ready.
'Cuss that moon,' muttered the little man, for the clouds had passed.
'It'll help us more than them,' the Judge pointed out. 'They can't rush us.'
'Shore, but we can't sneak away,' the other argued. 'There they are. What's the idea?'
'Flagoftruce--they want to talk.'
Four riders had emerged from the pines, and oneofthem, aheadofthe rest, was waving a white scarf. They came boldly on until they were some two hundred yards away, and then Patch stood up.
'That'll be near enough,' he called out. 'Anythin' on yore mind?'
'What's the idea, Patch, runnin' off the prisoners thisaway?' the leader asked.
'I got my reasons but I ain't explainin' to yu,' the one-eyed man replied coolly. 'I'll give yu a bit of advice, though; light a shuck an' get outa the country while the goin's good.'
The outlaw laughed. 'Feelin' yore oats some, ain't yu?' he sneered. 'We'll go when we're good an' ready, but first we want the gal an' the Judge.'
'Come an' get 'em,' retorted the little man.
'No need to take risks,' the other pointed out. 'Yu can't git away. All we gotta do is wait till help comes; we've sent for it.'
'Who'd yu send--Slick?' Patch asked, and chuckled when he heard the curse the question provoked.'Well, what yu goin' to do?' the bandit queried.
'Shoot if yu don't show yore tail mighty sudden,' snapped out the one-eyed man, standing clear and levelling his rifle.
With a furious gesture the fellow wheeled his horse, and at the same moment came three spurtsofflame from behind him. Patch regained his shelter untouched, he and the Judge sending shots in return. Apparently they met with no success, for they saw the attackers vanish into the gloomofthe pines. For some time silence reigned.
'All bluff about sendin' for help,' Patch remarked. 'They ain't got no one to send. Betcher they try an' Injun up on us; there's a cloud a-comin' now.'
He was right. In a few moments a veil of vapour misted the moon. Peering through the uncertain light, Patch fancied he could see a dark blotch moving laboriously over the grass. Carefully taking aim, he fired; the blotch seemed to give a spasmodic jerk and then subside. The next moment a loop dropped over his arms and he was flung violently backwards, his gun clattering on the stones beside him. Dazed by the fall, he felt the rope twisted about him; a few turns and he was powerless. A glance showed that his companions were in no better case. Bitterly he realised that the attackers had outwitted him. While oneofthem sneaked up in front, the other three had crept around the open space and come upon them from the rear. The man who had borne the flagoftruce was regarding him with an ugly look.
'Well, Patch, yo're goin' to learn it don't pay to renig,' he said.
He drew his pistol on the prostrate prisoner. In another second the bullet would have sped, but a cool, rasping voice intervened:
''Scuse me, gents, but is this a private scrap, or can anybody horn in?' it said.
The startled outlaws looked up to find the tables turned; two strangers, who had stolen up unperceived, were covering them with levelled pistols.
'Shootin' a man when yu got him hog-tied don't appeal none to me,' the newcomer continued. 'Reach for the sky, yu coyotes.'
Two of the bandits promptly obeyed, but the would-be slayerofPatch, who had his gun out, took a chance and turned it on the stranger. But he was not quick enough; the other's gun crashed and the outlaw went down, sprawling grotesquely. One glance showed that he was dead, and the man who had fired the shot nodded his satisfaction. He then stepped over to the girl.
'Well, Miss Phil, so we've found yu at last,' he said.
She gave a cryofjoy. 'Why, Rayton, how do you happen to be here?' she asked.
'Severn left me an' Purdyofthe XT to comb the Pinnacles after we failed to find yu at the Cavern,' the cowboy explained. 'We was shore gettin' disheartened when we heard the shootin' an' p'inted for it.' He looked at Embley. 'Burn my hide, if it ain't the Judge ! '
In as few words as possible the lawyer outlined the position. The cowboy bit on an oath when he learnedofSevern's danger. 'What we better do?' he asked in perplexity.
'We must get out of the mountains as quickly as we can,' the Judge said. 'Then Miss Masters, myself and this fellow Patch will head for Hope, while you and the XT man will collect your outfits and follow us. We may be in time.'
Patch was released, and the other two men were set adrift, unarmed, with the plain intimation that if they remained in the country they would be shot on sight. The journey to the plains was then resumed. The Judge rode in silence, his head down, and was impatientofthe slightest delay. Phil realised that this was due to his anxiety for Severn's safety, and it impressed her. Only once she summoned the courage to ask him a question.
'Is it true that Severn was once known as Sudden, the outlaw?'
'Yes, but he was not an outlaw, he was a deputy-sheriff in the employofthe Governor,' the Judge told her. 'You don't like Severn, but one day T hope you'll know him better, and realise --what you owe him.'
The old man's voice was rather stern and contained more than a hintofreprof. She said no more.
Chapter XXI
ON the morningofSevern's dramatic return to captivity, the town seethed with excitement. This state of affairs provided material for thought of someofthe citizens.
'Suthin's goin' on,' Bent remarked to Callahan. 'There's men spendin' money on licker that never had none to spend afore, an' I got Greasers at my bar now that I'd 'a' throwed out on their ears yestiddy, knowin' they couldn't pay.'
'What possessed Severn to come trapesin back?' asked the storekeeper.
'He's one square fella--he wouldn't run away,' Bent told him. 'Trouble is, he won't git a straight deal.'
'True for ye. Kape an eye on the store while I step up to the `Come Again' an' find out about Lufton.'
As the storekeeper went along the street, the signsofunrest were apparent. Little groupsofmen were dotted about arguing, gesticulating, and the grimnessoftheir faces conveyed an atmosphere of menace. He noticed that the nucleusofnearly every gathering consisted of one or two of the Bar B punchers.
'Bart's workin' the town up, an' for what?' he asked himself.
Passing through nhe swing-doorsofthe saloon, he found that rumour for once had spoken truly. At a table in a far corner, apart from the sullen, threatening customers who crowded the bar, Black Bart was entertaining a visitor. This was a thin, shambling figureofa man approaching fifty, dressed in a shiny black coat, trousers stuffed into boot-tops, a collar far from clean, and a cravat which bore abundant evidenceofhaving been too often tied by stumbling fingers. The puffy face, receding jaw, and vacillating eyes told their own story. This was Judge Luf ton, who had obtained office by political wire-pulling, and in spiteofcertain lapses, had hitherto managed to hold it by the same means. Had Callahan been able to hear their conversation, he would have found the answer to his question.
'Yu've happened along just hunky, Judge,' Bart was saying, as he filled the visitor's glass. 'Yo're the man this town's needin' bad right now.'
The manoflaw straightened up in his chair. 'As an unworthy servantofthe public, Mr. Bartholomew, I am at the disposalofthe citizens,' he said unctuously. 'In what way--?'
'There's a criminal in the calaboose here waitin' to be tried,' Bart told him. 'He's a desperate character--got away last night, but was recaptured by the sheriff.' The lie slipped easily from his lips.
'What is the offence?' Lufton inquired.
'He robbed the bank here, shot the manager, an' murdered an old friend o' mine,' the Bar B owner returned coolly. 'If that ain't enough, there's other charges.'
'Providence having given us only one neck apiece, I should say it was more than enough,' the Judge said, with ponderous humour. 'Why don't you send him to the capital?'
'To escape on the way, or get off with a packed jury 'cause he's got a pull somewheres, huh?' Bart retorted. 'No, sir, this town can do its own tryin'. As I told yu, the fella's a hard case. Mebbe it'll surprise yu to hear he's the chap as used to be known as Sudden, the outlaw.'
