Sudden: The Range Robbers Read online

  “Say, boss, I told him fifty per,’ interjected Barton.

  “Yore mouth opens too easy,’ retorted Old Simon. “It’s forty for newcomers. Take it or leave it.’

  “Suits me,’ said the new man, and was turning to accompany Barton when the angry scream of a horse shattered the silence.

  In a moment they saw the animal rushing towards them from the corral, bucking, sun-fishing, weaving—using every device of the ‘bad’ horse to unseat or destroy its rider. Half-fainting, but clinging desperately to the saddle, was a young girl, her face white beneath the tan, and her red-gold hair in a cloud round her head. It was obvious that her strength was nearly spent, and that she would be thrown and savaged by the maddened beast. The new hand acted without hesitation. Running swiftly forward, he made a sudden spring at the horse’s head, and avoiding the flying forefeet by a miracle, gripped the reins by the bit.

  Instantly the brute tried to rear, with the intention of falling backwards, but the man’s iron strength pulled the head down, though it was all he could do to keep his footing. A quick snatch, and his right hand closed over and gripped the nostrils of the animal. It screamed with rage, and the great teeth clashed in a savage attempt to bite. But the clutch tightened, and, subdued for the moment, the horse snood quivering.

  “Lift her down, Larry,’ came the crisp command. No sooner had the cowboy got the half-senseless girl clear than Green, releasing the grip of his right hand, leapt into the empty saddle. This fresh outrage stirred the animal to an instant renewal of activity. It commenced bucking with redoubled fury, swapping ends, and employing, as Larry phrased it, ‘all the old tricks, an’ some new ones,’ in its endeavor to injure the man on its back. The trio of onlookers watched the struggle with bated breath.

  “He’s a shore-enough killer, boss,’ said the cowboy.

  “That man knows his business,’ replied Old Simon, his face pale yet with the fear he had felt for his daughter. The maddened horse was now leaping and twisting with a speed and suddenness which almost baffled the sight, yet still the rider kept his seat. His lean face, jaw grimly set, snapped back with each jolt, but the cruel bit, jammed to the back of the animal’s mouth by arms of steel, prevented it from getting its head down. As though realizing this, the horse suddenly stood straight up on its hind legs. In another second it would have been on its back and the rider crushed to death, but, as Old Simon had said, the man knew his business. Down between the creature’s ears crashed the loaded end of the quirt, with a force that jarred the brute almost into sensibility. Another attempt met with the same treatment, and, with a sharp scream of pain and rage, the horse darted for the open plain. The rancher turned to the girl, who, pale and shaky, was now somewhat recovered.

  “What were yu doin’ up on Blue Devil, Norry?’ he asked. “Ain’t I told yu not to touch him?’

  “Yes, Dad; but you know I can ride, and I didn’t think there was a horse I couldn’t manage,’ the girl replied.

  “Well, yu know now there is, an’ yu keep away from him in future,’ retorted the old man grimly. “By the way, who helped yu rope an’ saddle him?’

  “Now, Dad,’ she replied, with a laugh in which a sob was oddly mingled, “do you think I’d tell?’ Then, as her father growled an oath, she slipped her arm coaxingly through his, and added, “You mustn’t be angry with the boys, Dad; they just have to do what I say, you know, and Blue was as good as gold at first.’ The ranch-owner replied with a non-committal grunt, and stood staring out over the open country. Presently came the drumming of hoofs, and soon the roan appeared, still running fast, but entirely under control, and evidently, for the time at least, a beaten horse. His rider, reining in, jumped lightly down, and stood stroking the heaving flanks. Simon stepped forward.

  “I’m obliged to yu,’ he said simply, and with a nod in the direction of Blue Devil. “What do yu think of him?’

  “Grandest hoss I’ve ever crossed,’ was the instant reply. “But yu won’t never make a lady’s pet of him.’

  “I ain’t aimin’ to,’ retorted Old Simon. “I once said I’d give that hoss to anyone that could ride him, an’ I reckon that’s why this girl o’ mine was disobeyin’ orders. He’s yourn, an’ it’s fifty per for newcomers sometimes. Sabe.’

  “I’ll be proud to have the hoss, an’ yu’ll find I earn my pay,’ was the quiet reply.

