Trouble Shooter (1974) (25 page)

Cindy Blair had seen it, too, and she also had recognized it for what it was. From Rig and Pike she had heard the stories of the Ben Hardy gang, and suddenly she was looking at Tredway with new, attentive eyes. She added more fuel to the fire, and when the coffee started to bubble, she dished up the rest of the food they had forced her to prepare.

Tredway had walked some fifty feet away and was staring down the canyon. Under her breath Cindy said to Bill Saxx, "Be careful, he's killed a dozen men."

Saxx turned sharply and stared at her. "How do you know? You know more about my own boss than I do."

"I think I do. Hopalong Cassidy told me. Tredway used to run with the Hardy gang."

Bill Saxx's eyes narrowed to slits as he considered that.

Tredway came striding back to the fire. "Might as well eat," he said. "No sign of Krug. He must be all right. Cassidy couldn't get at him if he stayed in those rocks."

The hours dragged by and Tredway grew increasingly restless. Bill Saxx watched him with care, even while eating. Pres looked haunted and his eyes kept searching the rim of the canyon. He swore under his breath, smoked endless cigarettes, and paced nervously.

Saxx finally lay down and slept a little, and when he awakened it was night and the stars were out. Pres sat sullenly over the fire, but Tredway was gone.

Saxx sat up quickly. "Where is he?"

Pres nodded downcanyon. "Went to have a look. He's some worked up. He ain't near so worried about Cassidy as he is about the Brothers. He says they've got trackers among them who could follow an Apache upstream through a dust storm."

Saxx glanced at Cindy. She looked tired, although she had combed out her hair and made some effort to tidy up. "What did you tip me off about him for?"

She turned toward him. "Because you can be reasoned with. He can't be talked to now. He's crazy."

"Crazy?"

"Haven't you noticed his eyes? I think it was something about the Brothers Penitentes. They wanted him very badly for something that happened long ago, and he's afraid of them-- deathly afraid. And right now he's in a killing mood."

"I'm not afraid of him. If he wants trouble, let him start it. I'm fed up with him pushing me around." Saxx was surly. "Thanks, though. You tipped me off. I won't forget that."

"He'll kill me." Cindy knew she was telling the truth. "He's mean. He's trapped now and he knows it, so he'll strike out at anything near him."

"Trapped?" Saxx was impatient. "What kind of talk is that? We're not trapped."

"Aren't you? You can't go downcanyon. They will be looking for you. By now the Brothers will be out in force, and Buck Lewis will have a posse. You can go on up the canyon, but you only have food for a few days. One man or two men might make it. Four never could. If you want to get away, you have to turn me loose."

Saxx grinned at her. "Smart, ain't you?" His eyes were speculative. "Get rid of another man, too? Ain't that what you said? Who'll it be?" He glanced at the sullen Pres. "This cowhand or Tredway?"

"It will be you or Tredway," Cindy replied quietly, "and you know it. You can get along with Pres. He's loyal and easygoing. He's used to working with you. Neither of you could get along with Tredway."

Saxx started to speak, and then the words froze on his lips. Justin Tredway stood across the fire, just on the edge of darkness. His eyes were on Bill Saxx, but he took in the whole camp as he spoke. "Get rid of me? Is that the idea? I'm crazy, am I?" He smiled, his lips breaking back over his teeth. "I'll give you cause to regret that, Miss Blair!" The voice was low and ugly, and the "Miss" was faintly emphasized with a sneer.

Saxx had not taken his eyes from Tredway, but now his former boss turned away with a shrug. He turned, and then there was a blast of fire from in front of him and Bill Saxx turned halfway around and felt blood covering his side.

Tredway looked at him, still holding the smoking derringer. "I was as fast as he was," he said quietly, "I think. But why gamble?"

Pres had remained sitting on the rock, too astonished to move. He looked down at the gun in Tredway's hand and remained riveted to his place, knowing a movement would mean certain death. Tredway turned his eyes then and looked at Cindy. Thinking to distract him, she spoke quickly. "You did take my ranch. The PM."

