound. I reckon I’m not going to make my get-away -without being seen, after all.” - -“Let us hide you,” said the girl. - -“It wouldn’t be any use. There’s too much of my truck scattered -around, and there is my horse in the corral.” - -“You have no weapons with you.” - -“No use anyway,” was the mild answer. “I wouldn’t desecrate Uncle -Billy’s peaceful abode by doing any shooting here, and I don’t believe -any one else will.” - -The hoofbeats grew louder, and Alma and the Texan exclaimed in unison, -as two horsemen dashed into the clearing: “Swingley and Tom Hoog!” - -The leader of the invaders and his lieutenant came at breakneck speed, -reining their horses up with a sharp jerk beside the waiting group. -Swingley grinned in triumph, as he gazed at the Texan. Hoog, with -perpetual malice written on his long, saturnine features, looked on -impassively from the saddle. - -“Well, we didn’t know what your trail was goin’ to bring us to,” said -Swingley, addressing Alma. “We’ve followed it since you left your -ranch, but it’s been worth the trip for us. We didn’t have any idea of -findin’ our fellow invader, Milt Bertram, here. I s’pose Uncle Billy -has been holdin’ you here against your will, ain’t he?” asked the -leader sneeringly. - -“I didn’t write out my resignation when I quit your outfit at the -Powderhorn Crossing,” said Bertram, sitting down on the porch and -lighting a cigarette, “but you knew I’d resigned.” - -“You hadn’t ought to have done it, boy,” said Swingley. “You ought to -have stayed with us. It didn’t seem to pay you to quit us, for it -looks as if you’d been havin’ a struggle of it.” - -“He was shot in the shoulder when he was brought here,” observed Uncle -Billy. “A few more days will find him as good as new.” - -Swingley’s face showed genuine astonishment. “Somebody got ahead of -Milt Bertram on the draw! Well I’ll be dashed!” he exclaimed. “I -wouldn’t have believed anybody could have done that, unless it might -be Tom Hoog, here.” - -“Or mebbe yourself,” put in Hoog. - -“Oh, well, count us as equals,” went on Swingley. “But somebody must -have got Milt from ambush.” - -“Well, you know a lot about ambushes,” observed Bertram calmly. -“Especially about throwing blazing straw from iron ambushes, I might -say.” - -Bertram was not certain that it had been Swingley who had been behind -the go-devil, who had tossed out the burning straw which had set fire -to the cabin. His chance shot told, for Swingley’s brows darkened. - -“That’s no kind of talk from you, Bertram,” he said. “Remember we -count you one of us. If you don’t come with us, some one of these -rustlers will shoot you before you get your horse’s nose turned out of -this country.” - -“You know when and where I quit, and add to that knowledge by -telling you why I quit,” pursued the Texan. “It was because I -didn’t intend to be a party to a deliberate murder, such as you and -those with you committed, there at the Powderhorn Crossing.” - -Swingley pursed, and Hoog made a motion to draw, but the leader of the -invaders held up a warning hand. - -“No shootin’ to-day, Tom,” he said. “This young cub is goin’ to listen -to reason. I know what’s the matter with him. He’s fell in with Nick -Caldwell’s stepdaughter here, and he wants to throw in with the -rustler faction, thinkin’ that that’ll help him along with his love -affair. But listen here, young lady, and you, Uncle Billy, who have -been harborin’ this youngster. It was Milt Bertram who made it -possible for us to burn out Nick Caldwell at the Powderhorn ranch. If -it hadn’t been for Milt, here, we wouldn’t have had the go-devil made, -the thing that made it possible for us to get right up to the cabin. I -believe Nick would have stood us off all day if it hadn’t been for -that thing. Do you deny that you made a go-devil for us, Milt?” - -Bertram felt that the girl’s questioning eyes were turned upon him, -but he made no sign. - -“See, he don’t dare say no,” said Swingley, “because he’d know he -wasn’t tellin’ the truth. He belonged to us at the start, and he -belongs to us now. You know where to find us, Milt, when you’re well -enough to ride. And I’m advisin’ you to come right back to the -reservation and be a good Indian, if you don’t want trouble. We may -want you to make another go-devil for us.” With a laugh Swingley -turned his horse and dashed away, Hoog following. - -Bertram threw away his cigarette and stood up. - -“Why didn’t you tell him it wasn’t true?” asked the girl. - -“I didn’t think it was necessary,” said the Texan. - -“Then I’m to assume that it was true?” - -“I can’t help what folks assume.” - -The girl turned away and began gathering up her horse’s trailing -reins. “You need never come for that answer,” she said, “and the -sooner you go away from here the better.” - -“I’ll come for the answer, and it’s going to be a favorable answer, -too,” replied the Texan. “Furthermore I’ve changed my mind. I’m not -going away, but I’m going to try homesteading on a little land I’ve -got picked out, up the creek. I’m going to settle down and be a -citizen here, and I want you to treat me like a good neighbor.” - -The girl did not answer, but, swinging lightly to the saddle, dashed -away from the cabin. - -The Texan watched her until she disappeared down the trail that made a -short cut to the Caldwell ranch. Then he said: “We’ll have plenty of -time to finish the job now. Let’s go in and work some more on those -nature notes, Uncle Billy.” - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE MASKED HORSEMAN. - - -Alma Caldwell assumed the burden of managing Nick Caldwell’s ranch. -She was the only heir of the man who had been dubbed by his slayers -“the king of the rustlers,” but who, as Bertram had discovered, had -some prominent connection with the other side in the cattle war. - -Most of the Caldwell cattle were running in the hills, mixed with the -stock from other ranches in the neighborhood. Comparatively little of -Nick Caldwell’s ranch was under cultivation. Like most other ranchers -in that part of the State he contented himself with raising enough -alfalfa for his saddle stock and a little winter feeding, in case of -an unusually severe season. But for the most part it was “horseback -farming” that was practiced everywhere. - -Alma’s day was largely spent in the saddle. With her, as a small, but -valiant, bodyguard, went young Jimmy Coyle. There was only one point -of difference between the cousins, and that was Alma’s dismissal of -Milton Bertram. Jimmy not only stood up for the Texan, but visited him -frequently during the remainder of Bertram’s stay at Uncle Billy’s. -Also it was Jimmy who came to Alma with the first news that the Texan -had made good his words, and had located on a homestead. - -“It’s up at the headwaters of the Roaring Fork, ’way up above Uncle -Billy’s,” said Jimmy. “Milt’s got a cabin all built, and he’s took on -a pardner, a cowboy named Archie Beam, from Swingley’s outfit. Beam -couldn’t stand Swingley’s goins on, so he and Milt have hooked up -together. They’ve got some good range right back of ’em, and Milt’s -goin’ to have some cattle drove up from Texas, and I’m bettin’ they -make good, right from the start.” - -Alma refused to show any interest. - -“I don’t see why you’re mad at Milt Bertram,” went on Jimmy. “He’s a -dandy, I think. And say, I never saw anybody shoot the way he can. -He’s that quick with both hands. I can see now that it was only fool -luck that kept me from bein’ filled full of lead, after I had plugged -him in the shoulder that time. He never asks about you, but I know he -wants to hear all about what luck you’re havin’ at ranchin’. I’ve told -him as much as I could about things here, specially about the cattle -you’ve been losin’ lately.” - -“I’m sure there are at least fifty more gone from that bunch over on -Devil’s Head,” said Alma. “The other ranchers around here are sure -they are losing cattle, anywhere from ten to fifty head at a time, but -they can’t seem to catch any one at it.” - -Alma was soon to learn, however, that Swingley was not to be content -with getting cattle by means of occasional raids. - -The ranchmen throughout the county were served with notice that the -newly organized Cattlemen’s Association, of which Swingley was -ostensibly the head, intended to put in effect a series of district -round-ups. All cattle were to be gathered and inspected, and unbranded -cattle, or any livestock that carried suspicious-looking brands, were -to become the property of the new organization. - -No sooner were the notices served than the round-ups were organized, -all manned by Association men. The cow-punchers, who had made up the -invading army, which was now spoken of only in terms of hatred -and contempt by the small ranchmen, were scattered about in small, but -aggressive, delegations, with the different round-up wagons. - -Swingley himself captained the round-up outfit that combed the -Powderhorn Valley, from its wide reaches on the plains, to the final -ranch in the foothills. - -When the riders had gathered the cattle from the vicinity of her -ranch Alma was dismayed at the smallness of her herd. Fully half of -Nick Caldwell’s cattle had been spirited away. Swingley, as sole judge -and dictator, when the inspection of brands was going on, threw at -least half of the remaining cattle into the Association’s pool. - -“It’s an outrage!” protested Alma. “There’s no question about the -validity of all those brands you’ve claimed.” - -“You don’t know nothin’ about the cattle game, young lady,” responded -Swingley callously. “Every brand I’ve claimed was made with a runnin’ -iron. Nick Caldwell’s title of the ‘king of the rustlers’ was well -earned. And it’d be better for all who sympathized with him if they -moved out of this country, without standin’ on ceremony,” added the -rustler significantly. “We’re not through with ’em yet.” - -The girl did not lose the general meaning of the threat, but at first -she did not get its full import. A few weeks later she learned what -Swingley had meant. Immediately after the completion of the -Association round-ups, which resulted in many thousands of cattle -being seized from small ranchers by the big cattle interests, there -began a series of assassinations which soon had the entire countryside -terrorized. - -One ranchman after another, who had been identified with the -opposition to the big cattlemen, was shot down by a mysterious -rifleman. It was apparent that the work was done by one person, yet -the shootings occurred at such divergent points of the compass that it -seemed impossible that a single rider could cover so much ground in -such a short space of time. - -Two bachelor brothers, who conducted a small ranch on one of the -tributaries of the Upper Powderhorn, were shot dead, as they sat at -their evening meal, the assassin firing, with deadly accuracy, through -the open window. To the cabin door was attached a paper, on which was -printed in rude letters: Rustlers, Beware! - -A day after this double murder the county was thrilled by the news -that Fred Hersekorn, a prosperous ranchman in another part of the -valley, had been shot, as he was riding home after a trip to Wild -Horse. The ranchman was murdered almost at the door of his home. His -wife, who had rushed to the yard at the sound of the shot, had found -her husband shot through the head. It was dusk, but she descried a -horseman riding across the prairie, on the opposite side of the road. -The rider turned with a defiant wave of the hand, and the woman saw -that he wore a black mask, covering the upper part of his face. - -On a tree beside the driveway leading to the ranchman’s house was -found a sign similar to that posted on the cabin of the assassin’s -victims on the Upper Powderhorn. - -The countryside was terrorized, the feeling of helplessness being -intensified because the sheriff was notoriously indifferent to -anything that was not to the best interests of the big cattlemen. Men -were afraid to meet on the main-traveled roads. When a traveler saw -another traveler approaching there was a mutual survey at long -distance. Then, to make assurance doubly sure, each horseman usually -made a detour. Men did not stir outdoors unless they were armed. -Curtains were put up at ranch house windows that had never previously -known such obstructions to the light. - -In spite of the fact that hundreds of ranchmen were searching for and -laying traps for him, night and day, the visitations of the masked -horseman went on. Arson was added to his crimes, as he burned the -ranch of a newcomer on Lone Lake Mesa, after shooting the homesteader, -as the others had been shot. Again men examined the mysterious square -of paper, with its poorly printed message of warning. - -Milton Bertram and Arch Beam, on the headwaters of the Roaring Fork, -the stream which later on foamed past the naturalist’s cabin, felt -that only extreme vigilance could save them from being victims of the -assassin. They went cautiously about their work each day and seldom -exposed themselves to fire from the points of attack that covered -their cabin, without first making reconnaissance. - -They felt that their caution was not misplaced, when, on two -occasions, they found pony tracks in the thickets that commanded -unobstructed views of their homestead. - -“That feller is a real rifleman, whoever he might be,” observed Arch -Beam. “He never shoots until he has his man well covered. But some day -he’s goin’ to slip up, and a better man than he will do the shootin’ -first.” - -“I hope that time isn’t far off, Arch,” returned Bertram. “There’s no -use fooling around in the open with an enemy like that, a man who -won’t even give you as much warning as a rattlesnake gives before he -strikes. He’d simply add you to his victims, as easily as you might -mark up another point on a billiard string. A man like that has to be -caught off his guard. He knows there are plenty of men looking for him -in the open, and that’s why he’s not going to be caught there.” - -“Where are you goin’ to get him, then?” asked Archie doubtfully. - -“I don’t say I’m going to get him,” responded Bertram. “But whoever -does get him will probably land his game in some totally unexpected -place. Wild Horse wouldn’t be a bad place to look. I think I’ll drift -around there a little more than I have been.” - -Bertram followed out the hint he dropped to his partner. He rode to -Wild Horse, where he had seldom been seen since he and Archie had -taken up their homestead. - -Wild Horse was typical of the towns of the frontier. Most of its -one-story business houses were spread along both sides of a broad -street. There were a few general stores, two banks, a hotel, several -restaurants, and numerous saloons and gambling places. All were -prosperous, and, while the sun might cease to illumine Wild Horse at -evening, there was plenty of light there, of an artificial kind, till -well along toward the next daybreak. - -The topic of conversation in Wild Horse, as everywhere else, was the -work of the masked horseman. But here the comments were a little more -guarded, on account of the feeling that some inside ring of the cattle -interests was prompting the assassinations, and Wild Horse was -headquarters of those interests, which fact Swingley did not allow to -be forgotten for a moment. - -Bertram had hardly seated himself in the hotel restaurant before -Swingley saw him and came over to his table. “Milt,” he said, “you’re -too good a man to be wastin’ your young years on a hopeless homestead -proposition like the one you’ve got. If you’ve come up here, prepared -to listen to reason and to throw in with us again, I can put you where -you’ll be on the road to a fortune in the cow game.” - -“I’m glad it’s the cow game and not making go-devils,” said the young -Texan, as he poured his coffee with a steady hand. - -Swingley smiled saturninely. “I’ve got it figgered out what’s turned -you wrong,” he said. “When you first agreed to go along with us you -didn’t have any particular idee of kickin’ over the traces, did you?” - -“Maybe not.” - -“Well, you met this girl, and then you got some foolish idees in your -head. As a matter of fact the killin’ of Nick Caldwell wasn’t nothin’ -for you to be sore about, as Nick deserved what he got. It is true he -was good enough to that stepdaughter of his, who took his name, and -who looked on him as a father. But he was the leader of the rustler -crowd.” - -“I don’t know whether he was or not,” replied the Texan, with a keen -glance at Swingley. “I’ve sort of drawn some conclusions of my own to -the effect that Caldwell was really a power with the cattle interests, -though maybe only a little inside circle knew what he was doing. He -might have had a falling out with a big man in that inside circle. -Maybe that other man was jealous of Nick’s power. - -Maybe Nick had some information about the other man’s crookedness. -Anyway, the other man figured that Nick had to go. So there wasn’t any -powder spared in getting him when the chance opened up.” - -Swingley turned pale with rage, but he choked back his inclination to -denounce Bertram. - -“Do you mean to say that I was mixed up in any deal with Nick -Caldwell?” he demanded. - -“I said it looked as if some other man was, that man being in the -confidence of the cattle interests,” responded the Texan coolly. “I -didn’t say it was you, but it might have been. Do you want me to -spring any documentary evidence I might have?” - -“Do you mean you’ve got letters, papers of any kind?” Here a note of -anxiousness crept into Swingley’s voice. - -“You had it right the first time. There are some letters of interest, -and I want to tell you to quit your high-handed persecutions in this -county, or they’re going to be made public.” - -“That girl’s turned ’em over to you, if there is anything of the -sort,” said Swingley, his face working convulsively, his voice thick -with anger and fear. - -“The girl has had nothing to do with it,” responded Bertram. “But -she’s one of the people around here that you’ve got to let alone from -now on.” - -“I’ll let nobody alone,” said Swingley, liquor and his anger getting -the better of his tongue. “There ain’t enough left of her herd now for -her to make a living with, but there’s worse in store for her, if she -don’t clear out of the country. As for you, you’re a marked man, and -you won’t be safe till you’re on the other side of the mountains.” - -“Better not have me marked too plainly, Swingley,” observed the Texan. -“I’m not fool enough to carry those letters on me, you know. I’ve left -them where they’re sure to come to light if I’m killed. So call off -the man who’s been prowling around our cabin lately, and tell him to -pack his guns elsewhere. Speaking of gunmen, there’s Tom Hoog looking -for you.” - -Swingley looked around, just as Hoog came through the doors leading -from the hotel office to the restaurant. - -“Oh, yes,” he said, “Hoog’s been around all the afternoon. Here I am, -Tom,” he called to his retainer. Then, as Hoog beckoned to him, -Swingley rose and added: - -“I’ve been talkin’ kinda strong, Milt, because I’ve had a little more -liquor than common. I ain’t given that way as a rule, so fergit what -I’ve been sayin’. Think over that offer I’ve made you. It’s good as -gold, and all you’ve got to do is reach out your hand and get a -fortune. I’ll have you set up in an ideal grazin’ country, with a -smackin’ big herd of your own, inside of a month.” - -“I wouldn’t take any range, nor run any cows that came to me by way of -you and Hoog, if the cattle were all prize-winners, and the grass on -the range was belly-deep, all the year round, and the weather was -always June,” replied the Texan. - -Swingley turned, as if to make a heated answer, but Hoog’s voice came -insistently: “Ace, come here. Here’s news!” - -The cattleman joined Hoog, and the two walked through the swinging -door together. Every one else had gone out of the room but Bertram. He -rose, troubled in mind about the threat Swingley had made concerning -Alma. He turned cold at the thought that some harm might come to her. - -“I never thought it, not even of such scoundrels as these!” he -muttered. “Women have always been safer in the West than anywhere else -in the world. Perhaps they’re going to strike at her in some way that -I hadn’t thought of.” - -With his mind full of plans for the protection of Alma, Bertram left a -coin on the table for the waitress and walked slowly toward the -hat-rack for his battered, high-crowned felt. He intended to go right -to the ranch, to tell the girl that this foolishness on her part had -to stop, that her safety was now the prime consideration, and that he -himself intended to enlist as a personal guard, until these troubles -were over. - -The Texan’s reflections were broken in upon by confused voices from -the hotel lobby and the barroom just beyond. He stepped through the -swinging doors and almost ran into the hotel clerk, white-faced with -excitement. - -“Ain’t that the limit!” said the clerk, as Bertram stopped him with a -query. “Such a kid, too! Didn’t you know about it? Young Jimmy -Caldwell was found shot this morning. Another masked-horseman job. -Some say the kid’s dead, but the latest word is that he’s alive at -Uncle Billy’s place, and that he may live.” - -As the clerk vanished, to spread the news to the rest of the hotel -help, Bertram stood a moment in thought. Then the significance of one -of Swingley’s remarks came to him, full force. - -“By all the gods!” he exclaimed, slapping his leather-clad thigh. -“Swingley was careful to tell me that Hoog had been around here all -the afternoon. It was an alibi he was parroting. That’s slip number -one. The rest will follow fast.” - -Walking swiftly to the barroom the Texan drove his arm against the -swinging doors and opened them with a bang. Facing the inquiring crowd -he stood looking for Swingley and Hoog. The cowboy’s attitude was -tense, and his hands were close to the butts of the guns that showed -low on his hips. - -Swingley and his lieutenant were gone. Turning as suddenly as he had -entered the Texan strode out of the hotel and flung himself on his -horse. - -As he sped toward the foothills, the rage, which had prompted him to -kill at sight, died out of his heart, and it was succeeded by a cold -determination to bring retribution to those who had committed this new -crime. With such retribution would come proofs, which would satisfy -others as well as himself, that justice had not miscarried. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -THE MARK OF THE BEAST. - - -Little Jimmy Coyle would not ride his beloved range again for many a -long month. The boy was battling with death when the Texan saw him, -but Uncle Billy, who was in attendance, said, he would recover. The -lad’s chaparajos and the rest of his cowboy trappings were on a chair -at his bedside, a pathetic reminder, Bertram thought, of the active -life the boy loved. His .38 rifle, the weapon which he intended to -exchange for a .45 some day, when he grew strong enough, stood at the -head of his bed, and no one was permitted to handle either it or the -garments. Such were the orders of the new district attorney, young -Isham Woods, it was explained. - -Alma had found Jimmy at the mouth of a wide moraine, leading out upon -a mesa, something over a mile from the ranch house. She had thought he -was dead, from a wound just above the heart, but she had found that -some remnant of life remained. She had attended as best she could to -the wound, and then she had carried the boy to the ranch house, the -crisis giving her strength far in excess of normal. - -The Texan did not tarry at the ranch house after he learned that Jimmy -stood a fair chance of recovery. Following Alma’s directions he rode -to the scene of the shooting. The moraine afforded an admirable hiding -place. In its wide, bowlder-strewn depression one could command an -excellent view of the mesa, on which there were always cattle grazing. - -Several neighbors were going over the ground, and so was Woods, the -district attorney, who had shown an unexpected and most disconcerting -disposition to inquire into some of the affairs of the newly organized -association of cattlemen. In fact it was currently reported that -Woods, who had been figured on as a quiescent tool, had been visited -several times by Swingley, with threats of the loss of his political -and legal suture unless he mended his ways. - -Threats apparently had no effect on the young lawyer, with whom -Bertram had struck up an acquaintance which was fast ripening into -friendship. Together the Texan and the district attorney surveyed the -scene. The would-be assassin had hidden behind a bowlder, on the side -of the moraine. His horse had been tied in a clump of asps, that grew -over the side of the huge depression. There were some footprints and -hoof prints, but the ground was so hard that these could be of no -value. The discharged cartridge was found, but that, also, was of no -value. Forty-five caliber cartridges of that character were carried -by thousands of ranchmen in that vicinity. - -“Miss Alma wanted me to give you this,” observed the Texan, handing -the district attorney a small square of paper. On it was the customary -sign: Rustlers, Beware! printed in lead pencil. - -Woods examined it with interest. - -“Maybe this won’t be such bad corroborative evidence,” went on -Bertram, handing over the paper which he had found on his own cabin -door. The same letters were printed on the paper, but the work was -done in ink. - -“That’s a pretty plain thumb print, down in the corner, isn’t it?” -observed the Texan, noting the interest with which the official -observed the new paper. - -“Yes,” replied Woods. “It’s quite the best one that’s come to light, -so far. Let’s go to the ranch house and see if we can find anything -corroborative on Jimmy Coyle’s equipment. The assassin came out from -his hiding place after he had shot Jimmy and turned the boy over, -thinking he was dead. I don’t think he meant to kill Jimmy, but -probably the boy saw him and opened fire, or tried to get back to the -ranch to give the alarm. Probably the fellow behind the rock thought -he had made a clean job of it, but he did not reckon on the vitality -of youth.” - -The district attorney and Bertram carried Jimmy’s clothes and -chaparajos and rifle into a room adjoining the sick chamber and -barred out everybody else. “I’m glad to have you work with me in -this,” said Woods, “because I can’t trust anybody from the sheriff’s -office, and it’s clearly impossible to take up such a case alone. I -know I can count on you, right up to the finish.” - -“Right up to the finish,” said the Texan grimly, “and that finish -can’t come too soon.” - -“I imagine it’s not so very far away,” responded the young district -attorney. “These range murderers haven’t learned the advantage of -working with gloves, like some of the city criminals.” - -The official inspected the boy’s clothing. “This shirt,” he said, -“must have been pretty well stained by the time the assassin reached -the lad. In turning the boy over he naturally took hold of Jimmy’s -shoulder, and probably he got some stain from the wound on his hands. -Then he’d try to straighten out the boy’s legs, and in doing, that he -might have come in contact with the stains on these leather chaps. It -might be a good idea to take a look at those first.” - -The district attorney brought a small bottle from his pocket and shook -some grayish powder into a paper on the table. Then he took a -camel’s-hair brush and began applying the powder to different spots -on the leather chaparajos. - -“It is what is technically known as gray powder,” he explained. “It’s -made of charcoal, chalk and mercury. A little of it will bring out a -finger print with amazing clearness. Here are some that don’t belong -to the boy.” - -Under the application of the powder several finger prints stood out -clearly. Taking out the paper which Bertram had handed him, the -district attorney compared the prints. - -“Fate seems to have helped us out,” he said finally. “It might be a -matter of some time and difficulty in checking up these finger prints, -under ordinary conditions. There are four general classes, known as -arches, loops, whorls and composites--self-explanatory names. But there -are over a thousand types, and checking up without a complete set of -finger prints is ordinarily a matter of difficulty. But right here is -where Fate, as I say, seems to have helped us.” - -The district attorney called Bertram’s attention to two tiny spots, -almost in the center of the thumb print, on the paper which had been -attached to the Texan’s cabin, and a print which the powder had -brought out clearly on the leather chaparajos. - -“The man that made those thumb prints might have been struck in the -ball of the right thumb by a rattlesnake, at some time in his life. -Anyway that is what we will assume. There are two small scars, just -big enough and deep enough to change the swirl of the thumb marking, -almost at the very center. Those markings, no matter what type they -may fall into, never become confused naturally. In other words, those -tiny corrugations never cross each other, unless by accident of an -external nature. Such an accident has happened in this case. The -peculiarity of this thumb print can be distinguished with the naked -eye.” - -“Let’s see if there isn’t another on the rifle,” said the Texan. “We -can’t be too dead sure about this business.” - -An application of powder to the boy’s rifle brought to light several -other thumb prints, showing the rattlesnake scar. - -“A man who was used to handling guns would pick up the boy’s rifle -just by instinct,” said the Texan. “The man that shot Jimmy picked up -the lad’s .38, and he probably worked the lever once or twice, -explaining the unexploded cartridges that were found on the ground. -It’s second nature for a gunman to do anything like that.” - -“These prints on the rifle are even clearer than the ones on the -leather,” replied the district attorney. - -What the official said was true. Under the magic of the gray powder a -mixture of thumb prints appeared on the magazine of the rifle which -Jimmy had prized so highly. Some of the thumb prints were long and -narrow. Those were the marks of Jimmy’s hands. Overlapping them in -some cases, and in one or two instances, standing out alone, could be -seen larger, coarser finger prints. Where a man would place his thumb -in the process of aiming the rifle, were two exceptionally clear -prints. - -In each of them appeared the tiny flaws in the configuration of the -strange lines of the skin, lines which scientists have been at a loss -to explain, unless, in some mysterious way, they aid the sense of -touch. The flaws caused a slight interruption of the flowing, parallel -lines, almost in the center of the thumb. - -“Can you convict on evidence like that?” asked Bertram. - -“Finger-print evidence is absolute. Some Frenchman has figured up the -chances of error, and he had to get into fractional atoms before he -arrived at a result.” - -“How about the chances of some one else having a scar like this one.” - -“There again you’ll get into the atomic fractions. Some other person -might have a scar made by a blade, or a deep, jagged scar, made by a -barbwire fence or something of that sort which tears instead of cuts; -or there might be another person with a single small scar on the -thumb, but for any one to have a double scar like this would be so -nearly impossible, that you might as well throw the fractions away and -say that the thing couldn’t be.” - -The Texan looked thoughtfully at the comparative evidence on the -table. “How are you going ahead, now that you’ve got this far, Woods?” -he asked. The district attorney looked troubled. “I know I can be -frank with you,” he replied. “I can’t see that I’m much better off -than when I started. Right now is where I need the strongest kind of -help from the sheriff, and this is just the time I can’t call on him. -He’s been indifferent, right from the start.” - -“Indifference is what he was put in there to show,” responded the -Texan. “He’s simply delivering the goods to those who have hired him.” - -“Well, whatever the reason, I’m brought up against a blank wall. I’ve -thought that I could enlist a little force of my own, a few men like -yourself and Archie Beam. I don’t want to make the mistake of getting -those who are too deeply interested on the rustler side of this war, -or they’d be dragging in some of their personal enemies, just to -square their own accounts.” - -“Well, you know you can count on me,” said Bertram, “but I don’t -reckon it will be necessary to have a whole posse in on this thing.” - -The young official looked surprised. “It’s going to take a force of -men to capture that assassin,” he replied. - -“That shows how little you are used to ways and means and men out -here,” said the Texan, with a short laugh. - -“That man isn’t going to be captured easily, and he’s got to be -wounded to be taken,” he added. “One man’s just as good on his trail -as a hundred, provided that one man can get the drop. In fact if you -go setting a whole pack of hounds on the trail of a wolf like that, -all you’re going to do is run him out of the country, and that isn’t -what’s wanted, because an enemy of that sort is an enemy not of any -one particular clan or neighborhood, but of all humanity. He’s got to -be put out of the way for all humanity’s sake.” - -The district attorney was puzzled and inclined to be downcast. - -“I’m going to help you some in this case,” went on Bertram. “In fact -I’m going just as far as it is possible for any one to go. It isn’t -alone because I think a lot of that little kid in there, who has been -struck down in this ruthless way. There’s a long score to be settled -before Jimmy Coyle’s case is to be considered at all. For one thing I -believe the man who shot this boy, and who has been doing these -murders around here, the work of the masked horseman, is the same -person who killed Nick Caldwell.” - -“I thought Nick was killed by a general volley, fired by the invaders -when the ranch on the Lower Powderhorn was burned,” said Woods in -surprise. - -“He was and he wasn’t. Nick was wounded when he started to run, but he -wasn’t badly hurt until he had almost made his get-away. I believe -that the boys with Swingley’s outfit had so much admiration for the -fight Nick had put up in that cabin that they were shooting wild, just -to let him escape. Swingley knew that. He had determined to get Nick -at any cost, and he wasn’t going to see him escape. So, just when the -firing lulled, and Nick was about to leap into the underbrush to -safety, there came one shot, which drilled him, just as cleanly as -that boy was shot, and as Hersekorn has been shot, and as all the rest -of the victims of the masked horseman have been shot. There’s no -telling just who did it, but Swingley was really guilty in Nick’s -case, whether he fired the shot or whether he didn’t.” - -“Well, in the boy’s case we’ve made a start, at least, toward -something tangible,” said Woods. “I’m going to turn questioner now and -ask you how we are going to go about finding the man who made those -finger prints.” - -The Texan smiled enigmatically. “That’s something we’ll have to leave -to the gods,” he replied. “Meantime I want you to give me some of that -powder, as I might have to do a little finger-print experimenting -myself.” - -“Take the bottle and the brush,” replied Woods. “I believe you can -carry this thing along further than I can now. I seem to be at the end -of my rope.” - -The Texan put the bottle and the brush in his pocket. Then he carried -Jimmy’s clothes and rifle back to the bedroom. - -Making sure that the boy was resting easily, and once more getting -assurance from Uncle Billy that the patient would recover in due time, -the Texan mounted his horse and rode toward town, after saying good-by -to the district attorney. - -Alma Caldwell watched him through one of the windows of the ranch -house. He had hardly spoken to her while he was at the ranch, nor did -he turn in the saddle for a backward glance at the place. She saw his -broad shoulders and wide gray hat, rise and fall in easy undulations, -as the Texan’s mount was urged into a gallop toward Wild Horse. - - - - -CHAPTER IX - -SOME DEBTS ARE PAID. - - -The arrival of one additional horseman in the principal street of -Wild Horse was something to attract no attention whatever. Several -hundred riders had arrived at that headquarters of industry and -gossip, ahead of Milton Bertram. Most of them, it is to be said, were -interested in the gossip, rather than the prosaic affairs of the -cattle industry. The news of Jimmy Coyle’s shooting by the masked -horseman had spread fast and far, and men had ridden far and fast to -talk it over. - -Only the Texan did not urge his horse at top speed, like the others, -as he entered the town. On the contrary he slackened the animal’s -steady pace a trifle. One might have thought that he had come in from -a distant camp for supplies, and that he would soon be heading forth -again, a slave of the vast region of silences which binds its victims -none the less strongly because they are willing in servitude. - -Perhaps something in the unusual keenness of the Texan’s glance from -one building to another would have told one of his intimate friends -that something out of the ordinary was on his mind. But to the average -beholder he was merely one more cowboy, riding into town, a handsome -fellow to be sure, long of limb, broad of shoulder, and with a certain -supple grace in the saddle that marks the born horseman. His features, -which ordinarily were expressive of the lightest sentiment that -crossed his mind, to-day seemed molded into a hard mask of -determination. His dark eyes, under level brows, were calm enough, but -it would take little, apparently, to light the fires of anger in them. - -Obviously the Texan was undecided just where to stop. He reined his -horse momentarily in front of the hotel and then drove on and crossed -the street to a saloon and gambling place, known as Laroque’s. - -As he dismounted and tied his horse to a hitching rack that had little -vacant space, the Texan’s motions were deliberate. He made sure that -his horse was securely tied, something entirely unnecessary, seeing -that the well-trained animal would not have stirred away if the reins -had been left trailing. But, while he was going through the mechanics -of making secure his horse’s place at the rack, the Texan’s mind had -leaped ahead, and he was visualizing Laroque’s place something as -follows: - -“Let’s see: Eddie Laroque himself will probably be tending bar. That’s -good, because Eddie is no rat, and he will stick when trouble starts. -There aren’t any doors into the room where the gambling layouts are. -The open doorway’s not more than one jump from the end of the bar. The -barroom itself is plenty wide. There’s elbow room enough for an -orchestra of fiddlers let alone a couple of gun fighters. I guess -Laroque’s is as good a place as any.” - -With a good-by pat on the white-starred forehead of his horse the -Texan turned toward Laroque’s, mechanically adjusting the guns at his -hips, as he did so. Here again there would have been nothing to arouse -more than passing interest on the part of the ordinary spectator, for -every cowboy, who had entered Laroque’s, had made that same -readjustment of revolvers. It was a fighting man’s country, and -Laroque’s specialized in entertainment for men of that sort. Eddie’s -shutters had been taken down and used so often to carry out men, who -were either dead or desperately wounded, that it was said that the -hinges were being worn out. Laroque himself was supposed to order his -big mirrors by the half dozen, for every gun fight saw one shattered. - -There was a long line of men at Laroque’s bar, as the Texan entered -the saloon, and others were sitting in little groups at the tables to -the right. The Texan instinctively realized that Jimmy Coyle’s -shooting had caused something approaching a revolt in the Swingley -ranks. Hardened as the invaders were and accustomed to the idea of -killing, this shooting of a mere boy and leaving him for dead was -something that went against the grain. - -Bertram had no sooner set foot in Laroque’s place than the group at -the first table called him over and inquired about Jimmy Coyle’s -condition. Bertram sat down, but in such a position that he could see -through the open doorway into the gambling establishment. - -“Swingley and Hoog are here,”, said one of the cow-punchers, “and -they’re sure as restless as a couple of mountain lions. Likewise -they’ve both been taking on more liquor than common.” - -“I know you don’t stand any too well with ’em, Milt, on account of -your quittin’ the command,” observed another puncher. “Onless you are -courtin’ argymint, I advise your seekin’ entertainment elsewhere.” - -“I’m here, and I always did like the homelike atmosphere of Eddie -Laroque’s place,” responded Bertram quietly. “I reckon I’ll stay.” - -As he spoke, the Texan saw Tom Hoog entering the open doorway. Though -he must have seen the Texan, who was in plain view, Hoog made no sign, -but walked to the bar. - -With one foot on the rail, his elbow on the bar, the gunman let his -gaze travel slowly over Bertram, from head to foot. The others at the -table shoved back uneasily. Those who were in the direct line of fire -rose and stepped to one side. The Texan returned the gaze calmly -enough. The men who flanked Hoog at the bar, after a startled glance -around, edged away. - -“Texas ain’t produced but few quitters,” said Hoog, in a loud voice, -though apparently he was not addressing anybody. “But, when it does -produce one, he’s all yellow.” - -Bertram did not change his expression nor his attitude. Hoog’s face -reddened with sudden passion. As he stood at the bar, his long, -saturnine countenance writhing with hate, more men slipped quietly out -of the room, feeling that the storm could not be delayed many seconds -longer. The gunman stood with one arm resting on the bar, though he -had not touched the glass that had been shoved toward him by the -despairing Laroque, who had already counted another mirror as good as -smashed. - -“Push along another glass, Eddie,” went on Hoog. “I’m goin’ to have a -drinkin’ companion. Come on over here, you big feller from Texas. You -never would drink with me before, but you’ve got to to-day, because -I’ve got a special toast fer you.” - -Bertram rose slowly and walked over to the bar, beside Hoog, as calmly -as if he had been invited by his most intimate friend. The bartender -shoved the bottle of bootleg toward him, and the Texan poured out a -drink. The spectators noticed that his hand did not tremble. - -“Now pour me a good, stiff drink,” said Hoog, determined to goad -Bertram into an attempt to draw. “I’m tired to-day, and I need a -waiter to pour my liquor for me.” - -To the amazement of the onlookers, who had surged quietly away from; -the bar to new positions out of the line of fire, Bertram did as -directed. He filled Hoog’s glass almost to the brim. Even the gunman -was surprised at the obedience to his insulting order. His left hand, -which had been half opened at his side, for Hoog was an ambidextrous -fighter, dropped away from the pistol butt that peered from the worn -leather scabbard at the gunman’s hip. - -“Now let’s drink,” said Hoog, jubilant at having humiliated Bertram -before the crowd. “Drink to the State you’ve disgraced--Texas.” - -Both men drank, Hoog raising his glass to his lips with his right hand -and tossing off the liquid. As they set down their glasses, Hoog said: -“If there’s any word that’ll make you fight, Bertram, tell me what it -is, and I’ll say it.” - -But the Texan apparently did not hear. He had produced the little -bottle of gray powder which the district attorney had given him. -Evidently he had palmed the bottle before he had stepped to the bar, -as he made no move toward his pocket to get it. With the little brush, -which was inserted in the cork, he dusted some of the powder on the -outside of Hoog’s whisky glass. - -The gunman, with every one else in the room, was watching with -undisguised interest, as the Texan inspected the glass. - -“Goin’ to give us a little parlor magic?” asked Hoog. - -Bertram set down Hoog’s whisky glass, carefully refraining from -touching it, where the gray powder showed on the outside. - -“Hoog,” he said softly, “that was a long, long time ago when you got -bitten in the right thumb by a rattlesnake, wasn’t it?” - -“How do you know I had a rattlesnake bite me?” asked the gunman, -disconcerted at the unexpectedness of the question. - -The Texan’s eyes and face blazed into anger. His supple frame -tightened, and his voice came, quick, sharp and electrifying. - -“Because you leave the mark of it on everything you touch, you -prowling hound. You didn’t know it, but you might as well have signed -your name, every time you posted a notice, you masked assassin. You -left your thumb print, with the snake scar on it, on little Jimmy -Coyle’s chaps and rifle. You’ve left it on this whisky glass, and it’s -your confession and your death warrant, all rolled into one. Now, if -you want to fight, draw and we’ll see if I have disgraced Texas.” - -Confronted thus suddenly and unexpectedly with evidence of his guilt, -Tom Hoog was a fraction of a second late in reaching for his weapons. -The young Texan had given the gunman a fair chance at the draw, but -Hoog, for the first time in his life, was not equal to the emergency. -Before his terrible guns were out of their holsters two bullets had -been sent from the weapon of the crouching Texan. - -Hoog stood for a moment, a wound in either arm, just above the elbow. -His long, sinuous hands were powerless to grasp the revolvers that had -never failed before. Then he fell in a heap on the floor. - -The men, who had prepared to rush from the room at the first sign of -conflict, had not stirred. The fight had developed so unexpectedly, -after every one believed that all signs of trouble were over, that -even the most phlegmatic had been taken completely by surprise. - -Leaping over Hoog’s prostrate form the Texan ran through the open -door. At the sound of the two shots the gamblers had ceased all play. -Asa Swingley, who had just started a game at the head of the room, -kicked over his chair and, drawing both guns, had started toward the -barroom. He saw Bertram in the doorway, his smoking weapons in his -hand. - -Instinctively Swingley raised both revolvers, but, before he could -pull a trigger, Bertram had “creased” him twice, and the outlaw leader -staggered to a chair. - -The Texan, firing from the hip, had disabled the second man even more -quickly than the first. - -Sheathing one of his weapons, but carrying the other at a threatening -angle, Bertram turned back to the barroom. “Laroque,” he said, “see -that these two disabled outlaws are properly guarded until the sheriff -arrives.” Then, picking up Hoog’s whisky glass, Bertram held it out to -Laroque. “Here, Ed, take this whisky glass in the palm of your hand. -Careful, now, and don’t touch that powder on the outside of the glass. -That’s state evidence against this assassin, Hoog, and his employer, -Swingley. Put it away in your safe, and the district attorney will be -in here in a few minutes to get it. If you’ve brushed so much as a -speck of the dust off that glass, you’ll be run out of town. -Swingley’s reign is ended in this county. We’re going to hand these -assassins over to the court, and we’ll see that they get what is -coming to them. From now on law and order are going to rule here.” - -Paying no attention to the questions and congratulations that the men -showered upon him, the Texan made his way to the door. As he untied -his horse, he could hear the babel of voices, as the cow-punchers, -with their