  “I have to thank you too for saving, perhaps, my life,’ Norry said, stepping forward with outstretched hand. The stranger took and held it for a moment, looking gravely into the deep blue eyes. Then he said: “Why, it don’t need mentionin’,’ and turned away.

  The girl watched him as he followed Larry to the corral, leading Blue Devil, who went docilely enough. She was rather puzzled by his abrupt departure; men, as a rule, were in no hurry to leave her. She did not think he had meant to be rude, and yet—her father’s voice broke in upon her reflections.

  “Now yu mind what I’m sayin’, girl, an’ when I tell yu to keep away from a four-legged earthquake yu gotta obey. It takes a bit to throw a scare into me, but I’ll own up I was frightened good and plenty.’

  “All right, Dad, I’ll promise,’ the girl replied. “I was scared good and plenty myself. I wonder where the new man comes from?’

  “Dunn,’ said Old Simon. “It ain’t reckoned good form or good sense to be too curious in these parts, but he’s worth his pay if he never does anythin’ else for me.’

  “You’re just a dear,’ Noreen responded tenderly, hugging him by the arm as they went into the house.

  Meanwhile, the two punchers, having unsaddled and turned Blue Devil loose in the corral, proceeded to the bunkhouse, arriving just in time for the evening meal. Larry presented his new friend to the outfit:

  “A new “Wise head,” boys—name of Green; but I wouldn’t recommend any of yu to gamble on that same cog-no-men meanin’ much.’

  The presentation elicited a laugh. Some of the men nodded, others vouchsafed a single word, “How,’ and all of them went on eating. Green and his companion slid into a couple of empty places at the long table and tackled the food as though their last meal was a distant memory.

  At length, when the plates had been cleared and replenished, coffee-cups emptied and refilled, the men began to find another use for their jaws. Green saw covert glances sent in his direction, and divined that he was being “looked over,’ and that presently he would be “tried out.’ Larry knew what was coming, and hugged himself mentally for not having “gassed’ about the new man’s performances.

  “They’re good boys—some of ‘em; but it’ll shore improve their eddication if they josh him,’ he reflected.

  A redheaded, merry-faced cowboy, who was called ‘Ginger’ because he hated it and had foolishly allowed that fact to become known, opened the attack.

  “Gee, stranger, but I’m right glad yu happened along,’ he said. “It’ll save me somethin’.’

  Green looked up inquiringly. “Shoot,’ he said, with a smile.

  “Well,’ began Ginger, ‘yu see, that Y Z has the meanest hoss this side o’ the Mexican border, an’ it’s a custom o’ the ranch that the latest comer has to try an’ ride that hoss within a certain time, unless a new hand drifts in to take the job. Now my time is nearly up, so the hoss bein’ a real man-killer, I’m obliged to yu.’

  The stranger listened gravely, Ginger had not done it well; as he explained afterwards, he had had no time to think out something classy, in consequence of being hungry, but that was his chronic state, so the excuse failed also.

  “It certainly is a fool trick to fork a hoss yu are scared of,’ Green grinned. Ginger fell into the trap headlong, his face as red as his hair. “Scared nothin’,’ he shouted. “I never seen the thing on four legs or two that I was scared of, an’ don’t yu forget it.’ A burst of laughter from the others apprised him that he had given himself away, and the stranger completed his discomfiture by saying:

  “I was thinkin’ yu weren’t so obliged as yu were tryin’ to tel
l me.’

  “Betcha dollar I can name somethin’ on two legs that yo’re scared of, Ginger,’ said Dirty (whose nickname was in reality a compliment, since it was due to his actual fondness for soap and water). The boys argued that anyone so keen on washing must badly need it.

  “Take yu,’ snapped Ginger unwisely.

  “Why, yo’re dead easy,’ said Dirty, with a broad grin. “What about Miss Norry?’

  “I ain’t—’ Ginger cut short his protest, for he knew that, uttered, it must be made good. He decided to cut his losses, and flung a dollar at his smirking friend.

  “Think yo’re blame smart, don’t ye?’ he said. “Who got chased outa Kansas City by a girl with a gun?’

  Dirty flushed furiously, and then laughed. “She shore was awful gone on me, that girl was,’ he remarked. “But I didn’t go back. No, sir.’

  “Gone on yu?’ Ginger snorted. “Gone on yu? She musts bin out of her haid.’

