A VOICE FROM THE GALLERY
MATTERS were fast to a as as the and the Cross Bar-8 were concerned. The of the five men who had the of their fellows, the of terror by the outlaw, the of their cook, the and the work had only the which the members of the for The Orphan; and it than The Orphan.
Sneed was not long in learning what took place at the stage and of the driver’s to the outlaw, Bill would talk; and the of his mind was the same as that of his men, for it the line of least resistance. Questions of the nature of arraignments, and which were by the in only one way, presented themselves in the minds of the men. They asked themselves why it was that a man of the 174sheriff’s proven courage, and should fail to the man who so the ranch. Why was the so to take up the in and push it to a finish? Why was he so against the of the ranchmen? Why did he keep to his to allow no law when the was so great and the so pressing? And he was prepared to go to great lengths to see that his orders were not disobeyed, as proven by the at the corral. Why he not have one party when property was being and in danger? And why had the when Shields took of the defense of the ranch?–there had been no molestation, not a had been fired, not a cow killed. And how was it that a flower pot, which Shields had as to his wife, had been at a point two hundred yards in of the peace officer as he on guard? It was true that it was out of line of him and the lights, but that be by events. From did The Orphan learn of the set for him, and all of its details, to the of the men, him to avoid the 175and choose the position by the when he had so his from a of sand?
The were naturally and of their and hatred, and the questions which ran so through their minds their waiting for them; in fact, the the questions, and each gave them added weight until they to be questions and became, in reality, of facts. Bill had talked too much when he had told in detail of the The Orphan by the sheriff’s sister; and to minds for of their this was the proof of the of the sheriff. And to make worse, Tex Williard, who was as a man as the of honesty, had to his on Helen when she for exercise. His ideas of had been among those who bar-rooms, and he was at his rebuff, which had been and final. She actually a to a cowboy! His as to the collusion, or at least the 176sheriff and the ears and minds the of initiative, and it was not long low-voiced to plan a of action. Credit must be to Sneed, he only of the natural and nothing of what was in the wind. Had he what was he would have it out with no force, for he was wise to the of the which already was by Ford’s Station for his ranch.
At the had of Shields among the citizens of the town, not the there as well as their it, but they were wise to go about it cautiously; and the returns their caution, for they the of Ford’s Station to the peace officer. To him, either directly or by suggestion, of would be to the two score of the town on his in and partisanship, and this they to avoid by all means, for they had no for such a as might easily follow. They then upon what appeared to them to be an excellent plan, as it was 177indirect and would give the results desired; and the medium was to be the driver.
The one had more than for The Orphan, and they had his for it and he not it, for Bill was very proud of the part he had played on that day, and he took in the he had with the at the coach–and he had a way of adding to the of his in its repetition. Tex Williard from that it would not appear at all and for Bill to be called to account for his and to the and for his the if it was done by some or members of the as a personal and without the of being by the foreman. And through the driver he to at Shields, for the would not in such an event; and once he was into a brawl, or accident would be the if he should be killed. The and of the be profound. And thus was cold-blooded planned by the very men who The Orphan they 178claimed he was a murderer, and who for his death on that charge.
Tex was the and in his own way he was not without cunning, and neither was he in daring. He his for the game with cool, calculating judgment. The three he upon were and not in and physical for such work. After having his selection he them and his plans known, going into minute of every phase and detail of the game with and sequence. When he them to be well he upon the time and place and word to to Bill that he might trouble for his to The Orphan, and for having had a hand in sending the five to their deaths. The news the ears of the sheriff, who to see that Bill no at the hands of the Cross Bar-8. He up his mind to be near the stage on the days when Bill through the of the Backbone, and to be call if he should be needed. If he should think it necessary, he would go so as to a regular in the coach until 179the trouble died down. To the and cool-headed of Bill no less than to the and of The Orphan was the for the of his sisters; and the protection of Bill close to the line of duty, and not one less to the line of law and order.
Bill laughed and and a joke of the of any from the of the Cross Bar-8, and to allow the to with him. He talked until the agent sent him on his journey, and he through the of the town in the same old way. He the Limping Water in safety and the ten mile of open plain without a of trouble. As he left the water of the the started after him from town, to be not him when he entered the country.
When Bill into the through the Backbone he to a little apprehensive, and he each of the road as each turn it to his sight. His was on the and he was to stop the of his team at the of an obstruction, or to tear past the if he could. 180One and one of the would send the team wild, for they well.
All was until he the place where The Orphan had him up for a smoke, and it was there the trouble occurred. As he around the turn he saw four in the center of the and at such a from him that to attempt to past them would be to himself open to shots. They had him covered, and as he the Tex Williard and up his hand.
“Stop!” Tex shouted. “Get down!”
“What in do you want?” Bill asked, setting the and stopping his team, wonder on his face.
“Yu!” came the reply. “Get down!”