tongues loosened, began to crowd about Swingley and Hoog. - - - - -CHAPTER X - -THE TEXAN HEARS FROM HOME. - - -Uncle Billy Coyle, after having, as he thought, catalogued every -living thing that ranged the hills and plains of Wyoming, had run -across an entirely new specimen. It was the human being in love that -bothered Uncle Billy. - -“I’ve studied the effects of loco weed on cows and horses,” observed -Uncle Billy to Alma Caldwell, “but the vagaries of human beings, who -have been attacked by the love germ, are past all scientific -consideration. Now you admit that you’re in love with Milton Bertram, -and that ingenuous young Texan has confided in me that he thinks more -of your lightest word than the council of all the encyclopedias I have -in my library. Yet apparently something seems to be holding you as far -apart as it is possible for persons to get.” - -“If you’re going to start on that subject again, Uncle Billy, I’m -going to leave you,” said Alma, flicking disconsolately at a fallen -leaf with her quirt. “I came over to tell you how well little Jimmy is -getting along, and how he took his first horseback ride to-day. I -didn’t care to hear about Bertram.” - -“Well, you’ll have to hear considerable talk about him, wherever you -go,” observed the naturalist. “When a young fellow nails two such -gunmen as Tom Hoog and Asa Swingley, and practically ends the reign of -assassination and terror in this part of the State, he is bound to -figure in the general conversation.” - -The girl did not reply, and Uncle Billy continued gently: - -“If you’re thinking about your stepfather, girl, it’s time I told you -something. Nick Caldwell was a good man in many ways, but in some -other ways he let his greed run away with him. He took good care of -you, which I always held so strongly in his favor that I never took -him to task for some of the things he did which I knew was wrong.” - -Alma looked at the naturalist with startled eyes. - -“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, if it destroys any ideals you may -have had. It does you credit to think so well of Nicholas Caldwell, -and to pay him back so handsomely in loyalty and love for the material -advantages he gave you. But, after all, you may as well know all sides -of the man’s character. Nicholas was a leader among the cattle -rustlers, as has been charged. That much I know, but I also know that -his rustling operations were carried on merely as a blind to hide -larger operations in the interests of the cattle interests. He and -Swingley were in the inner circle which was dominating those great -interests, but they had a personal falling out. Swingley had vowed -that he would kill Nicholas at the first opportunity, on account of -their personal feud, which had developed suddenly, and which not even -I had suspected. When Swingley led his invaders into this county his -first thought was to kill Nicholas Caldwell. That was why he went to -such lengths to burn the cabin on the Lower Powderhorn. - -“All this I found out when this young Texan was brought to my place, -wounded. In his clothing I found letters, which he had evidently taken -from the body of Nicholas, just before you and Jimmy came upon him. I -did not scruple to read those letters, because they concerned my own -kin. As soon as he recovered sufficiently to ask for his clothes and -to stir about a little, the young Texan burned the letters, thinking -no doubt that by so doing he would protect Nicholas Caldwell’s name, -and thereby save you from any heartache.” - -“But the go-devil,” said Alma. “I was told that he was responsible for -making the machine that was really the cause of my stepfather’s -death.” - -“I happen to know that he was not,” replied Uncle Billy. “It is true -that he made such a machine, or rather completed it, under Swingley’s -orders. But Archie Beam told me that the machine was really the cause -of Bertram’s desertion of Swingley’s invaders. Rather than continue -with an outfit that made war in such a way, Bertram smashed the -go-devil which he had just completed, and then he started alone into -the hills. Beam was present when the machine was smashed, and he tried -to dissuade the young Texan from going to what seemed sure death. The -go-devil was fixed up later, when the invaders’ blacksmith arrived, but -Bertram really caused a great delay in the final attack on the cabin. - -“There is another matter which probably you do not know,” went on the -naturalist. “That is the fact that when he captured Swingley and Hoog, -this young Texan got the men who were actually responsible for your -stepfather’s death. Swingley’s guilt, of course was apparent, but you -did not know that, when the others in the command were disposed to let -Nicholas escape, as he was running toward the foothills, it was Tom -Hoog who was called upon to fire the fatal shot. Swingley cursed the -other cowboys for their purposely bad marksmanship and commanded Hoog -to get the fleeing man. Hoog aimed deliberately, and it was that final -shot which brought about Nicholas Caldwell’s death.” - -Alma Caldwell rose unsteadily. “Then I owe him everything,” she said. -“What a wrong I have done by taking so much for granted!” - -“Well,” rejoined the naturalist, “he’s coming now, so you can tell -him, like a good girl.” - -But it was the Texan who did the telling. “Alma,” he said, as the girl -came to meet him, and the naturalist discreetly retired to the -companionship of the stuffed specimens in the cabin, “Alma, I’m going -back to Texas. My uncle has written me that he wants to turn over his -ranches to me, as part owner and manager. I never felt lonesome down -there before, but I’m going to this time, unless you go with me. Can -you leave this country, as the wife of one of the invaders?” - -The girl’s eyes smiled into his, as she replied: “I always did like -Texas.” - -Then, as his arms went about her, she added: “And Texans!” - - -[Transcriber’s note: This story appeared in the January 7, 1922 -issue of Western Story Magazine.] - -*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RUSTLERS BEWARE! *** - -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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Thus, we do not -necessarily keep eBooks in compliance with any particular paper -edition. - -Most people start at our website which has the main PG search -facility: www.gutenberg.org - -This website 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. diff --git a/old/68554-0.zip b/old/68554-0.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 862586e..0000000 --- a/old/68554-0.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68554-h.zip b/old/68554-h.zip Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 26f4e2d..0000000 --- a/old/68554-h.zip +++ /dev/null diff --git a/old/68554-h/68554-h.htm b/old/68554-h/68554-h.htm deleted file mode 100644 index edb387d..0000000 --- a/old/68554-h/68554-h.htm +++ /dev/null @@ -1,3087 +0,0 @@ -<!DOCTYPE html> -<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en"> -<head> - <meta charset="UTF-8" /> - <title>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Rustlers Beware, by Arthur Chapman</title> - <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover" /> - <style> - body { margin-left:8%; margin-right:8%; } - p { text-indent:1.15em; margin-top:0.1em; margin-bottom:0.1em; text-align:justify; } - h2 { text-align:center; font-weight:normal; page-break-before: always; - font-size:1.0em; margin-top:3em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto; } - .wifpc { margin-left:10%; width:80% } - .x-ebookmaker .wifpc { margin-left:5%; width:90% } - h1 { text-align:center; font-weight:normal; font-size:1.4em; margin-top:3em; margin-bottom:1em; } - .ct1 { font-size:1.2em; } - .chapter {} - .tn { background-color:linen; font-size:0.8em; border:1px solid silver; width:80%; - margin-top:1.8em; margin-left:8%; margin-bottom:1em; padding:0.4em 2%; } - </style> -</head> -<body> -<p style='text-align:center; font-size:1.2em; font-weight:bold'>The Project Gutenberg eBook of Rustlers beware!, by Arthur Chapman</p> -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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 <a href="https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a>. If you -are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the -country where you are located before using this eBook. -</div> - -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:1em; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Title: Rustlers beware!</p> -<p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em'>Author: Arthur Chapman</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Release Date: July 18, 2022 [eBook #68554]</p> -<p style='display:block; text-indent:0; margin:1em 0'>Language: English</p> - <p style='display:block; margin-top:1em; margin-bottom:0; margin-left:2em; text-indent:-2em; text-align:left'>Produced by: Roger Frank and Sue Clark</p> -<div style='margin-top:2em; margin-bottom:4em'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RUSTLERS BEWARE! ***</div> - -<h1>Rustlers Beware</h1> - -<img class='wifpc' src='images/illus-fpc.jpg' alt='' /> - -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chI' title='I: Sealed Orders'> - <span class='ct1'>CHAPTER I</span> - <br /> - SEALED ORDERS. -</h2> - -<p>I’m glad you’ve decided to throw in with us, Milt. It’ll beat punchin’ -cows for a crusty uncle. You’ll have a change of scenery from Texas to -Wyomin’, and all kinds of excitement, includin’, mebbe, a little -shootin’, which ought to appeal to a young feller like you.”</p> - -<p>Two men sat conversing in the railroad station. One was middle-aged, -with grizzled hair and mustache, tall and big-limbed, but with no -extra flesh on his massive frame. His face was long-jowled and -determined looking, and his keen gray eyes were overhung with bushy -brows, which were often drawn together in a scowl. Asa Swingley had -awed many an opponent into submission. Others, whom his aggressive -appearance could not impress, he had beaten or shot, for “Two-bar Ace” -was equally at home in a rough-and-tumble or a gun fight.</p> - -<p>“Well, I’ve said I’d come, and you can count me in,” said Swingley’s -companion. “But I reserve the right to drop out if I think things -aren’t on the level.”</p> - -<p>Swingley’s brows drew together quickly, and he shot a stabbing glance -into the eyes that looked into his. But there was no quailing under -the look. The big cattleman gazed into the face of a youth whose -determination equaled, if it did not exceed, his own.</p> - -<p>Milton Bertram was only slightly smaller of build than the giant -cattleman. Both men had laid aside their coats, owing to the heat of -the station. In their flannel shirts, with cartridge belts and guns -sagging at their waists, trousers tucked into high-heeled, spurred -boots, they typified perfectly the man’s country from which they had -come. Bertram had laid aside his sombrero, showing a luxuriant crop of -black hair with a distinct tendency to curl. His forehead was broad, -its whiteness in strong contrast with his deeply tanned features. His -smoothly shaven face was regular in outline, and his dark eyes, for -all their straightforward and fearless expression, had a half-humorous -twinkle in them which mystified Swingley.</p> - -<p>“It’s too late for you to quit now,” declared the latter finally, -discovering that he could not “look down” the youth at his side.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t say anything about quitting,” answered Bertram easily. “I’ve -thrown in with you, though it is at the last minute. But, to tell you -the truth, I haven’t exactly liked the looks of this scheme very much -from the start. You’ve shown too much secrecy about it—getting all -these men together under sealed orders.”</p> - -<p>“You’ll find it’s got the right brand run on it.”</p> - -<p>“All right, but you’ve got to admit I’ve had some grounds for -suspicion. The gang you’ve picked up is the worst in this section. -You’ve headed the bunch with Tom Hoog, a notorious killer, and the -others aren’t much behind him.”</p> - -<p>“I like men who can take care of themselves,” replied Swingley.</p> - -<p>“Well, you’ve got ’em over there,” went on Bertram, looking into the -adjoining waiting room, where, in a haze of blue smoke, many -cow-punchers could be seen, lolling about on bed rolls, waiting for -the calling of their train.</p> - -<p>They were, as Bertram said, a formidable-looking outfit. Nearly every -man had a record as a killer. With big pistols slapping at their hips, -as they walked, and with rifles in leather scabbards, stacked in the -corners of the room, or leaning against the rolls of bedding, the -outfit took on the appearance of an armed camp, during a moment of -ease.</p> - -<p>Tom Hoog, who had been mentioned by Bertram as the leader of this -daredevil lot, sat apart from the others, gloomily smoking. He was of -medium height, spare but sinewy, with an aquiline nose, which tended -to curve downward over a thin-lipped mouth, in which a cigarette was -always crimped as in a vise. Hoog’s hands evidently were his pride. -They were long and slim, and they had always been kept so well -gauntleted that they were as white as a gambler’s. A wonderful shot -with rifle or revolver and gifted with uncanny quickness on -the “draw,” Hoog had a reputation as a killer that had made his name -feared throughout the district.</p> - -<p>“Those fellows are all right,” went on Swingley, “but, outside of -Hoog, they ain’t oversupplied with brains. That’s the big reason why I -wanted to get you. With you and Hoog as my lieutenants I’m goin’ to be -sure that things will go right, and my orders will be carried out.”</p> - -<p>“Much obliged,” replied Bertram dryly.</p> - -<p>“I had you in mind right from the first,” continued Swingley, with a -keen glance at the young cattleman’s ingenuous face. “I knowed you had -a row with your uncle, old Bill Bertram. Old Bill’s a hard one for any -one to get along with, and the more land he gits control of the harder -he is on them around him. I’m glad you’ve come in, even if it is at -the last minute. Our special train’ll go inside of an hour, right -behind the regular train for the north. You’ll have to look after your -own beddin’ and guns and other stuff, but the wranglers’ll see to -gettin’ your saddle aboard the baggage car, after they’ve loaded the -horses, which they’re doin’ now. I’ll look for you around here in -about an hour.”</p> - -<p>The big cattleman rose and, with a growled “good-by” to Bertram, made -his way to the adjoining room, where he took a hasty survey of the -scene and spoke a few words to Hoog. After satisfying himself that -none of the cow-punchers had succumbed to the lure of the town and -drifted away from the station, Swingley strode out on the platform and -was lost to sight along the tracks, where he had gone to superintend -the last of the loading of the horses.</p> - -<p>Left alone, Bertram smoked a moment, with his elbow on the arm of the -bench. He knew that he had engaged in a desperate enterprise of some -sort, but the thought of withdrawing was prompted not by the danger, -but by the suspicion, that perhaps the expedition was of a shady -character.</p> - -<p>“If we were heading the other way, I’d swear it was a Mexican -revolutionary project of some sort,” thought Bertram. “But there’s no -doubt that we’re going north. I can’t think what it is, unless it has -something to do with the cattle trouble that’s been going on in -Wyoming. Anyway we’ll find out soon enough. Gee, but I hate the job of -having to tie up with Tom Hoog and that gang in there!”</p> - -<p>As he rose and put on his coat and stepped out of the station into the -darkness at the poorly lighted entrance, Bertram’s attention was -attracted by a young woman. He had noticed her a few minutes before in -the station. She had come in alone, and, when the northbound train was -called, had arisen and started for the door leading to the gate. But -apparently she had lost her ticket, as, after a hurried search, she -stood irresolute. Then, as if at a loss what to do, she had turned, -and walked out of the station.</p> - -<p>“You seem to be having trouble, ma’am,” said Bertram, raising his hat. -“Is there anything I can do?”</p> - -<p>The girl, for she seemed to be hardly more than eighteen, drew back in -alarm at first, but something in Bertram’s voice apparently reassured -her, as she answered: “I’ve lost my railroad ticket.”</p> - -<p>“Where are you going?”</p> - -<p>“To Denver. I must go on this train, and I’m ashamed to confess that I -haven’t enough money to buy another ticket.”</p> - -<p>The girl’s voice was as appealing as her face, the beauty of which had -attracted Bertram’s attention in the waiting room. She was of medium -height and of slender proportions, but life and determination were -reflected in her quick, graceful movements and in her speech, which -just now seemed to have lost some of the certainty which was a natural -part of it. Her level brows were drawn together in a frown, and, in -the light from the station window, Bertram could see something like -tears glistening in the brown eyes.</p> - -<p>“Have you inquired in the station?” asked Bertram.</p> - -<p>“No, because I know that would be of no use. The ticket was stolen by -somebody who wanted me to miss this train.”</p> - -<p>The cowboy’s eyebrows were raised slightly, and he whistled. “Who’d -want to stop you?”</p> - -<p>“I can’t tell you, but I have known that an attempt would be made to -prevent me from going to Denver—and beyond. I noticed a rough-looking -man next to me at the ticket window, an hour or so ago, when I bought -my transportation. Then he was beside me again when I was checking my -baggage. It must have been at the baggage window that he took the -ticket from this bag.”</p> - -<p>“Well, your train goes in five minutes,” answered Bertram. “There’s -only one thing to do, and that’s to get another ticket pronto. Or, if -there is any one watching you, maybe it’d be better if I bought the -transportation. You wait here, and I’ll see what I can do.”</p> - -<p>Before the girl could reply the young cowboy, who was used to acting -on impulse, reentered the station and sauntered over to the ticket -window. In a voice loud enough to be heard in the adjoining room he -asked the ticket seller if the clock in the waiting room was right. -Then, in a lower voice, he asked for a Denver ticket, accomplishing -the exchange of money and transportation without calling any undue -attention to the transaction. Then he sauntered to the door and -stepped outside again.</p> - -<p>“Come on,” he said, thrusting the ticket into the girl’s hand and -keeping tight hold of the little fist. “There’s no use of your going -through the ticket office. We’ll hurry around the end of the building, -and you can dodge past all those trunks and get to the gate, just as -easy as a colt slipping through a corral.”</p> - -<p>“Where can I send the money for the ticket?” asked the girl, as they -hurried through the darkness.</p> - -<p>“Oh, just send it to Milton Bertram, care of William Bertram, of the -Box Ranch, Bertramville,” replied the cowpuncher. “If you don’t write -me a long letter, telling me how you enjoyed the trip, I’m going to be -sure peevish.”</p> - -<p>The girl laughed, and the note of her laughter was as clear as a meadow -lark’s trill. Bertram stood in the darkness near the baggage room and -watched her disappear through the gate. He saw the train depart and -then turned regretfully away, his hand still thrilling to the touch of -the girl’s hand, which had given his own a quick clasp of -thankfulness.</p> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chII' title='II: Western Soldiers Of Fortune'> - <span class='ct1'>CHAPTER II</span> - <br /> - WESTERN SOLDIERS OF FORTUNE. -</h2> - -<p>On the way to Denver, Bertram began to find out something concerning -the nature of the enterprise with which he had become identified.</p> - -<p>The train was divided into two sections, the first consisting of three -passenger and two baggage cars. A hundred men rode in the coaches, and -the baggage cars were filled with a miscellaneous assortment of tents, -saddles and general camp equipment.</p> - -<p>“There’s a train follerin’ right behind,” said Archie Beam, a -cowpuncher, into whose seat Bertram had dropped. “It’s a stock train, -and it’s got enough hosses for all us and more. I hear that every -other train along the line has to give our two trains the right of -way. You might think we was goin’ for the doctor, or somethin’ instid -of bein’ on a stunt that prob’ly will make a lot of other fellers call -for the doctor.”</p> - -<p>“Think we’re in for a scrap, do you, Arch?” asked Bertram, looking out -of the window at the sagebrush that flitted by in a never-ending -stream, as the train whirled through the desolate plateau country, -where many an emigrant train had met a sad fate.</p> - -<p>“Boy, I know it!” said the cowpuncher, delighted to air his superior -knowledge. “We’re goin’ to be jumped right in the middle of that -northern Wyomin’ cattle trouble, and we’re goin’ to be told to begin -shootin’ right and left, and never to let up till there ain’t a native -hombre, left alive.”</p> - -<p>“Where’d you get your information, Arch?”</p> - -<p>“Don’t josh me, Milt. You know as well as I do that there’s been a -heap of trouble in Wyomin’, for the last few years, don’t you?”</p> - -<p>Bertram signified assent. Along the great cattle trails, stretching -from Texas to the Canadian line, there had come news of serious and -long-standing troubles in northern Wyoming. Rustlers and big cattle -interests were almost at a point of open war. The cattle interests -claimed that the rustlers had been carrying on wholesale operations. -Every small rancher was under suspicion. The great herds were being -depleted, it was claimed, and numerous small herds were being built up -at the expense of the heavily capitalized interests. Men who had -counted themselves millionaires were faced with ruin, owing to the -melting away of their herds.</p> - -<p>“These single cinchers all tell the same story when they come down to -this part of the country,” said Archie, alluding to the single rig of -the northern cattlemen, as opposed to the double cinch of that -district. “They say there’s been much trouble all over the northern -part of the State. The thing has got so bad that the little cattlemen -have took to pottin’ the big ones. A cowman, who don’t belong with the -rustlin’ majority, is takin’ chances every time he throws his leg -over a saddle and starts out to git a little fresh air.”</p> - -<p>“Which side is right?”</p> - -<p>“What’s the difference which side is right?” said Archie, asking a -question in answering one. “We’re out to play the game for the side -with the most money, which is the big cattlemen, of course. I ain’t -constitutionally opposed to rustlin’ cattle. I’ve packed a runnin’ -iron in my boot so long that it’s made me a little stiff-legged, but a -man in that game’s got to take his own chances. I took mine, and these -Wyomin’ rustlers have got to take theirs. I guess they’ll think -somethin’ popped when this gang cuts loose on ’em. There ain’t a -hombre in this crowd that ain’t got his man, I guess, all but you, -Milt. Old Two-bar Ace must have thought you had gone far enough lately -to be part and passel with us. You sure have been hittin’ it up, boy, -to be classed in with a fightin’ gang like this. Well, so long, and a -short war and a merry one.”</p> - -<p>Bertram’s grip on the seat in front of him tightened, as the cowboy -departed, called by some riotous members of the gang.</p> - -<p>The young Texan knew that the cowboy had spoken the truth. Bertram had -been traveling a fast pace, even for the great outdoor land, where -restrictions were few. He had been brought up on a ranch on the -Brazos, where he had spent as much of his time as he could induce his -devoted mother to let him subtract from school. He had even attended -college at Austin, but his mother’s death, before he had graduated, -had brought to light the fact that the ranch had been mortgaged to pay -for Bertram’s education.