  “Ginger don’t understand the gentle passion,’ Dirty explained commiseratingly to Green. “He ain’t never had a girl run after him!’

  The newcomer added his quota to the good-natured wrangle which ensued, but his eyes were busy studying the men with whom he must spend his days and nights. He soon divined that there were two factions in the Y Z outfit, one composed of the younger, light-hearted crew, several of whom he now knew by name, and the others of older men, hard-bitten, stamped with marks of the frontier. From one or two of these he got looks which, if not exactly hostile, were certainly not of welcome, but he did not let this worry him, for he had an abiding confidence in his ability to take care of himself in any company, a confidence born of experience, which is the best kind of that useful commodity.

  Chapter III

  GREEN did not see the foreman at breakfast next morning, and when the meal was over he shouldered his saddle and went to the corral, where the men were getting their mounts and orders for the day’s work.

  “That’s Blaynes,’ whispered Larry.

  The man indicated was about thirty-five, tall and strongly built, with a lean, dark face upon which was set a perpetual sneer. He moved with the sinuous speed of a snake and carried his head with a forward thrust which gave a reptilian impression. Whoever first bestowed the nickname of “Rattler’ upon him hit the mark to a nicety.

  ‘Dago blood there,’ thought Green, “Treacherous, tough as hickory, and as hard no whip as a mountain lion.’

  The foreman looked at him squarely as he walked up, and their eyes clashed like the blades of duellists. In that instant each instinctively knew the other for an enemy; like love, hate also can be born at first sight. It was the foreman who spoke:

  “Green, eh?’ he inquired sneeringly.

  “That’s my name,’ replied the other, and the slight emphasis on the last word caused some of the men listening to smile. Blaynes saw the smiles, and they did not improve his temper.

  “Dunn what the Old Man’s thinkin’ of to go a-takin’ on any stranger that drifts in,’ he growled insolently.

  “Mebbe he’s thinkin’ that he owns the ranch,’ countered Green.

  This time the hit was direct, and several of the onlookers laughed audibly. Rattler realized that he was getting the worst of the argument, and promptly changed his tactics.

  ‘Yo’re quite the funny man, ain’t ye?’ he jeered. “Well, we’ll see if you can use yore hands as well as yore jaw. Yuan’ Durran can double-team it to-day, an’ yu will take the roan there.’

  He jerked his thumb towards the corral, where the outlaw horse was standing apart from the others, and this time some of the older men grinned; this new chap might be a bit of a “smarty,’ but the foreman knew how to handle him. Green’s face was absolutely expressionless as he replied:

  ‘I’ll ride my own hoss.’

  “You’ll do as yo’re told while I’m bossin’ this outfit, or git,’ snarled Blaynes.

  ‘I’ll ride my own hoss,’ repeated the other, and strode into the corral.

  With a quick, low flick of the wrist he roped the roan, and with the help of Larry, got the saddle on and cinched. One lightning spring and he was astride. The other men, fully aware of Blue Devil’s capabilities, expected to see him “piled’ instantly, but, to their intense amazement, after a display of mild bucking with which any self-respecting cowpony resents being ridden, the roan trotted sedately from the corral. Blaynes, who had been waiting for the humiliation and probably injury of the man he already hated, had but one consolation.

  “Changed yore mind about obeyin’ orders, eh?’ he sneered. “Guessed yu was bluffin’.’

  “Guess again,’ retorted Green. “I told yu I’d ride my own hoss, an’ that’s what I’m doin’.’

  He touched the roan’s sides with the spurs and shot after Durran, who had already started. Rattler’s gaze followed him in scowling perplexity.

  “What th’ hell?” he muttered.

  He looked up to find Larry endeavoring to conceal his delight at the foreman’s discomfiture, and making a poor job of it.

  “Why now, Rattler, didn’t yu hear about the Old Man givin’ him the hoss las’ night?’ the boy asked.

  “No, I didn’t; an’ I reckon the old fool must ‘a bin loco to give a stranger the best hoss on the ranch,’ growled the foreman. “What was the idea?’

  Larry, who was enjoying himself hugely, gave a lurid but correct account of how Blue Devil came to change owners, and the foreman’s face became more and more venomous as he listened. When the tale was told he turned away without comment, but had Larry been gifted with the faculty of reading expressions he would have realized that he had raised trouble aplenty for his new friend. But as that care-free youngster swung to his saddle his spoken thought was:

  “That’s one right in the solar perlexus, as the scientific guys puts it.’