“What’s you?” Bill asked in no inflection. Had Tex been less and the out of his Bill might have had time to afraid, but the him over to anger; and anger takes small of fear.
Tex to one of his men, who to the ground and ran to the turn, where he 181knelt a rock, his the trail. Then Tex returned to the driver.
“Curiosity is me, yu half-breed!” he cried. “Get down! d––n yu, down!! Don’t wait all day, neither, do yu hear? What th’ h–l do yu think I’m a-talkin’ for!”
“Well, I’ll be blamed!” Bill, the about the of his seat. “Anybody would think you was the of the earth to you! You ain’t no road agent, you’re only a with more than brains! But I’ll tell you right here and now that if you are playing road agent, I wouldn’t be in your for a million. And if you are joking you are d––d taste, and don’t you it. You’re up a of U. S. mail, and if you don’t know what that means––”
“Shut face! Yu talk when I ask yu to!” Tex as the driver to the ground. “But since so on th’ palaver, yu just why yu are so all-fired to Th’ Orphant? Suppose yu why yu take such a in his health and happiness. Come now, out with it–this ain’t no Quaker meeting.”
182“Warble, birdie, warble!” one of the cowboys. “Sing, yu –– ––!”
“We’re waitin’, darlin’,” another. “Tune up an’ started, Windy.”
“Well, since you talks like that,” Bill, to at the of the words, “you can go to h–l and out from your friends!” he shouted, himself with rage. “Who are you to me up and ask questions? It’s none of your who I like, you hog-nosed tanks! Why didn’t you some men with you, you flat-faced skunks? Why didn’t you Sneed! White men would a told you just what you are if you asked them to help you in your dirty work, wouldn’t they? Even a tin-horn gambler, a cheat, would give me more for my money than you have, you coyotes! Ain’t you man to turn the alone, Williard? Can’t you play a hand in ambush, you bob-tailed of a man! You’re only a lake-mouthed, red-headed of a two-by-four puncher, that’s what––”
Tex had been by at such an from a man he had always as in courage. Then his 183with an at the at him and he to action as though he had been struck. It would have been to such from an equal, but from Bill!
“Yu cur!” he as he into the of the driver’s whip, which had been from the wrist.
“You’re the fourth dog I cut to-day,” Bill said, it for another try.
Tex with pain as the cut through his ear, as it would have cut through paper, and his as he the second blow. “I’ll yu if I am man enough! I’ll kill yu for that, d––n yu!”
As Tex his arms wide open to clinch, Bill and his into the cowman’s as he passed, him against the of the defile; and then like a in the of two ropes. He was a Berserker now, a without a of life, and he with as he at the ropes, only to destroy, to kill with his hands. The had not been well placed, being too high for the point, but 184it had the puncher’s nose to his and one was fast its to the other. Tex to his and returned to the attack, at the of the man. Bill the by his and like a as he the of his into his enemy’s stomach. Then black his and a his ears. The rope and the men who had him head-first on a from their and ran to him.
When his returned he himself hand and and under a of which from the bank of the cut. His was cut and and his open, but through the blood which from his he saw Tex, and and on the ground, from him with a like that by a on the of a box.
As Bill’s brain he of pains in his head, as if were against his skull. Glancing he saw that a rope ran from his to the rock, over it and then to the of a saddle, and his 185twitched as its meaning through his mind. Then he of the time The Orphan had him up in the defile–how these men the was! If he would only come now–what there would be in the of his gun; what in the confusion, panic, that he would cause. He was and the throbbing, heavy, pain him still more. He to be from his surroundings, to be an and not an actor in the game. He if that was his: yes, it must be . . . it was. He ought to know his own . . . of it was his. He Tex . . . there had been Indians, or was it some other time? What was Tex doing there on the ground? He to think clearly, and then he knew. But the pain was to him, it him apathetic. Was he going to die? Perhaps, but what of it? He didn’t care, for then that pain wouldn’t through him. Tex looked funny. . . . He closed his and to be away. He was away, and, oh, so tired!
Tex managed to his and up and his face, and 186swollen and black from the blow. His came with a which pain, and they were and lips.
“Now, d––n yu!” he cried, brokenly, to the man him. “Now yu’ll talk! Why did yu help Th’ Orphant? If yu yu’ll swing!”
Bill and his opened, and after an he slowly and reply, for his had returned again.
“He saved my life,” he said, “and I’ll help–anybody for that.”
“Oh, he did, did he?” Tex. “An’ why? That ain’t his way, helpin’ at his own risk. Why?”
“There was women–in the coach.”
“Oh, there was, hey?” Tex. “Mebby he wanted ’em all to himself, eh?”
“He’s a white man, not a cur.”
“He’s a of th’ devil, that’s what he is!” Tex cried. “He ain’t no orphant, not by a d––d sight–th’ devil’s his father, an’ all is his mother. Now, I want an answer to this one, and I want it quick: no goes. Why don’t th’ an’ on his trail? What has 187th’ an’ Th’ Orphant in each other? Come on, out with it!”