</p> - -<p>Before Bertram realized what had happened, the ranch had passed from -his control. He sought to drown in wild companionship his sorrow at -his mother’s death and the poverty he had unwittingly brought upon -her. At last he had been offered a job as cowpuncher on the big ranch -of his uncle, one of the large landowners in the southern part of the -State. He had accepted, but he had found no consolation in the change, -as his uncle was an utterly uncompanionable man. Bertram tried to put -up with the old fellow’s caprices for a while, but soon they became -unbearable. There were open disagreements between the men. Bertram did -his work well, as there were few who could equal him in the saddle, -but nothing could stop the old man’s harsh complaining. Finally the -old attractions began to summon the youth. There were wild excursions -to near-by frontier towns. Bertram became a leading spirit among the -daredevils who frequented the bar and the gambling tables. His name -became known along the trail for its owner’s wild exploits.</p> - -<p>One day there came an open break with his uncle. Laughing at the old -man’s senile anger and turning his back upon the reproaches which his -uncle hurled at him, Bertram rode to the big town, where, in just the -right mood for any adventure, he had been picked up by Asa Swingley -and had been enlisted in the adventure which Archie Beam had -foreshadowed as something desperate in character.</p> - -<p>“He’s right. I’d gone farther than I ever imagined,” declared Bertram, -as he glanced about him and made a mental note of those in the car.</p> - -<p>There was Tom Hoog, who killed for the love of killing. Hoog had been -a figure in much range warfare. He had played a part in a cattle war -in that country, which had assumed such proportions, that the governor -of the State had intervened. It had been said that Hoog had fought on -both sides in that war, putting his services at the disposal of -whichever side happened to bid the higher at the moment. He had fought -men single-handed and in groups. He had been captured and had escaped, -generally leaving a trail of death behind him. Yet his killings had -always gone unpunished, because the fear of the man even extended to -officers of the law.</p> - -<p>Others in the party were the possessors of reputations only a shade -less evil than Hoog’s. A few, like Archie Beam, were merely wild and -irresponsible, and they had joined the expedition for a lark.</p> - -<p>Swingley passed among the men, loudly solicitous of their welfare. -Food was brought in, and there was some drinking. Several of the men -were maudlin before Denver was reached. Others were at the quarrelsome -stage. Swingley stopped several incipient gun fights, but otherwise -let the men behave as they pleased. Bertram took no part in the -drinking, though he joined an occasional game of cards. He was not -inclined to depart from the letter of his bargain with Swingley, but -he was thinking hard, as the train pounced over the desert, beside the -long, blue chain of the Rockies.</p> - -<p>Noticing his abstraction Swingley rallied Bertram about it. “Things’ll -be more lively, soon after we leave Denver,” he said, pausing at the -young Texan’s seat. “We’ve got some more people to meet there, and -we’ll be tied up several hours. I want you to help me keep an eye on -some of these drunken punchers, to see that they don’t wander away -where we can’t get ’em.”</p> - -<p>At Denver the motley crew piled off the special and swooped down upon -the station. Swingley’s orders against “seeing the town” were strict, -but some of the cow-punchers attempted to slip away and were turned -back. It was evening, and, in the half-light on the station platform, -Bertram thought he recognized a woman’s figure, as it flitted around -the corner of the building. A few hasty steps brought him to the side -of the young lady whose ticket he had purchased.</p> - -<p>“I see that the ticket we got wasn’t counterfeit, and you arrived -here, all right,” observed Bertram delightedly. He saw that she had -smiled, as she greeted him, and she seemed genuinely pleased, in spite -of the evident perturbation under which she was laboring.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” she said, “but I’m afraid all your generosity has been in -vain.”</p> - -<p>“What’s the trouble? Is there any way I can help you further?”</p> - -<p>Bertram was looking at her, as he spoke. Her face was pale, but -evidently owing to the mental strain. Her eyes just now were clouded -with sadness, and her voice trembled with agitation.</p> - -<p>“You’ve done enough as it is,” she answered—“more than any other -stranger has ever done for me. I’ve met friends here, and now I can -pay you the money for my ticket.”</p> - -<p>“I didn’t want you to bother about that,” said Bertram, as she opened -her pocketbook and counted out the bills into his reluctant hand. -“Settling this thing deprives me of a chance of meeting you again, -unless you’re going to be kind enough to let me meet you, anyway.”</p> - -<p>Even in the semidarkness Bertram could see the girl’s quick blush, as -he went on speaking. “I’m going to be honest enough to say that I -admire you a whole lot. I’ve been counting on hearing from you later -on. Won’t you tell me your name?”</p> - -<p>“It would do no good,” said the girl. Then, with an earnestness that -startled Bertram, she added: “but, if you want to please me and do the -right thing by yourself, you will go no further on this expedition.”</p> - -<p>“I can’t do that, because it would be going back on my word,” replied -Bertram. “But why should I leave the expedition?”</p> - -<p>“If you don’t, there will be the death of honest men on your hands,” -said the girl. “Why did you promise to go with a man like Swingley, -anyway?”</p> - -<p>“Just plain foolishness, I guess, the same as any other soldier of -fortune shows.”</p> - -<p>“Those men are not soldiers of fortune—they are soldiers of murder,” -exclaimed the girl. “If you go on with them you’ll be one with them.”</p> - -<p>“Then it means something to you?” asked Bertram triumphantly.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” said the girl, with another quick flush. “It means just what it -would if I saw any young man on the wrong road.”</p> - -<p>“Well, even if you put it that impersonally, still I’m glad,” replied -the young Texan. “I’ve got to go on with the outfit, but I promise -you one thing—that, if there’s any murder done, my hands won’t be -red.”</p> - -<p>Just then, from around the corner of the station, came the sound of -men’s voices, in a cowboy song.</p> - -<p>“They’re coming,” said the girl. “I don’t want them to see me. I’m -going to be on the northbound train that goes just ahead of yours.”</p> - -<p>“But your name, and where can I see you?” persisted the cowboy, -clinging to the soft little hand which he found in his big fist.</p> - -<p>“If you’ll let go my hand, I’ll give you a card,” said the girl, with -a nervous laugh. Bertram reluctantly released her hand. He felt a card -thrust into his fingers, and an instant later the girl had disappeared -around the end of the station. He followed her swiftly moving form -with his glance, as she passed along the dimly-lighted platform and -vanished through the gate leading to the tracks. Then he stepped to a -light and read the card eagerly.</p> - -<p>“Alma Caldwell!” he exclaimed, repeating the name several times. -“Pretty name for a prettier girl! I wonder why a girl like her knows -about Swingley’s little expedition, and why she’s so anxious to keep -ahead of us.”</p> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chIII' title='III: Bertram Makes A Go-Devil'> - <span class='ct1'>CHAPTER III</span> - <br /> - BERTRAM MAKES A GO-DEVIL. -</h2> - -<p>The men detrained at a little northern Wyoming town, the terminus of -the railroad, after an all-night journey from Denver.</p> - -<p>Swingley was everywhere, asserting his leadership. There was none of -the jocularity about him now, which he had assumed during the long -journey. His orders were sharp and imperative. They were accompanied -by blows, on two or three occasions, when cowpunchers did not move -quickly enough to suit him. One of the men, who had made a move to -draw his gun, was knocked bleeding and insensible before he could drag -the weapon from its holster.</p> - -<p>Evidently things were moving according to a prearranged program. There -were chuck wagons on hand, into which food and cooking utensils were -piled. Also there were wagons for the bedding.</p> - -<p>Twenty or thirty additional men had joined the outfit at Denver, and -these were reinforced by as many more, who were waiting at the station -when the special train arrived, followed in an hour or two by the -train carrying the horses.</p> - -<p>The new men were apparently of the same ilk as those who had joined -from the start—sunburned, hardy-looking fellows in cowboy garb, and -every one of them was heavily armed. There were greetings between some -of their number and a few of the new arrivals, as the long trails -abounded with men who were accustomed to drifting from one ranch to -another, and whose circle of acquaintances was correspondingly large.</p> - -<p>The only accident preparatory to getting the cavalcade under way was -one that was destined to affect Bertram strangely.</p> - -<p>“Milt,” called Swingley, reining his sweating horse in front of -Bertram, who was smoking a cigarette and wondering what had become of -the girl whose card had been taken out and scanned many times. “Milt, -I know you’re handy at blacksmithing. Old Jim Dykes, the only -horseshoer we’ve got along, has got himself kicked in the arm, and he -won’t be any more good to us on this trip. Come and help us out.”</p> - -<p>Bertram accompanied Swingley to the improvised forge, where the -groaning blacksmith was having his injured arm set by an amateur -surgeon. The young Texan had often been called upon to shoe fractious -bronchos on his uncle’s ranch, the work presenting little difficulty -to him on account of his exceptional skill in managing the wildest -horses.</p> - -<p>Seeing that the old blacksmith was incapable of further work, Bertram -took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves, disclosing a pair of -muscular arms, and in an hour he had completed the tasks necessary to -set the caravan moving.</p> - -<p>“It sure was lucky that I remembered seein’ you blacksmithin’ on your -uncle’s ranch,” said Swingley, reining his horse beside Bertram’s, -shortly after the start was made. “You may have to help us out a -little more before we git through, but, anyway, mebbe you’ll have -pleasanter work mixed in with the blacksmithin’—a little shootin’ at a -mark, for instance.” Swingley had grinned meaningly, as he spoke.</p> - -<p>“I’ve heard there might be some shooting,” observed Bertram dryly, -“but I might as well let you know right now that I always get an awful -attack of buck fever when I’m shooting at men.”</p> - -<p>“You’ll forget it when we hit into the thick of the fightin’,” -returned Swingley, not catching the sarcasm in Bertram’s voice, or -deliberately overlooking it. “I don’t mind tellin’ you that we may be -in for a little ruction inside of another twelve hours. We’ve come up -here to put an end to cattle rustlin’ in this part of the State. The -rustlers are so strong that they’ve been runnin’ things as they -wanted. But, when they see what they’re up against now, it may be that -they’ll quit without a fight. If they don’t—so much the worse for -them.”</p> - -<p>Swingley turned in his saddle and looked proudly back at his little -army. The sight would have inspired pride in any captain. Here was a -grim company of tanned, resolute-looking horsemen, riding with that -easy grace peculiar to the saddlemen of the Western plains. The loud -jests that had been heard on the train were not in evidence. The men -rode quietly. Pistols were ready to the grasp, as were the guns in the -scabbards at the horses’ sides. Behind the command rumbled the camp -wagons.</p> - -<p>“Cattle rustlin’ is goin’ to be a lot less popular than it has been, -before this outfit is through,” observed Swingley, “and there’ll be -some old scores that’ll be paid off in full, too.”</p> - -<p>The cattleman’s voice was thick with passion. His heavy brows were -drawn together in a frown, and the muscles of his powerful jaws worked -spasmodically as he clenched his teeth determinedly.</p> - -<p>“I hope this crowd ain’t been brought up here just to settle some old -personal scores,” answered Bertram, his voice bringing Swingley back -with a start.</p> - -<p>The cattleman, darting a quick glance at Bertram, realized that he had -said too much. Muttering something about picking a camping place for -the night he spurred ahead, leaving Bertram plodding with the column -at the moderate pace which had been prescribed.</p> - -<p>The young Texan’s thoughts went back once more to the girl whom he had -met at the station. He paid scant attention to the talk of Archie -Beam, who had taken Swingley’s place at his side. He was wondering -about the girl—who she was, and the mission which had sent her on her -long journey. Evidently it was a mission of some danger, for she had -hinted at enemies who had sought to interfere with her progress. And -her apparent knowledge of the purpose of the expedition was a puzzle. -How much did she know of Swingley’s invasion of Wyoming, and what -interest could it hold for her?</p> - -<p>“Well, if nothin’ else’ll wake you up, pardner,” said Archie -good-naturedly, after many ineffectual attempts to arouse Bertram to -conversation, “mebbe the smell of a little bacon and coffee will help. -It looks as if we’re goin’ to camp right ahead, and them chuck -wagons can’t come up too soon fer me. I could eat everything in them -wagons and then chase the hosses.”</p> - -<p>Swingley had picked an admirable camp site in a grove of cottonwoods, -beside an alkali-lined stream. Several springs near by afforded plenty -of pure water for cooking purposes. Soon the wagons rattled up. Tents -were put up, beds were unrolled, and the cooks had supper started. The -men lolled about at ease, but there was no drinking, nor was there any -card playing. Conversation was carried on in low voices. As soon as -supper was over and the night herders were told off most of the men -turned in and were sound asleep in a few minutes. They might be called -on to fight before the night waned, but these men, used to the -arbitrament of firearms, were not to be robbed of their sleep.</p> - -<p>Bertram was aroused, apparently before he had more than dropped off to -slumber. Swingley was shaking him by the shoulder, and Hoog was -standing in the entrance to the tent. The moon was high, and Bertram -could see the faces of both men distinctly.</p> - -<p>“Come on out,” said Swingley gruffly. “We’ve got some special work -for you.”</p> - -<p>As he dressed hurriedly, the young Texan saw that it was only a little -past midnight.</p> - -<p>“We’ve had your hoss brought in,” said Swingley briefly. “Saddle quick -and come on with us.”</p> - -<p>Without any questions Bertram saddled his horse. The three men mounted -and rode out of camp silently. As soon as they struck the road -Swingley and Tom Hoog took the lead, Bertram riding close behind them -at an easy gallop. Nothing was heard for an hour or more but the -pounding of hoofs on the hard road. Then Swingley and Hoog turned in -at a long, one-story building, which was set a short distance back -from the road. Bertram followed, and the three men dismounted.</p> - -<p>Swingley and Hoog, dropping their reins, entered the wide doorway of -the building. After they had lighted two lanterns, that were bracketed -in the wall, Bertram saw that the place was a fairly well-equipped -blacksmith shop. There was a pile of old horseshoes in one corner, and -in another was considerable farm machinery of various sorts.</p> - -<p>“Can you take something out of that pile of junk and make up a sort of -fort on wheels?” asked Swingley of Bertram. “I might as well tell you -that we’re goin’ right on to Wild Horse, the county seat, forty mile -from here. Before we reach the town we may have to do some purty stiff -fightin’, and I figger that somethin’ armored may come in handy. Old -Jim, the blacksmith, was outlinin’ somethin’ that he had in his head—a -kind of go-devil on wheels he called it—but now he is useless, and I -want you to help me out.”</p> - -<p>Bertram showed no surprise. In fact no development of this strange -adventure, in which he found himself cast, could surprise him. He -looked the pile of machinery over carefully.</p> - -<p>“There are the wheels and frame of a hayrake,” said Hoog. “And there -are a couple of road scrapers. Take the bottoms of those scrapers and -fasten them to the hayrake frame, and you’ve got something that you -could walk right up to a nest of rifles with. Ain’t that right, -Bertram?”</p> - -<p>The young Texan nodded. “I reckon it might work out that way,” he -replied, “but I didn’t know that you were accustomed to getting your -men from behind things like that, Hoog.”</p> - -<p>The gunman darted a murderous glance at Bertram, and his hands moved -toward his hips, but Swingley stepped quickly between the two men.</p> - -<p>“Hyar! No fussin’!” he commanded. “We ain’t got more’n two hours start -of the gang, and we’ll have to work fast. Let’s have that go-devil -fixed ’fore the boys git here.”</p> - -<p>Bertram knew that to refuse outright would be equivalent to a -declaration of war. Yet he was far from having so detached a viewpoint -regarding the expedition as he had at the start. Previous to his -meeting with the girl he had been ready for most any adventure. As an -alien gunman—a Hessian in cowboy traps, as he bitterly called -himself—he would have cared little about any harm he might bring to -those concerned in this range war, so remote from his home. Cattle -interests or rustlers—it had made no difference to him until he had -met Alma Caldwell. Since then a growing distaste for the whole -business had come upon him. Yet he could not very well drop out. He -would be a marked man in a strange country, and somebody would be -certain to slay him as one of the invaders.</p> - -<p>Working so leisurely that he made Asa Swingley curse fervently under -his breath, and deepened the glitter of hate in Tom Hoog’s eyes, -Bertram started the forge fire and performed the comparatively simple -task of attaching the scraper bottoms to the wheels.</p> - -<p>When the work was completed Swingley crouched behind the contraption -and pushed it about with an enthusiasm that was almost boyish.</p> - -<p>“You’ve been slow enough about it, Milt,” he said to the young Texan, -who stood with bare arms folded over the leather apron Swingley had -provided, looking at the cattleman in undisguised contempt. “But it’s -a good job, all right. If anybody holes up in front of us, they ain’t -goin’ to stay holed up very long, now that we’ve got this go-devil.”</p> - -<p>It was as Swingley said. The machine would afford protection for two -men, who might push it with their hands under the very muzzles of -rifles and revolvers. Bullets might rattle against that thick shield -of iron, but the men behind it would be safe.</p> - -<p>“Old Jim had the right idea!” exclaimed Swingley, “and you’ve worked -it out in good shape, Milt. It’s time for the crowd to be comin’ up, -and, if I ain’t mistaken, you can see this go-devil tried out, purty -quick after daylight.”</p> - -<p>As Swingley spoke, the advance guard of the command could be heard -coming, and soon the road by the blacksmith shop was filled with -mounted men, none too good-humored at being routed out before sunup -and without breakfast.</p> - -<p>“There’ll be plenty to eat after a little work that’s mapped out -first,” said Swingley, haranguing the crowd. “The first rustlers we’ve -got to git are not more’n a mile ahead of us, in a cabin to the left -of the road, toward the foothills. You can’t miss the place. I want it -surrounded. If any man from the cabin shows his face after daybreak, -he’s to be shot—and shot dead. But I don’t want any noise and no -firin’ till you see somethin’ to shoot at. Tom Hoog will take half the -men this side of the cabin, and I’ll take half around on the other side. -Be careful shootin’ across, so we don’t hit each other.”</p> - -<p>Hoog and his division started up the road. The moon was beginning to -pale, and there were bird noises from the prairie, indicating that -dawn was not far away.</p> - -<p>Bertram had not put on his coat, but still stood in his leather -apron, a sledge hammer in his hand.</p> - -<p>“That’s right, Milt,” said Swingley, reining his horse beside the -young Texan, “you stay here and be ready to bring up this go-devil -when I send for it. Arch Beam, you stay here with him.”</p> - -<p>Bertram knew that Swingley was suspicious, that he had detailed -Beam as his guard. He smiled grimly, as the leader of the expedition -clattered away at the head of his half of the command.</p> - -<p>“Arch,” said Bertram, as the last echo of hoofs died away, “let’s see -your gun.”</p> - -<p>“Sure,” said the cowboy, handing over his six-shooter, with a grin. -Bertram put the weapon in his own belt, beneath the blacksmith’s -apron. Then he stepped to the cowboy’s horse, which was standing -riderless in the doorway. Drawing Beam’s rifle from its scabbard -Bertram extracted the cartridges from the magazine. Then he put the -weapon back where he had found it.</p> - -<p>“Now Arch,” said Bertram calmly, “consider yourself held up. Both guns -are useless, and I’ll ask you to step back in the shop and not move, -while I undo a little piece of work I’ve had to do for Swingley.”</p> - -<p>“Sure,” replied the imperturbable Arch, with a grin, “I’ve seen so -many queer things on this queer picnic that nothin’ is goin’ to -surprise me—I’ll give you warnin’ of that.”</p> - -<p>Bertram swung the sledge and with half a dozen strokes destroyed the -wheels of the go-devil, past all fixing. Then he flung the hammer into -one corner of the smithy and, rolling down his sleeves, put on his -coat.</p> - -<p>“Arch,” he said, “I’m quitting this expedition right here. Want to -desert with me?”</p> - -<p>“I don’t guess I do,” replied Arch, surprised in spite of himself. -“The people in this country will scalp you alive when they learn that -you came in here with this gang. You’d better stay on and chance it -with us, Milt.”</p> - -<p>“I’d have to fight Swingley when he saw that,” replied Bertram, -pointing grimly to the destroyed go-devil. “Between the two camps of -enemies I seem to have made, there’s nothing for me to do but take to -the brush. Good-by, Arch, and sorry to have had to hold you up.”</p> - -<p>Bertram flung down the cowboy’s empty gun and, swinging into his own -saddle, cantered down the road, with a backward wave of his hand to -the puzzled cowboy in the doorway of the blacksmith shop.</p> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chIV' title='IV: A Battle And A Bullet'> - <span class='ct1'>CHAPTER IV</span> - <br /> - A BATTLE AND A BULLET. -</h2> - -<p>Bertram knew that the wagons would soon be coming along, under -guard. Accordingly he turned off toward the foothills, which were -beginning to be touched with pink. At a few rods from the road he was -indistinguishable in the tall sagebrush and scattered groves of -quaking asp and cottonwood. As he neared the foothills the tree -growths became thicker, and soon he was moving in a forest which was -comparatively free from down timber and underbrush.</p> - -<p>The loneliness of the country struck Bertram as amazing. They had -passed by no ranch houses on the road during the journey of the -invaders from the railroad terminus. The blacksmith shop was -undoubtedly the first outpost of civilization. All else was given over -to unfenced prairie.