The remark made him frown, then he laughed shortly. "Of course. That old fool was in my way. I knew somebody would come looking for it, so I moved all the buildings down to the Box T, piece by piece, with my freight wagons. I had several drivers and outfits here from Virginia City right then and they did the work. Then I had a big cottonwood dug up and transplanted to the exact site of the house, and all the postholes filled, every sign of habitation removed, and even sod moved to cover some of the worn spots. The hardest thing was getting water to that tree and cutting back the branches."

"That was clever," Cindy said quietly. "Did you kill my uncle?"

"He was in the way."

He turned toward Pres and hesitated, staring at him through a long minute while Pres sat very still, his hands on his knees. "Get the horses," Tredway said, then: "We're moving out."

Pres got slowly to his feet and started toward the horses. A moment later they heard him saddling up. Tredway relaxed slowly and glanced once toward the body of Bill Saxx, lying in the shadows beyond the edge of firelight. "You'll come with me," he said to Cindy. "I'll need you. And don't get any hopes because Cassidy is around. He won't be able to help you. He's someplace on the rim--I trailed him that far. He won't be able to follow us because I've freed his horse and driven him off."

"You think that will stop him?" Cindy's eyes were contemptuous as she gazed at Tredway. "You always did underrate other men. That's been your trouble. You always believed you were a little smarter or a little faster, but when the chips were down, you always took the cheap way out."

He swung on her, his eyes blazing. "Shut up!" he said furiously.

"Like when you shot Bill Saxx. You were afraid to face him even up. Afraid!"

With a bound he was beside her, his hand drawn back to strike. At that instant there was a sudden clatter of horse's hooves, then a shout, "So long, Tredway!" The cry echoed against the rock walls, then died out.

Tredway forgot Cindy. He rushed to the edge of the firelight, hesitated, then plunged into the darkness. He was back before the girl could run. "He's gone!" he raged. "He ran off and left me! The yellow dog!"

"Not yellow," Cindy said coolly, "just smart. He knows you're through. Cassidy will get you, and if he doesn't, the Brothers will."

Their name brought him up short, and grabbing the girl by the wrist, he dragged her toward the horses. With her standing by him, he saddled quickly. Cindy's eyes kept going to the fallen Saxx. His guns had not been removed. If she could get one of them...

But he was watching her now, and he seemed to have detected some glance of hers. When the horses were saddled, he ordered her to mount. "There's a way out," he said grimly. "Let's go!"

"You'd better let me go," she told him calmly, concealing her fear. "I'll just be in your way."

"No," he said, and mounted his horse, turning up the canyon and away from the camp. Only once did he glance back, and then it was to see nothing but the flickering fire. All around was darkness.

Hopalong Cassidy was having his own troubles. He had been able to find no way to get down into the canyon from higher up and returned to overlook the camp once more.

Returning to the prisoner, he gave Krug a drink, then went back down the canyon. While still short of the bottom, he heard the shot. Hurrying, he climbed the wall again, but this time did not advance so far. A glance at the camp told him the story. Bill Saxx was down. He had been shot by Tredway. He was on the rim during Tredway's talk with Cindy, but while he could see them easily, he could not hear what they were saying. Earlier, he had missed Tredway by seconds only, for even as he had left his horse Tredway came up to him. As Hopalong had climbed the canyon wall the outlaw was turning Topper loose. Hopalong did not hear the clatter of hooves as Topper ran off, pursued by stones thrown by Tredway.

Now, as they mounted, he got hastily to his feet, debating whether to risk a shot, but Tredway was moving quickly and Cindy's position put her too close to the line of fire.

Scrambling down the cliff, Hopalong raced to where he had

left Topper. He hesitated to whistle, then tried it, but there was no sound and no response.

Circling, for the canyon swung wide at the point where Topper had been left, Hopalong followed the canyon to the campsite. When almost up to the fire, he stopped suddenly. Something was wrong! He glanced swiftly around, trying to see what. Bill Saxx was gone!

