Shoot-out at Split Rock (3 page)

"I can handle the savagest steer or woolliest cowboy that ever forked a pony, but when it comes to what some funny fella called the 'weaker sex,' I'm beat," he confessed. "That bit o' impudence does what she likes with me.

Sudden left soon after the meal, returning the way he had come. The body of the dead Indian had vanished; his companion must have returned. The circumstance was to bear significance later, but now he gave it no thought. His brain was busy with the offer he had just received. It seemed to present a means of getting out of the mire into which chance had so unceremoniously thrown him, and moreover, the very enterprise itself appealed to his adventurous nature. The task of shepherding three thousand wild cattle through eight or nine hundred miles of fierce, untamed country seemed worthy of a man. But he would not decide yet, for though, when necessity demand-^ed, he could think and act with lightning speed, he was a dehberate person. And because of that, he would not mention his afternoon's experience—even to Sandy.

"I'm bettin' he's straight," he told himself. "But our friendship is some recent."

When he reached the valley he found the men loafing outside the large cabin, smoking and yarning. Having disposed of his horse, he joined them. Rogue had apparently not yet returned. They watched him curiously as he seated himself on a bench next to Sandy, who was looking uneasy.

"Supper's through," that young man remarked, and then, in a whisper, "Suthrn's up, dunno what, but watch out."

He had already sensed the air of expectancy with which his arrival had been greeted, and guessed that some at-

tempt to "try him out" might be made. These men, desperadoes all, were not the sort to accept tamely a man on his reputation. He smiled grimly.

Navajo and Ropey, standing six or seven yards away, were engaged in an argument, their voices rising. Sudden noticed that the other men were watching them. Presently Ropey, who was rolling a cigarette, snapped out an oath, and cried:

"Texas? I can tell you what I think of it right now. When a Texan dies, an' goes to hell—as they all do—^he shore figures he's in heaven."

He had turned as he. spoke and his narrowed eyes were glaring at the visitor. It was a direct challenge, as aU knew, and the chatter ceased. Sudden, lounging on the bench, took no notice, and Ropey, with a grin of contempt, struck a match. Ere he could apply it to the cigarette between his lips a gun flamed from the lounger's hip and the light was extinguished.

"What th' hell?" the man gasped.

"I'm from Texas," Sudden quietly stated, and waited.

But Ropey had nothing to say; the fragment of wood remaining in his fingers appeared to hypnotize him. Sudden addressed himself to the others generally:

"Any fella is free to damn Texas," he said, "but if he looks at me while he's doin' it, I take it as personal."

Ropey made a desperate attempt to save face. "I was on'y joshin'."

"Same here," Sudden told him, with a cold smile. "If I hadn't been, I could 'a' put yore hght out pretty permanent."

Later in the little cabin they were to share. Sudden and Sandy referred to the incident.

"My Gawd, I never seen anythin* like it," Sandy remarked. "I ain't a mite surprised they named you 'Sudden.' "

"My friends call me *Jim,* ** came the meaning reminder.

"I reckon this crowd'll think twice before it niffles yore feathers again. Ropey ain't so bad. Navajo put him up to it—^he don't like you—much."

"I got the edge on him there—I don't like him at all."

"See many folks on yore ride?" Sandy asked presently.

"Well, I wouldn't say the country was thickly populated," was the smiling reply. "What's doin' tomorrow?"

"Like I told you, brandin', damn it. They fetched in *bout three score mavericks this afternoon an' we gotta put the 8-B iron on 'em."

"Who owns that brand?'*

"Couldn't say. There ain't no 8-B ranch around here that I knows of, but Rogue gets four dollars a head for all he can turn over."

Sudden was surprised; this was legitimate enterprise, for in those days of free range, uiibranded cattle were the property of the finder unless the real owner could prove a claim.

The explanation was to come in the morning, when the valley presented a scene of animation. A few hundred yards from the pool, a fire had been Mghted, and to this each steer had to be dragged or driven, thrown and tied, while the hot iron was applied. Sudden found that he had been assigned the ticklish job of hog-tieing the victims. He had tied the first brute before he noticed the branded letters, S-E.

"Hey, this critter's got a label a'ready," he said to Ropey, who came up swinging a long iron with a curved, red-hot end.

That individual grinned maliciously. "Well, well, fancy that," he said. "Say, Navajo, the boys brougjit in one o' Sam Eden's cows yestiddy: what we goin' to do about it?"

