A Coffin Full Of Dollars (19 page)

"We have your trick coffin, undamaged," Apachito said. "It will be brought in tomorrow morning. As for the gunnery act, we have a new and more exciting one to replace it
.
"

"What is that?" Dandy asked cautiously.

"Each performance, at the end of your coffin trick, we will hang someone." He chuckled. "If the show is dull, it can be one of your people. Next week, if you have not collected the reward money and your show is boring us, we will hang you."

The lantern retreated, the door slammed and the bolt slid home. In the inky blackness that followed, Dandy's voice had a distinct quaver.

"Did you hear that? The monster intends to hang
me
if he doesn't find the show exciting enough."

"Relax, Dandy," the hunter said. "It couldn't happen to a more deserving scoundrel."

They sat on the hard dirt floor, their backs to the wall, and glumly contemplated a brief and highly unpleasant future. The hunter puffed on one of his
cigarros
and Shadrach on his pipe. Dandy gnawed on his nails. The night chill was finally penetrating into the cabin, but from time to time he found it necessary to mop away gathering perspiration.

Outside the voices of the outlaws died away and ended in the slam of cabin doors as they stumbled or reeled to their bunks. Silence descended on the camp except for the occasional shuffle of footsteps outside their window. Apachito, obviously taking no chances of another reversal of control, had posted a guard to keep watch on the jail.

The bounty hunter mentally timed the passings of the guard and found that the intervals varied widely. Clearly he was not pacing any regular beat but simply making a superficial inspection any time the mood struck him. The hunter scrambled to his feet and went to the barred window. Outside, sufficient moonlight filtered down through the trees to lighten the gloom.

Presently he heard the shuffling steps again, approaching from the front of the jail. A shadowy figure came around the corner, a blanket draped around his shoulders to ward off the night's sharp chill. Passing the window he prudently veered well out, beyond the reach of anyone inside. At the rear of the cabin he stood for several moments, listening, then turned and moved back toward the front, again giving the window a wide berth. He turned the corner and the steps died away.

The hunter heaved a deep sigh of frustration and turned to go back to his place against the wall. From the window at his back came a soft hiss. He whirled around.

The voice of Laura or Cora whispered, "I have to hurry. He may decide to come back at any moment. Is Dandy all right?"

"I'm fine, honey," Dandy whispered at the hunter's elbow. "But what on earth are you doing here?"

"Waiting until it's safe to unbolt your door and let you all out. He's got a warm fire out in front and between times he sits there, swigging from a bottle of whiskey. He always sits facing the door, but any minute now he'll get up and go to his bunk."

"How do you know?" the hunter demanded.

She giggled. "Because I'm a beast. The last time he left the fire to make his inspection round, I slipped over and poured out most of his whiskey on the ground. When he discovers the bottle's empty, he's almost certain to go back to his bunk for a fresh one.
Shh!
He's coming again. I'll be back."

She darted away and disappeared in the deep shadows under the trees. In a moment the guard came shuffling around the corner to repeat his routine. Once more, both going and returning, he veered well out away from the window. The bounty hunter swore under his breath.

Minutes pas
sed
before the twin reappeared at the window. This time she came from the front of the cabin.

"Damn," she whispered. "I wasted his whiskey for nothing. He drained the bottle, glared at it and threw it away. Now he keeps looking toward the bunkhouse as if he wanted to go for another but doesn't dare leave his post. They're all frightened to death of that awful Apachito."

"I've got a gun," the hunter whispered. "If just once he'd forget to swing wide of this window, I could cold-deck him and lay him out long enough for us to make a getaway."

"If that's all it takes, I think it can be arranged. Be ready for ac—
Shh!
Here he comes again. Get set."

She vanished a moment before the guard reappeared around the front corner and plodded to the rear, skirting the window. He stopped to listen at a point just beyond the hunter's line of vision. Suddenly the waiting three heard him give a yelp of alarm, followed by the voice of the twin cooing indistinguishable words.

There was a long murmur of conversation, then the guard reappeared, walking close to the wall. The twin was huddled in
the
crook of his left arm under the blanket.

She was cooing, "...warm by your fire, we can slip back in the dark and have some fun, if you know what I mean."

"I know what you mean, baby," the guard panted. He seemed to be having difficulty with his breathing.

The bounty hunter had his gun out and gripped by the barrel. He rested his elbow on the window sill, between the bars, holding the gun with the butt outward. The pair drew abreast of the window, the guard too preoccupied for caution.

The hunter's arm whipped downward. There was a hollow
thock!
and the guard went down on his face. The twin knelt, then scrambled up again.

"I've got his gun. That was beautifully done, Nameless. I'll meet you at the door."

"Make it fast," the hunter said. "I couldn't get enough leverage to really bust his skull open."

A moment later the door swung open and they crowded out. Dandy seized his daughter in a bear hug. The hunter dived around the corner of the cabin. There was another, louder,
thock
and he came back, holstering his gun.

"There's no sense in letting him wake up and spoil a family reunion, but that doesn't mean we've got all night to fool around. Come on, Dandy. We'd better head for the tall timber and let your daughter scamper back to her bed before Apachito discovers we've been sprung."

Dandy disengaged himself and straightened to his fullest height. He shook his head firmly.

"I—I can't run off and abandon Molly and the girls to the mercies of these brutes. I'm going to stay and face whatever penalties they decide to mete out to me. You fellows go along and good luck to you."

"Bravo!" the hunter said. "But if you're going to play the hero, you'd better keep that gun your daughter lifted off the guard. You're liable to need it."

