Oliver Strange - Sudden Westerns 10 - Sudden Plays a Hand(1950) (23 page)

 
          
ONE
afternoon a week later, Sudden suggested a visit to Vasco, whom they had not
seen since the trial. Nick agreed, and they set out, unaware that keen,
vengeful eyes were on the watch. The owner of the Double V welcomed them
cordially, and his Texas foreman also nodded a welcome.

 
          
“Anythin’
I can do?’ Vasco asked.

 
          
“Mebbe
there is,’ Drait replied. “I’d like you to tell me, man to man, how you feel
about Shadow Valley bein’ occupied?’

 
          
“This
is thirsty weather,’ the rancher said. “Let’s irrigate.’

 
          
In
the cool of the front room, they sampled their drinks, and rolled smokes. Then
Vasco resumed the conversation:

 
          
“Yores
is
a fair question. Rawlin was just a nester, knowin’
little about cattle, an’ ownin’ none to speak of. It seemed likely he’d help
hisself to some of ourn, so I throwed in with the other ranchers. I suggested
he be bought out, we puttin’ up the coin an’ holdin’ the valley as our joint
property. That warn’t popular, and anyway, he wouldn’t sell, so they tried
somethin’ else, as they did on you. I’m askin’ you to believe that I knew
nothin’ o’ the killin’s until after; it’s God’s truth.’

 
          
“I’m
takin’ yore word,’ Nick said quietly.

 
          
Vasco
looked relieved. “You ain’t a Rawlin,’ he went on. “If you aim to raise cattle
in the valley an’ outside, well, it’s free range, with plenty room. Yore
beasts’ll get mixed with Big C an’ mine, but that’s no reason for not bein’
good neighbours.’

 
          
‘I’ll
shake with you on that,’ Drait said, and did so. When he spoke again, his voice
was harder. “That don’t go for Bardoe an’ Cullin, you understand.’

 
          
“Bardoe
is a rustler,’ Vasco replied sternly. “Yeah, we found the Double X critters you
spoke of’—this to Sudden—”But I wanta catch him in the act o’ blottin’ the
brands.’”It’ll save argument,’ Sudden agreed.

 
          
“Shore
thing,’ Vasco replied. “As for Greg, he’s got some big ideas but I don’t like
his methods, an’ I’ve told him so.’ “He’s bein’ friendly just now,’ Nick
smiled. “
Offered to buy the Valley, at my figure.’

 
          
Vasco
whistled. “The devil he did. Then keep yore eyes peeled, an’ remember you got
friends at the Double V.’

 
          
“Which
is worth ridin’ a long way to hear,’ the nester said heartily. “An’ it goes
both ways, you savvy.’

 
          
Draft’s
too-frequently saturnine features wore a smile of satisfaction as he and his
companion headed for home. “It was a lucky day when you found
them
rustled steers an’ put Vasco wise,’ he remarked. The
odds against me were five to one, an’ now they’re three to two, leavin’ out the
S P.’

 
          
“Gilman
got away, an’ Lamond hasn’t skipped.’

 
          
“That’s
so, but they dasn’t show theirselves, an’ can’t do much alone.’

 
          
Just
as the nester spoke, a flash of fire darted from the brush about a hundred
yards ahead and something tugged at his hat. Then the crack of the exploding
cartridge came to them.

 
          
“C’mon,’
Sudden cried, and swinging his horse, dashed for the nearest bank, forced the
animal up the incline and vanished amid the foliage. Drait followed, but not
before another slug whined past his ear.

 
          
“That
came from fifty feet further along,’ the puncher informed. “
Pears
there’s
a pair of ‘em.
Gotta hide the hosses first.’

 
          
A
jutting outcrop of rock provided the necessary shelter, and having securely
tied the animals, they grabbed their rifles and crawled to a spot which
afforded a clear view of the depression. A wisp of smoke hanging in the still
air, showed whence the second shot had been despatched. The nester was
examining his headgear ruefully.

 
          
“She
was a perfectly good lid,’ he said.

 
          
“Still
is—
what’s a coupla ventilation holes, anyway,
’ his
friend consoled. “Good thing you ducked though.’

 
          
Draft
stared, saw the grin and joined in. “Ducked? Shore, I allus do when I see lead
comin’.’

 
          
Prone
on the ground, cheeks cuddling rifle-stocks, they watched; nothing happened.

 
          
“Think
they’ve dusted?’ Nick asked.

 
          
“Waitin’
for us to move,’ the puncher said. “We’ll give ‘em a mark to aim at. If they
bite, shoot twice, right and left o’ the smoke; s’pos’n the fella dodges yu may
nail him thataway.’

 
          
He
found a rock and lobbed it into a bush some six yards to their right. Instantly,
from across the hollow, guns blazed, three of them, the bullets shredding the
shrub to which the missile had given movement. The ambushed pair returned the
fire, and lay close. More shots followed, this time whistling a foot or so
above their heads, and bringing down twigs and leaves. Sudden noted, with a
grim smile, that only two of the unknown were now shooting.

 
          
“Third
hombre seems to have got into the game a bit late,’ he remarked.

 
          
“Yeah,
an’ by the look of it one of ‘em has got out early,’ Drait replied.

 
          
They
lay there, lynx-eyed, but the peace of the place remained unbroken. Then
came
the hoot of an owl, followed by another.

 
          
Sudden
laughed. “A
signal,
an’ the jasper who gave it is
goin’ to be worried at on’y gettin’ one answer.’