The half-breed slouched over. "S'pose we oughta take her back an' 'pologize, but I guess we won't," he rephed, and grabbing the iron he added a few deft touches to the old brand, joining the ends of the S and the horizontal strokes of the E. "There, she's an honest-to-goodness 8-B now an| as cows can't talk, nobody'll know any different." He gave Sudden an ugly grin. "Mistakes wiU happen, an* I wouldn't be s'prised if there's a few more."

The arrival of another steer, hauled by the ropes of two perspiring, blasphemous riders, ended the incident. From then on. Sudden was kept busy, and, as he now expected, four out of every five of the beasts he handled bore the S-E brand. So it was plain rusthng. Nevertheless, he did his work with a thoroughness which earned reluctant approval even from Navajo.

**That hombre knows his job," he admitted to Ropey.

"Shore does," that worthy agreed. "Never seed anyone tie 'em so slick."

"Mebbe, but I don't Hke him," Navajo said.

*Tm plumb astonished," was Ropey's unvoracious retort

Three

The outlaw leader returned that same evening, and from his cheerful mood, it was evident that his errand had been successful. After supper, he called Sudden aside.

"Been helpin' the boys brand?" he asked casually.

"Been helpin' 'em blot brands," Sudden corrected.

Rogue's brows ridged in a httle frown. "You didn't think this was a Methodis* community when you come here, did you?" he asked acidly, and then, "Shucks, what's a few cows anyway? I ain't keen on the rustlin' but it means somethin' to do an' money for smokin'. I got a big thing on now, Jim, one that'll give you a chance o 'gettin' away for a time. Savvy?"

Sudden nodded, and the other went on exultantly. "Here's the layout: Eden is takin' a hefty herd—three thousand head—north, an' a fella I know is hopin' it won't get there." He smiled felinely. "In fact, he's hopin' so hard that he's willin' to pay pretty handsomely if it don't, an' buy—at a fair price—all the S-E cows offered him."

"Failure to make the drive would bust Eden wide open, huh?"

"Yeah, it's his last hope, I reckon; he's been buyin' land an' got in deep. But that don't concern me; a fella has to take care of hisself. Now, he'll want riders, an, I'm pro-posin' that you an' Sandy get took on—can't use the other boys, their faces is known. You can see how it would help me to have a coupla men on the inside. We'll be on the heels o' the herd an' can keep in touch with you. Far as yo're concerned, it gives you a trail outa present trouble an' a tidy wad into the bargain. What d'you say?"

"I'll drop in at the S-E in the momin'," Sudden told him. "Where d'you aim to break the drive?"

"That'll depend on how things pan out, but not tUl

they've got too far to come back an' gather another herd," the outlaw said.

The cowboy came away from the interview with mixed feelings, certain only of one thing—he would join the S-E, but whether as friend or foe he had not decided; the deliberate part of his nature was in charge at the moment. He found Sandy loafing outside their habitation and prefaced his message from Rogue by relating his adventure of the previous afternoon.

"Well, if you ain't the lucky one!" the young man ejaculated. "Here's me been ridin' round for weeks an' never had no chance to deliver a distressed damsel. Bet she's hatchet-faced, squint-eyed, an' bellers like a sick cow."

"You musta seen the lady," Sudden smiled.

"I ain't—never knowed there was any female women in this neck o' the woods. Who is she?"

"Sam Eden's daughter."

"She was stringin' you—he ain't got any."

"Adopted daughter, I oughta said—orphaned kid of an old friend," Sudden explained, adding inconsequently, "Eden offered me a job."

"Goin' to take it?"

"We are," repUed the other, and went on to tell of the outlaw leader's designs, and the part they were to play. Sandy hstened with wooden features.

"Soimds good," he commented. "I'd shore like to be in on that drive, but Rogue's wrong in one thing—I ain't such a stranger around here." He thought awhile and then slapped his knee. "Got it!" he exclaimed. "Where's that stuff you used on yore hoss?" he inquired.

"On the shelf inside," Sudden repUed.

Sunrise found a grumbling cook giving them an early breakfast, but his curiosity regarding Sandy's black hair, eyebrows, and moustache remained unsatisfied.

"Ask Rogue about it," the boy told him with a grin, knowing perfectly well that he would do no such thing.

For the first few miles the pair rode in sOence. It was Sandy who made the first remark:

"Odd I ain't heard o' this gal at the S-E."