"No, no, no," Dandy exclaimed, throwing out his hands in a gesture of rejection. "I simply wasn't cut out to be a gunslinger. Why, if I tried to use one of those, I'd probably wind up shooting myself. I'm simply too clumsy-handed."

"Yeah," the hunter said dryly. "I noticed that the first time I saw you shuffle and cut a pack of cards."

"If you're implying what I think you are," Dandy said reproachfully, "how can you harbor such thoughts?"

"For some reason," the hunter said, "hanging around you for any length of time makes it easy to do. If you want to pose as a nice innocent, fumble-handed pilgrim in front of the suckers, go right ahead. Far be it from me to spoil your pitch. But when you start involving us and money in your cute schemes, you can expect to get your ears pinned."

"Hear, hear!" Shadrach said. "I thought you'd never get around to talking common sense. It's funny how I seem to keep forgetting all about that little matter of a half-million dollars."

The twin stamped her foot. "Stop it, you big oafs. Next thing, you'll be yelling at one another and waking up the whole lot of them."

"You're right," the hunter said. He took both her hands. "We owe you our lives for getting us out of that place. We're grateful and we aren't forgetting it. We'll try to stay close by. Sooner or later this slicker you inherited for a father is going to get into another mess of trouble, but we
'
ll try to get him out with a reasonably whole skin, Laur—uh—Co—Dammit! Which one
are
you?"

She giggled again. "You traveled with us all that time and still can't tell us apart? If we can confuse a smart man like you, just think what we can do to those poor, stupid outlaws when we really put our minds to it."

*****

The bounty hunter awoke when the first light of dawn began to gray out the darkness. The blankets Molly had given them had been left lying on the ground. They had gratefully brought them along on their flight, but despite the covering he could feel the night's chill seeping into his bones.

He sat up, shivering, flailing his arms to restore circulation, and said, "Rise and shine, you peckerwood. Another day, another dollar."

When there was no response, his head whipped around. A few yards away, Shadrach's blankets were neatly spread. There was no sign of the occupant. He whirled and felt under the edge of his own blanket where he had tucked the extra pistol Cora took from the guard. It was gone.

He got to his feet, swearing. He had indicated to his rival that the half-million dollars was very likely in an obvious hiding place around the wagons. Shadrach must have figured it out and gone after it.

He was clawing his boots back on when there was a crashing in the underbrush. He grabbed for his gun.

The voice of Shadrach said, "Don't shoot a partner bearing gifts."

He stepped into the small clearing and dumped two rifles and a box of shells on the ground. Grinning at the hunter's expression, he brought out two pistols and extended them.

"Here's your own gun, plus the one I borrowed from under your blanket. I've had a busy and exciting time, but a profitable one, as you can see."

The bounty hunter gaped at the armament. "How in hell...?"

Shadrach chuckled. "You corked off the minute you hit the ground, and did you snore. I couldn't sleep so I decided to go back and get our guns. The guard you slugged was beginning to stir so I whopped him. What a headache he'll have today. Then I piled brush around two sides of that jail cabin and set it afire, and heaved a rock through the window of Apachito's headquarters cabin. It must have scored a bullseye from the language he used. Anyhow, he came charging out, yelling for his gang. While they were putting out the fires I strolled in, found our pistols and took the rifles and a box of shells for good measure."

The bounty hunter whistled softly. "You had yourself quite a time, I'd say. It's too bad you couldn't have raided his pantry while you were there. It's going to be a long time between meals for us."

Shadrach hauled out his watch, flipped up the lid and tilted the face toward the light.

"Breakfast will be ready in just about an hour. I woke Dandy and arranged to have Molly cook our meals. Dandy's going to leave the food in the middle of that thicket where you dumped their gun belts. He's quite perky now, figuring Apachito won't let anything happen to him before next week when he's supposed to collect the reward money."

"He'd better not crowd his luck," the hunter said glumly. "If he's pushed too far, Apachito's the kind who could fly into a blind rage and lash out at anybody, regardless of the consequences or cost."

CHAPTER 22

Apachito's fury when he discovered his jail open and empty of prisoners was almost violent enough to start rock-slides in the jumbled Malhores. It reached a new peak of intensity with his discovery of the missing guns and ammunition. His yelling awakened Molly and Dandy in the wagon where they were sleeping on top of the dressing tent canvas.

Molly said, "I still think you should go and hide with those others. He'll take his vengeance out on you. We'll make out all right, I'm sure, and if he can't find you, he can't hurt you."

"I'm not running away," Dandy said with quavery firmness. "I'm safe until next week and by then, with those two loose and armed, anything can happen."

"Yes," Molly said thoughtfully. "With those two on the loose, anything can happen."

Curiously, Apachito was remarkably mild in his confrontation with Dandy. Only the glitter in the depths of the dark Indian eyes betrayed his suppressed fury.

"So you got out along with the other two."

"What else could you expect me to do? We heard a noise and all of a sudden the door swung open. The other two went rushing out so I rushed out after them. But when they tried to get me to go along with them and hide out, I refused. I came back here to be with my family and help get set up for today's performance. Besides, I have to be here to go in next week and collect the reward money."

"Oh, yes," Apachito said, as if the matter had completely slipped his mind. "The reward money. Of course."

When he had gone, Molly threw her arms around Dandy and held him close.

"I'm scared, Dandy. This time I'm
really
scared. If he had raged at you or threatened you—but all his rage was bottled up inside, and that's what scares me."

*****

The bounty hunter stood guard with the cocked rifle over his arm while Shadrach burrowed into the heart of the thicket behind the wagon park. He emerged grinning triumphantly and displaying a packet of thick meat sandwiches. They moved back further into the woods and sat on a fallen log to eat.