</p> - -<p>As the light grew stronger, and the bird sounds more pronounced, -Bertram heard the sound of firing from the direction in which the -raiders had gone.</p> - -<p>There was a heavy volley, succeeded by firing at irregular intervals.</p> - -<p>Being without any definite purpose in mind Bertram determined to make -his way as close as possible to the firing and observe what was going -on. Sheltered in the trees on the sides of the foothills the task was -not difficult. From one glade he caught a glimpse of the blacksmith -shop and saw that the mess wagons and bed wagons were grouped about -the building. From the smoke he judged that the cooks were getting -breakfast.</p> - -<p>Pushing on, but always keeping in the shelter of the trees, Bertram -advanced nearly a mile. The sound of firing grew more distinct, as he -went on. There were no more volleys. Evidently the men were firing at -random, but shooting steadily.</p> - -<p>When he judged that he was about opposite the scene of the combat, -Bertram tied his horse in a clump of quaking asp and made his way -cautiously to the edge of a clearing, where he could command a view of -the scene below. Through the binoculars, which he always carried, he -watched with interest the development of a drama which had already -taken the form of tragedy.</p> - -<p>In the center of a considerable tract of cleared land stood a cabin. -It was a small cabin, evidently not more than one room, but stoutly -built of logs. There was no porch, but close to the single step, -leading to the front door, lay the figure of a man, evidently dead. A -water bucket, upturned, was near his outstretched hand.</p> - -<p>“They didn’t give him a chance, the curs! They must have shot him as -he started to the spring for water,” said Bertram aloud, noticing the -well-worn trail from the door to a small ravine, one hundred yards or -more away.</p> - -<p>Sounds of firing came from the ravine and from the clumps of trees on -all sides of the clearing in which the house stood. Answering shots -came from the house. It was evident that the defense was being put up -by one man, an expert marksman.</p> - -<p>“He must have hit some of ’em right at the start,” muttered Bertram, -“or they’d have rushed the house.”</p> - -<p>The cabin seemed to be liberally provided with loopholes, as shots -came from all sides. The lone defender, plainly enough, was -distributing his shots impartially, keeping a good lookout to see that -no parties gained the shelter of the cabin walls.</p> - -<p>The bright sunlight crept down the foothills and flooded the scene of -battle. Still the fight went on. One hour passed—then two. The man in -the cabin seemed to have an unlimited supply of ammunition. If he -could manage to hold out much longer, perhaps the countryside would be -aroused and come to his rescue. Bertram knew from the talk of Swingley -and others that there were many ranches between this outpost and the -county seat, where the invaders had planned to dispossess the sheriff -and strike their heaviest blow. If they were delayed too long, their -surprise march would be futile.</p> - -<p>The Texan could imagine how Swingley was fuming at the unexpected -resistance, and how he was urging the cowboys to renewed efforts to -“get” their man. But, in spite of the countless shots that were -directed at the windows and loopholes on all sides of the cabin, not a -bullet seemed to take effect. The return fire came steadily from the -cabin—first from one side and then from another.</p> - -<p>Bertram saw two cowboys being led away from the field of battle, -evidently victims of the man who was fighting against such odds.</p> - -<p>“Unless they’ve got something up their sleeve,” thought Bertram, -“Swingley’s men might as well move on. This man seems to have plenty -of ammunition, judging from the free and easy way he is firing, and he -can keep up this long-range fighting all day, unless a chance bullet -hits him.”</p> - -<p>Hardly had the thought crossed his mind when, under cover of unusually -heavy firing from that side, Bertram saw a two-wheeled armored device, -similar to the one he had recently smashed, being pushed along the -road that led from the highway to the house.</p> - -<p>“By the gods, Swingley has had his way in spite of me!” ejaculated -Bertram. “Blacksmith Jim must have come up and told them how to fit -those scraper irons to another pair of wheels.”</p> - -<p>Slowly the improvised war engine moved toward the house, under a -concentrated fire of rifles. Bertram, from his elevated position, -could catch a glimpse of the feet of the men behind the armor, as they -pushed the go-devil toward the cabin.</p> - -<p>The lone defender of the ranch house sensed the danger to which he was -exposed by this new element in the fight. He fired shot after shot at -the advancing go-devil, but still it came on.</p> - -<p>Bertram watched intently. At first he thought it was the intention of -the men to reach a loophole or a window and fire through it, but he -soon saw that such was not their idea.</p> - -<p>A bundle of straw was tossed over the top of the go-devil, against the -cabin door. Another bundle followed, and then the go-devil was slowly -backed away from the cabin.</p> - -<p>“Burning him out, as if he might be a wolf, without a chance for his -life!” exclaimed Bertram, striking his forehead in anger. “I’ll bet -Ace Swingley himself is behind that go-devil. No one else could think -up such a plan and carry it out.”</p> - -<p>Almost as the Texan spoke flames burst from the straw pile at the -cabin door. In a few seconds they had crept up the dry woodwork and -had reached the roof. By the time the men with the go-devil had -reached a place of safety, one side of the cabin and the roof were -ablaze.</p> - -<p>Thinking that the defender of the cabin would attempt to escape by way -of the rear door, Swingley brought most of his forces around on that -side. To Bertram’s amazement the front door opened, and a man, -bareheaded and coatless, carrying a rifle in one hand, ran swiftly -toward a gulch in the foothills. The man had a good start before the -besiegers realized how cleverly they had been outwitted. If there were -any riflemen concealed in the growth of timber and underbrush, toward -which the man was making his way, they were too surprised to shoot. -But bullets began flying from the thicket on the opposite side of the -cabin. A few yards from the protecting gulch the runner stumbled and -fell heavily. Animated by a determination which even his foes must -have admired, he, rose slowly to his knees and then to his feet, using -his rifle as a crutch.</p> - -<p>The rifle fire had died away, as everybody seemed intent on watching -the next move. Then a single shot was heard, as the defender of the -cabin started to run again, and the man fell and lay still, his arms -outstretched, his face turned to the sky.</p> - -<p>The brutality of the killing caused the young Texan to tremble, as if -he had been smitten with ague. He had seen sudden death in many forms, -but this murder of one man by scores of assassins shook his -consciousness to the center. It seemed as if a crime so monstrous -could not go unpunished on the instant. Bertram almost looked for a -lightning bolt to descend from the blue sky and strike down the -riflemen. When the rifle firing had ceased serenity had returned to -the scene. The meadow larks resumed their trilling, and, if it had not -been for the burning cabin and the two still forms in the clearing, -one might imagine that death and destruction could never visit so -peaceful a haunt.</p> - -<p>Now that their mission at the cabin was over, the invaders paid no -further attention to their handiwork. Evidently under orders from -Swingley, they swarmed out of the clearing toward the road, ready to -take up the march without further delay.</p> - -<p>Through his glasses Bertram saw Swingley approach the body at the edge -of the clearing. The big cattleman appeared to be writing something. -Then he stooped and attached a piece of paper to the dead man’s -breast. Turning hastily aside, Swingley strode across the clearing, -intent on marshaling his forces.</p> - -<p>Bertram saw the dust and heard the clatter of hoofs, as the cavalcade -took up its march. Then he could hear the rumble of the wagons. The -roof of the cabin fell in with a crash, and the crackling of flames -began to subside. The young Texan led his horse down the slope and -into the clearing, which had been the center of such spirited -conflict.</p> - -<p>The body of the first man still lay where it had fallen, close to the -cabin door, with the water bucket a few feet away. Approaching as -closely as he could, and shielding his eyes from the mass of coals -that had been the cabin, Bertram saw that the man was rather below -medium stature and past middle age. Evidently he was a ranch helper—a -cowboy who had seen his best days.</p> - -<p>The man at the edge of the clearing was tall and powerfully built. As -he lay with his arms outstretched, his brawny hand still clutching -the rifle, he made an imposing figure even in death. His features were -aquiline, his nose having the curve of an eagle’s beak. Though he, -too, was past middle age, there was no hint of gray in his hair. -Plainly enough he had been a leader of men, a foeman to be feared.</p> - -<p>Bertram, stooping, read the message, scrawled in lead pencil on the -square of paper attached to the dead man’s breast. It said:</p> - -<div class='ce' style='margin:0.5em auto; font-size:0.9em;'> -NICK CALDWELL<br/> -KING OF THE RUSTLERS<br/> -LET OTHERS BEWARE -</div> - -<p>As he read the name Caldwell, Bertram uttered an exclamation. It was -the name of the girl he had met at the start and again at Denver. -Probably he was the girl’s father. In the bitterness of his heart -Bertram cursed Swingley and the expedition. Then, his attention being -attracted by some papers, the edges of which peeped from the man’s -belt, Bertram drew the documents forth.</p> - -<p>There were two letters addressed to Nick Caldwell. Glancing through -them in the hope of finding something more concerning the man’s -identity, Bertram gave a whistle of astonishment.</p> - -<p>The letters indicated that the recipient, while ostensibly favoring -the cattle rustlers, was in reality working for certain great cattle -interests.</p> - -<p>But, if Swingley and this slain man had been associated on the same -side in this great war of the range, how had it come about that the -leader of the expedition had been so determined to kill his -confederate? Was Swingley unaware that Caldwell was really working for -the cattle interests, or had some personal feud arisen between the two -men?</p> - -<p>“Probably it’s a case of wheels within wheels,” thought Bertram. -“Maybe this man Caldwell threatened Swingley’s leadership. Or it may -be that Caldwell was not so much on the cattlemen’s side as these -letters indicate, and the word was given to Swingley to get him first -of all.”</p> - -<p>Dropping on one knee beside the body Bertram glanced over another -paper, which he had taken out with the letters. It was in the form of -a diary, loosely scrawled on several sheets of paper. It was a brief -account of the fight which had just taken place.</p> - -<p>“By George! this Caldwell was a cool one,” thought Bertram. “He found -time to jot down a story of the fight, while he was standing off that -bunch.”</p> - -<p>The opening entry said:</p> - -<p>Five-forty—The fight’s on. They’ve got Nate Day—shot him, as he -stepped out after water. I can see from the window that he’s stone -dead.</p> - -<p>Then followed entries in which the writer told of the fight as it -progressed. He mentioned wounding or killing four men, and he told of -bullets that whistled through the windows and loopholes, yet did not -hit him. The final entries read:</p> - -<p>Eight-fifteen—They’re bringing out some kind of a go-devil on wheels, -with an armored front. I can’t see the men behind it, and bullets -don’t go through the iron. I guess I’m done.</p> - -<p>Eight-twenty-five—They’ve set fire to the cabin. Throwed straw out -from behind that go-devil. Curse the man that made that, anyway. I -might have had a chance if it hadn’t been for him.</p> - -<p>Eight-thirty-five—The roof’s afire. I’ve got to make a run for it. If -I can make the gulch I may get away, but the chance is slim. Good-by -all.</p> - -<p>Bertram did not put the diary in his pocket with the letters. He -thrust the rudely scrawled notes back in the man’s belt, and he left -undisturbed the notice which Swingley had pinned to Caldwell’s breast.</p> - -<p>Still kneeling beside the body, Bertram for the first time thought -about himself. Should he go or stay? No doubt the whole countryside -was being aroused, and men would soon be flocking along the trail of -the invaders. It would not do to be found at the scene of the fight, -but would he be better off anywhere else? He was a stranger in a -hostile land. He had entered the country as one of a band of armed -invaders, and it was not likely that any explanations he might make -would be heeded. Hot-headed men, intent on vengeance, would not -hesitate to shoot him down at sight. He smiled ruefully, as he thought -of Arch Beam’s words: “The people in this country will scalp you -alive!” No doubt Arch was right. But, if he was to be killed, it would -be better to meet death on the open road, rather than at the scene of -a crime so despicable.</p> - -<p>As Bertram was about to rise to his feet a rifle cracked from across -the clearing, and a bullet tore through the young Texan’s left -shoulder. Although the shock of the impact spun him half around, -Bertram struggled to his feet. His heavy revolver was drawn with -amazing celerity, and he was about to empty the weapon in the -direction from which the shot had come, when he heard a cry in a -girl’s voice.</p> - -<p>At the same time the thicket parted. As the young Texan stood with -feet firmly planted, in spite of the intense pain that racked him, -while his finger almost pressed the trigger, Alma Caldwell came -running toward him.</p> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chV' title='V: A Ride To Sanctuary'> - <span class='ct1'>CHAPTER V</span> - <br /> - A RIDE TO SANCTUARY. -</h2> - -<p>The Texan had only a confused idea of the events that followed -immediately after he had been shot. He knew that the wound was -serious, for the impact of the bullet had fairly staggered him. Yet -he managed to find his feet steadily enough, and the young woman, who -ran toward him, had no idea that he was hurt.</p> - -<p>To Bertram it seemed as if the girl floated toward him on a billowing -sea of ether, instead of running swiftly, as she did, across the -sparse verdure of the clearing. Also, in the young Texan’s eyes, she -seemed more lovely and more unattainable than before. He had caught -only fleeting glimpses of her during their previous meetings, and one -of those meetings had been under a very poor brand of artificial -light. But now, in the bright Wyoming day, he caught the full beauty -of her youthful color, the regularity of her features and her grace of -movement. Her lithe figure was outlined in all its charm against the -green of the thicket from which she had sprung. She had dropped her -hat and tossed aside her riding gauntlets, and her spurs jingled at -the heels of her small riding boots, as she ran.</p> - -<p>“By all the gods!” thought the wounded and dazed Bertram, “this -country up here was made as a background for her.”</p> - -<p>Horror and questioning were written on the girl’s features, as she -reached Caldwell’s side and flung herself on her knees beside the -body. One glance told her what had happened, and she buried her face -in her hands.</p> - -<p>Meantime Bertram’s wavering attention had been attracted by another -figure, following closely behind the girl. It was the figure of a -youth, hardly taller than Alma Caldwell and nearly as slender. Yet, -for all the newcomer’s youthfulness and slenderness, there was -something so threatening in his attitude, as he approached more slowly -than had the girl, that Bertram half raised his revolver. The boy, who -was carrying a rifle, hesitated a moment, as if to bring the weapon to -his shoulder.</p> - -<p>“Stop!” said the girl, looking up. “Jimmy Coyle, put down that gun. -You had no business to fire in the first place, without my telling -you.”</p> - -<p>“So that’s the person who shot at me, is it?” asked Bertram, lowering -his weapon and turning toward the girl. “I’m glad you’ve stopped him -from doing it any more, as it seems to me there’s been quite enough -shooting around here to-day.”</p> - -<p>The spreading crimson stain on the young Texan’s shirt front caught -the girl’s eye. With an exclamation of concern she rose to her feet.</p> - -<p>“It’s nothing worth bothering about,” the Texan said. “You’ve got -sorrow enough on your hands, for I take it this man must have been -your father. I just want to tell you that I don’t—I don’t——”</p> - -<p>Bertram intended to say that he did not take her advice about quitting -the expedition in Denver, and he had therefore been compelled to do so -when it was a matter of more personal difficulty, but the words -refused to shape themselves. The young Texan wiped the cold beads of -agony from his forehead. His words came haltingly, and he swayed and -fell in a faint beside the body of the man whom Swingley had dubbed -the “king of the rustlers.”</p> - -<p>The touch of cool water on his forehead revived the young Texan. He -was lying on his back, with bis head comfortably pillowed on a -rolled-up blanket. He was in the shade, and the branches of a tree -waved between him and the sky. Then he found himself looking into the -face of Alma Caldwell. He thought it was much pleasanter than looking -at the sky or at trees, and he did not even blink for fear the vision -would vanish.</p> - -<p>The girl smiled at him faintly and said: “Your shoulder—how does it -feel? Do you think you can ride?”</p> - -<p>Bertram felt of his shoulder. To his surprise it was neatly bandaged, -and the stained part of his shirt had been cut away. The numb -sensation was gone from his side. He sat up.</p> - -<p>“I’ll be all right in a minute,” he said. Then he saw that he was down -by the spring, where the first man at the cabin had started to go when -the work of assassination began.</p> - -<p>“How did you get me down here by the spring?” asked the Texan.</p> - -<p>“Jimmy carried you down,” replied the girl. “He’s strong. Of course I -had to help him a little.”</p> - -<p>The events of the morning rushed into the Texan’s memory. Again he -saw the beleaguered cabin, heard the firing, saw the slain men. “Your -father?” he asked. “What’s become of his body? I must help you with -it. And the other man who was killed?”</p> - -<p>“There’s nothing to do. After we brought you down here and fixed up -your shoulder, some men came—men we knew. They took Nate and my -stepfather—for the man you saw killed wasn’t my father, as you -thought—and have arranged for their burial.”</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t the men find me?”</p> - -<p>“None of them came down here, and we didn’t tell them there was any -one at the spring. They were in a hurry to get on the trail of the -invaders. Other men will be coming from every direction. The whole -countryside is being aroused. The ranchmen are furious, and there will -be more fighting. Oh, why couldn’t I have arrived in time!”</p> - -<p>“How could you have stopped it?” asked the Texan.</p> - -<p>“Easily enough. I could have had such an army of men at the railroad -that the invaders never would have come this way. I was visiting near -the station, where I first met you. It was my stepfather’s old home. I -received a hint of the invasion when it was being planned. Finally, a -day or two before the invaders started, I learned the whole truth—that -Swingley was raising a body of freebooters under the guise of -punishing rustlers. I wrote, and then I telegraphed. Then I thought -that probably neither my letters nor my telegrams would be delivered. -I determined to come in person, and I expected to arrive ahead of -Swingley’s train, if it were possible.</p> - -<p>But every effort was made to stop me. I was robbed of my -transportation, as you know, and I would not have reached Denver if -you had not helped me.”</p> - -<p>“They didn’t bother you after you left Denver, did they?” asked the -Texan.</p> - -<p>“I was called from the train at a little station, not far from the -end of the line. The station agent said he had a telegram for me. -Then he said he could not find it—that he must have been mistaken. -Meantime the train would have gone on without me, if I had not been -watching for such a move. I frightened the conductor by telling him -that I knew there was a plot to get me off the train. He did not dare -try any more such tricks, and I reached the terminus. The telegraph -agent there did not know about any of my telegrams. The place was full -of strange men, and I saw the wagons there, ready for the use of the -invaders. I tried to get a horse, but the town was practically under -martial law, with one of Swingley’s lieutenants in command.</p> - -<p>“I could get nothing in the way of a conveyance. I went to the hotel, -where I had put my hand baggage, and I changed to my riding dress, -thinking that I would be ready when the opportunity came. I heard the -invaders’ train, as it came in, and then the horse train. I saw the -preparations for the start. I knew they were setting out to kill -relatives and friends of mine. I thought I would go out to plead with -Swingley to give up the expedition, but I was stopped at the foot of -the stairs and given to understand that I was a prisoner in the hotel. -Nobody offered to molest me. I saw the men start out—you with them. -When they had gone some time the hotel proprietor brought in Jimmy, my -cousin, who had been concealed in the barn. He found horses for us, -and we followed the trail of the invaders. Evidently Swingley did not -care to detain me further, after he and his men were on their way.”</p> - -<p>“He didn’t think he would be held up here at this cabin so long,” -observed Bertram.</p> - -<p>“My stepfather made a great fight,” said the girl, her eyes glowing -with pride. “There was not a better shot in the State than Nick -Caldwell.”</p> - -<p>“He was a brave man, too,” said Bertram, “brave and cool. In fact, he -was the gamest man I ever heard of. Did you find the diary that was in -his belt? I glanced through it, just before you came. Any man who -could write that under fire has my admiration.”</p> - -<p>“Yes,” responded the girl, “and it shows that they would never have -beaten him if they had not used unfair means. Whoever made that -go-devil was the means of killing my stepfather. I’ll find out who it -was, and that man shall pay and pay!”</p> - -<p>The girl’s eyes flashed, and her hands clenched. Bertram did not tell -her that he had been called upon to fashion the go-devil in the first -place, and that he had destroyed it, only to have it refashioned by -some one else. Nor did he say anything about the letters which he had -found on Caldwell’s body, which indicated that the “king of the -rustlers” was identified with both sides in the range war. Those -letters, the Texan made sure, were still in his pocket, undisturbed. -He did not want to destroy the girl’s faith in her stepfather, after -her heroic efforts to save him.</p> - -<p>The conversation was interrupted by the youthful Jimmy Coyle, who, -with his rifle still clutched in his right hand, came scrambling into -the hollow from the clearing, his flapping leather chaparajos looking -absurdly wide for his slim and boyish figure.</p> - -<p>“We’ve gotta git outa here,” remarked Jimmy, without preliminary words -of any sort. “You can’t tell what side’s goin’ to stray in here next. -The invaders might even be comin’ back.”