"Lookin' for me, Cassidy?"

Hoppy looked up to see Saxx standing under the shelving rock. His side bloody and his jaw was badly scraped, the foreman shifted unsteadily on his feet. "He suckered me with a hideout gun," Saxx said contemptuously. "I'm gonna kill you, Hopalong, an' then I'll hunt down that yellow belly an' take care of him." He stared somberly at Cassidy. "If it'll make you feel any better, I'll be turnin' that girl loose. She tipped me off on Tredway. Told me who he was."

"So you know then?"

"I know. That don't change what's between us, Cassidy. You whipped me--I don't take that from any man."

He stepped forward again, his eyes cold. "They say you're fast. Well, let's see!" His hand dropped with incredible speed and his gun came up roaring, but his first shot went far wild.

Hopalong Cassidy had drawn his gun as he always drew, with flashing, incredible speed. Once his hand was empty, then filled, and the gun blasting death. His first shot was a split second before Saxx fired. It struck, smashing through bone and tissue, turning Saxx halfway around with its force and sending the outlaw's bullet off into the night. Saxx swung back, his eyes

blazing with cold fury. He fired, and Hopalong felt death brush his face, and then Hopalong fired again and again. The bullets smashed Saxx back on his heels. The last one broke his right arm. Switching the gun to his left hand, Saxx fired. He was falling as he pulled the trigger, and he followed his own last bullet to the ground. The gun fired once as he lay upon it, a muffled sound.

Cassidy fed cartridges into his gun and holstered it. Another tough man who had gone down a wrong trail. Why couldn't they see?

He turned away and started down the canyon calling for Topper. After some time he stopped and listened but heard nothing. He had almost given up and was considering climbing out of the canyon and going after Krug's mount, which had been left back at the ambush position at the head of the canyon trail, when he heard a movement in the brush. He called out again and then he heard a hoof click on stone and Topper appeared down the canyon, a white smear in the darkness.

"Come on, boy!" The horse trotted up, ears pricked. "There you are, you're a good old horse." Hopalong stroked his mane and then swung into the saddle.

There was a trail he found that left the canyon and he followed it up, and when dawn came at last, he circled wide and located the trail of two horses, striking off into wilder and wilder country.

The rocks grew more barren, and as the sun rose the land turned to fire. The grass fell behind and there were no more trees. On and on they pressed with the sun boiling down, and

Hopalong's lips cracked and his eyes worked at the distant heat haze, trying to find a sight of the two he followed.

His shirt grew darker with sweat, the stubble of beard on his cheeks gathered dust, and his eyes were ever busy, never flagging in their quest. The heat was a living thing, and he touched his lips only a little with the water in his canteen, then pushed on. Dust devils danced across a vast, empty distance marked by nothing but the trail of two riders. And then out of the north came another trail, a trail of several riders that moved in and obliterated the trail they followed.

Hopalong moved along, alert now. Then another rider joined the group from the north and one froni the south, and he pushed on until all memory of time was lost and only the heat and the dust remained, the heat, the dust, and the trail of the horsemen.

Then from out of the distance came a long shout, then a shot. Suddenly there were other shots, and then toward him, from far off, came a horseman!

With incredible speed, he came on, heat waves making the image waver and shift. He was lashing a foam-flecked horse, riding as if the demons of hell were after him--and maybe they were!

Behind him pursued a dozen mounted men, their cloaks billowing out behind them. The rider saw Hopalong and swerved wide, racing toward a clump of brush and rocks; at the last moment his horse faltered. The riders cut across, and the lone man, who was Tredway, threw himself from his horse. He dodged and ran, stumbling in his haste, for the rocks.

He seemed to realize he was too slow, for he whirled and threw up his gun. The riders struck him then, and two of them grabbed his arms. His feet fought desperately to reach the earth, and from behind there was a volley of shots and the two riders dropped the lifeless body and charged on. Then they swung around and came back, and as they rode by each man fired a gun into the body of Tredway, and then, without seeming to notice Hopalong, they swung wide and rode off into the heat waves.