“I don’t know,” Bill, that the was at hand to make an answer. “Ask him, why don’t you?” he asked, his to the hairy, of the lariat.
“Oh, yu don’t, an’ still cheeky, eh?” the inquisitor. “An’ yu want d––d stretched, do yu?”
He to the man on the at the end of the rope and Bill up and under his heels. As he there was an from the man who the trail: “’Nds up!” he cried. “Don’t move!”
Tex for Bill to be let and ran to the opposite of the until he see around the turn; and he the sheriff, who sat under the gun of the cowboy.
“Stop! Don’t yu wiggle!” the guard. “I’ll off at the move!” he added in warning; and for once in his life Shields that he was 188helpless, for the time, at least. His hands were over his sombrero, for it would be to them out, and he that he might have need of fresh, quick long.
“All right, all right, bub,” he in perfect good nature, apparently. “Don’t and let that gun go off, for it’s your turn now,” he added, his smile. “Any particular thing you want, or are you just a cut to eternity?”
“I want yu to just like yu are!” the man with the drop. “And yu keep mouth shut, too!”
“Since it’s your last wish, why, it goes,” the sheriff, the for silence. “Got any message for your folks? Any keep-sakes you’d like to have sent East? Give me the address of your and I’ll send them your last words, too.”
“That’s enough, Sheriff,” said Tex, moving his Colt. “I’ll do all th’ talkin’ that’s necessary; yu just for a while.”
“Well, well,” the sheriff, and surprise. “If here ain’t Tex Williard, 189too! What’s your psalm, sonny? Good God, what a face!”
“What’s that got to do with this?” asked Tex, for war.
“Oh, nothing, nothing at all,” the sheriff. “But, Lord, that of yours can kick! Was you it? They do go off like that some times. Any of your nose out the of your yet? But to reply to your inquiry, I’ll say that the might work in after while, that’s all. If you’ll only tell me, I’ll see that it is over your grave. But, honest, how did you that face?”
“That’ll just about do for yu!” the cowboy, angrily. “An’ still, yu!” he added.
“Say, bub,” said Shields, “my like blazes. Can’t I it, just once?”
“No! Think I’m a fool!” Tex, his on the trigger. “Yu still, d––n yu!”
“Well, I only wanted to see just how much of a you are,” the exasperatingly. “Judging from your present position I must say that I you didn’t have any at all, 190but now I you’ve got a after all. But you it for me, hey? Just it easy like with your left paw.”
Tex luridly, too to what a the was making of him. He think of only one thing at a time, and he was very hard about the sheriff’s hands.
“Tut, tut, don’t take it so hard,” the sheriff, pleasantly. “Now that I know that you are some rational, you tell me the joke? What’s the secret? Who his shin? What in is all this me for?”
“Since yu want to know, I’ll tell yu, all right,” Tex. “Why are yu an’ Th’ Orphant so d––d thick? Don’t be all day about it?”
“You d––d excuse!” the sheriff. “You accident! As the said, it’s none of your business! Catch that?”
“Yes, I it,” Tex. “I we needs a new sheriff, an’ d––d soon, too,” he added venomously.
“Well, people don’t always what they need,” Shields easily. “If they did, you would yours right now, and good and hard, too,” he explained, making to put up the 191hardest of his life. Three men had him covered, and he they would all shoot if he a move, for they had themselves in a and not out now. He that had he been in so tight a hole, but he to luck and his own to out with a whole skin. If he was killed, he would have company across the Great Divide; of that he was certain.
“I I’ll take for a while, just to be doin’ somethin’,” Tex said as he a step. “Mebby that will go away then.”
“I you’ll be a d––n if you don’t matters, for they are well now,” Shields replied. “No man my guns’ without all up inside. You’ll be doing something if you try it.”
“Well, then,” Tex, “answer my question!”
“And no man an answer to a question like that in words,” the continued, as if there had been no interruption. “But I’ll give you and your white-faced a for your lives–and I don’t wonder The Orphan up Jimmy, neither. Put up your and out 192of this country as fast as God will let you! If you come I’ll you full of lead! It’s your move, Lovely Face, and the you do it the it’ll be for your health.”
“‘The less you count the longer you’ll live!’ said Shields” (See page 192.)
“Oh, I don’t know about that,” Tex with a and swagger. “To a man up a tree it looks like yu are up a saw this time.”
“To a man on the ground it looks like your saw has the it struck, and you’ll the soon, too,” Shields countered, his to red. “You put up that gun and I your d––d off!”
“I’ll give yu ’til I three to answer my question,” Tex said, the advice. “One!”
“The less you count the longer you’ll live,” said Shields, his with his in to jump it sideways.
“Two!”
“Afternoon, gents,” said a voice up above them, and all jumped and looked up. As they did so Shields his and laughed softly: “That has gone away,” he said. “It’s a new deal,” he exulted, his in grins.