</p> - -<p>“You’re right, son,” replied the Texan, getting to his feet. “It’s -dangerous for you to be here with me. If you’ll just bring my horse -down here where I can get him, I’ll be obliged. Then you folks had -better be riding on.”</p> - -<p>“You’re going with us,” replied Alma.</p> - -<p>“Where?” asked Bertram. “There’s no place in this part of the country -where they won’t hang my hide on the barn door, after the thing that’s -happened right here.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, there is. We’re not all savages here. I don’t dare take you back -to the home ranch, up Powderhorn River, but Jimmy and I have a hiding -place all arranged for you, where it won’t be necessary to explain -things to folks.”</p> - -<p>“Yes, I reckon most people here will be inclined to shoot first and -listen to explanations afterward,” said Bertram. “But you can’t afford -to put yourself in a questionable light by sheltering one of -Swingley’s rustlers. I can’t hide the fact that I’m a Texan.”</p> - -<p>“Nobody wants you to,” answered the girl with a smile. “Jimmy will -have the horses at the edge of the draw in a moment, and we’ll start -on a nice quiet trail back into the hills, where we won’t meet a -soul.”</p> - -<p>“But—but I haven’t any claim on you,” stammered Bertram.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes you have—two claims. Didn’t you help me on my way, once when -I started home, and once in Denver?”</p> - -<p>“But those things didn’t amount to anything. And you know I came in -here with this invading crowd that killed your stepfather. How do you -know that I didn’t have a hand in shooting him?”</p> - -<p>“Those things can be straightened out later. Right now you’re badly -hurt, and the one thing is to get you cared for.”</p> - -<p>“That’s putting it impersonally enough,” ventured Bertram.</p> - -<p>“Why should I put it otherwise? I wouldn’t leave even a known enemy -under such circumstances, and I don’t know that you are an enemy—not -yet.”</p> - -<p>The young Texan smiled quizzically. “Since you put it on that basis,” -he replied, “I’ll accept your offer. I admit that I’m too wabbly to -put up much of an argument with any man who might stop me, orally or -with a gun.”</p> - -<p>Just how “wabbly” Bertram was, he did not comprehend until he had -climbed to the top of the draw, where Jimmy had brought the horses. -Even though Jimmy assisted him on one side and Alma on the other, he -had difficulty in negotiating the steep trail. But he managed to get -into the saddle without aid.</p> - -<p>“It’s queer how just the grip of a saddle horn puts life in you,” he -remarked, as they started out of the clearing, with backward glances -at the still smoking cabin. “That’s a right smart gun you’re carrying, -Jimmy. I never got a worse knock in my life.”</p> - -<p>“It’s only a .38,” said Jimmy modestly, though a flush of pride -overspread his freckled features at this tribute to his weapon and his -marksmanship. “It’s jest drilled a little hole in you, as far as we -could see when we was bandagin’ you up. Purty quick I’m goin’ to git a -.45. If I’d have been packin’ the gun I want, it would have torn your -whole shoulder off.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I’m glad you’re still sticking to small horses,” replied the -Texan genially. “You and I are going to be on a permanent peace -footing before you get that .45. I reckon I’ll take no further chances -with you.”</p> - -<p>Jimmy’s reserve and suspicion had melted away before they had more -than caught a last glimpse of the cabin smoke through the trees on the -foothills. He chatted with the Texan, who did not indicate, by word or -facial expression, how much pain the journey was causing him, even -though the horses went no faster than a walk.</p> - -<p>To Bertram’s disappointment Alma Caldwell rode ahead, apparently with -a view of being the first to meet any travelers on the trail. But the -little procession continued on its way for two hours or more without -meeting any one.</p> - -<p>“It’s lucky we didn’t go by the main road,” said Jimmy, “or we’d have -been stopped every mile or so. I’ll bet every man in the county is in -the saddle now. But leave it to Alma to find a way out of a -difficulty. She’s a wonder, but”— here Jimmy’s voice sank to a -confidential murmur—“I’m goin’ to skip off and help fight these -invaders, as soon as we git you took care of at Uncle Billy’s.”</p> - -<p>“Who is Uncle Billy?”</p> - -<p>“Oh, he belongs to the Coyle side of the family—the side that I’m -from. Only he ain’t a fightin’ man like the rest of the Coyles and all -the Caldwells. He jest believes in lettin’ everybody do what they -want—and the animals, too. He’s queer, but everybody likes him, and -you’ll be safe there because nobody bothers Uncle Billy. There’s his -place now.”</p> - -<p>The Texan, who was wondering how many rods farther he could ride -without falling from the saddle, looked ahead, past the slim figure of -Alma Caldwell, and saw a tiny cabin nestled in an opening in the pine -forest. In the doorway stood a tall, white-bearded man, watching from -beneath a shading hand.</p> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chVI' title='VI: Swingley Has His Say'> - <span class='ct1'>CHAPTER VI</span> - <br /> - SWINGLEY HAS HIS SAY. -</h2> - -<p>The young Texan’s life during the next few days was in striking -contrast with what had gone immediately before. He had a confused -recollection of sinking to rest on a comfortable bed, in a room filled -with the forms of animals—elk, deer, bears and smaller creatures, all -in most lifelike poses. There were even some shaggy buffaloes in a -perfect state of preservation. In small glass cases were groups of -insects, and there were some giant trout on the wall, evidently taken -from near-by lakes, or from the alluring stream which ran close to the -cabin.</p> - -<p>Bertram’s recovery, under the ministrations of Uncle Billy and Alma -Caldwell, was rapid. In a few days he was able to walk about the -place. The inflammation left his shoulder and his strength returned -to him, as it always returns to healthy youth in the great outdoors.</p> - -<p>The old naturalist proved a delight to Bertram, and he was both expert -and gentle in applying surgical dressings. Alma accounted for his -skill by explaining that he had studied to be a surgeon.</p> - -<p>“But he had no real taste for the profession,” said the girl. “What he -wanted was to live close to the heart of nature, to study wild life at -its source. So he moved here, when the rest of the family came, and, -after a few years of ranching, gave up everything else and settled -down in this little place in the mountains, determined to follow out -his ambition.”</p> - -<p>The girl had ridden over to Uncle Billy’s place from the Caldwell -ranch, and she was walking about in the bright sunshine, while the -Texan stood in front of the naturalist’s cabin.</p> - -<p>“Well, I can testify that if Uncle Billy had turned surgeon he would -have made a success of his calling,” said Bertram, stretching his arms -above his head, in the joy that a strong man feels when convalescent. -“He’s fixed me up more quickly than I would have thought possible. -Your fighting cousin’s bullet, it seems, just nicked the top of a -lung. Luckily it drilled me clean and did not shatter a bone, or I -might have been on Uncle Billy’s hospital list a long time.”</p> - -<p>“This was the only place to bring you,” said Alma. “The one practicing -physician and surgeon in this part of the State lives twenty miles -from where you were hurt, and he had taken his rifle and joined the -men who were opposing the invaders. I couldn’t have taken you to any -ranch house without your presence being known elsewhere, on account of -all this excitement. Neighbors are visiting everywhere, and any one -who had sheltered a stranger at this time would have come in for -general suspicion. But, unless somebody deliberately sets out to trail -you, no one will be likely to know you are at this place. It is known -that Uncle Billy is opposed to the taking of human life, and that he -could not be enlisted in this dispute on either side.”</p> - -<p>“Well, Swingley and Tom Hoog will soon be on my trail,” observed the -Texan. “I’ll not stay here any longer than I can help, on Uncle -Billy’s account. Also on your account,” he added, “as it is not going -to do you any particular good to have it known that you helped one of -the invaders to safety. People are going to grow more bitter than -ever, now that Swingley and Hoog are dominating things in such -high-handed fashion.”</p> - -<p>“High-handed is a mild term for what they are doing,” replied the -girl, her eyes flashing. “They are trying to set up a despotism for -the big-cattle interests. After they shot my stepfather and Nate Day, -at our little ranch house on the Powderhorn, and had burned the cabin -they found the settlers opposing them just the way the farmers opposed -the redcoats at Lexington. Things were made so hot for Swingley and -his men that they had to fortify themselves in a ranch house, several -miles from their objective, the county seat at Wild Horse. They were -besieged two days and would have been captured to the last man, if -United States soldiers hadn’t intervened. The invaders were taken to -Wild Horse under military escort, but it wasn’t ten hours before every -one of them was out under bail.”</p> - -<p>“There must be bigger men than Swingley mixed up in it,” observed the -Texan.</p> - -<p>“There are, of course—the biggest cattle interests in the West. But -they haven’t shown their hand, and Swingley apparently does just as he -pleases. He has headquarters at Wild Horse, with a big bodyguard of -fighters, led by Tom Hoog, ready to do his bidding. The rest of the -invaders have been scattered among the big-cattle ranches, presumably -as cowboys, but really as fighters. It looks as if the trouble had -only started.”</p> - -<p>The girl’s voice was lowered, but took no new intensity of expression -as she continued. “Everybody thought there would be open war in Wild -Horse, when my stepfather and Nate Day were buried,” she said. “But -the ranchmen made such a showing then that even Swingley seemed to -be over-awed for the moment. Wild Horse never was so full of armed -men. But the ranchmen were determined that, if there was trouble, -they would not be the aggressors. They crowded the little church, -where the services were held, and scores of them stood outside. -Everybody was heavily armed. When the funeral procession went through -the streets, with all those grim, determined-looking men, riding so -silent, with their rifles across their saddles, it was terrible!”</p> - -<p>The girl bowed her head in her hands. The young Texan wanted to take -her in his arms. For first time it came to him, fully and -undeniably, that he was in love with this slim, dark-haired young -woman whom chance had thrown across his trail. Only the Texan did not -call it chance. He wanted to tell the girl that it was Fate that had -caused their trails to cross and recross. They had seated themselves -on the tiny porch that shaded the front doorway to the cabin. Giant -pine trees crowded in friendly fashion about the few acres which the -naturalist had cleared. Over the tips of the biggest pines could be -seen the white hoods of the mountains. Across the circle of blue sky, -that compassed the clearing, drifted masses of white clouds. From the -forest came the indistinguishable murmur, that went on always, mingled -with the sound of the trout stream, which had first lured Indians and -then white men along its course.</p> - -<p>“I’ll be going away from these parts in a few days, Miss -Caldwell—Alma,” said the Texan. “I reckon I might complicate matters -if I stayed here, particularly as I don’t want to bring any trouble on -you or your folks, because I was one of Swingley’s crowd. But I don’t -want to have you forget me. In fact I just don’t intend to let that -happen, because it would be a calamity, as far as I’m concerned. I -might as well tell you that I fell in love with you the first time I -saw you, and I fell deeper in love in Denver, and, since I’ve been -seeing you up here, it’s just been a case of being lost hopelessly.”</p> - -<p>The Texan put his hand over the slender fingers that covered the -girl’s face. The girl did not draw her hands away, and he drew them -down slowly. Her eyes, still wet with tears, were wide and startled. -The Texan felt her slender frame tremble. Then her expression changed, -and she pushed his hand away, laughing her musical, rippling laughter.</p> - -<p>“What suddenness!” she exclaimed. “And yet we Northerners have -always felt that you Southerners are rather deliberate in all things.”</p> - -<p>The Texan smiled as he rose. Something in that first glance, which she -had given him, told him that his cause was not lost.</p> - -<p>“Not in love or in war,” he said. “Nobody ever accused us of being -deliberate in those things.”</p> - -<p>“Well, apparently there’s too much war in the atmosphere around here, -just now, for any other sentiment to flourish,” retorted the girl.</p> - -<p>“Nothing can supplant real love,” said the Texan. “It’s thrived during -centuries of wars. I’ve said my say, and, before I leave this part of -the country, I’m coming for my answer.”</p> - -<p>“Well, I answer all civil questions and some impertinent ones,” -replied Alma. “Maybe I’ll answer yours in the latter category. But, -anyway, it’s lucky you’ve put off getting your answer, for here comes -Uncle Billy.”</p> - -<p>The tall figure of the naturalist could be seen coming across the -clearing. He seldom rode, and this habit alone would have condemned -him as mildly insane, in a country where men were known to mount their -horses rather than walk across a road. But there was not any part of -the high hills that the naturalist had not covered in his daily -prospecting for whatever treasures the forest might yield. In his -later years he cared nothing about killing wild animals. He had -secured a mounted specimen of every species of game, even to the final -survivors of the wild bison, and now all that interested him was to -observe the wild creatures in their haunts.</p> - -<p>“Mr. Bertram says he is going to leave us, now that he considers that -you have cured him, Uncle Billy,” was the girl’s greeting.</p> - -<p>Uncle Billy paused, his face showing keen disappointment. Although his -rough clothes hung loosely on his gaunt frame, there was a certain -dignity in his movements that never failed to impress. His gray eyes, -under their shaggy brows, were kindly, as they turned to the Texan.</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry,” said the naturalist. “I had hopes that you could finish -writing out those notes for me.”</p> - -<p>He alluded to some secretarial work, which Bertram had started during -his illness, the transcription and arrangement of valuable, but -scattered, notes which the naturalist had made.</p> - -<p>“I’ll come back and finish that some day, when all this range trouble -is over,” said the Texan. “I think it’s better for me to go before any -one finds where I’ve been hidden. It’ll save trouble for those who -have befriended me.”</p> - -<p>Before the naturalist or the girl could answer, the faint sound of -hoofbeats came to the ears of the little group. The sound was -irregular and rapid.</p> - -<p>“Somebody’s coming fast,” said the Texan. “It’s more than one in the -saddle, from the sound. I reckon I’m not going to make my get-away -without being seen, after all.”</p> - -<p>“Let us hide you,” said the girl.</p> - -<p>“It wouldn’t be any use. There’s too much of my truck scattered -around, and there is my horse in the corral.”</p> - -<p>“You have no weapons with you.”</p> - -<p>“No use anyway,” was the mild answer. “I wouldn’t desecrate Uncle -Billy’s peaceful abode by doing any shooting here, and I don’t believe -any one else will.”</p> - -<p>The hoofbeats grew louder, and Alma and the Texan exclaimed in unison, -as two horsemen dashed into the clearing: “Swingley and Tom Hoog!”</p> - -<p>The leader of the invaders and his lieutenant came at breakneck speed, -reining their horses up with a sharp jerk beside the waiting group. -Swingley grinned in triumph, as he gazed at the Texan. Hoog, with -perpetual malice written on his long, saturnine features, looked on -impassively from the saddle.</p> - -<p>“Well, we didn’t know what your trail was goin’ to bring us to,” said -Swingley, addressing Alma. “We’ve followed it since you left your -ranch, but it’s been worth the trip for us. We didn’t have any idea of -findin’ our fellow invader, Milt Bertram, here. I s’pose Uncle Billy -has been holdin’ you here against your will, ain’t he?” asked the -leader sneeringly.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t write out my resignation when I quit your outfit at the -Powderhorn Crossing,” said Bertram, sitting down on the porch and -lighting a cigarette, “but you knew I’d resigned.”</p> - -<p>“You hadn’t ought to have done it, boy,” said Swingley. “You ought to -have stayed with us. It didn’t seem to pay you to quit us, for it -looks as if you’d been havin’ a struggle of it.”</p> - -<p>“He was shot in the shoulder when he was brought here,” observed Uncle -Billy. “A few more days will find him as good as new.”</p> - -<p>Swingley’s face showed genuine astonishment. “Somebody got ahead of -Milt Bertram on the draw! Well I’ll be dashed!” he exclaimed. “I -wouldn’t have believed anybody could have done that, unless it might -be Tom Hoog, here.”</p> - -<p>“Or mebbe yourself,” put in Hoog.</p> - -<p>“Oh, well, count us as equals,” went on Swingley. “But somebody must -have got Milt from ambush.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you know a lot about ambushes,” observed Bertram calmly. -“Especially about throwing blazing straw from iron ambushes, I might -say.”</p> - -<p>Bertram was not certain that it had been Swingley who had been behind -the go-devil, who had tossed out the burning straw which had set fire -to the cabin. His chance shot told, for Swingley’s brows darkened.</p> - -<p>“That’s no kind of talk from you, Bertram,” he said. “Remember we -count you one of us. If you don’t come with us, some one of these -rustlers will shoot you before you get your horse’s nose turned out of -this country.”</p> - -<p>“You know when and where I quit, and add to that knowledge by -telling you why I quit,” pursued the Texan. “It was because I -didn’t intend to be a party to a deliberate murder, such as you and -those with you committed, there at the Powderhorn Crossing.”</p> - -<p>Swingley pursed, and Hoog made a motion to draw, but the leader of the -invaders held up a warning hand.</p> - -<p>“No shootin’ to-day, Tom,” he said. “This young cub is goin’ to listen -to reason. I know what’s the matter with him. He’s fell in with Nick -Caldwell’s stepdaughter here, and he wants to throw in with the -rustler faction, thinkin’ that that’ll help him along with his love -affair. But listen here, young lady, and you, Uncle Billy, who have -been harborin’ this youngster. It was Milt Bertram who made it -possible for us to burn out Nick Caldwell at the Powderhorn ranch. If -it hadn’t been for Milt, here, we wouldn’t have had the go-devil made, -the thing that made it possible for us to get right up to the cabin. I -believe Nick would have stood us off all day if it hadn’t been for -that thing. Do you deny that you made a go-devil for us, Milt?”</p> - -<p>Bertram felt that the girl’s questioning eyes were turned upon him, -but he made no sign.</p> - -<p>“See, he don’t dare say no,” said Swingley, “because he’d know he -wasn’t tellin’ the truth. He belonged to us at the start, and he -belongs to us now. You know where to find us, Milt, when you’re well -enough to ride. And I’m advisin’ you to come right back to the -reservation and be a good Indian, if you don’t want trouble. We may -want you to make another go-devil for us.” With a laugh Swingley -turned his horse and dashed away, Hoog following.</p> - -<p>Bertram threw away his cigarette and stood up.</p> - -<p>“Why didn’t you tell him it wasn’t true?” asked the girl.</p> - -<p>“I didn’t think it was necessary,” said the Texan.</p> - -<p>“Then I’m to assume that it was true?”</p> - -<p>“I can’t help what folks assume.”</p> - -<p>The girl turned away and began gathering up her horse’s trailing -reins. “You need never come for that answer,” she said, “and the -sooner you go away from here the better.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll come for the answer, and it’s going to be a favorable answer, -too,” replied the Texan. “Furthermore I’ve changed my mind. I’m not -going away, but I’m going to try homesteading on a little land I’ve -got picked out, up the creek. I’m going to settle down and be a -citizen here, and I want you to treat me like a good neighbor.”</p> - -<p>The girl did not answer, but, swinging lightly to the saddle, dashed -away from the cabin.</p> - -<p>The Texan watched her until she disappeared down the trail that made a -short cut to the Caldwell ranch. Then he said: “We’ll have plenty of -time to finish the job now. Let’s go in and work some more on those -nature notes, Uncle Billy.”</p> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chVII' title='VII: The Masked Horseman'> - <span class='ct1'>CHAPTER VII</span> - <br /> - THE MASKED HORSEMAN. -</h2> - -<p>Alma Caldwell assumed the burden of managing Nick Caldwell’s ranch. -She was the only heir of the man who had been dubbed by his slayers -“the king of the rustlers,” but who, as Bertram had discovered, had -some prominent connection with the other side in the cattle war.</p> - -<p>Most of the Caldwell cattle were running in the hills, mixed with the -stock from other ranches in the neighborhood. Comparatively little of -Nick Caldwell’s ranch was under cultivation. Like most other ranchers -in that part of the State he contented himself with raising enough -alfalfa for his saddle stock and a little winter feeding, in case of -an unusually severe season. But for the most part it was “horseback -farming” that was practiced everywhere.</p> - -<p>Alma’s day was largely spent in the saddle. With her, as a small, but -valiant, bodyguard, went young Jimmy Coyle. There was only one point -of difference between the cousins, and that was Alma’s dismissal of -Milton Bertram. Jimmy not only stood up for the Texan, but visited him -frequently during the remainder of Bertram’s stay at Uncle Billy’s. -Also it was Jimmy who came to Alma with the first news that the Texan -had made good his words, and had located on a homestead.</p> - -<p>“It’s up at the headwaters of the Roaring Fork, ’way up above Uncle -Billy’s,” said Jimmy. “Milt’s got a cabin all built, and he’s took on -a pardner, a cowboy named Archie Beam, from Swingley’s outfit. Beam -couldn’t stand Swingley’s goins on, so he and Milt have hooked up -together. They’ve got some good range right back of ’em, and Milt’s -goin’ to have some cattle drove up from Texas, and I’m bettin’ they -make good, right from the start.”</p> - -<p>Alma refused to show any interest.</p> - -<p>“I don’t see why you’re mad at Milt Bertram,” went on Jimmy. “He’s a -dandy, I think. And say, I never saw anybody shoot the way he can. -He’s that quick with both hands. I can see now that it was only fool -luck that kept me from bein’ filled full of lead, after I had plugged -him in the shoulder that time. He never asks about you, but I know he -wants to hear all about what luck you’re havin’ at ranchin’. I’ve told -him as much as I could about things here, specially about the cattle -you’ve been losin’ lately.”</p> - -<p>“I’m sure there are at least fifty more gone from that bunch over on -Devil’s Head,” said Alma. “The other ranchers around here are sure -they are losing cattle, anywhere from ten to fifty head at a time, but -they can’t seem to catch any one at it.”