"She's recently arrived from the East—educated there, I gathered," Sudden explained.

Sandy's next remark changed the subject. "I wouldn't be so terrible distressed if Rogue fell down on this drive-bustin'," he mused. "I don't owe him nothin' an' I shore would like to see them northern cowtowns."

Sudden did not reply at once; he was wondering if the words had any hidden significance. His mind reverted to his own problem. What did he owe to Rogue? True, the outlaw had saved his Ufe, but he had unwittingly done the same for him. And because of it, he was now a wanted man, afraid to show his face in any settlement. No, he decided, Rogue had not yet squared the account.

"I've a hankerin' thataway my own self," he confessed.

They reached the S-E ranch house to find it apparently deserted; the morning meal was over and the men had gone to their work. A hail brought Eden himself to the porch. At the sight of Sudden he called a hearty greeting.

"HeUo, young fella, I'm main pleased to see you. Hope you aim to stay this time."

"Shore do, Mister Eden, if you'll have me," Sudden repUed. He pointed to his companion. "This is Dick Sands —he's huntin' a job too."

"Any friend o' yores is welcome. Green, an' I can certainly use another man," he said, but the warmth had gone out of his voice. "Well, boys, what's the word?" Eden asked.

"We'U go you," Sandy blurted out eagerly.

"Good," the rancher rephed. "Leave yore war bags in the bunkhouse. There's plenty bosses in the corral—• that mount o' yores. Green, is too good for hazin' long-horns out'n the brush." He pointed to a cloud of dust some miles away on the plain. "The herd is there."

He climbed briskly into his saddle and galloped away.

Sudden and Green chose horses and they soon reached the spot the rancher had indicated. Already about a thousand head had been assembled, and, kept bunched by a couple of riders, were grazing contentedly on the short grama grass which covered the plain. The herd was a mixed one; evidently everything in the shape of a cow was being rounded up, and the bellowing of the bulls mingled with the bleating of the calves as they staggered weakly after their mothers. At the moment Sudden and his partner approached, an addition of thirty animals arrived,

convoyed by two riders who presented a striking contrast, one of them being tall and abnonnally thin while the other was short and fat.

"Well, boys, you shore have been busy," Eden greeted thenL

"Ain't an our'n," the tall man explained. "Met Pebbles an* the Infant, an' took over their father."

"Here's a couple o' fresh helpers, Jed. You better take Green, an' Dumpy can put Sandy wise."

The four men rode away, and Jed said to Sudden, "We've pretty weU cleaned up around here—^have to go further afield."

Crashing into the underbrush further on, the riders unearthed a couple of steers and drove them into the open. Then, in turn, each guarded the "catch" while the other searched for additions. Both jobs demanded alertness and patience. The approach of evening found them with a collection of nearly two score.

"Pardner, we done noble," Jed said, "Reckon when we git 'em to the main herd we can call it a day."

"Suits me," Sudden grinned. "I certainly hope you got a good cook; my belt's damn near slippin' offn me."

In their search for cattie they had drifted some distance from the plain and dark was creeping up by the time they reached the herd. The sight of a big fire and the nearby chuckwagon brought a doleful expression on Jed's face.

"Gotta sleep on our saddles tonight, seemin'ly," he said.

"You'll be some lucky if you sleep at all," a new voice put in. Another rider had caught them up—a wispy httle man, nearing fifty, from whose brown face, wrinkled like a walnut, small blue eyes peered at the pair amusedly.

" 'Lo, Jeff," Jed greeted, and turning to his partner, added, "This is our foreman—a pretty omery feUa, as you can see. Green."

ITie littie man chuckled and shoved out a paw. "Heard o' you from the Ol' Man," he said. "We can use you."

"An' youTJ find that's terribly true," Jed warned. Say, Jeff, we got time to snatch a bite?"

Jeff waved toward the grazing cattie. "The bunch is get-tin' big an' wants watchin', which is why we're campin' alongside. Also, Sam is on tiie rampage; I reckon we gotta start workin' tomorrow."

"Sufferin' cats!" wailed the cowboy. "C'mon Green let's jom Ae other loafers an' load up before this slave dnver makes it today." ^

Having unsaddled and turned their mounts loose—the beasts were too tired to stray far-they joined Ae^uD squattmg round the fire. ^ P

"Tlie hohday's over, boys," Jed announced. "Jeff was telhn me we gotta start work tomorrow "