 
          
“Yo’re
right, Jim. There he goes to investigate.’

 
          
At
the spot whence the furthest marksman had been shooting, a branch shook, and a
little to the left tall grasses swayed; since there was not a breath of wind
this meant someone or something was on the move. The keen eyes of the plainsmen
tracked the tell-tale signs along the face of the slope to where a second
gunman had been hidden. Then Drait’s rifle barked viciously, twice, and the
movement became more violent, taking an upward direction towards the rim where there
was thicker cover. The cattlemen caught fleeting glimpses of darting forms and
pumped lead persistently. A savage curse floated back, and stillness came
again.

 
          
“Any
luck, d’you think?’ the nester asked.

 
          
“No
sayin’,’ Sudden replied. “Better stay put for a space, it may be a dodge to
draw us out.’

 
          
They
smoked and waited. Presently, at the far end of the bowl, two riders burst from
the brush and spurred their mounts madly in the direction of Midway. One of
them had his head swathed in a bandage and was rocking in his saddle. Nick
swore.

 
          
“Hell’s
bells, that’s Beau—I’d know his horse anywhere. An’ the other is Gilman.
Where’s the third?’

 
          
“We’ll
go find him, guess we needn’t to hurry though,’ the puncher said sardonically.

 
          
They
got their horses, crossed the hollow, and soon found what they sought. Sudden
had guessed correctly; there was no need for haste. Behind a bullet-riddled
bush lay the figure of Tomini, face downwards, his rifle beside him. Apparently
he was dead, but when Sudden turned the body over, to reveal a spreading
crimson stain above the heart, the eyes opened, and the pallid lips framed two
whispered words, “Steenker—Cullin.’ Then the head rolled sideways.”So now we
know,’ Drait said.

 
          
“Yeah,
but what we say he said don’t prove a thing.’

 
          
“That’s
so. Well, I was goin’ to leave him here, but I got a better idea. We’ll tote
him in for the sheriff.’

 
          
They
found the dead man’s mount nearby, slung the limp form across the saddle, and
secured it with his own rope. A search of the pockets produced nothing but a
few coins and the “makings.’ They started out, the half-breed’s horse tugging
back on its lead.

 
          
It
was a long, tiresome journey, and night was spreading its blanket over the town
when they arrived. Naturally, their gruesome burden aroused interest, and a
crowd followed them to the sheriff’s office, the lighted window of which only
served to deepen the darkness. Drait rapped with the butt of a gun and reined
back, leaving the led horse well to the fore. Camort opened the door, and gave
one look, and with evident satisfaction, cried:

 
          
“So
you got him, huh?’ Noticing the two riders, he added, “Where Tomini?’

 
          
“Right
under yore nose,’ Drait replied sternly. “Whose corpse were you hopin’ for?’

 
          
The
officer’s eyes having adjusted themselves to the gloom, he now became aware of
the onlookers. He had to think fast, and that was not one of the things he did
best. However, inspiration came.

 
          
“I
figured my boys had fetched in Gilman—they bin out lookin’ for him half the
day.’

 
          
A
sneering laugh from one of the crowd greeted this explanation. “Yore boys come
into Merker’s this afternoon, too tight to talk, an’ are there yet, sleepin’ it
off.’

 
          
Camort
had the hide of a horse; a mere insinuation that he was lying could not
penetrate. Flattering himself that he had redeemed his bad break, he remembered
he had a duty to do.

 
          
“I
wanta know how this come about,’ he said, pointing to the corpse.

 
          
“Yo’re
goin’ to,’ Drait assured him. “Tomini an’ two others waylaid me an’ Jim in
Little Basin. They missed—there’s a coupla holes in my hat to prove it warn’t
by much—an’ we had an argument. The Greaser got the worst of it, an’ his
friends ‘peared to lose their enthusiasm. One of ‘em was Beau Lamond.’ “I ain’t
seen him for a week or more,’ Camort said.

 
          
“Then
you musta bin blind drunk night afore last, for you were drinkin’ with him in
Pinto Pete’s,’ an onlooker contradicted.

 
          
“That
is a—’

 
          
“What?’
The speaker stepped into the light, a huge fellow, well over six feet, with the
thews of a giant; he was the Midway blacksmith. He could, indeed
had
, slain a man with a blow of his fist. The sheriff
wilted.

 
          
“I’d
forgotten, Jules,’ he hastened to say. “Fact is, I’m still a bit hazy ‘oout
that evenin’.’

 
          
“The
other fella was Gilman,’ the nester went on.

 
          
The
sheriff blundered again. “Who’s left the country,’ he jeered.

 
          
“Yet
you sent yore deputies to search for him?’

 
          
“I
was told he’d gone, but I wanted to make shore. That’s why I was s’prised when
I thought they’d got him.’

 
          
“Not
surprised—delighted, because you figured it was me bein’ brought in,’ Drait
corrected. “Don’t lie any more, but listen: any further attempts o’ this kind
an’ I start gunnin’ for you right away; yore star won’t save you. Tomini hadn’t
cashed when we reached him, an’ he talked.’

 
          
Camort
trembled. “I had nothin’ to do with it,’ he protested. “All three o’ these
hombres had somethin’ agin you.’

 
          
“Tomini
talked, Stinker,’ Drait repeated grimly. “You’ve tripped up again an’ yore boss
won’t be pleased. Tell Gilman an’ Beau—who will have his head tied up—that I’m
shootin’ on sight. C’mon, Jim, let’s go.’