</p> - -<p>Alma was soon to learn, however, that Swingley was not to be content -with getting cattle by means of occasional raids.</p> - -<p>The ranchmen throughout the county were served with notice that the -newly organized Cattlemen’s Association, of which Swingley was -ostensibly the head, intended to put in effect a series of district -round-ups. All cattle were to be gathered and inspected, and unbranded -cattle, or any livestock that carried suspicious-looking brands, were -to become the property of the new organization.</p> - -<p>No sooner were the notices served than the round-ups were organized, -all manned by Association men. The cow-punchers, who had made up the -invading army, which was now spoken of only in terms of hatred -and contempt by the small ranchmen, were scattered about in small, but -aggressive, delegations, with the different round-up wagons.</p> - -<p>Swingley himself captained the round-up outfit that combed the -Powderhorn Valley, from its wide reaches on the plains, to the final -ranch in the foothills.</p> - -<p>When the riders had gathered the cattle from the vicinity of her -ranch Alma was dismayed at the smallness of her herd. Fully half of -Nick Caldwell’s cattle had been spirited away. Swingley, as sole judge -and dictator, when the inspection of brands was going on, threw at -least half of the remaining cattle into the Association’s pool.</p> - -<p>“It’s an outrage!” protested Alma. “There’s no question about the -validity of all those brands you’ve claimed.”</p> - -<p>“You don’t know nothin’ about the cattle game, young lady,” responded -Swingley callously. “Every brand I’ve claimed was made with a runnin’ -iron. Nick Caldwell’s title of the ‘king of the rustlers’ was well -earned. And it’d be better for all who sympathized with him if they -moved out of this country, without standin’ on ceremony,” added the -rustler significantly. “We’re not through with ’em yet.”</p> - -<p>The girl did not lose the general meaning of the threat, but at first -she did not get its full import. A few weeks later she learned what -Swingley had meant. Immediately after the completion of the -Association round-ups, which resulted in many thousands of cattle -being seized from small ranchers by the big cattle interests, there -began a series of assassinations which soon had the entire countryside -terrorized.</p> - -<p>One ranchman after another, who had been identified with the -opposition to the big cattlemen, was shot down by a mysterious -rifleman. It was apparent that the work was done by one person, yet -the shootings occurred at such divergent points of the compass that it -seemed impossible that a single rider could cover so much ground in -such a short space of time.</p> - -<p>Two bachelor brothers, who conducted a small ranch on one of the -tributaries of the Upper Powderhorn, were shot dead, as they sat at -their evening meal, the assassin firing, with deadly accuracy, through -the open window. To the cabin door was attached a paper, on which was -printed in rude letters: Rustlers, Beware!</p> - -<p>A day after this double murder the county was thrilled by the news -that Fred Hersekorn, a prosperous ranchman in another part of the -valley, had been shot, as he was riding home after a trip to Wild -Horse. The ranchman was murdered almost at the door of his home. His -wife, who had rushed to the yard at the sound of the shot, had found -her husband shot through the head. It was dusk, but she descried a -horseman riding across the prairie, on the opposite side of the road. -The rider turned with a defiant wave of the hand, and the woman saw -that he wore a black mask, covering the upper part of his face.</p> - -<p>On a tree beside the driveway leading to the ranchman’s house was -found a sign similar to that posted on the cabin of the assassin’s -victims on the Upper Powderhorn.</p> - -<p>The countryside was terrorized, the feeling of helplessness being -intensified because the sheriff was notoriously indifferent to -anything that was not to the best interests of the big cattlemen. Men -were afraid to meet on the main-traveled roads. When a traveler saw -another traveler approaching there was a mutual survey at long -distance. Then, to make assurance doubly sure, each horseman usually -made a detour. Men did not stir outdoors unless they were armed. -Curtains were put up at ranch house windows that had never previously -known such obstructions to the light.</p> - -<p>In spite of the fact that hundreds of ranchmen were searching for and -laying traps for him, night and day, the visitations of the masked -horseman went on. Arson was added to his crimes, as he burned the -ranch of a newcomer on Lone Lake Mesa, after shooting the homesteader, -as the others had been shot. Again men examined the mysterious square -of paper, with its poorly printed message of warning.</p> - -<p>Milton Bertram and Arch Beam, on the headwaters of the Roaring Fork, -the stream which later on foamed past the naturalist’s cabin, felt -that only extreme vigilance could save them from being victims of the -assassin. They went cautiously about their work each day and seldom -exposed themselves to fire from the points of attack that covered -their cabin, without first making reconnaissance.</p> - -<p>They felt that their caution was not misplaced, when, on two -occasions, they found pony tracks in the thickets that commanded -unobstructed views of their homestead.</p> - -<p>“That feller is a real rifleman, whoever he might be,” observed Arch -Beam. “He never shoots until he has his man well covered. But some day -he’s goin’ to slip up, and a better man than he will do the shootin’ -first.”</p> - -<p>“I hope that time isn’t far off, Arch,” returned Bertram. “There’s no -use fooling around in the open with an enemy like that, a man who -won’t even give you as much warning as a rattlesnake gives before he -strikes. He’d simply add you to his victims, as easily as you might -mark up another point on a billiard string. A man like that has to be -caught off his guard. He knows there are plenty of men looking for him -in the open, and that’s why he’s not going to be caught there.”</p> - -<p>“Where are you goin’ to get him, then?” asked Archie doubtfully.</p> - -<p>“I don’t say I’m going to get him,” responded Bertram. “But whoever -does get him will probably land his game in some totally unexpected -place. Wild Horse wouldn’t be a bad place to look. I think I’ll drift -around there a little more than I have been.”</p> - -<p>Bertram followed out the hint he dropped to his partner. He rode to -Wild Horse, where he had seldom been seen since he and Archie had -taken up their homestead.</p> - -<p>Wild Horse was typical of the towns of the frontier. Most of its -one-story business houses were spread along both sides of a broad -street. There were a few general stores, two banks, a hotel, several -restaurants, and numerous saloons and gambling places. All were -prosperous, and, while the sun might cease to illumine Wild Horse at -evening, there was plenty of light there, of an artificial kind, till -well along toward the next daybreak.</p> - -<p>The topic of conversation in Wild Horse, as everywhere else, was the -work of the masked horseman. But here the comments were a little more -guarded, on account of the feeling that some inside ring of the cattle -interests was prompting the assassinations, and Wild Horse was -headquarters of those interests, which fact Swingley did not allow to -be forgotten for a moment.</p> - -<p>Bertram had hardly seated himself in the hotel restaurant before -Swingley saw him and came over to his table. “Milt,” he said, “you’re -too good a man to be wastin’ your young years on a hopeless homestead -proposition like the one you’ve got. If you’ve come up here, prepared -to listen to reason and to throw in with us again, I can put you where -you’ll be on the road to a fortune in the cow game.”</p> - -<p>“I’m glad it’s the cow game and not making go-devils,” said the young -Texan, as he poured his coffee with a steady hand.</p> - -<p>Swingley smiled saturninely. “I’ve got it figgered out what’s turned -you wrong,” he said. “When you first agreed to go along with us you -didn’t have any particular idee of kickin’ over the traces, did you?”</p> - -<p>“Maybe not.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you met this girl, and then you got some foolish idees in your -head. As a matter of fact the killin’ of Nick Caldwell wasn’t nothin’ -for you to be sore about, as Nick deserved what he got. It is true he -was good enough to that stepdaughter of his, who took his name, and -who looked on him as a father. But he was the leader of the rustler -crowd.”</p> - -<p>“I don’t know whether he was or not,” replied the Texan, with a keen -glance at Swingley. “I’ve sort of drawn some conclusions of my own to -the effect that Caldwell was really a power with the cattle interests, -though maybe only a little inside circle knew what he was doing. He -might have had a falling out with a big man in that inside circle. -Maybe that other man was jealous of Nick’s power.</p> - -<p>Maybe Nick had some information about the other man’s crookedness. -Anyway, the other man figured that Nick had to go. So there wasn’t any -powder spared in getting him when the chance opened up.”</p> - -<p>Swingley turned pale with rage, but he choked back his inclination to -denounce Bertram.</p> - -<p>“Do you mean to say that I was mixed up in any deal with Nick -Caldwell?” he demanded.</p> - -<p>“I said it looked as if some other man was, that man being in the -confidence of the cattle interests,” responded the Texan coolly. “I -didn’t say it was you, but it might have been. Do you want me to -spring any documentary evidence I might have?”</p> - -<p>“Do you mean you’ve got letters, papers of any kind?” Here a note of -anxiousness crept into Swingley’s voice.</p> - -<p>“You had it right the first time. There are some letters of interest, -and I want to tell you to quit your high-handed persecutions in this -county, or they’re going to be made public.”</p> - -<p>“That girl’s turned ’em over to you, if there is anything of the -sort,” said Swingley, his face working convulsively, his voice thick -with anger and fear.</p> - -<p>“The girl has had nothing to do with it,” responded Bertram. “But -she’s one of the people around here that you’ve got to let alone from -now on.”</p> - -<p>“I’ll let nobody alone,” said Swingley, liquor and his anger getting -the better of his tongue. “There ain’t enough left of her herd now for -her to make a living with, but there’s worse in store for her, if she -don’t clear out of the country. As for you, you’re a marked man, and -you won’t be safe till you’re on the other side of the mountains.”</p> - -<p>“Better not have me marked too plainly, Swingley,” observed the Texan. -“I’m not fool enough to carry those letters on me, you know. I’ve left -them where they’re sure to come to light if I’m killed. So call off -the man who’s been prowling around our cabin lately, and tell him to -pack his guns elsewhere. Speaking of gunmen, there’s Tom Hoog looking -for you.”</p> - -<p>Swingley looked around, just as Hoog came through the doors leading -from the hotel office to the restaurant.</p> - -<p>“Oh, yes,” he said, “Hoog’s been around all the afternoon. Here I am, -Tom,” he called to his retainer. Then, as Hoog beckoned to him, -Swingley rose and added:</p> - -<p>“I’ve been talkin’ kinda strong, Milt, because I’ve had a little more -liquor than common. I ain’t given that way as a rule, so fergit what -I’ve been sayin’. Think over that offer I’ve made you. It’s good as -gold, and all you’ve got to do is reach out your hand and get a -fortune. I’ll have you set up in an ideal grazin’ country, with a -smackin’ big herd of your own, inside of a month.”</p> - -<p>“I wouldn’t take any range, nor run any cows that came to me by way of -you and Hoog, if the cattle were all prize-winners, and the grass on -the range was belly-deep, all the year round, and the weather was -always June,” replied the Texan.</p> - -<p>Swingley turned, as if to make a heated answer, but Hoog’s voice came -insistently: “Ace, come here. Here’s news!”</p> - -<p>The cattleman joined Hoog, and the two walked through the swinging -door together. Every one else had gone out of the room but Bertram. He -rose, troubled in mind about the threat Swingley had made concerning -Alma. He turned cold at the thought that some harm might come to her.</p> - -<p>“I never thought it, not even of such scoundrels as these!” he -muttered. “Women have always been safer in the West than anywhere else -in the world. Perhaps they’re going to strike at her in some way that -I hadn’t thought of.”</p> - -<p>With his mind full of plans for the protection of Alma, Bertram left a -coin on the table for the waitress and walked slowly toward the -hat-rack for his battered, high-crowned felt. He intended to go right -to the ranch, to tell the girl that this foolishness on her part had -to stop, that her safety was now the prime consideration, and that he -himself intended to enlist as a personal guard, until these troubles -were over.</p> - -<p>The Texan’s reflections were broken in upon by confused voices from -the hotel lobby and the barroom just beyond. He stepped through the -swinging doors and almost ran into the hotel clerk, white-faced with -excitement.</p> - -<p>“Ain’t that the limit!” said the clerk, as Bertram stopped him with a -query. “Such a kid, too! Didn’t you know about it? Young Jimmy -Caldwell was found shot this morning. Another masked-horseman job. -Some say the kid’s dead, but the latest word is that he’s alive at -Uncle Billy’s place, and that he may live.”</p> - -<p>As the clerk vanished, to spread the news to the rest of the hotel -help, Bertram stood a moment in thought. Then the significance of one -of Swingley’s remarks came to him, full force.</p> - -<p>“By all the gods!” he exclaimed, slapping his leather-clad thigh. -“Swingley was careful to tell me that Hoog had been around here all -the afternoon. It was an alibi he was parroting. That’s slip number -one. The rest will follow fast.”</p> - -<p>Walking swiftly to the barroom the Texan drove his arm against the -swinging doors and opened them with a bang. Facing the inquiring crowd -he stood looking for Swingley and Hoog. The cowboy’s attitude was -tense, and his hands were close to the butts of the guns that showed -low on his hips.</p> - -<p>Swingley and his lieutenant were gone. Turning as suddenly as he had -entered the Texan strode out of the hotel and flung himself on his -horse.</p> - -<p>As he sped toward the foothills, the rage, which had prompted him to -kill at sight, died out of his heart, and it was succeeded by a cold -determination to bring retribution to those who had committed this new -crime. With such retribution would come proofs, which would satisfy -others as well as himself, that justice had not miscarried.</p> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chVIII' title='VIII: The Mark of the Beast'> - <span class='ct1'>CHAPTER VIII</span> - <br /> - THE MARK OF THE BEAST. -</h2> - -<p>Little Jimmy Coyle would not ride his beloved range again for many a -long month. The boy was battling with death when the Texan saw him, -but Uncle Billy, who was in attendance, said, he would recover. The -lad’s chaparajos and the rest of his cowboy trappings were on a chair -at his bedside, a pathetic reminder, Bertram thought, of the active -life the boy loved. His .38 rifle, the weapon which he intended to -exchange for a .45 some day, when he grew strong enough, stood at the -head of his bed, and no one was permitted to handle either it or the -garments. Such were the orders of the new district attorney, young -Isham Woods, it was explained.</p> - -<p>Alma had found Jimmy at the mouth of a wide moraine, leading out upon -a mesa, something over a mile from the ranch house. She had thought he -was dead, from a wound just above the heart, but she had found that -some remnant of life remained. She had attended as best she could to -the wound, and then she had carried the boy to the ranch house, the -crisis giving her strength far in excess of normal.</p> - -<p>The Texan did not tarry at the ranch house after he learned that Jimmy -stood a fair chance of recovery. Following Alma’s directions he rode -to the scene of the shooting. The moraine afforded an admirable hiding -place. In its wide, bowlder-strewn depression one could command an -excellent view of the mesa, on which there were always cattle grazing.</p> - -<p>Several neighbors were going over the ground, and so was Woods, the -district attorney, who had shown an unexpected and most disconcerting -disposition to inquire into some of the affairs of the newly organized -association of cattlemen. In fact it was currently reported that -Woods, who had been figured on as a quiescent tool, had been visited -several times by Swingley, with threats of the loss of his political -and legal suture unless he mended his ways.</p> - -<p>Threats apparently had no effect on the young lawyer, with whom -Bertram had struck up an acquaintance which was fast ripening into -friendship. Together the Texan and the district attorney surveyed the -scene. The would-be assassin had hidden behind a bowlder, on the side -of the moraine. His horse had been tied in a clump of asps, that grew -over the side of the huge depression. There were some footprints and -hoof prints, but the ground was so hard that these could be of no -value. The discharged cartridge was found, but that, also, was of no -value. Forty-five caliber cartridges of that character were carried -by thousands of ranchmen in that vicinity.</p> - -<p>“Miss Alma wanted me to give you this,” observed the Texan, handing -the district attorney a small square of paper. On it was the customary -sign: Rustlers, Beware! printed in lead pencil.</p> - -<p>Woods examined it with interest.</p> - -<p>“Maybe this won’t be such bad corroborative evidence,” went on -Bertram, handing over the paper which he had found on his own cabin -door. The same letters were printed on the paper, but the work was -done in ink.</p> - -<p>“That’s a pretty plain thumb print, down in the corner, isn’t it?” -observed the Texan, noting the interest with which the official -observed the new paper.</p> - -<p>“Yes,” replied Woods. “It’s quite the best one that’s come to light, -so far. Let’s go to the ranch house and see if we can find anything -corroborative on Jimmy Coyle’s equipment. The assassin came out from -his hiding place after he had shot Jimmy and turned the boy over, -thinking he was dead. I don’t think he meant to kill Jimmy, but -probably the boy saw him and opened fire, or tried to get back to the -ranch to give the alarm. Probably the fellow behind the rock thought -he had made a clean job of it, but he did not reckon on the vitality -of youth.”</p> - -<p>The district attorney and Bertram carried Jimmy’s clothes and -chaparajos and rifle into a room adjoining the sick chamber and -barred out everybody else. “I’m glad to have you work with me in -this,” said Woods, “because I can’t trust anybody from the sheriff’s -office, and it’s clearly impossible to take up such a case alone. I -know I can count on you, right up to the finish.”</p> - -<p>“Right up to the finish,” said the Texan grimly, “and that finish -can’t come too soon.”</p> - -<p>“I imagine it’s not so very far away,” responded the young district -attorney. “These range murderers haven’t learned the advantage of -working with gloves, like some of the city criminals.”</p> - -<p>The official inspected the boy’s clothing. “This shirt,” he said, -“must have been pretty well stained by the time the assassin reached -the lad. In turning the boy over he naturally took hold of Jimmy’s -shoulder, and probably he got some stain from the wound on his hands. -Then he’d try to straighten out the boy’s legs, and in doing, that he -might have come in contact with the stains on these leather chaps. It -might be a good idea to take a look at those first.”</p> - -<p>The district attorney brought a small bottle from his pocket and shook -some grayish powder into a paper on the table. Then he took a camel’s-hair -brush and began applying the powder to different spots on the -leather chaparajos.</p> - -<p>“It is what is technically known as gray powder,” he explained. “It’s -made of charcoal, chalk and mercury. A little of it will bring out a -finger print with amazing clearness. Here are some that don’t belong -to the boy.”</p> - -<p>Under the application of the powder several finger prints stood out -clearly. Taking out the paper which Bertram had handed him, the -district attorney compared the prints.</p> - -<p>“Fate seems to have helped us out,” he said finally. “It might be a -matter of some time and difficulty in checking up these finger prints, -under ordinary conditions. There are four general classes, known as -arches, loops, whorls and composites—self-explanatory names. But there -are over a thousand types, and checking up without a complete set of -finger prints is ordinarily a matter of difficulty. But right here is -where Fate, as I say, seems to have helped us.”</p> - -<p>The district attorney called Bertram’s attention to two tiny spots, -almost in the center of the thumb print, on the paper which had been -attached to the Texan’s cabin, and a print which the powder had -brought out clearly on the leather chaparajos.</p> - -<p>“The man that made those thumb prints might have been struck in the -ball of the right thumb by a rattlesnake, at some time in his life. -Anyway that is what we will assume. There are two small scars, just -big enough and deep enough to change the swirl of the thumb marking, -almost at the very center. Those markings, no matter what type they -may fall into, never become confused naturally. In other words, those -tiny corrugations never cross each other, unless by accident of an -external nature. Such an accident has happened in this case. The -peculiarity of this thumb print can be distinguished with the naked -eye.”</p> - -<p>“Let’s see if there isn’t another on the rifle,” said the Texan. “We -can’t be too dead sure about this business.”</p> - -<p>An application of powder to the boy’s rifle brought to light several -other thumb prints, showing the rattlesnake scar.</p> - -<p>“A man who was used to handling guns would pick up the boy’s rifle -just by instinct,” said the Texan. “The man that shot Jimmy picked up -the lad’s .38, and he probably worked the lever once or twice, -explaining the unexploded cartridges that were found on the ground. -It’s second nature for a gunman to do anything like that.”</p> - -<p>“These prints on the rifle are even clearer than the ones on the -leather,” replied the district attorney.</p> - -<p>What the official said was true. Under the magic of the gray powder a -mixture of thumb prints appeared on the magazine of the rifle which -Jimmy had prized so highly. Some of the thumb prints were long and -narrow. Those were the marks of Jimmy’s hands. Overlapping them in -some cases, and in one or two instances, standing out alone, could be -seen larger, coarser finger prints. Where a man would place his thumb -in the process of aiming the rifle, were two exceptionally clear -prints.</p> - -<p>In each of them appeared the tiny flaws in the configuration of the -strange lines of the skin, lines which scientists have been at a loss -to explain, unless, in some mysterious way, they aid the sense of -touch. The flaws caused a slight interruption of the flowing, parallel -lines, almost in the center of the thumb.</p> - -<p>“Can you convict on evidence like that?” asked Bertram.</p> - -<p>“Finger-print evidence is absolute. Some Frenchman has figured up the -chances of error, and he had to get into fractional atoms before he -arrived at a result.”</p> - -<p>“How about the chances of some one else having a scar like this one.”