  Blaynes, who had his own views regarding the Y Z ranch and the pretty girl who would one day own it, strode savagely to the ranch-house, fighting his rage as he would have fought a vicious pony. He met the Old Man coming out.

  “Givin’ yore hosses away, I hear,’ he sneered.

  “I gave away a savage brute that near killed my girl, yes,’ replied Simon.

  “Best bit o’ hoss-flesh we got, anyways,’ said Blaynes. “On’y wanted tamin’.’

  “Then why didn’t ye do it?’ retorted the Old Man. “I offered to give that hoss to anybody that could ride him months ago. Yu all tried an’ got “piled,” an’ then Norry gets the fool notion she could do it, an’ I damn near lose her. What have yu got against the new man, eh?’

  “Don’t like the looks of him no how,’ the foreman said, scowling at the reference to his riding defeat, which rankled none the less because every man of the outfit had shared it.

  “I figure he knows his job,’ Simon said shortly.

  “Mebbe he does,’ rejoined Blaynes, who knew just how far he could go with his employer, and had no desire to pass the limit. “My point is this—we’re losin’ too many steers to take chances on strangers. How do yu know he ain’t in with the rustlers?’

  “How do I know that half o’ ye ain’t in with ‘em?’ snapped Simon savagely, for the continual loss of his cattle was hitting him sorely. “Yu don’t seem no strike their trail very lively.’

  Blaynes ground out an oath. “Yu ain’t no call to say that o’ the boys,’ he remonstrated. “We’re all a-doin’ our best. Them war-paints is hard to canch in this kind o’ country.’

  “Huh! Yu still reckon it’s ‘Paches, do yu?’ said Simon. “Well, yo’re wrong, Blaynes. Redskins might lift a stray cow or two for the meat, but they wouldn’t take ‘em by the score. No, sir, it’s an organized gang o’ rustlers, an’ it’s up to yu to corral ‘em.’

  He turned and went indoors, the foreman’s eyes following him with a malignant look. This changed magically to a smile as Noreen came out.

  “Mornin’, Miss Norry. Yo’re lookin’ fine in spite o’ yore shakeup last night,’ was his greeting.

  �
��I wasn’t hurt—only a wee bit scared,’ she admitted.

  “Some folks has all the luck. Wish I’d bin there,’ said the foreman regretfully, with a look which made the girl turn sharply away. “What do yu think o’ this new guy?’

  “Naturally my principal feeling is one of gratitude,’ returned the girl. “He struck me as being capable, and’—she added roguishly—”rather good-looking.’

  Blaynes frowned. He had got more than he bargained for. “Looks ain’t much to go on,’ he said. “I’ve seed cattle-thieves that had him beat a mile thataway, an’ as I told the Old Man just now, we can’t afford to run risks with strangers when we’re losin’ steers. He’ll do to keep an eye on that feller.’

  “I wonder if he’s married,’ the girl speculated, with a mischievous smile.

  “Ugh! Probably got half a dozen wives scattered around the country—that sort usually has,’ snorted the foreman.

  “He doesn’t look like a Mormon; but still, I’ll help oy keeping an eye on him, as you suggest, Blaynes,’ Noreen laughed as she turned away.

  Rattler waited until she was out of earshot and then swore fervently. It was distinctly not his lucky morning.

  Green soon ranged alongside Durran, whose eyes opened wide when they saw the horse his companion was riding; he had not witnessed the scene at the corral.

  “How come yu on that lump o’ deviltry?’ he asked.

  “Oh, I just climbed up on him,’ said Green airily.

  “Lots of us has done that, but nary one could stay there,’ was the reply. “Yu must be a medicine-man with hosses.’

  “I savvy them,’ was Green’s answer.

  Durran’s comment was an inarticulate grunt, and for some miles they loped steadily over the grassy plain without exchanging a word, though the new man did not fail to note the covert, appraising glances of the other.

  “Feed aplenty,’ he remarked presently. “If she’s all like this, the Y Z should carry some cattle.’

  “She ain’t all like this, but there’s enough that is,’ Durran replied. “She’d be one big ranch if the owner knew his job.’