</p> - -<p>“There again you’ll get into the atomic fractions. Some other person -might have a scar made by a blade, or a deep, jagged scar, made by a -barbwire fence or something of that sort which tears instead of cuts; -or there might be another person with a single small scar on the -thumb, but for any one to have a double scar like this would be so -nearly impossible, that you might as well throw the fractions away and -say that the thing couldn’t be.”</p> - -<p>The Texan looked thoughtfully at the comparative evidence on the -table. “How are you going ahead, now that you’ve got this far, Woods?” -he asked. The district attorney looked troubled. “I know I can be -frank with you,” he replied. “I can’t see that I’m much better off -than when I started. Right now is where I need the strongest kind of -help from the sheriff, and this is just the time I can’t call on him. -He’s been indifferent, right from the start.”</p> - -<p>“Indifference is what he was put in there to show,” responded the -Texan. “He’s simply delivering the goods to those who have hired him.”</p> - -<p>“Well, whatever the reason, I’m brought up against a blank wall. I’ve -thought that I could enlist a little force of my own, a few men like -yourself and Archie Beam. I don’t want to make the mistake of getting -those who are too deeply interested on the rustler side of this war, -or they’d be dragging in some of their personal enemies, just to -square their own accounts.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you know you can count on me,” said Bertram, “but I don’t -reckon it will be necessary to have a whole posse in on this thing.”</p> - -<p>The young official looked surprised. “It’s going to take a force of -men to capture that assassin,” he replied.</p> - -<p>“That shows how little you are used to ways and means and men out -here,” said the Texan, with a short laugh.</p> - -<p>“That man isn’t going to be captured easily, and he’s got to be -wounded to be taken,” he added. “One man’s just as good on his trail -as a hundred, provided that one man can get the drop. In fact if you -go setting a whole pack of hounds on the trail of a wolf like that, -all you’re going to do is run him out of the country, and that isn’t -what’s wanted, because an enemy of that sort is an enemy not of any -one particular clan or neighborhood, but of all humanity. He’s got to -be put out of the way for all humanity’s sake.”</p> - -<p>The district attorney was puzzled and inclined to be downcast.</p> - -<p>“I’m going to help you some in this case,” went on Bertram. “In fact -I’m going just as far as it is possible for any one to go. It isn’t -alone because I think a lot of that little kid in there, who has been -struck down in this ruthless way. There’s a long score to be settled -before Jimmy Coyle’s case is to be considered at all. For one thing I -believe the man who shot this boy, and who has been doing these -murders around here, the work of the masked horseman, is the same -person who killed Nick Caldwell.”</p> - -<p>“I thought Nick was killed by a general volley, fired by the invaders -when the ranch on the Lower Powderhorn was burned,” said Woods in -surprise.</p> - -<p>“He was and he wasn’t. Nick was wounded when he started to run, but he -wasn’t badly hurt until he had almost made his get-away. I believe -that the boys with Swingley’s outfit had so much admiration for the -fight Nick had put up in that cabin that they were shooting wild, just -to let him escape. Swingley knew that. He had determined to get Nick -at any cost, and he wasn’t going to see him escape. So, just when the -firing lulled, and Nick was about to leap into the underbrush to -safety, there came one shot, which drilled him, just as cleanly as -that boy was shot, and as Hersekorn has been shot, and as all the rest -of the victims of the masked horseman have been shot. There’s no -telling just who did it, but Swingley was really guilty in Nick’s -case, whether he fired the shot or whether he didn’t.”</p> - -<p>“Well, in the boy’s case we’ve made a start, at least, toward -something tangible,” said Woods. “I’m going to turn questioner now and -ask you how we are going to go about finding the man who made those -finger prints.”</p> - -<p>The Texan smiled enigmatically. “That’s something we’ll have to leave -to the gods,” he replied. “Meantime I want you to give me some of that -powder, as I might have to do a little finger-print experimenting -myself.”</p> - -<p>“Take the bottle and the brush,” replied Woods. “I believe you can -carry this thing along further than I can now. I seem to be at the end -of my rope.”</p> - -<p>The Texan put the bottle and the brush in his pocket. Then he carried -Jimmy’s clothes and rifle back to the bedroom.</p> - -<p>Making sure that the boy was resting easily, and once more getting -assurance from Uncle Billy that the patient would recover in due time, -the Texan mounted his horse and rode toward town, after saying good-by -to the district attorney.</p> - -<p>Alma Caldwell watched him through one of the windows of the ranch -house. He had hardly spoken to her while he was at the ranch, nor did -he turn in the saddle for a backward glance at the place. She saw his -broad shoulders and wide gray hat, rise and fall in easy undulations, -as the Texan’s mount was urged into a gallop toward Wild Horse.</p> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chIX' title='IX: Some Debts Are Paid'> - <span class='ct1'>CHAPTER IX</span> - <br /> - SOME DEBTS ARE PAID. -</h2> - -<p>The arrival of one additional horseman in the principal street of -Wild Horse was something to attract no attention whatever. Several -hundred riders had arrived at that headquarters of industry and -gossip, ahead of Milton Bertram. Most of them, it is to be said, were -interested in the gossip, rather than the prosaic affairs of the -cattle industry. The news of Jimmy Coyle’s shooting by the masked -horseman had spread fast and far, and men had ridden far and fast to -talk it over.</p> - -<p>Only the Texan did not urge his horse at top speed, like the others, -as he entered the town. On the contrary he slackened the animal’s -steady pace a trifle. One might have thought that he had come in from -a distant camp for supplies, and that he would soon be heading forth -again, a slave of the vast region of silences which binds its victims -none the less strongly because they are willing in servitude.</p> - -<p>Perhaps something in the unusual keenness of the Texan’s glance from -one building to another would have told one of his intimate friends -that something out of the ordinary was on his mind. But to the average -beholder he was merely one more cowboy, riding into town, a handsome -fellow to be sure, long of limb, broad of shoulder, and with a certain -supple grace in the saddle that marks the born horseman. His features, -which ordinarily were expressive of the lightest sentiment that -crossed his mind, to-day seemed molded into a hard mask of -determination. His dark eyes, under level brows, were calm enough, but -it would take little, apparently, to light the fires of anger in them.</p> - -<p>Obviously the Texan was undecided just where to stop. He reined his -horse momentarily in front of the hotel and then drove on and crossed -the street to a saloon and gambling place, known as Laroque’s.</p> - -<p>As he dismounted and tied his horse to a hitching rack that had little -vacant space, the Texan’s motions were deliberate. He made sure that -his horse was securely tied, something entirely unnecessary, seeing -that the well-trained animal would not have stirred away if the reins -had been left trailing. But, while he was going through the mechanics -of making secure his horse’s place at the rack, the Texan’s mind had -leaped ahead, and he was visualizing Laroque’s place something as -follows:</p> - -<p>“Let’s see: Eddie Laroque himself will probably be tending bar. That’s -good, because Eddie is no rat, and he will stick when trouble starts. -There aren’t any doors into the room where the gambling layouts are. -The open doorway’s not more than one jump from the end of the bar. The -barroom itself is plenty wide. There’s elbow room enough for an -orchestra of fiddlers let alone a couple of gun fighters. I guess -Laroque’s is as good a place as any.”</p> - -<p>With a good-by pat on the white-starred forehead of his horse the -Texan turned toward Laroque’s, mechanically adjusting the guns at his -hips, as he did so. Here again there would have been nothing to arouse -more than passing interest on the part of the ordinary spectator, for -every cowboy, who had entered Laroque’s, had made that same -readjustment of revolvers. It was a fighting man’s country, and -Laroque’s specialized in entertainment for men of that sort. Eddie’s -shutters had been taken down and used so often to carry out men, who -were either dead or desperately wounded, that it was said that the -hinges were being worn out. Laroque himself was supposed to order his -big mirrors by the half dozen, for every gun fight saw one shattered.</p> - -<p>There was a long line of men at Laroque’s bar, as the Texan entered -the saloon, and others were sitting in little groups at the tables to -the right. The Texan instinctively realized that Jimmy Coyle’s -shooting had caused something approaching a revolt in the Swingley -ranks. Hardened as the invaders were and accustomed to the idea of -killing, this shooting of a mere boy and leaving him for dead was -something that went against the grain.</p> - -<p>Bertram had no sooner set foot in Laroque’s place than the group at -the first table called him over and inquired about Jimmy Coyle’s -condition. Bertram sat down, but in such a position that he could see -through the open doorway into the gambling establishment.</p> - -<p>“Swingley and Hoog are here,”, said one of the cow-punchers, “and -they’re sure as restless as a couple of mountain lions. Likewise -they’ve both been taking on more liquor than common.”</p> - -<p>“I know you don’t stand any too well with ’em, Milt, on account of -your quittin’ the command,” observed another puncher. “Onless you are -courtin’ argymint, I advise your seekin’ entertainment elsewhere.”</p> - -<p>“I’m here, and I always did like the homelike atmosphere of Eddie -Laroque’s place,” responded Bertram quietly. “I reckon I’ll stay.”</p> - -<p>As he spoke, the Texan saw Tom Hoog entering the open doorway. Though -he must have seen the Texan, who was in plain view, Hoog made no sign, -but walked to the bar.</p> - -<p>With one foot on the rail, his elbow on the bar, the gunman let his -gaze travel slowly over Bertram, from head to foot. The others at the -table shoved back uneasily. Those who were in the direct line of fire -rose and stepped to one side. The Texan returned the gaze calmly -enough. The men who flanked Hoog at the bar, after a startled glance -around, edged away.</p> - -<p>“Texas ain’t produced but few quitters,” said Hoog, in a loud voice, -though apparently he was not addressing anybody. “But, when it does -produce one, he’s all yellow.”</p> - -<p>Bertram did not change his expression nor his attitude. Hoog’s face -reddened with sudden passion. As he stood at the bar, his long, -saturnine countenance writhing with hate, more men slipped quietly out -of the room, feeling that the storm could not be delayed many seconds -longer. The gunman stood with one arm resting on the bar, though he -had not touched the glass that had been shoved toward him by the -despairing Laroque, who had already counted another mirror as good as -smashed.</p> - -<p>“Push along another glass, Eddie,” went on Hoog. “I’m goin’ to have a -drinkin’ companion. Come on over here, you big feller from Texas. You -never would drink with me before, but you’ve got to to-day, because -I’ve got a special toast fer you.”</p> - -<p>Bertram rose slowly and walked over to the bar, beside Hoog, as calmly -as if he had been invited by his most intimate friend. The bartender -shoved the bottle of bootleg toward him, and the Texan poured out a -drink. The spectators noticed that his hand did not tremble.</p> - -<p>“Now pour me a good, stiff drink,” said Hoog, determined to goad -Bertram into an attempt to draw. “I’m tired to-day, and I need a -waiter to pour my liquor for me.”</p> - -<p>To the amazement of the onlookers, who had surged quietly away from; -the bar to new positions out of the line of fire, Bertram did as -directed. He filled Hoog’s glass almost to the brim. Even the gunman -was surprised at the obedience to his insulting order. His left hand, -which had been half opened at his side, for Hoog was an ambidextrous -fighter, dropped away from the pistol butt that peered from the worn -leather scabbard at the gunman’s hip.</p> - -<p>“Now let’s drink,” said Hoog, jubilant at having humiliated Bertram -before the crowd. “Drink to the State you’ve disgraced—Texas.”</p> - -<p>Both men drank, Hoog raising his glass to his lips with his right hand -and tossing off the liquid. As they set down their glasses, Hoog said: -“If there’s any word that’ll make you fight, Bertram, tell me what it -is, and I’ll say it.”</p> - -<p>But the Texan apparently did not hear. He had produced the little -bottle of gray powder which the district attorney had given him. -Evidently he had palmed the bottle before he had stepped to the bar, -as he made no move toward his pocket to get it. With the little brush, -which was inserted in the cork, he dusted some of the powder on the -outside of Hoog’s whisky glass.</p> - -<p>The gunman, with every one else in the room, was watching with -undisguised interest, as the Texan inspected the glass.</p> - -<p>“Goin’ to give us a little parlor magic?” asked Hoog.</p> - -<p>Bertram set down Hoog’s whisky glass, carefully refraining from -touching it, where the gray powder showed on the outside.</p> - -<p>“Hoog,” he said softly, “that was a long, long time ago when you got -bitten in the right thumb by a rattlesnake, wasn’t it?”</p> - -<p>“How do you know I had a rattlesnake bite me?” asked the gunman, -disconcerted at the unexpectedness of the question.</p> - -<p>The Texan’s eyes and face blazed into anger. His supple frame -tightened, and his voice came, quick, sharp and electrifying.</p> - -<p>“Because you leave the mark of it on everything you touch, you -prowling hound. You didn’t know it, but you might as well have signed -your name, every time you posted a notice, you masked assassin. You -left your thumb print, with the snake scar on it, on little Jimmy -Coyle’s chaps and rifle. You’ve left it on this whisky glass, and it’s -your confession and your death warrant, all rolled into one. Now, if -you want to fight, draw and we’ll see if I have disgraced Texas.”</p> - -<p>Confronted thus suddenly and unexpectedly with evidence of his guilt, -Tom Hoog was a fraction of a second late in reaching for his weapons. -The young Texan had given the gunman a fair chance at the draw, but -Hoog, for the first time in his life, was not equal to the emergency. -Before his terrible guns were out of their holsters two bullets had -been sent from the weapon of the crouching Texan.</p> - -<p>Hoog stood for a moment, a wound in either arm, just above the elbow. -His long, sinuous hands were powerless to grasp the revolvers that had -never failed before. Then he fell in a heap on the floor.</p> - -<p>The men, who had prepared to rush from the room at the first sign of -conflict, had not stirred. The fight had developed so unexpectedly, -after every one believed that all signs of trouble were over, that -even the most phlegmatic had been taken completely by surprise.</p> - -<p>Leaping over Hoog’s prostrate form the Texan ran through the open -door. At the sound of the two shots the gamblers had ceased all play. -Asa Swingley, who had just started a game at the head of the room, -kicked over his chair and, drawing both guns, had started toward the -barroom. He saw Bertram in the doorway, his smoking weapons in his -hand.</p> - -<p>Instinctively Swingley raised both revolvers, but, before he could -pull a trigger, Bertram had “creased” him twice, and the outlaw leader -staggered to a chair.</p> - -<p>The Texan, firing from the hip, had disabled the second man even more -quickly than the first.</p> - -<p>Sheathing one of his weapons, but carrying the other at a threatening -angle, Bertram turned back to the barroom. “Laroque,” he said, “see -that these two disabled outlaws are properly guarded until the sheriff -arrives.” Then, picking up Hoog’s whisky glass, Bertram held it out to -Laroque. “Here, Ed, take this whisky glass in the palm of your hand. -Careful, now, and don’t touch that powder on the outside of the glass. -That’s state evidence against this assassin, Hoog, and his employer, -Swingley. Put it away in your safe, and the district attorney will be -in here in a few minutes to get it. If you’ve brushed so much as a -speck of the dust off that glass, you’ll be run out of town. -Swingley’s reign is ended in this county. We’re going to hand these -assassins over to the court, and we’ll see that they get what is -coming to them. From now on law and order are going to rule here.”</p> - -<p>Paying no attention to the questions and congratulations that the men -showered upon him, the Texan made his way to the door. As he untied -his horse, he could hear the babel of voices, as the cow-punchers, -with their tongues loosened, began to crowd about Swingley and Hoog.</p> -</div> - -<div class='chapter'> -<h2 id='chX' title='X: The Texan Hears From Home'> - <span class='ct1'>CHAPTER X</span> - <br /> - THE TEXAN HEARS FROM HOME. -</h2> - -<p>Uncle Billy Coyle, after having, as he thought, catalogued every -living thing that ranged the hills and plains of Wyoming, had run -across an entirely new specimen. It was the human being in love that -bothered Uncle Billy.</p> - -<p>“I’ve studied the effects of loco weed on cows and horses,” observed -Uncle Billy to Alma Caldwell, “but the vagaries of human beings, who -have been attacked by the love germ, are past all scientific -consideration. Now you admit that you’re in love with Milton Bertram, -and that ingenuous young Texan has confided in me that he thinks more -of your lightest word than the council of all the encyclopedias I have -in my library. Yet apparently something seems to be holding you as far -apart as it is possible for persons to get.”</p> - -<p>“If you’re going to start on that subject again, Uncle Billy, I’m -going to leave you,” said Alma, flicking disconsolately at a fallen -leaf with her quirt. “I came over to tell you how well little Jimmy is -getting along, and how he took his first horseback ride to-day. I -didn’t care to hear about Bertram.”</p> - -<p>“Well, you’ll have to hear considerable talk about him, wherever you -go,” observed the naturalist. “When a young fellow nails two such -gunmen as Tom Hoog and Asa Swingley, and practically ends the reign of -assassination and terror in this part of the State, he is bound to -figure in the general conversation.”</p> - -<p>The girl did not reply, and Uncle Billy continued gently:</p> - -<p>“If you’re thinking about your stepfather, girl, it’s time I told you -something. Nick Caldwell was a good man in many ways, but in some -other ways he let his greed run away with him. He took good care of -you, which I always held so strongly in his favor that I never took -him to task for some of the things he did which I knew was wrong.”</p> - -<p>Alma looked at the naturalist with startled eyes.</p> - -<p>“I’m sorry to have to tell you this, if it destroys any ideals you may -have had. It does you credit to think so well of Nicholas Caldwell, -and to pay him back so handsomely in loyalty and love for the material -advantages he gave you. But, after all, you may as well know all sides -of the man’s character. Nicholas was a leader among the cattle -rustlers, as has been charged. That much I know, but I also know that -his rustling operations were carried on merely as a blind to hide -larger operations in the interests of the cattle interests. He and -Swingley were in the inner circle which was dominating those great -interests, but they had a personal falling out. Swingley had vowed -that he would kill Nicholas at the first opportunity, on account of -their personal feud, which had developed suddenly, and which not even -I had suspected. When Swingley led his invaders into this county his -first thought was to kill Nicholas Caldwell. That was why he went to -such lengths to burn the cabin on the Lower Powderhorn.</p> - -<p>“All this I found out when this young Texan was brought to my place, -wounded. In his clothing I found letters, which he had evidently taken -from the body of Nicholas, just before you and Jimmy came upon him. I -did not scruple to read those letters, because they concerned my own -kin. As soon as he recovered sufficiently to ask for his clothes and -to stir about a little, the young Texan burned the letters, thinking -no doubt that by so doing he would protect Nicholas Caldwell’s name, -and thereby save you from any heartache.”</p> - -<p>“But the go-devil,” said Alma. “I was told that he was responsible for -making the machine that was really the cause of my stepfather’s -death.”</p> - -<p>“I happen to know that he was not,” replied Uncle Billy. “It is true -that he made such a machine, or rather completed it, under Swingley’s -orders. But Archie Beam told me that the machine was really the cause -of Bertram’s desertion of Swingley’s invaders. Rather than continue -with an outfit that made war in such a way, Bertram smashed the -go-devil which he had just completed, and then he started alone into -the hills. Beam was present when the machine was smashed, and he tried -to dissuade the young Texan from going to what seemed sure death. The -go-devil was fixed up later, when the invaders’ blacksmith arrived, but -Bertram really caused a great delay in the final attack on the cabin.</p> - -<p>“There is another matter which probably you do not know,” went on the -naturalist. “That is the fact that when he captured Swingley and Hoog, -this young Texan got the men who were actually responsible for your -stepfather’s death. Swingley’s guilt, of course was apparent, but you -did not know that, when the others in the command were disposed to let -Nicholas escape, as he was running toward the foothills, it was Tom -Hoog who was called upon to fire the fatal shot. Swingley cursed the -other cowboys for their purposely bad marksmanship and commanded Hoog -to get the fleeing man. Hoog aimed deliberately, and it was that final -shot which brought about Nicholas Caldwell’s death.”</p> - -<p>Alma Caldwell rose unsteadily. “Then I owe him everything,” she said. -“What a wrong I have done by taking so much for granted!”</p> - -<p>“Well,” rejoined the naturalist, “he’s coming now, so you can tell -him, like a good girl.”</p> - -<p>But it was the Texan who did the telling. “Alma,” he said, as the girl -came to meet him, and the naturalist discreetly retired to the -companionship of the stuffed specimens in the cabin, “Alma, I’m going -back to Texas. My uncle has written me that he wants to turn over his -ranches to me, as part owner and manager. I never felt lonesome down -there before, but I’m going to this time, unless you go with me. Can -you leave this country, as the wife of one of the invaders?”</p> - -<p>The girl’s eyes smiled into his, as she replied: “I always did like -Texas.”</p> - -<p>Then, as his arms went about her, she added: “And Texans!”</p> - -<div class='tn'> - <p style='text-indent:0'>Transcriber’s Note: This story appeared in - the January 7, 1922 issue of <i>Western Story Magazine</i>.</p> -</div> - -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin-top:4em'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK RUSTLERS BEWARE! ***</div> -<div style='text-align:left'> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -Updated editions will replace the previous one—the old editions will -be renamed. -</div> - -<div style='display:block; margin:1em 0'> -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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